only READ the Bible? or is there more?

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I've been thinking a lot about the Bible - as God's Word, as a book of instruction, as a book of meditation, as a book of stories about real people, as a book of prophecy.

Does the reading of the Bible preclude our having to go through the same lessons as did the subjects of the stories? []http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Rudywoofs/icon_confused.gif[/] ... I'm not being very clear here. I will try again..

Should I be learning the lessons shown through people's lives in the Bible ONLY by *reading* the Bible, or is there MORE to learning a lesson that God wants to teach me? More that I as a separate person from the Bible must experience? Is there a way of LIVING the Bible, rather than merely READING the Bible?

(no, I don't mean to say I need to find a giant and learn how to use a slingshot a la David and Goliath... It is the LESSONS in the stories I think are somehow very important.)

[Gail]

Pam, one day you will bump into something in the Bible that seems like an answer to some situation you face and it will seem like it was written just for you

Solomon said that there is nothing new under the sun. The Holy Spirit will move you (impress upon your mind) and you will know that it's God speaking to you

[Gregory Matthews]

Pam, the Bible reflects God acting in normal, typical human life. As a member of the human race it is likely that you (and I, and Gail, and everyone else) will have to repeat some of the same lessons learned by Biblical people.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I think God *has* spoken to me in the past. I am waiting again. <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

What my question has more to do with, is that I think I not only need to *read* the Bible, but I need to *do* the Bible.

[]http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Rudywoofs/headscratch.gif[/]

Maybe I'm still in the process of hatching this idea...and it's not quite out of the shell yet..

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I do feel sometimes a bit of a nitwit, what with the stories in the Bible and I go trotting off and doing the same dumb things that the Bible people did. I can just imagine God shaking His head and thinking "when will she ever learn?" <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

[Dr. Shane]

As a child I hung out with a neighbor kid and after a while I started to laught the same way he did. As a teenager I started to pick up new words and speak like the friends I had then. When I entered college I started becoming interested in the same things my friends were. It seems the more time I spend with people, the more I become like them.

Spending time in the Word of God is no different for me. The more time I spend in it, the more I start to live like the Bible figures did. I start relating everyday events to Biblical events. The Bible shapes and molds me more and more.

However, the more time I spend in the Bible and the closer I grow to Christ, the more of my own defects I see too. These revelations challenge me to practice my faith and by practicing it, my faith becomes stronger. Yet is is a constant work of submitting and as soon as it seems one of my charachter defects is defeated, I discover I had another that I didn't notice before.

[Gerr]

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rudywoofs said:

I've been thinking a lot about the Bible - as God's Word, as a book of instruction, as a book of meditation, as a book of stories about real people, as a book of prophecy.

Does the reading of the Bible preclude our having to go through the same lessons as did the subjects of the stories? []http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Rudywoofs/icon_confused.gif[/] ... I'm not being very clear here. I will try again..

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[:"blue"] Reading the story of Job does not/will not preclude us from experiencing the same calamities, but it does help prepare us for the experience. [/]

Gerry

[Aliensanctuary]

I like to think that the Bible holds secrets for us, just waiting for us to stumble across, then enjoy them. There are many mysteries within its pages, so it's kind of a mystery novel, boring in places like all those wars and battles, but they, too, must serve some purpose.

Looking through the Bible is like looking through a kaleidoscope---we see patterns and vague images, but can't quite make out what they represent.

Sometimes it seems unfortunate that that's basically all we have to go on, just the Bible, to base our faith on. We probably have seen no miracles on the order that Jesus performed, we hear no audible voice or see no form in the distance. But maybe that's the best way. God will choose those who believe in him and choose to follow him, even though they have no physical proof. Those are the kind of gems he is searching for.

Even if everything in the Bible actually turned out to be a lie, what have we lost if we did only good to our fellow man?

So, Pam, if you could have been a Bible character, who would you choose to be? Or, is anyone in the Bible like you are today?

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

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So, Pam, if you could have been a Bible character, who would you choose to be? Or, is anyone in the Bible like you are today?

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Those are intereesting questions. <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I think I would *choose* to be one of the little children who was blessed by Jesus when the disciples were trying to shoo them away.

Who am I like today? Probably a cross between Rahab and Mary Magdalene.

[Gregory Matthews]

Pam, as either, you are tied to Christ.

[Gail]

<img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/amen2.gif" alt="" />

[Norman Byers, N.D.]

Pam,

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What my question has more to do with, is that I think I not only need to *read* the Bible, but I need to *do* the Bible.

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Here's a simple example.

You're driving and you get into a wreck, your car catches fire and your seatbelt won't unlock. You scream and scream for help and no one is around to help.

You cry out to God, "Help me, I don't want to die" Out of the blue someone comes running over and pulls out a knife and cuts the belt and gets you out. As he carries you away he says why were you driving so fast, I saw you a mile dwon the road, please slow down next time. As he is carrying you the car explodes and sends a piece of metal flying at his head and hits him and he falls and dies beside you and you pass out never to see him again.

2 days later reality sets in and you are left there to consider what you have caused. Your speeding cause your crash and now his death. What will that do for you? How will that change you? Will you decide to drive more carefully from that day on? Can you ever get that person ever out of you mind. After some time will you not try to thank his family? Or will you? Maybe you can't face them because you know it's because of you that he died. You want to so badly but you can't.

Finally after a few months you go and you knock at their door. You just want to thank him so much but you don't know how to say it. The door opens and you see a woman and you burst into tears and you hug. Then you hear a voice say, "who's that honey?"

You stop crying and are shocked as you see the man who saved you come into view. A wordless reunion tears begins. The whole time you thought he was dead and that you were hated of his family, but it was not so. He tells the story of how he was only unconscious. You just didn't know that he was alive. "I never knew you were alive, I never knew you were alive!" "You're alive! You're alive!"

Christ is alive and has saved you from a fire far more devastaing then the common flames of earth. He is alive and much more, He wants you to let Him into your heart without reserve as one saved from the flames of eternal death. Abba the Father loves you and has sent His Son to save us. We must all stop thinking that He hates us or has something against us. Jesus is alive and we know it!

This response to His love is the only way to have a meaningful response to what you read in the Bible. To "do" by the power of love in thankfulness.

Norman

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

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Pam, as either, you are tied to Christ.

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<img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Norman, that was very profound.. <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/thankyousign.gif" alt="" />

[Norman Byers, N.D.]

Hi Pam

I'm glad it was a blessing,

Norman

[Aliensanctuary]

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Who am I like today? Probably a cross between Rahab and Mary Magdalene.

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Both women had an important role to play on Earth. Few, if any, loved Jesus as much as Mary M. did. Her love for Jesus contrasted with the cold-hearted self-interests of Judas and company. Rahab had a choice to make, serve God or die. She chose to serve God and became one of the ancestors of the Messiah.

You, along with the rest of us, can indeed shed our old selves and become something new and sparkling. The Sparkles come from the Spirit within. The Sparkles within make us happy. I have some extra Sparkles you can have. I don't have a lot, but there's always enough to share.

I have some Sparkle Killer, too. Every once-in-a-while, out of habit, I open my can of Sparkle Killer and sprinkle some of it around. Sure enough, it works.

I'm tired of Sparkle Killer, really. It's pretty in a way, but I've got to get rid of it. It's tied around my neck, just like a dead albatross. There must be a Sparkle Killer Key around here somewhere. Then we can unlock the Sparkle Killer and get rid of it. I think the key is in the very book we're discussing.

Pam Rudywoofs, despite your current self-assessment, you may very well be much closer to God than the rest of us here. You've got lots of Sparkles. Some kids have a lot of Sparkles, too.

[LifeHiscost]

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rudywoofs said:

Is there a way of LIVING the Bible, rather than merely READING the Bible?

the LESSONS in the stories I think are somehow very important.)

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[:"red"] "Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you,... for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." [/] Matthew 16:17 NKJV

<img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/DOVE.gif" alt="" />

Keep looking up!!

[LifeHiscost]

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rudywoofs said:

Those are intereesting questions. <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I think I would *choose* to be one of the little children who was blessed by Jesus when the disciples were trying to shoo them away.

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[:"red"] "...Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." [/] Matthew 18:3 KJV

I perceive we have enough people who are trying to be king, Pam. I believe that attitude was started by Lucifer. <img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/untitled.bmp" alt="" />it will be finished by Him.

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Who am I like today? Probably a cross between Rahab and Mary Magdalene.

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[:"red"] "She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word.

....Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;

but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." [/] Luke 10:39-42

<img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/DOVE.gif" alt="" />

[LifeHiscost]

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Norman said:

To "do" by the power of love in thankfulness.

Norman

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[:"red"] "...for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." [/]

Phil 2:13 NASB

<img src="/adventist/images/graemlins/DOVE.gif" alt="" />