Before telling you something about the goal of the Aramean Bible Study Group Knock&Seek, first I would like to inform you about the very beginning of the Bible Study Group Knock&Seek. We started the group in 1995 in the Mor Yuhannen Church in Hengelo, in Holland. The members of the group ranging from 14 up 18 years age, were in the beginning mainly boys. A few months later, also some girls began to pay some interest to the Biblical issues. The group was growing up to 30 and sometimes 40 persons. The Bible Study endured 3 years! We studied up to 100 biblical issues, a lot of questions were answered.

Now, almost 5 years later, many of those boys and girls now visiting the Universities spread over the whole country. The idea was born to build up the Bible Study via the Internet, but than also in English.

The goal of the Bible Study Group Knock&Seek is bipartite, namely:

The Bible says,, The Lord protects honest people, but destroys who do wrong,, (Proverbs 10:29)

Our Lord Jesus says,, My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never die. No one can snatch them away from Me" (John 10:27)

1. The Bible, the Standard.

Dear reader, I hope that from the denomination of the "Bible Study Group Knock & Seek" become clear, that our goal is to study the Bible. This means that the Bible, the Word of God, the main guide is in our live. That means that: "We destroy false arguments; we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). And in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 we read "Put all things to the test: keep what is good and avoid every kind of evil "

The knowledge of God, that is the truth, is revealed in the Holy Book the Bible. Each Christian, irrespective of his duty, race and origin, has to use the word of God, the holy Bible, as the leader in his life in order to lead a life in accordance with the wiliness of the Lord. So, a true Christian will put all thoughts, ideas, models and opinions and captive it to obey the Lord. If this is in agreement with the Bible, a Christian should accept that idea, thought, model or opinion. If that is not the case, he should reject it! In connection with this, apostle Paul is telling us in Galatians 1:20 : "What I write is true. God knows that I am not lying!" . Our Lord Jesus Christ says about Himself: "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me" (John 14:6). As a result of this, Apostle Paul tells: "For it is not ourselves that we preach; we preach Jesus Christ as Lord…..(2 Corinthians 4:5). This true is Jesus, who is revealed in the Bible. That is the reason why we have to follow the truth and concentrate our eyes on Him as the Bible makes clear in Hebrew 3:1 where we read: " My Christian brothers, who also have been called by God! Think of Jesus, whom God sent to be the High Priest of the faith we profess". The aim of our life is obeying Jesus Christ! Also Jesus is demanding this from us as we can read in Matthew 10:38 "Whoever tries to gain his own life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will gain it." This is exactly what the apostles of the Lord have done. Their aim was never to make people happy, but to preach the truth, that means Jesus Christ. They were not interested to get offers from the people or to get a good reputation, no, dear reader, they were always obeying the wiliness of God! The Apostle Paul says: "Does this sound as if I am trying to win man’s approval? No indeed! What I want is God’s approval! Am I trying to be popular with men? If I were still trying to do so, I would not be a servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10). And in Philippians 3:8-9 we read: "Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For this sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere refuse, so that I may gain Christ and be completely united with Him."

Not the approval of the humans is important, not the ideas or the knowledge of the men, or the intelligent or whatsoever, but the unconditionally approval of God is the most important case a Christian should do. That is also the reason when we read,, Some people keep on doing good, and seek glory, honour, and immortal life; to them God will give eternal live. Other people are selfish and reject what is right, in order to follow what is wrong; on them God will pour out His anger and fury (Romans 2:7-8). Obeying the word of God is the most important assignment the Christian has to do! The apostle have thrown everything away in order to follow Jesus Christ. His goal in his life was getting closer to Jesus Christ and to be united with Him. Obeying the "world" and the Lord God are two different ways, which cannot be united together. Due to the previous we read in James 4:4 "Unfaithful people! Don’t you know that to be the world’s friend means to be God’s enemy? " And in James 4:5 we read: "Don’t think that there is no truth in the scripture that says. "The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires"

The previous story is applicable for every Christian, who want to became closer to the Lord God. So, dear reader, our Standard is the Holy Book the Bible. Each issue, idea, proposal, suggestion and theory we first have to test it on the basis of the Standard. When the idea pass the standard, means that this is in agreement with the wiliness of the Lord God.

We are aware of our responsibility towards the Lord God. We try always to be alert to watch over the Holy Bible and test ourselves to the Standard. That is also the reason when we read in 2Corinthians 13:5 "Put yourselves to the test and judge yourselves, to find out whether you are living in faith "

The Holy Book is not just a "toy" which you can play with it! No, dear reader, certainly Not! In the Holy Bible is the Majesty, the Holiness and the Almighty of the Lord God revealed, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who deserves all honour and dignity in the infinity, Amen.

We are judging constantly ourselves to the Standard, which is the Holy Book, to see if our life is in agreement with the wiliness of the Lord God. The Lord God wants his Children unconditionally to obedience Him. That is also the tenor of the next quotation, namely: Now, the important thing is that your way of life should be as the gospel of Christ requires….. (Philippinas 1:27)

The Gospel, that is Jesus Himself. He is the Centre on Which every heart should be focussed. That is the main goal of every true Christian.

Our Lord Jesus says,, Anyone who is not for me is really against me; anyone who does not help me gather is really scattering" (Matthew 12:30)

The second goal of our Bible Study Group is proclaiming His name to other people and nations. We refer therefore to the next quotation:

1. Proclaim His Glory to the nations, His mighty deeds to all peoples (Psalms 96:3)
2. Gives thanks to the Lord, proclaim His greatness; tell the nations what He has done. Sing praise the Lord; tells of the wonderful things He has done (Psalms 105:1-2, see also 1 Chronicles 16:9-8+ 24 + 28 +30)
3. Give thanks to the Lord! Call for Him to help you! Tell all nations what He has done! Tel them how great He is !  Sing to the Lord because of the great things He has done. Let the whole world hear the News (Isaiah 12: 4-5)
4. Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples (Matthew 28: 19)
5. My brothers, remember the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Take them as a examples of patient endurance under suffering (James 5:10)
6. None of us lives for himself only, none of us dies for himself only. If we live, it is for the Lord that we live, and if we die, it is for the Lord that we die. So whether we life or die, we belong to the Lord (Romans 14:7 )
7. If anyone declares publicly that he belongs to me, I will do the same for him before My Father in heaven. But if anyone rejects me publicly, I will reject him before My Father in heaven (Matthew 10:32)
8. Anyone who is not for me is really against me; anyone who does not help me gather is really scattering (Matthew 12:30)
9. No pupil is greater than his teacher; no slave is greater than his master. So a pupil should be satisfied to become like his teacher, and a slave like his master. If the head of the family is called Beelzebul, the members of the family will be called even worse names! (Matthew 10:24-25)
10. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of God (Matthew 10:28)

We are not proclaiming our knowledge, or our name, or our interests, or whatever, but we are trying to proclaim the deeds, the Majesty, the Holiness and the Honour of our Lord and God Jesus Christ, the saviour of all mankind who deserves all Honour and Majesty in the infinity, Amen! Like I told before, the name, the dignity or the standards of the people are not important in comparison with the Holiness, Wisdom and the Knowledge of the Lord. It is like been told by the Prophet David when he says,, Men are all like a puff of breath; great and small alike are worthless. Put them on the scales, and they weigh nothing; they are lighter than a mere of breath,, (Psalms 62:9). In contrast with the previous we read in Proverbs 29:5,, God keeps every promise He makes. He is like a shield for all who seek His protection" . And in Psalms 33:11 we read,, But His plans endure for ever; His purposes last eternally" Our Lord Jesus is crucified for the sins of the mankind, because He loves the mankind. But however, the problem is that, the people don't want accept Him as their Lord and saviour. The result of refusing Jesus Christ as the saviour of the mankind will be than,, Sinners will be condemned by God and kept apart from God's own people " (Psalm 1:5).

The Bible says,, No one should fool himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise by this world's standards, he should become a fool, in order to be really wise. For what this world considers to be wisdom is nonsense in God's sight. As the scripture (Job 5:12-13) says, "God traps the wise in their cleverness"; an another scripture (Psalms 94:11) says, "The Lord knows that thoughts of the wise are worthless" (1 Corinthians 3:18)

How cleaver and intelligent a men might be, when his knowledge is not in accordance with the Standard of the Lord, which means the Holy Book the Bible, it means nothing!!!  Please pay attention to the sentence.. The Lord knows that thoughts of the wise are worthless 

Yes indeed, the thoughts, the knowledge and the intelligence of the humans, even how good they are, means nothing in comparison with the Knowledge and Wisdom of the Lord God. It is exactly like been told by the apostle Paul when says,, How great are God's riches! How deep are His Wisdom and Knowledge! Who can explain His decisions? Who can understand His ways? As the scripture says,, Who knows the mind of the Lord? Who is able to give Him advice? Who has ever given Him anything, so that He had to pay it back?,, (Romans 11: 33-35)

In relation with previous we read,, So then, we do not speak in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, as we explain spiritual truths to those who have the Spirit. Whoever does not have the Spirit cannot receive the gifts that come from God's Spirit. Such a person really does not understand them; they are nonsense to him, because their value can be judged only on a spiritual basis. Whoever has the Spirit, however, is able to judge the value of everything, but no one is able to judge him"(1 Corinthians 2:13-15)

The human wisdom, which is contrary to the Wisdom of the Lord, means nothing in comparison with the wisdom of God!. Because we believe, as the Bible tells us, that ,, To have knowledge, you must first have reverence for the Lord. Stupid people have no respect for wisdom and refuse to learn" (Proverbs 1:7, James 1:5). To understand the world, the problems of this time and the future, the mankind should accept the Majesty of the Lord, only than they will understand the problems and a lot of other issues. In connection with this we read in the Bible,, In this way they will know God's secret, which is Christ Himself. He is the Key that opens all the hidden treasures of God's Wisdom and Knowledge. I tell you, then, do not let anyone deceive you with false arguments, no matter ho good they seem to be,, (Colossians 2: 3-4)

From the previous it is quite clear to whom a true Christian should obey in order to get knowledge and wisdom. The only way to understand privet problems, problems of the world, problems of the environmental, problems regarding the future of this world etc.. , is obeying unconditionally Jesus Christ, our Lord and Rescuer. Accepting Jesus Christ means that a door of Wisdom, Knowledge and love will open for you. Our Lord Jesus will than teach you how to study the Holy Book the Bible. Our Lord will also give a lot of courage in order to proclaim His name and dignity. He is the Key that opens the hearts of the human being. He is the one who is able to change you, to love, to give you warmth and to give al kind of goodness and honour. Nobody will understand the Wiliness of the Lord God, unless he first makes his heart open for our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord will than teach Him and give Him al lot of Wisdom! The way of understanding of each problem is revealed in the Bible like we can read in 1John 2:27,, But as for you, Christ has poured out His Spirit on you. As long as His Spirit remains in you, you do not need anyone to teach you. For His Spirit teaches you about everything, and what He teaches is true, not false. Obey the Spirit's teaching, then, and remain in union with Christ" Regarding the future of the world, the Lord is inviting every true Christians when He says,, Call to me, and I will answer you; I will tell you wonderful and marvellous things that you know nothing about" (Jeremiah 33: 3; see also Isaiah 45:11)

The Bible says,, Jesus answered, who is My mother? Who are My brothers? Then He pointed to His disciples and said, Look! Here are My mother and My brothers! Whoever does what My Father in the heaven wants him to do is My brother, My sister and My mother ,,(Matthew 12:48)

Every person who is prepared to accept our Lord Jesus Christ, and with that the Holy Book the Bible, unconditionally, he/she is our brother and sister.

May the Lord God bless you!