Bible Study NEVER Ends

 I have finished my Learn the Bible in 24 Hours video study course. It only took me about two and a half years. Or a bit more.

When I started the study, I thought I would be able to get through it quicker. My sarc-riddled brain decided otherwise and I had a lot of days when I couldn't get through more than 10 minutes of a video or a couple of pages of reading. But God is good. I did get finish the study and, you know the most important thing I learned? That a Christian is never finished with Bible study!

Now that I have finished this particular course of study, I have really only just begun. My next goal is to study each of the books of the Bible more thoroughly. I will be again using the Koinonia House resources. 

K House's YouTube channel has, I believe, a playlist of videos for each Bible book. I am going to be starting with the Genesis playlist, of course, and I have the playlist saved.

This time I won't have the helpful book or handbook that I did with 24 Hours, although I will be referring to both. (By the way, I also have the workbook but did not use it. Perhaps I will next time.) I will have to be more organized and do a lot more note-taking. My brain is already being a bully. I keep having to battle thoughts about being too stupid to do the studies. I have severe issues with confusion and when I have to focus on anything, I get a lot of distortion with words and concepts. But, once again, God is good. 

I am reminding myself that it's okay if I only get through 10 minutes of study every session. I don't have to be in competition with anyone. That's what I love about being able to study on my own. No one is around to make me feel embarrassed by my mental limitations. 

Anyway.

One of the things I have learned is how little I know about the Bible. Every time I turn the page, I see get a new insight that I missed before. During the 24 Hours sessions, Missler would often quip that even 24 years is not enough to study the Bible. He and others who spent years and years studying the Bible probably feel as I do: they need more time!

I did thoroughly enjoy the 24 Hours study sessions. I will probably do the set all over again in a few years, God willing that I am here. 

If you struggle with where to get started in Bible study, I highly recommend using the K House resources. Much of the information (and certainly almost all of the video sessions) can be found free of charge on the ministry website and via YouTube. 

About Koinonia Institute
for SERIOUS study:
For those who want to do a deep-dive and more structured study of the Bible, go to the Koinonia Institute.  Here is a list of the available courses. (There are some materials that you will need to purchase but they are all listed on the website.) I am a bit too intimidated to attempt this. Pray for me that I will eventually get the courage to at least try!

If you are curious and considering the Institute, here are some FAQs, and here is the Student Handbook. What a glorious and invaluable resource to have.

The eSword app on my PC was invaluable and, as always, I want to recommend everyone to check that out. Whatever resources you use, please study the Bible. It's the Christian handbook to everything. 

Peace

--Free

Random Resources of Interest

 I was looking through some of my online bookmarks recently and realized they badly need organizing! However, I also realized that there are many that might be of interest to other Bible students. I will share some of them here and might have to do future posts to share others.

• Jewish Encyclopedia - Just peruse the various links. I found the ones for "Jesus" and "Messiah" interesting.
• I love the Jewish Virtual Library. I found it when looking for info on the Babylonian Talmud. Turns out the full text is provided. I could spend a lot of time just perusing the Glossary and I did spend several hours on the History page. 
• The Bible Archaeology, Search & Exploration (BASE) Institute.  
• Another Bible Archaeology site.
• Topical Bible Studies (from Koinonia House). My current favorite is on the Rapture.
• Got Questions is like a "Wiki of Info for Christians". I use it all the time.
• While I didn't agree with all of his views, Dave Hunt was a great Bible teacher and I love having The Berean Call videos to view. The Berean Call website is also a good site.
• For Israel news: Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post are a couple of favorites. I like that both have archaeology sections - Haaretz here and JPost here.
• Info about the Jewish Solar and Lunar calendars.
• I have not yet used the Biblical Training site but I have perused it. I find it promising that one can get a free Bible education so easily.

You will notice that I have several Jewish information resources. Never forget that our Messiah Jesus was Jewish born. I think some of us often lose sight of that.

These are some of the YouTube channels I subscribe to:

• Biblical Archaeology 
• Genesis Apologetics
• Melissa Dougherty
• LongforTruth1
• Answers in Genesis
• The Messed Up Church
• Justin Peters Ministries
• Good Fight Ministries
• Doreen Virtue

I will be doing updates to this post. I didn't realize when I started just how many pages I want to share. As of late, I am having problems with my hands and cannot type for long periods, but I will be adding more sites and pages! Stay tuned.

Peace

--Free

Random Reflections on a Birthday

 A lot of people make jokes about dreading another birthday. I've made those jokes but, in reality, I know how blessed I was to wake up this morning on the 62nd anniversary of my entry into this world.

It's kind of funny that sixty-two doesn't sound as old to me now as it did when I was in my 20s and 30s. 

While my physical self is glad to be here and breathing, my soul longs for Heaven. I have often quipped that I don't fear being "dead"  as much as I fear getting dead. Death means freedom from the chains of the world. Death means going into the promises God has made to us.

The other day, a long-time family friend of ours died. She was 95 and she died as a Jehovah's Witness. She died after rejecting the God of creation. She died in her unforgiven sins. She had 95 years to look to Jesus. It's been my hope that, maybe, in her last moments, she did look to him.

On this birthday, I think about the people who never made it to see their 62nd year. My beautiful goddaughter and niece died before she turned 37. I know of people who died that young or just a few years older during the COVID pandemic. I can read the news and see obituaries of people who died before they became teenagers or young adults.

I am blessed and I know it. My health is poor and my pocketbook is poor but I am blessed. I suffer from depression but I am blessed. I miss my mother and my father and my siblings who have died but I am blessed.

The thing about salvation is that those who have accepted it are blessed in every circumstance. We are blessed not because of any material abundance or physical attributes. We are blessed because this world is not our home. 

I thank Jesus for my salvation. I thank him for taking on the punishment for my sins of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I thank him for his suffering in my place. I thank God in heaven for letting me wake up this morning and see this day.

This birthday is just another day of blessing. I'm happy to have made it this far.

Peace

--Free