These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Acts 17:11)
When I first became a believer, I was a real skull full of mush. Even though I had been reading the Bible deeply and regularly, I just did not have much of a doctrinal background. And I was very dependent on those who took the time to talk with me and teach me.
For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. (Psalm 36:9)
Without the light of the sun and moon, our world would dwell in darkness. And then, without some artificial light or flame to create a fire, we would have no light at all.
This is the most basic state of man. That he is dependent upon light. And not just any light. It must be of the proper type and intensity to make things grow and to keep the world at the proper tolerable temperatures for survival.
When I say unto the wicked , O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. (Ezekiel 33:8)
This is a sober warning. Its point is all about making sure that the lost man receives the gospel message.
“Simple enough”, you say. “But how is the gospel message to be presented?”
It involves the fullness and clarity of the message. And it involves how the message is presented.
More and more I hear of supposed Christians who doubt the literal accuracy of Genesis. They have taken a position that the Bible needs to be interpreted more loosely. That a thinking man cannot be expected to accept a view of the world’s origin that flies in such direct contradiction to popular scientific thought.
The only part of that which I can agree with is that the Biblical record is in direct contradiction to popular scientific thought. Absolutely. There is no meshing of the two together. And I am increasingly irritated by the cowardice of professed believers that cannot decide if the words of God are pure words, allegories, fables, moral stories or historical records.
“Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.” (Psalm 89:9)
In the Adventures of Robin Hood, King Richard returns to England in disguise. No one recognizes him. Richard is able to move silently among his people and see, for himself, the evil that Prince John has brought upon his country while he has been away on the Crusades. (This is not an approval of the Crusades. Just referencing the story here. )
The other night I was watching The Bible in the Beginning. This is the movie made by Dino De Laurentiis back in 1966. It was quite a big deal at the time. My parents took me to see it back when they still had intermissions and even gave out a special program for that movie.
I was not a Christian then. And this was the first time I was really confronted with the realities of the Bible. The church I grew up in taught little of the truth of these things. For example, children were shown illustrations depicting Noah’s ark looking like a big bathtub. And Noah was this old guy with a beard that had a whole boat full of warm, fuzzy animals. Oh, yeah, and there was a lot of water. The end.
“I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.“ (Psalm 138: 2)
This verse is not merely a general statement about reverence toward God’s words. It is a clear declaration of authority. God, Himself, has established this absolute priority.
Allow this to sink in. God places His words above His name!
The fruit that God produces in us is not for our own use. He is the vine and we are the branches used to produce fruit that others can use.
They will pick what they need. Sometimes sweet. Sometimes sour. Or maybe just kind of in between. Maybe even bitter fruit at times.
The point being, that people will find what they need from us. At different times, we may be useful to one type of person. At another time, someone else may find a thing from us they can use. We just don’t know.
“And it was the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.” (Luke 23:49)
The sixth hour would have been high noon. This is the pivotal point of all history. Right here during these 3 hours. Everything before and everything after has its focus on that moment.
Upon that cruel post, the Son of God suffered the agonies of all the sins of all men and women who ever had and ever would live. He became “sin for us”. He took all the penalties of all our sin upon Himself.
God took our punishment so that we would not have to face His holiness on our own. That means ALL of it. Not just a little bit, a partial bit, 99.999%. 100% of the wrath of God poured out upon Christ in that moment.
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