We confirmed that Baby Girl will be going to the respite home that I asked for! Yay! I just LOVE it when God takes care of the smallest of details.
Now, a mere 1.5 weeks until I'm in the blissful mountains, remembering every reason why I fell in love with this marvelous man I married....
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I've been studying the gospels this week, really digging into WHO wrote them and why. Before I was a believer I questioned the authenticity of the Bible regularly. I would wonder how all that stuff got in there and how I could be sure that it wasn't tainted by the supposedly sinful people that wrote it.
Today I'm going to head over to Lifeway to pick up a good study Bible, or maybe even a research Bible so that I can dig into the word and find some answers for myself. Although I'm sure there are some good books already written on this subject, this is something I need to seek and find out for myself.
Do you/have you ever had those moments where you look at Christianity or the Bible and wonder how it can all be true? I lived that life for so long. Even after I became "saved" I sometimes read some Scripture and thought..."Is this for real?"
As a mother, I now see the importance of understanding the Bible more than ever. Last night I was reading a chapter from Tedd Tripp's book, Shepherding a Child's Heart. I found that as I discipline our children I need to understand why I am disciplining them and where the sin of their actions come from. I am on authority from God to be their disciplinarian. I got a punch between the eyes when I read what Tedd Tripp said about Godly discipline:
"You do not come to your child demanding, for your own purposes, that he knuckle up to you and obey. No! You come with the corrections of discipline that are the way to life (Proverbs 6:23). You engage your son on behalf of God because God has first engaged you."
Wow. I think I've been approaching discipline with a skewed version of priorities and goals.
With all that said, I know now, more than ever, that my perception of God's word must be accurate and self-discovered. I've relied too heavily on books and "study guides" to help me determine my perception of God's word rather than digging in and finding out for myself. And while study guides and books are great for aiding in understanding, I've made the dramatic fault of relying on them for my SOLE interpretation of the Bible.
So, it is with that that I ask you:
If you are not a Christian (or even if you are) or a person who has a close, personal relationship with Christ, what is the biggest problem (or comprehension issue) you have with the Bible?
I'm sure that any answers I provide will not be that of heavy theology or come with years of research experience. However, I will do my best to answer any I feel capable.
I'll enable anonymous comments for this post.
How can people look th the "church" today, and say it is acomplishing the same goals as the church of the bible?
ReplyDeleteWhy do people use a prayer to be "saved" when no on in the bible did?
Oooh, I am having to stop myself from answering the above questions... what a great idea to have people bring questions to the table.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, that is great news about Baby Girl! You will be able to have a guilt free, stress free trip with your love. Fun, fun!
We watched the Ted Tripp video series on Shepherding a Child's Heart with our TLC Group (fellowship/study group). It was pretty good, but a little LONG, and I didn't agree 100%, but there were some great nuggets of wisdom.
My fave was how he taught all of his children to memorize Ephesians 6:1 (Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.) As soon as a child would begin to disobey, or argue when told to do something, he would simply say, "What is Ephesians 6:1?" The child would recite the scripture, and be reminded that God commands children to obey their parents. It stops a battle with your child, and points them directly to God's word. Love it.
Okay, I like Beth's comment about Ephesians 6:1, I will have to try that-SOON!
ReplyDeleteMy only problem with understanding the Bible, is those crazy O.T. NAMES-people and places!
I can't WAIT to see the answer to the anonymous questions! I, too, am tempted to answer the first one but stop short.
ReplyDeleteThe number one question I hear from people as I discuss my faith with them is "How can you say God is a loving God when He allows such bad things to happen?"
My favorite book on parenting by far...it challenged me in a lot of ways but it really complimented my gut feelings about raising Layla.
ReplyDeleteGreat news about Baby Girl....now you guys can go and enjoy each other!
If Jesus went around doin miracles and stuff, and helping the poor, and whatever.. How come christians today only care about themselves?
ReplyDeleteI am a Christian and have a deep faith in God. However, I do struggle with one issue; my brother committed suicide when he was 20. I have difficulty believing he is in more pain in hell for making such a tragic decision.
ReplyDeleteKristin's statement above is the same one I was going to ask.. Where do Christians get the idea that those who commit suicide end up in hell? I can't find anything Biblical about the issue.. What are your thoughts?
ReplyDeleteKristin, I don't beleive he is in hell either my faith isn't as strong as I'd like it to be but this is just my beleif on your comment. But I want to know Jessica's thoughts on this as well b/c I sometimes I don't see how other Christians can say this about my father either.
ReplyDeleteWe had a friend in the church who commited suicide...our pastor made it a point to clarify that Jesus died for our sins...ALL OF THEM.
ReplyDeleteAs long as the person accepted Jesus' gift of salvation, then they are saved and cleansed of their bad choice.
Suicide is a sin, but no more so than lying, cheating and stealing.
We are saved by grace...not by works.
I can not WAIT to see what your (Jessica) answers are to these questions. I've been wanting to open a Q &A on my site for a couple of weeks now, but just haven't found the time.
I'll be praying for your wisdom as you tackle these questions...
Oh yeah....and my favorite child/parenting book is To Train Up a Child.
ReplyDeleteI did a study on the Tripp Shepherding a Childs Heart, and i liked it, too, but there were a few things i didn't wholely agree with.
Train Up a Child by Michael and Debbi Pearl is SPOT on!
I must say, my greatest struggle with the idea of "church" was most of the people I knew that were serious "churchgoers". I came to peace a long time ago with the fact that a lot of people do and say terrible, terrible things in the name of religion, and it is those people who repel me from attending formal church services of any kind. I am comfortable with the notion of a higher power and I have my own ideas about that power. I can't say that I believe that just because all of the good people I know aren't Christians that they wouldn't be saved at the end of the world, if that were indeed to happen... so I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on that?
ReplyDelete