Tag Archives: Randy Alcorn

How Do You Study the Bible?

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I have been blessed to be raised under great bible teachers who taught me how to study the bible.  To my very first pastor, Pastor Stephens (who is dancing with Jesus) to my current Pastor, Pastor Bennett. I also try to glean as much knowledge from great teachers like Vernon McGee, John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Beth Moore, Kay Arthur, etc…. (my list would be very long if I kept going).

When I was a new Christian, reading the bible can be overwhelming and intimidating, so I relied on others to give me direction.  And while I still today rely on other’s teachings, I have found reading and researching the bible itself has led to my greatest growth.

As a Christian book reviewer I am sure you know, I also love to read Christian fiction because it allows me to see God in various situations.  Many times I can learn life lessons from a fictional character and I have found Christian fiction can reach non-Christians in a way the church can not.

So I ask you, how do you study the bible?

I recently was able to preview May’s cover story for Bible Study Magazine (http://www.biblestudymagazine.com/).  In this article Randy Alcorn discusses how he studies the bible.  Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries where his focus is on teaching God’s word and reaching out to others.  In Christy Tennant’s interview Randy Alcorn shares what works for him and how throughout his life the way he studied the bible varied. Randy Alcorn calls his bible study methods “eclectic.”

Personally I love reading what works for other people.  Learning from each other enriches our own walk with Christ; in fact, that is one of the benefits I have found in blogging. I encourage you to subscribe and read the Bible Study’s Magazine article on Randy Alcorn.   This is a great magazine with many resources.  Click here to view some past articles.

Recently I reviewed Randy Alcorn’s new book “The Treasure Principle.” I said:

In The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn he lays out six principles to base all your financial decisions on. This is a small, concise, power-packed book. One you could possibly finish in one day. With easy to understand principles, this book can be read by 12 year old and up. Randy has lived a life of abundant and a life of poverty. (click here to read the rest)

I encourage you to go to Bible Study Magazine web to see if this is a tool that can help you with your daily bible study. You can preview some samples here.

Click here to subscribe to Bible Study Magazine!

Photo by Darren Hester

The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn

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14303110Any veteran reader of my blog knows it was through finances that the Lord got a hold of my husband and I.  God transformed our thinking but more importantly our heart. We did it the wrong way, and I stand here telling you God’s way is so much better, freer and sweeter.

In The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn he lays out six principles to base all your financial decisions on. This is a small, concise, power-packed book. One you could possibly finish in one day. With easy to understand principles, this book can be read by 12 year old and up. Randy has lived a life of abundant and a life of poverty. To give you a little background:

    In 1990, he was one of the pastors of a large church. He loved his work and didn’t want to do anything else. He was on the board of a Crisis Pregnancy Center and had even opened his family’s home to an unwed teen. Eventually Randy felt prompted by God to participate in peaceful, non-violent rescues outside an abortion clinic. Randy and others were arrested and jailed. The abortion clinic was awarded a settlement of lost income as a result of the protests. Randy told the judge that he would gladly repay money owed, but he could not just hand the money to an abortion clinic when the clinic would only use it to kill more babies. Then Randy learned that the funds would be garnished from his church salary. The church would either have to give over the funds or defy a court order. The only way to keep this from happening was for him to resign from his job. So he did. This bold step left Randy without an income. Then another abortion clinic brought suit against the Randy’s group. Though the protests were non-violent, the abortion clinic won one of the largest settlements ever against a protest group – 8.4 million dollars. Suddenly it looked like Randy and his family could lose their house.The only way Randy could avoid garnishment and loss was to earn only minimum wage.

Randy learned very quickly what God meant when he said, “Everything belongs to Me.” (Job 41:10) Through these very events God helped Randy and his wife and see a new vision for their life.  From Randy’s life experiences and God’s word, they have learned to live by what they now call “The Treasure Principles.”  I won’t list them out because I think you should read the book but for me #3 is what hit me the most.

    My heart always goes where I put God’s money. Watch what happens when you reallocate your money from temporal things to eternal things.

As Randy Alcorn says in his book, “Money leads; hearts follow.”

I can attest to that statement. It is amazing how God aligns things in your life once you have brought your finances under his God word. I am not saying life will be free from worry or hardship, but God can bless you more abundantly once you realize that “Everything belongs to God.”

I am giving away 2 copies of this book, just leave a comment.