gotandem "A Letter from Paul" for Saturday, 22 October 2016

gotandem "A Letter from Paul" for Saturday, 22 October 2016
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.[Ephesians 1:1]
Are you a faithful follower?
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gotandem "Testing the Spirits" for Saturday, 22 October 2016
Read
"Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world....But we [the apostles] belong to God; that is why those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception" (1 John 4:1, 6).
And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. (Acts 17:11)
Reflect It's hard believe that God would allow something untrue to come out of my pastor’s mouth but it can happen. Most of the time it's on accident. And if I'm not prepared for it, I can start tripping down some pretty scary paths. So I need to be ready to check on the things my pastor says. Not because I don't trust him or his heart, but because as a believer it's my job. I'm supposed to make sure what I'm taking in is God's truth and not just one man's opinion.
Respond
Take this week to see how well you measure truth.
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gotandem "Understanding the Bible" for Friday, 21 October 2016
Read
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. (John 16:1-15)
Reflect
Trying to read the Bible can be intimidating. It’s thick, wordy, and there are so many different kinds of writing in the Bible. Poetry, history, narrative, letters, prophecy...I’m tired just writing that list. Luckily people have been reading the Bible for centuries, and here are some useful tools they came up with.
Book Outlines: These short articles at the beginning of each book provide information about who the original author was and when the book was written. You'll also find out what ideas are emphasized in the book.
Footnotes: There's an old adage that says "if you have a question, chances are someone else has it too." If you are having trouble understanding a certain verse, chances are someone else had trouble too. The footnotes are where you'll find information you might not otherwise know. Like the fact that Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem.
Cross-references: There's probably no better way to see how intricately the 66 books of the Bible weave together than by following the cross-references. By tracing these references, you'll be able follow people as they are mentioned in different books (Othniel is in Judges and Joshua) or follow concepts as they develop in the Bible.
Concordance: A concordance is usually an edited list of all the places a word is used in the Bible. This is handy for finding a verse when you can only remember a word or two of it.
Maps: Do you know what the expression "From Dan to Beersheba" means? With a map, you'll find that Dan is in the far North and Beersheba in the far South of Israel. In other words, it's like saying "from coast to coast."
All of that and I still haven't even mentioned the Holy Spirit.
Now I’ll be honest. I’ve never felt the Holy Spirit move in me. I haven’t had that undeniable tug at my heart, but I also know that I have limitations. There’s no way I could understand 75% of the Bible by myself. I have a had a hard enough time understanding text books that were written the same year I read them and parts of the Bible are over 2000 years old. So while I do study the Bible and I use the tools available, sometimes something inexplicable happens. Somehow, verses will stick out to me in ways they haven’t. Ways that are relevant to what's happening in my life that day. And I have to believe that it's the Holy Spirit at work.
Respond
How does the Holy Spirit work in your life?
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gotandem "The Lord's Light" for Friday, 21 October 2016
The LORD's light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.[Proverbs 20:27]
Is this scary to you?
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