LETTER 4- AN APPRENTICE TO JESUS READS THE BOOK
Dear Redeemer Family,
I read the Bible. Right now I am closely reading the book of Ezekiel. I also read the book of Proverbs regularly. I go very slow with Proverbs! I am also re-reading the Gospel of John. I have read John many times.
Why do I do this? Because: I am a disciple of Christ. The required text is the Bible. Jesus is training me to be like Him, in character and behavior.
An apprentice to Christ constantly studies the Great Manual of Instruction. I read it. It is a guide for my life.
I doubt my father knew this, but God used him to influence me to read the Bible. I remember seeing dad read his Bible, usually in the evening before he went to bed. He read it so much that his thumb almost wore through the leather cover. I have his Bible. See the thumbprint.
I received a leather-covered Bible when I was confirmed in our Lutheran Church. I was twelve years old. My fingerprints were not on this Bible. I never touched it. My mother stored it somewhere - I don't know where, and I didn't care. I never picked it up and read it. Until…
I was 21. That's when Jesus rescued me out of a deep enslavement to evil. Instantly, my life began to change for the better. I was now an apprentice to Jesus. I needed a Bible!
I drove to my parents' home. I asked, "Mom, do you know where my Bible is?"
She got it for me. I began to read. And read. I wore the leather out on it so much that the cover finally tore off. I still have this Bible. Here it is.
I was 21. That's when Jesus rescued me out of a deep enslavement to evil. Instantly, my life began to change for the better. I was now an apprentice to Jesus. I needed a Bible!
I drove to my parents' home. I asked, "Mom, do you know where my Bible is?"
She got it for me. I began to read. And read. I wore the leather out on it so much that the cover finally tore off. I still have this Bible. Here it is.
I am my father's son. Like father, like son, right? I have been reading and studying the Bible for fifty years. Disciples of Christ study to show themselves approved as they rightly handle the Word of God. (2 Timothy 2:15) I want this for you.
The apostle Paul wrote: Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)
And: Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. (Philippians 3:17)
I am a disciple, a student, in the School of Jesus. Jesus teaches us through the Word, and through other disciples, like my father.
Follow my example. Read and re-read your Bible.
DECLARATIONS
I am a student of God’s Word.
I love reading the Bible. It is a guide to my life!
I read portions of the Bible every day.
I sometimes write powerful verses on a card and carry them with me, looking at them often.
God regularly speaks to me through the words of the Bible.
The Bible nourishes me. It is food for my soul.
I have time to read my Bible.
The Bible is getting inside me and transforming me.
(For a good book on understanding the Bible see How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stewart.)
