MAPS
When my wife and I got married, we decided to go to Charleston, SC, on our honeymoon. To plan our trip, we got paper road maps for Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. I analyzed the maps to determine the best route to take to reach our destination. I shared the maps with my wife, and we set out on our trip. It didn’t take long to realize that her super power is not navigating with a map. A few years later we purchased a GPS system and had to download road maps for the areas we planned to travel. I still remember a family trip where the GPS system took us on a series of right turns until we circled around to where we started, and then, it told us to make a U-turn to get back on the route. Today, most cell phones have GPS maps that can guide us anywhere by searching a location by name, give us step by step directions toward our destination, warn us of potential hazards and update us on what to expect on the road up ahead.
The Bible can be used as a map to direct us on the path God has set before us (Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 3:6; Proverbs 16:9). The Bible will warn us of obstacles along the way (Colossians 1:28), help us navigate the obstacles (Proverbs 4:27), and teach us how to live our life in Christ (2 Timothy 3:14-15). To use the Bible as a map for living in Christ, we must spend time studying the scripture to better understand God’s word and how to apply it to our lives (Mark 12:24; Colossians 3:16; James 1:22; Deuteronomy 30:14).
To focus our study of the Bible we can use the acronym MAPS:
Memorize - commit to memory; learn by heart.
“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I may not sin against God” (Psalm 119:11).
Analyze - examine in detail for purposes of explanation and interpretation.
“They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8).
Ponder - think about carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion.
“This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).
Search - try to find something by looking or otherwise seeking carefully and thoroughly.
“these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:10-13).
There are acceptable inaccuracies in a map. The curve of the earth and its elevation changes as well as the process used to make a map effect the accuracy of a map. A map’s accuracy can be tested by comparing the features on a map with each other. Mapping accuracy standards determine the acceptable error of a map.
The Bible is a collection of books written by several authors, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, over a period of around 1500 years (2 Peter 1:19-21; Matthew 4:4). There are more than 300 prophecies in the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled in the New Testament (Matthew 5:17; Matthew 26:56). Unlike the accuracy tolerances of a map, the Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35).
Remember to approach reading the Bible using the acronym MAPS and Memorize, Analyze, Ponder, and Search the scripture so God can equip you to follow the call he has on your life.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Scripture references:
- “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).
- “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path” (Proverbs 3:6).
- “The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).
- “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28).
- “Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil” (Proverbs 4:27).
- “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14-15).
- “Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?” (Mark 12:24).
- “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).
- “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22)
- “But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it” (Deuteronomy 30:14).
- “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:19-21).
- “But he answered, It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4).
- “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17)
- “But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled” (Matthew 26:56).
- “If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—” (John 10:35).
While writing this post, I saw a Bible plan developed by David Platt, Paster-Teacher at McLean Bible Church and the founder and chairman of Radical, titled Guide to Personal Worship Using “MAPS”. I have embedded the “MAPS” guide and included links to the guide, sample journal entry, and the weekly Bible Reading Plan below:
The “MAPS” guide and a sample journal entry can be viewed here:
The weekly Bible Reading Plan can be downloaded here:
