And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. 

Bold: Biblical Principals

Red: Scripture

Blue: Practical application

It’s important to remember that the purpose of reading scripture Is not information, but transformation! Which is why it’s not enough just to read scripture, but we need to let scripture read us, so that we can be conformed to the image of Christ!

Rom 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

I can’t emphasize how important this is, because without this approach, we can easily end up like the Pharisees and Sadducees of the New Testament. They read and studied scripture every day and even debated over it.

Yet when God himself showed up as Jesus Christ, they were unable to recognize him for who he truly was. Why? Because their hearts were hard and full of pride. They had never allowed God’s words to soften their hearts so that they might learn and grow!

Scripture will always appear in a red font. And we usually use the ESV (English Standard Version) or the NIV (New International Version).

There's no single translation universally accepted across all denominations—but the ESV and NIV closest to broad ecumenical use.

The ESV leans formal and literal, favored by Reformed and evangelical churches. The NIV balances word-for-word with readability, used  widely across Methodist, Baptist, and non-denominational contexts.

Both avoid translation choices that would alienate specific traditions.

When it comes to scripture, we need to understand: “All Meaning is context-dependent!” In other words, the first step to begin understanding the application of scriptures to our personal lives is to first understand the background. 

Who’s speaking? Who is this written for? What was going on Circumstantially to lead up to this point? Is what we are reading a description of something just happening or a prescription for living life?

Meaning, we need to read our text sequentially! Unfortunately, most people are so pressed for time, their only goal is to read what scripture they are assigned that day and then feel satisfied because they were able to check the done box! But reading scripture this way does very little in our lives when it comes to personal transformation.

This is why Joshua says: we need to meditate on it day and night…Then you will be prosperous and successful. Did you catch that? One key to successful transformation is meditation! In other words, spending time really soaking the whole meaning of the text is one of the keys for transformation.

We need to remember that God designed his scripture to be read this way because there are layers upon layers of understanding hidden in each verse

We know this because of scriptures like Isaiah that show us how God reveals himself: Is 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little." NKJV

What that means for us practically, is that these notes are designed to help us work through the text one phrase at a time.

And we don’t move on until we discovered a lesson we can apply to our lives.

Only then do we move on to the next phrase. Sometimes a phrase has Multiple meanings which we try to expound on each lesson separately. Each lesson is written in blue font and then summarized at the very end.

It’s not enough to know scripture just in our heads. To be transformed by God’s word, we need to look for practical ways of applying God’s truth to our lives. This brings us to the next section titled: PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS.

The first sentence is written in a bold font, because it represents a biblical principal. The next sentence is written in blue font because it represents a practical application.

Here we begin asking ourselves different kinds of questions in hope of seeing how God’s word can apply to our lives in ways that we have never thought of!

For many people, memorizing biblical verses word for word is overwhelming. So here, we only encourage you to memorize the basic overall gist of the text so that when circumstances rise, you know where in scripture you need to go to find your answers. 

And the way we do that is through prayer! It’s only after talking with God about how to apply these biblical truths to our lives that enables the Holy Spirit to truly work deep in our hearts!

Each lesson offers a prayer as an example of all the different ways you might want to engage and pursue God in seeing these truths take root and begin to bear fruit in our lives!