Why Do I Write Though the Bible Since it is Thinly Read?

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Why Do I Write Though the Bible Since it is Thinly Read?

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Quarantine Day 76.   Wednesday.   

Look for God in the way things are not in the way you want them to be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZNfmC8lTKg 

Hugh C. Wood, Atlanta, Georgia

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Why Do I Write Though the Bible Since it is Thinly Read?    

Folks have asked me why I write here when it is so thinly read.   All I can say is that God has called me again to come and spend time in His Word.   I don't know why exactly - except that I feel called to dig into the origin and application of the Word.

We are called to go into all the world and preach the "good news".   Matthew 28.  And from time to time I think about when I press "publish" anyone (who is not censored) can read this from anywhere around the world - Tibet, Western Australia, Tierra del Fuego.    Imagine if you told Matthew Henry -- 17th Century, Wales -- that he could write a Commentary and press a button and it would be every English speaker in the entire world - instantly.  He would laugh at you.  Yet here we are with the eternal Word of God and we have this ability.  I don't think we can say to God later on, I knew you were a hard taskmaster, so I went out and buried your talent.  I think we have to put the Word out there to multiply the talents and reap a larger harvest.  Matthew 25.

What keeps coming back to me is that we are pushed, encouraged, compelled to spread the "good news" of salvation to anyone and everyone who comes into contact with the Eternal Word of Salvation.  Romans 10:9.   

All I know is that I am again motivated to go though the Word (maybe the entire bible) and comment on the oldest manuscripts available for that/those particular books and post insights from other authors that come to me as the Spirit leads.   (Over decades, I have been through Genesis to Revelation many times.  I have taught a number of the books.  Yet, it keeps coming back and back again).

As long as "He" keeps pushing me along this path, I will keep writing. 

Doxology

From the Genevan Psalter 1551

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Here is one who wrote about why we come back to God's Word.

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Make a Habit of Spending Time with God
by Carol Smith on Wednesday, January 01, 2014 at 7:00 AM

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This article is courtesy of HomeLife magazine.

Do you ever feel weary of spending time with God? Oh, you might not say it that way — and you might not say it out loud — but if we're honest, we'd all admit to experiencing seasons when time spent in prayer or Scripture reading feels more like a boring chore than an intimate connection with the living God.

Maybe we still have our "quiet time" or devotional time or whatever we call it — perhaps out of guilt or because we're afraid not to. Or maybe we don't because it feels like wasted time.

Still, deep down we desperately desire to connect with our Creator. And He wants to connect with us. Figuring out how to do that seems difficult, though. After all, God is God. He's huge and mysterious and greater than us. He's everywhere, yet He's invisible. So we don't connect with God in quite the same way we would with a friend at a coffee shop. Yet He asks us to come and spend time with Him.

So how do we, in the words of Philip Yancey, "reach for the invisible God?" The answer is simple enough: We make it a habit. The trick seems to be keeping our intentional efforts from becoming empty rituals that contain our spiritual efforts rather than enliven them.

Finding a rhythm

John Ortberg, author of The Life You've Always Wanted, says consistent spiritual discipline becomes, "a rhythm for living in which we can grow more intimately connected to God."

Through it, we're actually tapping into our source of strength, faith, and joy. It's how we see our lives changed in ways that can seem hard to believe. We become more like God's children as we spend time with Him (see Romans 8:29).

Spending time in God's Word isn't about gaining more knowledge. One thing we understand in this information age is how to absorb a set of facts, but our faith is more than a set of beliefs. It's about getting to know Someone as real as the person next to us, yet as mysterious as the universe (see Psalm 25:4).

Practicing the presence of God
Practicing. That means it's ongoing and we'll never get it "perfect." But we acknowledge the God we don't see — and sometimes don't feel — is with us. The question becomes, then, how do we practice?

We schedule time. It takes effort to find the time and energy to connect with God on a regular basis - just as it does with any relationship that matters. The truth is we can find a few minutes to be alone with God, but we have to be intentional. Think of it as though you're scheduling an appointment on your calendar to meet a friend.

We strive to be consistent. Commitment to faith is not reflected in the number of days we can check time with God off on our calendars; nevertheless, it does matter that we consistently set aside time to sit with Him.

Consistency doesn't mean a boring routine either. Don't be afraid to change your habits. What time of day offers you the best chance to have a clear mind and the ability to focus? Are you still using the same devotional guide even though its message doesn't meet you where you are? Have you been doing the same thing for years because someone said it was the best way? Decide what works (or doesn't) for you. Explore a new strategy, and don't give up if it seems hard at first.

We get quiet. Christ often went to solitary places to pray (see Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12). Maybe leaving the house to find solitude isn't realistic, but we can all find ways to shut out the noise and put ourselves in a position to hear God. In fact, it's essential.

Developing fresh habits
There are many ways to focus your mind on "what is above" (see Colossians 3:1-2). If you're feeling a bit stuck, try developing fresh habits. Whether you're getting back to spiritual disciplines, just starting out, or in the middle of a long run, here are some ideas you may want to try:

Write a prayer that expresses your heartfelt desire to follow God in this season of your life. If you keep it somewhere close, then you have a starting point for your daily time with God.
Read one Psalm each day.

Use a journal. You can write your prayers to God. You can list concerns or what you're grateful for. You can write the first thing that comes to mind when you consider what God is doing in your life.

Stop and listen. Too often we feel we aren't doing anything if we aren't doing anything. That's not true. Sit before God in silence, inviting Him to recalibrate your soul (see Psalm 46:10).

Practice posturing. Allow your body to reflect your heart. Bow low in humility before God, get on your knees in prayer, or hold your hands out in acknowledgement that anything you receive comes from God.

Get a Bible dictionary and read some background information about the Bible passage you're reading. Understand more about the ears those words first fell on. You might read something in a whole new light (see Psalm 119:33-35).

Think more deeply about small bits. Let that one verse roll around in your mind for a few minutes instead of reading five more verses. Give God room to surprise you with insight. If you read only three verses in that sitting, that's OK (see Psalm 119:47-48).

Pray Scripture back to God. Pick a passage and pray the same one for a week at a time, allowing it to fully sink in.

Get really honest with God. Let go of old ideas about how you "should" approach God. Pour out your heart to Him (see Psalm 62:8). Trust Him to be big enough to handle whatever you're dealing with.

Each moment is another opportunity to reconnect with God, step away from the same old routine, and invite Him to do a new thing in our lives.


Carol Smith is a writer living in Nashville, Tenn.

Follow her at

https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/christian-living-discipleship-spending-time-with-god

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Hugh C. Wood, Atlanta, Georgia

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

17 USC § 107 Fair Use. No claim of monetary remuneration on same.

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"Hugh C. Wood", "Hugh Wood", Peachtree Church, Why Do I Write Thought the Bible Since it is Thinly Read, Carol Smith, Genevan Psalter 1551, Doxology, Romans 10:9, 

Teaching Notes Book of JUDE (Judah)

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Teaching Notes Book of JUDE (Judah)

Hugh Wood, Atlanta, Georgia

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The first Quarantine in the USA since 1918 continues.  It is Day 52.

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"The grass withers and the flower [fades], but the word of [the Lord] endures forever."  Isaiah 40:8; 1 Peter 1:24-25.

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JUDE

Imminent Apostasy

The Faith Once For All Delivered to the Saints

Jude (Half Brother of Jesus)

Church there were two

In the New Testament

Judes: Judas, one

Apostles, Luke 6:16, see page 371: and Judas, the of the Twelve
13:55. The latter is commonly brother of Jesus, Matt regarded as
the writer of this Epistle.

Eusebius relates that Domitian, in his Persecution of Chris-
D, looking up the heirs of the Kingdom of David,
tians, 96 A of Jude the Brother of Jesus
ordered the arrest of the Grandsons that they were farmers,
They told the Emperor and lived by the that Christ’s Kingdom
was Not a Kingdom of This World, but when He Comes in

toil of their hands, and would be manifested

World to Judge the Living and Dead.

Glory at the End of the Place and Date
The similarity oi the situation to that mentioned in II Peter
suggests the possibility that this Epistle may have been addressed
to the same Churches, which, it seems from 11 Pet 3:1, were the
same as those to whom I Peter was addressed, which "were in
Asia Minor, I Peter 1:1. Probably about 67 AD.

Occasion of Writing

Evidently Jude had been planning to write a more general
statement about the Gospel to this group of Churches, When news
of the sudden appearance of a Devastating Heresy prompted him
to dispatch this stern warning, 3,4.

The False Teachers, 4-19

Jude minces no words as to their nature. The frightful epithets
which he uses refer to certain Leaders Within the Church. Un-
godly Men,. Turn the Grace of God into Lasciviousness, 4.
Deny Christ, 4. Like Sodom, given to Fornication 7. In their
Dreamings Defile the Flesh, 8. As Brute Beasts Corrupt Them-
selves, 10. Spots in your Lovefeasts, 12. Shepherds that Feed
Themselves, 12. Clouds without Water, 12. Trees Without Fruit,
12. Raging Waves of the Sea Foaming out their own Shame, 13.
Wandering Stars for whom the Blackness of Darkness has been
Reserved Forever, 13. Murmurers, 16. Complainers, 16. Speaking
Great Swelling Words, 16. Mockers Walking after their Own
Ungodly Lusts, 18. Sensual, 19. Not Having the Spirit, 19. Show
Respect of Persons for the sake of their Own Advantage, 16.
And Make Separations, 19.

These false teachers had already crept in, 4, yet were spoken of
as appearing in “the last time”. While primarily referring to some
particular class of men that belonged to Jude's day, it may pos
sibly be a general characterization of the whole body of false
teachers who, through the centuries, would, from within, cor
rupt the Church, and thus thwart the redemptive work of Christ.
Those who are acquainted with Church History know well how
the Church has suffered from such men.

The Fallen Angels, 6

Here and in II Peter 2:4 are the only Scripture references to the
Fall of the Angels (Rev 12:9 seems to refer to their later defeat).
Some think this is an allusion to Gen. 6:1-5, where the “sons of
God" intermarried with the “daughters of men". More probably it
refers to an earlier event when Satan led certain of the
angels in rebellion against God.

Michael's Contention with The Devil, 9

Michael is mentioned in Dan 10:13,21 as a "chief prince", and
in Rev. 12:7 as leader of angels, but only in this passage is he
called "the archangel". Moses’ burial is told in Dt 34:5-7. But
Michael’s dispute with Satan about Moses’ body is not there
mentioned. Origen says that Jude’s statement is a reference to a
passage in the apocryphal book, “The. Assumption of Moses"
which was written about the time of the birth of Christ, only a
part of which book is now extant, and which extant part has no
such passage. Jude may have had knowledge of the incident from
other sources. Josephus says God hid Moses' body lest it be made
an idol. Possibly Satan wanted it to tempt Israel into idolatry.
Jude’s use of the incident seems to sanction its historicity. It
served as an example against the sin oi ушные": even the
Archangel, highest of creatures, did not rail at the Devil, the most
degraded of creatures.

The Prophecy of Enoch, 14,15

This is the only Scripture allusion to the prophecy of Enoch.
The brief story of his life is told in Gen 5:18-24, but there is no
mention of any of his words. Jude’s quotation is from the apocry
phal Book of Enoch, which was written about 100 B C. He evi-
dently regards it as a genuine word of Enoch.  Thus while Adam,
founder of the race, was yet alive, Enoch (contemporary with
Adam for 300 yrs) prophesied of the eventual Coming of the
Lord, with his angels, to execute judgment upon the disobedient
race. Jude’s Sanction of one passage in the book does not
Sanction the whole book.

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The Bible Project 
Book of Jude (Judah)

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Jude

New International Version

1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for[a] Jesus Christ:

2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.
The Sin and Doom of Ungodly People

3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. 4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about[b] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord[c] at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

8 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”[d] 10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.

11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.

12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”[e] 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

A Call to Persevere

17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.[f]

Doxology

24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Footnotes
Jude 1:1 Or by; or in
Jude 1:4 Or individuals who were marked out for condemnation
Jude 1:5 Some early manuscripts Jesus
Jude 1:9 Jude is alluding to the Jewish Testament of Moses (approximately the first century a.d.).
Jude 1:15 From the Jewish First Book of Enoch (approximately the first century b.c.)
Jude 1:23 The Greek manuscripts of these verses vary at several points

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NIV Book of Jude Audio

Korah’s Rebellon

Full Book of Enoch

Alternate List of Book of Enoch (CH 1)

Church History by Eusebius

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Jude is Papyri:  72, 74 and 78.  Hopefully, to be added.

Jude

72, 78

74

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New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Some content adapted from Halley, Henry H., Bible Handbook, Grayson Publishing, Minneapolis, MN.  © 1927 - 1959, 1964

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Hugh C. Wood, Atlanta, Georgia

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