I follow Professor James Tour on youtube. He emails me reports on his evangelistic outreaches also. He was raised a secular Jew but received Christ as a young man. Why am I telling you this? Read on.........
I have never met Jim Tour. I've listened to the reports on the amazing developments that he and his research team have come up with over decades. I also discovered that he has a heart for the lost that he sees as far more important than his research. I've discovered a little about Jim Tour the man. I'd like to meet him in person and one day I will. Probably in the next life, not this one.
If all I read was copies of his 800+ research papers, I would know much about his work (not that I would understand it). I would not know the man himself. It is possible to regard the Bible as information only. Many do. But eternal life is knowing Jesus, not knowing about Jesus. I hope you can see the difference.
To change the analogy, a doctor must undergo years of training to learn what symptoms are caused by a particular condition. His knowledge is useless if it is not applied correctly. Heart medicine is of no use to someone with kidney problems.
We can have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Bible, but that is information. What we need also is revelation. This is the difference between "logos" and "rhema". "Logos" is like the pharmacy that dispenses medicines. "Rhema" is the remedy for the individual condition.
It's good to know the book of the Lord. It is essential to know the Lord of the book. It is not those who know about Jesus who have eternal life. It is those who know Him in their hearts.
"Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." (John 17:3)
How do you get to know someone? Spend time with them. Start each day with Jesus, seek Him with all your heart, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. There are no shortcuts to knowing Jesus. He is far more willing to reveal Himself to us than we are to seek Him. Remember always that he loves you so much that He willingly gave up His position as God, took on human form and died for you. He befriends sinners. Will we, the sinners, become His friend?
I have never met Jim Tour. I've listened to the reports on the amazing developments that he and his research team have come up with over decades. I also discovered that he has a heart for the lost that he sees as far more important than his research. I've discovered a little about Jim Tour the man. I'd like to meet him in person and one day I will. Probably in the next life, not this one.
If all I read was copies of his 800+ research papers, I would know much about his work (not that I would understand it). I would not know the man himself. It is possible to regard the Bible as information only. Many do. But eternal life is knowing Jesus, not knowing about Jesus. I hope you can see the difference.
To change the analogy, a doctor must undergo years of training to learn what symptoms are caused by a particular condition. His knowledge is useless if it is not applied correctly. Heart medicine is of no use to someone with kidney problems.
We can have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Bible, but that is information. What we need also is revelation. This is the difference between "logos" and "rhema". "Logos" is like the pharmacy that dispenses medicines. "Rhema" is the remedy for the individual condition.
It's good to know the book of the Lord. It is essential to know the Lord of the book. It is not those who know about Jesus who have eternal life. It is those who know Him in their hearts.
"Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." (John 17:3)
How do you get to know someone? Spend time with them. Start each day with Jesus, seek Him with all your heart, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. There are no shortcuts to knowing Jesus. He is far more willing to reveal Himself to us than we are to seek Him. Remember always that he loves you so much that He willingly gave up His position as God, took on human form and died for you. He befriends sinners. Will we, the sinners, become His friend?
