Welcome to the first blog post of the CultivatingFaith.org, the CF for short (Note: originally our site was called “Rivera Bible Collection” but that was a bit of a mouth full). It is with great fear and trepidation that we take on this calling yet also tremendous joy and excitement. We are looking forward to seeing what God will do with this blog, this ministry.
The motive behind this work is love for our God and His word, our family (especially future generations) and love for you, the people we are blessed to encounter. The mission for my wife and myself, along with our adult children is to continue to grow in our faith as we seek to reach future generations with the gospel and biblical truth. We also desire for those who come to this site to grow in their understanding of God’s word and the truths taught in it. This is beyond worth doing well. It is of eternal importance!
As the title of this post states: what is worth doing well is worth doing poorly at first. At the outset of this endeavor, our material may be a bit rough, but we cannot wait until we are truly refined to share what God has placed on our hearts. We cannot wait until we are at a higher level of skill. The voices seeking to drive us all from God are too loud and too many; we must not be silent!
Our mission statement asserts “We exist to glorify God by reintroducing and educating people on biblical truth and translation, sharing our family’s passion for the word of God”. Our family’s desire is to counter the lack of biblical understanding that exists in the church today. By far, we live in the most biblically illiterate time in the history of our country. The average church person does not understand the Bible; what it is, how we got it, how to interpret it, or why this is even important. They don’t understand why it is the authority in our life. They could not explain what is meant by it being inspired, inerrant or infallible. Knowledge of how the Bible was written, how it has come down to us through history and the process of translating it into English is absent. Even basic theology is devoid of a place in the life of many Christians today.
This is the calling of the Cultivating. To share our passion for God’s word and His truth to all who seek to gain a deeper understanding of Him and His word. We desire to reintroduce and educate people about God’s word, especially the process, methods, and philosophies behind the work done to translate the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic of the Bible into the English Bibles we use today. We will also be sharing theological perspectives on various topics, devotional materials, and other features that God leads us to do. We are compelled that is mission is worth doing well, even if poorly at first. Only God knows where this will go, so hold on, and thanks for coming along for the ride.
We invite you to check out the material in the “About” section. There is more information about the CF, its staff, and about the physical Rivera Bible Collection that has started all of this. You will also find our Mission Statement, our Core Beliefs along with an explanation of the elements of our logo. We will also be adding items to the “Resources” section such as a list of abbreviations, a multi-part primer on Bibles, and other helpful information. There is a “Warning Translation Trouble” post indicating particularly egregious “translations” that you need to be aware of along with a more positive note on translations we do recommend. Finally, be looking for the regular addition of new posts.
This is a mustard seed ministry (Matt 13:31-32): starting small but, Lord willing, growing as God desires. A vital means to the growth of our ministry is hearing from you! We would greatly appreciate any constructive and insightful comments you have on our posts. We seek to improve to provide better material for you all and to give all glory to God. You can email us at cultivatingfaith.org@gmail.com or add a comment on our Facebook page (under the name cultivatingfaith.org).
We are hoping to gain some level of expertise in the areas that we write, but we do confess that our words are not, nor will they ever be, the final words on any subject. We will work to clearly and humbly present you accurate material that will benefit you. We pray that you will leave a post having gained a new perspective, reinforced truths you already hold, but most of all, that it caused you to think deeply about the subject. Christ calls us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37) (emphasis mine). If this ministry can accomplish this, it will have been well worth all the effort. For this truly is worth doing well.
By the way, if the Bible and Christianity are new to you, or if you are looking for answers to the questions of life, check out our post “Do You Know God Personally?”.
Until the next time we see you here at CultivatingFaith.org, God Bless! #CultivatingFaithOrg