Some people don't read the Bible because they say it's confusing and contradicts itself. Poor excuse, but there are many excuses for those who don't want to study God's Word and get to truly know the Creator of this universe and the only True and Living God of this world.
The Bible offers contrasts, just as God offers us free will to make choices in our lives. Ecclesiastes says there is a time for everything. Life has many seasons. We have to seek our Maker to know what we are to do in each season, each year, month and day of our lives. If you buy a new swing set or an electronic build-it package, you read the manual written by the creator of these things so you know how to put it all together and how to use it.We need to know how to put it all together in our lives and how to use them for our own good and the good of others. The Bible and spending time with God teaches us how to use our minds and bodies while we're here on this earth. To live successfully, you don't need another self-improvement series, you need the Creator's manual.
We need to soak in God's presence daily. On some days, I need that shower of love and grace several times throughout the day. Like any good friend we've cultivated, God is always there for us. We can enter into His presence and wash away the concerns, fears and worries in seconds. You might say that you don't feel like God is there for you, which contradicts what the Bible says .... so I must ask. Have you been spending time with God daily, like you would a good friend who would always be there for you?
We have to cultivate friendships ... even with God. If we don't know what it feels like to be with God, we won't know He's there when we need Him. Consider John 15:13-15:
"No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father."
Do we know what Jesus made known to His friends? Have we eaten the bread of life from His Word, chewed on it and memorized it so we know our Friend intimately? Do we lay down our lives and agendas desiring only to be a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1)?
The principle of the harvest isn't just for agricultural pursuits. All of life operates on the principle of sowing and reaping. We go to school to sow knowledge into our minds (reading, writing, etc.) so we can prepare to provide for ourselves, family and others.
We sow in time with God, so we can provide for the times when we need to feel His close abiding presence. If we have not made Him our Friend, it will seem that He is distant and not there for us. Consider a prophecy shared by Mark Virkler:
"My children, fear not your weaknesses. Be not discouraged by them. Are they mightier than I? Are they greater than the living God? NO! They are not! No! They are simply to be consumed by MY Power. Even as you are consumed in MY Presence, so are your weaknesses consumed by MY Power. MY Power and MY Presence are one. Therefore when you are consumed by your weakness, you are not consumed in MY Presence. Conversely, when you are consumed in MY Presence, MY Power has consumed you, and your weaknesses are no more. So come, My Children, unto Me, and you shall be healed."
God is the greatest Friend any one can have. Spend time walking and talking with Jesus and understanding who He is. It's easy to judge somebody when you don't know them. If you don't know Christ intimately, it's easy to say "the Bible is confusing." But it's the only manual for life we have that works ... so making the choice to consume it is a wise one.
Hearing God's Voice
The book that is having a monumental impact on my life and way of living is one called, How To Hear God's Voice by Mark and Patti Virkler. The clear and detailed content with loads of Scriptural backup, along with the interactive process of applying what you are learning, is yielding a lot of spiritual fruit in my life and the life of my husband, the counselor, who is now promoting the book to everyone he knows. Your view of the present, past and future will never be the same when you begin to commune with God as He always intended us to do since He walked with man in the Garden of Eden. For those who yearn for a deeper relationship with the Father, this book will take you there if you read and apply it. The author promises that and I do too!
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© 2009 Donna L. Watkins - This article was reprinted with permission from TheNatureInUs.com.
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