Archives For Discipleship

How Genesis 7-8 Applies to the CCM Debate

March 2, 2015

Some supporters of CCM assert that because God made music, all instrumental musical styles, including rock music, are necessarily inherently acceptable for use in divine worship. An examination of certain statements in Genesis 7-8 points to why this argument is invalid.

Divine Instruction to Noah about Animals

In preparation for the Flood, God gave Noah specific instructions about the animals that he was to bring into the Ark:

Gen 6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

 20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

Among those animals, he was to bring specified numbers of clean animals and unclean animals:

Gen 7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

 3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

Scripture does not give us any further information about this distinction among the animals, but we can understand the following truths based on this revelation:

  1. The Lord expected Noah to know which animals were unclean and which ones were not and to act accordingly. Scripture does not tell us how Noah would know this information; it may be that God also specified this information to him at this time but chose not to record His doing so.
  2. Scripture does not reveal how or why this distinction among all the animals that God had created originated nor does it explain what this distinction signified concerning in what sense some of the animals were clean and others were unclean; we are simply told that this distinction existed.
  3. Scripture does not tell us whether this distinction had been in place prior to this time or it was established only at this time.

Furthermore, because later revelation shows that God had not yet given animals to humans as food (Gen. 9:3-4), we have no basis for saying that the distinction among the animals at this time had anything to do with human consumption of them as food.

Divine Worship by Noah Using Animals

After the Flood, Noah built an altar to the Lord and worshiped Him by offering burnt offerings on it:

Gen 8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Notice that Noah offered these offerings only from every clean animal and bird—he did not offer any of the unclean animals in his worship of God.

God accepted Noah’s worship that offered to Him only these clean animals and birds (Gen. 8:21) that he had taken on the Ark in obedience to divine directive (Gen. 7:2-3). God blessed Noah and his family after he had worshiped Him (Gen. 9:1ff.), including now giving all animals to them for food (Gen. 9:3).

Strikingly, God then made a covenant with Noah and his sons that Scripture explicitly specifies four times was a covenant that was also with every living creature that was with them in the Ark (Gen. 9:10, 12, 15, 16)—the covenant therefore was also with those unclean animals and birds that were not offered to God in worship to Him!

Discussion

As the Creator, God made everything (Gen. 1), including all living beings (Gen. 1:20-28). After God had made all things, He pronounced that all that He had made was good (Gen. 1:21, 25, 31).

Just prior to the Flood, however, we read that God directed Noah concerning his bringing into the Ark both animals that were clean and animals that were unclean (Gen. 7:2-3). Scripture does not explain how, when, and why some animals received this designation of being unclean and others did not.

After the Flood, we see Noah offering only the clean animals in worship to God, even though God had also made all the unclean ones as good animals when He created them. After Noah had worshiped God, we read that God gave all animals to Noah and his family for food, including those animals that were designated as unclean and not offered in worship to Him.

Based on this biblical data, we see that although every animal that God created was originally pronounced by Him as good, He declared just before the Flood that an unspecified number of them were unclean animals. These unclean animals were not acceptable for use in divine worship even though God created them and pronounced them good at the Creation.

Because, however, God entered into an everlasting covenant with these unclean animals after the Flood—just as He did with the clean ones—we know that their unacceptability for divine worship was not because these animals were of no lasting value to Him. Moreover, because God gave these animals to humans as food after the Flood, we know that their unacceptability for divine worship was not because they were somehow unfit for human consumption.

Application to the CCM Debate

Many supporters of CCM argue that instrumental rock music is both inherently moral music and acceptable for use in divine worship because God created all music. From our study above, however, we have seen that such an argument from Creation is not valid because some of the animals that God created as good at the Creation were for some unspecified reason unclean and unfit for use in divine worship just prior to the Flood.

Even if it were true, therefore, that all instrumental musical styles were inherently good at the Creation because God created all music, it would still not necessarily follow that they all are inherently acceptable today for use in divine worship. Supporters of CCM, therefore, cannot legitimately use an argument from Creation to support their view that using CCM in divine worship is necessarily legitimate because all instrumental musical styles are inherently acceptable to God.

Conclusion

In the debate about the propriety of using CCM in divine worship, many supporters of CCM argue that rock music is inherently fit for use in divine worship because God created music and therefore all musical styles are necessarily acceptable for use in worshiping Him. A close examination of biblical revelation about divine worship in Genesis 8 has shown, however, that it is not true that everything that God created as good at the Creation is necessarily therefore still acceptable for use in worshiping Him. An argument from Creation, therefore, does not prove that God accepts the rock music that those who use CCM in divine worship offer to Him.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In CCM, Interpretation, Music, Theology
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Ten Examples of the Value of Learning Biblical Greek!

February 21, 2015

If you have ever studied New Testament Greek, I think that these ten previous posts would help confirm to you the truth that using Biblical Greek is very valuable for understanding the Bible and the things of God better!

A Good Example of the Value of Learning NT Greek

Paul’s Commission to Proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God!

The Teaching of Nature (1 Cor. 11:14-15)

Haman, Head Coverings, and First Corinthians 11:1-16

Who Did John the Baptist Identify Jesus to Be

Understanding the Biblical Use of “Dunamai” More Accurately

God Made Jesus Both Lord and Christ

The King’s Words about Everlasting Fire

Interpreting the Word “Lord” in the NT

The “Sabbath” Psalms

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Biblical Greek, Biblical Languages, Interpretation, Theology
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Learning from Philip as a Witness of Christ

February 13, 2015

Acts 1:8 records that Jesus instructed His disciples to be witnesses of Him to the whole world. The rest of the book relates many accounts of their bearing witness to Him and for Him.

For many reasons, Acts 8 is a uniquely important chapter in the book of Acts for our understanding of being a witness of Christ:

—Shows how not just the apostles, but also other believers were witnesses of Christ (Acts 8:4)

—Has key statements about how believers initially witnessed of Christ to people outside of Jerusalem (Acts 8:1, 4)

—Has far more occurrences of forms of a key verb for preaching the gospel (euaggelizomai) than any other chapter of the book of Acts has (Acts 8:4, 12, 25, 35, 40)

—Provides the only inspired record of the gospel ministry of the only person named as an evangelist in Scripture (Acts 8:5-13; 26-40)

—Provides a crucial statement about the dual-faceted nature of sound gospel preaching (Acts 8:12)

—Records vital apostolic instruction about the necessity of repentance and prayer for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 8:22)

—Relates the vital importance of believers’ helping people understand what that they have been reading from Scripture but have not understood properly (Acts 8:30-35)

—Underscores the importance of confronting people with their need to have hearts that are right in the sight of God (Acts 8:20-23; 37)

Because God has given us Acts 8 to teach us so many important truths that vitally equip all believers for doing the good works of evangelizing and making disciples of the world, we need to profit from it as fully as possible. Because this chapter uniquely provides us with an extensive record of the evangelist Philip as a witness of Christ, we all as believers need especially to learn from Philip how God wants us to be witnesses of Christ.

If you will be in the Greenville area on this Sunday and are looking for a church to attend, I would like to invite you to come hear my message this Sunday morning that will explain these things further.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Discipleship, Evangelism, Preaching
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Beware This “News Report” Approach to Using John 11 in Evangelism!

February 9, 2015

This morning, I used a creative approach with some other believers to help them understand better how many believers have not rightly understood why Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead the way that He did. I believe that a vast number of believers need to understand this key point and then use that understanding to adjust in a very important way their use of John 11 in evangelizing people.

An Imaginary News Report of Jesus’ Raising Lazarus from the Dead

Imagine that a news crew from a leading TV network is able to go back in time to videotape one key Bible event, and they choose when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. This crew has the ability to record what takes place without any of the people even seeing that they are present.

As they watch Jesus and others coming to the tomb, they choose to begin recording only at the exact moment when He actually commands Lazarus to come forth. Getting what they want on tape, they return to the present to share their highly selective eyewitness account with the world.

On a prime time news program, they present the stunning video, which instantly creates a worldwide sensation. As teams of news reporters and analysts all around the world go back and forth discussing the remarkable footage, leading news anchors here in the US carry on a torrid debate about what the world should make of this miraculous event.

The Internet explodes with a never-before-seen deluge of discussion on social media. Many bloggers chime in with their take on what significance the world should attach to seeing Jesus do something that no one else had ever been recorded doing—raising a person back to life who had been dead for four days!

Everywhere, people fiercely dispute why Jesus did what He did the way that He did it and what His doing so reveals about who He was. An endless stream of world leaders, political and religious, gives their opinions on whether they believe that the video proves that Jesus was God.

All too often, many Christians have evangelized people by using the account of Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead in a very similar way to what I concocted in this hypothetical story. By focusing on a very small portion of the Bible record about this event, they have in many cases not given people a right understanding of why Jesus raised Lazarus the way that He did and what His doing so shows about who He was.

The Foreground Significance of Jesus’ Raising Lazarus the Way That He Did

An examination of the Holy Spirit’s inspired report of what happened shows clearly how this has been the case. When John relates to us what happened immediately before Jesus commanded Lazarus to come out of the grave, he says,

Joh 11:38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

 39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

 40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

Only after relating these events does John tell us the very selective part that the fictitious news story I gave above provided:

43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

 44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

Had the Spirit only inspired John to write verses 43-44 after he had given enough preceding material to give the basic information about the setting of this event, the news report would have been a more valid representation of what took place on this occasion. John, however, provided vital information in the verses immediately preceding verses 43 and 44 that the news report failed to provide.

Right before Jesus commanded Lazarus to come forth, John says that Jesus lifted up His eyes and talked aloud with God the Father (John 11:41). In this conversation, Jesus thanked the Father for hearing Him and for His always hearing Him. These statements show that Jesus communicated that He had prayed to the Father just before His raising Lazarus from the dead and that the Father had heard His prayer, just as He always had done before this event!

Moreover, John then recorded that Jesus then remarked to the Father, “But because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 11:42). Here John reports from the mouth of Jesus Himself what is the key to understanding why Jesus raised Lazarus the way that He did—He wanted the people to believe the vital truth that the Father had sent Him!

Saying this, Jesus told all those who were present on that occasion that the foreground significance of His raising Lazarus the way that He did was that people would believe that God the Father had sent Him! What He Himself said prior to what He was about to do thus made known that His intent through this miraculous event did not have proving His own deity as its foremost significance.

Yes, what He did testified to His deity but that clearly was not the sum total of what this event testified about Him. In fact, by Jesus’ own statement that John relates, we know that His own deity was not even the foremost truth to which His raising Lazarus the way that He did gave witness to His original audience.

How We Must Use John 11 Properly in Evangelism

As we have seen, this conversation between Jesus and the Father about His hearing Jesus’ prayer was a vital facet of this miracle that the news report completely left out. What Jesus testified about His purpose for doing this miracle the way that He did it is also a vital facet of this event that many, many believers do not account for when they use this account to witness to people.

In using John 11 in evangelism, we must not use this “news report” approach to sharing this glorious event with lost people. We must rather faithfully tell them that Jesus raised Lazarus the way that He did so that they will believe that the Father sent Him!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Evangelism, Exhortation, Exposition, Theology
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Are You Rightly Receiving the Bible in Your Life?

January 29, 2015

Paul ends Second Timothy 3 with a profound statement that is rightly stressed for what it teaches about the inspiration of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16). An examination of that statement in its surrounding context provides crucial understanding that every believer needs to have in order that he would be rightly receiving the Bible in his life.

Scripture Makes People Wise unto Salvation

Paul taught Timothy that the holy Scriptures were able to make him wise unto salvation through faith that is in Jesus Christ:

2Ti 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

This statement shows that genuine salvation results in a person’s life from his contact with the Bible only if he allows it to impart to him the wisdom that he lacks. Specifically, he must accept God’s wisdom that Scripture reveals to him by believing what the Scripture presents to him about Jesus Christ.

People who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ through the ministry of the Bible that they receive are people who reject divine wisdom that is essential for salvation. Until a person repents of such rejection, he will never rightly receive the Bible in his life.

Scripture Profits Believers unto All Good Works

When a person repents toward God and believes in Jesus Christ through rightly receiving the Scripture in his life, he is saved. After his salvation, God intends for him to continue rightly receiving the Bible in his life:

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Here Paul taught Timothy that as a believer in Jesus Christ, he was to receive profit from all Scripture such that it all would perfect him as a man of God. Paul then expanded on how Scripture was to perfect Timothy as a man of God by telling him that through his rightly receiving all Scripture in his life, Timothy would be thoroughly furnished for all good works.

By concluding this teaching as he did, Paul expressed that God’s intent for providing the entirety of the Bible to every believer was so that he would be fully equipped to do all the good works that God wants him to do! Saying this, Paul taught the profound truth that a believer’s doing all the good works that God intends for him to do is the essential outcome that must result from his contact with all Scripture.

When a believer is not doing all the good works in his life that God wants him to do, he shows that he is not rightly receiving the Bible in his life. He must repent and believe what Scripture teaches him about all the good works that he is to do.

Conclusion

We must all assess ourselves with all diligence to see if we are rightly receiving the Bible in our lives. To whatever extent we are failing to do all the good works that God wants us to do, we are not rightly receiving the Bible in our lives.

Are you rightly receiving the Bible in your life?

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Discipleship, Exposition, Theology
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Like Jesus from Childhood to Death!

January 24, 2015

Two profound statements in Scripture about Jesus arrest my attention nearly every time I read them:

Luk 2:40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

The first shows that as a child who was waxing strong in Spirit and filled with wisdom, Jesus had the grace of God upon Him. The second shows that Jesus tasted death for every man by the grace of God.

Comparing these two verses, we see that Jesus—both as a sinless child and as a dying Christ who died for our sins—was what He was by the grace of God! Obviously, these verses do not have as their primary focus that Jesus Himself was “very God of very God” because God does not need grace to be or do anything.

Yes, Jesus was “very God of very God,” but these verses forcefully teach us that we must not make that glorious truth the sum total of our understanding of Jesus’ life from childhood to death. A theology and practice that mostly overlooks or ignores the biblical teaching about the grace of God in Jesus’ life is a distorted and unbiblical theology and practice.

Although He was fully God Himself, Jesus yet both lived and died by the grace of God that was upon Him! Let us take great encouragement from these truths that we can be like Jesus (in the ways that we can and should be) from childhood to death by the grace of God!

Praise God for His marvelous grace that He pours out on all who repent toward Him and believe in His Son!

 

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Exhortation, Interpretation, Theology
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A Key Recommendation Based on the Profound Glory of Theophilus

January 17, 2015

(I took this post down temporarily to correct an unintentional but serious factual error that I made originally: Because Moses wrote the Pentateuch, he, and not Luke, wrote far more of the Bible than any other writer of Scripture did.

I apologize for the inaccuracy of this post in its original form. Here is the corrected post.)

Analyzing in various ways the 66 books that the Holy Spirit inspired holy men of God to write reveals some striking and instructive facts about Scripture. After listing several of these facts, this post presents a key recommendation that stems from the profound distinction that Theophilus has among all people that have ever lived.

Noteworthy Facts about Scripture

1. The book of Psalms has the most chapters (150), verses (2,461), and words (43,738) of any single book of the Bible.1 Psalms is the only book of Scripture that we know with certainty was written by multiple authors.

We also know that many of the individual Psalms were written especially for specific people (the choir director, etc.). Moreover, we do not have any explicit indication that all the Psalms were specifically addressed initially to any one individual.

2. Moses wrote five books of the Bible, Genesis-Deuteronomy. These books combined comprise 5,852 verses and 156,736 words.

Moses authored far more verses and words of the Scripture than did any other author.2 Although his five books were for the children of Israel and were to be read to them, the books do not explicitly say that they were written for any specific individual.

3. Paul wrote 13 books of Scripture, far more than any other author of Scripture did. The Pauline Epistles comprise 2,033 verses and 43,487 words, which are both slightly less than the corresponding numbers for Psalms.

Paul addressed some of his epistles to individuals and others to groups of people, which means no single individual (or group) was the divinely intended initial recipient of all of Paul’s writings.

4. Although Luke wrote far fewer books than Paul and Moses did, and the combined size of his two books (Luke and Acts) is far less than the totals for the works of Moses, Luke’s writings are greater in both words (50,184 versus 43,487) and verses (2,158 versus 2,033) than the Pauline Epistles are when they are treated as a unit.

Compared to Psalms, although Luke-Acts has fewer verses (2,158) than the Psalms (2,461), it has more words than Psalms does (50,184 [Lk-Acts] versus 43,738 [Psalms]).

Although Luke wrote far fewer verses and words of Scripture than Moses did, he did write more of the New Testament than any other writer did.3

Luke wrote both of his books to the same man, Theophilus.

The following table helps us see further the significance of these facts:

Books of Scripture

The Profound Glory of Theophilus

The analysis of Scripture above underscores the biblical importance of Luke-Acts in comparison with the writings of other major contributors to Scripture. When we then also take into account that Scripture informs us explicitly that both Luke and Acts were written to the same person (Theophilus), we learn that God inspired far more Scripture to be written to Theophilus than He did to any other human being that has ever lived!

Moreover, Theophilus is the only person to whom we know with certainty God directed that two genres of Scripture be written (a Gospel; Acts). These facts show that the vast numbers of believers who have never thoroughly studied Luke-Acts as a unit should do so in order that they might be blessed in the same way that God blessed Theophilus by bestowing upon him the profound glory of being the initial recipient of Luke-Acts!

1All basic statistics in this post are for the books in English in the KJV and are based on the Detailed Stats available in the Search Statistics Window of BibleWorks 7.

2Moses also wrote Psalm 90, so the totals for the numbers of the verses and words that he wrote are actually greater than this but those additional verses and words do not affect the comparisons made in this post in any significant way.

3If Paul also wrote Hebrews, his writings would total 2,336 verses and 50,392 words. Paul would then have written more words of Scripture than Luke did, but he still would have written far less of Scripture than did Moses.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Bible reading, Theology
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Why Do Some Editions of the KJV Do This in Acts 11:12?

January 13, 2015

I have read Acts 10:1-11:18 more than 50 times over the past 25 years. In spite of all those previous readings of this passage, I observed something a few days ago while reading an edition of the KJV that I have never noticed before in Acts 11:12.

What I observed still puzzles me because so far I have not been able to figure out any good reason for why this edition of the KJV (as well as some others) has a clear reference to the Holy Spirit printed the way that it does in Acts 11:12. To understand the issue with how this text reads in this edition, we first have to look at an earlier text in Acts 10 that directly ties to 11:12 in a very close way.

A Clear Reference to the Holy Spirit in Acts 10:19-20 That Is Capitalized

In Act 10, Luke relates at length how God worked in the lives of both Cornelius and Peter to bring Peter to Caesarea to evangelize Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:1-25). As part of God’s remarkable supernatural work to bring about this encounter, Peter testifies to direct divine revelation that was verbally given to him by the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:19).

In the Broadman and Holman Publishers 1988 Bilingual edition that has the Santa Biblia and the Holy Bible in parallel columns,1 Acts 10:19 reads this way:

Act 10:19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.

 20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.

The Holy Spirit (Acts 10:19) directed Peter to go with the three men who had come to him from Cornelius and even told him that He had personally sent them Himself (Acts 10:20)! Because to pneuma in this verse is indisputably a reference to the Holy Spirit and not Peter’s own human spirit, editions of the KJV that have the word spirit capitalized here have correctly rendered it so.

A Clear Reference to the Holy Spirit in Acts 11:12 That Is Not Capitalized

As part of his testimony that explained why he went in to uncircumcised people and ate with them (Acts 11:2-3), Peter testified that the Holy Spirit had directed him to go with the men that had come to him. In the B&H 1988 Bilingual edition, Acts 11:12 is printed as follows:

Act 11:12 And the spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house:

 13 And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;

Notice that verse 12 has “spirit” in it in a statement that is Luke’s recording Peter testifying about precisely the same event that Luke speaks of in Acts 10:19-20. Unquestionably, the word spirit in this verse is a reference to the Holy Spirit yet this edition of the KJV has “Spirit” in Acts 10:19 but “spirit” in Acts 11:12.

Why Is This Difference in Capitalization Present in Some Editions of the KJV?

This difference in capitalization does not (and could not) have anything to do with differences in manuscript readings, such as textual variants, etc. Why then is this puzzling difference present in some editions of the KJV?2

If you have any reasonable ideas for why some editions of the KJV do this, I would appreciate hearing from you.

1Copyright 1988 Holman Bible Publishers.

2Two other editions that I have that have this same difference in these readings are the Riverside Book & Bible House Holy Bible Old and New Testaments in the King James Version (Printed in England by Eyre and Spottiswoode Limited Her Majesty’s Printers, London) and The Gideons International 1977 Edition of The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ with Psalms and Proverbs (Copyright 1968 by National Publishing Company Philadelphia, Pa.).

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Bible reading, Biblical Languages
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20,000 Views of My Site (according to Jetpack)!

January 5, 2015

A few minutes ago, the Site Stats utility on Jetpack registered that I now have had 20,000 views of my site overall since I started using Jetpack to track views on my site. Although the actual overall number that I have had is no doubt higher because I did not have Jetpack until quite some time after I began to post on my blog, I am encouraged by having objective information about reaching at least this milestone! Praise God!

20000 Views

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Ministry, Testimony
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Una breve testimonio sobre la lectura de la Biblia

January 5, 2015

Me convertí en un cristiano en algún momento durante la primera semana de enero de 1990. Es difícil de creer que era hace 25 años ahora!

Dios se ha mantenido fiel a mí todos estos años, a pesar de mi continuamente en su defecto. En esta mi cumpleaños espiritual vigésimoquinto, me gustaría dar las gracias y alabar al Padre de las luces, que es el dador de todo don bueno y perfecto, por darme una nueva vida en Cristo Jesús (Santiago 1:17-18)!

Estoy muy agradecido por haber tenido el privilegio de leer la Biblia completa al menos una vez cada año de mi vida cristiana hasta el momento. Gracias, Padre Celestial, por ponerme en un país donde tuve la oportunidad de tener la libertad de hacerlo!

En mis primeros veinticuatro años como creyente, he leído la Biblia en Inglés cada año. El año pasado fue especial porque yo era capaz por primera vez de leer toda la Biblia en español!

Después de haber tenido sólo un semestre de español en la secundaria y estudiar español por mi cuenta tan sólo los últimos tres años, por lo que es a través de la Biblia en español en el año 2014 fue especialmente alentador y es un testimonio del poder de Dios para otorgar capacidad especial para los quienes Él dirige a servirle en sus caminos inescrutables.

Dios mediante, espero poder hacerlo a través de la Biblia de nuevo en Inglés en 2015. Tengo pensado también para que lea como gran parte de la Biblia en español como pueda este año.

Si usted es un cristiano, me gustaría animarle fuertemente a hacer lo que usted necesita y puede hacer legítimamente para leer toda la Biblia en 2015. Que Dios nos dé la gracia, el deseo, la diligencia, la disciplina, la fidelidad y la perseverancia para hacerlo para Su gloria eterna y nuestro mayor bien!

¡Gloria a Dios!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Spanish, Testimony
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