Introduction

I was conflicted about what to name my blog, because I'm not very creative. However, as I thought about the primary focus of my life and ministry, two defining elements surfaced: The Word and the Spirit. Hence, my url name: thespiritfilledlife; and the title of this blog: Exploring the Word. Without God's Word and without His Spirit we will ultimately follow "the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air...gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts." (Ephesians 2:2-3 NIV) or as the ESV states, "carrying out the desires of the body and the mind."

My hope is to blog about things that God has been revealing to me in His Word as I study throughout the week, so that somehow those who read this blog might be encouraged in their faith in their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. You should know, up front, however, that I have not been formerly trained in any seminary and I do not pretend to be any sort of Hebrew or Greek scholar. I am a lay Bible teacher who studies the Scriptures and reads extensively, especially Bible commentary and academic books and articles. Some of my favorite Bible scholars include the late F.F. Bruce, Gordon Fee, Clinton Arnold, Craig Keener, Bruce Waltke, John Walton, C. John Collins, I. Howard Marshall, Wayne Grudem, Michael Green, Walter Kaiser, and many others from the Evangelical world. I also have an interest in the Jewish roots of Christianity and in Judaism itself. Consequently, I consult works by Brad H. Young, Marvin Wilson, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Arnold Fructhenbaum, Joseph Telushkin, David Bivin, and others. In particular, my favorite resource in these regards is Everyman's Talmud written by Abraham Cohen, an early 20th century Jewish scholar. Why is this important? I'm not sure, but I thought I should share it anyway.

So, what's the bottom line? I'm very sincere about living in the power and ministry of the Holy Spirit, discipling and being discipled by others - whether in person or through writing. We all build upon the faith and work of others. No one of us is able to grasp the mysteries of the Scriptures without the help of others...and that, only by the Holy Spirit's ministry in our lives. That's why I believe Paul encouraged the church at Colosse to "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom..." (3:16 RSV) and again he told the believers in Rome "I myself am convinced...that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another." (15:14 ESV) All of this falls back on Paul's word to the Ephesian church to "submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." (5:21 NIV), which lends to living a Spirit-filled life (see v. 5:18) I hope to pass on any knowledge, wisdom, or revelation I've received so that our faith might be strengthened together and that we "may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature attaining to the whole measure of Christ." (Ephesians 4:12-13 NIV)

Thanks for taking the time to read this and may the Shalom of God be yours in abundance as you seek to know Him more.