“You can please some of the people all the time, all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”

I can relate to Abe. Can you?

Below are more quotes from Mark Moore’s book Seeing God in HD. This book is a must read for the serious Bible student. Click here to purchase. There’s also a copy available in the OCC library. Check it out – in more ways than one!

“It does not matter what the text means to you; what matters is what the author was trying to say. Your personal interpretation, opinion, or hypothesis is almost completely irrelevant.” p. 26

“When we are talking about the meaning of a passage…the author really does have one thing in mind.” p. 28

“Some people don’t understand the Bible because they are not willing to put into practice the little they do understand.” p. 35

“In terms of biblical interpretation there is nothing more important for understanding the Scriptures than context.” p. 43

“We must learn how to bring the ancient text into the modern world with respect and integrity for both.” p. 44

“We must know what the Bible meant to the people of its own day before we can appropriately apply it to the people of our day.” p. 45

“In order to do proper Bible study you must stop thinking verses and start thinking paragraphs.” p. 49

“If you can grab these three things – context, structure, and purpose – you will be well on your way to a thorough understanding of the author’s intended meaning.” p. 59

More of Moore later.

I’m currently reading Seeing God in HD by Mark Moore. It is a book on how to interpret the Bible. So far, so good. Below are some great quotes from chapter one. Stay tuned for more.

“…if you don’t obey the words of Scripture, you have no right to claim that you understand them.” p. 19

“The most powerful way of transforming someone’s belief system is to have them teach what they have learned.” p. 20

“…study of the Bible is the highest form of worship…worship, in its essence, is understanding who God is and who we are in his presence. The Bible, more than the hymnal or chorus chart, is a clear guide to the character of God and the claim he makes over our lives. It is through the Scriptures, more than anything else, that the community of God’s people come to understand the revelation of who God is.” p. 23

I’m looking forward to chapter two.

I just started a new book yesterday. It’s called Building Faith at Home. The first chapter has a quote by Peter Benson. I have no idea who he is, but here’s the quote: “Religious life in the home is more influential than the church.”

What do you think?

Oh, how many lives are wasted by people who believe that the Christian life means simply avoiding badness and providing for the family. So there is no adultery, no stealing, no killing, no embezzlement, no fraud–just lots of hard work during the day, and lots of TV and PG-13 videos in the evening (during quality family time), and lots of fun stuff on the weekend–woven around church (mostly). This is life for millions of people. Wasted life. We were created for more, far more. (119) 

I am concerned for the poor but more for you. I know not what Christ will say to you in the great day. . . . I fear there are many hearing me who may know well that they are not Christians, because they do not love to give. To give largely and liberally, not grudging at all, requires a new heart; an old heart would rather part with its life-blood than its money. Oh my friends! Enjoy your money; make the most of it; give none away; enjoy it quickly for I can tell you, you will be beggars throughout eternity. (Don’t Waste Your Life, 102)

Think on these things. 

No matter how we try to spin the story, the Bible is filled with tribes of irrational people. When Noah built the ark, he did not live in a flood zone. When Elijah called fire down from heaven, he had never tried it before…David should have left the giant alone…

Those people did not live normal lives. Their actions were ludicrous and irrational if you take God out of the formula. Given proper counseling, they would have known better than to do what they did. The vitality of their life in God moved them beyond the practicality of simply being reasonable…Anyone who ever risks listening to God and following His voice knows that to everyone who is deaf to His voice, your actions will seem as if you’ve gone crazy. (79, 80)

Can anyone relate?

Read half of The Barbarian Way this morning. Here is one quote that stuck out.

The original call of Jesus was so simple, so clean, so clear: “Follow Me.” He wants us to surrender our lives to Him and follow Him into the unknown. And if it means a life of suffering, hardship, and disappointment, it will be worth it because following Jesus Christ is more powerful and more fulfilling than living with everything in the world minus Him. Have we forgotten this? Have we become so refined and so civilized that the benefits of our faith have become more precious and more valuable to us than the Benefactor of our faith? (48, 49)

Think on these things.

Here’s a quote from today’s reading: “I find that it is always dangerous to shout where God has whispered.” (p. 5)

Think on these things.