I love the timeless words of scripture; the words that are as relevant today as they were when first penned. I love how you can read a piece of scripture dozens of times and yet one time it hits you \u2013 bamm \u2013 right in the heart, right in your soul and you wonder how you\u2019d missed its new meaning before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I also love debating scripture, searching scripture, getting into the nitty gritty bits of scripture that don\u2019t always seem to make sense on the surface\u2026.. I\u2019ve even got a great respect and awe for the bits of scripture that my human, finite mind just cannot reconcile! How amazing that this one book, The Bible, can be simple enough for a child to listen to its stories and yet so complex that libraries around the world are filled with books on its theology, that new discoveries come with each new decade, that the hidden treasures of The Bible reveal themselves through science, history and technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, perhaps, the most precious\u00a0parts of scripture\u00a0are the words written,\u00a0in some\u00a0presentations of\u00a0The Bible, in red;\u00a0the\u00a0red-letter<\/strong>\u00a0words of Jesus, found mainly in the\u00a0Gospels\u00a0(Matthew, Mark, Luke and John)\u00a0and Revelation.\u00a0We can so easily get caught in\u00a0doctrinal debates, religious practices and\u00a0man-made expectations. Even the\u00a0early Church experienced\u00a0arguments of who they followed. Some followed the teaching of Paul, others Apollos\u00a0etc\u00a0etc\u2026 but as Paul reminded them only Christ died for them;\u00a0they were baptised in the\u00a0Name of Jesus Christ, no one else.\u00a0Although fantastic questions to ask and debates to be had, we are not saved by the denomination we belong to, by the second coming theory we ascribe to, by the things we approve or disapprove of. No,\u00a0we are saved through Jesus Christ, so the words of Christ are of the upmost importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the next month we will be looking again at some of these Red Letter words; some of the simple parables that Jesus used which hold so much depth and truth and guidance for us today, 2,000 plus years later. A couple of weeks ago we heard the story of the little boy\u2019s packed lunch that, when offered to Jesus, fed 5,000. We\u2019ve probably all heard that story many times, but it was such a wonderful reminder of what Jesus can do with the little, seemingly insignificant things we have in our hands. It was a reminder to not hold back and underestimate the little, but to trust Jesus with it and see what He will do and how He can take an everyday ordinary action like packing a lunch and turn it into a miracle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We who are Christ followers, let\u2019s fall in love again with the words He spoke. Let\u2019s ask the Holy Spirit to allow those words to speak directly to us, as if Jesus was right there in the room. As various Senior Leadership Team members unpack some of the stories, let us listen with wide-eyed wonder at the goodness of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n