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S Scripture
The Scriptures were not given for our information, but for our transformation.
— D.L. Moody
Source: Gary Heard, in "Christian Leadership" email discussion list, 2/7/1999.
Topics/Tags: Word of god; Scripture; Knowledge; Transformation
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
— Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
Source: — Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
You can only understand Scripture on your knees.
— Maurice Zundel, "The Splendor of Liturgy" (1934).
Source: — Maurice Zundel, "The Splendor of Liturgy" (1934).
Pastor Michael Hartwig of Valparaiso, Indiana, tells this story:
I started visiting a man in a nursing home who had been instrumental in starting the major industry in town. When he died, I was asked to do the funeral service. I was nervous, because I knew our church would be packed with dignitaries.
The service went well, and on our way to the cemetery I began turning in my Bible to the passage I was to read at the graveside. While I was turning to 1 Corinthians 15, the funeral director asked me a question. I could tell he was impressed with the gospel message I had brought. He asked several questions, and I answered each one. I was proud of myself and the job I had done. Here was a man who had listened to hundreds of funeral services, and he singled out mine as being one of the best.
With this on my heart I stood at the head of the casket with the family and friends in front of me. I asked them to listen to the words of Scripture.
Unfortunately, the conversation had distracted me and caused me to turn to the wrong scripture passage. I read with a sense of dignity, not 1 Corinthians 15, but 1 Corinthians 5:1: "It is reported commonly that there are fornicators among you!"
____
Yes, we all need to be humbled a bit at times…
Source: Michael Hartwig
Topics/Tags: Funerals; Compliments; Mistakes; Scripture
A minister who often helped his wife with the housework finally protested when she demanded that he help wash the dishes. "This isn't a man's job," he said.
"Yes it is," she said. "Look up II Kings 21:13."
This is what he read, "...and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down."
________
(Unfortunately, for too many Christians, this is truly the extent of the way they use God's Word…!)
Source: Pendleton, Winston K, ed. HANDBOOK OF INSPIRATIONAL AND MOTIVATIONAL STORIES, ANECDOTES AND HUMOR
But can we rely on the biblical accounts? you may ask. When I first became a Christian, I certainly raised such questions. In fact, I began to study the Bible with a lawyer's skepticism. I suspected it was a compilation of ancient fables that had endured through the centuries because of its wisdom.
I made some startling discoveries, however. The original documents from which the Scriptures derive were rigorously examined for authenticity by early canonical councils. They demanded eyewitness accounts or apostolic authorship. Today a growing body of historical evidence affirms the accuracy of the Scriptures. For example, the prophecy recorded in Psalm 22 explicitly details a crucifixion, with its piercing of the hands and feet, disjointing of the bones, dehydration. Crucifixion, however, was a means of execution unknown to Palestine until the Romans introduced it -- several hundred years after the Psalms were written. So modern critics concluded the Psalms were written later, such "prophecies" perhaps even recorded after the fact. Then came the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which made possible the scientific dating of portions of the Psalms to hundreds of years before Christ.
--Charles Colson
Source: Charles Colson, Kingdoms in Conflict (p. 100, 1990)
Topics/Tags: Word of god, inspiration of; God, providence of; Scripture; Bible
The finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 has not only given scholars additional Hebrew Bible books which are much earlier than any extant manuscripts, it has also confirmed the validy of the previously found manuscripts. Comparing the Dead Sea Scrolls of Isaiah with the Masoretic (i.e., medieval) text reveals a 95 percent word for word identity. The remaining five percent of the variants deal mainly with a slip of the pen or spelling. The noted Yale professor, Millar Burrows, says that the Isaiah Scroll is very important for establishing the best possible text of the Old Testatement. "Essentially it is the same as the book of Isaiah in our Bible, a voice from 2,000 years ago. Preserved in the wondrous providence of God, confirming the integrity of the Bible."
Howard A. Hanke
Source: The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible Companion (Page 28-29) ((c) 1989)
Topics/Tags: Word of god, inspiration of; Accuracy; Scripture; Bible
Mark Twain once said, "Most people are bothered by those passages which they cannot understand; but as for me, I always notice that the passages in Scripture which trouble me most are those which I do understand."
Source: Mark Twain
Topics/Tags: Scripture; Conviction; Word of god
Two secretaries were taking a tea break when they began to talk about their respective churches.
"I never knew you went to church," said the first one. "I'll bet you twenty dollars you can't even recite the Lord's prayer."
"Oh yes, I CAN," said the second.
"Well, then, let's HEAR it," said the first.
The second one began, "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray Thee, Lord, my soul to keep..."
The first secretary listened with astonishment. "Wow!" she said. "Here's your twenty dollars. I sure didn't think you knew it!"
Source: unknown
LONDON, 3/23/1999: A Rabbi who caused a storm in Britain with his book "Kosher Sex" is now promoting a new handbook: "Dating Secrets of the Ten Commandments.."
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's book, subtitled "Keep taking the tablets and find your perfect soulmate," says biblical laws provide the best guide to finding lifelong love.
The rabbi resigned from his London synagogue after "Kosher Sex," which said sexual gratification is essential for a successful relationship, outraged his Orthodox Jewish congregation.
Boteach, 32, who is married with six children, told the London Times that the 10 commandments were the most famous guide to living ever devised.
"They lend themselves to the rules of relationships," he said.
_________
Boteach does have the right idea, at least as far as "relationships" are concerned: Scripture's precepts are the best tool for building healthy relationships (both between you and God and between you and other humans) ever written.
Source: Reuter, 3/23/1999.
Topics/Tags: Relationships; Scripture; Word of god; Commandments
Browse By Topic S Scripture