letting the Bible read you

You read the Bible, but are you letting the Bible read you?

What I mean by that is, we may search the Scriptures, but we must also take time for the Scriptures to search us. We need to look intently at the word and not merely glance and then forget...

"For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing." (James 1:23-25 ESV)

We come to the Bible not to gain content only, but for growth in our relationship with Christ. We come for his life, the life we need...

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." (John 5:39-40)

The Word of God is the present and living voice of the Holy Spirit who inspired it. The Scriptures are alive, active, shining, piercing...

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:12-13 ESV)

God's Word was given to us not just to increase the content of our knowledge of God or to give us personal comfort, but also for "teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness." (2 Tim 3:17)

Martyn Lloyd-Jones speaks of this in Experiencing the New Birth...

The gospel takes up the entire person, not just one part of us, not merely our head or our will or our heart. The gospel takes up the whole, the mind and heart and will.

We must read the Bible in the Spirit. We need to be prepared to read the Bible; we must pray before we read the Bible; we must pray for the Spirit of God to come upon us... The whole object of reading the Bible is so we may get at the spirit of the teaching and so the spirit of the teaching may get hold of us.

It is essential that we should take our time in reading the Bible. Take time to look quietly, calmly, persistently into “the perfect law of liberty” (Jas. 1:25), and let it examine you and search you... The world makes us so busy, our agendas are so crowded—newspapers, journals, books, television, radio, meetings, and all this and that. We are here, there, and everywhere, and we never stop and think.

“Thou desirest truth in the inward parts” (Ps. 51:6). That is what God demands, not superficial, glib knowledge.

Howard Hendricks on OT books chronology

When I was in seminary, Howard Hendricks (aka "Prof") gave us a little card with the books of the OT chronologically arranged. The scanned copy I have was a bit blurry and I wanted to make something like this available for our church class in OT theology ("Story of Redemption"). A few minor edits and here it is...

bible reading nov 1-2

Bible reading for weekend Nov 1 -- 2 Nov 1 -- Hosea 7 and Psalms 120-122 Nov 2 -- Hosea 8 and Psalms 123-125 ================ "Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing." (Hosea 8:12) THE RESULTS OF SIN (ch 7-8). Notice the words and metaphors to describe Israel's sinful condition: they are surrounded with, and proud of, their evil (7:1-3); like adulterers in the heat of passion (7:4-5); their anger is like a hot oven (7:6-7); they are like a half-cooked (one side only) cake (7:8); their strength is gone (7:9); they are like silly doves easily trapped (7:11-12); they are undependable like a warped bow (7:16). In spite of all of this they are so proud of themselves! (We might say they have a strong self-esteem.) They have spurned what is good (8:3); they sow to the wind and have no real fruit (8:7); they are a useless vessel (8:8) and a wild donkey wandering alone (8:9); they regard God's law as a strange thing

clement quotes hebrews

Clement of Rome wrote to the church in Corinth around AD 90. This is perhaps the same Clement, companion of Paul, mentioned in Philippians 4:3. Many hold him to be the first bishop / pope in Rome, aka St. Clement I. Clement quotes from the letter to the Hebrews. Origin suggested that Clement was in fact the writer (as transcriber or amanuensis) of Hebrews. Perhaps this letter began as a "word of exhortation" given by Paul at the synagogue (Heb 13:22; cf Acts 13:15) which then became a circular letter for the churches. Other possible authors of Hebrews include Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos. The theology is Pauline, but the transcriber is obviously second-generation (Heb. 2:3-4). At any rate, this early church leader in Rome, is already quoting Hebrews in his letter in AD 90: CHAPTER 36 ALL BLESSINGS ARE GIVEN TO US THROUGH CHRIST This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Savior, even Jesus Christ, the High Priest of all our offerings, the defender and he

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