I didn’t know the Bible very well at all. I thought of the Old Testament one way, the New Testament another–and the God in each completely different. But reading through it, it’s one God, one beautiful story.
“I therefore decided to give attention to the holy scriptures and to find out what they were like. And this is what met me: something neither open to the proud nor laid bare to mere children; a text lowly to the beginner but, on further reading, of mountainous difficulty and enveloped in mysteries.” Saint Augustine Confessions.
I’m in Proverbs, and Jesus is there too.
Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down?
Who holds the wind in his fists?
Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak?
Who has created the whole wide world?
What is his name—and his son’s name?
Tell me if you know! Proverbs 30:4 NLT
A former contributor here once said: If he came not to abolish but to fulfill, both sides of my Bible can attest to his character! (Thanks, Christian!)
Every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to all who come to him for protection. Proverbs 30:5
In today’s reading, speaking out and speaking up stood out to me. By telling his name in Proverbs, these words that are true, to speaking up for those who can’t speak for themselves …
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;
ensure justice for those being crushed.
9 Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless,
and see that they get justice. Proverbs 31:8-9
to an unquenchable desire and unstoppable mission to make his name known …
29 But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross. 31 Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. 32 We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.” Acts 5:29-32.
I love how the religious expert expressed:
38 “So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!” Acts 5:38-39, 42:
42 And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.”
From first page to last page, enveloped in mysteries–yet the Bible was composed in such a way that as beginners mature, its meaning grows with them, Saint Augustine Confessions.
Courtney (66books365)
Sixty-six books in a year 