tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400340423678181828.post2425737597170375781..comments2023-10-04T18:01:43.464-05:00Comments on Dads Teach the Bible: ForcingMike Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05971102076711413290noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400340423678181828.post-8215990977596338152013-03-30T15:41:41.915-05:002013-03-30T15:41:41.915-05:00I fear that when I'm in that kind of position,...I fear that when I'm in that kind of position, frequently, and it's usually when I have an issue I'm trying to drive, it comes from a simple (and terribly ungodly) internal source - arrogance.<br /><br />Studying Matthew 16 this week, just started this AM. I was already stopped right away with the situation in vs.5-12 where the disciples had forgotten bread for their boat trip across the Lake, focused on the Jesus' phrases in vs.9 and 11 - "do you not yet understand or remember...," and "How is it that you do not understand...?" Hummm....<br /><br />Obviously the disciples were in a developmental pattern under Jesus and Matthew seems to be willing to point that out. It's not the first time they had heard these words. In Ch.15:16, responding to Peter's request for Jesus to interpret a recent parable, "Are you still lacking in understanding also?" Jesus seems to have expected that would by now. Ch.'s 13 contain the parables of Jesus' Kingdom sometimes with explanations. Yet they didn't understand as much as He expected they would.<br /><br />Why not? Obviously we probably can't know for sure. For one thing, though, in Ch.16 they seemed to be struggling to put Jesus' words into their own situations. Of course that's important for us to do with the the truths of Scripture. But until I first observe and understand what the Spirit is teaching, I can't but fall off the track.<br /><br /> For me, beneath it all unless I am willing to take the time and follow the process to let the Spirit teach me I can only read my own faulty understanding into the truth and out comes confusion at best but even worse misunderstanding followed by misapplication. It helps me to try and ask myself, "Why are you responding this way to this issue?" Sadly it's frequently an unpleasant answer if I'm even willing to hear it at all.<br /><br />This is not really an answer to Mike's post as much as my own confession.... chuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04631165961382647198noreply@blogger.com