Looking At Life Through A Biblical Lens

It may seem that so many sermons have been preached on biblical texts that there is nothing new to say. Careful reading and imaginative thought, however, can result in new insights, especially if the biblical text becomes a lens through which we freshly view issues of human life. Larger literary units should be considered, rather than isolated Bible verses, and there is often a development in the text that is suggestive for development of the sermon. Clear thinking is necessary about real issues for people today. Discernment of the link between the ancient text and the challenges we face requires both thought and imagination. The result should be new suggestions for ways of expressing the gospel message, appropriate for our time. These sermons are presented as good examples of biblical preaching. They illustrate the qualities noted above. They can also be used in daily or weekly devotions. They are more challenging than much devotional material, but that may add to their value in nourishing a thoughtful life of faith.

To LIVE | MOVE| and HAVE in Christ is quite simple. Yet we make our lives so complicated. Our human nature is to WANT, GET, AND CONQUER, yet God's Word will give us all the fullness of life we could ever want by simply obeying the instructions and promises that God has for us all. We'll never fully understand the scope of God's love until we meet Him face-to-face. Paul tried really hard to express it in terms that we could understand. In Acts 9, Paul experienced a face-to-face encounter with Jesus, one that changed the course of his entire life. This encounter hit Paul so hard that he spent the rest of his life trying to teach everyone he touched the love of God. This devotional is a guide that is supported by biblical teachings to BEING. Right or wrong, we all have courses set out for our lives. Sometimes we get off course and need to hit the reset button. Think of this perhaps in GPS terms, a recalculation to get us back on the right course that God wants for us. We are all unique and have special gifts that God can use to further His kingdom. By studying His Word together, we'll discover how to recalculate our lives to LIVE | MOVE | and HAVE what God wants for our lives. For in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, "For we are also His offspring." (Acts 17:28 NKJV)

Through a Bible Lens: Biblical Insights for Smartphone Photography and Social Media by Professor Mel Alexenberg teaches people of all faiths how biblical insights can transform smartphone photography and social media into creative ways for seeing spirituality in everyday life. It develops conceptual and practical tools for observing, documenting and sharing reflections of biblical messages in all that we do. It speaks to Jews and Christians who share an abiding love of the Bible by inspiring the creation of a lively dialogue between our emerging life stories and the enduring biblical narrative.The author is an artist, educator and writer exploring the interface between biblical consciousness, creative process, and postdigital culture. His artworks are in the collections of museums worldwide. He was professor at Columbia University and research fellow at MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies. In Israel, head of Emunah College School of the Arts and professor at Ariel and Bar-Ilan universities. He is author of The Future of Art in a Postdigital Age: From Hellenistic to Hebraic Consciousness.Through a Bible Lens speaks in the language of today's digital culture of smartphones and social media. It demonstrates to both young and old the most up-to-date thoughts on the interactions between The Bible and the impact of new technologies on contemporary life. Christians and Jews will enjoy sharing the book’s spiritual messages with their children and grandchildren.Professor Alexenberg draws on six Divine attributes in the biblical verse “Yours God are the Compassion, the Strength, the Beauty, the Success, the Splendor, and the Foundation of everything in heaven and earth” (Chronicles 1:29) to demonstrate how smartphone photographers become God’s partners in creation when photographing daily life through a Bible lens.He describes how the lives of biblical personalities exemplify these Divine attributes: Abraham and Ruth embody Compassion, Isaac and Sarah are models of Strength, Jacob and Rebecca represent Beauty, Success is demonstrated by Moses and Miriam, Splendor by Aaron and Deborah, and Foundation by Joseph and Tamar. There is a confluence emerging in the 21st century between biblical consciousness and a postdigital culture that addresses the humanization of digital technologies. Both share a structure of consciousness and its cultural expression that honors creative process and seeing with a different spirit, like Caleb who saw goodness in the Land of Israel while others could not (Numbers 14:24). We are fortunate to be living in age of digital technologies that gives us ways to experience invisible worlds becoming visible. These experiences give clues that help us appreciate the insightful imagination of ancient spiritual teachers who visualized invisible realms. Smartphones are gateways to the world that make invisible realms blanketing our planet become visible with a flick of a finger. Their imbedded cameras capture images, store them as invisible bits and bytes, and display them as colorful pictures. In all of human history, never has there been such a proliferation of images. A centuries-old Jewish method of Bible study called PaRDeS offers creative ways for looking beyond the surface of smartphone images by extending contemporary methods of photographic analysis to reveal spiritual significance. An exemplary blogart project, Bible Blog Your Life http://throughabiblelens.blogspot.com, turns theory into practice. The author and his wife Miriam created it to celebrate their 52nd year of marriage. For 52 weeks, they posted photographs reflecting their life together with a text of Tweets that relate to the weekly Bible portion. Selected blog posts from each of the first five books of the Bible demonstrate how to transform the ancient biblical narrative into a mirror for people today to see themselves. Fifty photographs from these posts are reproduced in color in the book.

Over 500,000 copies sold “Why is God allowing this? What have I done wrong?” Many of us have asked these questions when life hits us hard. When our circumstances defy explanation, it is difficult to untangle our emotions from the truth. Before long, we feel confused and frustrated. We doubt His care for us. We wonder how He could allow these circumstances at all, or if He is really in control. During a time of darkness and adversity in his own life, Jerry Bridges dug deep into the Bible for answers on God’s sovereignty. What he learned changed his life—and it will change yours too. Find the answers to some of your most heartfelt questions, such as: Is God in control? Can I trust God? What is our responsibility when things are hard? How can I grow through adversity? And more Explore the scope of God’s care and control over nations, nature, and the tiny details of your life. You’ll find yourself trusting Him more completely―even when life hurts. Now with an added study guide for personal use or group discussion so you can dive deeper into this staple of Jerry Bridges’s classic collection. “The writings of Jerry Bridges are a gift to the church. He addresses a relevant topic with the wisdom of a scholar and the heart of a servant.” —Max Lucado, pastor and bestselling author

People with bad feelings and feeling-directed behavior—anger, fear, worry, depression—usually are given a psychiatric label. Initially, I was comfortable with that approach, but I have come to realize that people must be evaluated based on a proper understanding of the Bible. When that happens the whole person (thinking, wanting, and doing) will be considered—not just outward behavior and feelings. Feelings, their generation and the person’s response to them, will not be the major criteria for some label or the target for treatment, medical and otherwise. Rather, thinking and wanting that leads to bad feelings will be the target of the Christian helper—friend, pastor, counselor, and physician. Thinking, wanting, and doing—thereby feelings, will be evaluated using the filter of biblical truth. The truth sets people free as they apply it to their situation with the goal of pleasing God. Biblically-controlled thinking and wanting will replace sinful thoughts and desires. Biblically-controlled actions will follow. Turning the patient to the root and heart of the issue—his thinking and wanting and his relationship with Christ—is the first step in helping the person get victory in his problems, not necessarily out of them. Victory, God’s way, won’t come until we view all feeling states, and man, from a biblical perspective.

The Basics is an easy read and encouraging spiritual study aid that is designed to help new Christians in their walk with Christ to better understand how the Bible and theological concepts of God relate to their faith. Discussing theological concepts and tracing the themes of the Bible, the author invites readers to dwell on the Word that God has provided to us so that not only will they receive salvation but also become full and dedicated disciples of Jesus Christ.

Bestselling author, cofounder of Girlfriends in God, and writer for Proverbs 31 Ministries Sharon Jaynes reveals the secret to living a better story: understanding that the worst parts of our past are the very things God uses most. Many people don't like the story God is writing in their lives. The mistakes, failures, tragedies, and circumstances outside of our control linger in our minds and hold us back. How do we come to grips with the pieces of our stories that we wish weren't there? How do we silence the pain of what has been done to us and the shame of what we've allowed to be done through us? In When You Don't Like Your Story, Bible teacher Sharon Jaynes shows us how God untangles our most painful emotions with the fingers of grace, putting his redemption on display. In the hardest parts of our narratives, we get to see God's greatest work--and this changes the ending of our stories. As we overcome shame, offer forgiveness, and use our stories to help others, we find freedom from the past and learn to live in the restoration of the present.

A biblical worldview is the belief that an all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful, and righteous God is in control of the universe and has an individual plan for your life, revealed in Scripture.