Never Give Up Studying!

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘You are mistaken [margin: deceived; ‘You do err,’ KJV], not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God’”
Matthew 22:29 (NKJV)

Following a break-in, I was installing a new (additional) security light outside my house. When I switched it on nothing happened. So, as you do, I began checking. Had the fuse blown? No. Was the wiring done correctly? Yes. Was the power switched on? (Good one to start with, this one!) Yes. But still it wouldn’t work.

Then, as a last resort, I read the instructions, and I found that they counselled care in installing the halogen bulb because it is easy to miss the connections. It looks as though it is properly seated on the terminals, but actually isn’t.

So I checked and – yes, they were right. And now it worked.

It’s all very human. Typically, we only read the instructions when things go wrong. If you consider the Bible to be God’s handbook for how a human being works, and by following its guidance, how to get things working properly or better, then that might explain why so few actually read the Bible until things go wrong. And, yes, I mean how few Christians.

Perhaps the book of Genesis needs to be preceded by a new chapter: “READ THIS FIRST”, where God would explain why we need to understand the Bible first in order to function better as Christians and human beings, and so avoid so many mistakes. Come to think of it, the whole Bible is premised on that injunction – read before acting – and if we did just that maybe far fewer lives would turn out so dysfunctional.

Prayer
Most merciful Father, thank you for your Handbook. Help us, please, to recognise that you, our creator, know best how we need to live, function, behave and think. We need your help, mighty Father, to recognise in all humility, that you really do know best.

In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen

Study by John Stettaford