Jesus turns “to the twelve” and says, “you don’t want to go away too, do
you” (John 6:67).
This quote showed the commitment that Jesus Christ was expecting from his
disciples. As a Christian I see this passage as the opportunity for the
disciples to show commitment to Jesus Christ. They are determined to
follow him regardless of all that they saw.
“This one will bring us relief from agonizing labor of our hands, caused
by the ground the Lord has caused” (Gen 5:29).
This quote made it clear that as God caused the ground after Adam and
Eve sinned against God. It was very interesting that the Same God sent a
relief to both to show his faithfulness and his mercy on Mankind. Many
times, we human beings forget that God has the answers to all our
questions.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth” (Gen 1:1).
This quote is what should make a Christian understand that this Earth
belongs to God. And whatever we may face as Christians should be
reference to God alone. If He made heavens and earth, then all that we
can do is to rely totally on what his words says regarding us.
“The LORD is a compassionate and gracious God slow to anger and
abounding in faithful love and truth” (Exodus 34:6).
This quote showed the type of God that we serve. I can relate with this
in the sense that God has been so faithful in my live. I made a way
where it seems no way, even when I am not all that faithful.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for
rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of
God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2Tim 3:16-17).
This quote showed the greatness of God. How he inspired the scriptures to
teach, rebuke, correct and train Christian in righteousness. It is very
important to note that the man of God need to make good use of the
scriptures to inspired others to see what God can do in the lives of all
Christians.
“In him we have redemption through his blood” (Ephesians 1:7).
This quote showed that we are set free by his blood. Since we are
redeemed by his blood our salvation should always show by our actions
and the way we treat each other. Also, we should ensure that we are the
light anywhere we find ourselves.
“The accuser of our brothers and sisters” (Rev 12:10).
This quote showed that there are accusers of brother and sisters. The devil
is the accuser and deceives all with his tricks. While the Bible is very
clear about the truth regarding the devil. We Christians should not take it
for granted and make our friends or family members as what is responsible
of what the devil can do.
“Through Christ Jesus we are loved by God adopted as his sons and
daughters and declared heirs through God” (Gen 4:7).
This quote showed that we are loved by God because he has adopted us
as sons and daughters.
Through Jesus Christ we are made heirs of the Kingdom of God. This
made us to be partakers of what God has promised our LORD Jesus
Christ through redemption.
“You will be my witness in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to
the end of the World” (Acts 1:8b).
This quote made it clear that Jesus Christ was sending his disciples to
witness in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the
World. The assignment was very clear to all Christians also to do likewise
and populate the Kingdom of God with Souls that would repent and accept
Jesus Christ as their LORD and Savior.
“ Now I want to make clear for you brothers, and sisters the gospel I
preached to you, which you received yy on which you have taken stand and
by which you are being saved, if you hold on to the message I preached
to you unless you believed in vain, for I passed onto you as most
important what I also received , that yy Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures” (1 Cor 15:1-4).
This quote showed what we Christian should stand on the gospel preached
to us before we are saved. Ensuring our salvation is not in vain, believing
according to the Scriptures as preached to us. I could relate to this as
through the gospel and the death of Christ salvation made my life easy
and in line to what God planned for me as his child. This is my believe
and making it real in my life as a Christian.
“There are no random personalities, events, or circumstances. There are no
unexpected situations. None of the actions recorded in the Bible caught God
by surprise” (Cartwright & Hulshof, 2016, p. 4).
This quote resonated with me personally because of the depth I see in this
statement. As events happened in the Bible, they were all events planned
by God and were not random in nature. As in our lives, everything that
happens is what is meant to happen and is God’s will. There are no
surprises to Him, therefore, we should not be surprised when things happen
in our lives.
“God’s plan reveals that the help we need must come from outside of
ourselves rather than from inside of ourselves. If our rescue is to be
successful, God will need to do the rescuing” (Cartwright & Hulshof, 2016,
p. 4).
This quote resonated with me but also reminded me of the importance of
my faith and the role it plays in my life. A lot of the times when I’m
conflicted about something or uneasy about a situation, I worry about it
extensively and try to fix it anyway possible. Rather than trying to fix a
situation, looking to God is our light out of every tunnel or difficulty in
our life.
“The best way to understand the different genres of the Bible is to think
of them like sports, music, or food. The genres of the Bible share some
things in common (just as different sports share some things in common);
however, each genre can be set apart from the others in its own category”
(Cartwright & Hulshof, 2016, p. 17).
Similar to the author(s), I too am a sports fanatic. This quote really
expanded my view of the Bible and how each book of the Bible can be
similar but also different. Some books of the Bible seem to be similar
regarding God’s teachings and intentions. But when viewed in-depth, the
teachings are also very different.
“When reading a parable, you should resist the urge to allegorize the
various details of parables. In other words, rather than speculate on what
every detail might symbolize (or “allegorize”) it is better to grasp the main
idea of a parable. Often the meaning of a parable is revealed in the
surrounding context of a passage” (Cartwright & Hulshof, 2016, p. 19).
This quote really caught my attention and is something I haven’t thought
of before. I often times too misinterpret or misunderstand certain parables
because I overthink each and every word assuming there is a philosophical
teaching in each one. As stated, instead, I should just focus on the main
idea or teaching of a parable.
“Another mistake often made is viewing the Old Testament stories as overly
symbolic and filled with all sorts of cryptic meaning. Certainly, the Bible
can be mysterious, but most Old Testament stories are fairly straightforward”
(Cartwright & Hulshof, 2016, p. 24).
This quote resonated with me because I too used to think the Old
Testament was very cryptic and hard to interpret and understand. As I’ve
gotten older and grown more in my faith, I’ve realized the Old Testament
to be more easily interpreted. Simply reading the Old Testament as a
narrative, or story, makes it easier to understand.
“We are unable to live the kind of life required by God. We cannot live
a life of total obedience at every turn and in every moment. In short, we
are unrighteous. However, Jesus Christ can and did live the perfect and
sinless life. He is righteous. In Christ’s death, God credits us with Christ’s
righteous life” (Cartwright & Hulshof, 2016, p. 6).
This quote greatly resonated with me. Sometimes we forget how and why
we are on this Earth. We are here in God’s image to live a life he
wants us to live. Unlike Jesus, we make mistakes, we sin, and we are
unrighteous. However, because Jesus lived a perfect life and ultimately died
to save us, we have the opportunity to live not a perfect life, but a
righteous one in the image of God.
“While it is indeed true that the Bible provides practical truths to help us
with our daily lives, it is incomplete to view the Bible in this light.”
(Cartwright & Hulshof, 2016, p. 29).
The Bible is so in depth with the teachings, stories, and principles that
there is so much more to be taken from it than how we should live our
life. Of course, the teachings and principles should be used to help guide
us in how we live. However, understanding the stories told, how they
impacted history, and how they have led us to where we are today is
important.
“The outcome of God’s plan was to restore the relationship between him
and the crown of his creation, human beings. The relationship that was
severed in the garden was restored through the life and work of Jesus
Christ” (Cartwright & Hulshof, 2016, p. 7).
Although our relationship with God was severed in the garden because of
Adam and Eve, God was willing to send his only Son to save us from
sin. We have to remember that no matter what we do or what we are
going through, God is always there to love us and forgive us for our
sins. The reason for this love and forgiveness is because of Jesus and the
sacrifice He made for us along with God’s unconditional love and
forgiveness.
“Most notably, the New Testament restates the two greatest commands that
relate to the primary purpose for the law: love God (vertical relationship
between God and his followers) and love your neighbour (horizontal
interrelationships among people)” (Cartwright & Hulshof, 2016, p. 25).
Because we are all made in the same image and likeness of God, we are
asked by God to love each other as He loves us. As we all know,
God’s love towards us is immeasurable, unimaginable, and infinite. He
created us all, saved us from original sin, and loves us unconditionally. In
return, God expects us to love Him and love our neighbors as he loves
us.
“First, the Bible is a story. More specifically, the Bible is a book of
stories that are woven together to tell one complete story” (Cartwright &
Hulshof, 2016, p. 3).
This is so important when reading the Bible. We have to remember that
when reading, we are reading a bunch of small stories that when put
together, tell a much larger story with meaning. It is important not to get
stuck in the weeds per se with the interpretation of every word, phrase, or
story. As you read more and more of the Bible, the interpretation or
understanding will come naturally.
1. “We are unable to live the kind of life required by God. We
cannot live a life of total obedience at every turn and in every moment…
However, Jesus Christ can and did live the perfect and sinless life. He is
righteous.” ”(Cartwright, Gutierrez, and Holshof, p. 6)
1. This quote stuck out to me because it helped me understand
the importance of Jesus’ crucifixion. No matter how I, or anyone, tries to
live the life required to be in right standing with God; it is simply
impossible without Jesus. Perfection is only attainable through Christ.
2. “Third, God’s plan goes beyond rescuing and redeeming. His desire is
to restore the relationship and fellowship he had with human beings in the
garden of Eden. He does not rescue and redeem us simply to leave us on
our own”(Cartwright, Gutierrez, and Holshof, p. 4)
1. This sentence resonated with me because I think I needed the
reminder that God isn’t done with me since I’m saved. His plan for me
doesn’t stop there. He wants to have a growing, continuous relationship with
me that is only possible because I am saved.
3. “For the most part, the prophetic books are best seen historically in
their relation to the seventy-year exile of the southern kingdom in Babylon
(after 2 Kings but before Ezra). A simple way to categorize these prophetic
writings is as follows: those who warned of the coming exile (preexilic
prophets), those whose ministry was primarily during the exile (exilic
prophets), and those whose ministry was primarily after the exile (postexilic
prophets)” (Cartwright, Gutierrez, and Holshof, p. 13)
1. Prior to reading this, I wasn’t aware that there were different
groupings of prophets. I never studied the Old Testament prior to this
class, so I really didn’t have a good understanding of what a prophet was,
or how important they were in the Old Testament. The way this book has
been breaking them down and summarizing the books in the Old Testament
has helped me gain a better understanding.
4. “The Old Testament represents thousands of years of history. By way
of contrast, the New Testament represents fewer than 100 years.” (Cartwright,
Gutierrez, and Holshof, p.15)
1. While I knew that the Old Testament represented thousands of
years, I wasn’t aware that the New Testament covered such a short amount
of time. It’s really interesting to think about the most important part of
our faith, Jesus’ birth and resurrection, is really a smaller part of the
whole story.
5. “Revelation is unique in that it includes three genre types: letter,
prophecy, and apocalyptic” (Cartwright, Gutierrez, and Holshof, p.21)
1. Prior to reading this chapter, I didn’t realize how unique this
book of the Bible really was. I don’t think I have read it through with
this mindset towards it, of separating it into categories. Looking at it this
way helped me understand it better.
6. “Christ’s visible authority to heal the sick validates his invisible
authority to forgive sins. In other words, Christ’s miracles were first about
his identity, not his ability.”(Cartwright, Gutierrez, and Holshof, p. 19)
1. This sentence stuck out to me because I haven’t viewed Jesus’
miracles from this perspective. I really like the second sentence. Jesus had
the ability to do anything he wanted. It really is about his identity as the
savior before anything else. I always viewed the miracles as Jesus proving
himself to others but that is not the case at all. He didn’t need to prove
himself to be the savior, he simply was that already.
7. “When reading a parable, you should resist the urge to allegorize the
various details of parables. In other words, rather than speculate on what
every detail might symbolize (or “allegorize”) it is better to grasp the main
idea of a parable” (Cartwright, Gutierrez, and Holshof, p. 19)
1. This stuck out to me because I have caught myself over-
analyzing the minor details in the Bible before. Not all details have an
underlying meaning, they are just minor details. I, however, think every
detail in the Bible is important.
8. “The second category of genre in the New Testament is represented
by a single book: Acts. This book is part two of a two-volume
composition by Luke—the Gospel of Luke being part one… If Luke’s
Gospel was a record of the work of Christ that made the church possible,
Acts is a record of the inception of Christ’s church through the work of
the Holy Spirit.” (Cartwright, Gutierrez, and Holshof, p. 20)
1. I had no idea that Luke and Acts were written as a
composition. I really like how the authors present how to view Luke and
Acts. It helped me better understand the purpose behind writing these
chapters, and understand why they were written the way they were.
9. “But the first step to all good Bible study is to understand first the
story within its historical context (more on that in a later chapter). When
this mistake is made, it is easy to understand how believers come to
expect God to fulfill promises that he intended only for Israel” (Cartwright,
Gutierrez, and Holshof, p. 24)
1. I generally avoid the Old Testament because I find it hard to
relate to and understand. However, after reading this chapter, I see that it
is more meant to be informative than relatable. I never really have tried to
read it and understand the historical context, but I imagine this class will
help me learn to read and understand the Old Testament better. I want to
be able to read the Bible and understand who it’s about, when it was
written, who it was written for, etc.
10. “Most notably, the New Testament restates the two greatest commands
that relate to the primary purpose for the law: love God (vertical
relationship between God and his followers) and love your neighbor
(horizontal interrelationships among people).” (Cartwright, Gutierrez, and
Holshof, p. 24)
1. I found it interesting how the book explains that the laws
have one of two purposes - Vertical or Horizontal. This last sentence in
the paragraph really interested me because even though the laws changed
when Christ came, the purpose of them did not. Our goal is still to love
God and love those around us.
1) "To rescue, redeem, and restore what was lost in the fall of humanity"
• In this part of the first chapter we are going over the purpose and
identity of the bible, and this point we are shown one of the key
purposes is to rescue, redeem and restore what was lost in the fall of
humanity. This "fall" of course being the actions and sins committed by
Adam and Eve. This is something that is definitely new to me, and I say
that because I always thought of the bible as a way of guidance for us
all and way to live our lives. But what I am now realizing is that it is
also plan or a roadmap back to salvation.
2) "The bible is Gods Story"
• The entire first chapter keeps hinting and actually saying this line
"The bible is Gods story". I chose this as one of my quotes because not
only is it his story it's also our story of both our past and our future,
almost like an oracle being told. The bible tells us the story of the
beginning and how God created us all in his image, but it also tells us
what could happen in our personal lives and in the fate of us all. The
bible most certainly is God's story, but it's his story through us.
3) "Genesis, which means beginning."
• in the second chapter we are introduced the structure of the bible
and how it is ordered. It begins with "Genesis", and these first 11
chapters we learn about how God created both the heavens and the earth
at first the earth had no form and was covered by darkness, until the lord
said "Let there be light" and so there was. the first 11 chapters go on
the explain the first people and who they become (adam, eve, noah).
4) "Samuel"
• God has spoken to the prophet Samuel to anoint Saul as the first
king of Israel, over time God actually rejects Saul for his actions. Later
David is anointed as king after defeating Goliath, Saul attempts to murder
David. David ends his reign as what I like to call him "the 50/50 king"
because his reign started with great successes and then ended with great
failings. I added this quote/ book in because growing up this was my
favorite one the books in the bible to read.
5) "Nehemiah"
• I chose Nehemiah because I have never actually learned about it. The
book of Nehemiah tells us that the great temple in Jerusalem had been
rebuilt yet it had no walls and was weak to enemy attacks, and once the
walls were rebuilt the nation of Judah would be reestablished. The book
recounts the peoples newly refound spark in preaching and worshipping the
lord.
6) "Gospels"
• Gospels which mean good news are something that will be embedded
into my brain for as long as I live, growing up I was raised going to
church every Sunday and at about the halfway point the priest will stand
read the gospel (good news), which I always remembered being a
meaningful story of some kind. once the priest is finished giving the gospel
he says "The gospel of the lord".
7) "Revelation"
• The final category of that makes the New Testament is Revelation,
Revelations has three genres that it is made up of, letters, prophecies, and
apocalyptic. We learn that of these sections often predict future events or
possible futures. for example, apocalyptic usually displays visions of the end
of the world.
8) "Psalms"
• Psalms are considered sacred hymns or prayers, and of the musical
kind. Psalms are also written as poetry to engage emotion, but they are
also the word of the lord which makes them truths or facts. Psalms are
meant to be emotional to help better engage the listeners and to help
convey the message.
9) "Prophets"
• It is said that Prophetic books are harder to understand, but the best
way for them to be understood is to actually learn about the prophets
themselves. The books of the prophets are separated in major and minor
books, this not to be confused with their importance. They separated this
way to show the length of each of the books.
10) "Incorrect view of the bible #1 The bible is filled with nothing but
practical principles for life"
- chapter 5 displays ways in which we should and should not view the
bible and its teachings. This segment depicts how all too often people view
the bible solely as a direct guide as how to live their daily lives. While
bible does show so many great lessons on how to become a better
Christian, it also is there to display the past and the truth of the Christian
faith.
“In other words, while proverbial wisdom makes for excellent kitchen wall
plaques, isolating these statements away from their larger context allows for
various kinds of misinterpretations and misapplications.” (Cartwright, Guiterrez,
and Hulshof, p. 26)
This quote stuck out to me in particular since I know plenty of people
who have quotes from the Bible either in their kitchens or around their
houses. However, taking them out of their original contexts may lead to
other people feeling confused by them. For this reason, we need to read
the original Proverbs and teach them to others so these people will
understand the message behind them more clearly.
“The importance of Christ’s ascension should not be lost on the believer. It
is another aspect of Christ’s work that has a daily impact for each and
every Christian.” (Cartwright, Guiterrez, and Hulshof, p. 6)
Many Christians talk about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. However,
when it comes to Him rising from the dead, some of them either don’t
always acknowledge that part or simply leave it as somewhat of an
afterthought. No matter what part of Christ’s life we talk about, we must
never forget what He did for our sake.
“But men will never succeed at church or in the community until they
succeed at home, because being the right kind of husband and father is
essential to having the right kind of family.” (Cartwright, Guiterrez, and
Hulshof, p. 33)
This quote will always be relevant, even now in our current generation.
Our fathers are not perfect, and never will be, and I’ve certainly seen this
firsthand, many times. However, in order to develop a loving church, we
must also develop a loving family, and fathers all around are obligated to
encourage this.
“We should not be afraid to be honest with God. Not only does He
already know how we feel, but also it is through these moments of
emotional honesty that God can use the Psalms in our lives.” (Cartwright,
Guiterrez, and Hulshof, p. 26)
Some Christians, including myself at times, tend to forget that God already
knows how we feel, especially in hard times. We should not be
discouraged from this, though. Instead, we should use these moments to
build ourselves back up through God’s Word.
“Still, the overarching message that calls God’s people to live faithfully in
accordance with what they believe is as relevant today as ever.” (Cartwright,
Guiterrez, and Hulshof, p. 29)
This quote is very relevant for today’s Christians. Sometimes, it can be a
bit of a challenge to live life as a born-again Christian. However, that
should not stop us from doing our very best each and every day for our
Savior.
“Each word of Scripture is designed to move the plan forward in a way
that glorifies God and points to Christ.” (Cartwright, Guiterrez, and Hulshof,
p. 4)
What this quote means is that God knows everything that goes on in both
the Bible and the world today. God has plans for each of us, and nothing
we do is unpredicted by Him. Nothing in the world happens by chance or
mere coincidence.
“To read and study the Bible with another presumption of authorship and
character is to create a story line that does not fit the framework of the
text.” (Cartwright, Guiterrez, and Hulshof, p. 3)
This quote in my opinion can apply to a lot of stories, but with the
Bible, specifically, this is especially fitting. All of the events happening in
the Bible are true. However, that doesn’t mean we should take certain
verses at face value, because otherwise, we’ll end up misinterpreting them.
“When you experience true conversion, the place where you meet God, the
house of God, becomes the most important place in your life.” (Cartwright,
Guiterrez, and Hulshof, p. 40)
I felt drawn to this quote due to remembering how I used to be as a
younger Christian. I used to be naïve when I first went to church, and
even after becoming a Christian, I didn’t know what certain verses meant.
However, as of now, I know to study said verses very carefully when
reading the Bible, and my Christian life has certainly evolved from what it
used to be like.
“An understanding of the historical framework of the Bible will provide you
with better perspective on any book or passage you study.” (Cartwright,
Guiterrez, and Hulshof, p. 16)
As mentioned before, we shouldn’t always take the Bible’s Scripture at face
value. Some symbolism may be hard to understand, and I still struggle a
little with understanding some of it to this day. However, the further we
push to gain knowledge of the Bible, the more we will come to
understand and appreciate it.
“When we are in a right relationship with God, we enjoy being in God’s
house. But when we are not in a right relationship with God, we do not
want to be in the house of God.” yy
I consider this quote to be one of the most important quotes I’ve read
despite its redundancy. Back when I was a younger Christian, I used to be
somewhat bored with being in church, but mainly because I didn’t
understand what the verses meant. However, now that I’ve gained more
knowledge and understanding of the Bible, I’ve grown to appreciate it more
for what it is, to where I even enjoy learning more about it, too.
