First, let me thank you for the prayers and kind words I’ve received over the last 2 weeks. We celebrated the wedding of our son Dustin to Emily and then Edna and I traveled to Hawaii for a 10 day trip. Both the wedding and the trip were wonderful and we appreciate the love and support of so many of our friends — many who traveled great distances — in order to celebrate with us. Now, it’s back to reality.
“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” (I Corinthians 2:14)
Just a few months after color television had been introduced into a certain rural area, one fellow wrote a letter to his local TV station complaining that the pictures were still coming to him in black and white. Accusing the management of deliberately misleading the public, he demanded an apology. The TV officials finally were able to explain to this disgruntled man that the color picture could not be picked up by his ordinary black and white TV set. The difficulty, they explained, was not in their transmission but in his receiver.
That reminds me of many people who fail to fully appreciate the Bible. They constantly claim that the Bible falls short of the claims it makes for itself. I’ve concluded that such criticism too often comes from people who simply have bad “receivers.” I Corinthians 2:14 refers to them as “a natural man.” People like this may well appreciate the history of the Bible, the literature of the Bible and even the moral teachings of the Bible, but that’s it. Since they haven’t been properly “tuned in”, it is impossible for them to get the true picture.
When you don’t receive the full communication from God — don’t blame Him. Check your receiver. Admit where the problem really lies. I know that the Bible came directly from God. Occasionally, I’ll have someone say, “Pastor, how can you make that statement?” My answer is pretty simple — Jesus told me. It is on the authority of His word, as the God of the universe, that I am sure that the Bible is the absolute Word of God. Get the proper “receiver” and the picture become crystal clear — and IN COLOR!
Have a great Monday.
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