Critical Information. January, 2019

Critical Information. January, 2019

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Sometimes I feel like a Bible salesman, and I guess in a way, I am. I believe, with all of who I am, that the answers for life, purpose in this life, and for eternity are held within the covers of the Bible. And yet, so many do not read, so many who even believe what I believe, do not study the Word of God. I hear from my people that is because they are intimidated, do not understand or do not know where to start reading.

I totally understand that. For that reason, I want to empower you with a working knowledge of what is in the covers of your Bible. And yes, I love YouVersion ~ the Bible app, Bible Gateway, and others, but those are not the same as having your hands around the Book, available to read, to make notes, etc. Apps make great convenient, secondary sources. Nuff said.

Friends, when you hold a Bible in your hands, what do you have? If clasping your Bible in your hands, your left hand holds the Old Testament, and your right hand, the New Testament. What a gift we have been given to hold the written words of God (in our language) in our hands! Written by 40 different authors and without contradiction, I invite you to step a little closer please . . .

The Old Testament
is a written record of creation, God's extending himself to mankind, and the history of the Jewish people, up until 400 years before Christ, written between 1440 BC and about 400 BC.
It is important to remember the Bible is not ordered chronologically. And while the Bible isthe inerrant, divinely inspired Word of God, neither the order or chapter/verse classification are divine.

There are 39 books in the Old Testament which can be classified as:

>>The Law of Moses- first five books - the Torah, also called the Pentateuch 
>>The Major Prophets - Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
>>The Minor Prophets - 12 of them: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (just shorter than the Major Prophets)
>>The Writings - Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles

The New TestamenT 
spans a period of about 80-90 years. It was finished before 100 A.D. (Knowledge of that is critical to supporting the veracity of Scripture), contained in 27 books: 
>The Gospels - the four gospels record the birth, life, death, resurrection of Jesus Christ, and His training of the disciples 
>History - the establishment of the early church and its spread through Mediterranean lands
>Letters - After Paul's conversion on the Damascus Road, recorded by Luke in Acts 9, we are able to read his letters to the churches-the 'epistles' - fourteen. 
>Apocalypse - the book of Revelation, written by the apostle John when he was on the Isle of Patmos

The NT was written by the apostles of Jesus Christ, or companions of the apostles. This means that the authors were either eyewitnesses of the events they described or they recorded eyewitness firsthand accounts (take a look at: 2 Peter 1.16; 1 John 1.1-3; 1 Corinthians 15.6-8; John 20.30,31; Acts 10.39-42; 1 Peter 5.1; Acts 1.9; Acts 2.22; Acts 26.24-28)

It is valuable to know that the first three gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) were written at a time when many were alive who could remember the things Jesus said and did . . . and many would still be alive when the fourth one was written as well. They would have been refuted and the writers discredited if they recounted or represented falsehoods.

Note to self: Scripture is defensible. While the Bible is inspirational and useful for instruction and application to our lives, it can be defended! Remember that-the gospels were written when people who were alive could have refuted them--their claims about Jesus' life, death, miracles, resurrection. They didn't because they were true! Friends, we do not have to check our brains at the door with Christianity.

I love David's simple words, "Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens." Psalm 119.89 The Bible you hold in your hands, Friend, is a gift from God . . . it will instruct, inform and inspire you all the days of your life. One caveat: you gotta' read it.

Praying you will,

Christine

PastorWoman.com