Each Day, Another Chapter!

When I was not into CFC (Couples for Christ) yet, I don’t know how to start using the Bible. Some have told me things about it. One has said that people who are bringing the book are hypocrites because they are exposing it when they have a bag to keep it, another said to the one who carries it, “What’s the gimmick?” But most often I heard people saying that they got answers from it. I’m really confused why some people find it waste of time while others claim it as wisdom. Two people has attested to me that when they are in their lowest moments of their lives, they just get the bible, open it and in front of them is a scripture which lifts them up and resolves their confused minds. I can say that people who has lack in knowledge about the Bible has no right to say anything bad about it. Like, you cannot give criticism to a movie that you, yourself haven’t watched. I, myself is still discovering what it can offer to my life and I’m happy that I was accepted in CFC to make this process possible for me. I cannot say anything yet about the Bible because I don’t want to make mistakes on describing it, all I know is, there’s a purpose why in a very long time, it is still in existence. Having joined the Christian Life Program made me committed in their objectives and goals. Like a husband to my wife, or a father to my son, I have an obligation and interest to pursue. One of them is to read the Bible.

Many might want to try reading the Bible but the often question they have in minds is “How/Where should I start?” In the Bible Reading Guide that CFC provided me, they made it very simple and easy. It has a checklist like this:



Each day, one chapter. That’s really easy, if you can spend a lot of time doing junk in the internet, why don’t you try giving some minutes to do this. They asked us to do this for at least 15 minutes a day. They also recommended the following:

1. Say a short prayer before you start reading, asking for the Holy Spirit to enlighten you and for God’s Word to find a home in your heart.
2. Read the text through quickly. Then read it again, this time slowly and trying to understand more fully.
3. Meditate on what you have read, especially those portions that struck you.

When I opened Mark’s Gospel, It says in the introduction that it’s an ideal starting place for someone (like me) who knows little about Jesus. It’s style --—simple sentences, without complicated transitions or long speeches ----makes understanding easier. I realized it’s true, it made me wanting to read more when I started. It’s my 10th day today and I just read Chapter 10 a moment ago. Who can say that the old Bible we found under the pile of books in my Aunt’s house in the Philippines will be useful for me. Now I know why we were able to dig it up and brought here in US.

Study

I was asked of what from the 5 tools in my catholic Christian life, I haven't fully utilized. Here are the 5 tools; Prayer, Study, Service, Fellowship and Sacraments. I've told them that all has not been fully utilized; maybe I was able to give a portion in each but not in every aspect. I chose “Study” as what I believed I’m lacking out most. Study compromises of reading the Bible daily, spiritual reading through other means and knowing God through preaching and teachings. I told them my 3 reasons. First, I’m lazy, I’m a fan of the words convenience and easy. I’m so lazy that sometimes when I’m searching something from the internet, I used Google Video Search instead of the Google Web Search because I find it easier listening and watching video than reading. I’m so impatient in reading. Second is lack of interest. My mistake is to put the Bible near where our computer is, so when I’m looking at it from afar, the interest in surfing the net becomes more inviting than reading the Bible. It’s also funny that whenever my wife asks me to read even just 1 verse in each day instead of consuming most of my time in the computer, there’s a tendency in me to oppose it more. I told Lorie to wait for the time that I will open it because I like doing it. And third is I’m afraid. The Bible has profound words that I might misunderstood or misinterpreted. I’m afraid that I don’t have the wisdom to know it the right way.

The facilitator said that it’s how the devil works on us. He’s getting all the chances for us to break our faith. And our challenge is to know how to fight it. Actually, as an Algebra instructor before, I know that in every problem, there’s a solution, and finding the solution is knowing the root cause first and the available sources you can use. I know now the causes, and I strongly believe I can solve it easily. I already have the eagerness to learn, the only things I need are the motivation and interest. Since I like the internet more, I used it to read some verses from the Bible. If you’ll notice at the left side of my site, there’s a gadget of “Daily Bible Verse”. I can also go to Bible.com. One of my favorites is joelosteen.com. Before I do anything in my computer, I make sure that I read even just 1 verse and if I don’t understand, my wife is there for me and it will be a great discussion starter. The Holy Spirit will be the one who will work for us to understand it more. I don’t want to give the devil any opportunities to win his game. I’d rather choose God works than evil’s. I hope and pray that we’ll be able to fight all struggles that might come our way in taking the path we chose to live.



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