January 22, 2009 6:50 AM
Sam wrote:
Public reading of Scripture. I am sure you know why Paul told Timothy to do this. AYUP, 'Scripture' was not made available to the common man (or woman). What copies existed back then were not done with a PC or Mac, but laboriously reproduced by hand. I 'dare' any of you to copy the book of Psalms on pieces of paper, using, say, a quill and bottles of ink!!!! NO, not many copies existed, hence the only way people could get the Word was for someone to read it to them, and the most 'economical way' was for public gatherings to listen to someone read it to them. What a difference today. I have several versions of the Bible in the house, and have ONLINE ACCESS to dozens more. I don't have to wait to go to town on particular days to hear the Word of God, I can read it myself any time of the day and night I want to. And, everyone else in the world has similar opportunities (although some cultures ban our Christain Bible, it is still somewhat available even in those countries). But, millions of people, even here in the 'Christian USA' don't take advantage of this great gift from God. Millions hear a small portion of His word on Saturday or Sunday, and don't even crack open the 'family Bible' all week long....some don't even own one, although they can be purchased for only a few dollars, and in lots of cases are available free from various churches and other organizations.
Let me ask YOU...how often in a day do YOU take advantage of having God's Word 'at your fingertips' Some of us are more fortunate than others, simply because of our jobs, but then, even a small pocket Bible can be carried to lots of places of employment.
Listening to, and reading, God's Word is a joy. It is a gift I thank God for all the time. He is talking directly to me (even though MEN did the actual writing and rewriting and compilation of the Bible) with His Word. Paul tells us (Timothy) to be diligent in the matters he described in this chapter, one of which is to read publicly the Word of God. We are to give ourselves wholly of this 'task', which is really no task at all, but a pure joy. From this reading joy, we can better obtain godliness, which 'has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." Reply to this
January 22, 2009 7:07 AM
Sam wrote:
2nd Kings 22. Many people think Josiah, at the ripe old age of 8 years, was the man (boy) to become a king at the earliest age. Not so. Can anyone tell me WHO was the 'youngest king in the Bible' and how old was he when he became king?
Josiah WAS noted for one thing though, he was king when the high priest, Kilkiah, stumbled across the 'lost book of the law'. Now how in God's creation can something of such importance become lost? Well, if you read chpaters 20 and 21, it is no mystery. The law was not preached under the evil kings Manasseh and his son Amon for the past 57 years. I guess even something important as God's laws could 'disappear' if not used in 57 years (almost as many years as I have been alive!). (I've lost a lot of things since I was born in 1950....all those DC Comics, Baseball Cards, HO Model train sets, and all those other 'goodies' which would be so valuable today!) How valuable do you think that book of the law would have appeared to King Josiah after it was rediscovered? Worth a lot more than a signed Yogi Berra TOPPS, I'll bet. And that is how valuable our discoveries in our own Bible can be to us. There are things in there we have 'lost' even in the short time we have been disciples of Christ (Dustin has not lost any of that, but even he will, once the initial glory of becoming a son of God begins to wear off and replaced by sin). My encouragement today follows along with what I blogged about in 1st Timothy as well, read your Bible a lot to rediscover those hidden, once revealed, magical moments in our spiritual history and the gems of advice being offered by true men and women of God. Do like Josiah did in the next chapter (23) and proclaimed the law by reading it aloud to the people and convincing them to rid themselves of their sin. Use YOUR own Bible to do that for you. (and if that doesn't work, ask a brother for help.) Reply to this
How many of us know what our gifts are? If we do know what they are, do we neglect them? I think it is easier to see what others gifts are rather then our own. like Mac, he has the gift to teach and lead, tony his is to serve the needs of others, Rich has the gift of patience, JB I hope to get to know what your gifts are. Dustin you are just beginning to see the hope of having gifts from God. there are three gifts we all need to possess, that is faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love. Do we even look at love as a gift? I know I do, with out Jesus I would have no idea at all how to love anyone but myself. to be able to look at others and love them no matter where they are spiritually, strong or weak, lost or found, joyful or full of sorrow, to be able to love them is a gift to treasure and thank God for. Without it life is so meaningless. Reply to this
January 22, 2009 11:31 PM
Tony wrote:
1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Any idea what scripture that would be? If you point these things out to the brothers,(or the wives) you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus. How often do we point these things out to the people who are deceived? Even though they don't listen we should still try.12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Why when we are young in the faith are we eager to set the example but as we get older in the faith we get stale. Refer to verse 1. The longer we are in the faith the more we are tempted. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. How devoted are we, not even devoted enough to blog daily, speaking for myself. 15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Does everyone or anyone see your progress? Are we all growing or listening to deceiving spirits and demons? Please pray for Terry and I as I am really getting tired of the crap. Reply to this
Public reading of Scripture. I am sure you know why Paul told Timothy to do this. AYUP, 'Scripture' was not made available to the common man (or woman). What copies existed back then were not done with a PC or Mac, but laboriously reproduced by hand. I 'dare' any of you to copy the book of Psalms on pieces of paper, using, say, a quill and bottles of ink!!!! NO, not many copies existed, hence the only way people could get the Word was for someone to read it to them, and the most 'economical way' was for public gatherings to listen to someone read it to them.
What a difference today. I have several versions of the Bible in the house, and have ONLINE ACCESS to dozens more. I don't have to wait to go to town on particular days to hear the Word of God, I can read it myself any time of the day and night I want to. And, everyone else in the world has similar opportunities (although some cultures ban our Christain Bible, it is still somewhat available even in those countries). But, millions of people, even here in the 'Christian USA' don't take advantage of this great gift from God. Millions hear a small portion of His word on Saturday or Sunday, and don't even crack open the 'family Bible' all week long....some don't even own one, although they can be purchased for only a few dollars, and in lots of cases are available free from various churches and other organizations.
Let me ask YOU...how often in a day do YOU take advantage of having God's Word 'at your fingertips' Some of us are more fortunate than others, simply because of our jobs, but then, even a small pocket Bible can be carried to lots of places of employment.
Listening to, and reading, God's Word is a joy. It is a gift I thank God for all the time. He is talking directly to me (even though MEN did the actual writing and rewriting and compilation of the Bible) with His Word. Paul tells us (Timothy) to be diligent in the matters he described in this chapter, one of which is to read publicly the Word of God. We are to give ourselves wholly of this 'task', which is really no task at all, but a pure joy. From this reading joy, we can better obtain godliness, which 'has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."
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Joash, at the age of seven. II Chronicles 24 v1.
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muy bien!
You must have heard me ask THAT ONE before!!
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nope, I googled it.
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2nd Kings 22.
Many people think Josiah, at the ripe old age of 8 years, was the man (boy) to become a king at the earliest age. Not so. Can anyone tell me WHO was the 'youngest king in the Bible' and how old was he when he became king?
Josiah WAS noted for one thing though, he was king when the high priest, Kilkiah, stumbled across the 'lost book of the law'. Now how in God's creation can something of such importance become lost? Well, if you read chpaters 20 and 21, it is no mystery. The law was not preached under the evil kings Manasseh and his son Amon for the past 57 years. I guess even something important as God's laws could 'disappear' if not used in 57 years (almost as many years as I have been alive!). (I've lost a lot of things since I was born in 1950....all those DC Comics, Baseball Cards, HO Model train sets, and all those other 'goodies' which would be so valuable today!)
How valuable do you think that book of the law would have appeared to King Josiah after it was rediscovered? Worth a lot more than a signed Yogi Berra TOPPS, I'll bet. And that is how valuable our discoveries in our own Bible can be to us. There are things in there we have 'lost' even in the short time we have been disciples of Christ (Dustin has not lost any of that, but even he will, once the initial glory of becoming a son of God begins to wear off and replaced by sin).
My encouragement today follows along with what I blogged about in 1st Timothy as well, read your Bible a lot to rediscover those hidden, once revealed, magical moments in our spiritual history and the gems of advice being offered by true men and women of God. Do like Josiah did in the next chapter (23) and proclaimed the law by reading it aloud to the people and convincing them to rid themselves of their sin. Use YOUR own Bible to do that for you. (and if that doesn't work, ask a brother for help.)
Reply to this
14Do not neglect your gift, which was given you
How many of us know what our gifts are? If we do know what they are, do we neglect them? I think it is easier to see what others gifts are rather then our own. like Mac, he has the gift to teach and lead, tony his is to serve the needs of others, Rich has the gift of patience, JB I hope to get to know what your gifts are. Dustin you are just beginning to see the hope of having gifts from God. there are three gifts we all need to possess, that is faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love. Do we even look at love as a gift? I know I do, with out Jesus I would have no idea at all how to love anyone but myself. to be able to look at others and love them no matter where they are spiritually, strong or weak, lost or found, joyful or full of sorrow, to be able to love them is a gift to treasure and thank God for. Without it life is so meaningless.
Reply to this
1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Any idea what scripture that would be?
If you point these things out to the brothers,(or the wives) you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus. How often do we point these things out to the people who are deceived? Even though they don't listen we should still try.12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Why when we are young in the faith are we eager to set the example but as we get older in the faith we get stale. Refer to verse 1. The longer we are in the faith the more we are tempted. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. How devoted are we, not even devoted enough to blog daily, speaking for myself. 15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Does everyone or anyone see your progress? Are we all growing or listening to deceiving spirits and demons?
Please pray for Terry and I as I am really getting tired of the crap.
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