4 Responses to God

1. Pastor Bruce
   April 24th, 2007 at 7:42 pm | Permalink

   “Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” [NASB]

   Psalm 124:8

2. Jessica
   April 26th, 2007 at 6:05 pm | Permalink

   Thank you, Pastor Bruce. It was such a timely reminder to read.

3. Pastor Bruce
   May 9th, 2007 at 9:11 am | Permalink

   Hi Jessica,

   Thank you. Your words are very kind.

   As to “Wise and Well Read” - I would guess that some (what little there may be) of my wisdom comes from study, some from just age, some through years of education - however any spiritual wisdom that I may display is strictly because of God’s grace - cf. 1 Cor. 2:1-14; James 1:5-8; & Pro. 9:10. As to being “well-read” - I do read. Most reading relates to my sermon preparations. Yet I also read on a regular basis [1] Christian history and/or works of the older writers (you and I both love and appreciate the Puritans); [2] Systematic theology books or books that deal with a theological (doctrinal) theme - (of these I at times will read about different theological views - I have learned that “debating” (i.e. viewpoint) books are good to get another’s perspective on a biblical subject). We should never be afraid to see the other person’s viewpoint. Though it is or would be quiet of a rarity for some [:-)] - sometimes we can be wrong on what we have come to believe to be correct doctrine.; [3] Preaching | Christian magazines; [4] books on preaching; and [5] if time permits I will read some secular writings - mostly historical (colonial era, civil war era, etc.) or books of a conservative bias (example - currently looking at Bill O’Reilly’s Culture Warrior). I do not spend much time in the newspaper, I watch local and national news: FOX NEWS, and pickup some news from the Internet. Of course, the major aspect of any reading must be the Scriptures. We as Chrisitans who love to read need to be careful for if we do not keep an eye on our reading - we will soon find that we are reading everything but the Bible itself or at least not as much as we should. It is so easy to read books about the Bible and learn all we can about what the Bible teaches. I know this from earlier experience. I have learned that we need to read the Bible to see what it actually says and not to try to prove our positions from what we have read in our various books etc. - cf. 2 Tim. 2:15. When we do that - God will bless our efforts to understand what He has written to us in His Word.

   Sorry to go so long. Preachers sometimes do that. Later …
   Have a great day and may the Lord Bless!
   In His Service,
   Psalms 124:8

4. Jessica
   May 9th, 2007 at 4:37 pm | Permalink

   Hi Pastor Bruce,

   Thanks so much for sharing those. They seem like helpful suggestions on being well-read and growing in the faith. Thank you very much!

   As a side note, that’s interesting you watch Fox News. I don’t watch television as much now, but I used to watch Fox News very often before. Fox News seemed to be not as liberal as some of the others. I enjoy watching The O’Reilly Factor sometimes as well.

   Thanks again for writing. It’s very nice to hear from you. God bless you as well.

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