Written by: Van Yandell
Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
Our cat has us trained; or maybe I should say, “We’re his humans.” Since The Bearcat has lived here, we’ve noticed he most always has a method determined to have his way.
If he’s hungry he sits at the patio door and meows until we let him in; then goes to the refrigerator, looks up at it, then back at Margie or me, until we get out his cat food. Then he prances around us very impatiently as if to say, “Hurry up human, I’m hungry.”
Once his gourmet cat food is on his paper plate, he marches us to the door. Occasionally he has a hankering for dry food; then in such a case, he stands at the pantry door and yowls.
Yesterday he was sitting on the lanai looking in through the glass door. He had this “Pay attention human!” look on his face so Margie let him in. I heard her say “What do you want, Tomcat?” He sauntered over to the living room archway, stopped and looked back to see if she was coming; she was.
The Bearcat then led her to the front door to be let out into the front yard. So, as he had ordered, she let him out. “Did you see what he just did? He came in the back door and led me to the front door to be let out.”
I had run the irrigation system the night before and we decided Bear did not want to get his paws wet on the grass. Smart cat, huh? We have been trained!
Call me old fashioned, but I’m inclined to think we Christians are not doing an adequate job of training within the church. Whether the target groups are new Christians, children/youth or established (old) Christians, we’re finding at least two generations are declining in their knowledge of Bible history and Christian concepts.
Without at least a superficial knowledge of the Bible, the Christian community will lose its flavor, its effectiveness and it’s propensity to proselytize. The subject of the dying or declining church is often discussed. Is it possible that many Christians do not know why the church exists?
Only opinions can be stated concerning what that additional information should be. To outline or list Bible subjects will vary greatly.We might begin with a reading of Matthew 16: 15-19, and follow with reading Matthew 28: 18-20.
There exists but one source of knowledge and wisdom for the Christian. That source is the Holy Bible; inspired by God and written by men. Many claim the spirit tells them but as with the new believers at Ephesus (Acts 19: 1-6) without the Bible in today’s world, one would not know the Holy Spirit existed. Paul told the new believers in Ephesus about the Holy Spirit and we learn from the Bible.
Actually, the Holy Bible is not one book; it is sixty-six books. The Old Testament contains thirty-nine books and the New Testament contains twenty-seven books. It was written over a period of at least 1500 years by forty different men. It was written on three continents (Asia, Africa and Europe) and in three languages (Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic). Very few of the writers knew each other and did not even live at the same time. Yet, it all fits together perfectly
This structure of the sixty-six book Bible is unknown to much of the world. To realize this unique assembly of information, knowledge and life guiding principles all within one cover is impossible within human abilities.
The unlimited omniscience of God is demonstrated in the Bible. Christians must understand the Bible is not a typical book. One might read through the Bible in a few months but that is not the way to absorb the greater meanings or even superficially grasp the infinite wisdom of God.
Of course, the fundamental of the Gospel is for one to believe Christ Jesus was crucified for the remission of sin and resurrected. This basic belief is sufficient for salvation but does it satisfy our thirst for knowledge?
To understand the connection between the Old Testament and the New should be on the list. Many of the commandments stated by Jesus in the New Testament are directly connected to Old Testament teachings.
For example, the history of the Jewish people gives us numerous lessons for living. The story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers, beginning in Genesis 37, helps us to see without doubt, that sometimes bad things happen to good people.
We clearly see how God used a horrible situation and turned it into good. We know of course, He is fully capable. At times when we’re going through trials or hardships in life, being able to see a good end is difficult at best. Joseph became a Prince of Egypt and God used him to rescue the Jewish people and keep them from extinction.
By Joseph moving his father’s family to Egypt, they were saved from starvation because of a famine. The Jews multiplied in Egypt to the point, the Egyptians became afraid and enslaved them.
They remained in Egypt for 430 years. The result was God used this situation to demonstrate His awesome power by freeing them from bondage and parting the waters of the Red Sea.
Another concept in the study of the Old Testament is of the blood sacrifice and how the practice determined the sacrifice of Jesus’ shed blood. From the Passover until the crucifixion of Jesus the Jews offered a blood sacrifice for the atonement of sin.
Jesus changed that by bleeding and dying for the sins of all mankind. This is essential to understanding redemption by His blood. Hebrews 9: 22, “Without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of sin.”
A third example is the Bible teaches we are spiritual beings. 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Closely connected to this is the spiritual baptism. Matthew 3: 11, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” The Bible teaches, when we believe, we become indwelt with the Holy Spirit and He actually combines with our spirit (Ephesians 5: 30-32).
These are only a sampling of the concepts contained in the Bible from which we would benefit. The point is Christianity begins the day we pray to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.
The wisdom and knowledge of God revealed to us in the scriptures is such a wealth of information, no one could ever comprehend it all. The satisfaction is in study and connecting those Bible lessons to our lives.
Studying the Bible connects us to our Savior in a special way. Bible training can be in organized classes or one’s personal Bible study. Training doesn’t take place quickly; there is so much and the source never ends.
Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and it took The Bearcat over a year to train Margie and me.