[Darris McNeely] The old gentleman met me at the door. I introduced myself as a minister, and then he launched into the reason that he asked me to come. He had been sick – he wanted to be anointed and have a minister of God pray over him and ask God to heal him. But he received a letter that talked about something called an anointed cloth. And the scripture that went along with that letter explained that out of the book of Acts 19:12, the example of the apostle Paul, where Paul healed people, prayed for people, and sent from his own body handkerchiefs and aprons, and people were healed. And that was the basis for the explanation. He didn’t know anything about that. And so, here I was, standing on his front porch on a late summer afternoon, and we were there to answer his question. Well, we did.

And that brings me to number eleven in our keys of understanding the Bible, and it’s a very simple and direct one. Seek guidance from God’s church, from God’s ministry. Seek guidance. Ask questions. Be willing to put yourself out, and if something is not understandable or if you’re seeking deeper counseling about something from the word of God in your life, ask us. We’ll be glad to give you an answer, we’ll be glad to come to your house, we’ll be glad to write and respond in any way, just as I did that night, many years ago, on this gentleman’s front porch. Once we explained to him, and he understood it, we were there, we laid hands on him, we anointed him with oil, we prayed for God’s blessing and healing upon the gentleman, and then went our way.

Sometimes that’s what’s needed. You know, there’s a verse in Romans 10:14-15 in this case, that again, from the apostle Paul, he explains that the human element of the ministry and teachers are important in preaching the gospel and helping people. It says, “How then shall they call on Him” – God – “in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” Well, that night, on that porch in South Carolina, I was a preacher. I was there to help a person understand. That’s been repeated many, many times. Paul goes on, “How shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’”

Do you have a question about the Bible as you’ve been studying it, reading the literature that we sent you from Beyond Today? Or something else is needed in your life? Don’t hesitate to write to us. We have trained, dedicated elders who will respond via the internet, or a hard letter, or as I did those many years ago, what we might call the old-fashioned way, and even come and visit and explain certain things to you, talk to you about the Bible and God’s way of life.

Seek understanding of the Bible by asking for the ministry of God to come and help you in that, just as the Bible shows us to do. It’s an important key of understanding God’s Holy word.

That’s BT Daily. Join us next time.