Friday, July 5, 2013

Bible Study

For the first 40+ years of my life I studied for the purpose of proving that I was right. I knew what I believed and when I read my "study" was successful when it made me feel good, righteous, right.

I have since done all that I can to remove that type of study from my life and have tried to repent of that arrogance. I consider those 40 years a total waste. I knew my facts but did not know my God. And as it turns out I did not know my facts either.

It has been amazing what doors have been opened as I read with fresh eyes! God's word is much more beautiful that I had ever imagined. I was taught that there was no grace or forgiveness before Jesus. I was taught that the Old testament was replaced by the new. I was taught that the God of the Old covenant was a god of law and that He changed His attitude after Jesus was born. That God is a nit-picker and to mess up even a little was to bring down His wrath.

I have learned that all of that was so far from the truth that God would not even recognize that as His teaching. God has shown grace and forgiveness from the beginning. I have learned that you can not fully understand the New testament without knowing the old testament. There are riches there that I am still mining and becoming richer every day. I will never again carry a pocket New testament for it is not even a Readers Digest of God's Word.

Those are just a few of the things that I have learned that are new and pray that God continues to add to it.