The Bible - Our Sole Instruction Guide to Life?
By Bryan | June 18, 2008
The Bible has often been called life’s instruction manual or guide, and for the most part I do believe that this is true. The Bible is the foundation of Christianity and also many other religions as well, just with different parts. But the main points of the Bible remain the same no matter what religion that you believe in. However, should we be using the Bible as our sole instruction manual?
My answer is no, and I have many reasons why I feel this way. The Bible is a wonderful book that was inspired by and written by God. And while I do believe that God wrote the Bible through man, I do not believe that message is the same as it once was. This is why we can not take the Bible literally, as it needs to be adapted at times to the current customs. Just as the customs and traditions from the Old Testament were eliminated through the Savior, Jesus Christ, we simply can not afford to take biblical traditions word for word. That is just dangerous.
I have said it before and I will continue to say it. The Bible was inspired by God but written down by humans. We all know humans makes mistakes, are corrupt, evil, greedy and so many other things. So why do people feel that the Bible has not been skewed over thousands and thousands of years? Again, to believe that is just dangerous. We have had many kings, queens and popes who have changed the Bible for their own gain. We know this is fact, but still accept the entire Bible as fact word for word!
I personally know some people that still believe the Earth and all of the great creatures were created in seven days. Well, 6 days if you don’t count the day that God rested. Any sane and logical person will understand that this is a story and is a figure of speech. I’ve even had people tell me that the dinosaurs are fake and that the evidence was just planted and that they never actually existed. What!?!? And do you know what their reasoning was? It was because the Bible never mentioned dinosaurs they told me. No, the dinosaurs were not mentioned in the Bible because man did not know or have enough evidence to support the fact that dinosaurs once roamed the Earth. That statement just totally stunned me and actually scared me that people actually believe this. I mean, we have concrete evidence of these great creatures!
I could go on and I will talk more about fundamentalism in other posts, but I don’t want to go to far off topic. In conclusion, the Bible is full of great and basic advice for what we can do with our lives and how we should live it. That is 100% true. But let us not take it literally. Read the Bible, interpret the true meaning and apply it to your life. Don’t worry about the little rules in the Bible. Again, remember Jesus’ commandment that He told us to live by. Love your Lord God with all your heart and love your neighbor as you would love yourself. Live that way and you will live a wonderful life. God bless you all.
Topics: Opinion | No Comments »
Christians Need to Respect Gay Marriage
By Bryan | June 17, 2008
With the recent passing victory in California regarding gay marriage rights, Christians really need to take a step back and look at the issue before taking action and crying out against gay marriage.
For starters, I do not support gay marriage and I do believe that marriage is meant to be a scared bond between a man and a woman. With that being said, I also will be the first one to not say a word bad about the issue as well. It simply does not make sense and this is the reason why. And it is also the reason that we need to be more tolerant of society and cultures as a whole.
I simply said I BELIEVE that marriage should be between a man and woman. How does that make it right? It doesn’t, and as part of my beliefs, I am not one to judge if it is right or wrong. How would you feel when you died and met God and He told you that love is love, and as long as people are happy and living a good life, He is happy? It would make all the protests and hate that are spewing out of people’s mouths worthless really.
As true Christians, we need to love our neighbor AND our enemy as we love ourselves and love our Lord God with all our hearts. This was Jesus’ one commandment that He told us to live by. So when something does not go our way or against our thinking, why are we turning to hate immediately?
I may hear a lot of negative comments about this, but if you are a true Christian follower and really believe in your religion, reach out to those who would like to get married so that they can feel the true love and happiness of marriage. That is what I am saying. I am not saying it is right or wrong, because I truly don’t know that answer. All I know is that I can not judge another human, so I will respect them and show them love. God bless you always.
Topics: Opinion | 7 Comments »
Where are You Going with Your Life?
By Bryan | March 16, 2008
There is a common question that is asked by almost everyone that you come in contact with, whether it is for a job, school or just conversation. That common question is, Where are you going with your life?
Most people will give a generic response that sounds good but usually does not have any real substance or any meaning really. However, most people do not have a real plan or true vision for their lives, which is really sad. Hellen Keller said, “It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.” That statement is dead on! Why waste what we see without having a purpose or a cause whatsoever?
There is a great Scripture passage that talks about vision and God’s plan for us that is in the little known book named Habakkuk. Where I am going today is just three short verses in Habakkuk 2:1-3, which says:
1 I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.
The LORD’s Answer
2 Then the LORD replied:
“Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come and will not delay.
There are four parts to this short message but they are powerful and direct. First off, God will always hit you or talk to you right here He wants to. Usually, it is the worse place that you can think of, such as the watchman in the verse. Being a watchman was a tough job since they had no modern day luxuries, so it was probably cold, boring and just plain monotonous. However, God spoke to him and told him what he wanted him to do.
Next, you have the preparation phase, where you are getting ready to do what God has asked of you. Here, you are getting your heart and mind ready for a rather large task, so God wants you to be prepared.
Then, we move on to verse 2, which is God’s answer. He will tell you exactly what will happen and what needs to be done. So what does God want you to do with your vision? First, he wants you to write it down. But why does He ask this of us? It is simple really. We, as humans, tend to forget plenty of things. So, God tells us to write it down. Next, he tells us to spread the word like a wildfire, telling everyone what your vision is that God gave you. In this Scripture, God is saying about giving it to a herald and let them run with it. In biblical times, they would have an appointed person to run and give important messages to all of the towns. This was their main way of important communication, so this is how God is talking to Habakkuk here.
Finally, God tells you to wait. Why wait? You will need to wait to let God fully complete His plan for you. Waiting is hard, especially when things are at their toughest. You just need to stay focused on the plan that God has called you to and never lose sight of the reason. Jesus was in the desert 40 days and 40 nights and was even tempted by the devil, but Jesus never lost focus on His Father and the plan. God never lies, so you can be assured He will deliver.
I like to describe God as a quarterback of the best football team around. Even though his players may have a lousy game, He always will keep us close and keep us on the right path. Just when things look glooming and we may lose, God comes to our rescue and saves us, winning the game at the last minute. That pretty much sums up what God does for us. He always keeps us close and focused, even when we mess up. He will always be there for us and never fail, even when things are at their worst.
Just remember, we all need a vision in our lives and we need to be able to stay focused on that. Whether you are going through good times, bad times or changing times, we need to stay focused on God and what He is calling us to do. Never lose sight and may God bless you and all that you do.
Topics: Bible Study | No Comments »