The Word of God

Does it seem remarkable that God would preserve throughout history what he wanted mankind to know about the truth and Himself? If God could create the universe with such a huge diversity including the land, oceans, animals, and humans, could he not, through his guidance and through people, record for us all we need to know of him? God guided people to write and record, and he guided the compilation so that we have the word of God in the Bible for life, fullness, and eternity. We can know the truth through his word, and we can walk with him in love. If God could take on the form of a man and still run the universe, he can certainly guide the compilation of a book to guide us and teach us. Everything we need to know in this life is in the Bible. Eternity will open much more.

The Bible was written over 1500 years and has the same theme from the Old Testament to the New Testament, and based on that foundation, the gospel message couched in grace is very, very clear. The original autographs are without error, and the various good translations are from the original writings and languages. The original writings were in Hebrew in the Old Testament, with a small section in Aramaic in the book of Daniel. The New Testament was written in Koine Greek. God guided the Jewish people in the compiling of the Old Testament, and God guided the Christians in the compiling of the New Testament. However, prayerful reading of the scriptures will result in an encounter with the living God. One of the huge ways he speaks is through his Word, the Bible. He also speaks to us through our mind by the Holy Spirit and at odd times at his discretion and will in dreams and visions. These dreams and visions must coincide with the Word of God, for the devil loves to use these as well.

Read a few chapters of the Bible every day. A chapter can be just a couple of pages. Meditate with God on what is read and ask God to guide you. F you don’t nurture your soul, it will starve. Reading the Bible and meditating on what has been read for it is a very good way to orient yourself and focus your life towards God. Otherwise, the world will crowd in and Satan will invade with many distractions. Also, spend some time in quiet prayer and then praying about things and people. Learn to enjoy God and let him enjoy you. (Zephaniah 3:17) I read the Bible from the beginning to the end in six months before becoming a Christian. It was then I experienced a work of God in converting my heart, when I came to God in repentance and faith, by his grace, during a church service at the invitation to receive Christ. Many people start reading the Bible in the New Testament, but I started from Genesis. However, the thief on the cross was saved in an instant, responding to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart.

The devil knows the Bible and can quote and quotes it and applies it out of context. He did this in the wilderness temptation of Jesus. (Matthew 4:1-17) The Bible must be understood or interpreted in context. What comes before it, what kind of literature is it, and how is it understood in the context of the whole Bible? If we interpret the Bible out of context, it will lead to distortion and the wrong application of the Bible. That is why it is also important to read and reread the whole Bible. When scriptures are quoted, go back and read them in context. Many have been led astray by the devil by taking scripture out of context.

It is also important to understand the difference in interpretation between precepts and principles. Precepts are commands. There are some precepts in the Old Testament that we don’t hold to today in the age of grace in Christ, but there are principles behind these precepts that we should get hold of. For instance, it says in the Bible not to tattoo yourself, as the people of God. The Bible says, “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:28). We are not under certain parts of the law, although they are a guide. For instance, we are not under the ceremonial law or dietary law, but we are guided by the moral law. We cannot be saved just by trying to keep the law; we must find grace in Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-9) The principle from the New Testament is that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and it would seem from this that we should not defile it. “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). Christians have different views on this issue, and it is not of supreme essence. If you already have a tattoo, I don’t think it is an immense matter, and I would suggest not to worry about it. “In essentials unity, in non-essentials diversity and in all things charity.”

I was talking with a man when we were doing street ministry, and he said he could be a Christian and use fentanyl. That is not much different from saying we can be a Christian and be sexually immoral, or defraud in business, although fentanyl leads to a stronger and more destructive addiction and social consequences. A lot of Christians ask what they can get away with and still be a Christian, rather than asking how I can be fully devoted to God and love him with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Jesus said, “
Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:20). John the Baptist said, “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8). As also God’s word says, “Abstain from every form of evil” (2 Thessalonians 5:22).

God has sent you a message. Sit and read the Bible and pick up and go to the Father who loves you far more than you even love yourself. He wants the best for us, and walking with Jesus is the best life, although not the easiest. The beautiful part is that as Christians, he is our strength, peace, and joy. Walk in the Spirit and you will become new with a replaced life in Jesus Christ the Savior and Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6; Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:9;) A very enhanced spiritual life now and to eternity. We are Souls with a body.