Getting a Personal Word from the Written Word

Over the years of ministry, the one question I found people asking was, "How do I get something out of the Bible for myself?" It seemed that these people wanted to be able to not only dig out what is said from the passages, but also be able to see how it applies to their lives.


I had some methods that I used, but I knew they had to be transferrable. As I set about putting something together, I realized that each category of Bible books really needed its own special tool to unlock the personal truths.


Traditionally we speak of historical books, books of prophecy, Psalms, Proverbs, and the Epistles. I felt like others were needed so I included the Gospels, Parables, Letters to Timothy and Titus, and Revelation.


Secondly, I wanted to help people realize that you can't just grab a passage isolated from the word and apply it to your life. There is context and proper hermeneutics which need to be explained. Hermeneutics simply means how we understand a passage given its history, setting and background. Sometimes we may think a promise given to, let's say, Jonah or Moses can automatically be applied to our lives. Each passage has some portions that relate directly to the biblical person, but some have principles that can apply generally to us.


Take a few moments to look over the chapters. We're sure you'll want to dive right in and get your own personal word from the written word. Dave was raised in a Jewish summer resort in upstate New York. As a child he remembers turning on and off lights for people on Shabis. That early experience left burning questions which he posed to the Rabbis at the hotels. About the same time as the questions were emerging, he headed with a group of his college friends to Daytona Beach, Florida, for spring break. There he was encountered by representatives of, what was then called, Campus Crusade for Christ. Discussions there on the beach raised further questions which he searched while back at his college. Eventually he trusted Christ to forgive him and left a promising career as a teacher and coach for seminary. He served first as a youth pastor, then as an associate pastor, and later as a Senior Pastor. Along the way, he worked in both a correctional facility and a hospital as a chaplain. His first book was Stuff Happens but Hope Comes Through which dealt with some of the tough things people have to handle as they go thro