The Good Book

Have I mentioned that I’m a book junkie? I know I have in this blog. Books are like potato chips to me. I can’t (buy) just one. And I luuuuv going to the bookstore. I mean, I can go to the bookstore and buy four and five books at a time with no problem. And the Christian bookstore…….oh forget it! I am addicted to the Christian bookstore. I love the Potomac Adventist Bookstore in Silver Spring. I mean, absolutely love it. There’s always a book signing or treat sampling going on. I just love the environment of that store with such a HUGE variety of all types of Christian literature.

But this morning I got sorta a revelation. Ok, actually I got it a couple of nights ago. But this morning it hit me. Every morning I have my television tuned on Christian programming. And every morning it seems like there is a guest promoting his/her Christian book. Ain’t nothing wrong with that just as long as the motives are right. But what I find is that everybody wants to sell their interpretation of the Word of God.

So this morning, I received a revelation that said to me it is in each individual’s studying of the Word that the Lord will speak. One can read the same scripture 10 times, but it may be on that 11th time that the reader “hears” the Lord speak. The only book a Christian need to follow is the Word of God. The Word of God is life. It is amazing how it is written and orchestrated and arranged. The Word had to be inspired and Spiritually written by God because if you go deep you will find some astounding stuff.

For instance, I was watching Pastor Joseph Prince in the wee hours of the morning a few weeks ago. And he was teaching on grace. I had already known that the number 5 represents God’s grace. But he taught something that was so profound. At least it was my first time hearing it. What he said was that in many stories in the Bible when the story mentioned the character’s name the fifth time it was mentioned as God was showing His grace to that character.

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. –Ruth 1:22

In the Book of Ruth, when Ruth’s name was mentioned the fifth time it was when the Lord had laid upon Naomi’s heart to allow Ruth to go back with her to her land. Grace. Joseph Prince had given other examples such as Job, but because the Book of Ruth is probably my favorite Old Testament book I clung on to it.

But that was a revelation the Lord gave to Joseph Prince. And although he shared it with the audience, and although some of us grasped it, it was indeed a revelation for him. But Prince shared it with us, not transferring it into another book and selling the revelation in which God gave him.

Soooo, my thought today is…….why do we feel the need to repackage and sell God’s Word????? Where did this come from? There are so many formats today in which Christians can get the Gospel out for free. There's is Facebook, My Space, and even blogging. But to write one's revelation of the Word, doll it up with a nice cover, and sell it makes me wonder now. I mean, I realize that the Bible can be a little difficult to grasp and understand, and that some people’s books help to interpret the Bible. But I firmly believe that that is the whole idea of getting into the Word......to gain understanding of whom God is and who He wants us to be. Its almost like dating. We don't know everything up front, and it may be intimidating. But when you are studying that person and trying to get to know that person, that is what builds a solid relationship. I mean, can I ever build a relationship with someone through somebody else's opinion of the person??????

I remember when I came across the scripture…… “For what shall it profit a man to gain this whole world, but lose his own soul (Mark 8:36)”, I started crying. That scripture spoke deep to me when I first read it, and it still does. But then to come across the story of the wealthy man in the New Testament who was the ONLY person to come into Jesus’ presence, but left worse than when he came. I was speechless. That revelatory knowledge changed my life! It changed how I viewed money. Sometimes I’d be reading the Word and be like………WHAT!!!!!

But I love books. And I’d be the first to admit that I love teachings from Christian scholars. I really do. Especially, John Bevere. But I have to get to the point where reading my Bible is the only book I read; cause its the only book I need (promise you I ain't trying to rhyme--lol). And I know that the Lord has soooo much more He wants to reveal to me. But through His Word, not through a third-party source.

“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.” –Mark 4:24