by Jen | Oct 21, 2025 | DISO studies, Romans 12
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Welcome back! I hope you had a chance to consider where the Spirit is leading you to dig deeper in this passage and to focus on characters, locations, and timeframes in the text. Here’s what I noticed from my study so far.
Last Week’s Work
MY PERSONAL TREASURE
I most felt the pull of the Spirit to verses 3 and 16. In addition to wondering what the author meant by sober judgment and the measure of faith assigned in v3, I felt convicted by both verses: not to think of myself more highly than I ought and do not be haughty. Feels like this study will challenge me a lot!
WHO (CHARACTERS)
- I, the author of this passage. In Romans 1:1, he’s identified as Paul, a servant [Greek doulos] of Christ Jesus. He also describes himself there as being called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.
- You, brothers who are the recipients of this letter. They’re described in Romans 1:6-7 as those in Rome who are loved by God and called to belong to Jesus Christ and to be saints.
- God, who is merciful (v1) and whose will is good, acceptable, and perfect (v2),
- Christ, in whom we, though many, are one body (v5). According to Romans 1:4 and 7, this character is also referred to as Lord. You are instructed to serve the Lord (v11), and vengeance is the Lord’s (v19).
- The passage also mentions several other characters in the verses discussing gifts—i.e., one who teaches, exhorts, contributes, leads, does acts of mercy (vv7-8)—and behavior expectations: those who persecute you (v14), rejoice, weep (v15); the lowly (v16); all (vv17-18); and your enemy (v19).
WHERE (LOCATIONS) AND WHEN (TIMEFRAMES)
I discovered just one location, this world (v2), but the footnote in my ESV translation indicates this term might also be translated age which we could consider a timeframe! At this point, I’m assuming Paul is telling the Romans not to conform to the culture in Rome at that time. I don’t feel the Spirit leading me to learn more about that right now, but if He is directing you to that verse, I suggest you plan to dig deeper there in the refining phase in a few weeks.
Dig-In Challenges
Here’s my plan this week:
- PRAY the prayer I wrote last week before I study.
- MINE: Look for repeated words or phrases in this passage and check for synonyms or pronouns that might refer to the same concepts.
- MINE: Locate any special statements (blessings, commands, curses, prayers, promises, requests, and/or warnings) in the passage.
- MINE: Note any lists (3 or more similar items) mentioned in Romans 12.
Remember, you can download this printable summary of the DISO process for more specific instructions. I hope you’ll check in with me next week!
GO TO WEEK 4 >
by Jen | Oct 14, 2025 | DISO studies, Romans 12
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Welcome back! This week, I wrote the following study prayer and recorded several Huh?s and Wow!s as I surveyed Romans 12:
Last Week’s Work
MY PRAYER
Father God, thank You for another opportunity to dig into Romans 12! Your Word really is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path—even though it sometimes reveals things I’d rather keep hidden. Regardless, I know You love me, and Your Holy Spirit will help me see and understand this passage so I can grow closer to You. I want that with all my heart! Help me be open to the Spirit’s promptings in this study, I ask in Jesus’s name. Amen!
HUH? and WOW! MOMENTS
HUH?s
- What does the author mean, bodies as a living sacrifice; and how is this spiritual worship (v1)?
- What does the renewal of your mind mean (v2)?
- How does one discern what is the will of God… by testing (v2)?
- What does the author mean by sober judgment according to the measure of faith… assigned (v3)?
- What does it mean to be individually members [parts based on v4 footnote] one of another (v5)?
- What does being fervent in the spirit (v5), look like?
- How do I not be overcome by evil (v21)?
WOW!s
- [Knowing this is a letter from Paul], I feel the Spirit drawing my attention to his exhortation to be constant in prayer (v12). Seems he wrote this advice to everyone!
- I felt personal conviction when reading v16, especially the last sentence!
- … Give thought to do what is honorable… (v17) This wording gave me pause.
- … overcome evil with good (v21). This seems like a spiritual warfare strategy?
Dig-In Challenges
If you’re studying along with me, listen to the Spirit’s guidance this week and choose one Huh? or Wow! topic (your personal treasure) to dig more deeply into. It can be something you noticed in your survey of the text, one of the items I’ve listed above, or anything else the Holy Spirit shows you about this passage. As the study progresses, we’ll gradually narrow our focus to the verse(s) that prompted your personal treasure reaction.
- PRAY for the Spirit to direct your focus for the remainder of this study. In your journal, record the personal treasure He identifies, along with any verse(s) relating to it from the study text.
- MINE: Read Romans 12, focusing on the three factors setting the stage in this text. Note anything the Spirit emphasizes about the characters involved, any locations mentioned, and any timeframes discussed.
I’m looking forward to sharing my notes with you next week!
GO TO WEEK 3 >
by Jen | Oct 7, 2025 | DISO studies, Introduction, Romans 12
Thank you for joining me in this eight-week study! This time we’re digging into Chapter 12 of Paul’s letter to the Romans.
This is the second to the last study in the Restoration series I created to revisit fourteen passages I’ve previously examined online. I’m repeating them because the original studies were lost when another website host took down my site a few years ago. Rather than repost those earlier versions—which were created using previous iterations of the DISO study method—I chose to work through them again using the current framework. I love having those earlier posts for comparison as I work on new ones. It’s amazing how the Spirit continues to show me new insights in these passages. God’s Word is such a treasure that way!
Let’s Study Romans 12!
This week, I’ll begin by praying and surveying Romans 12. If you want to study on your own with me, here’s what I recommend you have ready:
- A copy of Romans 12, plus access to the entire letter to the Romans.
I like to refer often to the text I’m studying and sometimes make notes on it, so I copy the passage from blueletterbible.org, paste it into a word processing program like Google docs or MS Word, change the formatting to suit my preferences, and print it out. If you want to use the ESV translation, here’s a pdf of my Scripture study sheet with lots of room for doodles and notes.
- A study journal.
We’ll spend the next seven weeks immersed in and learning about Romans 12. And the work we’ll do each week builds on what came before, so plan to record at least some highlights from your work over the coming weeks. I’m old-school and like the pen-and-paper method for journaling my studies, but it’s okay if that doesn’t work for you. If you don’t have time to write out or type your notes, consider dictating them into a notes app, or recording audio files, instead.
Or, you may decide to just read the entries posted here. That’s good, too, because you’ll become familiar with the process and see how the Spirit speaks to my situation. Either way, I appreciate you checking in with me, even if you can’t dig into Romans 12 yourself this time.
Dig-In Challenges
So, here’s how I’ll be studying this week:
- PRAY: I’ll be creating a prayer with which I’ll start each of my weekly study sessions. If you’ve studied with me before, you know I usually just adapt a previous prayer. Though I’ve pretty much memorized my prayer, I still write it in my study journal to remind me to pray it each time I open the notebook.
- SURVEY: Then I’ll read Romans 12, noting anything that makes me say, “huh?” (as in, “I wonder what that means?”) or “wow” (as in, “that is so awesome!”). I’ll record these and later ask the Spirit to direct me to the one I should dig into right now.
If you’d like more information about these steps, check out this printable summary of the process I’ll be using over the next eight weeks. Or, you can always reach out to me with your questions through my contact page or at [email protected]. I’m looking forward to sharing what I discover in this process with you, along with relevant snippets of my previous study of this chapter in 2021, so I hope you’ll keep checking in with me each week!
GO TO WEEK 2 >
by Jen | Sep 30, 2025 | 11-32, DISO studies, Luke 15
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Welcome back to the final post for our 2025 Luke 15:11-32 study. Here’s how the Spirit worked in my heart as I reviewed my notes from the past seven weeks.
Last Week’s Work
LESSON(S) LEARNED
Only God knows if the Pharisees and scribes were saved. The parable doesn’t help us figure that out. Three times, though, Jesus talked about being lost (a sheep, a coin, a son) and being found (two by the efforts of the owner, once by turning back to the loving Father). My big take-away from this is universal opportunity: both the older and younger sons were welcome at the celebration. In fact, the father went out to bring the older son in! Yet he missed out because he chose to. He’d rather dwell on the perceived injustice of the younger son being received back into the family than rejoice because his brother changed his mind and returned home.
This story was a response to religious leaders complaining about Jesus celebrating with new believers—people the Pharisees and scribes judged unworthy of God’s positive attention. Only God knows our hearts, though. The rest of us don’t have the knowledge or authority to judge His reaction to other believers. Besides, doing so leaves us on the sidelines when there’s a great celebration to be enjoyed!
CONVICTION
As this study concluded, I began attending a local women’s Bible study and shared my testimony with the group. As usual, I started crying.
To my chagrin, I often become emotionally flooded when telling that story, because I know how undeserving I was when he gave me new life. I don’t like that I do that. After all, if being saved by Christ is so wonderful, why am I crying? And, honestly, I struggle with sharing it because I anticipate that reaction. By bringing that scenario to mind in this study, I believe the Spirit is convicting me to change my mindset and concentrate on God, not me, when I testify.
CORRECTION
“It [is] fitting to celebrate and be glad, for [you were] dead, and [are] alive; [you were] lost, and [are] found (Luke 15:32).”
I believe the Spirit used this verse to tell the Pharisee/scribe in me that celebration of my return to God is appropriate because I am no longer the dead person I was. I was given new life, so I need to stop focusing on me and how awful I was (do you hear the self-magnification? I do!) and focus instead on how good God is. I need to share this ultimately happy story so that it emphasizes God and His goodness, not the dead, lost person I was.
ACTION PLAN
I’ve begun rehearsing a different version of my testimony that glorifies God rather than focusing on how awful I was. I believe this is one of the hardest action plans I’ve attempted to practice, but what a testament it will be to God to do this in His strength, not mine!
Our Next Study
Next week we’ll start another “blast from the past” study. It’s Romans 12, which I studied in the summer of 2021. I can’t wait to re-explore this treasure-filled chapter with you!
by Jen | Sep 23, 2025 | 11-32, DISO studies, Luke 15
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Welcome back—it’s been a tough few weeks for Christians in the United States. I can’t help but think about Zechariah 13:7-9 these days. I encourage prayer for Turning Point USA and its leadership.
Last Week’s Work
CROSS-REFERENCES
As I reviewed cross-references for was dead in vv24 and 32 on blb.org, I was drawn to these passages (all emphasis mine):
- Jesus told the religious leaders who opposed Him that anyone who hears His words and believes God has eternal life. They won’t be judged, and have already passed from death to life. The hour had arrived when the dead heard the voice of God and lived John 5:24-5.
- Jesus told Martha (whose brother, Lazarus, had been dead four days per 11:17) that He (Jesus) was the resurrection and the life, and whoever believed in Him, even if they die, they will live. Also, whoever lives and believes in Jesus will never die John 11:25-26.
- Paul advises the Romans not to present their physical bodies to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present themselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life Romans 6:13.
- Paul explains to the Ephesians that our richly merciful God loved us so much that even when we were dead in our trespasses, He made us alive together with Christ Ephesians 2:4-5.
- Paul repeats this to the Colossians: And you, who were dead in your trespasses …, God made alive …, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross Colossians 2:13-14.
- Later in Luke, Jesus reveals His mission statement to Zacchaeus (a reformed tax collector!): “… the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10.”
- This seems to be a fulfillment of the Lord God’s predictions to Ezekiel, “I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out,” Ezekiel 34:11, and, “… I myself will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed.” Ezekiel 34:16.
OTHER TRANSLATIONS
I found just one item that caught my eye as I compared the ESV, AMP, NIV, and GNT translations of verses 24 and 32. Only the Amplified Bible reflected the different word choice for alive I discovered last week in my interlinear review. Compare v24: for this son of mine was [as good as] dead and is alive again…. And v32: for this brother of yours was [as good as] dead and has begun to live… [emphasis mine]. To me, v32 better emphasized the “fresh start” I felt I received when God saved my life.
COMMENTARY
I reviewed several commentaries this past week. From my notes, these observations stood out:
- The father didn’t even give the younger son a chance to request servitude. Also, the significance of the ring was that the father would pay the young man’s debts (vv22-24). James B. Coffman.
This reminded me of Paul’s message to the Colossians, above.
- Four groups are mentioned at the beginning of Chapter 15: tax collectors and sinners, who gathered to hear Jesus and hope, and the Pharisees and scribes, who gathered to find fault and condemn. Chuck Smith.
I felt the younger son represented the first group, and the older son, the second. While God loves both, only the lost being found is cause for celebration.
- When the prodigal came to himself, he realized he couldn’t fix his situation, and his father was the only one who would help him. John Gill.
This resonated so much with my story!
- Kelly’s commentary likens the prodigal’s story to the whole of Scripture, from Adam and Eve’s alienation from God to our eventual reconciliation through Christ and the wonderful celebration of life awaiting at the end. Here, too, there is an emphasis on the realization that the wayward son was powerless to save himself, he had to rely on the father’s grace, while the older son emphasized his service to the father, William Kelly.
That smacks of self-sufficiency to me!
Dig-In Challenges
This coming week, let’s wrap up our study of Luke 15:11-32 and align with what we’ve discovered here:
- PRAY: Read the prayer created in Step 1.
- ALIGN: Review our study notes and other work, focusing specifically on what we’ve learned in this study.
- ALIGN: Then, considering those “lessons learned,” think about how the Spirit has convicted us through this study. In other words, where has He shown us misalignment between what we’ve discovered and how we practice our faith?
- ALIGN: Next, let’s look to God’s Word for guidance to correct that misalignment. This is often—but not always—a verse from the study text or from one of the cross-references.
- ALIGN: And finally, reflect on how we can change thoughts or actions to align more closely with what we’ve discovered here. To make this work, I commit to change something and do my best to act on that commitment every day for at least three weeks.
If you haven’t been able to work through everything with me in the last seven weeks, I encourage you to read through my previous posts in this series and ask the Holy Spirit to work with you on steps 3-5 above. I know the Lord will bless your efforts to understand and apply His Word!
GO TO WEEK 8 >
by Jen | Sep 16, 2025 | 11-32, DISO studies, Luke 15
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Hello again. I have so much to share this week, so let’s get to it!
Last Week’s Work
WRITING TYPES
At first, I thought this text is narrative, since that’s the overall type (per Luke 1:1-3, it’s an orderly account of the things that have been accomplished…). But from the literal context of this story, the author reports the speaker (Jesus per Luke 14:2) told … this parable. Until now, I didn’t notice Luke refers to the remainder of this chapter as just one parable! That means, I think, all three stories about a lost sheep (vv4-7), a lost coin (vv8-10), and a lost son (vv11-32) were meant to convey a single lesson. Therefore, I believe all of Luke 15 is instructional text, to be interpreted metaphorically.
LITERAL CONTEXT
Our goal in Step 4 is to correctly understand the message the original author intended for his original audience, and Luke literally identifies all of them! He wrote to someone named Theophilus (Greek for friend of God per blb.org). But the author of the parable is Jesus (Luke 14:2) who spoke it directly to grumbling Pharisees and scribes (Luke 15:2-3). Above, I theorized chapter 15 was intended to be one lesson, so I think this passage should be interpreted with the stories of the lost sheep and lost coin. In those tales, an owner loses one of many (one hundred sheep, ten coins), works hard to locate it, and celebrates when it’s found. While the prodigal’s father doesn’t go searching for him as the others did their lost items, I think, based on v20, his father was looking for him when he returned.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
According to the ESV Global Study Bible, Luke wrote this book about AD 62. He was a physician and traveling companion of Paul. The writing is addressed directly to Theophilus, and shared with other mostly Gentile Christians. From biblehub.com I learned the original audience for the parable, the Pharisees, were a group of Jewish men who were strict observers of Hebrew law and tradition. They often opposed Jesus’s teachings, especially on purity and righteousness. Scribes were experts who taught and interpreted Jewish law, who also disagreed with Jesus over the law.
INTERLINEAR RESEARCH
I felt most directed to research the conditions dead, alive, lost, and especially found in vv24 and 32:
- Dead (G3498 nekros). According to the HELPS Word-studies section of biblehub.com, this means what lacks life, it’s figuratively dead and unresponsive to life-giving influences, inoperative to the things of God. The same word is used in both verses.
- Alive (G326 anezēsen). Per Strong’s, this word in v24 refers to resurrection, or recovering life literally or figuratively. Thayer’s indicates it’s about being restored to a correct life or returningto a better moral state. This is how the father described the prodigal to his servants. Interestingly, this word isn’t the same as the one he used with the older son (v32), see last bullet, below.
- Lost (G622 apollumi). The Topical Lexicon indicates this meant helplessness. Referring to all three stories in Luke 15, it emphasizes (1) sinners’ inability to help themselves, (2) the sacrifices the seekers made to recover what was lost, and (3) their joy when the lost are restored. Strong’s mentions its use in Luke 15:4 (and similarly in Matthew 18:12) as metaphorically referring to the concern that Israel has been neglected by its religious leaders (the audience here!) and could lose eternal salvation.
- Found (G2147 heurethē). From the Topical Lexicon, Luke 15 illustrates salvation doesn’t originate in any human achievement, but by God’s initiative: His grace is what leads to redemption.
- Alive (G2198 ezēsen). In v32, the HELPS Word-studies section of biblehub.com defines this as to live, experience God’s gift of life, and Thayer’s explains it as moving out of moral death into new life, dedicated and acceptable to God. As I researched this, I remembered Jesus’s statement to Nicodemus about being born again to Nicodemus (a Pharisee per John 3:1) from earlier this year (John 3:1-21)!
Dig-In Challenges
This week, let’s wrap up the second half of the Refine step by examining cross-references, other translations, and, if you want, checking out one or more commentaries on this passage.
- Pray, of course.
- REFINE: Then consult a concordance or online cross-reference study tool (I’ll be starting at this blb.org page) to find and read through the available cross-references for the verse(s) you’re most interested in and log what the Spirit shows you.
NOTE: to locate your focus verse(s), follow the above link, then use the Previous or Next buttons below the verse text to go to the appropriate verse(s).
- REFINE: Next, compare at least a few other translations of your focuses verses and write about what you find in your study journal. I’ll be comparing ESV, AMP, NIV, and GNT using this biblehub.com page. You can compare your own verses from that link by entering them in the Enter Reference or Keyword box at the top of the page and clicking the spyglass icon there.
- REFINE: Last, I plan to “check” my work against a few commentaries. If you already have a favorite study Bible or commentary, feel free to review it, too. If you don’t, I recommend a couple of websites to explore. If you’re new to the Bible and Bible study, I’d start at bibleref.com, where you can find information about the whole book and this passage. If you’re looking for something with more detail, try checking the commentary section of StudyLight.org. There, you can access verse-by-verse commentaries of Luke 15 by clicking the box for your focus verse, then clicking the name of the commentary listed immediately under the text of the verse you chose. I recommend you click through to more than one commentary before you decide for yourself what works best.
Hope you’ll join me next week!
GO TO WEEK 7 >
