Why Read the Bible?

Dr. Mike 2023, Scriptures , , , , , , ,

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

There are multiple reasons to read the Bible. Though one of the first options you may want to choose is simply to transform your thinking to better understand the mind of God.

My recommendation for those who have not read the Bible and do not know where to start, is to begin with one section – the Book of Ecclesiastes. (I accidentally did over fifty years ago which began a life journey searching for God, Purpose, and Truth). Many scholars believe Ecclesiastes was written approximately three thousand years ago to a worldwide audience responding to life’s more metaphysical questions which are still pertinent today – the pursuit of happiness and meaning.

Afterwards, then begin a plan to read the Bible from the first page in Genesis through the last page in Revelation with only the theme of discovering the mind and character of God. You can skim through many of the details this way and focus on the parts which reveals God’s interaction with humanity and how specific people walked with God. These sections will give you greater insight in who God is and how he relates similarly and differently with people in various circumstances.

Such an exercise will open your mind to better understand who you are choosing to follow in a relational, covenantal agreement. Don’t you want to know everything you can about a person you want to spend the rest of your life within marriage? The same is true with our relationship with the Living God.

On the other hand, if you have a certain topic on your mind, you may want to use an online concordance to search all the Scriptures pertaining to your subject. This is the way I initially started to study the Bible. In fact, the first topic I ever chose to search was money. Since I was going into the business arena and enjoyed making money, I wanted to know everything the Bible discussed on the topic. Years later, I am still learning and still find enjoyment to discover new aspects about money, which was always in the Bible, but now viewed from a more holistic perspective.

You probably have subjects which currently are at the top of your mind. Why not search the pages of the Bible and discover what 1,500 years of collective writings by forty authors assembled together with the same Spirit reveals about human nature, God’s divine nature, and solutions which have proven successful over time?

The pages within the Bible reveal the mind and heart of God in comparison with the heart and mind of humanity. Over time you will acquire knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of how people may best apply themselves to live an enrich and fulfilling life now and hope for the future. You learn how God designed the world with purpose, mapped out for us how best to succeed, and provide the means and resources to live a free, flourishing, and fulfilling life when done according to HIS way.

Yes, it requires relearning the falsehoods taught by this world’s culture, and accepting personal responsibility for one’s choices, but as one learns God’s good Will and lives by HIS way, one moves into a new created order reserved for HIS children who want to experience life the way HE created you and I to live from the beginning of time.

Read the Book. You will be astonished by the insight you gain about yourself, others, and God.   

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager, Faith-Integrator, Scribbler

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Technology Trap

Dr. Mike 2023 , ,

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 7:12, 10:10

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 10:10

If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed.

Ecclesiastes 7:12

For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.

Yes, there is a time for everything. And wisdom will give you the insight on how to take advantage of the moment. Especially when it comes to the utilization of technology in your personal life.

In my lifetime, I have experienced the birth of email, internet, and smart phones. Along with learning how best to use all three for corporate use, I have slowly revamped myself in using such labor-saving devices as a servant rather than a god of my personal life.

Technology is awesome. I like to think God Almighty has open the doors to give us a mechanical taste of how HE operates the universe. I speculate that HE must have some type of software to operate the entire universe and has given humanity a portion of the same diagram to operate our lives. Whether or not that be true, I am one who is thankful and grateful for modern technology.

Yet at the same time, I am scared. Scared that many people have not yet learned to manage technology and instead have allowed technology to rule them. Instead of recognizing the problem, we now hide behind technology. Instead of directly relating with people, we hide behind our screens. Instead of sharing our real selves with others, we create webpages highlighting the romantic ideal picture of what we want others to think of us and hide the other broken human aspects. As a people we have lost touch connecting with others in a deep and profound way. We are losing what it means to be human.

The trap is replacing the personal connection with a technological image. Instead of breaking down walls between people, we now build walls with our technological boxes. When you observe in restaurants a family gather together and each person playing with their smart phones instead of directly communicating with each other, something is lost. The ability to communicate and relate in an intimate way is being taken over by a box.

In my younger days, we witnessed the same when television sets started to show up in people’s homes. People initially gathered together and watched a one-hour special program and then spent the time thereafter discussing the show. Move forward twenty years later, and people would gather around the TV and watch four hours of programing and spend maybe five minutes in total time sharing their thoughts with each other. Technology has made us lazy in human effort.   

Television and all other technology devices are great time savers of efficiency. But are also very alluring to capture our attention away from relating with people. When technology replaces people in your life, beware. You have entered the danger zone. You have become addicted to a virtual reality instead of real life. Virtual reality may satisfy your immediate gratification. But like all things worth pursuing, the best things in life take work, effort, and self-discipline to achieve. When it comes to the human experience and maximizing your human potential, nothing is better than direct one-on-one connection with another person. Where the human reality of intimacy, ideas, and values are shared and discussed. Without that personal touch, we are treating technology as a god to worship rather than a tool to assist us in being more human.   

Don’t let your technological devices rule you. Instead realize the problem and learn to manage the tools for your human experience. The tools in your life are to maximize your potential as a human, not live trapped behind the dictates of a techno god.

So, make wisdom your friend. Spend more time acquiring similar friends and learn from them. When you combine wisdom with technology then your world will open up and you will experience what it means to be fully human. Bottom-line: technological traps keep you from fully living and experiencing your human potential. Isn’t that worth overcoming?

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager, Faith-Integrator, Scribbler

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First Things First

Dr. Mike 2023 , , , , ,

Matthew 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Put first things first is a tagline and principle I initially read about over thirty years ago where the author Mr. Stephen Covey discussed the habits of highly successful people. Prior to Mr. Covey’s book, C.S. Lewis also wrote about always prioritizing the first thing first. He added that when the second thing becomes the first thing in one’s life, one will lose out on both. However, when the first thing is pursued over the second thing, the second thing comes along in the process.

This same principle Jesus spoke to HIS audience some two thousand years earlier but added the main thing. After discussing the human aspects people pursue in this physical world, and the anxiety and stress one subjects themselves from the process, HIS sermon on the mount (Matt. 5–7) emphasized the primary first objective needs to be accepting God’s authority and value system in our lives.

When we come to realize God’s Kingdom is HIS way of governing people (also the spiritual realm) to live in harmony, and HIS moral character is the compass which provides boundaries to safeguard lives, plus HIS attributes highlight the priceless values to attain an abundant life, when followed as the first objective in one’s life, leads to a flourishing and fulfilling life for oneself and others. Outside of God’s Kingdom, people may steal their way to a better life at the expense of all others, but God’s selfless way allows everyone who participates to float toward the top.  

Life is a learning process preparing you and I for eternity. We gain a taste of HIS ways when we put into practice HIS governing principles being led by HIS Spirit under the tutelage of Jesus Christ. When we understand how HIS Kingdom operates and follow HIS examples of human relations and doing good work, plus focus our worship on HIM, we begin to reflect HIS ways which leads to a life of governing the self through the Spirit, serving others in Christ’s name, and producing Kingdom results in your corner of the world.

When one captures the vision of God’s Kingdom, begins to implement HIS ways of governing the self and others, and reflects Christ’s character in all matters, one is pleasantly surprised by how all the other secondary things fall into place. Put first things first and the rest will be added to you.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager, Faith-Integrator, Scribbler Learn & Grow:  

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