Mandeville Church

Getting Back to the Word

Apr 052010

An Open Book

Just a little note of encouragement to those of you who ARE sidetracked by LIFE and haven’t kept up with any sort of regular reading schedule:

You can get started again!

I am not saying you have to read through Acts with us if you already have another reading plan, but I’m encouraging you to get back with your reading plan if you’ve dropped it. We are heading into the fourth month of 2010 and I know how easy it is to lay the Bible down and get involved in all the activities of Spring and Summer. Don’t give in to that temptation! Keep reading. Bible reading should be a part of our daily lives. We must spend time with God’s word if we are truly to get to know Him.

If you would LIKE to use this forum to help you keep to a reading schedule, I encourage you to read Acts 16 today. Read Acts 16 each day we discuss something from that chapter, and then start reading Acts 17 when we get there in a few days. If you want to go crazy with it, read a couple of chapters before and a couple of chapters after Acts 16, too, so you get a better picture of the greater context.

Another GREAT reading tool is to read one chapter of Proverbs each day of the month. Proverbs has 31 chapters, so it’s easy to read one a day each month. today is the 5th, so read Proverbs 5. Tomorrow read Proverbs 6…and so on. If you happen to skip a day, don’t worry – you’ll likely read that chapter next month if you continue with the habit

Remember, the Bible is God’s communication to us. If we leave it on the shelf, we cannot listen. A closed Bible is just a pile of paper.

I’ll get back to the comments on Acts 16 tomorrow. Until then, happy reading

God bless,
Nathan

How are We Led by the Holy Spirit?

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Mar 092010

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

The Holy Spirit was active in a mighty way during the church’s first century. The Holy Spirit revealed and confirmed the message of the kingdom as well as directed men to specific areas of work. The Holy Spirit directed the church at Antioch to send Paul and Barnabas on a missionary journey (Acts 13:2, 4).

How did the Holy Spirit communicate with those brethren?

Did He make the sun break through the clouds at just the right time to give them a sign? People are always looking for a sign. They see the “face of Jesus” in the clouds, in the bark of a tree, even in their bologna sandwiches! Bobby prayed that God would direct him to the best job. He was choosing between car sales and carpentry. Later that day, he jumped into his old clunker…and the engine started right up with no spluttering at all! He felt God was speaking to him telling him to go into car sales. Most signs men and women “see” today are of this nature. But this was not how the Holy Spirit spoke in the New Testament.
Did the Holy Spirit give them a nudge in the right direction? I have many friends who say they have been “led by the Spirit” to do this or that in their life. When it comes down to it, what they mean by “led” is they got a strong feeling one way or the other. Kathy was in the store “making groceries,” as they say here in Louisiana. As she shopped, she noticed a young lady who was having trouble with her 3-year-old son. Kathy felt she should talk to this girl about godly discipline. Later, Kathy explained to her friends that the Holy Spirit led her to that conversation. “I just felt led to talk to her,” she said. Perhaps we could be nudged in this way – I don’t know. But this was not how the Holy Spirit spoke in the New Testament.

Man's Communication

What the Holy Spirit DID was this: He communicated very clearly with words. Yes, He spoke words to the brethren at Antioch. The Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2). The elders of the church and the prophets of the church did not see a sign or “feel led” by the Holy Spirit. They WERE led – no question. It was not vague or open to interpretation. There was no guess work.

And I want us to understand: this is the way God always communicates to man! When God wants to tell us something, He does so in a clear, objective manner. When He communicates with us, we are not left wondering if God really spoke or not – we KNOW God spoke. He communicates with words, with language.

The Holy Spirit communicates with us today the same way as He did during the first century. He speaks clear words. His messages are obvious. He speaks through prophets. The only difference today is that all of God’s words are WRITTEN DOWN for us. God is the ultimate master communicator, and we CAN understand what He says. Ephesians 3:4: “When you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ.”

What do you think?

May God bless us in the understanding of His word,
Nathan

Something New…In December!

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Dec 072009

Caesarea Aqueduct

We have completed the reading of Mark, folks. If you followed along with the group readings – good job! Hopefully, at the pace we go, it’s not too difficult to read the sections we cover along with any other readings you do personally. I think we averaged about a chapter a week and sometimes less. What are your feelings about the readings? Have they helped in any way over the past few months?

The natural continuation of the New Testament story begins in Acts 1. This is the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Perhaps it should be called SOME of the Acts of SOME of the Apostles because it focuses primarily on Peter and Paul and certainly does not give a complete biography of either one. Acts contains events specially chosen by the Holy Spirit for our learning. It teaches us many things about how the New Testament church functioned and what Christians did under the oversight and teaching of the apostles (who were guided by the Holy Spirit).

Shall we take up this new book? What say ye?

If we are all in agreement, let us read Acts 1 and begin discussion on it tomorrow.

SPECIAL READING CHALLENGE: Try to read the entire book of Acts this week. As we continue to discuss each chapter, you can re-read the chapters, but the initial reading of the book will get the entire story in your head and you’ll be well ahead of the game in our discussions.

NOTE: By the way, there is NO RULE that says I must be the first to comment on a chapter. If you feel like throwing out a random comment on the readings, please feel free! This is not my list – it’s our list.

Thanks,
Nathan

Only Two More Chapters Left!

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Nov 182009

Remember to Read

Hi guys,

Thanks to all of you who have been hanging in there with this study through Mark. We just finished Mark 14 and are about to start Mark 15. Taking it slowly, we have been doing a chapter every week or two weeks. If you committed to reading through Mark with the group, I hope you have been taking the time to read a little each day.

A habit which would be immensely profitable for those of you who can is to read the entire chapter each day as we discuss it.

An even tougher (but rewarding) habit is to read the whole book of Mark each week as we go through it.

Regular reading binds the word of God inside our heads. God never set a standard for how much reading we should do. Just remember that each time we read, we understand more of the writer’s insight into the mystery of the gospel (Ephesians 3:4).

So read up on Mark 15 – We’ll start it up tomorrow!

God bless,
Nathan

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Getting Back to the Word

How are We Led by the Holy Spirit?

Something New…In December!

Only Two More Chapters Left!

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