Spiritual understanding

Luke 24: 35 - 48

...he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures..

Jesus was the first and greatest Bible teacher! He not only taught information, but by his Spirit, he granted the gift of spiritual understanding to his hearers! In this day and age, we teach many things in Bible study classes, but we sometimes find that lives are not transformed - this is a constant concern of those who teach the Word. Maybe we ought to ask whether or not those attending earnestly ask the Lord for "open minds". There is only that much that can be 'taught' by humans when it comes to spiritual matters. In fact, we who teach should consider ourselves guides, or maybe catalysts.....for those we teach. At the end of the day, it is the Lord who "opens minds (and hearts) to understand the Scriptures".

It is interesting how the Risen Lord meets his frightened disciples. At that time, they were huddled in a room, fearing for their own lives, should they be recognized as his followers. He granted the gift of "encounter" before he proceeded to start the "Bible class"!! He knew their fears, their questions and addressed these in order to gain their trust and attention. Sometimes, I wonder whether our Bible students are blocked by their fears and doubts that we fail to address..........Simply piling up information will not be effective, when our hearers are struggling through personal issues. Maybe, just maybe, we ought to pay some attention to helping people encounter the Lord, and personally ask for "open minds". Let us trust that as we wait upon the Lord, he will dispel doubts and maybe even grant each person a unique sense of the reality of his presence.