About

So, What Does The Bible Say About…?

I’m not a Bible scholar. I’m just a guy, a person who really wants to follow Christ. I read the Bible a lot. That doesn’t mean I’m smart or should be listened to more than the next guy, or the preacher, or the theologian. I’m just a voice—a voice of one who would give up my life to embrace the life Christ offered, a life described as an easy yoke and light burden at one end of the spectrum, and as a living sacrifice at the other. I see a lot easy yokes and light burdens out in the world right now, a lot of voices calling out for me to follow their Christ (in their own fashion, of course). But what I don’t see so far is what Paul described as the “power of Christ.” Lots of words, little or no power—pretty much the antithesis of how Paul described the gospel in I Corinthians and 1 Thessalonians, among other places.

So, I’m going on an adventure and I’d like for you to join me. I’m going to go through the Bible until I’m done or I’m done in. I’m going to post passages and I’m going to share my thoughts and I’m going to share my questions and I’m going to share my experiences and I’m going to share my prayers concerning trying to live by this word we attribute to God. I hope you’ll join me instead of judging me. I hope that you’ll share your thoughts and share your questions and share your experiences and share your prayers concerning trying to live by this word as well. Who knows? Maybe together we’ll find what God was pointing to all along—his kingdom right here on earth.

And I do believe this point is key: if it’s just me working on this project, then I’m just another voice. If it’s just my thoughts, questions, and experiences, I’m no different than all the other powerless yodelers out there today. BUT if you’ll join me in this community of believers, if you’ll truly share with me what God is doing in your life through his word and I’m sharing with you what God is doing in my life through his word, then I think we’ll all take a dynamic, God-blessed step toward recapturing what he intended for church to be all along—a community of believers working together through the power of the Holy Spirit to live lives that glorify God in everything we do.

Is this a “divine calling”? Dude and dudette, I wish I could answer that. Like I said, I’m not a Bible scholar. I can tell you that God has put it in my thoughts to pursue something for him that’s bigger than myself. I can tell you that just recently he’s put it in my heart to do something that’s scalable, sustainable, and significant in the name of Jesus. And then this morning, as I was doing my daily reading in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, I ran across this passage:

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. —2 Thessalonians 1:11–12, NIV

That stated, I’m not going to call this a “calling” but a response to his overall calling of all of us. I really want to be counted worthy of his calling and I bet you do to. It’s a good purpose; it’s an act prompted by my faith. There’s no way this little project accomplishes anything without God’s power. It’s garbage if it doesn’t glorify the name of Jesus—in me, and me in him—according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. I ask you to honestly join me. Pray for me and let me pray for you. Share. When we’re all talking about the God we know, the God we experience, the God we love, and the God we want to know better, we all grow closer to Him. And that’s a good purpose. That’s something worth pursuing together.

Join me. Let’s grow together in Jesus.

David
05.02.11

The Bible Version We Will Be Using

We’re going to be using The World English Bible for our text because it’s a good update of the American Standard Version and the copyright is in the public domain.