Inset for Part III, The Lord vs. Satan: SupCtHeaven;

Basically, the DAILY spiritual life IS using the steps in the section, "1Jn outlines God's Script" of Part I. The "God's System" link at pagetop gives you a short-yet-comprehensive overview to complement what Part I says. Additionally, if you are truly serious about learning God -- and don't do this UNLESS it's HIM Who interests you -- the tips below will make learning Him most profitable:

1. The key to rapid growth is to learn to habitually MONITOR your thinking. Create two habits: first, use 1Jn1:9 like breathing. Chances are you are sinning and don't know it, for there are a bizillion ways to sin, now. So, whenever something bothers you, or you're feeling a tad cocky, learn to "associate" that feeling with using 1Jn1:9. BIG HINT: whatever 'sins' to which you react, those are the ones which YOU are sinning, too. Paul showed this point to his audience in Romans 2, when he said, "Do you steal?" See, they were reacting to thieves, but they were stealing the WORD from its rightful place in their lives! Another Dramatic Example: Moral degeneracy reacts against immorality because the moral degenerate is FORNICATING with idolized works! (See the Lord's comments about the Pharisees. Isaiah has some scathing sermons on this topic, passim. Paul does, too, in Galatians. See also "whose god is their emotion" clause in Philippians 3.)
   Maybe make a cassette tape you can play to awaken you with 1Jn1:9 reminders, and for others you find helpful. Also, I use 1Jn1:9 before saying grace -- every time I put something in my mouth. So, physical food is associated now with Divine Food, heh: I got that idea from Matt4:4. Maybe that habit will help you, too -- you decide.

   Another great monitoring device: PRAY as often as you can, in your thoughts. Prayer has many "offices": it's 'conversation', for God always 'replies' so you can learn more about His Son; it's a Crown Prince (YOU) expressing his Royal Voting (Opinion, request) Prerogative to the Father (cf Rom5:1); best of all, it's AWARENESS of Him, and that AWARENESS will shield you from temptation (because temptation becomes ever-more-boring compared to looking at Him). So, of course there's a ROYAL PROTOCOL for it: all prayer is addressed to the Father, just as Christ does in John 17; because we are bought by Christ, we pray IN THE NAME OF Christ; of course, be online using 1Jn1:9 during the prayer, and make sure what you ask lines up with doctrine. This protocol is due to the fact that we are "boldly before the Throne of Grace" so it's also a celebration, besides the proper recognition of authority. Christ did nothing apart from the Father's Will on it, so of course we shouldn't, either. Hence the protocol. Caution: If you ask for something you shouldn't, God might just give it to you to show you WHY it's no good! For, prayer is truly a weapon, truly effective, and as we saw in Corollary 3C, YOU have authority, too! It's the Royal authority and Royal intimacy the Lord bought for us which constitute the heart of the meaning of prayer. See, we are ROYAL Priests UNDER the Lord. We are thus given TREMENDOUS power. Use it wisely: and the only way to learn how to use it wisely, is to practice with REAL prayer, while online with the Spirit!

   Study the John 17 prayer carefully. Note both structure and tone: analytical, tracing the INTEGRITY of the doctrinal bases through to their conclusions; intimate; confident; succinct; thorough. Note how He's not saying some set prayer (the inane bane of religion), but is actually THINKING. Note how the Lord's Requests aim at uppermost goals, rather than specific mechanics. Note how ORDERED His Thought process is, and how He doesn't use flowery words or empty phrases ("pray not as the Gentiles do, with their many words", He'd told the disciples). Note also how He's not shy about saying what He wants; note how His statements have the form of acknowledgement, HONOR. See, God needs no chanting, Uriah Heeps!

   Second, "Baptise" (associate) whatever you see, hear, or think with something you know of Christ, of God, of the Bible. Make it a game, the way Christ did! For, such "baptising" is thoroughly enjoyable. With practice, DOCTRINAL ASSOCIATION BECOMES A NUCLEAR WEAPON against sin, as well as FOR more joy than you can imagine. This habit is the ultimate goal for all thoughts, the way to bring them into captivity to Christ. It is this habit which sustained Christ on the Cross, and thus enabled Him TO THINK DIVINELY, so to pay for our sins. For every thought, there will be a verse, or a doctrine "ruling" on it. Heh, God's Opinion! So you're "hearing" Him! Okay, How right is the thought? How wrong is it? What to do with it? Remember the 1st Commandment: God the Father hears each thought you think: will He be pleased? Will the Spirit groan at your thinking too much about "earthly things"? So, how to exploit, rule on that thought? See? YOU'RE RULING! And They hear you! Granted, it's extremely difficult to do, this association, but you'll grow to LOVE it: promise. Also, your spiritual life depends on this habit being developed. So, begin now, with whatever doctrine you know. Play with it, have a good time!

   Don't worry if you believe something incorrectly, when you associate. Don't become "anal" (abbreviation for a psychiatric term), quibbling over how you messed up. No athlete starts out competent. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. (I like to think of this as spiritual racquetball -- you substitute your favorite sport, heh.) Start small, if this task seems too daunting. You don't have to get it "right" overnight. Practice a little more, try to keep it a game. (God means for this to become enjoyable, so don't grit your teeth.) For example, start by just being AWARE of what you are thinking, what motivates you. Not all thoughts which "hit" are really yours, but are picked up from outside of you (i.e., from news, your body, others). So don't fret over what might seem a bad thought. Attempt to use 1Jn1:9 as often as possible -- that will help develop your awareness. It will keep you on-line with the Spirit, too, which is essential. If you don't stay on-line, you're Satan fodder. Count on it. Satan&Co. are sending you thoughts all the time. So you NEED the protection 1Jn1:9 affords.

2. Try to keep an open mind to any doctrine you hear, and learn under the Spirit (1Jn1:9, a frequent habit). Even a "wrong" doctrine will yield added insight regarding 'correct' ones you've already learned. You'll be pleasantly surprised. So, you don't have to feel threatened by any falsehood you might hear. Try to figure out how that falsehood is created: what verse is used, what's the logic behind the interpretation? It's very profitable. You don't need to 'protect' yourself. Of course, you might find out that what you thought was a falsehood, proves true after all. Ahhh, then you REALLY profit, big-time. That's what God's Plan in Christ is all about: "the Riches" verses.
   If you are still under the authority of your parents, and they insist you learn under their choice of pastor, then that's what God wants, too -- for now. It doesn't matter if that pastor seems (or even is) wrong. If you are no longer under the authority of your parents, find a pastor-teacher (God will show you who He's appointed for you). Study under him, if possible, daily (no more than an hour, lest you burn out). Don't worry too much about where your pastor might be wrong, or right. In the early stages, being under authority does you the greater good, in God's hierarchy of values. Just as it didn't matter that your parents weren't perfect, so also it doesn't matter that your pastor isn't perfect. Nor, of course, does it matter that you aren't perfect.

   Any errors will be shown to you as time passes: God "waits" until you are ready to get the correction. He's VERY good at making a correction clear -- often, with humor! So this is fun -- not dreary. Remember, God's out to make you happy -- not to make you "sacrifice". So you don't have to worry about making mistakes. Christ died so you could GROW -- not so you could become paralyzed by guilt, like the paralytic in Matt9. Not so you could become obsessed with other believers' false ideas or sins, like the Pharisees. But so that you could "grow in Grace, and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Savior"..2Pet3:18. Look at that verse -- it ends with GLORY. So will you, if you keep on learning Him. THAT pleases the Father. THAT obeys the 1st Commandment. So it doesn't matter that you will make mistakes, during your learning of Him.

   What does matter: don't be bull-headed, don't be discouraged, don't give in to the peasant-argument you should be out there hustling for the Lord. Or, if you slip up (and we all do!), use 1Jn1:9. The Lord has a LOT bigger job in mind for the Church, than Satan's cheap "Brother Foot" garbage. After all, we have seen from Part II that works are just a mask for rebellion against God. So "works" is a minefield. Bible Doctrine will become your minefield detector -- IF IF IF you learn it. THEN you will be "mature, thoroughly furnished unto all good works". Not before. (Greek "artios" is variously translated in English Bibles. It means sufficiently-trained, hence mature.)

3. "Let patience have its completing work" as James counsels in James 1. Keep plugging in your study. At the right time(s), God will give you plenty to "do" for others -- of FAR greater importance than you can imagine, now. 'Far greater than if you were Bill Gates, and gave all the money away. God blesses plodders; for, just as HE elected to become a plodder, plodding with our shortfall, our sins, our weaknesses, so also HE elects to bless those who plod along despite the unending obstacles of life (pleasant, or unpleasant, all of life is a type of obstacle to seeing Him FIRST).

4. Claim that promise! Create your own list of favorite promises in the Bible: my pastor counsels his congregation to make promise notebooks of their own, meaningful to THEM. One of my longtime favorites is Ps46:10: "Be still: and KNOW that I am God." Rest! "Knowing this": because the Bible is the Word of God, it is 100% infallible, coherent, inerrant. So, every verse ties to every other verse. It's not possible to get a whole doctrine out of only one verse. So, it takes time to learn. You'll get the time: you're royal, and need it! By the way: Don't get tangled up in the many idiotic claims that the Bible has this-or-that 'flaw': those claims only end up proving the Word of God MORE inerrant and infallible than you already knew! You'll be tempted to prove the claims wrong -- don't bother. God the Holy Spirit will do that for you. He does it humorously. He "waits" until you've enough understanding, and -- for fun! -- will suddenly 'remind' you of some long-forgotten old chestnut, thus vindicating His Word. Then, you'll smile. Save time, then, and just focus on learning the Word. Save the naysayers embarrassment, too, once you DO know where they're wrong: they need the grace of time to learn privately, on their own, where they flubbed up. Just like we did.

5. Give top priority to first learning the following key doctrines: Salvation, Essence of God and Trinity, Hypostatic Union, Ministries of the Spirit, spiritual mechanics (habitual use of 1Jn1:9 and study under one's pastor-teacher -- that "1Jn Script" in Part I); claiming promises, 1Jn1:9. The last two help keep you stable while you learn the first six. So, at FIRST just "do" 1Jn1:9 and study under your pastor, even before you understand why those two functions are valid.

   Salvation is the first doctrine to learn, because Scripture's authors frequently use it as an analogy to explain more-advanced teachings. They are building on the basics, building on what you would first know. For example, the term itself (sozo, verb; sotereia, cognate noun) has a WIDE VARIETY of meanings: to save, to deliver, to save from, to deliver from, to save to, to deliver to, to save (accumulate), to save (cost), etc etc etc. So, careful review of the verses with these words in them shows that "save" and "salvation" have EVERY kind of meaning, because saved to-Heaven BEGETS every other kind of saving and delivering, down here! Doctrine learned 'saves' you from sin, for example, in that it delivers you from carnality (one of 7 types of 'death' in Scripture), because you are looking at the DOCTRINE more than looking at the temptation; hanging on to the rope of Doctrine ('rope' being a metaphor for a type of Hebrew word for 'faith' in OT), and being pulled out of the chasm of sin. Saved, as in saving money, too: for, Doctrine is ultimate wealth ("riches" and "wisdom" verses). So you are saved and saving and being saved CONSTANTLY, in the sense that you are always growing in WEALTH if you keep using 1Jn1:9 and study under your right pastor.

   It's downright humourous, all these plays on "save": like Paul told Timothy to save something, "guard the noble deposit" (Bible Doctrine). Since guarding is for the purpose of saving something from attack or harm: LOL, we save Doctrine? YEP, we do! Hoarding it, even, delivering it from being a mere book in a hotelroom drawer, "redeeming the time"! See all the fabulous wordplay you can make with "save"? Awesome, beautimous Doctrine!

   My pastor often alludes to this use of 'save' by means of a doctrine he teaches I find more 'saving' than almost all the others: what he calls, "the 4 Decisions". The moniker references the STRUCTURE of the Lord's Decision to take on Humanity (1Tim2:5, Greek), and also, His Thinking on the Cross: atonement, propitiation, reconciliation and redemption. Doctrine CONSTANTLY does all these things when used: an inviolable SPIRITUAL law -- FOR GOD, and FOR YOU. If you search on and then click on the "Fixes" links on the Home page, and then search on "4 Decisions" you'll find a LOT more is said there about this most important topic.

   Sadly, many Christians don't recognize the writers' use of salvation as analogy-building-block. As a consequence, Christians thus draw wrong conclusions, e.g., one can lose salvation. For example, Paul teaches eternal security by means of a fortiori logic in Romans 5:1-11, then builds on that to show how the royal rewards tie in, in the 2nd half of Romans 5 -- but again, starting with our death in Adam, and salvation. Check it out...

   Notice how the stress is on learning God, not trivia like whether women should have their heads covered with hats, or with long hair. (Every doctrine is important, but not all have equal priority. God is first, and by far, MOST Enjoyable.)

6. Folks who know me personally tell me they find my pastor's Integrity series books helpful, in providing an outline they can use to target an integrated overview, in their own studies. My pastor's church NEVER: reveals names (e.g., sells out lists), asks for money, sends you mail you didn't first request. CLICK HERE for that website.
The latest Integrity Books don't reflect his teaching after 1996, which mammothly upgraded how Divine Love Motive and Doctrine learning are mutually-dependent: for that upgrade, you need to get the "1992 Spiritual Dynamics" audiotapes (also on MP3), beginning in the year 1997. That's six years of daily lessons (through 2003), but you can get them free at about 20-30 lessons per month. Church policy on the limit each month is there so people don't overstudy. You'll have to ask them what's the latest limit, by writing or calling (website has address and phone data). They ship around the world. Again, you don't need money to get the material, and you shouldn't give until and unless you know what GOD says about it.
Caution: don't read these books in public, unless you like being pestered with the request, "Where did you get that book?" Some of my acquaintances told me they were been pestered dozens of times.
7. Each book of the Bible is worded so to reveal how one should reason out doctrines. The NT epistles are especially helpful. The Book of Romans walks one through the way to think out a doctrine, step-by-step, for example. BIBLE USES KEYWORDS as bookends; this helps you organize not only the definitions of biblical doctrines, but also how they interrelate. So, when reading, spot the repeated words; carefully note how they are used throughout the Bible, not just in a verse, not even just in an epistle.
8. The OT remains important, for its patterns are still "written for our benefit", says Paul (i.e., in Greek of 1Cor10:11). Sure, the Mosaic Law was set aside, but the Law of Christ incorporates most of the underlying Mosaic precepts, albeit no longer the ceremonial forms and (dietary, etc.)taboos. "For the Lord, is the Lord of the Sabbath" and we are to have a lifestyle of rest in the Word (last half of Heb 4). If you feel uncomfortable not following some OT rule, then tentatively follow it -- pending further learning, lest your conscience be troubled, the meanwhile.
9. Thus, you learn how God's Grace works, so begin to know Him better -- you're learning how He thinks, so you develop what my pastor (and others) calls GRACE ORIENTATION. Remember what was said about the "middle" in Parts I-III so far? The ORIENTATION (positive or negative attitude) toward the "middle" determines the meaning of one's life (wonderful, or terrible). So also, with Grace. Grace-oriented people tend to be relaxed and happy; those against grace (i.e., the ones who rail about others' sins) tend to be uptight, and mentally ill. So, becoming grace-oriented is good for your mental health, too. Saving you, heh -- from a very miserable life.
   The OT usually provides examples of grace, as do the Gospels. These are analogous to "case law". The NT is best for learning WHY God's Grace works as it does. Grace orientation is a must, to rightly-divide when/if/how to do things like give to the poor, or write in the sand; to avoid getting tangled up in anger or irritation, etc. when someone or something doesn't accord with your standards.

   See, we are each different. We don't all learn Truth the same way, to the same extent, on the same topic, at the same time. So you will be 'ahead' of others on some truths; they will be ahead of you on others. Even, if you are younger than they. Even, if they are younger than you. So the trick is, to "cut some slack", "give the other space", and -- give YOURSELF the space, too. For, you will also fail to meet your own standards. But, you are human. But, you can't meet Divine Standards, and every attempt you make, you will always fail. But, with each attempt you make, you get CLOSER, if 1Jn1:9 is used, and you're studying under your right pastor. Just like with physical exercise. So, things won't meet standards, either; nor will people. LIFE GIVES US ALL TIME TO GET ENOUGH EXERCISE. That's GRACE!

   See, if you LOVE the Standard, you are YOURSELF expressing that love by trying to OBEY that standard yourself. If you DON'T love the Standard, you are trying to get benefit from others obeying some standard which gives you pleasure. What hypocrisy. How common. How depraved we all are! For who of us has NOT been guilty of this fake-love? So, we failed our own standards, but expected others to obey? Thank God for 1Jn1:9!

   So, the essence of grace is, "My standards apply to ME, no matter how right they may be for others. So I must live up to them (or improve); no one else is EXPECTED to meet my standards." That's HONOR talking. That's LOVE talking. That's GRACE talking. That's GOD TALKING (see 2nd half Rom5): for, again, the better benefit of studying is to learn how God thinks, and why He thinks as He does. It is extremely RELAXING and FREEING to know what Grace really is; how BIG it really is; how PERVASIVE and UNCONDITIONAL it really is; not simpering, whimpering, wimpy or pimpy. You don't give up common sense, you don't let the criminal go free, and you don't judge him, either. Boundary lines are essential, to understanding Truth, His Seeing -- and apart from grace orientation, the Christian will never make it out of spiritual childhood: such a legalist or hedonist will forever see things in black-and-white terms; that is to say, childishly. If you evaluate yourself to be in this category, don't worry, for GOD GIVES GRACE to grow you up (2Pet3:18)! So, just keep on keeping on with God's Script. For, it's OK to be a spiritual child, it's just NOT okay to REMAIN there, lol. And you won't remain that way, if you keep on with God's Script.

10. Grace Orientation will lead to a Doctrinal Orientation, as you keep studying. "Doctrinal orientation" means 'how God sees things, 'decides' things'. So, you'll gain a grasp of His Attitude on any topic: this is THE reason to want to breathe, imo. Again, the same procedures outlined above can be used to ferret out the boundary lines of doctrines. (Hint: when you see what seem to be 'contradictory' Bible verses, you've instead found a boundary line, heh.) For example, what OT rules do not carry over to our "NOW", and why? When should you also confess some sin to the person against whom you committed it? Always? Never? Sometimes? If God is Triune, what impact does that have on His Policy? Who does what within the Godhead, and why? Learning here helps you get the data you need to form a frame of reference in decisionmaking. Again, the better benefit is to know Him better. His View and Opinion -- sheer delight. Sheer protection, too -- even more protection than the Ps119 people exulted in having, while on the death march to Babylon.
    Here's why: the TRUTH IS GORGEOUS. So Gorgeous, even the Cross was pure profit. "Fixes.htm" ("Fixes" link on Home page) explains this in great detail, in the (first) section, "Nature of God Topics". If you want to really see WHY Doctrine works so very well, absorb that material, and talk with Father about it while using 1Jn1:9. The spiritual life is about learning Truth, and learning to Love Truth. God's Truth, aka "Doctrine". BIBLE Doctrine. GORGEOUS DIAMONDS, which save you, and which you want to save, cherish, admire, look at forever: HIM. For, as He said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" -- oh, how very TRUE! The same yesterday, today, and forever!

    So specialize in both Grace Orientation, and Doctrinal Orientation: the GODO team will 'save' you from spiritual childhood, 'deliver' you into spiritual adulthood; you won't have to wait for Godot, which is Satan's SATIRE of God's Grace and Truth (play by Samuel Beckett)! But, if you don't WANT to learn GODO, then..you'll wait forever for the fantasy of works/ emotionality/ whatever to 'pay off'. But if you DO want to learn GODO, then you will learn LOVE. Keep on keeping on, then, for "the law came through Moses; but Grace and Doctrine, through Jesus Christ" (Jn1:17); and "Confidence never disappoints, for the Love of God is poured out into our Hearts by means of the Spirit (Rom5:5)! [I'm quickly typing from memory, so maybe the quotes are a bit 'off'. However, "Doctrine" is depicted by many keywords in Bible, like "faith", "truth", "wisdom", "Word". I'm using "Doctrine" for such words, for Truth is ORGANIZED. GOD's DOCTRINE, not man's or Satan's. So also, "Hope" is a pregnant Greek word "elpis", and means "confident expectation"; Paul tweaks Plato's Philebus when he uses "elpis", for Plato had a wimpier definition of "elpis"; since, all man's doctrines are wimpy, compared with God's. Sadly, the English translators only translate parreseia (sp) as "confidence"; so the English reader who sees "hope" gets a WIMPY meaning!]

11. To most speed your development of LOVE due to GODO, and thus prevent the "divorce" of Love from right/wrong learning (Satan's tragic flaw):

    Do what David always did, ever since he was a lad keeping sheep. Remember 1Jn1:9 (cf. Ps32:5), and talk with God (prayer, really, but conversationally) about what you think you're learning. After all, the entire Godhead Indwell you. Play with the concepts, ask the Father questions, pretend you're supposed to explain the doctrine you are learning "to" Him. The Spirit won't reply in "voices" or "visions", of course, but you'll be surprised how often you suddenly see the answer. (Holy Spirit recalls to your mind doctrinal principles which answer, prove, give insight: John14, 1Cor2.) Of all the believers I know, the most-advanced ones are always talking with Him about something. Why not? He's not a figment of our imaginations. ['Maybe don't talk to Him out loud in public, though..people won't understand :)]

    Don't avoid God, no matter how bad you feel about something; instead, pour your heart out, like David did, remembering what Peter says in 1Pet5:7 (Greek says throw your troubles on God as if He were a pack animal!); like the Lord poured out His Heart, in Hebrews 5:7-9. (Nerd Note: "perfect" in v.9 is mistranslated -- should be "completed" in spiritual growth.)

    Lack of conversation with God will kill your spiritual life, even as it kills any other relationship. People don't talk much with someone if they've got a problem in the relationship. So, this is where every Christian hits his big 'glitch' in the spiritual life, so he never learns LOVE. Instead, he gets his eyes stuck on earthly things, this world this humanity -- and especially, the DEFECTS thereof. He concludes, like Satan, that self-getting ought not to PERMIT what displeases. What a trap that is. And how difficult, to avoid! For, it's easy to love something or someone who pleases you, but NOT easy to love what displeases. Doctrine, Grace, Truth displease the sin nature; displease the one who wants, OF HIS OWN EFFORT, to be important before God.

    Total Depravity, as we saw in Part II (also "T" of "TULIPS?" link, and Spir.Pathology link at this page's ends), means we humans appropriate any "good" into a self-merit claim, rather than ENJOY the "good" of whatever the thing is. Lots of humans, then, work very hard at getting good at something, but not to enjoy IT; but rather, to preen over the self. It's heartbreaking to watch, for inevitably, if the goal is reached, the person ends up frustrated and empty. For, he WRECKED HIS ENJOYMENT by using 'good' to make self good, rather than to enjoy the good itself. That's why works-oriented Christians are so very boring, annoying, brittle, frustrated, legalistic, dry, shallow. They appropriate works into self-merit claims, and dissociatively hide that ABuse of Grace from themselves. Thus, they become very prickly over those who don't do as well as they consider themselves to do: "measuring themselves by themselves, are not wise" Paul told the Corinthians. Satan WANTS this result: get your eyes on self-merit, on people, so self-merit gets FED. Rather than, GRACE ENJOYMENT of what true good is: God's LOVE, God's provision.

    So, if you talk with Father about what you are learning, if you talk with Him about whatever is on your mind, you will avoid the trap of making-self-good. For, when you talk with God, you are AWARE of God; and AWARENESS is the #1 operational key to spiritual growth, as we saw in the Third Reason for Royalty's "Multisphere" table (link at pagetop). Being AWARE of God (oh, this is so important, I have reminders on every wall of my house), spiritual tfellin, means you become HABITUALLY AWARE of HIS VAST BEAUTY. So you avoid the trap of self-merit more quickly. You still fall in, but you get out sooner, wake up sooner, etc. -- because the habit of AWARENESS grows. So, LOVE grows.
Back in Deuteronomy and Leviticus, God gave the Jews a lot of commands and rituals to constantly remind them of Him. That was the major idea behind using do's, and why the do's were constructed so punctiliarly. For, they were all reminders. To us in modern times, the idea of wrapping little leather strips (holding miniscule verses) around your head and arms, and tassels on your clothes looks bizarre: but remember, they didn't have Post-it notes back then. Moreover, the MEANING of those things was beautiful, and the actual crafting of those things was beautiful also. Tfellin strips were leather, and leather is beautiful. Leather was widely used for anything important, i.e., as combat clothing to protect the body in battle. Its material bespeaks permanence, constancy, thickness, protection: just as Doctrine is and should be running in the soul. Tassels, around the bottom of the person's clothes (tfellin being at the top, so the whole person gets covered by doctrinal reminders, heh) were also decorative: we call that "fringe", today, and you'll see fringe everywhere, for decoration. But the Better Purpose for it is reminder: have Doctrine decorate your soul from top (tfellin) to bottom (tassels), and then you are truly beautiful.

12. Ideally, seek an aerial-view understanding of the whole picture. For example, learn the Angelic Conflict (in a nonemotional way) and the Divine organization of history. These greatly help check the "fit" of any other interpretations you hear or learn. They give you the "big picture", God's overview. You'll begin to see why He created creation as He did, why history works as it does -- and your appreciation of Him will multiply. Also, you will become gradually able to assess any item you face currently in light of where it "fits" within the Divine Scheme of Things. Ephesians, Hebrews, Revelation are critical books on these latter two topics. Ironically, panoramic study is the most relaxing of all: for, in seeing the Whole, you better see the Who. Sadly, panoramic study is the least-explored way of studying God, among Christians I've seen.

By contrast...