The Tribune

By REV ANGELA PALACIOUS AS YOU read holy scripture, you will find yourself challenged, consoled, transformed and inspired if you place yourself in the stories told and apply the wisdom gained to your everyday life. Let us consider some of the stories in the New Testament. The Garden of Gethsemane: Who are the three persons that you would consider inviting into such an experience with you? When last have you been asked to share someone else's season of suffering? The boy and the loaves and fish: If you found yourself faced with such a dilemma, would you offer your lunch? What do you have right now that God may be desiring you to share with someone else or with a group of persons? Are you as willing as this boy? The woman bent double: What is your heaviest burden at this time? Do you want the lord to remove it? If he did what would you do differently? The man with the withered hand: What area of your life is presently unproductive? What do you think God wants you to grasp as an opportunity for personal change? The woman caught in adultery: What may you soon be caught doing that is wrong? Do you have the courage "to go and sin no more" in this regard? If you are holding a stone instead, at which type of sinner would you be ready to throw it? If you were to think about your disqualifying sin, which one would cause you to disappear from the scene? The storm on the lake: When last have you been terrified? How did you handle the situation? What would "walking on water" mean if you allowed Jesus to tell you what to do? These are just a few stories that come to my mind. Choose some of your own and place yourself in each person's role or the one most relevant to you. There is a timeless lesson to be learnt with every encounter with God's word. Another approach is to look at an event in your life and ponder a passage that evokes similar emotions or addresses the experience to some degree. You will be surprised how things will come back to your remembrance. Naturally, the more you read the bible, the more you will be able to broaden your range of choices. Several translations keep you engaged in a different way, as some will speak to you more directly than others depending on the words selected to describe the incident or emotion. You may study one passage for several days as you seek to have it speak to heart and mind. Pray and ask God to give you a strong desire to read the bible. Consider the approach that you wish to take at this time. Decide whether you will study alone, with a partner or in a group. Share what you are learning, and ask questions of those who you think may be able to offer trustworthy explainations, even while you pray for direct revelation. This is a fitting time to get back to the word of God. We need all the guidance we can get, individually and collectively. Let God's word engage you.