September 20th - "No Man is an Island."

The story...

Thomas Merton taught me wonderful things that I'd only inklings of before I first read one of my favorite books: "No Man is an Island."  I agreed with John Bunyan that I needed other people to walk alongside me on our journey to the Celestial city as I read "The Pilgrim's Progress."  C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" offered a rational, and easy to understand, picture of what it means to be a Christian. "The Source," by James Mitchener, broadened my view of this epic story of life that we're a part of. Yet most importantly, I learned about who God was when I read the gospel of John during the summer of 1980 - that experience seemed to change my life's course forever.

Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) is studying the book of John during the 2023-2024 season.  What a wonderful opportunity to walk alongside others learning more about what God's revealed about Himself, Us, and the future too.  I plan to trust God with every reading, lesson, prayer, lecture, and group study.  Oh that He will bring me closer to walk more faithfully, hopefully, and humbly with Him - to be free! 

The author, the Apostle John, is described as Jesus' best friend and the Apostle whom Jesus loved.  John was the only one of the 12 who wasn't martyred for his faith.  He was persecuted for his faith yet God protected him and we can learn soo... much from his letter that he wrote towards the end of his most well-lived life.  Why not pick up your bible today and read more about who God is?  He revealed much to the Apostle John throughout his incarnation and as the risen Christ too.  I'm so thankful that John faithfully recorded his revelations.  God doesn't change so we can trust what we learn about Him - what He was like then is true about Him now too.

The only church in town will introduce people to God.  They'll preach and teach His revelation about: Himself; creation; Us; how we might live a fruit-bearing life with God in Christ; and the future that will happen.  What they learn and experience will likely lead them to praise, worship, and service.  They'll learn that the best place to work out life is within the will of God.  His will will be worked out with you or without you.  They'll learn that the best condition is to be safe within the hands of God in Christ.

Just for today...

"The surest plan to make a Man is: Think him so."  James R. Lowell

"I was confident and capable. They all seemed to be whiners or perfectionists . . . As confident and capable as I was, I was afraid to speak up and ask for help . . . Her voice trembled as she admitted she desperately needed a sponsor but was afraid to ask anyone. She began to cry. Another member passed a box of tissues, and as I took the box in my hands, I realized that the frightened voice was my own . . . The same people I had once looked down upon now appeared to me as angels."  Hope for Today (p. 264)