| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Writing and Reading” Our Bible verse for today: “The people here (Berea) were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Acts 17:11 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Reading people are knowing people” John Wesley was a pastor, theologian, traveling evangelist, and church-planter in the Church of England in the 1700s. Together with his brother Charles they developed what came to be known as the Methodist denomination of churches. John Wesley was a scholar. He was also a strong advocate for teaching Bible study methods and encouraging Christians to develop the habit of daily Bible study, as well as the spiritual reading of good Christian literature. To this day the system of study known as “Wesleyan Theology” places a heavy emphasis on intensive personal discipleship. He wrote, “It cannot be that people should grow in grace unless they give themselves to reading. A reading people will always be a knowing people.” His point was that if you are not a reading person, a person who digs into subjects and discovers the answers for yourself, you will always have to rely on what you are told by others. And that being the case, you will never know for sure if what you are being told is entirely true and accurate, because you didn’t take the time or make the effort to check it out for yourself. In Acts chapter seventeen Paul and Silas were in Thessalonica preaching and teaching – promoting the Word of God and the cause of Christ. But the people there were only marginally interested and not very receptive. So, when a different group came in and argued against the teaching of Paul, the Thessalonians were easily misled and they turned against him. Paul and Silas then went to the town of Berea and there they found a different quality of people. The people were students and they were eager to hear what Paul and Silas had to say. The big difference between the people in Berea and the people in Thessalonica is that the Bereans did their own study. Once they heard from Paul and Silas, they dug into the Scripture to verify what they were being taught. Luke’s point in the passage is that reading and deep study made all the difference. For all the years I lived in San Diego, my favorite Christian bookstore was called “Berean Christian Bookstore”, in honor of the Bereans in Acts 17. They were a reading people, and consequently they were a knowing people. May that be true of us as well. God bless, Pastor Jim |
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