"And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?"
Mark 12:24
This is Jesus answering a question from the Sadducees, who were basically trying to get him into an argument. First of all, it is amazing that Christ always knew exactly what to say. :) I think that we can get closer to that example by having the spirit with us, helping us to identify truth and avoid error. Secondly though, I think it is very telling that Christ told them that they were making a mistake because they didn't know the scriptures. Throughout his ministry, Christ quoted scripture and mentioned scripture. He originated a lot of scripture too, of course... but he knew exactly what had come before, and that was one of the ways that he learned as well.
Hopefully we aren't trying to trap God as the Sadducees were, but I think we are like them in a way. We *all* err because we don't know the scriptures and the power of God. There are so many things in our lives that we have questions about that we could answer by going to the scriptures. There are so many problems that we could solve and obstacles that we could overcome, if we knew the scriptures better. Having the spirit with us helps immeasurably, but it is like taking a test. If we don't study, then the spirit can't help us remember what we studied. There is nothing there to work with. Life in general is similar. The spirit can't bring the word of God from our memories to our minds if we don't have the words of God in there anywhere. And thus, we lose a lot of the help that the spirit could be blessing us with, if we aren't reading our scriptures.
Christ mentions knowing the scriptures and then knowing the power of God. These are connected. If we know what the prophets did in the past, we have tasted just a touch of the power of God. The past matters. We are connected to those people in the pages of the scriptures, and what they did affects us, and helps us. God offers us the same promises and blessings, if we are willing to learn them and do what it takes to get them. Let's read and tap into that power.
Today, let's take the time to learn from the scriptures. Let's become familiar with the power of God. Let's store the words of God up in our minds, so that the spirit can work with us more fully. The scriptures aren't old boring worthless books from the past. They matter to us, today. Let's dive in and find out how.
Mark 12:24
This is Jesus answering a question from the Sadducees, who were basically trying to get him into an argument. First of all, it is amazing that Christ always knew exactly what to say. :) I think that we can get closer to that example by having the spirit with us, helping us to identify truth and avoid error. Secondly though, I think it is very telling that Christ told them that they were making a mistake because they didn't know the scriptures. Throughout his ministry, Christ quoted scripture and mentioned scripture. He originated a lot of scripture too, of course... but he knew exactly what had come before, and that was one of the ways that he learned as well.
Hopefully we aren't trying to trap God as the Sadducees were, but I think we are like them in a way. We *all* err because we don't know the scriptures and the power of God. There are so many things in our lives that we have questions about that we could answer by going to the scriptures. There are so many problems that we could solve and obstacles that we could overcome, if we knew the scriptures better. Having the spirit with us helps immeasurably, but it is like taking a test. If we don't study, then the spirit can't help us remember what we studied. There is nothing there to work with. Life in general is similar. The spirit can't bring the word of God from our memories to our minds if we don't have the words of God in there anywhere. And thus, we lose a lot of the help that the spirit could be blessing us with, if we aren't reading our scriptures.
Christ mentions knowing the scriptures and then knowing the power of God. These are connected. If we know what the prophets did in the past, we have tasted just a touch of the power of God. The past matters. We are connected to those people in the pages of the scriptures, and what they did affects us, and helps us. God offers us the same promises and blessings, if we are willing to learn them and do what it takes to get them. Let's read and tap into that power.
Today, let's take the time to learn from the scriptures. Let's become familiar with the power of God. Let's store the words of God up in our minds, so that the spirit can work with us more fully. The scriptures aren't old boring worthless books from the past. They matter to us, today. Let's dive in and find out how.
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