June, 2013 Pastor Clay’s Potter’s Wheel As a society, we are becoming more and more Bible-illiterate. A friend shared with me an experience he had a while back which illustrates this point. My friend was having a conversation with another person and the weather had been rainy all day. The friend commented to the other person that if the rain continued, he wouldn’t be surprised to see Noah and his ark float by soon. The other person did not understand the reference to Noah’s Ark, one of the best known accounts in the Bible! Regularly reading the Bible is a lot like the game of basketball. A tenet of basketball says: Good things happen when you go to the net. Likewise, good things happen in our lives when we go to the Bible. And in both cases, the more often, the better! On the church calendar we’re now in the time after Pentecost, during which we celebrate God coming to (and in) Jesus’ first disciples. We too desire to see and experience God. One way God comes to us is in the Holy Scriptures – the Bible. Martin Luther understood this and said, “Whenever a man reads the Word of God, the Holy Spirit is speaking to him.” (I presume Luther understood the same holds true for women!) He also said, “Wherever the Word of God is, there the Holy Ghost, faith, and other gifts of the Spirit must necessarily be.” Regularly reading God’s Word in the Bible not only helps us to recognize and understand Biblical references in conversation, to understand the history of our nation and the world, to receive guidance and insight, but most importantly it helps us to open a holy door for receiving God’s gracious presence and the gift of saving faith into our lives. I’ve included a Daily Bible Reading Schedule in this Potter’s Wheel. It’s a great tool to guide and empower you to read the entire Bible in a year’s time. As you read through the Bible expect to be amazed and surprised and to have questions. This is good. If you fall behind schedule, don’t worry. You can check off the days as you make progress. But first, here’s a word-find puzzle my mom shared with me recently which will challenge your knowledge of the books of the Bible and your ability to find them. Of the 66 books in the Bible, she found all of the 30 Biblical books contained in this puzzle! See how many you can find and if you find all 30, bring your completed puzzle to the office to enter a drawing for a Christian music CD! The solution to the puzzle will be in July’s Grace Notes. God bless your time in Scripture and in the word-find puzzle! In Christ,
Pastor Clay