Author Archives: Alan Simmons

Why we should study the Bible (Part 1)

Posted on September 24, 2012 | Comments Off on Why we should study the Bible (Part 1)

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15).

I have always enjoyed the process of learning.  As a child, I remember enjoying going to the school’s library and checking out books on dinosaurs, astronauts, and anything dealing with science.  My love of learning did not stop there but continues even today.  I enjoy reading, studying, and expanding my mind about the world around me.  Although I have been a Christian since 1988, I never made the effort to study the word of God – the Bible – the way I have other subjects until about seven years ago.

While in the process of preparing for my preliminary exams for my Ph.D. program, I began what every other Ph.D. graduate student has done in the past.  I met with my adviser and committee members, I made a list of what I thought could be possible questions, and read books off of reading lists that had been prepared by my committee to help me prepare for the exams.  Over the next six months, I read the books, discussed the readings with the members of the committee, and prepared my responses to the list of questions I had earlier prepared with the help of the committee.

About halfway through my preparations for the exams, I began to realize the truth about my own seriousness about my faith.  I claimed to be a Christian, I did read my Bible nearly every day, and regularly attended church services, but rarely did I ever study the Bible with the intensity that I was doing in preparation for my preliminary exams.  It was at that time that I truly began to realize what Paul meant when he wrote those words to Timothy: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15).

As a part of our spiritual growth, it is important that we study the Bible.  Just as an athlete increases their strength and endurance by working out, and just as a chef refines their talents by continued practice, as Christians, we must strengthen our faith through personal Bible study, prayer, and active service within a local church.  We should do this not because our faith requires it, but because we desire closer fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  I decided to do it not only because I felt it was what I should do, but because I wanted to as well.

To be honest, there is no right or wrong way to study the Word of God.  It is a matter of what works best and provides the results you want.  If you are intense with your study, you’ll not only get a better understanding of your faith, but will find yourself drawing closer in your relationship with God.  What works for me is a bit of quiet time – like when my two-year old daughter is napping.  I simply get out my Bible, a notebook, a pen, and a good concordance, such as The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.  Each day, I read one chapter from the book of Proverbs, and then follow a system that will allow me to read the Bible through at least one time each year.

As I do my daily readings, I will make a note of any verse or phrase that seems to stand out at the time I am reading it.  Once I have finished doing my reading, I then grab the concordance and will begin to look up key words within the scripture references I wrote down.  Some of what I learn ends up here on this site while other things are more personal and either shows me areas of my life where I need to change some things, let some things go, or where I need to pay closer attention to God’s leadership.  Over the past seven years I have seen my relationship with my Savior deepen and become more meaningful and purposeful.  Over the next few posts, I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned about the importance of meaningful daily Bible study.

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Christian Responsibility

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Off the cuff: the Evansville “Lighthouse”

Posted on September 17, 2012 | Comments Off on Off the cuff: the Evansville “Lighthouse”

The Evansville “Lighthouse”

Our first winter season married, Michelle and I would often take early evening walks along the downtown Evansville river walk along Riverside Drive.  One evening after Wednesday night church, we decided to go take a nighttime walk during a light snow shower.  We were joking as I took the picture of what we called the “Evansville Lighthouse” – one of the many small lights along the scenic riverside walking path.

The picture isn’t anything remarkable from a photography perspective.  The background is blurry and the picture has a slight haze to it; however, from the right perspective, it actually does resemble a lighthouse.  For someone that may not be familiar with Evansville or where its located might actually believe that Evansville, indeed, does have a lighthouse.  After all, there’s a picture of it!  It would be easy to claim and promote this picture as being of something that it is not.

Just as this picture, we also have the potential to represent things not as they actually are but how we think others want to see them.  A good Bible example is demonstrated in the Old Testament when the prophet Micaiah has been asked by the King of Israel, Ahab, about the outcome of an upcoming battle:  So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.  And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace (I Kings 15-17).

Even God’s chosen man – the prophet of God Micaiah – chose to tell Ahab what he thought Ahab wanted to hear rather than what had been shown to Micaiah by God.  As Christians, we must be aware of this spiritual battle and the temptation to promote the picture we think others want to see.  Paul even writes that as Christians, we need to Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13:5).  Even in my own life, when I have had burdens, or been in the middle of trials, and even while standing in the church building, I have been asked by others how things are going – and my response has always been “I’m doing fine, and you?”

For whatever the reason – our stubborn pride that doesn’t want anyone to know that we have trials or are living an imperfect life; our inability to admit we have our own shortcomings or failures; or maybe even we feel that our problems are not as bad as others we know – we all have a tendency to be guarded about the truth of how we really are.  Instead, we tell people what we think they want us to hear – how our lives are all sunshine and roses – when in reality, we are hurting, suffering, and crying on the inside.  Without any sort of thought to it, we have created a “conversation with covetousness” instead of allowing our conversation to be honest.  How is it being covetousness?  Simply by portraying ourselves or our circumstances as we desire them to be seen and not as they really are.

James wrote that as Christians, above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation (James 5:12).  Simply put, when we tell others, especially our church family, that things are fine when they are not, we are not only deceiving ourselves and them, but we are robbing them of the opportunity to Bear ye one another’s burdens as the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostles have taught within the New Testament (Galatians 6:2).  With an honest conscious, how can we help another with their burdens if we are unwilling to let others see us as we really are and not how we want to be perceived?

The “Evansville Lighthouse” will always be a moment and laugh that Michelle and I share.  It will also remain a lesson on perception.  The designers of and workers who placed the light fixture along the river walk never imagined that anyone would mistake it for a “lighthouse.”  It was never meant to be seen as a lighthouse; it was meant to be a source of light – to illuminate the path along the river walk at night.  As Christians, we still fight with the flesh; we will never know of perfection as long as we live this mortal life on Earth.  We are not intended to be perfect; with all our imperfections we are intended to show God’s love and grace to others while bringing them to His saving grace.

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Preparing the path of a young person

Posted on August 29, 2012 | Comments Off on Preparing the path of a young person

Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me (Ezekiel 3:17).

I am not in any way comparing myself or my spiritual calling to that of the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel.  And as a further observation, I am far from the perfect parent; I have made my share of mistakes as a father and as a Christian.  With that said, a combination of my own life experiences while growing up and the past nine years as an adjunct at various community colleges and four-year universities has let me to understand how important it is that Christian parents “get it right” when preparing their children for adulthood.

Earlier this morning I was checking my email and found that a former student of mine had sent an email asking me for some academic and personal advice.  As an adjunct, I cannot formally advise students about their academic career but do offer advice on how to make the most of even the most difficult class.  As far as the personal advice, I do offer it with the understanding that I am coming from a Christian perspective and for the most part, when I tell a student that, it opens the door for them to ask more questions about my faith.  Almost all the students that ask me either for personal advice or to discuss issues of faith were not prepared by their parents to face adulthood; some come from homes a lot like what I grew up in while others come from what they described as a “Christian” home.

One of the most important things that parents do for their children is to Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it, as written by Solomon (Proverbs 22:6).  Nearly ten years ago and while attending a church revival meeting at a small country Baptist church in southeastern Missouri, I heard a preacher twho opened my eyes to the extent it has changed forever my understanding of this verse.  he discussed how parents have given this responsibility – without any reservation – to the lost world!  Unfortunately, he is right.

As Solomon put it, training up a child is about preparing the child for adulthood. It is about teaching them to not only how to work and to be productive, but know themselves, know their relationship with God, and to understand their relationship with others.  Yes, traditional education, which is geared for  productivity and work has been yielded to public institutions to the extent that a majority of parents no longer feel obligated to have an active role in preparing their child for adulthood.  No longer are parents teaching their children a work ethic, occupational skills, religious teachings, or even reaffirmation of academic teachings – it has all been left to the realm of “public education.”

We see the results of this after nearly thirty years of abandonment of this important parental responsibility.  We have families that no longer resemble what God had planned, one in two marriages ending in divorce and children in homes with one parent or even  being raised by grandparents, churches across our nation closing their doors for the last time, and souls not being reached for Jesus.  I can tell you that although many of my 18 to 25 year old college students have been raised in a spiritual vacuum, a few are asking questions about God, faith, and how to fit the belief in God into a “science driven” world.  Yes, there are a few who are hungry to learn about God so they can be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you [them] a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (I Peter 3:15).

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Posted in Discipleship, Our relationship with our children

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