If you are following just about any Bible reading plan (I hope you are!) then here at the end of the year you are almost certainly reading Revelation.  This book puts many people off.  It is filled, as we all know, with a lot of symbolic imagery.  Figuring out the symbols is a life-long endeavor for some, and differing conclusions are reached.  Resulting in arguments, of course—all the students being human beings.  It’s this outcome that puts many off.

In the earliest days, when Bible manuscripts (or individual Bible books or letters) were copied for circulation, the copyists took every possible precaution to avoid errors. They knew that an error, once left in a manuscript, would be copied and recopied time after time, thus multiplying the first mistake.

In Psalm 122, David expresses his love for the City of Jerusalem. His words are familiar to us and used in a long-popular anthem which Christadelphians have sung for generations. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.” (vv. 6-7). It focuses our minds on the future of this marvelous city when our Lord makes it the worldwide capital of the Kingdom of God on earth.

Lots of people are reading and quoting from Luke 1 this week: the visit Gabriel paid to Mary.  Most would say this is the beginning of Christianity, though a few might have at least a partial realization that foundations were laid much earlier.

We aren’t told what the topic was, but it seems clear that Jesus was being grilled. There were hard questions being put and the answers were scrutinized.

Tonight we attended a Bible study (remotely), part of which was spent on James chapter 3.  There wasn’t a lot of time left by the time we got to James’s discussion of the “wisdom from above” in verses 13-18.  But as it generally does, this passage got me thinking.  If we take the passage apart, there’s just so much to think about, in relation to our own walk.

The concept of the one body is very familiar to us. Paul in particular gives it a lot of attention, opening up and explaining the figure so that we can see the full power of it.

“And Job died, an old man and full of days: and it is written that he will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up.”

“To show partiality is not good—yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.” (Prov 28:21 WEB).

A few days ago I read Psalms 111 and 112 (which, most scholars agree, are a pair that are linked together). I was powerfully struck, once again, by the lessons in these psalms.

What was in Peter’s mind, that he ended up in the courtyard at the high priest’s house while Jesus was on trial inside?  What did he think his presence there would do?

It’s possible to teach simplified versions of Bible stories to our children, and then feel like we ourselves have outgrown those stories. But the reality is that the originals are stories for grownups. Just because we may have outgrown the simplified version doesn’t mean there’s nothing more there for us.