Summer Holiday - Part 3

First of all, sorry about the picture; a moment of pure self-indulgence and completely unrelated to the Blog. This is me surfing at Fistral Beach a couple of weeks ago. I finally managed to get up on the board - not much of an achievement for some of you super-surfers I know, but for me a significant milestone none the less. Thanks to the BCC Paparazzi for being on hand with the digital camera.

This entry will conclude the Summer Holiday 3-Part Special. I'm not in tomorrow so blogging will re-commence on Monday as the new term begins in earnest! As mentioned previously, my final stop on the Summer Holiday was in Newquay. I had an awesome time with Jesus including many 'kingdom connections' with dozens of non-Christians during the week. I went with some friends who were also keen to enjoy Jesus and our time consisted of beach trips, sightseeing (down at Land's End, St. Ives and other places), lots of great fellowship and fun with a few homemade treats thrown in for good measure (a certain teenage lad took a bit of a shine to my chocolate ginger bread whilst his Dad tucked into the Chocolate Guinness Cake!). During the course of the week, the most significant event for me was my time in the Word of God.

At Faith Camp I picked up a copy of Colin Urquhart's interpretation of the New Testament, The Truth. Since then I have been reading great big chunks of this at a time and not worrying about referring back to a Commentary. I'll return to this way of working through the Word later on this term. I have always loved reading; this passion for books, language, words and communication has been a consistent feature of my whole life and it is like blood running through my veins. Whilst at Newquay I had a fresh appreciation for God's Word and that we need to read. The way we overcome Satan is through THE WORD (Ephesians 6:17); it is the only offensive weapon given us by the Lord yet so many of us seek to fight with items of the spiritual armour that are intended for defence.

I want to be really practical and seek to give you some pointers that will help you develop your love for and understanding of God's Word. Rather than cut and paste a load of stuff, I've simply attached a document to this Blog called 'HOW2 Study the Bible". It's part of a package of material I wrote for our youth group about 4 years ago and is designed to give some teaching about WHY the Bible is so important as well as some advice on HOW to get into it. There is also a 'Read Through the Bible' chart courtesy of Anaheim Vineyard. I know some of you will have insight into what works for you so do leave comments if you wish.
how2studybible.doc
biblereadingprog.doc

At the end of the day, we need to read. More specifically, we need to read the Bible. Today, many young people (and then subsequently adults) struggle to read; many teachers will tell you that we do not have a strong reading culture. Many men find this to be a particular problem. Sometimes this can be used as an excuse and we reach for the TV remote rather than the Word of God. I am not ignoring the genuine struggles of some people, especially boys and men when it comes to reading but I also present the challenge: don't you think God knows and, if we ask Him, will be only too pleased to send His Spirit to help?

Have a great weekend and see you Monday.

PS DON'T FORGET OUR SATURDAY MORNING PRAYER MEETINGS RECOMMENCE TOMORROW (5 SEPTEMBER) FROM 7.30AM IN THE KING'S ROOMS FOLLOWED BY BREAKFAST AT PAULA'S CAFE.