Read the Instructions First

I'm one of those weird guys that likes to read the instructions before I assemble anything.  I have always been this way.  I'm a former/recovering perfectionist, so you other perfectionist instruction reading guys and gals can relate to my obsessiveness with reading instructions.  How else are you supposed to know what order to put things on and how clip things to this and screw things to that?  Some people I know think they know it all and don't need the instructions.  They just start putting things together and they just hope it is correct.  Most of the time when people do this, the item they assembled either falls apart, breaks, or doesn't work at all....and there are also usually many pieces left over that they just left off because they could not figure out where or how they went on the item.

Based on my word of mouth poll, I would say about half of you read the instructions before you put together that new trike for little Susie, and about half of you just wing it.  Based on another word of mouth poll only about 5% of those claiming to be Christians read their Bible consistently (for the purpose of this post I am defining consistently as reading 3.5 days per week).  Interestingly, about 95% of those I polled who claim to be Christians struggle with things like anger, bitterness, depression, fear, doubt, chronic illness, marriage problems, lust, etc.  See any correlation in my poll? 

Many people believe the Bible is not relevant to their daily life, but I believe that it is absolutely relevant and necessary for your daily life.  Who knows better what you need and how to communicate that to you than the One who created you?  The Bible is not about a set of rules for you to follow.  God saw that there was a better way than the law....it was JESUS!!!!!  The Bible is a love story.  The story of God's love for me.  His love for you.  He loves you.  The Bible is a manual on how to overcome, succeed, prosper, love, forgive, receive healing, and on and on I could go.  Dive into your Bible and start reading about how much God loves you.  I recommend reading  1 John, Ephesians, and Psalm 103-126 for starters. 

Just remember, its about relationship not results.  This post is not about condemnation for not reading your Bible, its a challenge for you to pursue a relationship with God.