With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26), has been the verse placed within me this week. It seems to be politely and with good welcome, repeating itself to me. Under God’s grace, I have the vantage-ground to proceed with compassion, understanding, and full compliance to Him. I know why I must be obedient to His words and teachings. It is because with complete subservience all things are possible. I do not have to create anything outside of who and what His words tell me. No additional efforts are needed. No mandates, no courses, no lessons…None of it!
In peace I lay my head to rest, in His peace I rise each morning with the sound He places in the birds outside my window. The small creatures now preparing for birth. And, their need for the tiny sticks they find and weave together, to create a place to rest the eggs of their forthcoming newborn. Yes, they are eagerly getting ready. From year-to-year, this happens. It is the common nature of things…the common nature of God. His words are established to offer areas for so many spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3), a richer disclosure more so than what is man-made. His words provide simple explanations on how to embrace such gifts, blessings, and grace. They offer agreements and assurances, which build trust in the acknowledgment that I must always embrace His supplies.
Jesus is in every area of the Bible, from the old to the new. The ties are so profound that I am chilled with excitement whenever through my readings of the old testament, I find Him. Perhaps the reason it causes me such sadness when I think of man-made beliefs of God’s words and the endeavor it takes to maintain those views. One movement I think of now is one that holds the belief of the 7-M. I will not spend time explaining this to you, because I believe that if you want to know more about this, you can investigate it on your own. But just knowing the process of this ideology prevails in many churches today, is alarming to me in the sense that the Bible should be the last tenet. Less time spent on such things, means more time in learning what God is truly saying to us.
Christ is my only personal intercessor. I am thankful for Him that He alone can answer my supplications. After all He said/says, “Whosoever ye ask…that will I do.” (John 14:13-14). Plain and simple, right? Yet, there exist some who would attempt to spin an eisegesis stance by trying to make a simple statement as this…made by Our Lord, say what they want it to say. I have been occasionally guilty of following these sinful approaches displayed by some in ministry. For this I ask for God’s forgiveness. I am a sinner. I repent.
“Right doctrine protects the believer from falsehood and superstition. The power of superstition is enormous and represents a clear and present peril to the soul.” -R.C. Sproul (Faith Alone, p. 81).
Again, I declare that so much time is wasted on inorganic approaches, rather than obedience to God through behaviors and understanding that God’s words should never be distorted. But instead, the allowance for His words to speak for themselves (exegesis), should be paramount.
In my writings, I make every attempt to display this behavior. With no intentions to preach or pastor. In the future, I intend to deepen my expositions of Biblical truth. Keeping in mind what I write on are based on concepts learned in my own classroom, guided by elders, and the deep Biblical writings of authors of the past and those of the present. I can do this since I make every effort to not get involved in things and beliefs that are not God’s truth! In addition, I may even touch on some areas of lexical studies and syntactic research. Of course, these future deliverances may not be produced weekly :-). However, I know for sure that “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
Friends, as you move through this second week of the Lenten season, I would encourage you to read Luke 19-24. Read these chapters in small sections. Stop and discern to understand what the author is saying. For instance, a good start is the Parable of the Pounds located in Luke 19:11-17. Without placing yourself into the parable, ask yourself what is the main life-idea, the parable teaches. Take notes, write down thoughts, and bring those together. This is how to prevent eisegesis from creeping into Biblical understanding.
Exercises such as these are imperative to my own interpretations of God’s words. No matter how long it takes to receive what God is saying, we know Him to be a patient and fair God who do not tolerate man-made understanding and created beliefs of His words. Therefore, we should never rush the process. Understanding is undeniably possible because God tells us it is!
Charlotte
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