Tag: Bible study

Tools for a Life of Prayer: Paraphrasing Scripture as Meditation

On By CaitlynIn Prayer and Worship

I’ve always been a writer. For me, writing is how I best process and share ideas. It should come as no surprise that writing is one of the ways I study and meditate on Scripture!

One of the ways that I use writing to interact with Scripture is paraphrasing chapters. Whenever I find myself in a funk in engaging with the Word, paraphrasing is one of my top go-to tools to help me focus and talk to God through a passage. (My other go-to is singing the Word… I will post about that in a few weeks!)

Paraphrasing is a powerful way to digest Scripture. It forces you to take the verses in, mull them over, and understand them well enough to put them in your own words. You may have heard that the best way to learn something is to teach it; paraphrasing is like teaching yourself.

One of the most beautiful encounters I’ve ever had with God came through paraphrasing. God had been telling me that I was in a “Song of Solomon 2 season”, and I had an idea of what that meant, but as I started paraphrasing the words of the King to the Bride in that chapter, it became so personal. Layer after layer started unfolding, and as I wrote, it began to feel as if I was simply transcribing what the Spirit was whispering in my ear. The structure was still loosely Song of Solomon 2, but so many more images and references and Narnia quotes and poetic descriptions of literal things I had been going through started pouring out. That journal page is so precious to me, because as I wrote, the Word came alive.

When you paraphrase, it’s okay to highlight one layer of truth more than another. Scripture is so rich with meaning in every word; when we change the words, we are almost certainly going to lose some of the meaning. That’s okay! You can paraphrase it again with a different slant later if you want.

I asked some of my Facebook friends to paraphrase Psalm 23:1-2, and I got quite a range of responses! Below is just a sampling of some of them.

Psalm 23:1-2 ESV
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.

Yahweh is my caretaker. He provides for me. He teaches me to rest. He keeps me safe. (Josh)

The Lord is my bro. He gives me everything I need. I find safety and peace when I’m with him. (Cherish)

The Lord sustains me. He calls me to rest in the finished works of the Cross. In His sovereignty, there is the peace of wholeness. (Bryce)

The Lord has all that I need and knows where I need to go to get it. He leads me there! He makes me rest and he refreshes me. (Christine)

God is my best friend, my confidant and my guide. He makes sure I have the best and safest place to rest. He always makes sure I have what I need. (Gregg)

God delights in taking care of me, and He is diligent in His care. I have everything I need to do His will. He gives me rest when he knows I need it, even when I might not want to. He brings me peace. (Marta)

These paraphrases all have some similarities, but I love how each one brings out a slightly different dimension of the verses! God’s word is like a thousand-sided gem, and every time you look at it, you’ll see something new.

Of course, your paraphrase is NOT Scripture itself, so it is still subject to the “test everything; hold fast what is good” rule of 1 Thessalonians 5:21. There have been times I paraphrased something only to revisit it later and realize that a few things were a little off. Don’t let the fear of missing it keep you from diving in, though. As long as you don’t treat your paraphrase like the direct, unquestionable Word of God, this can be a powerful tool to help you engage with the Holy Spirit as you dig into Scripture!

Let’s try this with the first four Beatitudes in Matthew 5. This is a great chapter to practice paraphrasing, because some of the phrases can become a bit overly familiar and merely poetic to our ears until we really try to dig into them.

Matthew 5:3-6

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

God blesses those who recognise their spiritual lack, and He will give them royal access into His kingdom.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

God blesses those who are grieved over their sin, and He will give them peace.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

God blesses those who choose humility, and they will be trusted with rulership alongside Jesus over the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

God blesses those who deeply long for holiness and the things of God. He won’t leave them empty, but will give them what they seek.

As I did this just now, it forced me to really consider what each phrase means, and find my own words to make it “real” and help it strike my heart. I also found that I was drawing on other Bible knowledge. How do I know that “mourn” relates to grieving in repentance over sin? Because of passages I’ve previously studied such as 2 Corinthians 7:10 – “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation…” Paraphrasing is an opportunity to weave these truths together. Often, I’ll think of different verses and find connections I never would have otherwise!

Occasionally, I’ve set out to paraphrase entire chapters. Certain friends of mine have even paraphrased entire books of the Bible. Often, though, I’ll take a chunk that I feel the Holy Spirit is highlighting to me and work through it slowly, asking Him for insight to help me catch a fresh glimpse of each verse. He loves to speak, especially about His word! Paraphrasing is a practical, precious way I can begin the conversation with Him.

Check out my paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13!

Have you ever paraphrased scripture as a way to meditate on it? What part of the Bible is your favorite to paraphrase? Tell me in the comments!

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7 Simple Things I Learned At IHOPKC

On By CaitlynIn Bible Stuff, IHOPKC Life


Every time I come home from studying at IHOPU in Kansas City, and especially now that I’ve graduated, I am frequently asked about what I’ve learned. I’ve started realising that the question sort of makes me feel a little awkward because I’m not really sure how to answer. On the one hand, my whole life has changed and I know I understand things now that I didn’t before, but on the other hand, they’re really not deep, massive, mystically profound things. They’re just the same old simple things  that have been in the Bible this whole time, and you’ve probably heard them a hundred times before.

It’s like when you grow up hearing “Jesus loves me” and then one day you find yourself on the floor weeping caught up in the realisation that “JESUS! LOVES!! ME!!!”

I didn’t learn a new gospel. Maybe I just saw the gospel a little bit more clearly.

So here are 7 simple things I learned at IHOPKC:

1. Jesus really likes me.

Not only does Jesus love me because “God is love” and He loves everyone, but He actually enjoys me and my personality. He loves that I’m a sci-fi geek. He loves the way I dance, differently than He loves anyone else’s dance. He enjoys my sense of humour. He gets a kick out of the way I talk to Him! He thinks about me all the time. He enjoys surprising me, making me smile, and providing for me. He wants me to be with Him all the time, and He wants to share the things that are on His heart with me. There are things that He urgently cares about, and He wants me to feel the same way He does, because that’s what friends do.

2. I don’t have to be awesome for God to like me or use me.

(This is kind of an extension of #1, but it’s huge so it gets its own point.) All of the above is still true when I screw up. I may get distracted or stubborn and wander off the path pretty frequently, but I still want to follow Him and I still let Him lead me back every time. That counts. He knows my heart better than I do. I learned that there’s a difference between weakness and rebellion, and weak love is still real love.

3. The Bible is good stuff.

I mean, duh, but my enjoyment of the Bible grew like crazy when I was eating it up, searching it out, praying it, and singing it in the context of prayer and worship where my only priority was to love Jesus. I fell in love with stories I’d known since kindergarten and passages I could never make sense of in high school. The Bible is fun and super interesting when you read it with the Holy Spirit.

4. Jesus is worthy of everything.

“Worthy” just means “deserving.” Jesus deserves the full love and worship of every person, and He deserves to rule the earth forever. Everything that exists is meant to be in submission to Him– not only because He’s Creator GOD, but He actually deserves it because He is the most kind, humble, just, and wise person to ever exist. He proved it on the cross. We can confidently invite Him to rule this earth and our hearts because we trust that He can do a really, really good job.

5. Worship and intercession are a big deal and they go really well together.

Worship is super important because it’s the 24/7 activity of heaven and God fully deserves it (see #4). Intercession is super important because that’s step 1 in how we partner with God to make the things that He wants to happen happen. Combined, worship and prayer support each other and help our hearts stay connected to what we’re doing– and this effect, like, quintuples when we put the Word smack dab in the middle of everything we pray and sing. Hence, the 24/7 prayer (and worship) room.

6. God really loves Israel, like, a lot.

I’m not even sure what my theology of Israel was before IHOPU. I understood some things and had other things a little mixed up, but I had certainly never wept over Jesus’ heart for His people before. Praying through passages like Zechariah 2 pierced me. Jesus REALLY, REALLY loves and is COMMITTED to the people He originally chose as His bride. He’s really, really faithful–all His promises are yes and amen (2 Corinthians 1:20)–and He will fulfill every word He ever spoke.

7. Jesus is coming soon and we are part of the story.

He promised He would come, and by all indications, this era of history is nearing a climax. There will be a pretty dramatic series of events leading up to Jesus standing on the earth again, and we’re not supposed to be on the sidelines or swept out of the way. Jesus wants us awake, informed, and involved in what He’s doing. That starts now, because Jesus is looking for a global Church that is fully mature and aligned with Him when He comes. A major way we grow into that is by giving ourselves wholeheartedly to prayer and worship (see #5). Another major way is through evangelism and missions. Jesus said that the gospel will be preached to all nations before the end. There are actually a number of passages that talk about 24/7 prayer and worship arising from all over the earth in the final generation of history (some of my favourites are Isaiah 24, Isaiah 42, Malachi 1:11, and Luke 18:1-8)… so worship, prayer, and missions together are HUGE elements in the story of Jesus’ return.

I would have agreed with these points even before IHOPU, but while I was there, spending hours nearly every day in the prayer room, they were driven much more deeply into my heart. Of course they’re profound truths, and I am so grateful that I now have conviction, passion, and personal heart experience with each of them, but they’re so simple!

I admit, in my first few months I walked around with my head spinning thinking “WHOA, I HAD NO IDEA! THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE HAVE BEEN REVEALED TO ME!”, and yeah, I was studying areas of the Bible I hadn’t before and hearing a wider range of opinions on a few details, but by my senior year I realised that none of what I was learning was dramatically new revelation. The leaders aren’t prophets or theological pioneers, and IHOPKC reads the same Bible as everyone else. (We just sometimes preach it a little more dramatically!) Besides, at the end of the day, the more intriguing and debatable theories aren’t what I cherish. It’s simple truths like these.

I found that as I gave my time and attention to prayer and worship, simple truths came alive to me. Jesus loves me, He wants me to talk to Him, and He wants me to be part of His story.

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Better Than a Thousand Elsewhere

On By CaitlynIn Ministry Life7 Comments

This was my first week at The Prayer Room in Arlington, Texas, and I hit the ground running. I have already led four two-hour solo worship sets on piano, section led twice (a section leader is the main point person in charge of the prayer room for a six-hour block of time), and ushered once. Yesterday I was at the prayer room for fourteen hours because I was filling in as a section leader on top of my regular prayer room hours and worship leading. In total, I count 26 hours I’ve spent in the prayer room in the last five days- and Wednesday was a day off.

Worship leading is still rather new to me, as is playing piano in general, so of course I’ve encountered glitches like hitting the wrong buttons on the keyboard (that was NOT the sound I wanted!) and fumbling the chords plenty of times. I love it, though, because every time I lead worship I get to:

  1. serve the prayer movement by keeping the fire on the altar (Leviticus 6:13),
  2. worship God through my songs, and
  3. encounter Jesus by singing Scripture.

Every day this week as I’ve been worship leading, I’ve been singing and meditating on Psalm 84. This is the famous passage from which we get the song “Better Is One Day,” and my heart has been eating it up every time I sing through it.

“How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God…
Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise!…
For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
(Psalm 84:1-2, 4, 10)

I’ve been in this passage for a few months now, and it hasn’t gotten old yet.
I want to feel the psalmist’s longing for the presence of God. I want to taste the blessing of taking up residence in His presence and constantly singing praise to Him, just like the angels in the throne room who “never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy…'” (Revelation 4:8)

I want to be able to truthfully say that I consider a single day spent in His presence to be more pleasurable and more valuable than a thousand days spent anywhere else on earth.

After all, “in [His] presence there is fullness of joy; at [His] right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

Every time I sing and declare this truth to God and to myself, I remind my spirit that He truly is the ultimate pleasure, and His presence, specifically in this context His house of prayer, is the best place in the world I could choose to be.

Bonus just for fun picture: me and my new friend Nichole trying on a giant pair of "wings" in downtown Fort Worth.
Bonus just for fun picture: me and my new friend Nichole trying on a giant pair of “wings” in downtown Fort Worth.
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Why Study Eschatology? (The Short Answer)

On By CaitlynIn Bible Stuff

(One of my IHOPU classes, Basic Christian Beliefs, is giving the assignment of blogging on certain questions from the lessons every week. This week, I’m choosing the question “Why is studying eschatology a profitable practice for a Christian?”)

Eschatology can be a really intimidating concept. Many Christians don’t really like to think about it in any kind of detail. We love to quote verses like “He will wipe every tear from their eyes,” (Revelation 21:4) but don’t really study the process that leads up to that moment. I’ve had family members and close friends tell me that their eschatology is “pan-tribulation” (“It will all ‘pan out’ in the end”) and that reading the book of Revelation is “too scary.”

This boggles my mind. The fact is, God is telling a STORY with humanity that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. We passionately defend the beginning and the middle, but sometimes it seems like we couldn’t care less about the end, so long as we all end up happily ever after somehow in “a better place.”

I want to know the story God is telling. He has wrapped up some of the most profound and stunning revelations of His character in those final few chapters. I can’t know Jesus fully unless I look at Him in the context of a Bridegroom, King, and Judge who’s coming back to rescue and marry His bride, rule the earth, and execute full justice. The book of Revelation is “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Revelation 1:1)

Furthermore, that time is getting close. We would all agree that it’s closer than it’s ever been, but seriously, it’s getting CLOSE close. I want to have as much understanding of this time period as possible so that when things start happening, my own heart can remain unoffended and fully engaged with what God is doing, and I can also help others to stay in that place. There is no reason I should be caught unaware on that day. He’s already given me everything I need to understand what’s coming – the Spirit and the Word. He wants me to watch, stay awake, and set my heart to love the day of His appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8)

Maybe it won’t come in my lifetime. It really might, but if it doesn’t, I will build a legacy for the next generation of this eager and faithful watching. When He comes, He WILL find a Bride made ready. (Revelation 19:7)

“Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:1-6)

“And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
(Luke 18:7-8)

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+8 Days and Counting!

On By CaitlynIn IHOPKC Life

Yesterday was my one week anniversary of being in Kansas City. YAY! KC and I are pretty happy together and expect this to be a long-term relationship, so I’d say things are going well so far. 😉

I’ve been doing 6:00-9:00 a.m. prayer room every morning Monday-Thursday, and I have class at IHOPU at 10:00. That means I wake up at 5:00, get out the door by 5:50 to be early to the prayer room and get my favourite seat, then I’m in there for one full intercession set and half of a worship with the word set. Worship leaders this week have been Justin Rizzo, Jon Thurlow, and Tim Reimherr. I’ve listened to their cds but rarely heard them lead live, so that’s kind of fun.  I also love that the ACTS missions school students are in there in the mornings with me, as well as many IHOPU students, so I’m surrounded by plenty of fiery young people to help me wake up and get my prayer on. 😀

Then I come home and get to spend about 45 minutes eating breakfast, talking with whichever of my flatmates is in the kitchen, and reorienting my brain for class. My class schedule this quarter looks like this:

  • Mon/Wed 10:00-12:00 – Biblical Hermeneutics with Daniel Lim
  • Tues/Thurs 10:00-12:00 – Basic Christian Beliefs with Jono Hall
  • Wed 1:00-3:00 – Sermon on the Mount Practicum with Wes Martin and Dana Candler

I’m also going to have discipleship group meetings once a week, most likely Tuesday afternoons, plus regular service/outreach activities together, but I haven’t been assigned my leader yet. I am definitely looking forward to that, though. I know I want to devote some time to going out with the evangelism teams again at some point, and maybe also ushering and CEC. We’ll see how much my schedule can hold.

These classes are SO much fun already. Bible classes were always one of my favourite parts of APU, and it feels good to be back in the swing of analysing worldviews, doing exegesis, comparing hermeneutics, etc. I did of course get really good Bible teaching during OTI, but it was much less academic. And as much as I love that, I enjoy a little scholarliness thrown in the mix as well. It’s good to approach the Bible in a variety of ways.

I’m also looking for a job. I picked up a stack of applications from all over town that I’m working on getting filled out and turned in, so continued prayer for that would be awesome.

I finally put my keyboard on my desk and started teaching myself some worship songs on it. It is of course veeeeery slow going, but I really want to be able to use music more in my secret place times with God. I know how to figure out the notes and chords even if it takes me a long time, so I am slowly but surely trying to build the habits into my fingers. Maybe one day I’ll be able to post a video of something… even one of my own songs, perhaps? We’ll see. Don’t hold your breath.

All in all, this week has been mostly me figuring out what the upcoming months are going to look like, and I can tell you right now that my future here looks very exciting. I’m at one of the most unique places on the earth for pursuing the knowledge of God and I’m surrounded by passionate, fun, godly people to run with. God has provided for me so graciously already in so many ways, and I know he will continue to provide everything I need. I can’t wait to see what he has for me as I give myself to this thing.

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