I Totally Misunderstood

Devoting one’s life to God and filling their everyday lives with scripture is a very respectable and admirable thing. However, eventually one must ask if they are living what they are learning or are they simply applying their religious makeup for the day. For many, most people believe that they are doing what they are supposed to be doing and if they are selfish enough will believe that they deserve a pat on the back for their daily dedication to The Lord. However, what a person of this belief would feel dismayed to discover is that it takes a lot more effort and further actions in order to truly be a dedicated and victorious Child of God.

I wake up every day and give my first 2 hours and 45 minutes to Him every morning, which is the equivalent of the first 10% of my day. My time with the Lord always consists of good and solid Bible time. I find extreme joy from reading and studying the books in the Old Testament each and every day. I love reading the history, but what I love more is allowing God to take the reigns in my perception and have Him show me exactly what He wants me to learn from that scripture.

Living a life dedicated to God requires so much more than spending special time each day with your Bible. I myself thought that I was doing all the right things by tithing each of my mornings to God by reading scriptures, but then I realized during church one Sunday service at church that being a devoted Child of God requires so much more than that and it’s totally began transforming my life forever.

There are many Christians who make it a point to have some Bible time each day which is highly respected, however, many people misinterprets the true meaning and intensions that God has for the Bible in the world past, present and in the future. It would seem based off of His words in Joshua 1:7-8 that His expectations for His children when reading the Bible are to not read with the intention of reading as many volumes of scriptures in a day as possible but instead to read The Bible with the intention of focusing on one scripture or story at a time and truly learning the lesson that is being taught through that example.

Joshua 1:7-8 states “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ⁸ Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

This scripture showcases and highlights what God’s expectations are from The Bible and how He has created it to be an eternal tool for humanity. The Bible contains so much wisdom, guidance, and various tools that are meant to serve as keys to ultimate success in life. The scriptures are meant to lead us to peace and abundant living, they are not intended to tear us down and make us feel worthless. This is a common misunderstanding of the context of The Word from both believers and non-believers.

This is why reading the Bible with God’s genuine intentions in mind is so important. God doesn’t want His children to read His word just because or to read and go throughout the day. Instead, He wants His children to read the Bible with goal to learn what is being taught so that they can reflect in their own lives and see how they can become more like the example of what He is expecting from within each Biblical situation whether it’s in the Old or New Testament.

Instead of using the Bible for selfish reasons, Christians need to read it to genuinely learn how Christians can live their lives according to God’s expectations of us. Although it is impossible to be perfect, God gives us wisdom and solid advice throughout the Bible that allows His followers to walk in a direction that keeps them from harm. To acquire a thorough understanding of how The Bible is genuinely intended also affects the way Christians continue on to teach it to others. When Christians can communicate God’s intent for scriptures to their peers, loved ones, and newcomers of the faith they are presenting genuine truth and leading those individuals in an honest and honorable way.

To lead others into this direction of understanding sets humanity on a really good road for further success. There is unfortunately way too many misunderstandings of the Bible, the intentions of it, and regarding who God is and what He is truly like. People use the Bible as a tool of judgment, a tool to rest in the assumption that God is not love and pure punishment, and so many other assessments that just aren’t true. Religious Christians can go their whole lives committing their days to reading The Bible but unless they figure out that they have to live their lives in reflection of what they read, they will never reach that level of connection with The Lord that is so precious.