I was counseling a young man who is struggling mightily with addictions the other day and asked what his relationship with God is like. He responded that he was a Christian. I asked what that meant to him and he responded that he believed Jesus was God, died for his sins, and was resurrected in three days.
Earlier he told me he did not attend church because he didn’t like to be preached to and he did not read the Bible. I told him that Satan and all the demons in hell believe that Jesus is God just like he does. That doesn’t make them Christians. Someone who is Christian makes Jesus LORD of their life and follows His lead.
Ugh so many people who acknowledge Christ for who He is and yet do little to nothing to make him their number one priority simply don’t understand that being a Christian is about having a relationship with God.
It starts with the Bible. God chose it as His primary way to communicate. We communicate to Him through prayer and He communicates to us through His Bible. On relatively rare occasions He communicates directly and sometimes through others, but He mainly communicates through His word the Holy Bible. He has preserved it through even the worst of times and it has withstood every despot and evil, anti-faith ruler since it was written and today remains the best-selling book of time, (yes that includes Harry Potter).
Having written my new book Crazy Like Foxes with a co-author, I can testify to the difficulty and complexity of syncing our thoughts. And we are from the same culture, speak the same language and wrote it by collaborating and planning together what we would write. Contrast that with the Bible which was written independently by 40 different authors, over a period of some 1500 years, on three different continents, in three different languages, without collaboration, and yet despite all of these difficulties including vastly different personality differences, culture, and the era in which different people lived it remains a cohesive, relevant to every age, masterpiece that is flawless. It is simply beautiful and could not have been accomplished if it had not been inspired by God.
The fascinating thing about it is that it never changes. God says that His word is the same today as it was a 1000 years ago or will be 1000 years from now. Put as many zeros as you desire behind the 1000, and it will still be the same. In this world of shifting opinions, norms, and mores it is refreshing to say the least.
Unfortunately, most people never pick up a Bible and read it. Most people occasionally hear a few verses in church when they do attend. Communication with God is dying. All of morality comes from the Bible. It is no small wonder that people who are calling what is right wrong and what is wrong right are so confused.
One example I read about today is Vimeo. They just declared war on Gospel transformation for homosexuals. If Jesus has changed a homosexual’s life and set them free from homosexual practice, their testimony is not welcome on Vimeo – not now, not ever.
Many other social media platforms are following suite as are mainstream media, academia, governmental authorities, peers, some churches, businesses, arts and entertainment and others.
It is sad. When communication with God dies completely we will have lost all hope.
But smile broadly, for now anyway, we have our Bible. I can’t imagine being without it, not even for a day. I love it and hope you will pick one up and begin enjoying your talk with God today. If you do so, God will convince you to begin loving it too. First time readers begin in Romans and then read the entire New Testament. Read it slowly and listen to what God is telling YOU today.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
March 28 2017 – Click here to listen