Galatians As I’ve Never Read It

Today, after reading the first 134 pages of Revolutionary Bible Study, originally titled The Power of God’s Word…Unlocked, I read the letter from Paul to the Galatians with an understanding I never previously had.

Were you aware that in the year 63, when Luke wrote The Acts of the Apostles, he had already read Paul’s letter to the Galatians (written in the year 50 – probably in the time frame of Acts 15:40)?

Before today, I never noticed Paul’s righteous anger as reflected in the letter. See 1:6 where he says: “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel.”

After he and Barnabas had planted 4 churches in Galatia (at Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe), legalists traveled to Galatia and attempted to convince the Christians (primarily Gentile converts) in those four cities that they had to be circumcised.

In chapter 2, Paul recounts how he confronted Peter about this very subject… in fact, he ends the chapter (of course, his letter didn’t have chapters or verses) saying: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

Well, sorry to be rambling on about this, but I’m gaining a lot of insight into the Word and into the history of the time. I’ll try not to refer to this stuff too much because I know a lot of people probably have no interest in it though I find it fascinating.

Until next time…

I Can’t Believe I Did It! (2nd Post for 1/2/2010)

As an avid reader, I have always had great respect for books. Now, that doesn’t mean that I don’t underline and make notes in my books, but I would never throw one away or destroy it.

Well, I should probably note the one exception in my almost 65 years: after I finished my Russian History exam in my Senior year at Houghton College, I did rip up my Russian history book as you can see by the following photo:

Yes, that is really me—several pounds lighter and no gray hair – sitting on the floor at East Hall in the spring of 1966 wreaking havoc on a poor, innocent book.

Today, I willfully destroyed another book and not just any book, but the Bible. Well, it’s not really destroyed – I took it apart very carefully as you can see by this photo:

I have 3 NASB Inductive Study Bibles (those published for Precept Ministries) – 2 with hard covers and one leather-bound. At the recommendation of Gene Edwards in The Power of God’s Word … Unlocked, I separated the New Testament in one of my hard cover Bibles so I could begin to put the New Testament in the order it was written. At some point in time, I think it would be interesting to put the books of the Old Testament in the order in which they were written also.

I think we forget sometimes that Paul’s letters were just that – letters, letters to groups of people and letters to individuals. Paul had a history and a personal relationship with these people. We can discover a lot of this not only from the content of the letters, but from Luke’s account in The Acts of the Apostles.  References in Paul’s letters were influenced by the events that were taking place in the Roman empire, in Jerusalem, and in the places where Paul was when he wrote the letters.

I’m so excited to be studying in this manner and look forward to seeing things I’ve never noticed before that will make God’s Word even more real and meaningful to me.

Until next time...

The Power of God’s Word … Unlocked

Happy New Year to all! It’s a rainy day here in Florida – kind of depressing. I don’t know how those of you who don’t “live in the sunshine” can stand it.

I’m excited by a new book I just started reading today.

Were you aware that the order of the books in the New Testament was established by the printers, with Paul’s letters sorted primarily by longest to shortest. Did you know that the Gospel of Mark was really the first of the Gospels?

I’m beginning a new book by Gene Edwards titled The Power of God’s Word … Unlocked. Gene Edwards, who is one of the leaders of the home church movement, is a favorite author of mine – I think I have and have read every book he has ever written.

The premise of the book is that it is impossible to really understand and unlock the meaning of the New Testament unless it is studied in the proper order with an awareness of what was taking place when they were written. Linking Paul’s books with the Book of Acts and being aware of historical events, he contends, will make it easier to know what Paul is talking about.

Any guesses as to the first letter Paul wrote? … It’s Galatians, not Romans as one might assume by the order of the New Testament most of us are used to.

I’m really looking forward to reading this book and getting more understanding about the meaning and meat of the New Testament. And to reading the New Testament in the order it was written.

I can’t think of a better way to start the year than with seeking to better understand God’s Word.

If any of you might be interested in reading this book, it is available at www.seedsowers.com

Until next time…

Going Rogue

Those who know me are no doubt aware that I am an avid reader. Today, I finished Sarah Palin’s book, Going Rogue.

I don’t read many biographies and wasn’t sure if I could force myself to finish this. I read it in three days, much of that time spent sitting next to my sleeping mother (she doesn’t like to be alone at any time) reading on my Kindle by flashlight.

It is an excellent read. I encourage anyone to read it.

I thought I was fairly savvy about political news and was aware of some of the harassment she has been subjected to, but I didn’t know the half of it. Not that she whines or complains about it but she does discuss it.

I admire Sarah Palin and would happily vote for her for president. She is a Ronald Reagan conservative. Small wonder she scares the Democrats AND Republicans.

She calls herself a Common Sense Conservative and is not bothered by political party labels. After being elected Governor of Alaska, she did not discriminate between political parties when it came to cleaning up corruption. Do we ever need that in Washington!

I’m checking out www.GOOOH.com, which stands for Get Out of Our House and is advocating replacement of ALL 465 Representatives in 2010. Read their checklist for candidates. I don’t know if they will be successful or not, but I hope they can get them ALL replaced.

Sorry for the diversion. Re: Going Rogue, why don’t you give it a try. You’ll get a terrific look at Sarah Palin and her family. Any book that makes me laugh, makes me cry, enlightens me on the beauty of living in Alaska, and stirs me to get involved politically is worth it to me.

If there was any doubt in your mind that the mainstream media is biased, you will be convinced after reading this.

Until next time…