I tried using the directions but they are too complicated, I’ll just try to do it without the directions! Sound familiar? Sometimes it may feel like that when applying biblical instructions to your life. How do we apply the Bible to our lives? First, we must know it. This can involve listening to it, reading it, meditating on scriptures, memorizing God’s Word, attending Bible study groups, and listening to Bible-focused messages. It’s hard to apply something you do not know, so it is important to actually read and study Scripture for yourself. On difficult modern issues, we often treat the Bible as irrelevant. But the Bible is our instruction book on life, there are answers in God’s word to even the toughest problems. The thing is sometimes it’s a challenge to know when and which scriptures to apply to certain situations. How does an ancient book, written thousands of years ago, connect with our twenty-first century problems? You are getting divorced. You catch your child posting something inappropriate on the Internet. Someone in your circle is depressed. A relative was just diagnosed with an incurable disease. You don’t want to hand out religious clichés or just say have faith, you want to offer real hope and help from God’s Word. Sometimes this can be easy, but sometimes it’s like trying to put something together using the directions. The directions are so complicated you decide to just wing it without the directions.( that’s me). Usually we either mess it up or have a headache from trying to fix it and give up. This same concept applies to our lives and God’s directions. In order for the outcome to be good and eliminate unnecessary headaches , we must learn how to be obedient and follow God’s directions. Life situations that causes anxiety or worry such as; financial crisis, exams, relationship issues, child discipline, death, and even losing a job, all have easy instructions to follow in the Bible. We have God telling us in Philippians 4:6 to “Do not be anxious about anything” . In Genesis 37, we have the story of Joseph which teaches us how to respond in a godly way when fired unjustly from a job, or treated unfairly, it helps us to maintain a perspective that God is working it out for our good. We are confident that the Bible speaks relevantly and authoritatively to problems such as anger, conflict, pride, fear and money. We tend to gravitate toward the scriptures that we know and are easy to understand, although they may not apply to the situation. How can we be sure we are using scriptures properly? How can we be sure we are doing justice to the Author’s intent? How can we be sure the Apostle’s meaning in the First Century applies to the present? The challenge is even greater when using the Old Testament. What does wandering Israelites about to engage in bloody warfare have to do with drug abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking, school shootings, etc.? A lot of questions, right? If you know the answers, feel free to share. This is what I know, the Bible is God’s revelation for believers of all ages, times, and places. It is good to use scriptures that speak specifically to our everyday experiences. We share the same struggles common to people of all eras, so we should expect God’s revelation to them to resonate to us. The Bible treats sin and suffering in such profound and multifaceted ways that no struggle, no matter how complex, stands outside the Gospels truths. I cannot stress enough the importance of Bible study, not just in groups, but your alone time with God. My son taught me that, and I can honestly say it has helped me to understand even more deeply the Christ-centered perspective the Bible advocates. You will find fulfillment in the Word, you will get closer to Jesus, who will bridge the gap between the Old testament, New Testament and these modern times. The Bible is “Our book, because it is His book, and we are His!” I like that, don’t remember who said it. Although the Bible may not always give us a step-by-step approach to present problems unforeseen by biblical witnesses, because it was inspired by God, it provides a comprehensive view of people and problems that we can use. The first truth is, no matter the era, it is the same God, the same Savior, and the same Salvation. The second truth is Jesus revealed God’s Holiness, he showed us God’s wisdom, and in His death He illustrated God’s love. We may not be able to grasp everything about God(He never fails to amaze me) but we as believers know that he is limitless and we are limited in our thinking. That being said instead of going to the “easy” or familiar scriptures, dig deep with study, seek Jesus for answers and there is no problem or situation the Bible can’t help you with. After all it was written by man but inspired by God. Much Love….
EMMANUEL 