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Three Things You Didn't Know About the Bible
by Abby Kelly How well do you know your Bible? Are you ready for some tricky questions? 1. How many disciples do you think Jesus had? I bet you can name 12. Me too: Peter, James, John, Matthew, Judas, Simon, Nathaniel, Judas Iscariot, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew and Thomas. Well, you're right, we know the names of 12 of Jesus' disciples. However, Luke 10:1 tells us there were many more. "After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go." The word disciple actually just means, "a learner or pupil". Using that broad definition there were many people who could have been called Christ's disciples. But even using a limited definition, meaning that a disciple was someone who followed Jesus and shared the Gospel about Him, the Bible mentions at least 82 disciples. 2. Did you know that the Bible tells you to take care of your pet? We all know that the Bible tells us to love other people, to think of others as more important than ourselves and to take care of the needs of the poor. But the Bible also talks about how God feels about animals. Matthew 10:29 says, "Aren't two sparrows sold for a penny? Not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's permission." Because we want to be like Jesus, it's important for us to take good care of our pets too. Proverbs 12:10 says, "A righteous person cares even about the life of his animals, but the compassion of wicked people is nothing but cruelty." 3. What about Mark and Luke? Going back to the first question about disciples, it's pretty easy to understand why Matthew and John wrote their books. As for the book of Mark, most Bible scholars still aren't sure. Some think that he was a friend of Peter. Others think it was someone else who collected information from a wide variety of sources. But from the very first chapter, Luke tells us who he is and that he is writing this book for a friend named, Theophilus. "Many have attempted to write about what had taken place among us. They received their information from those who had been eyewitnesses and servants of God's word from the beginning, and they passed it on to us. I, too, have followed everything closely from the beginning. So I thought it would be a good idea to write an orderly account for Your Excellency, Theophilus. In this way you will know that what you've been told is true." (Luke 1:1-4) Luke was actually a doctor and believed to be a friend of Paul. Unlike Matthew and John, he'd never actually met Jesus face-to-face. However, Luke believed that Jesus was the Messiah and he desperately wanted Theophilus, to believe in Jesus too. So, even though he knew there would be many other books about Jesus, he picked up his own pen and wrote a letter sharing everything he knew about Jesus. So, did you know the answer to those three questions? Perhaps the third one gives us the most to think about. Do you know people who do not believe in Jesus? Are you waiting because you think someone else will tell them? Take a lesson from Lukedon't leave it to someone else. Call your friend, go for a visit or write them a letter. Tell them the very best news you've ever heard. P.S. (Did you know that the word Gospel means "good news"?) Learn more about me on my website: http://predatory-lies.com/about-me/ Please find my book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Predatory-Lies-Anorexia-Kelly-ebook/dp/B00HFGMBJA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389645006&sr=8-1&keywords=predatory+lies Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |