Ephesians Who is God and what is He doing? The Spirit led Christian challenge "Be diligent (an ever present command) to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15) "For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for they are babes. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." (Hebrews 5:13-14) "For all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the children of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:15-17) The Christian's Questions How in the world can I prepare myself to accurately handle the Word of God? How can I learn to train my senses? How can I experience the joy of understanding the Word of God? How can I be equipped for every good work God puts in front of me? What Bible should I use, what is the Bible dictionary? There are so many great questions to be answered. Our Proposed Solution Using the Inductive Bible Study Method and the principles of Observation (what do I see?), Interpretation (what did it mean in its immediate cultural context?), and Application (How can I apply God's truth to my 21st century life style?) will guide you into the study of God's word. A Christian student who is depending on the indwelling Holy Spirit can soon become, with practice, and independent "miner" of God's biblical gold truth. However, it is important to be aware of two errors that can trip up a student of the Word of God: either they will take everything second hand from others or they will refuse to take any others view of certain doctrinal truths. We must remember that we are members of the Body of Christ, tied together under the headship of Jesus Christ. So our Lord has given us a system of checks and balances that will enable us to check our gold with those of other students and teachers. In this way we will learn the differences between God's gold and "fools gold" (See Acts 17: 10-11 and 1 Corinthians 14: 29). Ron R. Ritchie (1933- ) was born and raised in Philadelphia and Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He joined the Air Force in 1953 during the Korean War and served one year in Waco, Texas before he was shipped to Rabat, Morocco in North Africa, where he served for the next three and one-half years. During this time in Rabat, Ron met and married a lovely French woman named Anne Marie Saunier (July 1956). Upon his honorable discharge in August 1957, the couple returned to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he pursued his undergraduate degree in education, and then in 1966 went on finish his Th.M. degree at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. Ron was called to begin full-time ministry at Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church in Walnut Creek, California. In 1969, he was called to join the staff at Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California, where he served for some 27 years with his spiritual gifts as a pastor/teacher, evangelist and visionary, and eventually in the role as an elder. In 1997, the Lord called him to join the staff of Fellowship Bible Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado as a pastor and elder. And then, in 2000 the Lord (in concert with a group of godly men and women) encouraged Ron to begin a non-profit organization called Free at Last. This ministry is designed to enable him to use his spiritual gifts of teaching, evangelism and vision within local churches, as well as to continue both his national and international conference ministry. Free At Last JSU, Inc., PO Box 207, Menlo Park, CA 94026 (650) 575-5555 www.ronritchie.com