At the dawn of a new year, many are tempted by the idea that the Bible is a guide full of tips and tricks on how to make your life better or easier.
In order to find the proof that this is not the case, you need look no further than the thousands of Bible reading plans that end in Leviticus every February.
Nothing in the Bible promotes a quick fix. Furthermore, there is nothing in the Bible that teaches you can fix your life by your own means.
The Bible in its entirety is the gospel narrative of God saving His chosen people. The ultimate fix we need in life is to be rescued from our own sin, and we can by no means do that on our own. And it certainly isn’t quick.
Following our salvation begins the lifelong process of sanctification or being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
When learning about the Bible, it is important to understand a few things about the Bible.
Paul wrote to Timothy that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16–17).
Law of God
The Bible is the very Word of God, the law of God, meant to pierce to the heart (Heb. 4:12) and transform us into the likeness of His Son (Rom. 12:2).
It may at first seem peculiar that the Bible describes Jesus as the Word of God, but the truth is that this is exactly what Jesus is. I challenge you to read John 1:1–4 and 14 and replace each instance of “the Word” with the name Jesus as an exercise to make this point clear.
Jesus is God, the second part of the Trinity. He was with God in the beginning, and nothing was created apart from Him.
If the Bible is God’s Word to us, then we need to hear it every day. Reading the Word of God does not have to be a seminary-level investment. You don’t need several hours of dedicated time and a collection of colored pens and highlighters to read a portion of Scripture in context, understand it and then apply it to your daily life.
But just because the daily intake of God’s Word doesn’t have to always be deep study doesn’t mean that it is never deep study.
The psalmist writes in Psalm 1 that the blessed man’s delight is in the law of the Lord, and on the Word of God he “meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:2). To meditate on God’s Word is to sit with it, read it, re-read it, underline it, engage in word study and journal about what it means and how it changes your life.
My grandfather uses a common phrase: “What’s in the well comes up in the bucket.” The Bible says it like this: “For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).
God knows we are so fickle-hearted that He has even supplied us with the words to say. The Psalms are a collection of love songs containing deep lyrics on the heart and character of God.
Are you celebrating the joys of what God has done? There is a psalm to sing for that. Are you low and downtrodden? There is a psalm for that too. Do you feel like the only person on earth? There is a psalm to sing that affirms to your heart you are not alone.
To sing the Word of God to God is the utmost expression of worship. The Word of God promotes the worship of God and demotes the idolatry of self. Singing the Word of God teaches us. We are safe in knowing we are correctly handling the worship of God when we are using His own words to worship Him.
Finally, we worship a relational God. He desires a relationship with us and desires for us to have relationships with other believers. To read, study and sing the Word of God together is to handle the Word of God as He intended.
God designed the local church to protect believers from false theology and to correct sin through the lens of Scripture. The purpose of the Word of God is to grow and strengthen His church.
So as you continue your daily Scripture reading plan — and I do encourage you to continue — be reminded when you pick up your Bible that it is not just an ancient collection of historical texts, and it is certainly not just a self-help book. It is much, much more than that.
By Eli Alexander
Family pastor
The Church at Chelsea Westover in Harpersville
Letters to the Editor
According to recent analysis by Pew Research Center, reported in the Jan. 12 issue of The Alabama Baptist, 88% of the new 118th Congress identify as Christian (469 of the 534 current members). I’m not convinced.
On Jan. 11, 210 U.S. representatives voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. One of them, Rep. Janice Schakowsky of Illinois, actually said transporting the babies to a hospital “could be detrimental to the life of that baby” — how ludicrous!
Being a Christian means acting like Christ. The poll must have reflected whether it sounded good to say you are a Christian, not whether you are born again and believe in Christ’s teachings.
Joyce McDonald
Double Springs, Ala.
Every life important, Dungy says
It’s amazing to me how God used football to shine some light on the subject of life.
Three weeks ago during a game in Cincinnati, something happened that impacted our entire country. A young [player] named Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills made a routine tackle and his heart stopped beating.
It could have been tragic, but something miraculous happened. The team medical staff rushed out. They got Damar’s heart started again.
But that wasn’t the miracle. The real miracle was the reaction of the announcers on the broadcast. What did they say? “All we can do is pray.”
And all across the country, people started praying. We were having dinner with friends of ours, and we stopped what we were doing, and we prayed right there. The Bills players prayed right on the spot.
Usually when that happens, the cameras cut away. But everybody on that field was praying. A life was at stake, and people wanted to see that life saved. That should be encouraging to us. Every day in this country, innocent lives are at stake. The only difference is they don’t belong to a famous athlete. And they’re not seen on national TV.
But those lives are still important to God. Psalm 139 tells us God is watching every one of these young bodies as they’re growing in their mother’s womb because He placed them there.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Adapted from Tony Dungy’s address at the Jan. 20 March for Life in Washington. Dungy coached in the NFL for 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. He and his wife, Lauren, are advocates of adoption and the parents of 11 children.
“Christians have always been in the front line of attack for the regime,” said Timothy Cho, who escaped imprisonment in North Korea. “Their aim is to wipe out every Christian in the country. There can only be one god in North Korea, and that is the Kim family.”
When we place our hope in possessions, things we know can be taken away or destroyed, we set ourselves up for the inner turmoil of anxiety. That’s why Jesus turns to His disciples and says, “Therefore” (Matt. 6:25–33).
Our security isn’t in understanding His plan but in trusting in Him as the plan-maker. He’s got this, and He’s got us as His children!
Do not be anxious, because God knows your needs and knows what is needed to serve Him. Our focus then is to serve as God calls and lean on Him to provide.
James Hammack
the-scroll.com
“When terrible events happen, who are you going to call? The answer is often the Yellow Shirt Army — namely Southern Baptist Disaster Relief workers,” said Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama State Board of Missions.
“We want to be the church that, yes, meets immediate needs, but I also want to be the church who months down the road is still ministering to these people as much as when the storm happened,” said Matt Hall, pastor of Boones Chapel Baptist Church in Prattville, Alabama.
The gift of administrative concerns is Romans 12:8 (“rules, leads”). This refers to anyone who leads others for the purpose of performing various tasks within the church. It may be the pastor, the chair person of a committee, etc. Such leadership is to be carried out with the attitude of promptness. As someone said, “If you think you are leading and no one is following, you are just walking around.”
Morris Murray Jr.
Jasper, Ala.
“Ministry is never meant to be man’s legacy, but God’s plan.”
Joey Hanner
Gadsden, Ala.
From the Twitterverse
@davideprince
A reminder: 77% of Americans have never used Twitter, and of the 23% who have used Twitter, only a fraction of those are active on Twitter.
It’s a select group of folks engaging in superficial communication. That’s perfectly fine, but it’s not more than that.
@brocraigc
Pastor search teams, please do your due diligence in checking out your candidate.
Do criminal and financial background checks. Talk to references beyond the resume. It’s too risky not to.
A person’s previous employment history, albeit reputable, is not a reason to shortcut searches.
@DavidCCrowther
“The first duty of every clergyman is to beg of God, very humbly, that all he wants done in his hearers may be first and truly done in himself.” —Andrew Murray
@CatherineRenfro
Imagine the impact if every follower of Jesus prays for one person who doesn’t know Jesus and shares the hope of the gospel with them.
Pray. Share. Watch Jesus do what only He can do.
@DianeLangberg
You can tell what is most important to someone by what they protect most vociferously. Looking at Christendom today, I frequently see that when the church is threatened, its energy goes into protecting the system.
@GreggMatte
You don’t have to get to another level, another job or another location for God to use you. God has strategically placed you where you are in this moment for the purpose of making a difference.
@DanielDickard
The goal of preaching is that people would fall in love with Jesus, not our sermons.
@shane_pruitt78
When a student ministry is run like a “church within a church,” then when a teen graduates out of that ministry … it feels like they’re having to join a whole new church that they know very little about. That’s why many leave.
It must be one church, multiple generations.
@bartbarber
God, He paints a picture in the evening sky, blue and purple, orange, shades of red.
He knows we can’t afford no fancy paintings, so we look at the real things instead.
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