Jack Kuhatschek, in his book “Taking the Guesswork out of Applying the Bible”, openly admits the Bible’s bad image—referring to its “age problem.” He writes: “People wonder what benefit we can possibly derive from a two-thousand-year-old book written in an obscure corner of the Middle East. In a sense I can’t blame them. After all, much of the Bible DOES SEEM IRRELEVANT TODAY.” James, the half-brother of Jesus says, “You foolish person…” (James 2:20)
Our Lord, The Almighty God, the one who is Omniscience, Omnipresent and Omnipotent, who’s SPOKEN WORD brought into existence all the vast expanse of the universe and all that exists in it, IN JUST SIX DAYS… Remember what Paul said to Timothy, “…from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to MAKE YOU WISE for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD–BREATHED (theo–pneustos) and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be THOROUGHLY EQUIPPED (exartizō: to furnish perfectly) for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:15-17) When we read God’s Word He BREATHES IT INTO OUR BEING so we will be perfectly furnished to LIVE the Word of God and GIVE the Word of God to others. Not only that but, “…the word of God is LIVING and POWERFUL, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and PENETRATING to the division of soul and spirit, both of joints and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
So, what if God wants us to go and talk to “Jack”, our neighbor. Can He tell us? The Lord told Ananias, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.” (Acts 9:11) The Leaders in the wilderness said to Moses, “The LORD our God has shown us His glory and His majesty, and we have HEARD HIS VOICE from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live EVEN IF GOD SPEAKS WITH THEM.” (Deuteronomy 5:24) There are many examples these are just two.
A couple years ago I volunteered to teach in our Alternative School, where students are sent to us because they could not make it in the “regular” public high school. They come here because of fighting, drugs, carrying weapons, truancy or failing classes. Often, they are ordered by the court to attend and are not really happy about being here. It is pretty much up to the teachers to come up with innovative ways to keep order in our classrooms. We are told that we need to learn to be tolerant with these students disrespect and bad language, because many of them have given up hope of being “normal” and just don’t care about what they say or do. One day, about two weeks into the semester I WAS OVERWHELMED. NOTHING I SAID OR DID WAS WORKING, so out of desperation, I said in my heart, “LORD, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO TO REACH THESE HEATHENS?” The Lord SPOKE TO ME in His wonderful still small voice and said: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. I WILL BE EXALTED AMONG THE HEATHEN. The next morning, I started the daily practice of anointing the door posts and chairs in my room and ASKING THE LORD TO HELP ME TO BE OVERWHELMED WITH THE “AWESOMENESS” OF GOD AND NOT THE “AWFULNESS” OF THE STUDENT’S ATTITUDE. It wasn’t long until things MIRACULOUSLY TURNED AROUND and I saw God’s wonderful calming presence in the lives of these students.
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham