{"id":71,"date":"2020-04-13T12:08:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T11:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/?p=71"},"modified":"2025-12-01T12:10:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T12:10:38","slug":"celebration-of-discipline-week-4-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/celebration-of-discipline-week-4-study","title":{"rendered":"Celebration of Discipline Week 4: Study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I have to admit, I felt challenged within reading the first page of the chapter on study. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, the practice of study has been restricted to the academic world. I think about how I have studied at school or at university, and I have often thought that study of the scriptures is reserved for those who want to pursue a degree in it. Yes, I read the Bible, and since I\u2019ve started this journey through the spiritual disciplines I have been trying to use meditation to engage with scripture, but I\u2019ve never really engaged with study. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have always felt that using the word study in relation to the Bible rather than application or meditation has had a sort of coldness about it. As if by studying it, you make it more academic than personal \u2013 and I have always thought that surely this would lead to me being a bit \u2018religious\u2019 and less personally connected to Jesus. Richard Foster seems to think quite the opposite, and after reading this chapter, I agree! He makes the point that we miss the mark if we think that studying is all about gathering information \u2013 instead he says that we come to scripture for inner transformation and to be changed into the likeness of Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He references Philippians 4:8 when he says, \u2018What<\/em>\u00a0we study determines the kind of habits that are formed, which is why Paul urges us to focus on things that are true, honourable, just, pure, lovely and gracious.\u2019 We might be thinking, \u2018Well I don\u2019t really study anything,\u2019 but I imagine all of us have experienced watching a great Netflix series or reading a good book that we can\u2019t stop thinking about. At the start of the lockdown period my husband and I got really into Line of Duty<\/em> (if you haven\u2019t seen it, you should!). We raced through all six series and we found it quickly dominated our conversation, where we\u2019d ask each other if we thought so-and-so was really good or bad and wondering what it meant when they said something cryptic at the end of the last episode. In truth, this was a study on the series. We weren\u2019t meditating on it in a devotional way but we were analytically studying it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll know that when you study something it starts to form the way you see the world around you. I remember studying for my final exams in my Maths degree and one of my modules was on algebra. One theory in algebra is called Set Theory, and it determines the way in which numbers are included in sets defined by particular rules. For example, even numbers are a \u2018set\u2019, and you can check if a number is in the even set by seeing if you can divide it into two whole numbers. If you can, it\u2019s even and it\u2019s in the set! It sounds simple but it gets complicated pretty fast. But when I was studying this I remember reading John 15 where Jesus talks about being the vine, and if we are in him, then he is in us and so on. All I could see in this passage was how it related to the Set Theory I had been studying \u2013 I found myself even trying to draw a Venn diagram to see if there was some hidden mathematical meaning in this passage!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we study shapes how we see the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what does it look like to actively study the Bible? Foster says that there are four steps we can follow to follow when it comes to studying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, repetition<\/em>. While this might seem a bit basic, there is scientific backing to say that simply repeating words changes the way our brains are wired! (We see this technique used in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.) Foster says that what we repeat, we start to believe, and it starts to shape us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second step is concentration. <\/em>Considering Celebration of Discipline<\/em> was written more than 30 years ago and even then Foster was able to say, \u2018distraction is the order of the day,\u2019 I wonder what he would say about our relationships smartphones, our own personal distraction devices! Concentration means we are focused on what we are studying \u2013 like reading in a library rather than reading in front of your favourite Netflix show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third step is comprehension<\/em>, which means coming to a sense of understanding. It\u2019s that experience we have all had when you feel like you\u2019ve read something a hundred times and then all of a sudden it makes perfect sense on reading number one-hundred-and-one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final step is reflection<\/em>, which defines the significance of what we are studying and helps us bring things into a new perspective in relation to what we have studied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These four steps become natural to us when we practice them over a period of time, but initially it\u2019s helpful to use them as a roadmap as we look to grow in our practice of study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are so many other things that come up in this chapter, and I would highly recommend reading the chapter yourself if you can! The main thing to grasp with is that we are transformed by knowing the truth, and if we are to really know the truth deep in our hearts and minds we must commit to studying it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our challenge tor this week is to study a book of the Bible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might want to choose one of the shorter books, such as one of the minor prophets in the Old Testament or a letter in the New Testament. I have chosen 1 John, because you can read it in about ten minutes and I haven\u2019t studied it before!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, here are six questions to reflect upon throughout this week. You should reflect on them in the given order as it\u2019s important to understand the author before we make any judgements on what they are saying. You don\u2019t have to go through every question on the first day, but, as you journey through, note down what you are noticing each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. What is the author saying? <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Take what you are reading at face value and note down what the author is actually saying. Don\u2019t worry about trying to apply it or interpret it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. What does the author mean?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Think about the implications of what they author is saying. Why are they saying it and what does it really mean? Is there a particular principle behind what they\u2019re saying?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Is the author right or wrong? <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This might seem a funny question to ask when you\u2019re reading the Bible, but think about whether anything you read seems particularly jarring. What do you struggle to understand? Are there truths to be found?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. How does my experience shape my reading?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This is about reflecting on how your life experience shapes your reading of scripture. For example, if you have experienced great loss you might connect differently with a passage of lament than if you had never experienced loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. How do other book relate to this? <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

If you have chosen a New Testament book, this is especially relevant. How does it relate to the Old Testament? If you aren\u2019t sure if there are any links, why not do some research of your own?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Who can I discuss this with?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Discussing with others is a key way of getting to grips with studying scripture. Why not decide to read the same book as a friend and then schedule a call at the end of the week to discuss what you have found? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Foster recommends these daily scripture readings as we explore fasting this week:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday: <\/strong>The call to study \u2013 Proverbs 1:1\u20139, 23:12, 23<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday: <\/strong>The source of truth \u2013 James 1:5, Hebrews 4:11\u201313, 2 Timothy 3:16\u201317<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday:<\/strong> What to study \u2013 Philippians 4:8\u20139, Colossians 3:1\u201317<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday:<\/strong> The value of study \u2013 Luke 10:38\u201342<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday:<\/strong> Active study \u2013 Ezra 7:10, James 1:19\u201325<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday:<\/strong> Study in the evangelistic enterprise \u2013 Acts 17:1\u20133 & 10\u201312, 19:8\u201310<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ufeffSunday:<\/strong> The study of a non-verbal book \u2013 Proverbs 24:30\u201334<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Read about the discipline of Study, from our series unpacking the Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":72,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73,"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions\/73"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirteencreative.co.uk\/onelife25\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}