A SHORT MEDITATION

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I am in the process of changing versions of the Bible

that I read from again.  Generally I will read from one

or the other versions for several years.  Hopefully this

gives me a little better understanding of the Scriptures.

This time when I changed the purpose was to have the

most accurate version in English, not the most readable.

[No, I am not trying to change your mind on the version

you read.  Read the one you like - and keep your nose in

it.]  It came in a few days ago so this morning I was reading

at random.  I ran across a thought I had never noticed.  So,

I had been thinking about it for several hours.  I was even

trying to find other Scriptures that completed the thought.

That did not work.

So, back to the passage of Scripture in mind.  OUCH!

For some reason I had no noticed three small letters.

The letters were: n, o, t.  Yes, the word "not".  That

changed the whole meaning of that passage of Scripture.

My point is, are we reading the whole thing?  Or just

reading the parts of Scripture we want to try to make it

say what we want?  Are we reading only those parts of

the Scriptures that make us feel good?

TODAY'S QUOTE

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"A young man who wishes to remain a sound

atheist cannot be too careful of his reading."

- C. S.  Lewis

BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS

"But as for you,

Christ has poured out his Spirit on you.

As long as his Spirit remains in you,

you do not need anyone to teach you.

For his Spirit teaches you about everything,

and what he teaches is true, not false.

Obey the Spirit's teaching, then

and remain in union with Christ."

(1 John 1:27 GNB)

Books, books and more books.

I LOVE BOOKS.

Over the years there have been two things I could not pass up.

Books and tools.

I have had hundreds of books.

Most of these books have been either spiritual in content,

or instructional.

[You think I should have read more of them.  I probably should have!]

One of these books - EXPERIENCING THE DEPTHS OF 

JESUS CHRIST - by Jeanne Guyon

has a thought I want to look into more deeply

and pass on to you.

One of her chapters is written for illiterates, 

people who cannot read.

That's right.  She wrote a chapter for people who cannot read.

She intended that someone who could read, would read it to 

someone who could not read.

The essence of that chapter is, 

you do not need to suffer spiritually because you cannot read.

On page fifteen she says,

"The first thing you must learn, dear friend,

is that 'the kingdom of God is within you.'

(Luke 17:21)

"Never look for the kingdom anywhere but there,

within.  Once you have realized that the kingdom of God is

within you and can be found there, just come to the Lord."

The apostle Paul seems to concur with this,

that is, if you are a "real" Christian and 

the Spirit of God is in you.

"But you do not live as your human nature tells you to:

instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to -

if, in fact, God's Spirit lives in you.

Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ

 does not belong to him."

(Romans 8:9 GNB)

"Surely you know that you are God's temple

and that God's Spirit lives in you!

.... For God's" temple is holy, and you

yourselves are his temple."

(1 Corinthians 3:16, 17 GNB)

"Don't you know that your body is the temple

of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you

and who was given to you by God?"

(1 Corinthians 6:19 GNB)

Is it possible that those of us who love books

may be looking the wrong place for our guidance.

That is, other people rather than the "Spirit" that 

is within us.

Of course, if it is not God's Spirit in us,

we are in trouble anyway and would only

be mislead further.

Books are good.

But are books causing us to miss the best?

"My child, there is something else to watch out for.

There is no end to the writing of books,

and too much study will wear you out."

(Ecclesiastes 12:12 GNB)

JUST READ IT.

I cringe every time I am offered a Bible reading schedule.
Why do we read the Bible the way I used to read my "love letters"?

I was in the Navel Air Reserve. When away on a cruise
(Well, we flew.) My fiancee would write to me.
When Mail Call came I tore open her letters. I would
first look at the length. Then determine how many
paragraphs were in it. Then I could plot out how to read
it.  Twelve paragraphs. So today I will read paragraph five.
Tomorrow I will read paragraph three. Then the day
after read paragraph eleven.

If you believe that was the way I read those letters,
you would believe anything the Devil tells you.

But we read our Bibles that way!
Being too simple to understand much, I just picked
my Bible up and started reading. For years now, over
and over, and over. Yes, some times I would go back
and reread, or think about, or study, or memorize.
But the routine was, over and over and over.
Want to read through your Bible in a year?
Just pick it up and read it.

At church lately there has been a "preacher" visiting
with us. You can spot them when they walk in the
door. They have not found a seat before you know
they are either a preacher or a wantabe preacher.
You know what I am talking about. You have seen
them too. And they don't take to long to let every body
know they are ministers. Then as soon as possible
they will begin demonstrating their vast store of
knowledge when given an opportunity. Or even
with out an opportunity.

One night at the midweek Bible study this minister
was back in his full regalia of finery.  He looked as
good as any prosperity preacher.
At an appropriate time he began to wax eloquent,
becoming very emphatic about a certain position.
But the Holy Spirit brought to my mind and obscure
verse that I've never studied, thought on, or
memorized. It of course blew his position clear
out of the water.

I did not say anything. It did not matter that much.
BUT, the Holy Spirit protected me from being mislead
by reminding me of something I have read, over and over.
This is something that has happened numbers of times.

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in my name, he will teach you
all things, and bring to your remembrance all
that I have said to you."
-John 14:26 RSV

One time I had a pastor, a very good pastor. In a
Sunday School discussion he admitted that
he had just finished reading the Bible all the way
through for the first time. He had been preaching
twenty six years. Now that is pathetic.

If you ever get a chance, get a copy of the book
"How To Master The English Bible" by James
M. Gray. They are available as reprints.

Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho, pastor of the largest church
in the world, in his book "The Fourth Dimension"
on page 150 says,

"You must read the Bible. But do not read
the Bible for religious pretenses; do not
read the Bible to seek out new legalistic
rules for living; do not read the Bible for
historical purposes. Rather, read the Bible
to feed your mind and to renew your
thinking life. Fill your thinking with the Word
of God. Then God can have a free approach
to your life and flow out to do mighty things
for the glory of God through you."

JUST PICK IT UP AND READ IT.