WHERE DO I BEGIN?
HOW DO I GET STARTED? SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT.
IS THERE A GOOD PLACE IN THE BIBLE TO START?
JOYCE: YEAH, FIRST OF ALL, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY RULE
ON HOW YOU START BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE RECOMMEND STARTING
WITH THE BOOK OF JOHN.
SOMETIMES WHEN WE'RE GIVING THE BIBLE AWAY, IF WE CAN'T GIVE
THE WHOLE BIBLE OR IT'S NOT IN AN APPROPRIATE PLACE TO GIVE THE
WHOLE BIBLE, WE WILL GIVE THE BOOK OF JOHN IF WE HAVE TO MAKE
A CHOICE BECAUSE IT IS, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE GOSPEL
IN THAT BOOK AND JOHN TALKS A LOT ABOUT LOVING GOD
AND GOD'S LOVE FOR US.
HE TALKS A LOT ABOUT-- HE EVEN CALLED HIMSELF,
"I'M THE DISCIPLE WHOM JESUS LOVED"
AND ACTUALLY THAT SOUNDS KIND OF PRIDEFUL AND HAUGHTY,
BUT GOD WANTS US TO BEGIN TO THINK LIKE THAT,
THAT HE LOVES US.
AND SO THAT'S A GOOD PLACE TO START.
PSALMS ARE ALWAYS VERY COMFORTING, AND I PROBABLY
WOULDN'T RECOMMEND STARTING IN THE OLD TESTAMENT,
BUT I MEAN IF SOMEBODY WANTED TO START IN GENESIS,
IT WOULDN'T BE A BAD THING.
I MEAN, I'VE HEARD PEOPLE SAY THAT THEY WANTED TO KNOW IF THE
BIBLE IS REALLY TRUE AND THEY JUST STARTED IN GENESIS
AND READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
A PART OF THAT DEPENDS ON WHAT KIND OF A READER YOU ARE,
I THINK, AND HOW SCHOLASTICALLY-MINDED YOU ARE.
IF YOU'RE EXTREMELY INTELLIGENT, YOU CAN PROBABLY UNDERSTAND
PARTS OF IT THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SOMEONE ELSE--
I MEAN, I LIKE THE SIMPLE STUFF MYSELF,
NOT THAT I'M NOT INTELLIGENT, BUT I'M NOT SCHOLARLY,
SO I LIKE THE-- I LIKE THE PRACTICAL STUFF.
AND THE EPISTLES ARE REAL PRACTICAL,
THE MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, AND JOHN ARE THE BOOKS
THAT THE APOSTLES WROTE, THE GOSPELS.
AND THEN YOU GET INTO THE EPISTLES: GALATIANS, EPHESIANS,
PHILIPPIANS, AND COLOSSIANS.
AND THOSE ARE A LOT OF JUST THE REAL PRACTICAL,
HOW TO LIVE EVERYDAY LIFE INSTRUCTIONS, GET ALONG,
DON'T FIGHT, STAY OUT OF STRIFE, BE GOOD TO PEOPLE.
AND I LOVE TO READ THOSE BECAUSE THEY JUST--
THEY'RE GOOD REMINDERS FOR ME ABOUT EVEN MY DAILY BEHAVIOR
NOW AFTER 35 YEARS IN THE WORD OF GOD.
GINGER: AND WE ALL NEED REMINDED.
WELL, THAT LEADS ME TO THE QUESTION THEN,
WHEN I'M READ THE BIBLE, DO I READ IT LITERALLY?
I MEAN, IS IT LITERAL TRUTH?
JOYCE: I BELIEVE THAT IT IS.
I MEAN, THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU READ THAT WERE PERTINENT
TO THE CULTURE OF THAT DAY, AND SO IT IS GOOD TO HAVE SOME--
EVEN LIKE A BOOK THAT TEACHES YOU ABOUT BIBLE HISTORY,
THE CULTURE OF THE TIMES WHEN THE BIBLE WAS WRITTEN.
FOR EXAMPLE, YOU MIGHT FIND IN THERE WHERE PAUL SAID
THAT A WOMAN SHOULD NOT WEAR PEARLS AND EXPENSIVE JEWELRY
OR HAVE FANCY HAIRDOS OR, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO THEN PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN IT DOWN THROUGH THE AGES,
"WELL, IT'S SINFUL TO WEAR JEWELRY
AND IT'S SINFUL TO DO THIS AND THAT."
BUT ACTUALLY THE POINT WAS THAT THE ONLY WOMEN IN THOSE DAYS
WHO DID THAT WERE PROSTITUTES.
AND SO PAUL DIDN'T WANT CHRISTIAN WOMEN
TO APPEAR TO BE LIKE THAT.
TODAY THAT'S NOT THE CASE.
IF I WEAR NICE JEWELRY,
THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT I'M A LOOSE WOMAN.
SO THERE ARE THINGS IN THERE, EVEN LIKE HEAD COVERINGS
AND EVEN SOME OF THE THINGS THAT PAUL SAID ABOUT WOMEN
AND HOW THEY COULD OR COULD NOT BE USED IN SPIRITUAL THINGS,
A LOT OF THOSE THINGS WERE CULTURAL THINGS.
WOMEN, IN THOSE DAYS, WERE VERY UNEDUCATED AND SO PAUL SAID,
"IF YOU GOT A QUESTION, ASK YOUR HUSBAND AT HOME."
I MEAN THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND.
EVEN THE MEN SAT ON ONE SIDE OF THE CHURCH,
WOMEN SAT ON THE OTHER.
SO HE DIDN'T WANT WOMEN YELLING QUESTIONS
ACROSS THE AISLE TO THEIR HUSBANDS.
SO FROM THAT STANDPOINT, THE TRUTH THAT'S THERE IS STILL
A TRUTH BUT YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE CULTURE
IN WHICH IT WAS WRITTEN.
AND EVEN THINGS THAT WE READ IN THE OLD TESTAMENT,
YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE
IN THE OLD COVENANT AND THE NEW.
SO THANK GOD THERE'S LOTS OF BOOKS THAT ARE STILL
THE WORD OF GOD THAT HELP US TO UNDERSTAND
THE WORD IN A MORE PRACTICAL WAY.
AS, YOU KNOW, MANY PEOPLE KNOW, I'VE WRITTEN
OVER 90 BOOKS MYSELF, SOME OF THEM ARE LARGER BOOKS,
SOME ARE SMALLER BOOKS.
WE HAVE SO MUCH INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO US TODAY.
NOW, NOT EVERYTHING THAT EVERYBODY WRITES
IS SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN AFFORD TO BELIEVE
BECAUSE ANYBODY CAN WRITE A BOOK.
SO YOU WANT TO HAVE--ESPECIALLY IN THE BEGINNING OF YOUR WALK
WITH GOD, IF YOU'RE NOT ACCUSTOMED TO STUDYING
AND YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE YET TO RECOGNIZE TRUTH FOR YOURSELF,
IT MIGHT BE GOOD TO GET SOME RECOMMENDATIONS
FROM SOMEBODY.
BUT LIKE I COULD SAY, FOR EXAMPLE--
OF COURSE I'M GONNA RECOMMEND MY OWN BOOKS,
BUT, YOU KNOW, I RECOMMEND--
ANDREW MURRAY HAS JUST BEEN AWESOME FOR ME.
I MEAN, HE'S BEEN HOME WITH THE LORD FOR A LONG TIME.
HE WAS AN AFRICAN GENTLEMAN AND HE JUST--HE WROTE SO MANY
AMAZING BOOKS AND HE HAS THEM IN 31-DAY DEVOTIONAL TYPE BOOKS.
I'M READING ANOTHER ONE RIGHT NOW.
I JUST STARTED ONE A COUPLE DAYS AGO CALLED
"THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST" AND IT'S ALL ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES.
WELL, I KNOW THAT, BUT IT'S JUST BRINGING IT FRESH
TO MY REMEMBRANCE AGAIN.
AND SO IN 31 DAYS, I CAN GO THROUGH THAT WHOLE BOOK.
AND HE HAS ONES THAT ARE SMALL.
HE HAS ONES THAT ARE BIGGER.
WE HAVE SEVERAL DEVOTIONALS OUT THAT GIVE YOU
A LITTLE MINI TEACHING IN THE WORD OF GOD.
THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT STUDY TOOLS AND STUDY AIDS,
AND WE'RE GONNA GET INTO THAT AS WE GO
A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO DEEPER.
BUT I RECOMMEND GETTING A BIBLE TRANSLATION
THAT YOU FEEL YOU CAN UNDERSTAND.
GINGER: IS THERE ONE YOU SUGGEST?
JOYCE: WELL, I USE THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE ALL THE TIME.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT OPINIONS ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS.
THERE'S THE NEW KING JAMES IS GOOD.
THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION IS GOOD.
THE AMPLIFIED TAKES SOME OF THE GREEK TEXT AND AMPLIFIES IT
SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT LONGER TO READ
AND THIS HELPS ME TO UNDERSTAND SOME THINGS
THAT I MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND OTHERWISE.
LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, FAITH.
THIS TELLS ME THAT FAITH IS THE LEANING OF THE ENTIRE HUMAN
PERSONALITY ON GOD, AND ABSOLUTE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE
IN HIS POWER, WISDOM, AND GOODNESS.
SO IN ANOTHER TRANSLATION, I MIGHT READ "HAVE FAITH IN GOD."
IF I READ THIS IT SAYS, "HAVE FAITH IN GOD"
AND THEN IT TELLS ME WHAT THAT FAITH IS.
IT'S ME LEANING ALL OF MYSELF ON GOD BELIEVING
THAT HE KNOWS WHAT TO DO, HE'S GOOD ENOUGH TO DO IT,
AND HE WILL DO IT IN THE RIGHT WAY AT THE RIGHT TIME.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE DIFFERENCE IN SOME OF THESE