Friends in Christ Message for February 9, 2002

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Friends in Christ Weekly Message
February 9, 2002

But you need to realize that no one alone can understand any of the prophecies in the Scriptures. The prophets did not think these things up on their own, but they were guided by the Spirit of God.
2 Peter 1:20-21 (CEV*)

Most all of us have some problems in understanding the scriptures. So it is worth spending some time on this, and pondering what the Apostle Peter has to say to us on it.

Our minds are gifts of God, and we should use them. They can be helpful in understanding the scriptures, but they can also lead us astray. Our minds alone are not adequate to a true understanding of the scriptures, as Peter indicates.

Peter notes that those who wrote the scriptures "were guided by the Spirit of God." It follows, then, that we will best understand them if we, too, are guided by that Spirit. It is the Spirit which leads us into all Truth.

There have often been passages of scripture which I have found difficult to grasp, and even seemed to my mind not to represent the Truth at all. But sometimes a passage which has always been difficult for me suddenly appears to me in a new light, and it now makes sense. The Spirit has opened it for me. Through these experiences, I have learned not to get too upset when a scripture passage doesn't seem right to me, but to accept that I do not yet see it in the Spirit and when I do it will become clear.

Dear friends, stay close to the Spirit of God. When you read your Bible, seek to read it in that Spirit. And be patient in seeking understanding, trusting that the Spirit of God is able to open the seemingly most difficult scripture passages to you in due time.

Bill Samuel