Christian Living

---

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. {Hebrews 4:12}

Woe. Heavy.

Perhaps subconsciencely....or not....some of us misconstrue Bible text, tangling it into a jumble of words that's more like what we want to read instead of what we need to heed. I don't know about you, but I LOVE to read Hebrews 10:17...."Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." and Romans 8:38-39.....38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Kinda makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But what about Ephesians 5:5 ....5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Hhhhhhmmm....not so warm! Well, what about Titus 1:10....10For there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation. Not exactly fuzzy....yet VERY true.

ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. { Timothy 3:16-17}

What does that mean? Our Father in Heaven inspired and spoke through some very obedient men of God who in turn recorded every word for us ALL to live by. You simply cannot believe some of the passages and disregard others as fallacy or less important. However, some people just can't fathom how the Bible is entirely God's Word when man had a hand in the process. I can't say that I blame them for their doubt given the selfish nature of humanity! Nevertheless, He is the God of Heaven and earth; the Ruler of ALL things; the Author and the Perfecter of our faith! Could He not simply control the content of His own Book?!

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. {Revelation 22:18-19}

So it's not up to us to pick and chose which excerpts from the Word we will believe and follow. To say that one passage is "the true, unchanging word of God", but find another scripture to be questionable is to label God a liar. How can one have substantial faith in a deceiver?

God's Word is chock full of promise, hope, joy, rainbows and sunshine! The purpose of the Bible is to give us assurance and fullness. BUT, to achieve that it must ALSO give us direction, guidance, rules to live by. It must "rebuke and correct" us to keep us on the path to complete joy. That said, I realize that there are MANY things in the Bible that don't sit well with most of us. Romans 3:23 tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...". We are not humble by nature - who wants admit that they are just plain wicked and it deosn't matter how hard we try to fix ourselves?! We will always be iniquitous apart from Christ! Does that make all Believers perfect? NO WAY!!! Jesus is perfection embodied - not possible for us. The good news is that God is fully aware of our shortcomings! That's why He offered His Son to take the punishment AND gives us the tools we need to do better. You don't have to be blameless to come to God. As Christians we are to give our lives to Him, die to our sinful nature and walk in the Light. Our best efforts coupled with the Holy Spirit makes huge strides!

Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. {1 John 2:6}

So instead of interpreting the Bible as an unrealistic to-do and not to-do list or only taking in the "good things", lets see it and use it as is was intended: the loving instruction AND powerful encouragement necessary to receive not only eternal life, but a JOYFUL and fruitful life here on earth. Lets not misuse and misrepresent God's promises. Of course, He wants us to be happy and well-provided for, BUT we attain those things when we line our will up with His and focus on our faith instead of what we have and what we "need". Don't be afraid or intimidated by God's Word - thrive on correction and embrace reproof. We don't just hop on the Perfection Express and expect flawlessness to be the next stop! It's a process; a journey; a road trip to maturity. Lets just focus on today and "let tomorrow take care of itself". Lets use ALL of God's Word to be and do better today.

"....your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. {Matthew 6:32-34}

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE