February 2 - Examining the Scriptures

Acts 17:11- "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness. They examined the sacred writings every day to see if what Paul said was true."

        Blind Willie Johnson, a poor Christian blues-style acoustic guitartst, sang in the 1920s, "Nobody's Fault But Mine". The first verse states:

I got a Bible in my home

I got a Bible in my home

If I don't read it, and my soul's lost

It's nobody's fault but mine.

         

Do you have a Bible in your home? If not, I would suggest procuring one, and reading it, especially the New Testament, as it explains the mysteries of the "sacred writings" that Paul was explaining to the Bereans in the Acts 17 passage above. They didn't just take his word at its face value; they cross-referenced it with what they already knew from the accepted writings of the Old Testament, the Jewish scriptures. They were able then to mesh the two together in coherent understanding.

        If you have a copy of any faith's sacred writings, and don't take the time to read them, seeking for the truth in this world, then it's nobody's fault but your own, if you never find it. Further on in verse 27 of Acts 17, we are told that "perhaps men would reach out for God and find him...he is not far from each one of us."  Deuteronomy 4:29 also gives us a promise about finding God: "If....you seek Yahweh your God, you will find him, if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul."

        Let's not neglect reading God's book when it is right in front of us.

January 10 – Confidence in Eternal Life

        1 John 5:13 - " I write these things to you who believe [put your trust in] the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life."

        The apostle John wrote his first letter re-iterating several themes from his gospel writing, namely, that Jesus was the Son of God; forgiveness of sins through him; the command to love one another; and being confident that God lives in believers. Chapters 3 and 4 give us concepts of walking in love and knowing that Jesus was the exact representation of Father God. On the contrary, just believing mentally that Jesus is God's Son is not good enough. The Greek word for "believe", epistuo, connotes actually trusting in something, not just mental assertion of truth. It means to embrace the subject, not just acknowledge the facts. James 2:18, 19 states, "Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God? Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder [with fear]." The demons know the facts, but they cannot embrace the saving faith that you and I can. Showing faith by action is embracing the subject! Most of that action comes in changing our attitude and behaviors to come in line with God's ways, such as turning away from sin and starting to love others and God.

        The verse above comes on the heels of chapters 3 and 4, which give us tests of our faith. Then the statement comes that we may know that we have eternal life, not just hope, guess, pray, or wonder if we possess it. John gets his theme from the words of Jesus in John 17:3: "This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." The rest of John 17 gives a sense of that "knowing", which is a unity between me and God, as if in a marriage. This is basically what Paul describes in Romans 7. If you are "married" to God, eternal life is the (super)natural outcome.

        Check out the entire chapters mentioned above for further details.