Walking With The Lord: Reading God's Word, the Holy Bible

I have had a very heavy heart as of late, as I ponder and evaluate what it means to live as a Born Again Christian in today's world. My heart is broken as I look at our culture, at our country and at those who consider themselves apart of the Christian Body, even if in name only.

Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called 'Today,' so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 

Hebrews 3: 12-13 (NAS)

Christianity is destroying itself. Where, for a time is was a slow erosion, this is not so now. Our world is moving at an insanely fast pace. There is always one more thing to do, to accomplish, to be apart of, to learn, to engage in, to distract us from what it most important. Christianity is no different, we are following the dogma of the world. We are working so hard to spread the knowledge of the Word of God, which is awesome and should and needs to be done, but in the process, I'm worried we are no longer focusing enough on each individual building up a truly strong foundation in the Lord.

The two most important ways we develop a personal relationship with God, our Lord in Heaven, is first through times of prayer and times of focusing on Him. Second, we do this by reading the Bible. There is no other book like the Word of God, the Holy Bible, the True Living Word. Fundamentally it's where the ground works of Christianity exist. It guides us through the steps of how to lay a foundation down in the Lord that is so strong that nothing in this world can shake, erode or destroy it.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Hebrews 4: 12-13 (NIV)

Yet, as we build this core foundation, where is it that we seek our information about how to live as Christians or learn what it actually means to be a Christian? Often, we turn to man for the answers, we fill our free time reading books or attending lectures and talks about every subject under the sun. To a certain extent this is fine and a necessary part of learning. There is no problem in reading other works and certainly there is not one of us who can claim we know it all, so then we should learn from one another. Where there is an issue though is when those other books, people and so forth, take precedent over the Bible. Why is it that we are rarely taught to turn to the Lord for our answers. I am often amazed how much the Lord God can reveal through prayer with Him and reading of His Word. I am also amazed at how many answers exist in the Bible.


One of the greatest deception that is hindering and destroying the Christian church today is instead of wrapping our lives around God's Word and living as it calls us to do, we fit God's Word into our lives, not truly desiring to change, but instead looking for validation to continue to live as we always have. This approach toward Christianity is causing the unraveling of a belief system that is based off of truth so sound that in the end nothing can refute it. It's not that there is an error in God's Word or in how He calls us to live. The fault lies with the people who are not seeking to hand their lives over to God, who refuse to let go of the control and submit themselves to God's will. Even using the word submit, I'm sure makes some of us cringe, but why? What is wrong with submitting when the One who we are submitting to designed us, knows us inside and out and is our Father who lives in Heaven, yet through the Holy Spirit dwells within us. What an amazing honor it is to submit ourselves before the God of the universe. What an amazing privilege it is to pray directly to Him and request that He open our eyes, remove the veil that keeps us from not seeing and ask Him to fill us with knowledge, wisdom and understanding.

As Christians we must be on constant guard against deception. We do this by seeking the Lord and the wisdom He can reveal to us in our time of prayer and reading the Bible. For every author you read and every teacher you listen to, no matter how long you've known them to be a man/woman of God or if they are completely new to you, you MUST confirm what they are saying is true through prayer and the Word of God. Be as the Bureans were in Acts:

 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. 

Acts 17: 11-12 (NIV)

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 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

For this is contained in Scripture:
         "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone,
         AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."

 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
         '"THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,
         THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,"

and,
         "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE"; 

for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

1 Peter 2: 1-17 (NAS)

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And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." 

Revelations 19: 11-16