Day 11
Have you ever tried to assemble something without the instructions? Putting together the simplest bookshelf can be difficult without the manual. Do not even attempt to construct a swing set or toddler playground without a detailed blueprints. The project always ends with missing essential parts and a large quantity unrecognizable leftover pieces.
Perhaps even worse than no instructions is the dreaded missing page. It usually goes something like this, “step 24, connect part 3b which you assembled on the previous page with part 4b, 6d, and 7a.”
You madly search for the previous page before deciding to force tab 43 into the slot meant for bolt 21. No matter what you are building, the result always looks like something more at home in the modern art museum than your home.
Life is much more complicated than the assembly a jungle gym or a desk from Ikea. Lives put together without an instruction manual are doomed to failure. Essential parts will be missing and there will be numerous pieces wasted. Fortunately, God has provided us life’s instruction manual, the Bible. Unlike, manuals created by man, God’s manual is 100% accurate and guaranteed to produce the desired result. In addition, God provides assistance (no, not customer support from India). God has given his children the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can be trusted to explain instruction which may be difficult for us understand. It is foolish to live without consulting the manufacturers manual.
However, it would be even more foolish for us to attempt to remove pages from the manual. When we begin making our own “improvements” to God’s word to customize it to our lifestyle, we risk doing damage to our lives and the lives of those who follow. Once we begin removing pages where do we stop? What are we left with if everyone who may be offended has the opportunity to edit God’s word?
We once served a customized god. We borrowed from different faiths and beliefs; everything we liked we kept and everything we did not like we discarded. In the Bible this is called idolatry and it is nearly as old as time itself. Customized gods are impotent gods, incapable of producing anything but despair. When we looked behind and saw those who were following us would inherit our impotent god, we began seeking the authentic God. Following the authentic God requires discipline and obedience but it produces a life of abundance and joy.
Connections will follow God’s instructions and accept it’s authority. We will not edit His word. Connections trusts the Holy Spirit’s guidance in understanding the historical context of scripture as well as the modern implications.
Read the following passage. Do you trust in God’s word? Have you been tempted to edit hard to understand scriptures? It has become common to attempt to fit God’s word into the world’s view, instead of seeking an understanding of the world through God’s word. An instruction manual with missing pages can be more hazardous than having no manual at all.
Have you ever tried to assemble something without the instructions? Putting together the simplest bookshelf can be difficult without the manual. Do not even attempt to construct a swing set or toddler playground without a detailed blueprints. The project always ends with missing essential parts and a large quantity unrecognizable leftover pieces.
Perhaps even worse than no instructions is the dreaded missing page. It usually goes something like this, “step 24, connect part 3b which you assembled on the previous page with part 4b, 6d, and 7a.”
You madly search for the previous page before deciding to force tab 43 into the slot meant for bolt 21. No matter what you are building, the result always looks like something more at home in the modern art museum than your home.
Life is much more complicated than the assembly a jungle gym or a desk from Ikea. Lives put together without an instruction manual are doomed to failure. Essential parts will be missing and there will be numerous pieces wasted. Fortunately, God has provided us life’s instruction manual, the Bible. Unlike, manuals created by man, God’s manual is 100% accurate and guaranteed to produce the desired result. In addition, God provides assistance (no, not customer support from India). God has given his children the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can be trusted to explain instruction which may be difficult for us understand. It is foolish to live without consulting the manufacturers manual.
However, it would be even more foolish for us to attempt to remove pages from the manual. When we begin making our own “improvements” to God’s word to customize it to our lifestyle, we risk doing damage to our lives and the lives of those who follow. Once we begin removing pages where do we stop? What are we left with if everyone who may be offended has the opportunity to edit God’s word?
We once served a customized god. We borrowed from different faiths and beliefs; everything we liked we kept and everything we did not like we discarded. In the Bible this is called idolatry and it is nearly as old as time itself. Customized gods are impotent gods, incapable of producing anything but despair. When we looked behind and saw those who were following us would inherit our impotent god, we began seeking the authentic God. Following the authentic God requires discipline and obedience but it produces a life of abundance and joy.
Connections will follow God’s instructions and accept it’s authority. We will not edit His word. Connections trusts the Holy Spirit’s guidance in understanding the historical context of scripture as well as the modern implications.
Read the following passage. Do you trust in God’s word? Have you been tempted to edit hard to understand scriptures? It has become common to attempt to fit God’s word into the world’s view, instead of seeking an understanding of the world through God’s word. An instruction manual with missing pages can be more hazardous than having no manual at all.
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