May 6, 2015 INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE
Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
You have probably heard it said before that “the Bible is an instruction book on life.” Indeed, the Bible-the word of God-is the ultimate owners’ manual and it is a huge mistake to attempt to live life on your own-apart from the “manual”. I know the frustration of assembling a product without referring to the manual only to discover that it was assembled the wrong way. Life is much more than a toy or a product to be assembled; life is super complex to say the least. It is actually prideful to think that we can live life on our own. God- the master designer- created us and only He knows how life was designed to be lived. God does indeed hold the keys to life. It sounds rather simple, and it is simple; but we can embrace the word of God as instruction for living. How blessed one would be if he or she chose to- commit to-to live out-to do-to accept the word of God as their manual to follow. For example, the word tells us to love our neighbor-so let us love our neighbor and in 1 Corinthians 13 the love we are to have is defined. Again, so simple; but just do what the bible instructs whether we “feel” like it or not. The bible gives insights and instruction for every area of life including relationships, finances, marriage, child rearing, work ethic, beliefs, government, education and more. The word of God is not just a book of rules to follow; and keeping the word of God is not possible in our own strength. God has given believers the Holy Spirit to live and abide in us and the Holy Spirit enables us to understand the scriptures and He gives us the power to live out what the scriptures teach. There are only two kingdoms-the kingdom of this world, which is the kingdom of darkness, and the kingdom of God which is the kingdom of light. As believers, we have been transferred to the kingdom of God and the bible introduces us to His kingdom and it describes life in His kingdom. Life in His kingdom is a radical departure from life in the kingdom of this world. For example, the world is about “getting” whereas the kingdom of God is about giving and blessing others. In His kingdom, we find life when we die to ourselves. In His kingdom, we trust God-not our own strength or ability. In His kingdom, God gives us all we need to be complete and content in life. In His kingdom, our security comes as a result of knowing Him as our Father. In His kingdom we can through prayer see situations change. Because we are in His kingdom, we now have eternal life and we will never be separated from Him. In His kingdom, we have been made overcomers in this life. The point is; the bible is not just a book-it is the introduction to His kingdom. We are blessed above all people to have been called to live in His kingdom here on planet earth. It is not possible to be kingdom minded and earthly minded at the same time-the two are in opposition. We do get involved with daily affairs of life in the world, but we do so with a kingdom of God mind-set and we bring His perspective to the nitty-gritty of life. We are light in a dark world and we represent hope, faith and love to those who do not know God. We actually live a super-natural life! As believers, let us make the choice by His power to fully obey what He has said in His word-let us express His kingdom in every facet of our lives. May we not debate His word, but obey His word.
Psalms 119:105: “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
You have probably heard it said before that “the Bible is an instruction book on life.” Indeed, the Bible-the word of God-is the ultimate owners’ manual and it is a huge mistake to attempt to live life on your own-apart from the “manual”. I know the frustration of assembling a product without referring to the manual only to discover that it was assembled the wrong way. Life is much more than a toy or a product to be assembled; life is super complex to say the least. It is actually prideful to think that we can live life on our own. God- the master designer- created us and only He knows how life was designed to be lived. God does indeed hold the keys to life. It sounds rather simple, and it is simple; but we can embrace the word of God as instruction for living. How blessed one would be if he or she chose to- commit to-to live out-to do-to accept the word of God as their manual to follow. For example, the word tells us to love our neighbor-so let us love our neighbor and in 1 Corinthians 13 the love we are to have is defined. Again, so simple; but just do what the bible instructs whether we “feel” like it or not. The bible gives insights and instruction for every area of life including relationships, finances, marriage, child rearing, work ethic, beliefs, government, education and more. The word of God is not just a book of rules to follow; and keeping the word of God is not possible in our own strength. God has given believers the Holy Spirit to live and abide in us and the Holy Spirit enables us to understand the scriptures and He gives us the power to live out what the scriptures teach. There are only two kingdoms-the kingdom of this world, which is the kingdom of darkness, and the kingdom of God which is the kingdom of light. As believers, we have been transferred to the kingdom of God and the bible introduces us to His kingdom and it describes life in His kingdom. Life in His kingdom is a radical departure from life in the kingdom of this world. For example, the world is about “getting” whereas the kingdom of God is about giving and blessing others. In His kingdom, we find life when we die to ourselves. In His kingdom, we trust God-not our own strength or ability. In His kingdom, God gives us all we need to be complete and content in life. In His kingdom, our security comes as a result of knowing Him as our Father. In His kingdom we can through prayer see situations change. Because we are in His kingdom, we now have eternal life and we will never be separated from Him. In His kingdom, we have been made overcomers in this life. The point is; the bible is not just a book-it is the introduction to His kingdom. We are blessed above all people to have been called to live in His kingdom here on planet earth. It is not possible to be kingdom minded and earthly minded at the same time-the two are in opposition. We do get involved with daily affairs of life in the world, but we do so with a kingdom of God mind-set and we bring His perspective to the nitty-gritty of life. We are light in a dark world and we represent hope, faith and love to those who do not know God. We actually live a super-natural life! As believers, let us make the choice by His power to fully obey what He has said in His word-let us express His kingdom in every facet of our lives. May we not debate His word, but obey His word.
Psalms 119:105: “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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