Their Problems and Ours

Introduction

Paul says:

Here Paul suggests reasons why we should study the OT. (OT means Old Testament, the first part of the Bible, which the writers wrote before Jesus’ birth.) The OT is history. It also has stories of people's lives. These great OT stories:

• Teach the mind. (Read 2 Timothy 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 10:11.)
• Encourage the heart. One translation of Romans 15:4 uses this word. The OT stories encourage us. We all have times when we desire some word from God. We know that this would encourage us. It would help us in our difficulties.
• Make the will strong. (Note: The will is the part of us that makes us able to choose). The Holy Spirit gives us the strength to continue when things are hard.

Jerome K. Jerome writes funny books. His most famous one is ‘Three Men in a Boat’. The man who is telling the story visits a library. He wants to know what to do about a minor illness. He finds that he seems to have 101 serious diseases! That is not the purpose of this book! Nobody will have all the problems that are in this book.

But all of us have bad times. We may have problems. We may feel sad. One trouble often leads to another too. Some of the subjects are very similar. They may go with each other. So, fear and worry may go together. But they are separate here. One situation may not be the same as the reader’s. Another one will be. There is something else important. We may not have these difficulties ourselves. But we may need to help people who do have them.

Notes

There are some questions "For Discussion" or for personal thought. They are at the end of each study. The second group of questions are "For More Discussion". They are for those who want to think more about the subject of the study.