I have my favorite verses, coming back to them often. And I have favorite blogs that I return to again and again for insight into the Bible. One of those is Abundant Life Now by author Robert Lloyd Russell, whose books are available online. You’ll find his site listed on this page as one of the blogs I visit regularly.
Why introduce him now? Because of something a friend said about sermons and Bible verses: “I need to know how to apply them to my life.”
When I blog, I write what I’m thinking about. Usually it applies to me, what I need to receive from the verse, what I think about it or how I apply it. It’s personal, not instructional as to a biblical truth or discipleship. Abundant Life Now is a completely different premise, the purpose defined by the author:
The intent of this blog is to present concise information about Christian living, foundational Christian truth, and how to share the Christian faith.He’s not alone, either. There are many places on the web offering similar. Yet, I believe the local church is the best place to learn about foundational Christian truth and sharing our Christian faith. That’s what Paul did on his missionary journeys, sit up local churches. His letters to those churches offer the best information about Christian living.
It would do me – or you – absolutely no good to list all of that information. That would simply copy all of the apostles’ letters. The best way is for each individual to read them over and over, get acquainted with the concepts and find the ones applicable to the present situation. It’s very helpful to attend services where the congregation receives both expository and topical sermons.
Expository would be where a specific verse or chapter is read, studied and reviewed. Not the same depth as exegesis, where the text is critically studied in depth for significance or relevance. Different from topical preaching, where a subject is covered using a number of texts relating to a specific topic.
Looking back, I’ve used both styles – spending time with a specific chapter, then at other times using a number of verses to explain how I see a specific topic. Either way, they are personal views, not designed to do more than share – my love for the scriptures, and how I see those scriptures in my own life.
How do you see scriptures in your life? I find them to contain a truth Jesus spoke to those who sought to kill Him:
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. (John 5:39 KJV)
I was just clicking on the links on the side bar to your blogs you visit and every single one comes up with a page full of Chinese looking letters and numbers. No blog or site at all.
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