“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27) “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32) “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” (Luke 24:44) “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:45)
Two months ago I stopped my daily bible reading reflections.
I felt like I needed a break, but now I am missing my reflection time.
I also felt the need to change the way I read the Scriptures.
This coming Monday, November 18, I am restarting my bible reading reflections.
I will be focusing on the Gospels for 89 weeks, one chapter a week.
For me, knowing Jesus is the key to understanding the bible.
As Jesus says, the point of the bible is to lead us to Jesus (John5:39-40)
As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, he opens our minds to understand the bible.
Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, the living Word speaks to us personally!
May our hearts burn within us as he opens the Scriptures to us!
Archive of posts filed under the general discussions category.
How we read scripture?
Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus
This is my story, I was born and raised in and converted to religion. Jesus was a part of that religion, but was buried beneath it. I find myself still digging out from religious thinking and behaving. It is not easy to break free from, but when I experience the moments of relationship with Jesus, it is worth it… liberating, life-giving.
How about you? Is it more about Jesus for you, or more about religion?
This is our God?
Judge Softly
“Judge Softly” ~ by Mary T. Lathrap, 1895
“Pray, don’t find fault with the man that limps,
Or stumbles along the road.
Unless you have worn the moccasins he wears,
Or stumbled beneath the same load. Continue reading ‘Judge Softly’ »
How to draw people to Jesus!
“We draw people to Christ not by loudly discrediting what they believe, or by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.”
(Madeleine L’Engle)
Do you agree or disagree with this?
How do I relate to people I disagree with, that I think are wrong?
Do they find me ‘so lovely that they want to know the source of it?’
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:12)
A servant to any and all!
“Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23, The Message)
I’ve read this passage in the NIV before, but I love this version of it.
A servant to any and all, I enter their world, to experience things from their point of view.
Not taking on their way of life, keeping my bearings in Christ. Continue reading ‘A servant to any and all!’ »
Becoming little Christs
“The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that. all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)
This quote captures what I think the focus of Jesus’s followers ought to be.
If we are not seeking to be like Jesus in the world, then we are not following Jesus.
If we are not helping others find the Jesus way, we are not developing followers of Jesus.
Continue reading ‘Becoming little Christs’ »
Left untried!
“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”
G.K. Chesterton, What’s Wrong with the World
Don’t just discuss it, do it!
