Bible

What is special about Bible verses?

Verse

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

—2 Timothy 3:16 NLT

Good News

God revealed Himself in Jesus, but we are also given God’s revelation of Himself in written form — the Scriptures. These are not just written by people inspired by the Holy Spirit, but the words and phrases have their own spiritual life, such that God uses them to speak to us.

Reflection

Look on the title page of any book and you’ll find an important line in the small print. Sometimes it is just the name. Sometimes it is the imprint year and words: xxxx identifies as the author of this work copyright year.

The Bible, 66 books, has the imprint of God Almighty and there should be a copyright warning because we are told not to add to or subtract from these words in Deuteronomy 4:1-12, echoed in Revelation 22:17-19

How we read it

That doesn’t mean taking things in an over-literal or legalistic way. That was the mistake made by the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, who studied Scripture and took seriously what is said – but often missed the spirit that was behind the words. They reduced Scripture to a set of propositions to be strictly followed and added to Scripture by making those propositions complicated and lengthy. That is legalism, where supposed righteousness is measured by what you do and don’t do, overlooking the much greater (but more difficult) priority of one’s relationship with God. It is the fault common to all religions which try to construct a repeatable system to teach and to follow, rather than the discretion and responsibility of being led by the Spirit in a relationship with God.

God-breathed

These are words written by human authors but but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In Scripture, “breath”, “wind” and “Spirit” are interchangeable. God breathes His spiritual life into us — as in the title line of the well-known hymn “Breathe on me, breath of God”.

God’s spiritual life has been breathed into the words in the page, which us why they speak to us beyond the actual words — there is an impartation, something spiritual being created in us, as we engage with God’s truth put into words.

Our interaction

The interaction is important — it is how we grow. God intends for us to grow in Him, to build our spiritual maturity, every day of our lives. Like every kind of fitness, there are growth pains and setbacks in the progress. But if we stay with it, we grow.

That means us reading the Bible and letting God speak through it day by day. It confronts the rather unspiritual idea that we attend church or chapel once a week or once a month, and watch a spiritual person at the front doing the engagement with God on our behalf, including reading His word. When printing was ‘new technology’ and education restricted to a privileged few, not everyone could read and it made practical sense to read out words publicly. Now printed Bibles are plentiful, and we have searchable Bible texts available on the screen of a smartphone in our pocket. What our Father wants from us is developing our personal relationship with Him, and that means having plenty of our own engagement with the number one way He speaks to us.

Teach us what us true

God not only wants us, His children, to grow, but His Spirit in us gives us a hunger for more — we want to grow. Spending time with God and His word — the daily quiet time — is a habit all Christians learn and although fashions in discipleship come and go, some form of quiet time has always been one of the essentials in spiritual life. What God shows us in our quiet time is our news, our Good News for the day. We listen to broadcasts that keep us informed about the world, local and worldwide. It’s not always uplifting. As a source of encouragement it lets us down more often than not.

So we need to give some precious time and attention to what is always life-giving and a source of encouragement — God giving us His word for today, from His word that has endured, and has an eternal quality.

We don’t need to be biblical scholars or have an encyclopaedic knowledge — the Holy Spirit can show us where to go or give us a phrase to search. We just need to be alert, and willing to be led in directions that might not make sense to us at the time.

Corrects us when we are wrong

Similarly, Scripture acts as a yardstick to measure against. A proposed course of action, or a response to somebody, or just an attitude we are holding — if it doesn’t check out with Scripture, Scripture has ways of showing us.

Bible Sunday

Around this time of year, when the clocks change to winter time, many churches celebrate Bible Sunday. Gathering as church to celebrate and worship God has no meaning apart from His word. The early apostles taught disciples in the temple courts — from the Scriptures. And the believers also met from house to house, and discussed what was being learned from the Scriptures, Acts 20:20. Some traditions put more store by symbolic acts that they designate as sacraments. How many people have a life-changing conviction and find new life, born again spiritually, through this means? What we do know, is that “faith comes by hearing the message, and. the message is heard through the word about Christ,” Romans 10:17, and many, many people come under holy conviction and are born again through hearing the word proclaimed. So if we are seeking an outward sign of an inner blessing, this is the one that has the most personal testimonies of change!

Take away

• Do you have a routine for giving God space to speak to You through His word? How could you improve this?

• Start a journal, where you can write or record what you sense God saying to You through His word, reflect on it — and perhaps share it, for the encouragement of someone else.

Link

For a prayer based on this verse, go over to this page on www.glowweobley.com

Verse

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.  

Ephesians 1:7 NIV

A little more interpretative in the New Living Translation:

He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.  

Ephesians 1:7 NLT

Good News

There’s one act of the heart for us — to believe — and four things that happen without us doing anything more. The grace of God forgives us and puts our lives right and gives us new life and new identity — because of what Jesus has done on our behalf.

Reflection

A recently-released film, Outside the City, by Christian filmmaker Nick Hamer, explored the life of Britain’s only Cistercian Trappist monastery at Mount St Bernard, Leicestershire over a three-year period. During this time they invested in modern brewery equipment and began to brew their own niche brand of bottled ale. By contrast with this specialised activity, the rule of life they follow values quietness and reflection. There was a scene in the refectory where instead of conversation the Abbott is reading from the Rule of Benedict, and we hear (approximate quote): “Be sparing with your words… for if your words are many, their emptiness is great.”

Churchgoing in the UK is in sharp decline, in the traditional denominations at least, and one thing often cited is the association of worship services with unwarranted wordiness. We may fall into the trap of too many words and too little meaning, but Paul didn’t. In this one verse and about 20 words he sets out five massive foundations of Christian faith:

• Being joined to Christ — our new life “in Him”
• Redemption — the NLT puts this plainly as “He purchased our freedom”. If someone else paid the fine for a prisoner’s offence, or purchased the freedom of a slave from the owner, that person was described as having been redeemed.
• Through His blood — the OT principle was clear, that without the shedding of blood there could be no forgiveness. The worship of God through priests offering sacrifices foreshadowed the one, final and conclusive sacrifice made by Jesus Christ in the Cross for our sins, past, present and future. His blood remedies our sin and makes the personal relationship with God possible, no priests required.
• The forgiveness of sins — much conventional religion makes a meal of striving to be forgiven, when that forgiveness has already been granted to all who truly believe in and receive to their hearts Jesus as Saviour and Lord.
• The riches of God’s grace. What we cannot earn, Christ earned for us. What we cannot achieve, we can receive in and through Him. Most man-centred philosophy revolves around merit — whether or not we deserve a particular reward. That is the basis of the pass mark or grade that operates in school, graduate and professional qualifications, driving tests and promotion boards — and produce shows and ploughing matches! It’s what we are used to, but God deciding to treat us according to His love, not our performance, is difficult to accept. Because accepting us all we can do, to respond to what He has done and the love He has already shown.

For someone who has taken that step of faith to say ‘yes’ to Jesus, it all comes down to just two words — “in Him”. Our being joined, spiritually, with Christ Jesus and His righteousness is a kind of transfusion of God’s life and good motivation.

It upsets our ordinariness. And (something no religion can do) it frees us from needing to prove or earn any moral achievement.

Link

For a prayer based on this verse, go over to www.glowweobley.com

In all life’s uncertainty and change — what is God saying?

But the LORD’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken. Psalm 33:11 NLT

WE HAVE BECOME over-used to short-termism — unhealthy adaptation to a fast-changing world — which has infected all of life.

Partnership has become more normal than marriage. There is no ‘job for life’ and most people will experience redundancy and career changes. The kettle we buy today will be taken to the dump in a year or two. “Fast fashion” creates mountains of discarded fabric which, unlike cotton, doesn’t readily recycle.

Sometimes there IS a need to live one day at a time. For some people on the front line during the Covid crisis, it was just like that. But that’s what we would call a coping mechanism, not a strategy.

Away from the pandemic, we have endured governments publicising constant new initiatives which last for a year and quietly disappear; companies downsizing their workforce to improve the share value prior to takeover; roads patched repeatedly when resurfacing would have been a far better, less costly solution; and hospitals managed on bed occupancy occupancy (like a hotel) removing the resilience needed to cope with epidemics.

God doesn’t work this way. His timescale is longer… in fact, eternal. Unlike us, He is not influenced by short-lived trends.

Here’s a report on one of God’s plans that has stood firm from the beginning. This intention started with a promise given to Abraham, gained momentum by being proclaimed through the prophets, was given new impetus by Jesus — and then was worked out by the first Christians. Now it has come down to us.

Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God. Acts 11:1 NLT

This was God’s purpose that knowing Him and the invitation to worship Him would be for ALL people. And it has been consistently fought by the ‘insider’ people. The Jews of Jesus’ time found, in His love without boundaries, a reason to hate Him. The new freedom of salvation by personal faith alone in the Reformation was fought with a restating of the doctrine of salvation only through (one particular) church. In our day in a church setting, we find social and cultural diversity challenging. We are naturally (rather than supernaturally) ‘birds of a feather’, more comfortable among other people who are socially similar. And it’s not only church treasurers who prefer to consolidate what we have — not give it away, and spread ourselves thin with mission.

But the LORD’s plans stand firm forever…

God’s intention to establish His just and balanced rule, the kingdom of God, is a very long-term plan. In fact, it IS His plan!

Take away

To follow God’s plan, our prayer requests for short-term needs need to be set in the context of the priority of God’s kingdom. The prayer the Lord taught us turns on the phrase: “Thy kingdom come!”

• That’s why every Christian and every church needs to come together in agreement with the prayer for revival. Revival in our communities — a turning to Jesus — is like a tide rising that floats all the boats in the harbour.
• Revival is the ‘big need’ that also answers all the little ones. The big need is the kingdom coming for people who enter into it in salvation and new life in Jesus, ready for Jesus’ return. And in turning to Him, our lives get sorted out and all kinds of other needs come right.

Summary

God’s long-term, stated purposes stand in sharp contrast to our ‘reactive living’ and short-term mind set. We should pray agreeing with what God is doing as a solution, rather than the requests of those overwhelmed by immediate concerns.

For a prayer based on this verse, go over to www.glowweobley.com and this page