Getting Back to the Bible

Hi Guys,   I wrote this with the idea of sending it to the attendees of the Men's meeting but then had second thoughts. No reason to upset the entire world at the same time. If you think it is worth forwarding to others or worth discussing at the Men's meeting please do so but for me I will stop with you two..   We read various accounts in the Old Testament where Moses or Joshua or others read the entire law to the people. Some places we are told that men, women, children were present.   Paul told the church in Colossae that when his letter had been read among them, they were to have it read in the church of the Laodiceans; and they were to be sure to read the letter from Laodicea.    Paul told the church in Thessalonica that he put them under oath before the Lord to have the letter read to all the brothers.   Last night in Rick's class "contending for the faith" was mentioned.   How can we contend for the faith when we go months if not years in our assemblies without reading significant portions of the Bible? We talk a lot about the Bible but that is not what Moses and Joshua did nor was it what early Christians did. They read it.   If the churches in Colossae and Thessalonica read their letters like we do, do you suppose they ever finished them? Did they take six months or more to understand what Paul was trying to teach them? The average reader can read Colossians in less than 20 minutes and both letters to the Thessalonians in less than 25 minutes. Both letters to the Corinthians can be read in less that 2 ½ hours. Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" can be read in less than 15 minutes. If you disagree with those numbers increase them by 50%.   When we read manuals associated with our jobs, or novels, or letters from friends and family, text books in school, tabloid magazines, paperbacks, newspapers, etc we are not in a hurry we are discovering what the authors' were writing.   This is not only a problem with Great Smoky Mountains Church of Christ but with the church in general. The Bible has taken a backseat. In our continuing effort to get the assembly over with there is no time for the Bible. One result is the church is shrinking.   I have been criticized for taking to long reading the Bible at the Lord's Supper. Imagine that too much time spent reading the prayer of the one who died for us.   Our lack of interest in the Bible might explain, in part, our failing to contend for the faith. Again in Rick's class last night, when Al asked how we contend for the faith the entire class had no comment. Did that indicate that we did not want to say anything or we had nothing to say?    We claim to follow the practices of early Christians but when it comes to treatment of the Bible we do not. We don't even match what Israel was told to do when they got up in the morning and when they went to bed in the evening or when they walked along. Recognizing there is a place for topical subjects, how about we make time to read and study the Bible at a pace similar to that of the early Christians? Maybe then we might have something to say to people we meet each day. Maybe then we can contend for the faith. If this is not a great idea why isn't it?   Regards, John Jenkins 865-803-8179 cell Gatlinburg, TN Email: jrjenki@yahoo.com  Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com  Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/ "I don't know who discovered water, but it probably wasn't a fish." ---Marshal McLuhan