How to Read the Bible with Feelings

By Bonnio Cheung

There are different ways to read the Bible, and we can’t ignore our feelings and emotions. Since God created us with spirit, soul, and body, we need to experience God by positioning ourselves in the depths of imagination, reflection, meditation, and, of course, with our feelings as well. We already have many intellectual Bible study materials in all the Christian book stores, but we do need to keep our balance when we try to build up the spiritual growth for the body of Christ. Thus, we need to provide spiritual milk on how to draw near to God when reading the Scripture. In response to such a need, this book was written, and the author is looking forward to helping the readers encounter God in a new way with this work. This book will lead you to:

. Reflect on selected passages from Genesis to Revelation with new insight.
. Re-examine your relationship with God through 123 images.
. Restore your interactive communication with God.
. Review your life through reflective questions on God's word.
. Refresh your vision through the personal sharing of the author.
. Return to your feelings and allow emotions to flow out according to God's way.
. Revive your passion with a fresh fire for God's kingdom.

Whenever you finish reading this book, you may get to know God and yourself in a new way. With this transformation, you will impact the world with a new anointing by the Holy Spirit. At the same time, you will be a blessing to others with this new outpouring of love from Jesus, according to God’s word.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bonnio Cheung
• Release date: Jul 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005119096

Bonnio Cheung

Bonnio Cheung (M.Div., China Graduate School of Theology in Hong Kong; B.Soc.Sci. in Sociology, University of Ottawa) is an ordained pastor who was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Canada with his family when he was young. After he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, he was baptized at a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, and God called him to get ready for full-time ministry while he was still in college. He then worked as a counselor, serving developmentally handicapped adults for four years. Shortly after his graduation from theological seminary, Esther and Bonnio got married, and they are going to celebrate their 30th anniversary soon. He has served in Hong Kong as senior pastor at different churches for many years. Later on, he actively shared his Christian faith through his blog (https://prayerofblessing.blogspot.com/, with a pen name called “wildlittlefan”), articles, and a variety of Christian gift designs (wildlittlefan.redbubble.com) as well. During this period, he was called to serve the homeless on the streets of his city regularly and share the gospel with them, which he is still involved in. The Holy Spirit has firmly transformed his life and ministry in powerful ways. The work of the Holy Spirit, deliverance, healing, intercessory prayer, and hearing God’s voice are some of his expertise as well.

Book preview

Acknowledgement

I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS my special thanks to Esther, my loving wife, who has always provided support and invaluable advice in all the things that I do. Your wisdom and dedication to God’s work has established you as a great example for all the sheep in your ministry. Your hard work and attitude of offering the best to God has inspired and changed my life, as I seek to offer up the best to Him as well. I thank God for our partnership in life and look forward to experiencing more of His grace with you for as long as we can serve the Lord in whatever area He wants to use us.

To my friend, Cecilia Yeung, thank you for always providing all kinds of support to me in our friendship with Christ. Your love for Jesus and God’s word will always attract others to draw near to Him. All your contributions to families with special needs have already been a huge blessing to many in the past. May God continue to use all your knowledge and skills as a professional in family therapy and counselling to assist more people in the days to come.

Meanwhile, my sincerest thanks to the editor, Samuel Siu, for having offered the best assistance with my book. All the information and resources that you have provided me during our communication, either by email or Zoom, were all useful for my book publishing experience. I pray that God will keep on using you in this field and be a blessing to others in the future.

Iwant to express my sincerest gratitude to my second editor, Dr. Ted Kass, for offering his time to further proofread my book in order to bring this piece of work to a new level of understanding for my readers. Your advice and suggestions have already enriched my writing skills, which will surely benefit my future journey of publishing. I pray that God will bless you for all your generosity, including the time and energy that you have spent on this editorial process. May God keep on using you to be a blessing to others.

Ialso want to offer my greatest appreciation to my book cover designer, Whisky Lau. Without such an attractive and thoughtful design, my readers may not have felt motivated to discover more about this book or want to read it in detail after their first glance. I pray that God will continue to use your caring and humorous personality, in addition to your computer skills, to keep on supporting others.

How can I forget to show my appreciation and say a big thank you to Pastor Joshua Lam, who was extremely helpful with the technical aspects of this book, particularly during the final upload stage? Without your help, I won't be able to complete this most important process. May God bless your ministry in the days to come. 

Finally, I also thank God for giving me the creativity to design all the images in this book just by using the PowerPoint software on my MacBook as well.

Dedication

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK God for blessing me with the privilege of knowledge, experience, and feelings that have challenged and inspired me throughout my Christian life. For without Him, I would not have been able to complete this book: How to Read the Bible with Feelings. Thus, I dedicate this book to God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I give God the highest praise from the bottom of my heart. May God bless all my readers and transform anyone who longs to experience God in a new way through this book. To God be the glory, forever and ever! Amen.

Preface

WHY HAVE I WRITTEN a book on how to read the Bible with a heavy emphasis on feelings? It was simply due to the impact it has had on my life when I began to openly feel God’s word dwelling in my heart rather than approach it solely with a logical mind. While I am not a good writer by any means, I still love to write about my personal insights and interests. I would say that I love to write about God’s word because it is where my passion lies. Formally, this is my first book ever written about the Bible, and I would never have imagined having accomplished such a feat because I am a guy who has wrestled with many deep emotions since my teen years. I disliked anything too rational, too complicated or time-consuming, like writing a book or attending a Bible study. Frankly speaking, I felt Bible study was very boring as the Bible study leader usually kept lecturing on about the historical context, geographical information, and quoted the original Hebrews and Greeks all the time in order to help me understand the Bible better. Personally, I am not opposed to leading a Bible study like that, as it can certainly benefit many people who really need to know God’s word in this way. However, that is just not my style.

As I ponder in reflection , perhaps God had already prepared my heart when I was young because I was always interested in things that required imagination, creativity, and passion while I was still in my mother’s womb. I enjoyed history and all the classical characters I learned about in school. I was so moved by those touching stories of heroes in human history and poems that conveyed deep emotions. That is why I never excelled in any subject requiring the use of my intellectual ability, such as mathematics or science. I came to love the humanities, and that is why I completed my first degree in sociology.

Now, I know the Bible does have many teachings that require us to use our minds to understand them, and I am not against anybody who intends to understand the Bible through a rational approach at all. However, I feel we need a greater balance since God has created us with a spirit, soul, and body. As three-fold human beings, we need to learn things through our emotions and feelings as well. Thus, I dedicate this book to God, who loves us with His emotions and passions through Jesus, His only-begotten son. And to the Holy Spirit, who guides us to make sense of God’s word and is quenched for us whenever we sin against Him due to our human weaknesses.

Our God is full of feelings for us, to the extent that Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus. Jesus himself also taught us to love God with his command: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37). So, I pray that God will use this book to help anyone who desires to love God with a newfound passion and longs to feel the sweetness of His word during and after moments of reading and reflection. May the Holy Spirit revive your spirit while you read this book and restore your love for God with a new heart. May you then begin to love others as you love yourself, and may you spread the gospel as never before. To God be the glory. Amen.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION    

Old Testament

Section One (Pentateuch)

1. Genesis (1:1a)   

2. Genesis (3:1-3)   

3. Genesis (3:9)   

4. Genesis (6:9, 6:22, 7:5)

5. Genesis (22:1-8)   

6. Genesis (24:10-17)  

7. Genesis (32:24-29)  

8. Genesis (41:39-41)  

9. Exodus (3:1-10)   

10. Exodus (7:8-13)   

11. Exodus (14:21-22)  

12. Leviticus (19:2)   

13. Leviticus (23:3)   

14. Numbers (22:30-31)  

15. Deuteronomy (28:1-3, 15-16)

16. Deuteronomy (34:1-7)

Section Two (Historical Books)

17. Joshua (1:1-9)   

18. Joshua (24:14-15)  

19. Judges (6:11-13)   

20. Judges (16:25-30)  

21. Ruth (2:14-18)   

22. 1 Samuel (16:6-7)  

23. 1 Samuel (17:45-51)  

24. 2 Samuel (5:17-20)  

25. 2 Samuel (12:7-10)  

26. 1 Kings (11:9-13)   

27. 1 Kings (19:11-18)  

28. 2 Kings (2:9-14)   

29. 2 Kings (6:15-23)   

30. 1 Chronicles (29:16-19)

31. 2 Chronicles (1:7-12)  

32. 2 Chronicles (20:14-17)

33. Ezra (7:27-28)  

34. Nehemiah (6:15)   

35. Esther (4:12-17)   

Section Three (Wisdom Literature)

36. Job (1:6-12)   

37. Psalm (1:1-3)    

38. Psalm (8:3-4)    

39. Psalm (19:7-10)   

40. Psalm (23:4)    

41. Psalm (90:10-12)   

42. Psalm (91:3-8)   

43. Psalm (121:1-6)   

44. Psalm (150:1-6)   

45. Proverbs (3:5-6)   

46. Proverbs (17:22)   

47. Ecclesiastes (3:1-8) 

48. Song of Songs (1:5-6)  

Section Four (Major Prophets)

49. Isaiah (6:8-10)   

50. Isaiah (53:5)    

51. Isaiah (61:1-3)   

52. Jeremiah (1:4-10)   

53. Lamentations (3:21-24)

54. Ezekiel (1:1-3)   

55. Ezekiel (37:1-10)   

56. Daniel (6:17-23)   

Section Five (Minor Prophets)

57. Hosea (1:2-3, 3:1-4, 14:4)

58. Joel 2:28-32    

59. Amos 5:10-15   

60. Obadiah1: 8-10   

61. Jonah 1:7-17    

62. Micah 3:1-4    

63. Nahum 1:2-3    

64. Habakkuk 1:2-4   

65. Zephaniah 3:16-20  

66. Haggai 1:7-11    

67. Zachariah 2:3-5   

68. Zachariah 14:16-21 

69. Malachi 3:8-12   

70. Malachi 4:1-3    

New Testament

Section Six (Gospels)

71. Matthew (2:13-15)  

72. Matthew (4:1-11)   

73. Matthew (11:28-30) 

74. Matthew (17:1-8)   

75. Matthew (24:42-44)  

76. Matthew (28:19-20)  

77. Mark (1:21-34)   

78. Mark (3:13-19）  

79. Mark (7:31-37)   

80. Mark (10:13-16)   

81. Mark (11:1-11)   

82. Mark (14:22-25)   

83. Luke (6:32-36)   

84. Luke (10:30-37)   

85. Luke (12:22-31)   

86. Luke (15:1-7)    

87. Luke (22:39-46)   

88. John (2:1-11)    

89. John (4:4-10)    

90. John (11:32-44)   

91. John (13:1-17)   

92. John (15:4-5)    

Section Seven (Early Church History)

93. Acts (2:1-13)    

94. Acts (9:15-18)   

95. Acts (16:29-34)   

Section Eight (Episodes)

96. Romans (8:26-27)   

97. 1 Corinthians (10:14-22)

98. 2 Corinthians (9:6-9)  

99. Galatians (5:16-23)  

100. Ephesians (6:10-17) 

101. Philippians (1:18-19)  

102. Colossians (2:6-12)  

103. 1 Thessalonians (4:13-18)

104. 2 Thessalonians (2:1-8)

105. 1 Timothy (4:12)   

106. 2 Timothy (3:16-17)  

107. Titus (2:9-10)   

108. Philemon (1:8-18)   

109. Hebrews (11:1-2)   

110. James (3:3-12)   

111. 1 Peter (2:9-10)   

112. 2 Peter (3:17-18)   

113. 1 John (4:17-21)   

114. 2 John (1:6-11)   

115. 3 John (1:5-8)    

116. Jude (1:14-16)   

Section Nine (Prophecy)

117. Revelation (1:12-16)  

118. Revelation (3:14-21)  

119. Revelation (12:7-9)  

120. Revelation (20:4-6)  

121. Revelation (21:1-4)  

Epilogue 

Endnotes

Bibliography

About the Author

Introduction

ALTHOUGH THERE ARE many books in this world, none of them compares to God’s word. For it is the breath of God (2 Tim. 3:16) and it speaks to the destiny of all mankind. At the heart of Scripture is Jesus, who is the savior of all people and the greatest message of hope for the world. The only thing we need to do for salvation to become effective in our lives is to believe in and accept Jesus as our personal savior. The Bible is full of inspiration for both you and me. We just need to be willing to spend the time and effort studying it. The wisdom and knowledge of God flow out of the Bible each time we touch this gift by putting in the effort to understand it. New insights will always be found in our daily devotions, even as we read the same passage over and over again. Thus, any encounter with God’s word is a moment of blessing for those who read it and choose to obey.

There are plenty of commentaries and Bible study tools available online and offline that help us get to know the Bible through a deeper understanding of its original context, culture, and original languages from which it was translated. Yes, we are not lacking resources to help us in our understanding of the Bible in today’s world. Nevertheless, knowing something versus experiencing something is an entirely different story. There are so many people that could become Bible experts today in terms of education and training, but it does not mean that they will always walk with God or grow in an intimate relationship with Him. In order to experience God and build an unshakable relationship with Him, something must be done before we can experience the blessings of good fruit. These include reflection, self-examination, meditation, and follow-up action. Beyond the detailed Bible study approach, it is helpful to experience the Bible in a more practical way. Thus, this book is not intended for academic study purposes but rather to serve as a tool to lead readers into a deeper relationship with God through my personal sharing, invitation for reflection, meditation, and a call to action within each section, such as a personal prayer.

Based on the messages they conveyed, I have selected various passages from the entire Bible to share my feelings and insights. I pray that it will encourage readers to jump into an ocean of feelings and emotions to experience God’s presence from Scripture in a new way. It is a different approach to getting to know God deeper, leaning away from the traditional, rational approach such as Bible study or Sunday school.

While this book is mainly for Christians, it does not exclude readers who may be non-believers either. Who knows what may happen when a lost soul comes to accept Jesus as their savior by reading even just a page of this book? I pray that God will use this writing to speak to all my readers. If you are ready to feel the Bible right now, then fasten your seat belt and let us begin your adventure with the following prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this unique learning experience. I am willing to humble myself and begin this journey of getting to know you in a new way right now. Oh, Lord Jesus, reveal yourself to me in a way I have never experienced before while I started to read this book. Oh, Holy Spirit, empower me with passion and a thirsting heart to step into a new realm of knowing and experiencing God. Use me as a channel to be a blessing to others upon finishing the book. Let my transformation process begin and glorify your name during and after my reading. Amen.

Fig. 1.

OLD TESTAMENT

SECTION ONE

PENTATEUCH

Genesis 1:1

1 In the beginning, God[a] created the heavens and the earth.

It puzzles me why people still teach about evolution in schools today. Of course, there is always a reason behind everything, but evolution is far from the answer. I recall what the professor in my Physical Anthropology course told me was the main reason behind the evolution theory still being taught to us at the time. He said many scientists do not actually believe in the evolution theory anymore. However, for the sake of earning a living at the university, they still teach it to students as science. In other words, they teach evolution not because it is true, but because it is a means of survival. Later, I also discovered that in scientific research, it is difficult to get funding for a creation project (a project to discover how the Earth was created in 6 days) since most top universities already intend to live with a false theory for another decade or century. It is terrible to know that the truth is being hidden instead of being brought out into the light.

Thankfully, God has already revealed the truth about the existence of our universe in the very first verse of the Bible. There’s no denying it. Every night, when you gaze up at the beautiful moon and starry sky above, the mysteries of the solar system already provide the answer to you: that without a powerful creator, they simply wouldn’t exist. So, do you base your answers on scientific theories or on God’s word? Which one do you prefer to believe when seeking out the truth? I have chosen God’s way. Now, there are a couple of interesting questions that I want to ask you: What purpose do you think God has for you while you are living on Earth? Do you think his plan for you is unique and something special? Have you ever felt you were special in God’s eyes? Perhaps you can take a moment now to meditate on your past and see how God wants to use you in the future. If you already know the answer, then I challenge you to share it with others and encourage them to seek out God’s plan for their lives.

Fig. 2.

Genesis 3:1-3

¹Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’? ²The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, ³but not the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it. You shall not touch it, lest you die.’"

There is a question that people usually ask: why did God create Satan, or the devil? It seems like humans love to blame God for every single bad thing that happens. Well, firstly, God didn’t create fallen angels—Satan and his 1/3 of angels fell from heaven. For when God created in the first chapter of Genesis, he proclaimed them to be good after every stage of creation, and particularly when he created man and woman, he said they were very good. Everything was good when they were first created. Do you see that? If we take Adam and Eve, for example, you learn that they turned into sinful humans not because God first created them that way. It was their own choice to disobey God’s command and word that led to their fall. God never wanted us to live like robots, and that is the reason he gave us free will; the ability to choose. This capacity for free will also applies to how God created the angelic beings. God first created angels, not Satan and the fallen angels. In the book of Isaiah, we learn that Satan and his followers in heaven were expelled because of their sinful choices and disobedience to God. Jesus also confirmed this as well.

What if your creation turns on you despite your best efforts to treat them with dignity and honor? I don’t think I could put into words how God felt at that moment, since His wisdom is far greater than mine. However, I picture it to be like a scenario in which I had raised children of my own and came to experience a grave moment of betrayal and separation. It would have been a heartbreaking experience for me, especially if I had known that they would make this choice from the beginning.

When Eve started to blame Satan for her sin, Adam did the same. He first blamed God, who made the woman, and then started to blame Eve for causing him to sin. You can immediately see the terrible result of sin and the consequence of disobedience to God’s word. Everything spiraled down very quickly.

So, we are responsible for our own choices, not the ones that gave us the freedom to choose. How often do you blame others when something bad happens? I must admit that I sometimes do it too. That is why we need God to help us see ourselves in the mirror as the people we truly are. For without God’s help, we will keep on blaming God or others around us. Never would we self-willingly view ourselves as being the problem, even though it’s the result of our own free will.

Do you think that it is wise to seek God’s help in this area? I know that it is a must for me whenever I give myself an honest review. It is so easy to blame others rather than admit I am the troublemaker. I pray that God will speak to you when you are willing to humble yourself before Him in your moment of reflection after reading this message. What have you been doing right or wrong in the past few weeks that may influence others now? How do you think God feels about it? Begin your reflection now and talk to God about your feelings in all these aspects.

Fig. 3.

Genesis 3:9

⁹Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, Where are you?

Adam and Eve were face -to-face with God before their fall, but now they had to hide. As a result of their sin, they began to live in fear, being afraid of God in a way that was not meant to be. Here, you can see how sin damages our relationship with God through the account of Adam and Eve, our ancestors. We surely will not be any better than our ancestors, who were once perfect, whenever we sin against God. We always feel lost and do not know where to turn when we live in the bondage of sin. When I rebel against God and do not repent right away, I feel lost. There are times I really feel like giving up and hiding myself far away from people, so I will not be disturbed. Sometimes it is good to be quiet and spend time alone with God to deal with our sins. However, if you think you just want to hide from God by not dealing with your sin, trust me, it won’t work.

While we deserve punishment for our sins, I’m thankful we have a good God who is forgiving and shows mercy. He always wants us to deal with our sin and restore our communication with him. It is a painful experience to allow sin to stay in our lives and be disconnected from God. Those can be the darkest nights of your soul. Thus, repentance is so important. Are you in a state of hiding from God? If you are, how do you feel now? I pray that you will make the right decision to return to God as soon as possible, since he is waiting for you out of grace and love.

Fig. 4.

Genesis 6:9, 6:22, 7:5

⁹This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:9)

²²Thus Noah did. He did all that God commanded him. (Genesis 6:22)

⁵Noah did everything that Yahweh commanded him. (Genesis 7:5)

Wouldn't you like to be told, as Noah was, that you are my faithful servant when you stand before God in heaven? For sure, you want to hear those comments from God, and so do I. When we reflect on our lives, we may find many instances where we failed God by disobeying His commands. Making a direct comparison with Noah, you can see the reason why God gave Noah such good comments. The Bible clearly states to us that Noah was a righteous man in his generation (Genesis 7:1) and was blameless among the people in his time as well (Genesis 6:9). When God told him to build an ark, he did, and the Bible says Noah did everything just as God had commanded him to do at the end of Genesis 6. Then in Chapter 7, when God told Noah to enter the ark with all the other animals, he did what God commanded as well (Genesis 7:5). I feel there are at least two things I can learn from Noah during his ark experience.

1. His faith in God was really a simple faith. He did not argue with God when God told him to do something.

2. He just made use of all his abilities and did his best to finish the assignment that he received from God.

Noah’s story causes me to look at my own life and question whether I can resonate with such a deep desire to trust God in my life as he did. If I being honest with myself, I realized I would sometimes respond with a yes and other times with a no. For there are times I can live with God’s command when there seems to be less of a price to pay, such as when God told me to share the gospel with the poor. In situations like that, God will always get a yes from me. However, when God tells me to love someone who hurt me or someone I hate, it becomes exceedingly difficult, even though I know that forgiveness is a command from God. There were so many no, no, no moments that popped up in my mind, as it would cast away my hopes of seeing judgement befall that person