Verbally assented to all the right things
Loved all the wrong things
Believed they were better than everyone else
Trusted in their entitlement
Were blind to it all
Lord, have mercy on us.
dw
Categories
Tag: Bible
Categories
Give Paul a Break
You may be tempted to read the letters written by the Apostle Paul.
My advice: Don’t. Not yet.
Not until you’ve soaked in the Gospels for a good while. And John’s letters. And James’s letter. And Peter’s letters. And maybe a good bit of the Old Testament.
Why? It’s easy to get things all turned around otherwise.
It’s easy, because of Paul’s logic and eloquence and personal story, to make Jesus about Paul instead of Paul about Jesus.
Paul would scold us for that.
But the church has split itself into hundreds of factions because it got things turned around, mostly about what Paul wrote.
Reading Paul is like handing a dangerous chemical: if you don’t handle it carefully, it can can be deadly to you and others.
So, stick with the Gospels. And the letters of John and James and Peter. For now, anyway.
(Even Peter struggled a bit with Paul’s writings…he writes about it!)
Grace and peace to you…
dw
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Continue continuing
Once you have read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John…
If you find yourself wanting to move on
(maybe you’re thinking “Ok, I’ve read that bit, now let’s get to the rest of the story”
or maybe you’re not)
Don’t do it. Stay right here.
You’ve just met the person you’ve been longing to meet your whole life
And he wants to hang out.
(Maybe you remember reading “Abide with me” – that’s what he means.)
So, hang out. Read John’s gospel again. Find out more about this person, what he’s really like, who he really is.
Read slowly, hear what he is telling you. Ask questions, tell him what you think. Like you are on a walk together, or in a coffee shop.
Getting to know Jesus is the best part, the whole reason to read the Bible. As you get to know him, he’ll tell you about the rest.
You’re already where you long to be, need to be – with him.
Linger.
Grace and peace to you…
dw
p.s. Go here to see the rest of this series on reading the Bible.
Categories
Posts about Bible reading
I posted a new page of posts
A short series on Bible reading
I hope the series will grow over time
Anyway, here it is: Pages on Bible Reading
You can find it in the Menu, too
Grace and peace to you…
dw
Christmas is a lot of Martha-ing
dw
Not so much Mary-ing
I’d like to choose the good part
Alongside Mary
A Mary Christmas seems fitting
38 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who was also seated at the Lord’s feet, and was listening to His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving by myself? Then tell her to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary; for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42, New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
becoming flame 