Weekly Devotion
February 2, 2025
Devotion-Back to the Basics
As I stated last week, here is the next installment of my devotional series on Living by the Book.
Is there a Method to this Madness?
The quick answer is yes! So many times, we get caught up in figuring out how to start our study of the bible that we become overwhelmed and just leave it. Hendricks describes his definition of the method or “methodicalness” as taking certain steps in a specific order for a specific result. The result governs everything. Personal bible study aims specifically at life change. So how do you start? A three-step approach is carried out in a specific order to guarantee a life change observation, interpretation, and application (p39.).
Step 1 Observation
In this step we ask the question What do I see? We look at four things here:
1.Terms
These are the basic building blocks with which you construct meaning. It helps you understand the meaning of what the author is trying to say. The example Hendricks uses is the gospel of John, where the word believe is found at least seventy-nine times as a verb, but never a noun. This is done with purpose. If you take some time to investigate you can figure out his purpose(p41).
2. Structure
This may make you cringe, but structure refers to grammatical structure and literary structure. I noticed in my observations how many times I misunderstood a longer passage of verses because I didn’t recognize the kind of structure happening. For me, this happens most often with cause and effect(p41-42)
3. Literary form
This refers to the genre of each book and subsequent passages. We have genres like poetry, narratives, parables, love poetry, allegory, apocalyptic, satirical, comedy and tragedy to name a few. The Holy Spirit used each of these forms to communicate His message(p42).
4. Atmosphere
What is happening to the author at the time of his writings? Is he in prison? Is it dark or smelly? What is happening around him? In this area you want to use your imagination and place yourself there.
Step 2 Interpretation
In this step we ask and answer the question What does it mean? We look at three things here.
1. Questions
Bombard the text with questions. It doesn’t mean the bible will be able to answer all of them, but you must ask anyways. This helps to determine if they can be answered(p43).
2. Answers
Look for the answers in the text. By utilizing your observation process well, you will spend less time in the interpretation area. The building blocks of observation will directly help you construct the meaning of the passage and aid in finding the answers to your questions(p43).
3. Integration
This step involves putting together the questions and answers in a meaningful way. “Integration is the stage where you reconstruct the meaning of a passage after you have taken it apart to inspect the details.” (Hendricks,1991, p 43.).
Step 3 Application
In this step you ask and answer the question How does it work? We look at two things here.
1. How does it work for me?
What does it say to me? How would this work in my life? Can I share it with others, or do I need to work at it in my own life first?
2. How does it work for others?
How can I effectively communicate biblical truth to others? How would this transform their lives? How would it affect their personal circumstances? (p45)
Now that we see the three-step approach we can begin our journey of insights and discovery.
The next part of the book delves into ten practical strategies for reading the bible, six things to look for while reading, and a way to summarize your observations. I plan to highlight one or two and discuss my experience through that process in the next installment called “Repeated Purposefully”
Written by
Jodi Dyck