The Word of God does not change because of our situations, circumstances or experiences. But the Word of God can change our situations, circumstances and experiences.

Almost every time an appliance or machine stops functioning optimally in my home, my husband reaches for the manual first, does some troubleshooting himself before calling in the experts.

A manufacturer’s handbook (manual), helps us set up our appliances, identify and handle simple malfunctions of our machines and ensures optimum output and efficiency, giving us good value for our money.

I have had the privilege of welcoming newly born again Christians into God’s family and I do not fail to introduce them to the Christian Manual for a successful and victorious christian living-The Bible.

You may want to consider the Bible as The Manufacturer’s Manual/Handbook for man’s living assuming that you believe in the existence of a Man-Creator or Manufacturer. If you are more inclined towards evolution or some other theory about man’s creation, then am sure you’ve found a different handbook and the discourse here may not apply to you.

So, why did God give us the Bible (His commandments/words)?

The 10 commandments came into existence to guide and direct Israel’s actions which were becoming intolerable for Jehovah at the time.

In his second letter to Timothy, apostle Paul explains the purpose of every word of God;

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness“.  2 Timothy 3:16. NKJV.

If it is not already obvious, this write-up is borne out of my curiosity on why people are often reluctant to study their Bibles.

I asked a few persons about their opinion on this and got the following responses;

i. ‘there is no time’. too many things to do with so little available time’

ii. ‘probably, people are not clear or do not completely agree with what the Bible says in some cases’

iii. ‘the bible does not give a unified straightforward stand on some issues, and people whip up different dimensions of the bible to support their own perspective on issues.

Hmmm….

Interestingly, nobody really considered or conceded to a likelihood of people thinking the standards in the Bible are too high!

I recently learnt that people generally don’t want to be told what to do. So if the Bible is for reproof, correction, instruction etc, my guess is; people love the freedom of living their lives freestyle!

But are God’s words punitive, prohibitive or protective?  I think it’s all 3,  with an ultimate aim to protect. I believe that God considered every possible action of man in its entirety (positive and negative outcomes), before giving out His words to guide and direct man aright.

For example, when God says ‘Do not commit adultery’, I believe this instruction goes well beyond the physical attraction and sexual satisfaction one derives through his indulgence in adultery. The end result of a singular adulterous act can mean an end to a longstanding marriage relationship, disruption in the equilibrium existing in a home, or exposure to life threatening sexually transmitted diseases (condoms tear!), and so many other unsavory results.

But you know, God does not force man to do anything. He always leaves the final decision with man but admonishes him to choose life and live.  I can tell my young preteen not to spend all his time on games and TVs, because as a parent, I have the foresight of the crucial role hard work can play in determining life’s experiences. And I want the best for my child! I believe God deals with man in a similar way. But then, there is a limit to how much or how long I can control my preteen’s choices. His future experiences rests greatly on his present day choices.

Let us not be like the middle-aged highly educated diabetic man who refused to go to the hospital for professional medical care for fear of what results of hospital investigations on him would reveal. He’d rather die in his ignorance. He immediately reminds me of why the fool has deceived himself into thinking there is no God…because he is corrupt and have done abominable things! (Psalm 53:1). He is threatened by the Bible.

When an appliance or machine malfunctions, it is very unlikely that the problem is with the manual (selah).

“He is in the way of life that heedeth correction, but he that forsaketh reproof erreth” Proverbs 10:17. ASV

Have a lovely day!

 

 

 

 

 

The parable of The Sower in Luke 8, as narrated by Jesus Christ, was to teach His disciples how possible it is for the word of God to be preached by one man (the Sower) to a group of persons at the same time and yet have different impact depending on the state of the heart of the recipient (the soil).
So, Jesus described 4 kinds of recipients; a rock, thorns, ‘way side’ soil and good ground.

Is it okay to assume that the Sower went out on a particular day as usual, with some seeds in his hands which he dropped as he walked along? So the seeds dropped on different kinds of soil as he walked along….right?

I believe a similar thing occurs when we all sit under a bible teaching in church; different people walk away with different revelations determined by the current state of their minds!

In this write-up, I want to draw attention to what Jesus said in Luke 8:11;

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God”.

Jesus clearly described God’s word as seed.

I got some dictionary definitions of ‘seed’…

• “the fertilized ripened ovule of a flowering plant containing an embryo and capable normally of germination to produce a new plant”.
• “an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering known as the seed coat”.

A striking and not to be missed commonality between these different definitions is the ability of a seed to reproduce independently.  That is to say that a seed has an intrinsic ability to transform into a full plant of its own kind (given the right soil).

Some people still grapple with the fact that Jesus derived no genetic contribution from an earthly being (man or woman) as a zygote, like I posited in an earlier article; ‘Could it Have Been A surrogate Birth?’

But today, we learn differently.

The word of God as seed has the ability to reproduce and intrinsically grow (on its own) when founded on a good receiving soil.

Considering Jesus’ birth again, I believe Mary’s heart was a good soil, and from the moment she said; “…let it be to me according to your word…” (Luke 1:38),  she became conceived by the Holy Spirit, which took the form of flesh and grew in her (1 John 1:14).

Jesus is the word of God in human form, sent down from Heaven (John 1; 1 Corinthians 15:47).

John 1:3 reads;

“…all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made…”.

If God made all things through the word, does that not suggest that as God’s children, even we can make anything we want through His word? 🙂
Except otherwise stated, all Bible quotations are from the New King James Version (NKJV).