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Topic(s)--> Bible Study
Read Hebrews 5:12-14
According to James Hamilton, there are two
kinds of Bible readers—those who skim the surface and those who dig deep.
He describes them by comparing them to two common insects. He writes,
“One is remarkable for its imposing plumage, which shows in the
sunbeams like the dust of gems; as you watch its jaunty gyrations over the
fields and its minuet dance from flower to flower, you cannot help admiring
its graceful activity, for it is plainly getting over a great deal of ground.
But in the same field there is another worker, whose brown vest and
businesslike, straightforward flight may not have arrested your eye. His
fluttering neighbor darts down here and there, and sips elegantly wherever
he can find a drop of ready nectar; but this dingy plodder makes a point
of alighting everywhere, and wherever he alights he either finds honey or
makes it. If the flower-cup be deep, he goes down to the bottom; if its
dragon-mouth be shut, he thrusts its lips asunder; and if the nectar be
peculiar, he explores all about till he discovers it. … His rival of the
painted velvet wing has no patience for such dull and long-winded details.
… The one died last October. The other is warm in his hive, amidst the fragrant
stores he has gathered.”
Which type of Bible reader are you? Butterfly
or bee?
Topic(s)--> Blessings, Bible Study
This is found at the beginning of Halley’s Bible Handbook, written by Henry H Halley in 1962. He continues:
Everybody ought to love the Bible. Everybody ought to read the Bible. Everybody. It is God’s Word. It holds the solution of life. It tells about the best friend mankind ever had, the Noblest, Kindest, Truest Man that ever trod this earth.
It is the most beautiful story ever told. It is the best guide to human conduct ever known. It gives a meaning, and a glow, and a joy, and a victory, and a destiny, and a glory, to life elsewhere unknown. There is nothing in history, or in literature, that in any wise compares with the simple annals of the Man of Galilee, who spent His days and nights ministering to the suffering, teaching human kindness, dying for human sin, rising to life that shall never end, and promising eternal security and eternal happiness to all who will come to Him.
Most people, in their serious moods, must have some wonderment in their minds as to how things are going to stack up when the end comes. Laugh it off, toss it aside, as we may, that day will come. And then what? Well, it is the Bible that has the answer. And an unmistakable answer it is. There is a God. There is a Heaven. There is a Hell. There is a Savior. There will be a Day of Judgment. Happy is the man, who, in the days of his flesh, makes his peace with the Christ of the Bible, and gets himself ready for the final take-off.
The church of Christ dates back to the days of the New Testament (Romans 16:16). It was founded by Christ on the Day of Pentecost, a.d. 33 (Acts 2), not long after His ascension back to heaven. In the years that followed, it rapidly grew to fill Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, and finally the whole Roman Empire (Acts 1:8; Colossians 1:23). In America, the first churches of Christ were planted in the late 1700s as the result a movement begun to go back to the Bible and do Bible things in Bible ways and call Bible things by Bible names (cf. 1 Peter 4:11).
We believe that Jesus is the Son of God (John 20:30–31), that the Bible is inspired of God (2 Timothy 3:16–17), and that Christ will return to take His kingdom home to God (1 Corinthians 15:24). We emphasize sincere worship (John 4:24), every-member evangelism (Acts 8:4), godly living (Titus 2:11–12), love for each other (John 13:34–35), and helping those in need (James 1:27). We believe the Bible teaches that sinners are saved by learning of Jesus, faith in Jesus, repentance of sin because of Jesus, confession of Jesus, and baptism into Jesus (John 6:44–45; 3:16; Mark 16:15–16; Romans 10:9–10; Acts 2:38). The church of Christ is organized with elders, deacons, preachers, and members, as in New Testament times (Philippians 1:1). It has no governing body on earth higher than the local congregation.
The church of Christ is noted for its emphasis upon returning to New Testament Christianity and for its desire to unite all Christians into one body (1 Corinthians 1:10). We believe that the New Testament is the only rule for faith and practice in religious matters (2 Timothy 3:17; 2 Peter 1:3), and that God’s Word must authorize all that is done in Christian worship (Colossians 3:17; Revelation 22:18–19). Thus we try to strictly follow the New Testament. We believe that it is possible to have religious unity in a day of division by simply following the New Testament pattern and putting aside human traditions.
To put it simply, the church of Christ is seeking to be the same church one reads about in the New Testament. We aim to restore its doctrine, its practice, its lifestyle, and its zeal. — by Allen Webster
Ezra Pound, the noted American poet and essayist, once said, "Real education must ultimately be limited to those who insist on knowing; the rest is mere sheepherding." The Christian should pursue truth wherever it leads. The only reason for accepting any idea is because it is true. Jesus