Word Warnings
"We also thank God continually
because, when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you
accepted it…” 1
Thessalonians 2:13
Warning
labels comes in many forms. Whether they are on clothes, food, or rides at an amusement
park, we find them everywhere. They are offered to give us a heads-up on a
potential pitfall or danger. Imagine if
the Bible had such a sticker or post. “This Book is habit-forming. Regular use causes loss of anxiety, decreased
appetite for lying, cheating, stealing, hating; symptoms: increased sensations
of love, peace, joy and compassion.
Proceed with caution.” Can you imagine something that changes your
life so radically?
Some
of the most respected people in history have found God’s Word to be their
definitive guide in a murky world. While many more could be cited, consider
some of these powerful statements from just a few of America’s legends:
George
Washington: “It is impossible to rightly govern the
world without God and the Bible.”
Charles
Dickens: “The New Testament is the very best book
that ever was or ever will be known in the world.”
Abraham
Lincoln: “I believe the Bible is the best gift God
has ever given to man. All the good from
the Savior of the World is communicated to us through this book.”
Douglas
Mac Arthur: “Believe me, sir, never a night goes
by, be I ever so tired, but I read the Word of God before I go to bed.”
The
reason the Bible is so important is that
it will greatly determine what establishes our
values, authority, and direction. You’re
going to get your values in life from one of two places – Christ or culture, or
the world or the Word. We will fill our
mind with one or the other and our lives become set. Statistics show that the
average Christian will attend church between 40-75 hours a year with only a
portion of that going to teaching. In a full
lifetime in church, we will receive 4 months of teaching in church. However, the average person will watch
television about 1,000 hours a year which amounts to 9 ½ years of our
lives. You can guess which one will have
the edge. However, should we practice a
regular feeding of God’s Word, we find the edge moving back to God’s corner.
There was this Christian lady that had
to do a lot of traveling for her business, so she did a lot of flying.
Flying made her nervous, so she always took her Bible along with her to
read and it helped relax her. One time, she was sitting next to a man. When he
saw her pull out her Bible, he gave a little chuckle and went back to what he
was doing. After awhile, he turned to her and asked, "You don't really
believe all that stuff in there do you?" The lady replied, "Of course,
I do. It is the Bible." He said, "Well, what about that guy that was
swallowed by that whale?" She replied, "Oh, Jonah. Yes, I believe
that. It is in the Bible." He asked, "Well, how do you suppose he
survived all that time inside the whale?" The lady said, "Well, I
don't really know. I guess when I get to heaven, I will ask him." “What if
he isn't in heaven?" the man asked sarcastically. "Then you can ask
him." replied the lady. Probably
not the best way to witness, but it reminds us that we need to take the Bible
as our authority for living
One of the reasons why there is so
much confusion in the world today is people are listening to many different
authorities, and everybody's asking, "Who's right?" That's true in any area: medicine,
finance, politics, lawyers, and economists
can all disagree. The Bible says that God's Word is the authority for the
Christian.
Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 2:13,
"We also thank God continually because, when you received the Word of God
which you heard from us, you accepted it, not as the word of men, but actually
as it is, the Word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”
The Bible claims to be God's Word. I've got to accept it’s
authority. This is a central issue in
life.
If you buy into the world’s value
system, as your ultimate value in life, you will
miss God’s purpose for your life. If you buy into God’s value system through
His Word, we will find God’s values, authority and direction. God’s Word is worth the investment. If you pick it up and read it with frequency,
I have to warn you…your life will change for the better.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1)
What
recent passage has spoken to you in the past week?
2)
How
much time are we giving to the Word versus the world?
Consider reading the Word today;
Copyright
2014- Terry Risser
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