More than coffeee and donuts

I am in the market to purchase a Black Labrador Retriever prior to duck and dove season, and yesterday a buddy and I went to look at a potential candidate. As we rode out to the dog trainer’s kennel, I invited him to attend a Bible study that I will be firing up later this year when we complete our Honey Lake Plantation Chapel.

He was kind of lukewarm to the idea due to the long drive from his house to the plantation, but when he found out that the group would be eating at HLP’s restaurant prior to the Bible study, he immediately perked up and showed a keen interest. Then he had the gall to ask if he could come eat and then skip out on the Bible study. I was quick to point out that he was already as fat as a pig and needed to expand his spirituality and not his big belly.

I am excited about this project and have already begun planning it in earnest. We are going to begin with the book of Romans and I really look forward to researching this book from stem to stern. If any of you know of some good research materials for it please forward them to me.

The best Bible study class that I ever attended was at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville Florida. Our teacher, Judge A. C. Soud, knew the Bible inside and out, but as we went through the scriptures together he added interest by not just sharing his vast knowledge, but actively soliciting other opinions of what God was trying to tell us with various difficult passages. I was in the professional men’s class and our class was crammed full of talented, smart, successful people and I learned more about the Bible during that period of time than at any other, before or since.

I’d read the Bible cover to cover numerous times and studied independently for years, but hearing others share their understanding of complex issues was fascinating and gave me entirely new perspective on many issues. This Bible study class did me a tremendous amount of good not only by increasing my knowledge of the Bible but also by enhancing my already strong faith by being around other believers, especially all of these smart and very successful men.

I believe that when God told us that we should not forsake the gathering together of each other as Christians, He was not telling us to go sit silently in some boring church and fight to stay awake as we listen to a dull, grating monotone recital of Hail Mary’s. The Bible states that when Jesus was just 12 years old He went to the temple and fascinated the Pharisees with His knowledge of the Bible and His excellent explanations of complex and difficult passages for days on end.

Wouldn’t you have loved to be there in the temple daily to hear Him use the Scriptures to teach these biblical scholars what God really meant by various passages?

Like me you may wistfully be thinking how wonderful that would have been. Hey think about this for a minute. We can enjoy the presence of Jesus even today. (See below.) If we search for truth in the Bible and are patient, Jesus will open his “living” word to us and allow it to pierce through our very souls. Cool!

Join, attend, or start a Bible study or small group today, and go because you desire to enhance your knowledge of God’s word and build on your faith, not just so you can eat a big pile of glazed donuts and swig coffee like my butterball friend

Matthew 18:20
Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.