Back To The Bible

SUN., AUG. 17, 1986, 5:44 AM
FARM, STUDY

Yes, o son, it is time for an admonishing. While you have been doing some reading in these Teachings, and shall do more as you prepare to do this upcoming Ruminations, you have not put your attention to My Holy Scriptures. Since We began these times of teaching and learning I have used My call to you to read and study Scripture very sparingly. The last one was the call to read Jeremiah through. You started, but did not finish. Hear, as I urge you back to the Bible… yet again.

I shall say again (and how many times have I given you this direction?) that however useful and valuable these pages may be they are merely a supplement to… and by no means a substitute for… My original Scriptures. This news shall not be applauded by those who might be called “liberal”… those who are interested in spirit but not in religion. You do have a “ministry,” of sorts, to some of these, who will heed My voice in these Teachings but will not read and appreciate the Bible as a guide to earth life. Still, these must be reminded that you are a Christian, first and foremost… that the Spirit who speaks in these pages is the Holy Spirit, the Christ spirit who was and is in Jesus, the Son of God.

Others who know of this that We do together and who are more orthodox, even more fundamental, Christians, should be encouraged by this message. My greatest desire is that these words, written in reasonably plain American English, be perceived as an expansion and interpretation of My Holy Scriptures… the fundamental Teachings of all time. You accept this, and you try rather hard to believe it, but, I admit, a text such as Jeremiah does not seem to validate this claim. Just know that I have had to speak in some variety of ways over the years of earth life, and your experiences are not universal.

Why do I call you back to the Bible? Well, not to learn texts that prove this or that about what you should or shouldn’t do. It is not meant to be a manual for behavior. It is the most basic story of My active presence in the earth, and I want you to know that story… and to know it well you must continue to review it. One way that I always recommend is to take a “fresh” Bible (which translation is not really important) and read it and underline or highlight the passages that seem most vital. Then check these against your already marked Bibles, seeing what is the same and what is different.

Each “book” of the Bible has merit and is part of the total story. (In like manner, each of these Teachings has value, and it shall continue to be difficult to pick out “the best ones”)

(You may now listen to another message. 6:42 / 6:53)

So as you read and study achieve some balance among those you know to be speaking directly to you, those with less personal direction, and those which seem to have little relevance.