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INTRODUCTION
To NOT read and know the Word of God, and to not believe and obey, is to be mortal and to know pain, hatred and anger . And then spend eternity in the "Lake of Fire"! And God gives you the freedom to make that choice.
I believe that the Bible is the WORD of God. I believe that every word is true, breathed by God Almighty, Creator of the universe. Some of the Bible was spoken by God Himself, some by the Son of God while he was on earth in human flesh. Some of the Bible was spoken by Prophets, with the Word given to them by the Holy Spirit. But every word of "His WORD" was breathed by the Holy Spirit. The WORD comes directly from God.
Reading His Word through from start to finish is a great exercise for both those who have never read the Bible as well as devout Christians who have studied the Bible for years. It puts everything in chronological context, and follows God's progressive revelation of Himself from start to finish. You need to read ALL of the Word of God. You need to learn who God is, learn who Jesus is, learn who the Holy Spirit is, and learn to BELIEVE that God created and controls the universe, and that His Holy Spirit is available to enter our bodies, wash our souls clean from sin, and dwell within our bodies, making us strong against temptation, filling our hearts with love for others, and compassion for those who are lost! If you don't know God, read the Old Testament, and know the Old Testament God. If you don't know Jesus (the second person of the Trinity), read the New Testament, and come to know the New Testament God (the same God, but revealed progressively further, revealing tender and compassionate love). If you don't know the Holy Spirit, He is revealed throughout the entire Bible, and is the third Person of the Trinity. Read both the Old and the New Testaments. If you have trouble understanding the three Persons of the One True God, know that it is IMPOSSIBLE for the human mind to comprehend. Think of God as someone with a "multiple personality disorder", but in God's case, it is a "multiple personality ORDER". Then, move on with your reading of "His WORD". If you want to live eternally in Paradise with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit; then read the New Testament: especially John 3:3, John 3:5-6, John 3:16, John 3:18, Matthew 6:9-15. If you don't understand the Bible (the "WORD"), and do not know how to apply it to your life today, read His "WORD" (the Bible) from start to finish, and have the meaning and application revealed to you by the Holy Spirit during prayer and meditation. Before you read, pray that the Holy Spirit reveals to you the meaning of what you are reading, and how to apply it to you, personally, that very day, that very moment. Then read just one chapter. Then mediate, and listen for the Holy Spirit speak by putting thoughts into your mind. (Be careful that it is not Satan putting the thoughts in your mind,
for Satan is the Great Deceiver.
If the thoughts or desires conflict with anything in the
of The Word of God, the thought is not from the Holy Spirit.) Psalms and Proverbs are wonderful, but do not fit into the chronological and progressive revelation of God, which you will want to follow. They stand on their own, and we will read them last. I offer notes when it seems advisable for me to do so, and offer to you what the Holy Spirit revealed to me as an application to my life, on that specific day, at that specific moment. Mine is not the only application, of course, and may not apply to you and your life at all. Only the Holy Spirit, in His infinite wisdom, knows exactly how to apply this Truth to your life today. Pray for Him to do so, and He
will. So, in the hope that you will come to know God, believe His Son Jesus, and be filled with the Holy Spirit, cleansing you of sin and filling you with true joy, love for others and compassion for the lost, I pray that you read His WORD. His EVERY Word. In Christ, Clyde D. Pope, A. I. A.
Please send me your Prayer Requests.
Please, do not make any contributions to this ministry. As Paul says in Acts 20: 33, "I am paying my own way". I do not want anyone to think I have done this exercise in hopes to receive money, for that would surely make you question my motives and sincerity. I have done this exercise to obey the "Great Commission" given to Christians by Jesus Christ in Matthew 28: 19-20. I will be going physically, also, but I realize that the technology of computers and "The Information Superhighway" (the Internet), will be a way to "travel everywhere, and in nano-seconds, to take God's Word to those who already know it, to those who don't know it but would like to know it, and to those who have, for all their lives, rejected the existence of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Churches, and Christians.
The Law of Gravity applies to you, even if you do not believe in gravity. If you violate the law of gravity, you will fall. If you fall a small distance, the pain will be small. And if you fall a great distance, the pain will be great. But your pain will be temporary. Likewise, the Law of God applies to you, even if you do not believe in God. If you violate the Law of God, you will fall a great distance. The pain will be great, and it will NOT be temporary. The pain will last FOREVER. To avoid eternal pain, you must read God's Word, learn God's Laws, and obey them PERFECTLY.
Let us, for the sake of argument, say that you DON'T believe in God and that I DO believe in God. And, for the sake of argument, let's pretend that you are RIGHT and I am WRONG. Then, when my body dies, I will never know that I was wrong and you were right, for all will have ended for me! However, in the meantime, I will have lived my life among very loving people who are trying very hard to obey Jesus' Laws: "love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength", and "love others as you love yourself". Then, for the sake of argument, let's pretend that you are WRONG, and I am RIGHT. When your body dies, you will spend eternity in the "Lake of Fire". And you will have lived a very unpleasant life as a human, with every other human trying to get you before you get them. And all you will have known is pain, anger, and hatred. Quite unpleasant! Forever!
"Well", you might argue, "don't talk to me about religion. I am never going to set foot into a church again. Everyone in church is hypocritical. And all the churches really want is money. That is all they talk about". No! The church does not want YOUR money. God wants part of HIS money BACK! 10% of the money He GAVE you, He wants back! It is "seed" money for efforts to reach other lost people. It is also a test to show God that He is truly your God, and that you love him with all your heart, mind, and soul worship Him . God gave you everything you have. What good would your money do you if there were no oxygen in the air, or an atmosphere to filter out the UVA and UVB rays and to moderate the temperature? What if you had no roof over your head to keep off the rays of the sun, the drops of the rain, and the gentle, cold flakes of the snow (or hard, cold spheres of sleet or hail)? What if there were no fruits, vegetables, grains, fish, birds, and animals to eat and water to drink? What if there were no reproduction to produce children to continue the human race? What if you were born without legs, arms, hands, lungs, mouth, eyes, and/or ears? Some people are born that way, you know! Were you? Or was God generous to you? If you give God back 10% of what He gave you, that leaves you with 90% to live on. And, because of the REST of what God gave you, you CAN live! (Anyway, you're probably wasting at least 10% or more on things like good foods, good restaurants, parties, bars, movies, cars, horse races, gambling, cigarettes, alcohol, TV., cars, home, and/or other "stuff" that you think is making you happy, but really is NOT making you happy.) You will actually find the happiness you are seeking if you gave God back His 10% share of His money. AND, if you tithe (give 10% back), God will "open the gates of Heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you will not be able to take it in." Malachi 3:10. Blessings from God are, by the way, not what you WANT and what you ASK for. Blessings are what God knows you really, really NEED in order to bring you JOY, such as health, loss of pain, the life of a loved one, real happiness, love from others, love for others, children, grandchildren, perhaps a good dog, and much, much more.
So? Which, for the sake of argument, is the smarter way to believe and to live? To live as a human, experiencing anger and hatred, and when your body dies, eternity in the "Lake of Fire"? Or, to receive the Holy Spirit and, when your body dies, live forever in Paradise? Keep in mind, before you make that decision, that things are not going to be soft and peachy as a "growing" Christian. There are additional trials and tribulations given to Christians; the process of "sanctification" (being made gradually a better and better reflection of Jesus) is to be "heated" by God by many trials and tribulations in order to "refine" out the "impurities" and make you "pure", so Jesus can look down on you and see His reflection. (Note: This is how a silversmith knows he has burnt off all the impurities from the silver metal he is working with: the silver is pure when he can look down at the molten metal and see an reflection of himself (this does not happen until ALL the impurities are taken out of the molten material). But, you can enjoy that decision to become a Christian for a very, very long time.
Note: if you thought you had received the Holy Spirit, but had NOT (or "been saved") and had, instead, a very emotional experience, perhaps at a revival, a church, watching a TV evangelist, or receiving a witness from a friend during a time of high stress and personal physical and emotional pain for you, the conversion could have seemed very real because you cried sobs of relief, and those around you were very emotional in their joy for you. You may have joined a church and changed the way you lived, and left the people in your life that were wrong for you, and began to work with and build friendships with people that were good for you. But, you may NOT have been SAVED (received the Holy Spirit and admitted into the Kingdom of God, with your name written in the Book of Life). IF, however, you continue associating with those who ARE in the Kingdom of God, and continue to do good works for others, and continue to study God's Word, go to church, and pray, you are on the right road to eventually being admitted into the Kingdom of God (receiving the Holy Spirit and having your name written into the Book of Life).
You must obey, if you are one of God's chosen children (a Jew), God's 612 Laws given by God to Moses. If you are Christian, you must obey Jesus' two laws: "Love the lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength", and "Love others as much as you love yourself". Jesus said that "this", in a "nutshell", was all the 612 Laws of God, as given to Moses by God on top of Mt. Sinai in a continuous 40 days and 40 nights: the 10 moral laws (which God Himself wrote an two stone tablets and Moses carried down the mountain ), the civil laws, which governed how God's chosen children, Israel, were to treat each other, their employers, their employees, and their slaves; and the ceremonial laws, which governed how God's chosen children, Israel, were to worship Him, praise Him, celebrate Him, and to make blood sacrifices of unblemished animals to redeem them from their sins (human animal desires and actions). And, also in the ceremonial laws, the "scapegoat", on which they were to place their animal sins so the scapegoat could carry their sins into the wilderness (desert) and die there with their sins, so they could be sinless and stand before God (who is Holy, and can not look upon sin) and worship God forever in the sunlight of His face (in Paradise).
Ever since God threw Satan (who was a Arch Angel, but wanted more power than God would allow) out of Paradise, He has been at war with God. The war is being fought on earth (this earth, and perhaps other "earths" or planets), with human animals (and perhaps other types of intelligent beings). Satan wins if he gets His men (possessed by Demons) in control of mankind and keeps from learning about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, thus keeping anyone from being "saved" from the "Lake of Fire". God, however, wins this war with Satan if he presents EVERY human animal on earth with the knowledge that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit exist and created the universe, and the human animal has a CHOICE of receiving the Holy Spirit and move into "the Kingdom of God" (having his name written in the "Book of Life") living for what ever time is left here on earth, and then (for his "soul" or "spirit") FOREVER in Paradise with God. But God must present EVERY human animal with this CHOICE. Every human animal must have the CHOICE. Every human animal must make this CHOICE before God can win the war, shut down the solar system and throw Satan and his Demons into the "Lake of Fire", forever. So a big part of Satan's strategy is to increase the population so fast that it makes it impossible to get the knowledge and the choice to every last man. But getting that knowledge out to everyone MUST be done. That is why missionaries, evangelists, Gideon's, Youth for Christ, the Jesus Film, and Christians work so very hard to "spread the Word" (the knowledge that God, His son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit exist). And why I am using the internet to spread the WORD. Satan MUST lose this war. And the war is not over until absolutely every single human has the knowledge of God and has made the CHOICE.
Now, as to the argument between the "evolution" theory, the "big bang" theory, and the "intelligent design" theory (God): in my opinion, all three are right! Evolution followed the "big bang" and lasted over 16 million (+ or -) years (with God directing the evolution, but with a "day" as stated in the Bible being "a period of time, perhaps millions of years" rather than "24 hours" as we usually think of a "day"). Then God, on the sixth day, "breathed" an everlasting "spirit" or "soul" into a human male animal and a human female animal and named the man "Adam" and the female "Eve". These, and their offspring, became God's "chosen" people. At that very moment a "day" became "one revolution of the planet". A month was "one full moon until the next full moon (one orbit of the moon around the earth)". A year was one winter until the next winter (one orbit of the earth around the sun). Are there other worlds out there with intelligent beings on them? Of course! Do the other intelligent life forms on the other planets in other solar systems and/or other galaxies look like us? Highly improbable. Do all the "souls" or "spirits" look alike? Of course! The same God that created every "world", solar system, galaxy and specie of intelligent creatures also created every "soul" that makes a human animal into what God calls a "man". It is just the body (the "flesh") that will be different, due to the high probability of different planet material mass (gravity intensity), atmosphere, gasses, the sun's size and heat, temperature range, length of "days" (a single rotation of the planet), length of "months" (a single orbit of a moon), length of a "year" (a single orbit of the planet around its sun); the presence of different minerals and chemicals, and in different proportions of the minerals and chemicals that are available to form living plants, insects, reptiles, birds, animals, and human animals. Is this war being played out on any other planets in the universe? Of course! Some have been fought out to completion, and some have not yet started, for their planet is just now going through the evolutionary process. Some are roughly, or perhaps even exactly, at the same place as are we in the process. Some are further along than we are. Some are finished and their sun, planets and moons have burnt up, and the "souls" have gone to the "Kingdom of God" : PARADISE.
OK! If you are a sci-fi fan, as am I, think of "The Kingdom of God" as a "Parallel Universe". Then, all you have to do is take the little white pill (God's "Word") and follow the rabbit down the rabbit hole. The parallel universe is one you can not see, but does exist and is very real. We, as human animals, tend to put our faith on what we can see, smell, taste, hear, and touch, and, as human animals, tend to be quite skeptical about things we cannot detect with five senses. This is the reaction of flesh to physical matter. But, my friends, this world that you see, smell, taste, hear, and touch is NOT the REAL universe. This physical world that we see is the ILLUSION, a parallel universe, or a written computer program wired to your brain. The REAL universe is the "KINGDOM OF GOD" The actual "image" of God is our "soul" (not the human animal). It is the "spirit" dwelling in human animal flesh. It is the flesh that dies and the "spirit" or "soul" that lives on. Now, my "life" (my "soul", which had been "breathed" into my human animal body by God) will live FOREVER in Paradise, for Jesus says in John 6:39 that, "And this is the Will of God, that I should lose not even one of those that He has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the Last Day. For it is my Father's Will that everyone who sees his Son and believes on Him should have eternal life - that I should raise him on the Last Day." So, we hang our hopes of eternal life on "once saved, always saved"? Now all you have to worry about is: "Were you REALLY saved in the first place, or did you just have a very emotional experience due to all your stress, worry, pain, loneliness, and fatigue and got caught up in an emotional revival or evangelical TV "call to the alter". As Billy Graham, bless him, said at the end of ALL his revival services, "Come down, and talk with one of our workers that is waiting to talk to you. Don't wait another minute. Come down and give your heart to Jesus. The cost of becoming a Christian is very great indeed! Once you have received a "soul", you must say goodbye to all your animal desires. But the rewards are ETERNAL.
Perhaps you are uncomfortable with churches right now and don't care to attend. O.K.! Go to God DIRECTLY, and in private, by letting God TALK to you PERSONALLY and PRIVATELY through His WORD. Don't even bother with the church attendance until you feel you really want fellowship of "Saints" [or "Christians"]. If you think that "Christians" actually THINK they are perfect, or "Holier than Thou", then you must come to the conclusion that "Christians" are all hypocrites, because you KNOW that we are not perfect. Well, it might surprise you to learn that "Christians" actually KNOW better than anyone else that they are not perfect, except by the Grace of God, and then, ONLY in the eyes of God, for God wrote the Laws by which we are judged, and He ALONE is our judge. Jesus paid the price to make us perfect in the eyes of the Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe, according to God's own Laws. And Jesus became the "scapegoat" upon which all our sins were placed. Then Jesus (without His body [for He had left his body when His body "died"]) took all our sins to the wilderness [Hell] for us [our souls], so we [our souls] would not have to go to Hell ourselves. Jesus became our "SCAPEGOAT". And while in Hell, Jesus preached the "Good News" (that if they believed that He was the Son of God and asked for their sins to be forgiven in His name then God would forgive their sins) to all the souls in Hell (in Purgatory [or "holding station"]), giving any who would believe and ask forgiveness a chance to leave Hell and go, instead, to Paradise.
What "Christians" know is that churches are actually spiritual hospitals, where "Christians" go for spiritual healing, and to love each other, and to help each other to heal and to grow and mature as Christians. However, if you already attend church faithfully, reading God's Word from START to FINISH is a chance to hear what God has to say to you PERSONALLY (without opinions of your fellow Christians, pastor, Sunday School teacher, denomination, or theological seminary entering into the interpretation).
If you want to know why Christians think their God is the ONLY God, and no other religions are valid, read the Word of God: Exodus 20: 1-6 and Leviticus 20:3-6, 26: 1-45.
If you are not a believer, then I recommend you start with the New Testament. You must already love Jesus and worship God in order to have the patience (in Biblical terms, "Longsuffering") and dedication to read the Old Testament, because you are going to SUFFER a LONG time reading the Old Testament. And just when you think you have finished some story, theme or action, it will be repeated over again, and again, and again. You can be driven to desperation just reading all of the "begets". Just know that, in the Old Testament, among the Jews, there was a whole lot of "begetting" going on (like there is among the Chinese and East Indians today). SEXUAL DRIVE was made by God to be a very strong and driving force in the human animal, as well as all other living things, in order to populate the earth, and bind a man and a wife together as one, having "enjoyment" in their marriage when they cannot afford anything else. And as you read the WORD, starting from the New Testament, just remember that a whole lot happened before Jesus came to earth in human flesh (Jesus, with God and the Holy Spirit, created the universe and the world and caused everything to happen Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3. And, still, today, they are controlling everything good that is happening [or allowing Satan to cause bad things to happen, which God then turns into good for all of those who love Him).
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INSTRUCTIONS 1. Find, borrow, or buy a Bible: A modern translation, such as NEW KING JAMES (a word for word translation), or THE LIVING BIBLE (a phrase for phrase translation). Any Bible-based church will give you a Bible. Just walk in and ask. If you are in jail, the visiting chaplains will also give you a Bible. You may get a New Testament only, and receive the Old AND New Testament only when you pass a test on your understanding of the first chapter of John. But you WILL receive a Bible, if you ask. 2. Set time aside: Allow 15 minutes a day of quite time when you can be alone with God. (If you are not working and you HAVE the TIME, you can read more that one chapter a day. But be sure you give time for PRAYER and MEDITATION on each chapter.) 3. Pray: Thank God for giving us His Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the meaning of His Word to you. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal how to APPLY the meaning to YOUR LIFE, TODAY. 4. Read: If you already know Jesus and worship God, start at Genesis, chapter 1, verse 1. If you do not already love Jesus and worship God, start reading in the New Testament, John 1:1. Read only ONE chapter a day (from the BIBLE, NOT just the part I copied), reading EVERY DAY, (unless you have TIME to pray, read, and meditate on more). Read straight through to The Revelation, chapter 22, verse 21. Do not skip any book, chapter, or verse EXCEPT Psalms and Proverbs. They will be read LAST.
Psalms and Proverbs stand on their own, and do not fit into the CHRONOLOGICAL STORYLINE and PROGRESSIVE REVELATION of God in the Bible, which we want to follow in order to see His Word IN CHRONOLOGICAL CONTEXT. If you started with the New Testament, and now love Jesus and worship God, start reading the Old Testament, and then read the New Testament again. 5. Close: Pray and meditate. Then close your prayer with a COMMITMENT to God of what you are GOING TO DO to apply His Word to your life, TODAY. 6. My notes and applications: These are not required reading. These are examples of what the Holy Spirit has revealed to me as how to apply the meaning to MY life. What you REALLY want is for the Holy Spirit to reveal to YOU the meaning and how to apply it to YOUR LIFE. 7. Time to complete: It will take about 7 years to finish His Word [the Bible] reading one chapter a day. I do NOT recommend proceeding at a faster rate, unless you HAVE the TIME to devote to prayer, reading, and meditation. You need to UNDERSTAND what God has said to you, and MEDIATE upon it, and APPLY it. 8. When finished: Start OVER again, OR start daily devotionals, such as The Upper Room, OR study the Bible in the original Greek, Latin, Arabic or Hebrew language. But, STAY in the Word of God, EVERY DAY, and you will be BLESSED.
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