Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing this burden and for your faithfulness in prayer. It is a good and biblical desire to want people to open the Scriptures for themselves at home and to become more like the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible teaches that God has given us eternal life and that this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life. As we have borne the image of what is earthly, so we shall bear the image of what is heavenly. For the child of God there is not an end but a change, a moving from a temporary tent into a lasting building made by God, eternal in the heavens, a new body prepared for us. That hope grows as we know Jesus Himself.
That is why reading the Bible personally is so important. God said what He meant and meant what He said. A plain reading of Scripture, with an open heart, will lead a person to Jesus. There are many sincere people who have been told that the Bible is too difficult to understand without other books to explain it, or who have had Scripture interpreted for them in ways that turn their thoughts away from what the text actually says. My heart goes out to them, because sincerity alone does not bring truth. Truth comes when we hear God speak for Himself in His Word.
We see this in the story of the man reading Isaiah in his chariot. When he was asked if he understood what he was reading, he said he needed help, and Philip came alongside, began at that same passage, and preached Jesus to him. The Scriptures point us to Christ, and the Spirit uses them to change us.
If our profession of faith in Jesus is real, it will show in a changed life. Our works will begin to come into harmony with what we say we believe, because we are being formed into His image. And Scripture also reminds us that we are accepted in the Beloved, so we should accept one another and let walls that divide fall down.
I join you in praying that God will stir a deep hunger for His Word in the hearts of the leader you mentioned and in the hearts of all those you are praying for. Pray that they will open the Bible daily in their homes, read it plainly and prayerfully, see Jesus clearly on its pages, trust Him alone for eternal life, and be transformed day by day to be more like Him. Pray also that God will raise up faithful helpers, like Philip, who will come alongside with gentleness to explain what is written and point always to Christ.
The Bible teaches that God has given us eternal life and that this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life. As we have borne the image of what is earthly, so we shall bear the image of what is heavenly. For the child of God there is not an end but a change, a moving from a temporary tent into a lasting building made by God, eternal in the heavens, a new body prepared for us. That hope grows as we know Jesus Himself.
That is why reading the Bible personally is so important. God said what He meant and meant what He said. A plain reading of Scripture, with an open heart, will lead a person to Jesus. There are many sincere people who have been told that the Bible is too difficult to understand without other books to explain it, or who have had Scripture interpreted for them in ways that turn their thoughts away from what the text actually says. My heart goes out to them, because sincerity alone does not bring truth. Truth comes when we hear God speak for Himself in His Word.
We see this in the story of the man reading Isaiah in his chariot. When he was asked if he understood what he was reading, he said he needed help, and Philip came alongside, began at that same passage, and preached Jesus to him. The Scriptures point us to Christ, and the Spirit uses them to change us.
If our profession of faith in Jesus is real, it will show in a changed life. Our works will begin to come into harmony with what we say we believe, because we are being formed into His image. And Scripture also reminds us that we are accepted in the Beloved, so we should accept one another and let walls that divide fall down.
I join you in praying that God will stir a deep hunger for His Word in the hearts of the leader you mentioned and in the hearts of all those you are praying for. Pray that they will open the Bible daily in their homes, read it plainly and prayerfully, see Jesus clearly on its pages, trust Him alone for eternal life, and be transformed day by day to be more like Him. Pray also that God will raise up faithful helpers, like Philip, who will come alongside with gentleness to explain what is written and point always to Christ.
