‘Where’s Waldo?’ - the Bible Edition!

Dear church,
 
Do you remember ‘Where’s Waldo?’
I loved those growing up. It seems like there was always an opportunity to find Waldo in a magazine when I was a kid sitting around in the waiting room of my doctor or dentist.

For those of you not familiar with ‘Where’s Waldo’ it is a series of children’s books containing puzzles created by the British illustrator Martin Handford. The books contain these intricate designs with numerous people doing a variety of activities at a specific location. The challenge for the reader is to find a character named Wally hidden within the design.

Wally is pretty distinct. He will always be wearing his red-and-white-striped shirt, bobble hat, and glasses. The trick is that many illustrations will contain red herrings involving the deceptive use of red-and-white striped objects. It can make finding Wally quite difficult.

In my almost thirty-five years of following Jesus as a Christian, reading my Bible has been part of my life. And through the years, reading my Bible has felt (from time to time) like I’m searching for Waldo. I know there are specific truths I should be looking for. I know that there is real encouragement waiting for me in the pages of Scripture. For sure there are lessons and applications in the Bible but sometimes they feel hidden, to a certain degree.
 
Over the years, I began to put together some questions that help me when I read Scripture. I often use these questions as part of my quiet time in the mornings when I’m reading Scripture to help guide my thoughts and prayers as I read Scripture.
 
The first three things I look for help me understand what kind of passage it is.
 
Are there any commands given to me?
One of my mentors in the past, Steve Walker (senior pastor of Redeemer’s Fellowship for 30+ years), would say that ‘commands anchor the passage.’ It gives the passage structure. It oftentimes allows us to see the intent of the passage. There are some passages in the Bible that have numerous commands that are clear to see. And other passages? Not so much. Many of the passages, for instance, in the New Testament have clear commands. The Book of James and the Gospels are like this. They have many clear, obvious commands. In the Old Testament, however, where there are a lot of narrative passages, there aren’t as any commands. When I’m reading my Bible, I’ll often highlight the commands in green. Green means go, and go is a command so it’s an easy way for me to remind myself that this is a command.
 
Are there any promises, prayers, or praises in the passage?
I’ll then look for promises, prayers, or praises in the passage. These are the pieces of scripture that provide encouragement, hope, and joy in my life. The Psalms are full of promises, prayers, and praises. Much of the Old Testament is filled with these as they sing praises to God Almighty and recount His goodness to them over the generations. Looking for and finding these passages fill my heart with expectancy and often becomes the foundation of my prayers for that day. I’ll highlight these in pink because they all begin with the letter ‘p.’

Are there any warnings for me?
I’ll then look for any warnings that are in the passage for me. These can be direct warnings from God to me, from a conversation, from a prophet in the Old Testament, or from a disciple in the New Testament. These are sobering truths that are designed to pierce our hearts. They are meant to give our hearts and minds resolve as we follow Jesus. They are given to us to convict us if we are straying from the truth. I highlight these in blue because it’s the color that is left in my set of highlighters.
 
After reading a passage of Scripture, I can look at it and see what I’ve highlighted and identify pretty quickly the ways this passage speaks to me. I then move to four questions that help me move beyond identifying parts of the passage. These next four questions help me interact with the passage in a way that (hopefully and prayerfully) leads to transformation.
 
Where am I in this passage? Where is God in this passage? Where are my relationships in this passage?
 
There isn’t always a clear answer to these questions, but they help me interact with the passage that leads to the most important question…What application can I draw in my life?
 
Reading Scripture is important. Memorizing Scripture is very important. Studying Scripture can be critically important. Yet the purpose of reading, memorizing, and studying Scripture is not gaining more information but transformation. As Paul reminds us in the book of Romans…
 
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” ~ Romans 12:1-2 ESV
 
When you ask and answer the last question and can draw an application for your life – now you can live out your faith! Answering these questions gives you a practical way to apply the Scripture to your life. This is when transformation can happen.
 
Want to try out these questions? I would recommend beginning with Psalm 1. It is a beautiful Psalm with only six verses. Plus – you’ll be able to answer all of the above questions within the Psalm and see if it might be something you want to incorporate in your daily reading.
 
I love you, church.
 
 
Pastor Daniel
 
 
(In the next issue of ‘Dear church’ I will share an area of prayer focus for our elders this year)