It's hard to say where this all began. When I think about my past and how it relates to the Bible, my interest has always been there. I can remember when I was a child and I started to read the Bible on our back porch. There was a table on the back porch and I had pulled up a chair and began to read. I don't recall what I was reading at the time but I do remember this incident.
It was quiet that day considering that I have 4 brothers and a sister. Two are younger and my sister and two brothers are older, one deceased now. It was a peaceful day and I could focus on what I was reading. Paul says in his writings that he will be known as he has been known. As my time comes I will know all about myself as I have been known. I will know in that day what I was reading and the complete circumstances of this event.
There I was, reading my Bible and in the background I heard my mother calling. I wanted to be still and quiet and not answer my mother. I wanted to continue reading this Bible and learn from it. Rude awakening. I would venture to say that I may have been around 6 to 8 years old. My mother called me a couple more times until she found me sitting at the table reading. She did not hesitate to take a belt and began to whip my behind because I did not answer her when she called. She asked me why I did not answer her and I told her that I was reading the Bible. I thought that reading the Bible was supposed to negate or take precedence over all other responses. Preachers go into their studies and meditate to prepare their sermons. They are not disturbed. I felt that I was not to be disturbed since I was reading the Bible.
I recall this memory because as I look back over my life from my vantage point today, I remember specific times when I have attempted to read the Bible. I don't think since that time I picked up the book again until I was in high school.
I told myself that I wanted to be a priest when I was in high school. My instructors set me aside and put me in the advanced class. This way my studies could increase in preparation for entering a college that would prepare me for the priesthood. I had no root within myself for the seed to grow. With the extra studies and college preparation I advanced in my class and finished second highest in my class. Yet during the short three year period from the time of my confession to enter the priesthood my mind was changed. I had set myself up for a position that I could not maintain. My classmates viewed me as an oddity, and my desire to become a priest failed, died on the vine.
Many years later, after being forced from my good government job, due to intense pressure and dislike by the customers I was supposed to service, I found myself falling from my position of top dog, as my wife called me. You see I had managed for some 8 to 10 years to increase my earnings above that of my good government job such that I was able to provide my wife with a really good life. We traveled, we eat out at expensive restaurants, we went to concerts and had the best seats, we had money in the bank, and life was good. But then the market crashed and real estate tanked and I was left holding the bag with no cash. My friends dumped me on the curb holding the bag of cash with nothing in it and the cops are pulling up around the corner. That is how bad my life turned around.
So after two to three years of trying to recover from my real estate high by trying to work online with mystery shopping I was about at my end. I pray every morning and evening diligently. I attended church on a regular basis and gave tithes as I saw fit. But I did not know God. While praying one evening before going to bed, I heard a still voice within me saying to read the Bible. I had always made plans to read the Bible but never got around to having the time to read it. I figured that I needed to be settled financially and emotionally before I could be in a frame of mind to be able to understand and comprehend it. So I did nothing.
Again, a couple of days later I heard that voice again saying read the Bible. This time I got it out and started to read. Here is the amazing thing to me. I HAD A BIBLE. My mother had purchased a very expensive Bible some 15 years prior and I HAD IT. My mother died in 1994 but somehow among all of her possessions I had the Bible. I look back and I do not understand how that happened. I remember when she purchased it in the early '60s when we moved to our own house. I was just starting high school. So I guess it followed me. When the time came I had a Bible to read.
I am telling all of this to say how I came to begin to read the Bible and how this all began. The Highlighted New Testament Bible just happened. I did not have a great idea and decided to make this new Bible. This work came about as a result of my reading journey through the New Testament.
I started out with my church bulletin in the weekly Bible reading section. It was easy to read one verse from a book of the Bible and another from a different book. I then started to watch preachers on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and The Church Channel. I made video tapes of the sermons so I could go back and review sections and capture Bible passages. After a while this got to be so tedious and confusing that I stopped doing both. I found that I could read the Bible like a good book. I began with Matthew and read through to Revelations.
While reading I would make copies of passages I liked and keep them in my pocket during the day. This way I could take them with me, keep them in the forefront of my mind during the day, and meditate on their meaning while working. I would get up early in the morning, 3 to 4 AM, and spend time reading for an hour or two. I stopped spending a lot of time in front of the TV and no longer had a desire to watch some of my favorite programs. What came of all this is what is called THE HIGHLIGHTED NEW TESTAMENT BIBLE. I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I do.
It was quiet that day considering that I have 4 brothers and a sister. Two are younger and my sister and two brothers are older, one deceased now. It was a peaceful day and I could focus on what I was reading. Paul says in his writings that he will be known as he has been known. As my time comes I will know all about myself as I have been known. I will know in that day what I was reading and the complete circumstances of this event.
There I was, reading my Bible and in the background I heard my mother calling. I wanted to be still and quiet and not answer my mother. I wanted to continue reading this Bible and learn from it. Rude awakening. I would venture to say that I may have been around 6 to 8 years old. My mother called me a couple more times until she found me sitting at the table reading. She did not hesitate to take a belt and began to whip my behind because I did not answer her when she called. She asked me why I did not answer her and I told her that I was reading the Bible. I thought that reading the Bible was supposed to negate or take precedence over all other responses. Preachers go into their studies and meditate to prepare their sermons. They are not disturbed. I felt that I was not to be disturbed since I was reading the Bible.
I recall this memory because as I look back over my life from my vantage point today, I remember specific times when I have attempted to read the Bible. I don't think since that time I picked up the book again until I was in high school.
I told myself that I wanted to be a priest when I was in high school. My instructors set me aside and put me in the advanced class. This way my studies could increase in preparation for entering a college that would prepare me for the priesthood. I had no root within myself for the seed to grow. With the extra studies and college preparation I advanced in my class and finished second highest in my class. Yet during the short three year period from the time of my confession to enter the priesthood my mind was changed. I had set myself up for a position that I could not maintain. My classmates viewed me as an oddity, and my desire to become a priest failed, died on the vine.
Many years later, after being forced from my good government job, due to intense pressure and dislike by the customers I was supposed to service, I found myself falling from my position of top dog, as my wife called me. You see I had managed for some 8 to 10 years to increase my earnings above that of my good government job such that I was able to provide my wife with a really good life. We traveled, we eat out at expensive restaurants, we went to concerts and had the best seats, we had money in the bank, and life was good. But then the market crashed and real estate tanked and I was left holding the bag with no cash. My friends dumped me on the curb holding the bag of cash with nothing in it and the cops are pulling up around the corner. That is how bad my life turned around.
So after two to three years of trying to recover from my real estate high by trying to work online with mystery shopping I was about at my end. I pray every morning and evening diligently. I attended church on a regular basis and gave tithes as I saw fit. But I did not know God. While praying one evening before going to bed, I heard a still voice within me saying to read the Bible. I had always made plans to read the Bible but never got around to having the time to read it. I figured that I needed to be settled financially and emotionally before I could be in a frame of mind to be able to understand and comprehend it. So I did nothing.
Again, a couple of days later I heard that voice again saying read the Bible. This time I got it out and started to read. Here is the amazing thing to me. I HAD A BIBLE. My mother had purchased a very expensive Bible some 15 years prior and I HAD IT. My mother died in 1994 but somehow among all of her possessions I had the Bible. I look back and I do not understand how that happened. I remember when she purchased it in the early '60s when we moved to our own house. I was just starting high school. So I guess it followed me. When the time came I had a Bible to read.
I am telling all of this to say how I came to begin to read the Bible and how this all began. The Highlighted New Testament Bible just happened. I did not have a great idea and decided to make this new Bible. This work came about as a result of my reading journey through the New Testament.
I started out with my church bulletin in the weekly Bible reading section. It was easy to read one verse from a book of the Bible and another from a different book. I then started to watch preachers on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and The Church Channel. I made video tapes of the sermons so I could go back and review sections and capture Bible passages. After a while this got to be so tedious and confusing that I stopped doing both. I found that I could read the Bible like a good book. I began with Matthew and read through to Revelations.
While reading I would make copies of passages I liked and keep them in my pocket during the day. This way I could take them with me, keep them in the forefront of my mind during the day, and meditate on their meaning while working. I would get up early in the morning, 3 to 4 AM, and spend time reading for an hour or two. I stopped spending a lot of time in front of the TV and no longer had a desire to watch some of my favorite programs. What came of all this is what is called THE HIGHLIGHTED NEW TESTAMENT BIBLE. I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I do.
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