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Rick Barry
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Disciple. Pastor. Speaker.

My heart and desire is to see a movement of students who are passionate about accomplishing the great commission by living out the great commandment.

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Keys To Getting The Most Out Of Your Bible Reading

10/24/2014

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Last week at the ROCK, we spent some time talking about some important things to do so that we see God's Word bear fruit in our lives.  Simple truths but impactful if practiced regularly.  If you want to see God's Word change your life, you must:
  • READ IT - The first thing you need to do is crack open the cover.  Sometimes that’s the toughest thing to do… but it’s essential to allowing the Bible to change your life.  When I think of reading God’s Word I think of three things that help make this successful: 1. Time: When will you spend time reading?  Choose a consistent time during the day to read God’s Word… morning or evening?  2. Territory: Where will you spend time reading?  Get away from distractions and consistently meet God in the same place everyday.  3. Translation: What will you read?  There are lots of translations of the bible, some easier to read and some harder to read.  Get a Bible Translation that you can understand.  The NIV Student Bible is a great one to use.
Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. - Joshua 1:8
  • REMEMBER IT - More than just reading, we need to reflect on it and let it transform our lives!  We need to think about what it says and ask the question… what does this mean for my life?  If you really want to treasure the Bible then you need to think about the Word throughout the day.  As you spend time reflecting on God’s Word throughout the day, it will transform your way of thinking and seeing things around you!  You will begin to see things from a different perspective… you’ll begin to receive God’s perspective.  As you think about and reflect on God’s Word, God will speak to you.  So don’t be afraid to remember God’s Word throughout your day… if you do, God will release the power of His Word in your life!
I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. - Psalm 119:11
  • RESPOND TO IT - This is where the rubber meets the road… this is where we begin to walk the walk.  This is where we actually begin to put into practice what the Word says.  If we just read it, remember it throughout the day, and then ignore it… that will do no good for our lives or for God’s Kingdom.  We need to put into action what we find in the pages of this book.  Truly transformed people are those who study God’s Word and do what it says.  They don’t forget what they have read, but they do something about it! 
But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.  For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.  You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.  But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. - James 1:22-25

With that topic floating around in my head, I saw an article on Facebook that intrigued me.  The article was from Relevant Magazine and it discussed some tips that you should take advantage of when you read the Bible.  I thanked God for the timely advice and thought there were some great tips that are worth sharing!  Here were a few of my favorite tips that they shared:

  • Read ‘King’ When You See ‘Christ.’ - Christ, or Messiah, means “anointed one,” and priests and kings were anointed. Substituting "King Jesus" for "Christ Jesus" when reading draws attention to the fact that Christ was not Jesus' last name, but in fact His title: one of great honor and esteem. Making that one switch alone breathes new life into reading the New Testament.
  • Read ‘You’ Differently - Almost all the "you" words in the New Testament are plural you's rather than singular you's. The Southern "y'all" expresses it beautifully: the epistles are written to believers corporately, not believers alone. This does not diminish personal responsibility at all, though. If anything, it heightens it: we pray together, believe together, suffer together, raise the armor of God together. All y'all.
  • If You See a ‘Therefore,’ Find Out What It’s There For - Therefore, take note in bibles where paragraphs are divided up with headings inserted by editors. If the paragraph begins with "therefore,” you might have to pick up a bit earlier to understand the context.
  • Remember What You Learned in English Class - The Bible is not an instruction manual. It's not a "how-to" book for life. It is a collection of 66 books of literature, and to interpret it correctly, you need to remember what you learned in English class about interpreting different genres of literature.  Biblical truth is found in poetry, but we must read it as poetry. It is found in narrative, but we must read those as stories. It is found in proverbs, and we must treat those as such. Just a quick moment to think “what book am I reading from? And what type of literature is this?” can make a world of difference. Truth be told, the Bible is not an easy read, but it is absolutely worth the effort.
  • Read to Study. But Also, Read to Refresh Your Heart - Amid the hours of serious Bible study, I treasured this advice. Sometimes, we read to study and understand and wrestle with the truth. But sometimes, we read to make our hearts happy. “Delight yourself in the Lord,” for “your words are sweeter to me than honey.”

Check out the whole article and see what are some of your favorite tips on reading God's Word.  What are some of your tips for reading the Bible?  Comment and let me know!

- Rick
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The Barry Family + One

10/14/2014

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God has been taking Danielle and I on a journey these past four years.  This journey has involved hearing God's voice and following His leading in a specific area of our lives.  Through God's faithful leading and wonderful people like you, Danielle and I are excited to announce that we are preparing to adopt a baby!  We have been chosen by a birth mother who is having a baby boy and is due at the beginning of December.  With God's leading and provision, we are hoping to bring home our baby and begin our family.  Before we explain how you can partner with us in starting our family, I'd like to share a bit of our story with you.

Our Story...

A few years ago, God broke our hearts for the fatherless.  Our eyes were opened to the overwhelming need not only around the world but right here in our backyard.  Not only were our hearts broken and our eyes opened, but we were also convicted by the Spirit of God as to what our role in the lives of orphans must be...
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. - James 1:27
God has also shown me not only my role, but how adoption is a huge part of my story too!  I was a slave to sin, but through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross I was brought into God's family.  He adopted me!  I have been made His son through the forgiveness that Jesus offers me through the cross.  What is crazy to me is that God chose this before the world was created... He knew all of my sin that I was going to commit and He still chose to adopt me into His family as His son!
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. - Ephesians 1:3-6

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. ... Beloved, we are God's children now... - 1 John 3:1-2

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. - Galatians 3:25-26

 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. - Romans 8:14-17
Much of the beauty of the gospel is shown in adoption.  Danielle and I have committed to have the gospel saturate every area of our lives... our marriage, our relationships with others, our jobs, our finances... everything!  Adoption is one way that we can show others the beauty of the gospel!

Needless to say... we are so excited!  The more we sought God's direction on this, the more that it became clear that God's plan for us was to adopt.  God has been leading us through this process for years and we are so excited to bring home our baby.  We are learning more and more details about our baby but one thing has been certain... that God is perfectly orchestrating this big event in our life and we couldn't be more excited!  Our ultimate desire is to care for the birthmother and bring home a child for our family!

Your Help...

We don't want our adoption to just be our story though.  We would love to invite you in and play a role in Danielle and I beginning our family.  There are a few ways for you to help us:
  1. Prayer.  We are asking that you would commit to praying for us... Regularly!  Pray that we would find a birth mother, that finances would come together and that we would be ready.
  2. Financially.  Adoption is expensive.  If you would like to support us financially in bringing home our baby, please click here or you can mail checks or cash to us at:
          The Barry Family
          46536 Greenridge Drive,
          Northville, MI 48167
    3.   Stay updated on here or at Danielle's blog, thebarrygoodlife.wordpress.com, to hear all the news on           
          what's going on with our adoption.

Thank you, in advance, for your heart for our family. We are sincerely grateful for your partnership with us and we can't wait to see where God takes us and this baby that God has provided for us.  Please feel free to contact Danielle and I if you have any questions and we'd love to answer them for you!

- Rick
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    Rick Barry

    Follower of Christ. Husband to my beautiful wife. Pastor of Student Ministries. Amateur blogger.

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