All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17

"Many Christians remain in bondage to fears and anxieties simply because they do not avail themselves of the Discipline of study. They may be faithful in church attendance and earnest in fulfilling their religious duties and still they are not changed. I am not here speaking only of those who are going through mere religious forms, but those who are genuinely seeking to worship and obey Jesus Christ as Lord and Master. They may sing with gusto, pray in the Spirit, live as obediently as they know how, ... and yet the tenor of their lives remains unchanged. Why? Because they have never taken up one of the central ways God uses to changes us: study." (Richard Foster)

After a week off, your weekly Update is back... and there was a great lesson to update this past week! Welcome to the new folks, as well. I hope you find this attachment an encouraging reminder of what we covered last Sunday in ABF in addition to something to prompt your devotional/quiet time during the mid-week.

Last Sunday's ABF Recap:
rg & mk

This past week served as our Intro to Mark. Matt began by emphasizing the importance of studying the scriptures. The Richard Foster quote above set the stage, as well as John Ortberg's line: "I have never known someone leading a spiritually transformed life who had not been deeply saturated in Scripture." But why is it important, and specifically for our upcoming series, why study Mark? Why take the time to work through this book of the Bible?

To arrive at the answer, a foundation was laid. We were challenged to summarize the Bible in one line or phrase. Some answers offered were

Love Letter	Guide Book
A source of history and practical wisdom.	The Foundation of Christianity
A history of God and his plan for man.	The revelation of who God is.

So in answer to the question, "Why study Mark?" the answer is, "Because it will reveal to us who God is." This is very different from every other world religion. Other world religions have, to one extent or another, at their core the philosophy that one must work to please his god/gods (recall Paul's sermon stemming from the altar to the Unknown God). But what Mark (and the other Gospels) reveal is that we don't have to live in fear, wondering if we've adequately pleased God, but rather that God wants to reveal Himself to us and to have relationship with us because He loves us.

Can we trust that the Mark that we have today is the real revelation of God that was written 2000 years ago? We answered that one, too.

The Bible is both Inspired and Inerrant.

From the official HCC library of definitions:

Verbal Plenary Inspiration denotes the work of God of superintending human authors so that using their own individual personalities and styles, they composed and recorded God's revelation to man it the words of the original autographs.

Inerrancy: The Bible in its original autographs and correctly interpreted is entirely true and never false in all it affirms, whether that relates to doctrine or ethics or to the social, physical, or life sciences.

We don't have to rely on blind faith to believe that the Bible is God's Word to us.

From Lee Strobel's The Case For Christ*:
I once thought the gospels were merely religious propaganda, hopelessly tainted by overactive imaginations and evangelistic zeal. But Craig Blomberg of Denver Seminary, on of the country's foremost authorities on the biographies of Jesus, built a convincing case that they reflect eyewitness testimony and bear the unmistakable earmarks of accuracy. So early are these accounts of Jesus' life that they cannot be explained away as legendary invention. "Within the first two years of his death," Blomberg said, "significant numbers of Jesus' followers seem to have formulated a doctrine of the atonement, were convinced that he had been raised from the dead in bodily form, associated Jesus with God, and believed they found support for all these convictions in the Old Testament." A study indicates that there was nowhere near enough time for legend to have developed and wiped out a solid core of historical truth.

There are three tests that are applied to all historical documents that, when applied to the Bible, give us great confidence that the Bible that we have today is just what the LORD spoke thousands of years ago. These tests are:

1. the Internal Test - Does the document make sense in and of itself? Are there any contradictions within the text of the document?

   The modern New Testament is 99.5 percent free of textual discrepancies, with no major Christian doctrines in doubt. The criteria used by the early church to determine which books should be considered authoritative have ensured that we possess the best records about Jesus.*

2. the External Test - Does the document fit with what we know from archaeology & ancient history, science, and fulfilled prophecy (if applicable).

   John McRay, a professor of archaeology for more than fifteen years and author of Archaeology and the New Testament, said there's no question that archaeological findings have enhanced the New Testament's credibility. No discover has ever disproved a biblical reference. Further, archaeology has established that Luke, who wrote about one-quarter of the New Testament, was an especially careful historian. Concluded one expert: "If Luke was so painstakingly accurate in his historical reporting [of minor details], on what logical basis may we assume he was credulous or inaccurate in his reporting of matters that were far more important, not only to him but to others as well?" Like, for instance, the resurrection of Jesus -- the event that authenticated his claim to being the unique Son of God.*

3. the Bibliographic Test - How many copies are available of the document, and how closely in terms of time to the original text were they made?

   World-class scholar Bruce Metzger, professor emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary, said that compared with other ancient documents, there is an unprecedented number of New Testament manuscripts and that they can be dated extremely close to the original writings.*

(For elaboration on these tests, visit these sites: The Reliability of the Bible & Is The Bible Reliable?; or check out these books: The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel, or The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict, by Josh McDowell.)

After applying these tests, we find that the Bible is reliable. And if the Bible is reliable, then it must be taken seriously, and its claims must be dealt with, specifically the resurrection and the empty tomb.

In light of this powerful evidence for the reliability of the scriptures, when we consider that the Bible is the revelation of God, we must ask ourselves, "Why not study this document?"

Over the next couple of months, we'll take Mark chapter by chapter and dig deep to find what the LORD has to say to us from this Gospel. This week's assignment is to read Mark 1, and pay special attention to the stories of The Calling of the First Disciples (14-20) & Healing the Man with Leprosy (40-45).

If you've been meaning to make Bible study a greater part of your life, take advantage of this series as Matt mines through Mark.

• Wyatt Hunter McGlone was born to Patrick and Marissa last week. He was 5 weeks premature and has been in the hospital since. The latest news is that he may be able to come home this weekend!
• Several of our number have been laid off of work recently, and others are looking fore new jobs to take a pre-emptive strike. Pray for the LORD to provide both opportunity and encouragement.
• Aynsley's sister recently became engaged, and there have been some struggles with the engagement. Aynsley specifically requested prayer for the LORD to help her give good advice to her sister when she asks.
• Jessica Kiel's sister is due in April. Jessica asked for prayer for a healthy delivery.
• Staci Szugye's has a healing arm and an 8-month-old to care for.
• My brother-in-law started a new business in January and I'm asking for prayer for the LORD to provide clients for him.
• Many marriages are represented within the ABF. Pray for healthy, God-honoring marriages.
• Matt Koons, and the rest of HCC's leadership.
• (If you shared a prayer request on Sunday in the breakout groups and do not see it listed here, please submit it in the form below so that I can know it is okay to share with the ABF as a whole.)

From The Book of Common Prayer:

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from thy ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of thy Word, Jesus Christ thy Son; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Asking God For More Of His Spirit
Rich Nathan

One of the marks of the great men and women in both the Bible and the history of the church was that they all wanted to experience more of God -- more of God's love, more of God's power, more of God's holiness, joy and comfort. The psalmist wrote in Ps 42:1-2:

...As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

One wonders if the fact that so many of us Christians find ourselves drawn into trivial pursuits and illicit pleasures indicates that we are satisfying our thirst with what is not God.

Jesus certainly thought that it was possible for a Christian believer to gain more of God. Indeed, the gospel of Luke commands us to "ask, seek, and knock" that we might experience a greater filling with the Holy Spirit in Luke 11.9-13:

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened. "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

For those who object and say, "I have received all that I need of God in salvation," I would respond and say, "Fantastic!" But has all that you received of God become real in your experience? Can you honestly say that in your experience you are currently "filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy" (1 Pt. 1.8)? Would you say that you go through your days filled with "the peace of God which transcends all understanding" (Phil. 4.7)? Are you presently experiencing "God's love poured out in your heart through the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 5.5)?

These scriptures (and dozens more the like them) are not just creedal statements for us to believe. They point to the promised experiences that every Christian may enjoy!

Certainly the Apostle Paul believed it was possible to gain more of God. So he cried out:

I want to know Christ - yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, (Phil. 3.10).

Consider this: Here is the Apostle Paul, who saw the risen Christ on the road to Damascus; who was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things; who had the privilege of being used by God to raise the dead and see thousands come to know Christ, yet, this same Paul confesses, "I have barely scratched the surface concerning this infinitely beautiful, extraordinarily wonderful person named Jesus -- oh, that I might know him better!"

One of the great Bible teachers of the 20th century, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, once thundered at Christians who claim to have it all, who claim there is nothing more of God to receive and experience, "Got it all? I simply ask in the name of God, why then are you as you are? If you have got it all, why are you unlike the New Testament Christians? Got it all? Got it all at your conversion? Well where is it, I ask?"

Second Blessing or One Hundred and Second Blessing?
Many people who have taught that it was possible to have more of God's presence and power in our experience have taught that Christians need to ask for a second blessing -- an experience of God following salvation that will result in greater holiness or greater power, or the release of spiritual gifts, or some other greater manifestation of God in one's life. I love Anglican Bishop David Pytches' response to whether he believed in second blessings. "Yes," he said, "I believe in the second blessing -- it comes after the first and before the third."

In other words, God has many, many experiences of himself to share with us. My first kiss with my wife, Marlene, was not my last (praise God!). We have had multiple experiences of love. The same disciples who were filled on Pentecost (Acts 2.14) were filled and refilled again and again (Acts 4.8, 31) (See also the experience of Paul in Acts 9.17, 13.9).

Ask for More of the Holy Spirit
It is impossible to be the woman or man that God intends us to be without more of God in our lives! It is impossible to fulfill Jesus' call to heal the sick, cast out demons, preach the gospel, or do justice without more of the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to feel God's love, to know that we are daughters and sons of the living God and to live in that reality without more of the Holy Spirit. Ask God for more. Be grateful, but don't ever be satisfied with what you have experienced of God. Let's imitate the Apostle Paul, who after a quarter century of walking intimately with God, cried out saying:

I want to know Christ - yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

More love! More power! More of you, Lord, in our lives!

Don't miss our series from Mark over the next number of weeks. Come hear what God wants to say to you through these lessons.

Enjoy your week. Send an encouraging e-mail to a friend.

RG