"Why You Must Read Scripture for Yourself"

Scripture is vital to our walk with God. Without Scripture it is impossible to walk with God as we understand the Power of this Universe. To say that other forms of "theology" are powerless is to operate in a form of 'myopic spiritual vision' in that there are spiritual laws and precepts that are universal due to the very existance of the Spirit Realm. It is for this reason, for example, that there are Eastern Faiths and other faiths or forms of spiritualism that effect results in the Natural Realm. However, the Walk of God is the most powerful, life altering and destiny changing that I have experienced both personally and in the real time lives of others that I have been honoured to meet.

This Walk of God can only really occur via Jesus Christ...who is, in fact, Scripture. The reality is that we must study Scripture for ourselves and allow the Spirit of God to teach us and inform us---even beyond  what Church and Society says is the meaning and application of Scripture. Church is infiltrated with animosity, blindspots, national, local &  microcultural teachings and nuances that lead us off the path of unity with the God of Creation who loves you so much that He sent Himself in the form of Jesus to bring our connection to Him back to where it began in the Garden of Eden.
It is written that God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. This Group is open to all because I am not led of God to create another Company of individuals of like minded People. We must grow and to grow in Spirit we must be able to understand the teachings and experiences of others such that through them you come to understand where you are congruent in your understanding of who and what you are combined with what God is attempting to do with you. Churches limit your horizons and so also limit your destiny.

For example, Churches are now teaching : "Christians in Recovery" for those with addiction issues. I am asking all of you this question "Where in Scripture does the Word of God say that we are stuck in who we are in the beginning of this journey?"
Let me put this question another way: "Where do we see one example (Old Covenant or New Covenant) where God's Word does not completely change a man/woman into something new (not clean)?" So why is the Church teaching "recovery"? A false doctrine from the sphere of the so called sciences.

2Kings 5 - Naaman is completely cured of leprosy. 1Kings 17 into 2Kings - Elijah (Eliais) and Elisha combined have recorded 3 occasions where they brought dead people back to life among 48 miracles.

I can go on citing examples. However, brevity seems to be in order. So let me close: people are confused because of Church teaching both historical & current Church teachings and applications. History clearly teaches that it was Christians and Catholic Nations that went about "colonizing" the world (Africa, Australia, Asia, North/Central/South America) and exterminating cultures and indeed whole populations of people in the "Name of God". Nations used God to rationaize and justify "pirating away" at others---even within their own European populations ( see 30 Years and 100 Years Wars).

This is no reason to throw God away merely because there are those that use their "religion" to 'sanitize' there self centered ways. God is God and you have one opertunity to get right with Him. That oppertunity is prior to your going back to the spirit realm (dying). However, you must not waste your time procrastinating because you have been sent to do a work for the Kingdom. Now not everybody is called to be a Bishop/ArchBishop, Pastor or such. Any positive work we do is Kingdom work and I will delve into that at a later time. Many are called to be regular people ( if such a term exists in the Kingdom) that are examples for others to quietly follow, for example.


In conclusion---read the Bible and stop judging the God and His book based upon the silly application of what people have done "in the name of religion". They will have to answer for that.  You will have to give an answer for all you do and fail to do. Amen. Be blessed.

Bro Richard...... 
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Question: "Why is it important to study the Bible in context? What is wrong with taking verses out of context?"      (Source of this Question and Answer---www.gotquestion.org)

Answer:
It's important to study Bible passages and stories within their context. Taking verses out of context leads to all kinds of error and misunderstanding. Understanding context begins with four principles: literal meaning (what it says), historical setting (the events of the story, to whom is it addressed, and how it was understood at that time), grammar (the immediate sentence and paragraph within which a word or phrase is found) and synthesis (comparing it with other parts of Scripture for a fuller meaning). Context is crucial to biblical exegesis in that it is one of its most important fundamentals. After we account for the literal, historical, and grammatical nature of a passage, we must then focus on the outline and structure of the book, then the chapter, then the paragraph. All of these things refer to "context." To illustrate, it is like looking at Google Maps and zooming in  on one house.

Taking phrases and verses out of context always leads to misunderstanding. For instance, taking the phrase "God is love" (1 John 4:7-16) out of its context, we might come away thinking that our God loves everything and everyone at all times with a gushing, romantic love. But in its literal and grammatical context, “love” here refers to agape love, the essence of which is sacrifice for the benefit of another, not a sentimental, romantic love. The historical context is also crucial, because John was addressing believers in the first century church and instructing them not on God’s love per se, but on how to identify true believers from false professors. True love—the sacrificial, beneficial kind—is the mark of the true believer (v. 7), those who do not love do not belong to God (v. 8), God loved us before we loved Him (vv. 9-10), and all of this is why we should love one another and thereby prove that we are His (v. 11-12).

Furthermore, considering the phrase "God is love" in the context of all of Scripture (synthesis) will keep us from coming to the false, and all-too-common, conclusion that God is only love or that His love is greater than all His other attributes, which is simply not the case. We know from many other passages that God is also holy and righteous, faithful and trustworthy, graceful and merciful, kind and compassionate, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, and many, many other things. We also know from other passages that God not only loves, but He also hates.

The Bible is the Word of God, literally "God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16), and we are commanded
 to ready, study, and understand it through the use of good Bible study methods and always with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to guide us (1 Corinthians 2:14). Our study is greatly enhanced by maintaining diligence in the use of context because it is quite easy come to wrong conclusions by taking phrases and verses out of context. It is not difficult to point out places that seemingly contradict other portions of Scripture, but if we carefully look at their context and use the entirety of Scripture as a reference, we can understand the meaning of a passage. “Context is king” means that the context often drives the meaning of a phrase. To ignore context is to put ourselves at a tremendous disadvantage