“For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double—edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ” Hebrews 4:12-14

Is there a right way to study the Bible? The most obvious answer to that question is—of course, there is, just as every single, little, thing we do in life has its own baptism for an origin—kind of a thing, going on. There will always be a law to everything, to the point when even if one chooses to domy-blog-page/which-way-is-the-right-way-to-study-the-bible-by-wilbert-dela-cruz nothing at all in life, has its own specific law of nature, and I can only assume to call it, the walk of the living—dead, where even though, the living part or even the walking element of its process would pretty much seem all too redundantly unnecessary, and yet that person must, or would still be bound to the rule of the land—as to walk its reflective progression, by way of also allowing the flow of the law of its consequences. If I am not mistaken, we even coined a scientific expression to justify such, (E=MC—squared, or as we otherwise dubbed it the theory of relativity)—meaning—for every action, has an equal or an opposite reaction. However, the answer to such a question, I think, was never about whether there is a right way to go about it, but more about whether we already have a destination in mind.

Jesus stretched out His arm at the very pinnacle of each of our own crossroads or paths, as if saying, reach for the key “There,” and the door “Here,” while I offer you—My hand, so, you may “follow me”—and see if you want to live, and if you do, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Time—Out: Before I go on, allow me to give you an early reminder—I am not asking this very question in hand, to make it seem as if, I already know the right answer to it. This is merely, what I decided to be my Bible study assignment for today, and asking what may seem to be the silliest questions I could think of—is already a plus in my book—but the addition, as to go as far as even asking the least questionable ones—I feel is also necessary, because I, just to consider the very idea of entering such a journey, already meant to me, that I may be, already standing where I was supposed to start my digging. It is a bit like a conscientious objection, where I got to plow the flow of it, so as to remove the unnecessary weed earlier than later. I got to make a stand, to understand what it is that I truly want to believe in. Although I also do not want to project any sort of a wrong impression, that somehow seemed as if, I am questioning my own faith, or even doubting whether the Holy Spirit, (The great Provider, whom the Bible said, will guide us in all our ways) truly, already dwells in me. For, I already know for a fact, well, not just for a fact, but more like, I already witnessed the evidence of the very truth—I am a totally different person now than when I used to be—that is—in the inside of me. Whatever that may be—has a lot of things to do with that battle in the mind, and me, seeking a little help from my brethren, or my fellow neighbors just like you, to give me a hand, or at least, just an ear, or both ears—to strengthen my determination to continue fighting, the good fight of faith.

It is a lot like sowing a seed, (I know how hearing me say that, also already seemed all too redundant—but be that as it may, I can’t help myself not to go there, because from out of everything that I have seen, or learned, and heard so far in my studies, the picture—image of that very seed, (The picture of Jesus’s cross sown in the ground of our salvation) I found that to be the most fundamentally sound to my newer realm of understanding—as for me to get a great look inside “the looking glass” of my own reflection, catching the likeness of the great Sower who sowed me, out of His spoken Word)

—Even if that is the case, it is not enough to just sow any seed into any ground, and only hope to see if any sort of life would eventually come out, from it. In the same way as how a person standing in front of a lotto machine, planning instead of planting, how to make his dreams come to reality from inside the game of chance—where the chances are, that person, may just as well, end—up losing more than he already has. Why? —because that also can become too reflective of how Adam got tempted by an apple, to get rich right away scheme of things, and that was not exactly part of the original plan, (You may ask, how can I presume to think to know what the original plan was? I am not trying to presume anything that is outside the full parameters of who God is—as God is love—and as love being the very concept of everything pretty much fits the most basic measure of it, but in the same way how love can be very simple, it also has that other intrinsic side where it comes to the bigger picture, which what complicates our understanding of the glue which can fit every piece of the puzzle) Adam ended up sowing his life, in the wrong place, not being able to differentiate the dreams from what was already a dream come true, that his dream became a nightmare, but to also put it in the same perspective of how, every nightmare at some earlier point, also started out as innocent as the simplest of dreams, just as what many dreams are, they are merely borrowed—memories of “the not yet written future,” and you know how where it comes to anything that was only borrowed, those things are not truly yours—yet, which they can very well banish out of existence, as quickly as they once appeared. The point is when God led Adam onto his deep sleep of His—Adam might have been dreaming inside it, and those dreams also comes from God, just as what the gift of our salvation meant to represent, with faith and in walking that faith with Jesus, has allowed us with an authority to make our dreams come true—that is—only if we can acknowledge that gift as being given to us, and for us to choose to open it.

If I was going to plan my course of action, as to how I was going to read the chapters of the Bible—I believe, it would not be all that different from how any person would emphatically decide to enter any kind of a relationship. There must be a commitment involved from the very start. I could see myself sowing such a seed—on both quests, converging at the same very crossroad, with my heart exclusively doing all the navigating through it.

To personify my heart’s desire as one who is truly seeking to become just like Christ is—as a Christian, should be all the validation I would ever need to say, I already know how to walk in faith—and to walk through it, and to walk it—as one who will never be alone.

In reading the Bible, the idea that I will be walking with such “Good” company, (Jesus once said, “No one is good but One, that is, God” which He was, and by us knowing who He truly is, today, as we walk with Him inside the building process of removing every bumps on the road, and smoothing out every stepping stone, every brick, from the smallest pebble, to the biggest rock, paving every step in them, puts us just a little more closer—one step at a time, in building the kind of relationship with Him, as intimate as one can be. Besides, He also already fashioned such commitment quite very clear, by Him saying, “As he is, so are we in this world”—Him being the Truth to our path, the Way to our road, and the Light to our life, as well as the Door, and many others—He invited us in—inside His righteous—right standing with our Father God. As if, while He was up there at the cross, He did not just provide us with a bridge to cross from death to life, the life which He invited us to journey in, is an everlasting one.

Again, if we can use our faith to do our imagining of that and see a train that will be coming soon. Jesus already paid the full amount of our ticket to it, and not only that, but each ticket would also be in the “1st Class” status—enabling us to be seated right next to our Savior, while with Him sitting right next to our Father God. It would be just a matter of choosing to be born again to redeem such a ticket. How can we ever think we will be alone again, like before, when we can now see our Savior—God, Jesus Christ as the living embodiment of the very Word of God, we read—where every trace of Him, we can now also see all over, even in the Old Testament times of the scriptures.

In the beginning, God gave us His "Word"—sealed inside the promise—we will never be alone, because everything which God created from the very beginning, He created with Jesus doing all the work as the One sitting at the driver’s seat of such a train.

In sowing that seed, writing the most pivotal plot of our stories, or sewing the strength of our armor, Jesus has always been the author, and the perfecter, as well as the finisher of all of it. That will be the “True” identity of the very “Rock,” we joyfully chose to stand our faith in, as an inclusion to an opened gift we have gotten from opening each page of the Bible.

It was God—the Father who openly gave us that gift, and sealed it with a promise—that the "Word" as it was from the beginning, as being God's purest essence, and presence—outlined in the form of the absolute "Truth"—where, when it comes to speaking about the "Law"—The Law has always only meant to give us a personal reflective take about what is "The Truth" while the whole truth was—Jesus stretching out His arm, to give us the kind of lift we needed—inviting each of us to “Come and see”, and to see and to hear Him say, “All aboard”—The train is coming, and just as He will also be coming soon for the second time. I could understand how any of us could have missed out on understanding the first time He came, but you wouldn’t want to be left behind, on the next one—I know I don’t, and I want to think, you don’t either.

Don’t you think “now” could be the best time to redeem that ticket of yours, which Jesus has already provided for you, with your own name already written on it, (But of course, you should know by now, we will all bear the same name—Christian) All we need to do is to read the fine print, and okay, sure, there is a whole lot of pages to read, but I can also assure you, as one who has already read a few pages—I found the ride, as the best adventure of my lifetime.

There are times when the rule of thumb, could be the best course of action to overtake the contemporary rule, which is to simply use your own thumb to work, whether you have a green thumb for sowing, or just a general one to use for hitching a ride, with your thumb pointing upward—where it counts, while Jesus looking at you through the downward standpoint from within His cross, becomes your best chance, (to call it your best chance, what I truly mean to say was—He is your only chance) to eventually guide you to cross over to the other side.

What motivated me to start reading the scripture? I am not sure I can point you at just one thing over another thing, but a combination of many small signs, or clues from various pieces of the puzzle, which from the beginning, I never suspected to put them all together, as to recognize them as for what they “truly” are—puzzle pieces to a greater puzzle. I can say this, John 3:16, was a big piece, if not one which has given me the greatest spark, and 1 John 4:16 provided me with a sort of an advanced reading as to what genre the overall story would be what the journey would be focusing in, "God is Love"—so, it would be a love story.

1.) Taking notes before I start, I thought was necessary—fundamental even. Jesus paved the road already, so, that should not be a big problem, but if ever that could be the case, you just must make sure to understand Him a little more, He is also the light of your feet or your fingers—whichever ones you are going to use unto the walk of turning the page. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts."

2.) Prayers should always be at the very top of your list of what to do first. Before Jesus died for us at the cross, He already provided us with a substantial stepping stone, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you” John 16:7 Our prayers are our identifiable way to speak with God by way through an internal conversation, and by doing so, will enable us to see more of the context rather than just taking what has been said by its textual tangible value. Jesus and the comforters are one, and the same, just occupying two different planes, and so when Jesus said, He must go away, what He was truly saying to us was, “I am the Door, and the Way” and I am stretching My arms to open Myself for you, to open My heart as to be of great comfort to yours, as to open your heart too to Me—as to be My dwelling place in you. “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:8-15

3.) The best approach could also be—to just simply start reading, and that could mean, we can start from when the Bible said, “In the beginning” or when God said, “Let there be light,” or somewhere in between when Jesus said, “It is finished,” and rolled out the veil of His grace, overly—flowing to everlasting.

4.) The best place to look for a seed, could be found inside our history, or otherwise, inside “His—Story” Matthew 6:33 puts it this way, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” John said, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God” and so, the Bible has been said to be a compilation of the “Word of God” and so, we must first realize at the beginning of our quest who God is, and that He is, who we are truly seeking, inside the journey of studying the scriptures.

5.) I have already read a few pages to know, God is Spirit, and how the language of the Spirit required a specific key for us to truly understand the truth that is in the Bible, and I found the key, pointing at faith, while faith has been said to come by hearing, and hearing the Word of God. That means, we must first recognize God’s voice behind the Word, and that reminded me of what Jesus said in John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me,” that could also mean we have to also first do our own planting of our own selves—by way of meditation. We must dig deeper beyond the capacity of our hearing things, and that could mean, we must open the ears of our hearts. If you are questioning how one would be able to do that, then, could that also be just the motivation you’ll need to study the Bible?

If you were expecting to get a set rule about what I consider to be the right way to study the Bible, the ones that I just listed for you, above, were nothing close to it. I can only wish to provide you with one which I can lay out for you as such, but otherwise, I haven’t had proper schooling, nor have I yet experienced to have been personally taught by professionals, that has already been there and done all of that—I am just listing for you what I have gathered through my own personal understanding of how that road presented itself, in front of me.

Now, to have, even just a single thought as to attempt such an undertaking, for instance as to dare dive right onto that whole conversation, without so much of you, doing any prior research with regards to the right language, (The spiritual entity) or about the linguistic flow, (getting to know the Holy Spirit) or where it comes to the dictionary fluidity, (the way of Love) to its many firmaments, to then open the heaven's door, where the entire universe would be sweeping down to fall inside a tiny little vessel, in a cup we each can identify as life from our own private haven, stubbornly beheld by the fingertips of our inconsequential tiny little hands.

It would be like us trying to fit into our Father—God's shoes, that even with all our imaginations combined, I believe will not even suffice any sort of privilege as to entertain the very “tip” of that ice burg, in comparison to the omnipotent-ness of its scale. I do, however, would like to put all of that inside a personal walk—through faith. "Truly, I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" Matthew 17:20-21

Isn't that what will always be going to be the case? It has never been about us trying to carry the entire load, but it has always been about Him and how He loved us by giving us "The Way" to follow in His lead. He was the one who carried all our crosses on His own shoulder to provide us with our crossroads.

The truth was, God has given each of us the same full measure of faith—through Jesus’s stretched—out arms. Although we should also never confuse the length of how far He stretched His arm to compare that to the depths of the cross in which He nailed that measurement—as in, only our hearts can understand.

Matthew 6:33 provided me with a great spot to start plowing my own ground, to also perhaps straighten what needed straightening, in me first, for I know I cannot walk that straight path alone. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." And just like Moses of the Old Testament, indisputably was beside himself when he journeyed up to conquer his own mountain, Mouth Sanai. He went up there looking to find the answers to what his heart has long sought for a long time to find. Instinctively he listened to what he has heard, which his own inner voices, were calling out to him. He could not resist, and I most probably would not be able to do the same, since I can now understand the kind of hunger he had—to wish to be free.

As a Christian today, I have come to understand how I can now relate a little bit to what Moses went through. I have experienced that kind of craving, and the very notion of seeking out the answer, I already knew too, it was never going to be easy. I may be required to do some form of wrestling over them, sometimes, maybe even against my understanding of the word, as to say at the end, "God has always been here, I just did not know it" Another essential character in the Bible also once wrestled with God. He became the tribe of God's chosen people, Jacob, who became known as Israel. I am not trying to emphasize how to welcome the idea of also wrestling with God, when Jesus gave us a better way, by opening His arms, His hands, His heart, His way, His light, Him as the door, and with the right key, we should do the same to meet Him halfway at the crossroad. Even if wrestling becomes a necessity, Jesus also already took care of that, by Him stretching His arm for us, to tag at His hand to take over. He both represented God and us in Himself; it is why He was the only One who can build the bridge across forever.

Ezekiel 40:4 "Son of man, see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and give attention to all that I am going to show you, for you have been brought here to show it to you. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see"

Jerimiah 1:11, "The Word of the Lord came to me saying, "What do you see, Jerimiah? And I said, "I see a rod of an almond tree"

Jerimiah 1:13, "The Word of the Lord came to me a second time saying, "What do you see? And I said, "I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north"

Jerimiah 24:3, "Then the Lord said to me, "What do you see, Jerimiah? And I said, "Figs, the good figs, delicious; and the bad figs, very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness" Just like Jerimiah, God has anointed many prophets to become His messengers to deliver His messages to all His people. These prophets and messengers were considered the renowned and blessed men of the Bible because they were given a very private road to building an intimate relationship with God.

In them, they were given a more cordial means of conversing with the Lord, Himself to create the kind of relationship we all would wish we could have. It was beautiful to read how God has guided each one, fitting into the mold, where their pathways were meant to lead them. That has been quite evident to witness all over the book of the Old Testament.

Then one day, Jesus came and tore the veil of separation that separated all of us from being in the presence of the Holy of Holies. In the Old Testament days, only the high priest could enter what has been described as the Holy of Holies. Now imagine the sanctification of that, from a whole different perspective as to where we are now, having the Holy Ghost, Himself dwelling inside us, and each of us can now have the same opportunity Jerimiah had, just like Isaiah and Moses had, we too also now have the same chance to speak with our Lord.

Colossians 1:18 said, "He is also head of the body, the church, and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead so that He, Himself, will come to have first place in everything." Again, how hard can it be when He is with us, every single step of the way, anyway?

Colossians 2:10 "And in Him, you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority."

Why do we go to church? We go to church because that is where God lives. And to look at that through the eyes of our faith, the church I am referring to here is not just the ones we can touch with our hands, with a doorknob we can literally open in real—time, with flooring that our feet can be standing on top of reality, as to also reconfigure all that to be retroreflective to the mansion Jesus said He will be preparing for us.

We usually go to church, in times, when we need God the most, and even that is debatable. We should never forget though how, "God is love" as for us to go to church, to embrace where love lives, and we all need love. So, we go to church with the full knowledge that He lives there. Now that we know He lives the inside of us too, and since by faith we were meant to walk, and if we were to put that in a much broader picture, we can literally become a walking church—too. To become a church for others, it is also our responsibility to go where other people live, and to welcome them to come to us and see how the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and where, and how we live through Christ. That becomes the relationship, as well as the fellowship we now get to share inside the conversation we get to share in the "Word." The suit we now wear as Christians represent Christ in us and us in Him. We are now His Ambassadors, and to live as such, comes with significant responsibilities to which we must hold ourselves accountable to the greater cause.

Talk about being inside a church, I would have to be married to the "Word" through a spiritual baptism. Now, out in the flesh, I have no previous first-hand knowledge to go by where it comes to that, for I have never been married. However, I have always believed in the whole sanctity of it. That kind of commitment is what I believe is a more compatible fit when it comes to my faith and God’s grace: the main objective is to always be faithful to the "Word" and to be able to say, "I do," or ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”

I can imagine how each moment would be pretty much unforgettable. It is the kind of commitment that will bind us all to an everlasting covenant. It provides us with the answer to how "His Word becomes our exclusive “Bond," to be as the first will to our private testimony and to let the "Word" Himself be our constant guiding light through everything that will come from then on.

The most obvious objective would be to simplify the matter; to study the Bible means to know what we are hoping to find and who we can expect to be the most palpable conclusion to our study.

After all, marriage is considered the most incredible journey of the heart, and love will always be the absolute determining factor. Reading the Bible would be a lot like making sure we eat the right food to provide our minds, souls, and bodies with all the right ingredients for a healthy life.

The way I initially pictured it—I saw a law that exists inside everything. The dreams of a dreamer are not exempted from that rule, as to pinpoint where all our dreams begin, they usually start inside the absence of the light. Before every dreamer can get even begin to see some sort of a picture, it must first be developed, by exposing them to a dark room. Now, the experience of that would be how who does not necessarily know how to swim, would be daring enough to go underwater, like a baptism of the sort to seed, one would have to first go under a certain death sort of setting to reveal what wages need to be paid for us to be able to rise again. I can only hope we are seeing the same picture here.

I have come to believe that is what faith is, as the evidence of the substance of what reality could become from the validity of the image which we have yet to hold in our hands. Still, at the same time, we already have an idea of what the manifestation would be like, ahead of time. Faith would require spiritual discerning. Like how sowing a seed would take a lot of patience, and we all know how that road can also be overwhelming. Inside a marriage, trust, honesty, and constant communication would all be standing with each other at the very front of the line, traveling on a two-way street. In the same way, the hope we embody inside a marriage between grace and faith will always be traveling with the same companion—Love.

Reminder: Please be advised that I believe our source's guide will always only be Our Father-God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible alone. Whatever I may have said here must be placed under a personal investigation through your own private conversation with God (The Bible). My faith is still a seed, while I am still just a student who is trying to study and learn from the “Word,” the best I can, and I am only sharing what I have uncovered to find so far. The journey is a continuous conversation inside a personal relationship, and my objective is not to change your thinking in any matter, shape, or form, but only to maybe inspire you to rethink things. Traveling on the road of “Free—Will” the choice for that crossroad therein will always be yours to choose alone, with one exception, of course, you will never be alone. (FAITH: F=Find A=An I=In—road T=Through H=Him)

PS: If you find anything to correct, or have a question, please feel free to leave it, whether it be a short comment, or a simple “Hello fellow faith seeker” would be a great boost of inspiration to my Bible Study—I rather welcome them even more, because that is one of the fastest way to grow, and only if you agree with the message which I have been trying to pay—forwards, please do not hesitate to share this journey with other journeymen and women. After all—Faith never walks alone—Faith moves through the Love of God.

A postscript to the PS: I would like to personally thank each of you for giving my voice, (its opportunity to deliver God’s messages,) and its fair chance to be heard. To be quite honest with you, it can be very disheartening to any messenger, not to be good at—being able to reach, his intended recipient, and there are times when, I look at the numbers, as in how few readers I have reached, (averaging only around 20 people per post, while the most I have ever had was just around 30 something)—my lack of audience often makes me think, how each result might be the clue for me to stop.

Then I thought about what has always been behind the real purpose, and about my own personal reasoning as to why I am doing this, in the first place—when I never even like the idea of putting any attention to myself. It has always been about the message, and if there is someone out there who might need to hear such a message, even if it meant, I would only have, but just one audience, if there is a chance that person is the one that needs it—it will all be worth the time.

I have come to look at it as in when Abraham had a visit from, whom the Bible declared as “The Angel of the Lord” which I believe to be also Jesus, before He manifested onto the flesh, (He was “The” angel, in the same way, the Bible also named him as “The” Church, and “The” good Shepherd and so on) It was at the time of emphasis when the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah happened. Abraham pleaded with the Lord not to destroy those cities, “So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom 50 righteous within the city, then I will spare all the space for their sake,” then Abraham asked, “Suppose there were 5 less than 50; would You destroy all of the city for lack of 5?” and the Lord listened and said—He won’t. Abraham then continued to bargain with the Lord, from 40 to 30, down to 20, all the way to 10, and God said the same, “I will not destroy it for the sake of 10”

It made me then wonder if only, Abraham didn’t stop at 10 but asked if, there was just 1 righteous person that existed there, which there was, Lot was there, could the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as the other cities not mention, have been diverted? That conversation would be highly controversial, and debatable. On one side, there was that story about Noah and His Ark and about the times when the Bible said, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” Genesis 6:5 and the same reflection dictated the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah, which to me it meant, that stopping at 10 people was somehow, could also be—what was meant to be, and yet, I also do believe if Abraham could have stopped at 1 person, I already know, for a fact, God would have been more than willing to save everyone. How so, well—there’s John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” and to add that to what Luke 5:32 has to say, when Jesus said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,” and who can we consider righteous among us—no one—not even one of us was worthy enough; for we all have fallen short of the glory of God, which means we were all sinners, and all being sinners, Jesus came down to save all of us—it was just that—not all of us were prone to hear His call, some may have known about the call but cannot hear His voice, and a great majority has been asleep and are impervious, while many dared to choose not to even listen.

The point to which I concluded, got me to think that no matter how few my readers are, or have been—what was meant to be—will be, (I have no control over it) but I do have control about how, I will be more than willing to keep going—knowing—there might be that 1 person, who for some odd reason, or another, could be waiting for God’s personal message, and might find the answer, from within my writings. At least—that is the hope I’m embracing—sowing my faith to know, and as to where to go and what to say, I just love the way that seed grows— neverendingly