"Higher education is an experimental knowledge of the plan of salvation, and this knowledge is secured by earnest and diligent study of the Scriptures. Such an education will renew the mind and transform the character, restoring the image of God in the soul.  It will fortify the mind against the deceptive whisperings of the adversary, and enable us to understand the voice of God."  Counsels to Teachers, p. 11.

"If we stand back from the Bible and take it in at a single view, it is above all a story, with many interspersed passages that interpret the meaning of the events.  Like other stories, the Bible has:

•  a beginning—middle—end pattern

•  a unifying plot with conflict between good and evil

• a focus on people in the act of choosing

•  and a central protagonist who is God

           Leland Ryken, How to Read the Bible, p. 179

Learning to See More of God

Expect to See God as He has revealed Himself in Scripture (Hebrews 11:6)

A. Take notice of God's different roles

1. Life-giver
2. Deliverer
3. Heavenly Father
4. Sovereign Ruler
5. Judge

B. God's purpose in revealing Himself is to strengthen our confidence in Him

1. His character is the same always (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17)
2. What Jesus was on earth is what God is (even in the Old Testament)
3. Seek to match God's character traits with His words and actions

C. Seek out God's purposes based upon His promises

1. God's plan to restore earth to its Edenic purity
2. Trace His promises to their fulfillment by linking Bible verses
3. Compare and contrast God's kingdom with that of the world
4. Compare the order found in God's creation with God's purposes for His spiritual kingdom

For the basic principles of Tracking God visit the Principles page