TODAYS BIBLE READING:
 

History contains both good and bad, but must be understood accordingly as we can learn from both examples. To rewrite or ignore the past, is to destroy the roots. No tree ever grows without roots. Our nation cannot grow without it's roots.

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Multiple times in Scripture the author gives a history lesson which is important since just as now, people have a tendency to forget their past. There were three important feasts every year in the Jewish calendar according to the Law, one was the Feast of Tabernacles. We read in Nehemiah 8:17, after Ezra read aloud the Book of the Law of Moses, "So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so...". Realize this represents a time frame of approximately 700 years. They then give, in chapter 9, an accurate representation of their history. They start off appropriately in 9:5-6, "Stand up and bless the Lord your God Forever and ever! Blessed be Your glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise! You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven,...". Their history begins and ends with God, and all glory must go to Him. The leaders then go on to recount all the marvelous things that God did for the nation of Israel from Abraham, to Moses and the desert wanderings, to the present. What is important is they did not rewrite the history. What was depicted in Scripture stood as their undeniable source and was not altered. They also did not romanticize their forefathers but clearly presented them, as we read in 9:16, "But they and our fathers acted proudly, Hardened their necks, And did not heed Your commandments." They were taking personal responsibility for their circumstances rather than blaming God.

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As Christians the case is the same. While the Bible was once the Book used to teach all children how to read, we now live in times of extreme Biblical illiteracy. Many if not most Christians do not know their source of truth and are therefore liable to be led astray. Many now consider themselves Agnostic, yet refuse to examine the only Book which can steer them into a true relationship with Christ. Jesus gives the beautiful picture of "The True Vine" in John 15. We read in John 15:4-6, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned." Christians cannot exist without Jesus, who has been accurately presented in the Bible. It is impossible to abide in a vine that we don't know. Many wonder why their faith seems to falter so easily, but choose to seek the only solution there is, a true relationship with The Vine. For this we need the full cover-to-cover story as written in all 66 books of the Bible. We cannot just stay in the New Testament, or dabble in short daily devotionals, or concentrate in our favorite areas. All Scripture is inspired (2 Timothy 3:16). If we want direction, peace and truth, remember Jesus' words in John 8:31-32, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."