Author: Dr. Mike

Misinterpreting Scripture

Dr. Mike 2021, Scriptures , ,

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me…

John 5:39

When it comes to reading and understanding the Bible, there are at least five main schools of thought people use to interpret Scripture. They are:

Allegorical View

Liberal View

Neo-Orthodox View

Devotional View

Grammatical, Historical View

The Allegorical view was used by many of the early church fathers. Everything they read was viewed from a mystical, spiritual platform. There was no literal, concrete understanding of Scripture applied from a known real world. Interpretation was solely a subjective understanding of a non-physical, super-natural dimension.

The Liberal view analyzed Scripture from a current, cultural worldview based on man’s reasoning capabilities. If science cannot justify it, it must not be true. If it is not rational, then there is some error. Scripture becomes a personal, subjective study of its contents.

The Neo-Orthodox view Scripture as God’s spoken word to specific people at specific times and not necessarily meant for everyone everywhere at all times. However, when God’s written Word becomes meaningful and purposeful to the individual is when then God speaks to the individual.   

The Devotional view simplifies Scripture to a “what’s in it for me” approach. It views the Bible as a self-help book extracting principles and values for personal enhancement. It at times focuses on the narrowest topic and excludes the global overview of the subject matter.

The Grammatical, Historical view looks at the context of the writings from the then culture when written and the known historical and literature data accumulated from then to arrive at its meaning and purpose at the then time. From there, Scripture is transferred to the present time under current conditions and made applicable and relevant in today’s culture.    

Most of us, depending on our upbringing, will initially start reading Scripture from one of these viewpoints. Slowly though over time, as we become more of an amateur theologian, we will eventually fall into the Grammar-Historical view. Though we will occasionally, depending on the context and subject matter, entertain the other viewpoints, our main emphasis will be to become more and more a historical student of the Bible.  

With the internet and libraries of stored reference, everyone who desires to know more about the Bible and its contents can become an avid student of Scripture. No one person on earth has the corner knowledge of Scripture. We are all studying and discovering more and more of Scripture’s practical implications for today. Yes, it takes time, but what you gain is a more confident reassurance of the Triune God’s involvement and love for you and humanity.

The bottom-line: no matter which viewpoint you use, the main focus is still Jesus Christ. When we realize HE is the centralized character of the entire Bible, then the various chapters and sections always seem to better align themselves built upon the foundation of the Incarnate Triune God. This is why we learn, integrate, and grow in the knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ through the application of Scripture in our everyday world. We discover more of who Jesus Christ IS and God’s overall purpose and plan for humanity.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Author of e-Books

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

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Copyright 2013-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

Money Trap

Dr. Mike 2021, Traps , , , ,

…give me neither poverty nor riches;

    feed me with the food that is needful for me,lest I be full and deny you

    and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal

    and profane the name of my God.

Proverbs 30:8-9

Money is simply the medium of exchange between two parties. Somewhere back in time, someone came up with the inspiration that paper supported by something of value was easier to carry around for trade rather than livestock, land, and crops. Eventually, paper money became the norm.

Yet money is the god of many. Those who have it want more; and those who don’t have enough want more. And then there are those who treat money as an evil necessity and the cause of world problems who believe everyone should have more than enough without having to work for it.

Then there are times when our pride blinds us into thinking that money is evil and poverty is good. Others feel guilty they have abundance; they are OK with those less fortunate to rob and steal from others. Then there are others who make their life mission to earn more than they can spend in multiple lifespans. They never have enough and too much is their baseline.

Today’s Scripture came to my attention as a young man entering the business world. Still young in the faith, I wasn’t sure how to relate with money. This Scripture helped me to stay focus. I enjoyed working, earning, and spending on those items which brought me pleasure. Besides, food, shelter, clothes, car, and entertainment, I also gave to causes which were close to my heart. My desire was not to be wealthy, retire early, nor live a lavish lifestyle. Instead, I chose to walk with my Lord and learn how to live the life HE gave me.

In the prayer Jesus taught his disciples (Luke 11:3), he requests from his heavenly Father only food for today. He shared parables of people who invested their time accumulating food where they had to build larger barns (Luke 12:18) to store the crops for future period and emphasized they risk abandoning their walk with God. Jesus also said the rich will have greater difficulty entering God’s Kingdom (Luke 18:25). However, HE also emphasized that nothing is impossible for God.

Life is living between two extremes. Being rich or being poor are two extremes of wealth. For many of us, we will learn to live life in between. And I am OK with that. For it places us right where today’s Scripture highlights the better place to be. Enough for today so I continue to lean on the Triune God, favorably walk with HIM, and bring HIM no shame but honor and glory for WHO HE IS.

Money is a necessity in today’s world. God knows what we need and will always provide the means to satisfy our needs. The money trap is emphasizing the cash rather than the God of wealth.  God owns everything. He can easily open the gates of prosperity for you to enjoy. But HE also knows prosperity can easily destroy you unless you have the character to manage the wealth. HIS purpose is to prepare you for eternity; not live comfortably and satisfy every insatiable desire you have. When you come to know HIM, you will also come to know yourself and realize the wisdom of living between the two extremes.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Author of e-Books

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

I Can’t

Dr. Mike 2021, Shaped By The WORD , , , , ,

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

You are correct. If you think you can’t, then you have already accepted and acknowledged your defeat. You have surrendered before even attempting to make a difference. You have isolated yourself under the tent of hopelessness. And you are right. Without the resources, support, and internal fortitude to convert your situation into a plan of action, you might as well give up and acknowledge “you can’t.”

We all will come to a place somewhere in life when we will acknowledge the circumstances and situation is so overwhelming that we throw up our hands in defeat and contemplate quitting. We may have knocked on doors, spent every last dollar in our name, and nothing seems to work. We have secured a ring side view of our limitations, and even hear the voices of others who have said from the beginning that you can’t, so why even try.

And they are correct. Most of us have been beaten-up spiritually, mentally, and socially by the time we reach the age of adulthood.  We have been placed into a self-imposed box of blind ignorance and accept the restrictions as normal behavior. Our human condition has been chiseled into a fragment of the God-given potential you and I have been given from birth.

But God, in HIS divine character provides us the means to overcome this world’s destructive forces. And those forces include the self-imposed restrictions we place on ourselves.

Jesus Christ is the way to a full, meaningful life.

When I reached the end of my rope as a teenager and realized the mess I produced in a short-time of trying to do it my way, I knew either this kid would end up in prison or a box six feet under unless something immediately changed; I reached out to God. I didn’t have any personal relationship with Him. I didn’t know how to pray. I didn’t know squat. But I did realize my world was collapsing and I didn’t have the knowledge, resources, nor wisdom to get me out of the mess. So, I went to the Source of Life.

Since then, I have come to realize HE is always with me and wants what is best for me. HE simply wants me to dance with HIM through the everyday details of life. He enjoys sharing HIS life with me and I with HIM.

And no, life hasn’t been easy. Life is designed to prepare you and me for eternity. The challenges, obstacles, and daily crap that happens, are the means for you and HIM to get together and learn how to dance through the maze of garbage thrown your way. But you have gained the confidence knowing you already have a seat at the table of the King. Lord Jesus has already chosen to share His authority and abundance with you. He has chosen to live in you via the Holy Spirit. When you have this faith proven over time and different circumstances, your holy swagger exudes faithfulness with humility, confidence with compassion, and serendipity with purposefulness.

You have come to know HIM and want to make HIM known to others as HE makes you more and more like HIM in character and attitude. Yes, you even come to know you can do all things through HIM. You don’t look at your limitations any longer. Instead, you look at the God-Man who took humanity’s misery and limitations upon Himself so you and I could now begin tasting eternal life as HE prepares you and I for our seat at HIS table in HIS kingdom. HE is the reason we can say “yes, I can.”

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Author of e-Books

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved