For many decades I read the Bible constantly, sometimes several times a year. But when God began to reveal to me alternative readings of Scripture (see Cost of Knowing Truth, Encouragement to Continue and But What About . . .?), I confess that I really ceased to read the Bible as I had previously. I would only read what God was bringing to my remembrance at the time. When I would read an entire book of the Bible, I would become confused and afraid as I attempted to understand what I was reading. So I spent a lot of my time reading and listening to those who didn’t have the orthodox upbringing that I had and who could see in all Scripture the “true God” that Jesus revealed and prayed that we would know.
The Greatest Deception
If I do not know that I and my Father are one,
(John 10:30) as Jesus knew it and prayed in John 17 that we would also know it, I will have a separate sense of self. In other words, I think that I am a separate self which I must preserve and protect —OR I must somehow persuade God (who is separate from me) to preserve and protect me. When I pray, I’m not asking for the Holy Spirit which is promised to those who ask (Luke 11:13) to guide me into all Truth (which is God). I am rather asking for that which I can consume upon my lust
to preserve the life I think I have responsibility for (James 4:3).