KNOWING YOUR BIBLE
August 29, 2021: Dear Friends, May this time studying this blog be a blessed time for you. With all the strenuous happenings occurring on this day, the hurricane, the war in Afghanistan, the pandemic, most of us need a few minutes of quiet time. Meditating on God’s Word, The Holy Bible, and listening for his small voice in our souls will give us guidance as we face the challenges of our everyday lives. Remember, the more we draw nearer and closer to God the more we gain in strength and courage in our spiritual lives. (James, chapter 4, verse 8)
Last week, a series was started on focusing on people who have been written about in the Bible. If there is a name of a person, or even if there is a name of a particular group or tribe, that has been included in biblical scripture, it is there because God thought that particular person or group was important in whatever was being written in the scripture. Remember, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy, chapter 3, verse 16 that: “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,…..” .
Whenever we are reading about a particular person or group, keep in mind that what was written had a purpose when mentioning the name or group written in the content of the Bible. Also note that there is a commonality among the people written about in the olden days and the people in today’s times. Human feeling and patterns of thinking are clearly recognized when studying the personalities of the ones written about. A few of the feelings include love, hate, selfishness, greed, jealousy, anger and idolatry. A few of the patterns of thinking include the thought of harming or killing, of stealing, of lying, of being self conceited and of committing adultery, This brings to mind that there hasn’t been many, if any, changes in the way people think and act through the hundreds of years. Read what Jesus and Paul had to say more than 2000 years ago about evil thoughts in Matthew, chapter 15, verses 18-19, and in Galatians, chapter 5, verses 19-21.
Of course people have changed the way they think and act through the influence of reading and knowing the Bible. Developing a relationship with God and his only son, Jesus Christ, cause changes in the way we think. Learning and obeying God’s Word and believing in Jesus, God’s only son, who came to save us from our sins as written in Matthew, chapter 1, verse 21, have changed the minds and actions of millions of people through the hundreds of years.
Today,and the next few weeks, our focus will be on 3 different groups of people written about in Genesis. Discussion has been brought forward that the book of Genesis was written in approximately 700 BC-500 BC time frame. Some of the events such as the creation story with Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, in Genesis 1-3 took place several hundred to thousands of years before the Story of Abraham, Isaac, Esau and Jacob that took place in the 1800-1700 BC time frame. The flood story and Noah and the Ark written in Genesis Chapter 6, starting in verse 5 and continuing until chapter 11, verse 31 took place several generations before the story of Abraham and his family. Bible stories were carried down from generation to generation and finally written about as stated above.
For this week’s Bible study, read Genesis chapter 1 through chapter 11 about the creation and the flood. Consider reading the creation story first, Genesis chapters 1-5; and then read the flood story, if time allows, chapters 6-11. Feel free to use other resources, including online resources with emphasis on the time line of when the events occurred that are written about in these chapters.All time frames written in this blog are approximate.
MAY GOD BLESS YOUR BIBLE STUDY THIS WEEK! All verses are from the New Revised Standard (NRS) Version of the Bible.