The Bible 

The Bible is our Guide. It is God’s Book of instruction teaching us how He wants us to live. Everything in God’s Word is for teaching us and admonishing us to conform to God’s Word and be transformed into Christlikeness (2 Timothy 3:16).

We live in a time when the opposite is taking place. Instead of allowing God’s Word to change us, we change God’s Word to suit our ideas and ideologies. 

We don’t get to know God as He introduces Himself in the Bible. Instead, we attempt to shape and mold God to fit into the small, neat box we created for Him. After all, how can a loving, forgiving God do the things we read about in the Bible? 

God instructed Joshua to destroy cities, reduce them to rubble, and kill everyone and everything in them. This included men, women and children. Yes, even babies.  

They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys (Joshua 6:21). 

We can’t reconcile this with the comfortable picture of God we have in our minds, so we choose either not to read this or not to believe what we read. 

Others hide this behind the Cross, suggesting that God may have done this before the crucifixion, but after Calvary, everything changed, right? 

We conveniently forget that God doesn’t change. He is still Holy, and sin remains detestable to Him. Forgiveness is only for those who receive and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

I recently read a commentary where someone said that she couldn’t serve a God Who would allow the death and suffering of children and babies. It is a tough situation.

Our picture of God

We honestly want to serve God, but only if He fits with our picture of Him, which is often a sort of Father Christmas, high in the sky. He’s only there to make us feel warm and fuzzy. He is a sort of highfalutin butler or servant who caters to all our needs.

We don’t want to admit this because we dislike acknowledging our own exalted ideas of ourselves. Who would freely admit that they consider themselves wiser than God and prefer their own ideologies over the God of the Bible?

Here’s the kicker: God will not change to accommodate us or our ideas of what He is like. We must either live within the boundaries He set for us or, like the rich young ruler, choose to walk away from Him. God has given us freedom of choice, and He will not force us to choose Him and His ways. However, He encourages us to choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Freedom of choice 

I know many people will not like what I say and will reject my point of view. In this, too, they have freedom of choice. In the end, each of us have to answer for ourselves. Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God (Romans 14:12). 

We can’t take responsibility for someone else’s decisions or actions. We are responsible only for ourselves. 

I believe that Christians are sincere, but they can also be sincerely wrong. I include myself in this description as I navigate the labyrinth of what I call the Christian path.

Having said this, I sincerely believe that the Bible is God’s infallible Word, and He expects us to live according to it.

Biblical principles 

The Bible contains many godly principles that will benefit us greatly if we adhere to them.

The Bible admonishes us not to neglect church attendance and our coming together as believers in Christ, yet many people choose not to attend church for various reasons.  

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near (Hebrews 10:25). 

One of the most prevalent reasons is that a fellow believer disappointed them, or did not meet their expectations. Some choose to stay away because attending church services is inconvenient. Others say that they stay away because they do not want to share breathing space with hypocrites. Whatever the excuse, we unwittingly elevate our own ideas, comfort, and choices above God’s Word.

Many believers choose not to follow a discipline of daily Bible reading and prayer. For many of these people, the reason is that their devotions have become an empty ritual, devoid of meaningful results. Others have turned it into a performance-based activity where they attempt to score points with God. Eventually, their time with God becomes so devoid of His Spirit that they give up on it. Others say that they don’t have the time for it.  

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do (Joshua 1:8).

Tithing is another sore point. There are many reasons not to tithe, the most popular being an inability to afford it, or a desire to avoid a legalistic life.

A worldly perspective 

The world encourages us to do whatever makes us happy. The Bible is viewed as an ancient, outdated Book that hasn’t kept up with the times. Adhering to Biblical principles and disciplines is difficult. We are encouraged to be ourselves with the assurance that God loves us just the way we are. No matter what we do or don’t do, we can’t make God love us any more or any less. 

Who wants to follow archaic beliefs and principles? We are told to lighten up and get with the times. Times have changed. Outlooks have changed. Principles have changed. Really?

We love hearing that God loves us and that nothing will change His love for us. We adopt an “anything goes” attitude and expect God to be pleased with us. We do not like to hear that God hates sin. Yes, He loves us, but He hates our sins.

God is unchanging 

The Bible tells us that God is unchanging. He doesn’t change His character or His principles to accommodate us. When we choose contrary to His principles, we choose to walk away from Him, and no justification on our part will negate this.

When Jesus met the rich young ruler, he walked away from Jesus because his riches were more important than a relationship with God (Luke 18:22-23). We do the same when we choose our ideas over God’s principles.

I, too, fell into this trap. 

Ever since I was saved, I faithfully paid my tithe every month. Did I become rich because of it? No. Did it meet my expectations? No. Increasingly, I felt that all I was doing was trying to impress God. Eventually, I convinced myself that I could not continue in this vein. It became more difficult to keep up with tithing as I had less money and more challenges, and no matter how hard I tried, I failed to impress God.

This led me to convince myself not to live this way. I didn’t want to practice a legalistic faith. A relationship with God was more important than keeping rules and regulations, was it not? Didn’t Jesus pay the price for my failure to keep God’s laws? I had many arguments ready to defend my stance.

God is faithful. If one truly seeks Him, He will meet with that person. He promised that if we seek Him, He will be found by us. Furthermore, He will help us to do His will.

It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God (2 Corinthians 3:5).

I did not stop praying about tithing. I sought God for answers. Eventually, I realized that the principles were not lacking, but my perspective on them was.

Obedience 

We are to obey God. We can’t pick and choose which parts of the Bible apply to us or suit us. God’s principles are for our blessing, not for harm. 

Neglecting church means that we deprive ourselves of spiritual support and the opportunity to worship and pray together. God listens to individual prayer, but there is such anointing in communal prayer. God dwells in the praises of His people. Personally, I have found a significant difference between praise and worship on my own, and as part of an assembly of believers. 

When we turn spiritual disciplines into performance-based rituals, the problem lies with us, not with the principles. Bible reading and prayer are not exercises to fulfill obligations. Would you want to spend time with someone who feels obligated to be with you? 

Daily devotions flow from a heart of love for God and a hunger for His Word and His presence. If He doesn’t meet with us or answer our prayers according to our expectations, our expectations should change. God will not change, nor will His principles.

Sometimes, all we need to do is be quiet and rest in God, leaving all the busyness and anxieties behind and sit quietly at His feet as Mary did. If we become still, He will speak to us.

Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).

I decided to tithe again. Why? It had landed me in financial trouble before. Why would it be different now? 

First, I realized that tithing did not cause poverty. I wasn’t a good steward of the ninety percent that remained. God not only commands that we tithe, but He also gives us a wonderful promise of blessing when we obey His command. God is faithful. He does what He says. 

Did I become rich? Did I reap a hundredfold of what I sowed? Did I suddenly become super-spiritual? The answer to all these questions is no. However, remembering that God promised Abram that He would be his exceedingly great and abundant reward (Genesis 15:1), I can see many rewards and riches in my life that surpass financial prosperity.

God blesses obedience. It is as simple and as profound as that. He told us to meditate on His Word day and night. We are not to neglect the reading of His Word or His commands. Yes, Jesus came to fulfill God’s commandments, not to abolish them. Disobedience to God’s Word and instructions is still a sin. We can’t continue in sin and expect God’s blessing on it.

God, our Father

If we profess to be God’s children, we ought to live by His principles. While children live with their parents, they are expected to follow their parents’ rules. Why would we think God would be any different? If He is our Father, we abide by His rules. We read the Bible, study it, meditate on it, and do what it says.  Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him (Ephesians 5:6). 

We do not negotiate the terms of our relationship with God. We live within the boundaries He set, or we choose to live without Him. We have freedom of choice, but God will not change to accommodate us.

Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them (John 14:21). 

Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you (1 Thessalonians 4:8). 

My prayer daily is that God will faithfully chase after us and bring us back to Him when we stray. 

He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:8-9).