Remember Twenty Things

Remember Twenty Things

I recently finished reading the Bible through again and Thought I would share some of the things that I learned.

This may not come as good news to you who are seeking to know the scriptures better, but the Bible is a LOT easier to read on the sixth or seventh time through. You are familiar with the narrative line and the shifts in emphasis do not puzzle you so much when you go from book to book. You are able to grasp the sweep of the story better, you are more familiar with the vocabulary, the style of Paul and the Gospels, the cadence of the prophets and the key events.

You simply have to be humble, and admit that you need a working familiarity with certain key concepts and events in Scripture. This is not a project for the casual inquirer, this knowing God through His Word. You ought to read about and reflect on the creation, the creation of man in His image, the fall from grace, the judgment under the flood, the call of Abraham, the exodus, the establishment of tabernacle worship, the kingship in David, the temple under Solomon, the loss of the kingdom and destruction of Jerusalem, the return of the exiles, the sudden announcement of the messiah, the cross, the resurrection, the ascension, the founding of the church as the community of the faithful on earth, the lively hope of heaven that saturates the new testament, and the proclamation of final victory in revelation. These are twenty things. Can we not contemplate and hold as pivotal truths twenty ideas? Communicators would teach that messengers need to present one clear idea, or at the most, three points, but we are not trying to make a speech, we are trying to have as fruitful relationship with our Creator. You could easily think of twenty important facets to a long friendship, or to your relationship with your wife. In the same way, these pivotal, revelatory events present truth about God that guides us into a more meaningful relationship with him.

Let me urge you to read, read, and read, the scriptures. Only in this way can you uncover its rich layers of meaning. You will see for yourself the connection between the blood of the sacrifice in Leviticus and the blood shed on the cross. You will experience the despairing story of the Kingdoms in the light of the triumphant story of the Revelation. You can experience in the action of reading our fall from paradise, and our restoration in the last chapters.

Lastly, I am a child of a doubtful age, and have heard all the questions cast upon the scriptures. Reading the actual scriptures is the best way to deal with those questions.

You have the time for this. You have, in fact, all the time that there is.

See you at the throne!

Pastor Harley