Wednesday's Encouragement

Psalm 119:33-36, “Teach me your decrees, O Lord; I will keep them to the end. ³⁴ Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart.³⁵ Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. ³⁶ Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money!” (NLT)

I am sure that many of you can attest to my belief as well as your belief that the Word of God MUST PLAY an important role in our lives. It does seem that some people are intimidated by the Bible rather than being encouraged and strengthened by the Bible. I believe these different attitudes may come from our approach as to how we read the Bible. I have read various writers describe the need to read the Bible as a "love letter" from God rather than just reading it as a "rule book" of laws and regulations. Let me state the obvious; I do believe that the Bible is the Word of God and it does provide direction, guidance, correction, and discipline, etc. for the children of God. But the Word of God is written for the spiritual development of our soul and not for the destruction of our soul.

Is it possible that we have taken the Word of God and developed our "checklist" of things that we need to do and things that we don't need to do? Yes, I believe that the Bible does reveal and teach us what is right and wrong. But the Word of God also reveals the love, mercy, grace, compassion, kindness, etc. as well as the daily interest that God has in our lives. Yes, God is a God of judgment but He is also a God of forgiveness, a God of reconciliation, a God of restoration, and a God that desires to draw near to us as well as draw us near to Him. The Bible should not be intimidating to us but the Bible should be viewed as a "love letter" that reveals God's desire to bring humanity into the fullness of fellowship and communion with Him as well as with each other. The Bible is more than a novel that was written through human insight and through the concepts of humanity. No, The Bible was written through the inspiration and anointing of the Holy God who loved this world enough to prepare a plan of salvation for the redemption of mankind (Read: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:21).

The Bible is not meant to be a book that we simply display or quote from time time as  a "witness" to people that we believe in God. No, the Bible was meant to be "lived out or put into practice" in our lives on a daily basis. I believe that the joy of the Lord will fully come alive in OUR LIVES when we realize the Bible is not meant to be a "burden" but the Word is meant to be a "tool" of the revelation of God's love. care and concern for our individual journey of faith.