Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life

Admin Sun 28 Feb 2010, 5:13 pm

Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life

Issue #3420 - Questions

Oftentimes when we read the Scriptures we just sort of allow it to
enter through our eyes and pass through our brain without processing. We set
our brains to minimal input, enough to recognize the words and know that
we've read them, but not enough processing power to actually do anything
else with what we've read.
We need to train our brains and hearts to read critically. By that I
don't mean we have to tear the Scriptures apart. I mean we need to seek the
truth of what we are reading and the implications behind it.
The best way to do that is to ask ourselves some basic questions.
What does the context around my passage add to what I'm reading?
What type of Bible literature am I reading? We read a gospel
different than a prophecy, different than a proverb, different from a book
of the law and different from a book of history. A common error for example
is to read the book of Proverbs and consider them promises from God. Yes
they are part of God's Word but no they were never intended to be promises.
They are general truisms, in that what they say is generally true in most
circumstances.
What was the author's intent in writing the book?
What does the rest of Scripture say about the topic you are reading?
What did the message mean to the original hearers/readers? What is
the cultural and historical context?
Is the Scripture addressing a particular issue for all times or is
it just pointing us to something that God has done or people have done?
What is the timeless truth revealed in what I have just read?
What are the implications of what I have found out?
That last question is often left answered but is something that we
need to consider. We need to think through what we believe, why we believe
it and how it should change our lives. God tells us to worship Him with all
of our minds as well as our heart, soul and strength.
Let me give you a sample passage to think about. I'm not going to
answer the instead I'm going to give you the Scripture and let you ponder
the implication for your life.

Genesis 1:26-27 NIV
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and
let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the
livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along
the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he
created him; male and female he created them.
A very familiar passage that many Christians can recite by heart but
have you ever thought about it?
What does it mean to be created in the image of God? How should
being created in the image of God impact our lives?
I'll leave you to struggle through those questions. Sometimes the
struggle for truth is as important as the truth itself.
Hallelu Yah (Praise God)
Be blessed
Kevin

Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or
insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth
dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that
heaven will not be complete without you.

HELP FOR THE HURTING
People often tell me that they don't need God. They are "good"
people and don't hurt others so they must be okay. I have to ask you good by
whose standards? Have you checked yourself against what God's Word says? If
there is no God why does it matter if you don't hurt anyone? Where does your
morality and truth come from? You must have some because you say you have
standards.
The blunt truth is that God's word is explicit that there is none
good but God. Without His help you are destined for an eternity in hell no
matter how good or nice you think you are. Don't be fooled... get right with
Jesus today.