GetWisdom PaperturnSampler FINAL SinglePages - Flipbook - Page 5
little pieces of art. Looking back, it kind of makes sense—I love entertaining and setting a pretty table.
I still collect those fun napkins so I’m always ready when someone comes over, but I’ve also begun to
collect something else: Bibles.
A great way of understanding Scripture is to look at various translations. Though these Bibles may
be worded differently, they don’t ultimately differ in meaning and intent, because they all come from
the Greek and Hebrew languages the Bible was originally written in.
Don’t feel like you need to be a crazy-Bible-lady like me, with shelves full of different translations.
The great thing about the Internet is you can simply find different versions online. I encourage you to
download the Bible Gateway or YouVersion app on your phone or head to their sites on your desktop.
Try out a few different versions, and see which ones resonate with you best. If you have a favorite Bible
already, google what the Bible you’re using is translated for. Is it written for tone and intended meaning?
Or is it translated for literal, word-for-word interpretation? Is it a reading Bible or a studying Bible?
Because the contemporary language of The Message is simple for us to comprehend, many weeks
we’ll start by reading in this version. As we break apart each passage and dive in deeper, we will use
the “studying translations” that sit in our laps or rest on the table in front of us, so make sure you have
one at the ready. I’ll include the text from The Message, but in most cases, you will need to reference
your own Bible. Make sense? Great!
B E C O M I N G B I B L I C A L L Y L I T E R AT E
If we want to be bold women who love God deeply, we must be women of Scripture. We must love the
Bible in a way that surpasses others’ opinions and research. To become spiritually literate, we must
become students of the Word. Commentaries and books about the Bible are incredibly helpful, but we
need to make sure we’re not spending more time in books about the Bible than in the actual Bible. I
need to make sure my first Guide is God, rather than humans.
The first thing I’d like us to do is turn to a resource that can help us wrestle with what we’re actually
reading in the Bible. As we sort through God’s Word, we need to be curious about the meanings
beyond simply our initial understanding. That’s why, in addition to adding the Bible Gateway or
YouVersion app onto your phone, I’d also like you to download the Blue Letter Bible (BLB). This is
really important because it allows us to easily dig into the languages of the Bible, and we’re going to
reference it All. The. Time.
If your eyes are glazing over and you’re beginning to rethink wanting to do this study because
“Whaaat? Dissecting Greek and Hebrew sounds hard/boring/not for me”—I get it. But this is something
you can do! And digging into the Bible on this level is how we learn to study for ourselves and not
have a faith that is spoon-fed to us. We want to make sure we are learning God’s truth, right? Not just
someone else’s thoughts!
Spending time in the Word and with the Lord is about gaining wisdom and knowledge. So even if
you decide to bounce around even more than I do within these pages and go down bunny-trails that I
have yet to discover . . . do it! You can spend fifteen minutes on a passage of Scripture or fifteen days,
months, or years. This is all for you and your relationship with Him!
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