Did you ever wish you were an apostle? I have. Apostles were chosen and specifically appointed by Jesus (the 12) and/or by God (Paul). Paul says in 2 Cor 12:2: "The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles ...." Apostles had great powers! They could heal people. The could work miracles. Apostles were cool!
But then I read I Cor 4:9-13. Yuck! End of the procession. Men condemned to die. Spectacles. Fools. Weak. Dishonored. Hungry and thirsty. In rags. Brutally treated. Homeless. Work with hands. Cursed. Persecuted. Slandered. Scum of the earth!
Do apostles still exist today? I was taught that there was no longer a need for the "signs, wonders and miracles" stuff because we now have the Bible. Apostles had these powers to show/prove that they were from God and that they spoke God's words. The writings we have (the New Testament) were written by Apostles (or about Apostles). So, the signs, wonders and miracles are not there (I guess), but are there still apostles?
I did a Google search on that question. Wow! There are some different opinions out there on this one. Some say that missionaries are apostles. Some church leaders claim to be Apostles (i.e., appointed/anointed by God to preach the word and lead his people). Others say that the Bible clearly teaches that there are no apostles today.
Look at the following links for some interesting views:
http://www.truthortradition.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=146
http://www.learnthebible.org/apostles-today.html
http://www.globalchristians.org/articles/apostle.htm
So, do apostles still exist today? I personally don't think so, but I cannot say for sure. So, what did I learn today? I learned that this is a hot topic. But I finish today wondering why Paul wrote this in I Cor 4. Why did he write about his "qualifications?" He says that he did it not to shame but to warn. To warn them of what? To warn them not to want to be apostles? To warn them not to claim to be more important than someone else? To warn them not to be arrogant in their knowledge, "position" in the church, associations, friends? Yes, that is what I think is going on.
Paul is warning the Corinthians that words mean nothing. He is telling them that God's way is very different from man's way. In the world, knowledge, position, associations, friends, money, etc. are measures of power. Not so in God's kingdom. In God's kingdom, all are equal. We are all the same. As Paul says (I Cor 4: 6-7):
Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
I think that in the church that God wants us to have, all men should be equal. No one should be above anyone else. No one should be treated as being more holy, more anointed, closer to God, more popular. But that is so hard to do when we all live and work in a world where these things are what separates all of us.
I was talking with my son and daughter this morning (before I read the Bible today) and the topic of cliches among friends came up. My daughter is in middle school. It was amazing to hear her talk about groups at school and how the different groups view one another. It is like a caste system in middle school. There are the popular and snotty kids, groups in between, and the bottom level kids (what others call the losers). It was sad listening to her talk about this. But then I thought about what it is like in my work place. The same. I thought about what it is like in my neighborhood. The same. And I thought about what it is like in the church I sometimes go to. The same.
It all makes me wonder.
2009-06-20
2009-06-19
Obedience
Do you want a lesson in obedience? If so, read on.
Jeremiah, the guy who got all kinds of instructions from God, was taught a very important lesson one day during the reign of King Josiah. He woke up one morning and God gave him some instructions: “Go get the Recabite family, bring them into the Temple, and offer them some wine.”
Sounds innocent enough, and being a person who generally obeyed God, Jeremiah proceeded to round up the various members of that family. He brought them into ‘the house of the Lord’, asked them to sit down, and offered them some wine (probably very fine wine if it was located at the Temple). What Jeremiah heard, probably surprised him a bit.
“Oh, we don’t touch wine,” they said, “in fact, not only do we not drink wine, we don’t build houses to live in—we live in tents. We also don’t plant or grow vines which would produce wine. We’re simple Nomads.” Jeremiah didn’t have to ask ‘why’, as they explained to him that one of their ancestors, Jonadab --aka Jehonadab, son of Recab, gave a command to his offspring that they should never drink wine, build or live in houses, nor plant seeds or grow vineyards. This command was to be followed by all generations following Jonadab. Recab, if you know your Bibles, was a murderer whom King David had put to death (in 2nd Samuel), so maybe Jonadab was somehow trying to make right with God for his father. Anyway, the command was given for all his descendants, and they had kept this command throughout those previous generations. Even when King Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon invaded the Israelites’ homeland, the Recabites moved to Jerusalem and continued to keep to the commands of Jonadab.
After they had told this story to Jeremiah, God pipes in again. “There, see? These people (descendants of a murderer) kept the commands of their forefather, now go, go tell the men of Judah and Jerusalem that this is an example of obedience. Will they not learn a lesson and obey my words? Best you go and tell them I am fairly upset!” (words in this quote are not necessarily quoted directly from God’s Word, but I took the liberty to paraphrase). God continued and told Jeremiah and Jonadab that Jonadab would always have a descendent who served Him.
What a message! God loves it when people follow commands, especially His. The command to not drink wine or grow grapes to make wine sounds kinda weird when one of the staples of live back then was wine, as safe drinking water was usually hard to obtain. Wine was safe. But wine also caused sinning, in the form of drunkenness, which lead, I am sure, to even more sins. So, when all of Jonadab’s descendents had kept this ‘simple yet hard’ command all those years, God was please.
The moral of this story (found in Jeremiah 35 btw) is that we should be obeying God’s commands, not matter how ‘simple’ (or hard) they may seem.
Jeremiah, the guy who got all kinds of instructions from God, was taught a very important lesson one day during the reign of King Josiah. He woke up one morning and God gave him some instructions: “Go get the Recabite family, bring them into the Temple, and offer them some wine.”
Sounds innocent enough, and being a person who generally obeyed God, Jeremiah proceeded to round up the various members of that family. He brought them into ‘the house of the Lord’, asked them to sit down, and offered them some wine (probably very fine wine if it was located at the Temple). What Jeremiah heard, probably surprised him a bit.
“Oh, we don’t touch wine,” they said, “in fact, not only do we not drink wine, we don’t build houses to live in—we live in tents. We also don’t plant or grow vines which would produce wine. We’re simple Nomads.” Jeremiah didn’t have to ask ‘why’, as they explained to him that one of their ancestors, Jonadab --aka Jehonadab, son of Recab, gave a command to his offspring that they should never drink wine, build or live in houses, nor plant seeds or grow vineyards. This command was to be followed by all generations following Jonadab. Recab, if you know your Bibles, was a murderer whom King David had put to death (in 2nd Samuel), so maybe Jonadab was somehow trying to make right with God for his father. Anyway, the command was given for all his descendants, and they had kept this command throughout those previous generations. Even when King Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon invaded the Israelites’ homeland, the Recabites moved to Jerusalem and continued to keep to the commands of Jonadab.
After they had told this story to Jeremiah, God pipes in again. “There, see? These people (descendants of a murderer) kept the commands of their forefather, now go, go tell the men of Judah and Jerusalem that this is an example of obedience. Will they not learn a lesson and obey my words? Best you go and tell them I am fairly upset!” (words in this quote are not necessarily quoted directly from God’s Word, but I took the liberty to paraphrase). God continued and told Jeremiah and Jonadab that Jonadab would always have a descendent who served Him.
What a message! God loves it when people follow commands, especially His. The command to not drink wine or grow grapes to make wine sounds kinda weird when one of the staples of live back then was wine, as safe drinking water was usually hard to obtain. Wine was safe. But wine also caused sinning, in the form of drunkenness, which lead, I am sure, to even more sins. So, when all of Jonadab’s descendents had kept this ‘simple yet hard’ command all those years, God was please.
The moral of this story (found in Jeremiah 35 btw) is that we should be obeying God’s commands, not matter how ‘simple’ (or hard) they may seem.
I Corinthians 3
If Paul wrote a letter to me, I wonder if he would address me as an infant or as worldly - a mere infant in Christ. Sometimes I think I am mature. WHEN I study the Bible and contemplate the mysteries of God, I believe that I have some deep thoughts. I know much more now about the Bible and I think that I understand people better now than I did 20 years ago. But other times I believe I am in fact a mere infant. My lack of conviction about so many things makes me wonder. I read about great men and women in the Bible (Paul, for example). Did he ever struggle with the things I struggle with? Did Paul ever get so busy that he did not make time for prayer or meditation? Did Paul ever feel distant from God? Did he ever quarrel with friends? Was Paul married? I don't believe he was, but if so, did or would he fight with his wife? If Paul had children, would they say he was a great father? Did he ever do anything wrong?
This is one of the reasons (one of many lame reasons) that I sometimes do not read the Bible. I look at the people described in the Bible and I think there is no way that I could ever be like that. After 20 years of being a Christian, I cannot stand next to Paul. Heck, I am not even in the same league that Paul was in - in fact, sometimes I do not think that I am even "playing" the same game that Paul played.
Paul felt comfortable enough with his faith that he was able to call someone else an infant! I don't believe that I would feel comfortable calling anyone else an infant in Christ. That is to my shame. I do feel comfortable calling someone in my profession an infant. I have been working in my profession about as long as I have been a Christian. I am still intimidated by some people in my profession, but I believe that I know much more than others. I am more confident today in my profession than I was 20 years ago. Why do I not feel the same way about God and about my faith?
It is interesting that Paul talks about building (our faith). How much effort do I put into "building" my faith? I don't think I ever really thought about it this way. I was provided a solid foundation when I became a Christian - I am convinced of that. When someone was breathing down my back all the time, I built on that foundation using good materials, although my labor was not a labor of love. I did what I did for many reasons, but one of those was not a true love for learning and growing. Through many years and many changes and challenges, I believe that I am finally getting to a point where I am making the decision of whether I really do want to build on my faith with "gold, silver and costly stone" or whether I want to build with stray and hay. If the latter, I am just going to give up, because the latter is not worth it. The latter is just going through the motions for the sake of others. I am tired of doing that. If I am going to build, the building that I do will be with materials that will survive, not with junk.
Many years ago I used to make things as cheaply as possible. When I was doing a project around the house or when I was building something for the kids, I would look for cheap alternatives, use junk I had around the house instead of buying new, and cut corners when I could. Now I take the time to plan out and to buy what I need and spend what is necessary to do the job right. I have learned how to do it right from learning how to do it wrong. As I think about what Paul says today, perhaps I am applying some of the maturity that I have gained in life to my desire to grow spiritually. Perhaps I am a little further along than an infant. Perhaps maturity is not being perfect. Perhaps maturity is not being Paul, but maybe maturity is using my mind, experiences, and energy to grow in my knowledge and understanding of God.
I cannot KNOW the will of God for my life and I cannot KNOW the mind of God, but as I get to know God better, I believe that I will understand more than I understand now. Not sure if that makes sense.
This is one of the reasons (one of many lame reasons) that I sometimes do not read the Bible. I look at the people described in the Bible and I think there is no way that I could ever be like that. After 20 years of being a Christian, I cannot stand next to Paul. Heck, I am not even in the same league that Paul was in - in fact, sometimes I do not think that I am even "playing" the same game that Paul played.
Paul felt comfortable enough with his faith that he was able to call someone else an infant! I don't believe that I would feel comfortable calling anyone else an infant in Christ. That is to my shame. I do feel comfortable calling someone in my profession an infant. I have been working in my profession about as long as I have been a Christian. I am still intimidated by some people in my profession, but I believe that I know much more than others. I am more confident today in my profession than I was 20 years ago. Why do I not feel the same way about God and about my faith?
It is interesting that Paul talks about building (our faith). How much effort do I put into "building" my faith? I don't think I ever really thought about it this way. I was provided a solid foundation when I became a Christian - I am convinced of that. When someone was breathing down my back all the time, I built on that foundation using good materials, although my labor was not a labor of love. I did what I did for many reasons, but one of those was not a true love for learning and growing. Through many years and many changes and challenges, I believe that I am finally getting to a point where I am making the decision of whether I really do want to build on my faith with "gold, silver and costly stone" or whether I want to build with stray and hay. If the latter, I am just going to give up, because the latter is not worth it. The latter is just going through the motions for the sake of others. I am tired of doing that. If I am going to build, the building that I do will be with materials that will survive, not with junk.
Many years ago I used to make things as cheaply as possible. When I was doing a project around the house or when I was building something for the kids, I would look for cheap alternatives, use junk I had around the house instead of buying new, and cut corners when I could. Now I take the time to plan out and to buy what I need and spend what is necessary to do the job right. I have learned how to do it right from learning how to do it wrong. As I think about what Paul says today, perhaps I am applying some of the maturity that I have gained in life to my desire to grow spiritually. Perhaps I am a little further along than an infant. Perhaps maturity is not being perfect. Perhaps maturity is not being Paul, but maybe maturity is using my mind, experiences, and energy to grow in my knowledge and understanding of God.
I cannot KNOW the will of God for my life and I cannot KNOW the mind of God, but as I get to know God better, I believe that I will understand more than I understand now. Not sure if that makes sense.
2009-06-16
I Corinthians 2
What am I thinking about right now? You probably cannot guess. I was thinking about a seagull flying low over the ocean near the shore moving up and down with the waves. Who knows what I am thinking at any point in time? You can guess, but there is no real way to KNOW. I think this might be what Paul is talking about in the last half of I Cor 2.
Whoever created all that we see (call the creator God) is so great, so awesome, so far removed from us in strength, power, ability, insight, etc. that there is no possible way we can even guess what is in his mind. As Paul says, "no one knows the thoughts of God except the spirit of God."
What is the spirit of God? I did a Google search on that question and found some interesting sites. One says that in the OT, the Hebrew word for "spirit of God" literally means breath, or more specifically, breathing out. Breath represents life, a living, creative force. Genesis 2:7 says "then The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." So, I guess the spirit of God is what gives life to all that we see. Without the spirit of God there is no life.
As I understand the Bible, we are dead in our sins and we become alive when we unite with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. At that time we receive the spirit of God as a seal or as a guarantee of eternal life. Ephesians 4:30 says: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." I don't know about the grieving part, but it seems to me that the spirit of God is a seal that was put on us that will guarantee that we will be properly judged on the day of redemption.
If that is true, then all who accept Christ receive the spirit of God. The spirit of God is inside of us or upon us. So, I can actually know the thoughts of God. Even though I cannot possibly fathom who or even what God is, I can know and understand his thoughts. That is completely amazing! I can understand the thoughts of God. I can know his interest in me and know his will for my life!
Interesting .... I need to think about this some more.
Whoever created all that we see (call the creator God) is so great, so awesome, so far removed from us in strength, power, ability, insight, etc. that there is no possible way we can even guess what is in his mind. As Paul says, "no one knows the thoughts of God except the spirit of God."
What is the spirit of God? I did a Google search on that question and found some interesting sites. One says that in the OT, the Hebrew word for "spirit of God" literally means breath, or more specifically, breathing out. Breath represents life, a living, creative force. Genesis 2:7 says "then The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." So, I guess the spirit of God is what gives life to all that we see. Without the spirit of God there is no life.
As I understand the Bible, we are dead in our sins and we become alive when we unite with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. At that time we receive the spirit of God as a seal or as a guarantee of eternal life. Ephesians 4:30 says: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." I don't know about the grieving part, but it seems to me that the spirit of God is a seal that was put on us that will guarantee that we will be properly judged on the day of redemption.
If that is true, then all who accept Christ receive the spirit of God. The spirit of God is inside of us or upon us. So, I can actually know the thoughts of God. Even though I cannot possibly fathom who or even what God is, I can know and understand his thoughts. That is completely amazing! I can understand the thoughts of God. I can know his interest in me and know his will for my life!
Interesting .... I need to think about this some more.
2009-06-15
I Corinthians 1
Paul is the quintessential salesman! All of his letters start essentially the same way. He first establishes his own authority - an apostle called by God. Then he associates himself with someone that his audience can identify with. Here it is Sosthenes. According to Acts 18 (the only other mention of Sosthenes in the Bible), Sosthenes was a synagogue ruler in Corinth. Obviously, the people in Corinth (to whom this letter is written) could identify with Sosthenes. He was "one of them." Next Paul praises his audience. He tells them how good they are. And after that, Paul tells them all that is wrong with them or with their life and he tells them that he has the cure. Paul's cure is Jesus and obeying the will of God. Salesmen sell all kinds of things. The best make you feel like you are a good person, but that you lack something that will help you be a great person. That something you lack is what they are selling. And if you buy what they are selling, you will be happier, healthier, smarter, more popular, or something else.
Salesmen should probably study Paul to learn how to sell better. Paul was totally sold out to what he was "selling." He believed in his "product" so much that he was willing to sacrifice whatever was necessary to "make a sale."
I am not putting down Paul or claiming that Christianity is like buying a useless product on TV. All that I am saying is that the techniques that Paul used to convert people and to lead them or change them is much the same as the techniques used by good salespeople.
I think that is one of the reasons why I was not good at "evangelizing." I am not a salesperson. I do not work in sales because if I did I would probably not eat. I am a thinker and a teacher. I am an analyst. I can support salespeople, but I cannot be one. When I think of the people who were most successful at evangelizing, they were also salespeople. Most of the leaders in the church, those who were successful in "bringing people to the Lord" were salespeople. Many who left leadership or left the church went into sales - not surprising.
I was recently introduced to a business opportunity by a friend in a multi-level marketing scheme. I researched the company and the MLM deal online and found that in fact it was legitimate and could be successful. The friend who told me about this deal was a salesperson. They were successful and they were "offering" me an opportunity to be successful like them. I thought about the offer for awhile. The potential to make money was great. However, I finally admitted to myself that I am not a salesman and that I had to be a salesman to make this work so I said NO to the deal. Thinking about that and coming to grips with who I am, made me contemplate this "salesman" connection to evangelism. And then today I read Paul's first few lines in I Cor and I think about Paul being a salesman.
Interesting!!!
My goal in reading the Bible is to better understand the nature of God and to better understand the nature of man. In I Cor 1, I see that man is naturally predisposed to disagreement, factions, and disunity. God wants us to be unified. It seems important to God that we get along with one another. I guess that means that disunity is from the devil. Unity leads to peace; disunity leads to fights, battles, wars. The world is a disunified place. As I read through the paper I see mention of disunity, threats, fighting, riots, terrorism, fear, and on and on. Countries are disunified (even when they have alliances), government is disunified (political parties against one another, states against the federal government, counties fighthing, people against government, ...), famililes are disunified.
God wants unity. Paul talks about one way to have unity in I Cor 1. I see it as everyone having a proper view of God. God is greater than all of us. God's weakness is greater than our greatest strength! God is so far above us and so much more powerful than us, that there is not even the most basic comparison. God's foolishness is greater than our greatest wisdom. God is awesome and we are nothing in comparison to him. If we all see ourselves relative to God, we will stop seeing our minature marginal differences as being significant. It is like the distances in the universe. The differences between us is like light moving across a room or maybe even around the earth. As noted yesterday, it takes 1 second for light to travel around the earth 7 times. Light across a room is measured in nanoseconds. It would takes 13.7 billion light years to travel to the end of the known border of the universe. When you compare the distance across two different rooms (a fraction of a nanosecond different) to the distance across the universe, the room difference is so insignificant as to be totally and completely meaningless.
Perhaps if just my wife and I saw ourselves relative to God is this way, the disunity that sometimes exists in our life would go away. Maybe that is where I should start. I cannot change the world but I can change myself and those closest to me.
Salesmen should probably study Paul to learn how to sell better. Paul was totally sold out to what he was "selling." He believed in his "product" so much that he was willing to sacrifice whatever was necessary to "make a sale."
I am not putting down Paul or claiming that Christianity is like buying a useless product on TV. All that I am saying is that the techniques that Paul used to convert people and to lead them or change them is much the same as the techniques used by good salespeople.
I think that is one of the reasons why I was not good at "evangelizing." I am not a salesperson. I do not work in sales because if I did I would probably not eat. I am a thinker and a teacher. I am an analyst. I can support salespeople, but I cannot be one. When I think of the people who were most successful at evangelizing, they were also salespeople. Most of the leaders in the church, those who were successful in "bringing people to the Lord" were salespeople. Many who left leadership or left the church went into sales - not surprising.
I was recently introduced to a business opportunity by a friend in a multi-level marketing scheme. I researched the company and the MLM deal online and found that in fact it was legitimate and could be successful. The friend who told me about this deal was a salesperson. They were successful and they were "offering" me an opportunity to be successful like them. I thought about the offer for awhile. The potential to make money was great. However, I finally admitted to myself that I am not a salesman and that I had to be a salesman to make this work so I said NO to the deal. Thinking about that and coming to grips with who I am, made me contemplate this "salesman" connection to evangelism. And then today I read Paul's first few lines in I Cor and I think about Paul being a salesman.
Interesting!!!
My goal in reading the Bible is to better understand the nature of God and to better understand the nature of man. In I Cor 1, I see that man is naturally predisposed to disagreement, factions, and disunity. God wants us to be unified. It seems important to God that we get along with one another. I guess that means that disunity is from the devil. Unity leads to peace; disunity leads to fights, battles, wars. The world is a disunified place. As I read through the paper I see mention of disunity, threats, fighting, riots, terrorism, fear, and on and on. Countries are disunified (even when they have alliances), government is disunified (political parties against one another, states against the federal government, counties fighthing, people against government, ...), famililes are disunified.
God wants unity. Paul talks about one way to have unity in I Cor 1. I see it as everyone having a proper view of God. God is greater than all of us. God's weakness is greater than our greatest strength! God is so far above us and so much more powerful than us, that there is not even the most basic comparison. God's foolishness is greater than our greatest wisdom. God is awesome and we are nothing in comparison to him. If we all see ourselves relative to God, we will stop seeing our minature marginal differences as being significant. It is like the distances in the universe. The differences between us is like light moving across a room or maybe even around the earth. As noted yesterday, it takes 1 second for light to travel around the earth 7 times. Light across a room is measured in nanoseconds. It would takes 13.7 billion light years to travel to the end of the known border of the universe. When you compare the distance across two different rooms (a fraction of a nanosecond different) to the distance across the universe, the room difference is so insignificant as to be totally and completely meaningless.
Perhaps if just my wife and I saw ourselves relative to God is this way, the disunity that sometimes exists in our life would go away. Maybe that is where I should start. I cannot change the world but I can change myself and those closest to me.
2009-06-14
Why Read the Bible? (continued)
I believe that God (or at least some supreme being) made the world. When you really think about it there is no other logical conclusion. Every man made theory can just go so far. You can always ask the question, "where did that come from?" At some point, there is no answer other than "it just appeared." At that point, the logical conclusion is God.
I look at creation, at the wonders all around me and I can only conclude that some unbelievably powerful being did all of this. Just consider the size of the universe. Scientists estimate that the size of the visible edge of the universe is 13.7 billion light years away. Just how big is that? Consider some facts that I found:
My son watches the explorer channel of TV. I have seen several shows with him that show that humans have only explored a small percentage of the oceans in the world. One fact we just saw was:
Oceans cover 70 per cent of the earth's surface, yet less than 5 per cent of the ocean floor has been mapped in detail. In fact, there are better images of the moon and Mars than of much of the world's undersea topography.
Also, we heard that there is more life in the ocean that we do not know about than we know about!
Why did God (or the supreme being who created all of this) create the universe as he did? I don't know. I don't understand why anyone would create the world we live in - the universe we live in! It is beyond my little mind to understand.
There is someone who actually claims to have created all of this. That someone is described in the Bible. Whether you believe the Bible or not, the Bible is the only source we have that describes the being who claims to have made the universe. No other religious leader that I have ever heard about claims to have made the universe (not just the earth, but all creation that we know of).
So, why read the Bible? It is the only source that I know about (tell me if there is something else) that tells me something about the nature of God and gives me some clue about why all of this exists. It is the only source that I know about (tell me if there is something else) that tells me about the nature of man and about why man thinks and acts the way he does.
It seems only logical that I should read this book that claims to be from God. Perhaps it is a hoax. The only way to find out is to read it.
So, I plan to read the Bible to learn and to see if it will answer some of the many questions that I have. Maybe as I read it I will find what others have claimed - the book transformed their lives. For all of the years that I have read the Bible so far, I have always read to confirm beliefs that I already have. I am going to try to drop all of that and just read to learn. I want the Bible to teach me and I want to see if reading the Bible with an open mind, with a true desire to learn, with a hunger and with passion, will really change my life. If not, then what have I really lost? I read books all the time. I read about all kinds of goofy things in the paper, in magazines, online and in mystery, fantasy and murder books that I read. I am sure that I have read the number of pages in the Bible in books, magazines, newspapers, the internet, etc every year of my life. Now, I just choose to use my "reading" time to read the Bible. It is the book that I choose to read. So, if all I get is just a good read, so be it. If I also get to know and understand the God who made all that I see around me and if that or something else that I read changes my life for the better, than I gain much more than I spend.
I look at creation, at the wonders all around me and I can only conclude that some unbelievably powerful being did all of this. Just consider the size of the universe. Scientists estimate that the size of the visible edge of the universe is 13.7 billion light years away. Just how big is that? Consider some facts that I found:
- A lecture hall is approximately 10 meters across, and light travels across it in about 30 nanoseconds. (Scientists use light, which travels at 300,000,000 meters per second - that is, about 186,411 miles per second to Americans -to quantify distances).
- The earth is 6378 km in radius, and light would travel seven times around the earth in one second if itcould travel in a circle like this.
- It takes light about 1.25 seconds to travel from the earth to the moon.
- The sun is about 8 light-minutes away from the earth.
- Jupiter is about 40 light-minutes from the earth.
- Pluto is about 5.5 light-hours out from the earth.
- The brightest star in our solar system is 4.5 light-years away - take a moment to appreciate this big jump!
- The center of the Milky Way (our galaxy) is about 25,000 light-years away.
- The nearest external large galaxy is the Andromeda galaxy—about 2 million light-years away.
- The nearest large cluster of galaxies (Virgo Cluster) is about 50 million light-years away.
- The edge of the visible universe is about 13.7 billion light years away.
My son watches the explorer channel of TV. I have seen several shows with him that show that humans have only explored a small percentage of the oceans in the world. One fact we just saw was:
Oceans cover 70 per cent of the earth's surface, yet less than 5 per cent of the ocean floor has been mapped in detail. In fact, there are better images of the moon and Mars than of much of the world's undersea topography.
Also, we heard that there is more life in the ocean that we do not know about than we know about!
Why did God (or the supreme being who created all of this) create the universe as he did? I don't know. I don't understand why anyone would create the world we live in - the universe we live in! It is beyond my little mind to understand.
There is someone who actually claims to have created all of this. That someone is described in the Bible. Whether you believe the Bible or not, the Bible is the only source we have that describes the being who claims to have made the universe. No other religious leader that I have ever heard about claims to have made the universe (not just the earth, but all creation that we know of).
So, why read the Bible? It is the only source that I know about (tell me if there is something else) that tells me something about the nature of God and gives me some clue about why all of this exists. It is the only source that I know about (tell me if there is something else) that tells me about the nature of man and about why man thinks and acts the way he does.
It seems only logical that I should read this book that claims to be from God. Perhaps it is a hoax. The only way to find out is to read it.
So, I plan to read the Bible to learn and to see if it will answer some of the many questions that I have. Maybe as I read it I will find what others have claimed - the book transformed their lives. For all of the years that I have read the Bible so far, I have always read to confirm beliefs that I already have. I am going to try to drop all of that and just read to learn. I want the Bible to teach me and I want to see if reading the Bible with an open mind, with a true desire to learn, with a hunger and with passion, will really change my life. If not, then what have I really lost? I read books all the time. I read about all kinds of goofy things in the paper, in magazines, online and in mystery, fantasy and murder books that I read. I am sure that I have read the number of pages in the Bible in books, magazines, newspapers, the internet, etc every year of my life. Now, I just choose to use my "reading" time to read the Bible. It is the book that I choose to read. So, if all I get is just a good read, so be it. If I also get to know and understand the God who made all that I see around me and if that or something else that I read changes my life for the better, than I gain much more than I spend.
2009-06-13
Reasons for Reading the Bible
Perhaps a better place to start this line is to admit the main reason for why I do not read the Bible everyday = I am too busy and/or I don't have the time. I am awake about 16 hours per day. It takes a 30 minutes to read a chapter in the Bible and write about it. Who can say they don't waste at least 30 minutes per day on things that, in the long run, really do not matter?
The reason I do not read the Bible everyday is that I do not consider the Bible to be more important than reading the paper everyday (I do that for at least 30 minutes a day), watching the news on TV (at least 30 minutes per day), watching sports on TV, or when there are no games, wasting time watching ESPN on TV (I can tell you the latest news about the Braves, Falcons and Hawks, I can tell you which baseball teams are in first place, I can tell you who won the Stanley Cup last night, give you my opinion - based on ESPN "facts" - whether Orlando has a chance to beat LA in their next game, and many, many, many more irrelevant bits of information), or playing on the computer (I do that for much more than 30 minutes per day)!
The FACT is I have the time! The reason I do not read the Bible everyday is that I do not consider it to be important enough!!!
So, why read the Bible? For many, many years, I thought the answer to this question was: 'so that I could please God.' And if I 'pleased God' things would go well for me. My life would be better! I thought that reading was a way to get the 'things' I really wanted in life. Some of these 'things' were noble - good marriage, healthy children, good friends, happiness, and so on. Some of these 'things' were purely selfish - more money, a new car, a bigger house, a submissive wife, obedient children, and such. I thought that if I just put in my 30 minutes per day reading God's word, GOD would do these things for me. I thought GOD would make everything better. I thought GOD would work miracles in my life.
I don't think that is true anymore. I am beginning to FINALLY see that we make our own life and we deal with our own issues. God does not swoop down when we cry out to him and make it all better. It is not "magic." Reading the Bible is not a way to get something easy. As my dad always told me, 'the best things in life cost the most' and there is no such thing as 'the easy way.'
I now think that the Bible is a gift that God gave to us to help us understand life! Reading the Bible does not put God into action. Instead, it equips us to deal with life's twists and turns in a way that will more often than not lead to success instead of failure. Not that 'success' automatically means health, happiness or wealth. Instead, the Bible can teach us how to face challenges when they come.
It is a manual of sorts. I just finished reading Genesis with my daughter. She reads about one chapter in the Bible every night out loud to me before she goes to bed. Genesis is full of deceit, murder, theft, sexual activity and even perversion - SIN to the max. I cringed many nights as she read. If you just listen to what is said, it is amazing. And most of this is from God's 'chosen' people! But as I listened, I began to think more and more about how the people in Genesis are just like people today. There really is 'nothing new under the sun.'
So, I plan to start reading the Bible to explore, to learn, to see, to experience, to equip. I plan to read with an open mind. I plan to marvel at the good and the bad that is there. I am not going to try to explain it all. I just want to see what it says and to learn what I can. I believe that someday, in someway, what I read with help me.
Yesterday I installed a ceiling fan in my back room. There is no way I could have completed the job without the instructions. I looked at the instructions for every step. I have installed other fans and I have done other similar work, so in fact, other manuals that I have read while working helped me understand yesterday's fan instructions and it helped me do a better and quicker job than I would have done if yesterday was the first manual I read. I think the Bible and daily reading is about the same. I don't know how a fan works, I don't really know everything about electricity, about electric motors, about lights, about variable speeds, about remote control via wireless clickers, or about many, many other things. But I do know how to use these better because of the manual and the doing from yesterday.
I don't understand God. I don't understand nature or creation. I don't understand humans. I don't understand marriage or children or friends. But I can read the Bible and by reading perhaps know how to use these in my life better and more effective than I have been.
My random thoughts for today. Tomorrow, again, reasons for reading the Bible. Then I plan to start I Cor 1 on Monday.
The reason I do not read the Bible everyday is that I do not consider the Bible to be more important than reading the paper everyday (I do that for at least 30 minutes a day), watching the news on TV (at least 30 minutes per day), watching sports on TV, or when there are no games, wasting time watching ESPN on TV (I can tell you the latest news about the Braves, Falcons and Hawks, I can tell you which baseball teams are in first place, I can tell you who won the Stanley Cup last night, give you my opinion - based on ESPN "facts" - whether Orlando has a chance to beat LA in their next game, and many, many, many more irrelevant bits of information), or playing on the computer (I do that for much more than 30 minutes per day)!
The FACT is I have the time! The reason I do not read the Bible everyday is that I do not consider it to be important enough!!!
So, why read the Bible? For many, many years, I thought the answer to this question was: 'so that I could please God.' And if I 'pleased God' things would go well for me. My life would be better! I thought that reading was a way to get the 'things' I really wanted in life. Some of these 'things' were noble - good marriage, healthy children, good friends, happiness, and so on. Some of these 'things' were purely selfish - more money, a new car, a bigger house, a submissive wife, obedient children, and such. I thought that if I just put in my 30 minutes per day reading God's word, GOD would do these things for me. I thought GOD would make everything better. I thought GOD would work miracles in my life.
I don't think that is true anymore. I am beginning to FINALLY see that we make our own life and we deal with our own issues. God does not swoop down when we cry out to him and make it all better. It is not "magic." Reading the Bible is not a way to get something easy. As my dad always told me, 'the best things in life cost the most' and there is no such thing as 'the easy way.'
I now think that the Bible is a gift that God gave to us to help us understand life! Reading the Bible does not put God into action. Instead, it equips us to deal with life's twists and turns in a way that will more often than not lead to success instead of failure. Not that 'success' automatically means health, happiness or wealth. Instead, the Bible can teach us how to face challenges when they come.
It is a manual of sorts. I just finished reading Genesis with my daughter. She reads about one chapter in the Bible every night out loud to me before she goes to bed. Genesis is full of deceit, murder, theft, sexual activity and even perversion - SIN to the max. I cringed many nights as she read. If you just listen to what is said, it is amazing. And most of this is from God's 'chosen' people! But as I listened, I began to think more and more about how the people in Genesis are just like people today. There really is 'nothing new under the sun.'
So, I plan to start reading the Bible to explore, to learn, to see, to experience, to equip. I plan to read with an open mind. I plan to marvel at the good and the bad that is there. I am not going to try to explain it all. I just want to see what it says and to learn what I can. I believe that someday, in someway, what I read with help me.
Yesterday I installed a ceiling fan in my back room. There is no way I could have completed the job without the instructions. I looked at the instructions for every step. I have installed other fans and I have done other similar work, so in fact, other manuals that I have read while working helped me understand yesterday's fan instructions and it helped me do a better and quicker job than I would have done if yesterday was the first manual I read. I think the Bible and daily reading is about the same. I don't know how a fan works, I don't really know everything about electricity, about electric motors, about lights, about variable speeds, about remote control via wireless clickers, or about many, many other things. But I do know how to use these better because of the manual and the doing from yesterday.
I don't understand God. I don't understand nature or creation. I don't understand humans. I don't understand marriage or children or friends. But I can read the Bible and by reading perhaps know how to use these in my life better and more effective than I have been.
My random thoughts for today. Tomorrow, again, reasons for reading the Bible. Then I plan to start I Cor 1 on Monday.
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