I have been praying about this "blog" or "page" for a long time. I wanted to make sure that this wasn't about my ego or pride but about what God wanted me to do. I have put many "fleeces" before the Lord and the answer has always been "Yes but not now...", until this morning. This morning all the different things that the Lord has been giving me for several months now came together into a single cohesive thought: The Holy Bible in Context...101.
I am not a Scholar with a degree. I have not attended any seminary. I am not perfect. I am a normal human man who is desperately battling his own flesh (sometimes winning and sometimes losing), in an attempt to come to know his God better. My ultimate desire to have a "real" relationship with God the Father and Jesus His Risen son.
I have been a Christian since I was 7. I was blessed to have attended a Christian academy for my junior high and high school years. I am so grateful now for the education I received then; I wasn't so appreciative at the time. I enjoyed the school and education, I just wasn't applying it to my life. I was playing the part of the prodigal son and I was playing the part well. A fact that I mourn every day.
I came to my senses about 16 years ago. I started my crawl out of the "pig pen" and my long journey home to be a "servant" in my Fathers house.
I am telling you this so that you understand that I am trying to get the "beam" or "plank" out of my own eye and if it helps you to remove whatever "splinter" might be in your own eye than fantastic! If not, well who am I to say anything about your splinter? Do you understand? I am not a pious hypocrite, I'm just an average
hypocrite (!) who is trying to change his ways and is willing to help anyone else that would like to change too.
I struggled with what to name this "blog" I wanted at first to use the Greek words for "Praise be to God" which at the moment I can't remember how to spell so I won't tell you but that was the point that I felt God was trying to tell me too." It's to hard to remember". Then I was going to call it "The Plank and Splinter" after the idea I wrote about above. But the common theme that has been brought home to me time and again for years (though I didn't realize it til now) How important it is to Read the Bible in Context. I have been bombarded lately with stories of people that have taken the wrong road simply because scripture was presented to them out of context and -here is the important part- never checked it for themselves! I am continually amazed at how many Christians there are that only pray occasionally, go to church only occasionally and read their Bibles almost never. Don't get me wrong; I struggle with this too. But that is the point isn't it? I AM struggling with it. How many Christians do you know that don't even try?
My hope here and mission is to try to present some of the simpler points of the Holy Bible to you and to do so within the context that they were written. I do not guarantee to be correct all the time but I promise to point out any mistakes I may have made as soon as I am made aware of them. I am actually counting on you to help me. This is an interactive sort of thing. It's the whole point actually. You have to read your own Bibles to make sure I haven't made a mistake. I wouldn't make one on purpose I promise, but I am human (read above!). I hope to make a posting at least once a week more or less as the Lord wills. Please, I don't have a "counter" so do feel free to leave "comment" as often as you like to help me realize how many people read this and how often. Thank you!
Numbers 6:24!
