Do You Own a Bible?

Do you own a Bible?  Have you ever read the Bible?  This is not a religious question, just a fact-finding one.

If you haven’t read it, there are a couple things you should know before starting:              

1.      The Bible is a special book.  It’s not magic, but it’s the next best thing.

2.      It was written by only One author, who used over 50 different voices.

3.      The Bible is self-correcting.  If you have a question about one part, you will find the answer in other parts.

4.      It promises to slay dragons, protect the weak, and completely transform your life.

Now, suppose you have read the Bible, perhaps in the past, and perhaps only in part, but you don’t care much about it right now.  There are several specific reasons for disinterest in the Bible:

1.      The Bible is a bright light which shows up all the stains in human nature, and all the purity in God’s nature.  That’s uncomfortable.

2.      It can’t be truly understood by just the mind; it is only understood by something in us called the “spirit.”  This part of the human being is not active until that person is touched and revived by God’s Spirit.

3.      If you have any pet addictions or any wrong behaviors you don’t want to give up – you will reject and run away from the Bible, because reading the Bible will prick your conscience.

4.      Worldly human thinking is at odds with the thinking you will find in the Bible.  You will be drawn to one and dismiss the other.

Which way of thinking will you choose?  You’ll never even know there is a choice until you have read the Bible.  Don’t reject it until you’ve tried it.  Chances are you will be very glad.

4 TIPS FOR UNDERSTANDING ANY BIBLE PASSAGE

1. Pray before you read. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul tells us that we can only understand the things of God through the power of the Spirit. We can read and read and read the Bible all day long, but only the Spirit can reveal to us the wisdom and truth that God has for us.

2. Read more than a few verses at a time. Applying isolated verses or passages to our lives is a modern concept. Books of the Bible were often read in large chunks. Paul’s letters, for example, were read aloud in their entirety to churches. It is always beneficial to read at least the chapter before or after the passage to help you understand the broader idea.

3. Use a study Bible. Study Bibles contain tons of notes that help explain each passage of the Bible. Not only that, but they offer cross-references to help you see other passages that relate to or are the foundation for the passage you’re reading. This will help you better understand confusing passages and words.

4. Read in community. The original audiences both heard and read the Scriptures in group settings as communities. There is no such thing as solo Christianity, and therefore there is no such thing as solo Bible reading. Yes, we should read alone and in private prayer, but we should also read with others, soaking in the wisdom and encouragement God has given them through the same Word.

These tips were posted by Christian Standard Bible on Facebook.  They really speak to me and challenge me.  Are there any of these you have applied?  

What results did you have?

GOD, I NEED HELP!

The Helper

Read the story here:John 16:5-15

  Listen to story here: John 16:5-15 

The words, “God, I need help!” have come from the lips of every Christian at some point in life.  The wonderful thing about this short prayer is that God provided the help we need long ago—at Pentecost.  Inside every believer dwells an intimate, all-sufficient Helper with one goal: to ensure we grow in Christlikeness.

Even before we become believers, the Holy Spirit starts working to reveal the character of Jesus.  Remember the vivid story of scales falling from the eyes of Saul (later known as Paul) to end his blindness? (Acts 9:18)  A similar thing happens as we receive the Spirit’s instruction.  He pulls away our scales of unbelief and manifests the true nature of Jesus Christ.  First, God’s Spirit testifies to the saving power of Jesus; then, after we have become believers, He acquaints us with the Lord’s character through Bible reading and observation of God’s work in our daily life.

Our dependence upon the Holy Spirit should grow in tandem with our understanding of God.  As we learn of the Christ to whom we are being conformed, the Holy Spirit at the same time reveals our inadequacy to appropriate such divine attributes without His coping so that He may live out Christ’s character through us.  We trade frustration for peace, anger for patience, and shallow happiness for pure joy as we become more like the Lord we serve.  With the aid of our divine Helper, our old existence of lonely desolation is pushed away in favor of a triumphant Christian life.

-Author unknown

THE SEVENTH WORD FROM THE CROSS

THE SEVENTH WORD
Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Gospel of Luke 23:46

The seventh word of Jesus is from the Gospel of Luke, and is directed to the Father in heaven, just before He dies. Jesus recalls Psalm 31:5 - "Into thy hands I commend my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God." Luke repeatedly pleads Jesus' innocence: with Pilate (Luke 23:4, 14-15, 22), through Dismas (by legend), the criminal (Luke 23:41), and immediately after His death with the centurion" "Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, "Certainly this man was innocent" (Luke 23:47).

Jesus was obedient to His Father to the end, and his final word before his death on the Cross was a prayer to His Father.

The relationship of Jesus to the Father is revealed in the Gospel of John, for He remarked, "The Father and I are one" (10:30), and again, at the Last Supper: "Do you not believe I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works" (14:10). And He can return: "I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father" (16:28). Jesus fulfills His own mission and that of His Father on the Cross:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
So that everyone who believes in him
may not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

Source: http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/Words.html

THE SIXTH WORD FROM THE CROSS

THE SIXTH WORD
They put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had received the wine, he said, 

"It is finished;" and he bowed his head and handed over the spirit. Gospel of John 19:29-30

John recalls the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb in Exodus 12 in this passage. Hyssop is a small plant that was used to sprinkle the blood of the Passover Lamb on the doorposts of the Hebrews. John's Gospel related that it was the Day of Preparation, the day before the actual Passover  that Jesus was sentenced to death  and sacrificed on the Cross. John continues: "But when they came to Jesus and saw he was already dead, they did not break his legs," recalling the instruction in Exodus 12:46 concerning the Passover Lamb. He died at three o'clock in the afternoon, about the same time as the Passover lambs were slaughtered in the Temple. Christ became the Passover Lamb, as noted by St. Paul: "For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed". The innocent Lamb was slain for our sins, so that we might be forgiven.  The sixth word is Jesus' recognition that his suffering is over and his task is completed. Jesus is obedient to the Father and gives his love for mankind by redeeming us with His death on the Cross. 

When Jesus died, He "handed over" the Spirit. Jesus remained in control to the end, and it is He who handed over his Spirit.  

The above painting is meant to capture the moment.
What is the darkest day of mankind becomes the brightest day for mankind.

Source: http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/Words.html

Right Things in a Wrong Way -- Thoughts on Prayer

          We may ask for right things—indeed, best things—and for what God wants to grant, and not get them because He sees it will not do—it would be furthering us in our selfishness.

          God, most certainly, wants to give revivals when oftentimes he cannot.  When a young lay-preacher, I was invited to a good New England town to hold a series of meetings with a prominent church.  It seemed a good chance to do something.  The society was strong and the situation in the community seemed to be one that promised a good time.

I preached faithfully for a week or more under seemingly favorable circumstances—fine congregations, good attention, divine aid—but I could seem to bring nothing to pass.

One night I requested that, when the service should be over, all the members of that local church should remain after all others had left the building.  This they did.  I then said: “God is certainly with me.  He aids me in preaching, helps me in public prayer and in my private devotions.  Our meetings are good as to attendance and attention, but no results in salvation; we do not seem to be doing anything.  What is the matter?  If it is with me I must find it out at once and get right, or go home.”

          There was silence.  It seemed long.  It certainly was oppressive.  At length a young man, prominent in the life of the church, arose, and with not a little emotion said: “It may not be my place to speak, but I must.  To me the situation is this: Our church has a commanding place in this town and has prospered in the years past.  Of late we have not been holding our own with the other churches.  Our congregations, while good, have dropped off some, as has our Sunday School; and our finances have not been up to the usual.

          He said, “If we can have a revival it will call attention to our church, fill up our Sunday School, increase our congregation and help our finances, etc.  I deplore all this, but I must state this as a confession of my own soul as a man and as an officer in this church.”

          He was hardly done when another said substantially the same thing, as did several others.  There was a genuine spirit of confession and humiliation before God which was striking and searching.

          Of course God was pleased.  The Spirit came and the revival was on in good earnest—a multitude found God in the next few days.

--Rev. Charles Fowler, 1912