Call-In Classic Christianity Radio – Bob George P679 (10-14-21)
Call at Any Time. I Am Here for You.
Many times people have questions that they want answers to but do not know who to call or talk to. So it is wonderful to have had a program like this where a person can call and get answers to their questions. Sometimes a question can be about a brother who does not believe the New Testament is accurate and wants to help his brother have confidence that the bible is true and is reliable for truth. Other times a very young believer calls for questions on a passage of scripture he was reading or heard from a church he was visiting, and wants understanding or clarification. Sometimes the question is on how to pray for unsaved loved ones.
Bob shares that the bible is reliable because there are so many copies of them that were meticulously copied by those Israelite scribes. With the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls in recent history that is verifiable. But also by the fact that all those copies were written down within 40 years of the events. That gives credibility to the fact the bible is a reliable book. Also when you think of those writing the scriptures, particularly the New Covenant, they are men who were eyewitnesses of the events that they wrote about. They walked and talked with Jesus. That also gives credibility to the bible.
Sometimes people call in with questions on a certain verse in the bible, whether in Colossians or James or some other book of the bible. In whatever you read and want an answer to, realize that, if you are a child of God, you have the Holy Spirit living in you to reveal the meaning of it to you. As a new believer, you may not have had much time in the word of God, and so you may start reading things that are contrary to what you have been taught most of your life. That is normal. That is a part of having your mind renewed with truth.
Bob George shares here some little pointers to help in the proper interpretation of what we read. The one thing he emphasized was to read entire books of the bible over and over again to get to understand the big picture. This helps you form the overall context, such as why the book was written and who it was written to, and under what covenant it was written or referring to. That way, when you read the individual passage, you can understand it in it’s proper context and come to a proper conclusion.
In the question a caller asked in regard to how to pray for loved ones, Bob George went to explain what prayer really is. It is not a bunch of people getting together to pray for someone so that God is obligated to answer your prayer. No, when you are a child of God, God initiates to you. He puts on your heart what He wants you to pray about. Bob shared the example of Christ Jesus in scripture in how He lived His life on earth. He did nothing of His own initiative, but said what His Father wanted Him to say and how to say it and He did what He saw His Father doing. So prayer is really a dynamic relationship you have with the living God, the same Holy Spirit indwelling Jesus, now indwelling you. If God puts it on your heart to pray for your lost relative, then certainly God wants to use you to be involved in the work He is doing in saving your lost loved one. Whether He uses you or not is not the issue. You are just making yourself available to the living God. If God wants someone else to speak or move on His behalf, praise the Lord for that.
Bob also shared that when a person asks him to pray for someone, he responds that he will pray with you but not for you. He says this because he does not want someone to believe error, that somehow I have a special hotline to God. You too have the same Holy Spirit living in you, and God wants to communicate to you personally as to what He wants you to do or say. I certainly cannot answer that for I am not God. So God wants to speak to you personally. But I can certainly pray with you.
So listen now as Bob George engages in conversation with several callers, to provide helpful support and to help them sort out what a passage of scripture means in context. Listen to the attitude of gratitude as these callers are so appreciative of Bob. And Bob too is certainly appreciative for their call. He has a heart to help people walk in truth and in freedom, to be able to experience the love of God in their interaction with others in life.
