Is God For You or Against You?
So many people are walking around lost, without hope, and full of fear, depression and anger. And so many have hardened their hearts against God. But it doesn't have to be that way. There is hope.
Proverbs 1 is a chapter that brings much comfort for those who know Christ and yet horror for those who don't. The Lord promises in this chapter to watch over and protect those who fear Him and walk in His ways but for those who refuse Him (after He relentlessly pursues them), it says He will literally laugh at them when calamity strikes their lives. He responds to the hearts that come to Him in humble repentance and willingness to lay down their own agenda and live for Him. The Lord promised to be an 'ever-present help in time of need' to His children (Psalm 46:1). He promised to be a shelter, a strong tower that we can run into and be safe (Psalm 91:2). He promised to rescue us from every trap and protect us from deadly disease (Ps.91). But what we often miss is that He said He sent HIS WORD to heal us and deliver us from all our destructions (Psalm 107:20).
We must value the written Word of God above every other tangible thing on this earth. Let me repeat that. WE MUST VALUE THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD ABOVE EVERY OTHER TANGIBLE THING ON THIS EARTH. It's the ONLY thing on this earth that is not passing away. It's the same yesterday, today and forever. It's alive and active and more powerful than a two-edged sword. Yes, more powerful than any weapon on earth. It's more powerful to accomplish its purposes than any weapon or even doctor's scalpel. It can even discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Try finding a psychiatrist or counselor that can do that!
The Holy Bible IS the Holy Word. John 1 tells us in the beginning was the WORD and the WORD was WITH God and the WORD WAS GOD.
Do you see it? There is no separating God from His written Word. He didn't just dictate it to man as a great book of guidelines for life. It's WHO He is: Alive and Powerful. God is Holy. And the Holy Bible is His Word. Holy = set apart; undefiled; pure. Unchanging. Immovable. Omniscient.
How much do you love and cherish God? To gauge your answer to that, you must honestly ask yourself "How much do I love and cherish the Holy Bible?" Do I value what it says more than any other source of information? Do I desire to understand it and obey it more than anything or anyone else? If your answer is no, ask Him to change your heart and give you a love for Him and His Word. As you set aside sin, pick up the Word and spend time with Jesus, He will begin to mold your heart in His likeness.
Yes, there are those who have great head knowledge of the Bible but are wicked to the core. These are people who read for power and knowledge, not out of a love for God and desire to genuinely know Him and experience intimate friendship with God regardless of the personal sacrifice required. Jesus calls them “white-washed tombs” - they are consumed with a self-righteous, religious spirit. That spirit is not of God but Satan. It is a sick, perverted counterfeit that wreaks death wherever it goes. There are also those that refuse to 'rightly divide the Word of God' but instead twist its truth to fit a personal agenda or false doctrine. In Matthew 5, Jesus clearly states that only the pure in heart can see God. Only the "poor in spirt" (humble) will inherit the kingdom of God. For that reason, one of my daily requests to God is that He "create in me a clean heart and a right spirit" (Psalm 51:10).
You may ask, "What about all the people who have never had access to a Bible?" Just like Jesus did with Saul on the road to Tarsus, God has revealed Himself to countless individuals who had no Bible. Countless Muslims, Chinese, Middle Easterners, Africans, and more, have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ by Him revealing Himself to them through dreams, visions and Christian witnesses.
The Bible is "Logos", the written Word of God to man. There is also "Rhema", the inspired Word of God spoken directly to us individually. God is not limited by the written (logos) Word. But understand this...His spoken (Rhema) Word to us always aligns with His written Word. Beware of anyone who claims to have a "revelation" or "word" from God that does not line up with the written Word found in the Holy Bible.
There are many false religions that claim to believe the Bible and also have books that have additional "revelation" from men and angels that do not line up with the Truth of God's Holy Word. The Word calls them false teachers and false prophets.
The Bible tells us many will be deceived and perish for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6; Matt.24:24). We can be easily deceived and led astray if we do not study the Bible and make every effort to meditate upon it, know it, memorize it, apply it in our everyday lives. When we hide (memorize) scripture in our hearts, it will keep us from sin and deception (Psalm 19:9-11).
When I was faced with the deadly diagnosis of late stage, extremely aggressive Ovarian Cancer, I immediately turned to the Lord through prayer and His Word. I knew the Lord had spoken to me before I received the test results and told me I would test positive but that it was not going to be unto death. However, the reality of these results (in the natural) was extremely grim. It would have been easy for my faith to cower in the presence of this giant. However, when I began to consider what God had to say about it according to scripture, I had the knowledge and power to know there was hope. Regardless of what the doctors and test results said, I knew what the Lord had told me. what the Bible said, and I was able to stand strong in His report. His truth. I didn't crumble in fear, anger or hopelessness at the report of man. Because I had scripture hidden in my heart, I was able to go to the arsenal within my soul and stand against the seemingly impossible.
I think it's safe to say most everyone reading this has access to a Bible. Therefore, we are without excuse. We have been given the greatest treasure on earth. The contents within those pages possess the power to transform us and take us from glory to glory, from victory to victory. Yet tragically for many, it sits gathering dust on a shelf somewhere in their home, while their hearts, minds, bodies, and lives are filled with defeat, depression, anxiety, sickness and hopelessness.
Jeremiah 29:13 says we will seek God and find Him when we seek Him with all of our hearts. Notice it doesn't say when we educate ourselves with university degrees, but when we seek Him with all of our HEART. We cannot expect the Bible to 'come alive' to us when we merely approach it with our head. We must come to God, through Christ, humbly seeking truth. When we do, He will cause the truth and power of the Word to burst forth from within us by the power of His Holy Spirit!
You see, God didn't give His only son to be tortured and killed as a sacrifice for our sin so we could have cerebral knowledge of Him cloaked in religious haughtiness. His pure, deep, fatherly love for us and His desire to restore relationship with us is what drove Jesus to the cross. Jesus said, "I and the Father are one. If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. My Words are His Words." (John 14:9-10 paraphrased). He went on to explain how He and the Father desire to be with us: that we be "of one mind and one heart" with the Lord. He desires for us "to live and move and have our being in Him"(Acts 17:28). The more we surrender our daily activities to God and the more we have the scriptures in our heart and on our mind, the more "alive" and "powerfully active" it can become in our life.
It's not complicated. It's actually simple enough for even a child to grasp. Jesus said, "Behold I stand at the door of your heart and knock. If any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come in and fellowship with him and he with Me” (Rev.3:20). He loves you. He wants to be in every part of your life. He wants to transform you, empowering you to live a life of victory over sin. He wants to talk to you. He desires to share His heart with you; the deep secrets of His heart. He wants to give you the desires of your heart. He wants to blow you away with the wonder of His presence. He wants to do the impossible in you and through you. He wants to bless you "above and beyond what you could ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20). He wants to flood your heart and mind with a peace and joy that far surpass your circumstances. He gave His life on the cross of Calvary for you to have all of this and more. That's the Good News! And He is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). He has made provision for ANYONE and EVERYONE who truly desires an intimate relationship with Him. He will be "..a friend that sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24).
Won't you surrender your life to Him today? Open your mind, as well as your heart, to His Holy Word. Ask the Holy Spirit of God to come and reveal Himself to you through the Truth of His Holy Word today. I promise, it will be the best choice you ever make…for ALL eternity!