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thanx you guys. yeah, i'm going to vacation bible school next week. i guess i'll have to get a little older to join a bible study thing...but can't i just do that by reading the bible? and how come the bible doesn;t make any sense? confused

It all depends on what you need at the time. Some people have a hard time understanding the bible and like going to bible studies for and extra perspective. Other times people need a bible study just to be able to devote some time to study time for the Lord. But if a bible study is out of the question for any reason, some people find studing alone is better. It just depends on what you need at the time. Odds are you will be in every one of those spots at some point in your life-time.

ok well i read from the niv version and i still don't understand it. i understand what they're saying, just not what they're meaning.

The thing about King James is that it was written to be read out loud. It's beautiful and flows well, but the "thou shalt"s and the "unto thine own self"s can get a little confusing. I like to read the books of poetry (Psalms, Proverbs, Lamentations, Song of Songs, and the like) from the KJ version, but I'm a habitual NIV reader.

Understanding what is being said and what is being meant is greatly a matter of time, patience, and prayer. It's another good reason to join a Bible study group; the opinions of everyone there can help get your own mind working. It's largely a matter of God revealing His purpose to you when you're ready for it.

ku·dos Pronunciation (kdz, -ds, -ds, ky-)
n.
Acclaim or praise for exceptional achievement.

[Greek kdos, magical glory.]

Usage Note: Kudos is one of those words like congeries that look like plurals but are etymologically singular. Acknowledging the Greek history of the term requires Kudos is (not are) due her for her brilliant work on the score. But kudos has often been treated as a plural, especially in the popular press, as in She received many kudos for her work. This plural use has given rise to the singular form kudo. These innovations follow the pattern whereby the English words pea and cherry were shortened from nouns ending in an (s) sound (English pease and French cerise), that were mistakenly thought to be plural. The singular kudo remains far less common than the plural use; both are often viewed as incorrect in more formal contexts.·It is worth noting that even people who are careful to treat kudos only as a singular often pronounce it as if it were a plural. Etymology would require that the final consonant be pronounced as a voiceless (s), as we do in pathos, another word derived from Greek, rather than as a voiced (z).

i got a little booklet at a church event today, and it really cleared some stuff up for me. here is what it said:

has anyone ever taken a Bible and shown you how you can KNOW for sure that you're going to heaven? the Bible contains both BAD NEWS and GOOD NEWS. the bad news is something about YOU. the good news is somthing about GOD. let's look at the bad news first...
bad news #1
you are a sinner. romans 3:23 says, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." "sinned" means that we have missed the mark. when we lie, hate, lust, or gossip, we have missed the standard God has set. suppose you and i were each to throw a rock and try to hit the north pole. you might throw farther than i, but neither of us would hit it. when the Bible says, "all have sinned and fall short," it means that we have all come short of God's standard of perfection. in thoughts, words, and deeds, we have not been perfect. but the bad news gets worse...
bad news #2
the penalty for sin is death. romans 6:23 says, " the wages of sin is death." suppose you worked for me and i paid you $50. that $50 was your wages. that's what you earned. the Bible says that by sinning we have earned death. that means we deserve to die and be separated from God forever. but... since there was no way we could come to God, God came to us.
good news #1
Christ died for you. romans 5:8 tells us, "God dmonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." suppose you are in a hospital dying of cancer. i come to you and say, "let's take the cancer cells from your body and put them into my body. if that were possible, what would happen to you? what would happen to me? i would die in your place. i would die instead of you. the Bible says Christ took the penalty that we deserved for sin, placed it upon Himslef, and died in our place. three days later Christ came back to life to prove that sin and death had been conquered and that His claims to be God were true. just as the bad news got worse, the good news gets better!
good news #2
you can be saved through faith in Christ. ephesians 2:8,9 says, "for by grace [undeserved favor] you have been saved [delivered from sin's penalty] through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the giift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." faith means trust. Q: what must you trust Christ for? A: you must depend on Him alone to forgive you and to give you eternal life.
just as you trust a chair to hold you through no effort of your own, so you must trust Jesus Christ to get you to heaven through no effort of your own. but you may say, "i'm religious." i go to church." i don't steal." i'm a good person." i help the poor." these are all good, but good living, going to church, helping the poor or any other good thing you might do cannot get you to heaven. you must trust in Jesus Christ alone, and God will give you eternal life as a gift! does this make sense to you?
is there anything keeping you from trusting Christ right now? think carefully. there is nothing more imortant than your need to trust Christ. would you like to tell God you are trusting Jesus Chriat as your Savior? if you would, why not pray right now and tell God you are trusting His Son? remember! it is not a prayer that saves you. it is trusting Jesus Christ that saves you. prayer is simply how you tell God what you are doing.
what has just happened? john 5:24 explains, "he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgement, but has passed from death into life." did you "hear" God's word? did you "believe" what God said and trust Christ as your Savior? does "has everlasting life" means later or right now? does it say "shall not come into judgement" or might not? does it say "has passed from death" or shall pass? eternal life is based on fact, not feeling. memorize john 5:24 today.
what do you do now? having trusted Christ as your only way to heaven, here's how to grow in your relationship with Him.
-tell God what's on your mind through prayer (philippians 4:6, 7).
-read the Bible every day (2 timothy 3:16, 17). start in the book of philippians.
-worship with God's people in a local church (hebrews 10:24, 25).
-tell others about Jesus Christ (matthew 4:19).

Good stuff, thanks for sharing. biggrin