A Letter From My Father, Part 2

“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:26-27)

For the past year or so I believe God has really been moving on my heart to prayerfully consider how He wants me to read and receive His Word.

And as I mentioned in my July 29, 2018 post entitled "A Letter From My Father" I don't believe God ever intended for His Word to be studied in the same way we would study a college text book. (See http://marriage-miracles.blogspot.com/2018/07/a-letter-from-my-father.html)

Along with the reasons I gave in my first post, the first thing I want to ponder today is this:

Look who God gave His Word to.

Besides Paul, the disciples of Jesus were fishermen and simple people.

They didn't have college level theological training or degrees. Along with that, they didn't have complete, leather bound bibles, concordances or endless bible commentaries available to them the way we do today. Much of what later became the scriptures that we have in our bible now, were initially spoken orally to the first followers of Jesus. They didn't have pocket sized New Testaments in their back pack or hip pocket. And the early disciples couldn't pack a heavy Old Testament Torah scroll around to quote from. Those were large, heavy and very costly.

Fast forward to the twenty first century. Most of the followers of Christ in our day are not bible scholars. We don't have a Doctorate in Divinity or a Masters in Theology. We didn't go to a seminary or even attend a bible college in our church. We're pretty simple people.

“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:26-27) 

In the early first century a small group of Christ followers turned the world upside down with the Gospel. (See Acts 17:6). So how did they do it?

They couldn't quote any passage they wanted to out of the New Testament because most of it had not yet been written. 

They preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus had previously commanded them:

“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)

They were told by Jesus "You shall be witnesses to Me..."  They needed the empowerment of His Spirit to be effective witnesses of Jesus Christ. That's why Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem until they received power from on high.

Jesus said:

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

We need that same Holy Spirit power from on high today to be effective witnesses for Jesus. Power from on high, from God Himself. Not Doctorates in Divinity from a seminary.

However, that does not mean we shouldn't read and study the bible. Paul wrote:

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

"Correctly handles the Word of truth?" What does that mean? I don't believe it means to go right out and get a Masters in Theology from a seminary, majoring in Greek, Hebrew, church history, exegesis and hermeneutics. (Look those terms up in the dictionary for yourself).

First, to correctly handle the word of truth, we should pray and ask God for His understanding of a passage or chapter. Ask Him what His heart and purpose was in giving it. And ask Him how we are to apply it to our life and walk with Him.

And for those who preach and teach the Word, do so correctly, conveying the heart and purpose of the Lord who gave us His Word. Context is very important. But don't get so hung up on the context that you miss the forest for the trees.

No one understands the whole bible 100%. No one. Even the Apostle Peter said:

“As also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand.” (2 Peter 3:15-16)

I believe we should take the Bible at face value. Keep it as simple as possible. But always pray and ask God for understanding. Don't rely too heavily on the interpretations or commentaries of any one man or movement.You could put the top 100 bible scholars in the world in one room and it's unlikely that they would agree completely on any one thing.

The prophetic books of the bible such as Daniel, Ezekiel and The Book of Revelation contain some difficult symbolism, metaphor and poetic language. But most of the bible is not that difficult to understand if you take it at face value and, by faith, believe it. It is God's Word. It is true. It does not need to constantly be interpreted and re-interpreted by every denomination or religious group or scholar. The cults and enemies of Christ twist it and corrupt it, to their own destruction.

Read, believe, receive and apply to your life, the scriptures that you do understand. And always ask the Lord for His wisdom and understanding of what you are reading.

God saved us into His own eternal family. He is now our Father. We are His children. That is why I like to read the bible as a letter from my Father.

In that letter He tells me how much He loves me. He tells me His promises for me, now, and forever. He tells me who I am in Jesus Christ. He gives me examples of the many harmful mistakes man has made down through the ages so I don't make the same ones they did. He tells me how He wants me as His son, to behave. He tells me how He wants me as a witness of Jesus to represent Him to the world. He tells me that I can have absolute hope in Him because He is in control of all things. He tells me to trust in Him for all things because His is God. He comforts me when I am suffering, so I can comfort others when they are suffering in the same way. He tells me to patiently wait for His return to earth because He is coming back soon and I will one day be changed and will be like His Son. He tells me how much I have to look forward to in a place with Him where there will be no more tears, no suffering, or pain. He tells me in His letter what Heaven will be like, and that I will be with him there forever.

And He tells me that He wants me to invite others to come to Him and repent and believe so they can be saved and become part of His family too.

"That God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever will believe in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

All that and more, in a Letter from my Father.



—God is Love and Love Never Fails.