Missing the Point

When we read Scripture

If Christ doesn't become more beautiful,

If we do not see more of God's heart,

If the depth of the sin in our heart is not exposed,

If our souls aren't stirred to praise God,

If we seek merely to understand the meaning of Scripture apart from it's application,

If it doesn't drive us to prayer,

If we do not love God more,

If our love is not stirred for our neighbors, 

If our heart is lifted up in pride and we make a mental list of all the ways we are obeying,

If we focus on a list of to do's, and our goal is changed behavior rather than adoring and worshipping Christ,

If we study looking first for lessons to teach others seeing ourselves primarily as the one that needs to deliver God's word to people rather than one who needs to receive God's word,

If we are hearers and not doers,

If we seek knowledge over intimacy with God,

If we hide it in our heads and not our hearts for any purpose other than so that we might not sin against Him,

If we search Scripture to support our theological positions, 

If we half heartedly skim,

If we twist it to justify our sins,

If we look merely for "answers" rather than for questions to ask ourselves,

If we are fascinated with deep mysteries but don't look in the mirror,

If our Sword stays in the sheath when Satan attacks,

If we use the Bible like a harlot just to get what we want,

If our main focus is meeting our own emotional needs, 

If we search the Scriptures because we think that in them we have life,

If we do not imitate what we learn of Christ, 

If our feet do not follow the path to calvary, and we do not take up our cross and follow Him,

If Christ isn't what we seek when we read Scripture,

Our Bibles would benefit us more if we never opened them because when we read them in this way We get further from Christ and look to ourselves,

We condemn ourselves,

We claim to be wise but become fools,

We dishonor the Name of God before men,

We build false confidence that the act of reading the Word will transform our sinful desires without any effort on our part. The more we trust in our action of reading, the more we see our reading of Scriptrure as meritorious. The more we see our action as meritorious, the more we worship the idol of study. The more we worship the idol of study, the more we are blinded to the fact that we are actually not studying God; we are just working. 

We are working like a Pharisee who knows the Word in and out but who completely misses that Jesus is in our very presence. We are actually mad that He takes away our glory from our good work and we seek to rid ourselves of Him. Oh, what a tragedy to read the word of God and miss Christ! 

What a subtle lie that Satan would have us to believe! In fact, satan is twisting the very Book that should renew our minds to blind them. He is calling idolatry worship of the true God. He is making men twice a son of hell. Satan is not opposed to men reading the Bible and never has been. He even used Scripture when tempting Jesus. Satan's goal is not to destroy Scripture but to twist Scripture to become an instrument of destruction to men.

Our hope is not in the Bible, it is spoken of in the Bible. Our hope is in Christ! Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for God's glory alone, and Scripture alone is our authority. Scripture is not our righteousness. The blood of Jesus, and the blood of Jesus alone can make atonement for our sin. May we cling to the grace of God and put no confidence in the flesh or our abilities to study the Bible. 

However, this message is not just to the lost pharisee. It is to the saved pharisee. What do I mean? Christians can miss the point when they study Scripture. They too can look to complete in the flesh what was begun by the Spirit ( Galatians 3:3). The Christian must cling to the Christ not only for justification but also sanctification. They must abide in the branch in order to produce the fruit of the Spirit (hence the name "the fruit of the Spirit" not "the fruit of study").

What can Christians do about this serious but subtle danger? First, they must pray that God would give them true understanding and true fear of Him. Second, they must continue in prayer as they read. Third, they must worship God truly in love (not in order to merit God's forgiveness). True worship is love to God which works obedience. 

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;" John 5:39

I say this from experience: If you miss Jesus, you've missed the point. For too long, I missed the point, but God has been gracious and shown me that HE is the glorious point! Seek Him! Don't trade him for a counterfeit hope of righteousness. Don't get lost in trying to understand all the mysteries in Scripture, just get lost trying to understand the mystery of union with Christ and obey what you do understand. Christ is the true treasure, and the purpose for studying Scripture is so that we might Him! 

"More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ," Philippians 3:8

Scopus Vitae Christus, 

Dallas

Twenty Things I Have Been Learning Along the Way:

The most important thing in life is knowing God Himself. Even if we gain the whole

world, nothing will profit us if we lose our soul. The only way we may know God is

through faith in Christ, renewal by the Holy Spirit, and reading the Word of God.








Seeking satisfaction with God is better than seeking satisfaction through the world.

Actually the hungrier I get for God, the more satisfied I become! And yet, the more that

I've realized that God is enough for me and am satisfied in Him, the more I am discontent

to only have what I have now of Him. All of my life I want to constantly hunger for Christ

and to become more satisfied in Him.






Without personal application, understanding the meaning of Scripture is worthless.

This is true of all knowledge. In my own personal study of Scripture, I often made

understanding the meaning of it my goal instead of understanding what implications it had

for my life. God showed me my sinful pride and the vanity of this pursuit. By God's grace,

I've learned that the goal of Bible study should never be simply to understand, but also

how to apply the knowledge in my daily life.



Correct doctrine is important, but having correct doctrine without humility and love is worthless. Spiritual knowledge doesn't equal spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is walking by the Spirit, and in love. Love is the fulfillment of the law. It is so much more important to be an expert at keeping the law of love than an expert at understanding spiritual concepts. “If I ...know all the mysteries and all knowledge...but do not have love I am nothing.” 1 Cor. 13:2

Memorizing Scripture is very important. Memorizing Scripture is important because it is our weapon against sin. David said, “I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11When Jesus was tempted, He fought with Scripture and said, “it is written...”Memorizing Scripture is important because we can meditate on it when we have it memorized. It is very useful for taking our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. (1 Cor.10:5)Memorized Scripture is also a source of comfort when I'm afraid or upset. Memorizing scripture is important because we will always have it with us. I've found it very helpful when I'm witnessing, when I have to make a quick decision, when I am without my Bible, and even when I'm trying to understand other passages of Scripture. I get many of my ideas for my writing from the Scriptures that are in my heart. There are so many benefits to always having it with you.





True greatness isn't accomplished by skill, rank, or power but by being a servant and

by humbling ourselves. “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.”

Matt. 20:26 Jesus Himself said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to

serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” The truly great man follows Jesus's

example and washes the feet of others.



The most important priority is one's relationship with God, not one's ministry to

others. Ministry shouldn't be our focus. It is easy to become people-focused, but as soon

as this happens, we are only doing humanitarian work. We should be God-focused and our

ministry should flow from that.






We must fight sin every day, because we are in a battle. If we let our guard down, and

if we aren't intentional and persistent with fighting sin, we will lose important battles. (See

Eph. 6:10-18)

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around

like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him firm in your faith...” 1 Peter

5:8-9a.








It is important to set aside personal prayer time and Scripture reading. Scripture

says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth

of God.” It is so important to read all of Scripture. While everything we read in the Bible

will benefit us, it is important to make sure we are reading all of Scripture and not missing

anything. I've learned that it is helpful to periodically read straight through Scripture, and

then take time to study individual books. It is by reading all of Scripture that we

understand any of Scripture. Some passages are difficult to understand without the rest of

Scripture. I've found that I pray more throughout the day if I have already spent time in

secret prayer. Jesus frequently went off by Himself to pray. We have a great need to be in

prayer. Jesus was a man of prayer, and Christians should be too. Often, I feel like I wish I

knew better words to say when I pray, but God is pleased with our prayers when they are

spoken with an attitude of childlike humility and a submissive heart that says, “Not my

will, but yours be done.”An excellent book on prayer is, “A Simple Way to Pray” by 

Archie Parrish. It's a tiny book with big print, and inside is Martin Luther's letter to his

barber who wanted to know how to pray. I would highly recommend this book!






It's important to be faithful in little things. The little things are the hardest. We all want

to do great things that make us feel important, but doing the small things well is one of the

most important challenges we'll ever have. I've learned God prepares us for great things in

small ways. When we are faithful with little, He entrusts us with much. Nothing done out

of worship for God is insignificant. The best way to do great things is to yield yourself to

the potter and be faithful where you are. He has to shape you before you are ready for use,

and the greatest thing you can ever do is fulfill God's plan for your life no matter how

many little things it takes. After all, God's will for us is that we be conformed to the image

of His Son (Rom. 8:29).






We must guard against distractions. One of Satan's oldest tactics is distraction. It's easy

to become distracted, but our focus must be on Christ. Even good things can become a

distraction. In fact, Satan loves to make us busy with good things as long as we are

distracted from Christ. The solution to this problem is not to rid ourselves of all our

distractions but to learn how God would have us think and act in regards to whatever is

distracting us. We must learn to exercise self-control and to glorify God in each area of

life. And we must “be of sober Spirit” and “be on the alert” (1Peter 5: )






It's important to honor authority. We may not always agree with the authority figures in

our life, but we must submit to them as to Christ because God put them in our lives and

commands us to obey them. Our hearts are selfish and we want to do things our own way.

From the time we were toddlers, we said, “I can do it all by myself!” God is gracious and

He places authorities in our lives to teach us to submit. Submission is a hard lesson to

learn. Ultimately, we must learn to submit to the Holy Spirit. It is through submission to

the Holy Spirit that we are able to submit to the other authorities in our lives. This is a

lesson I'll always be learning. Christ will always be teaching me to say, “Not my will, but

yours be done.” He obeyed His father perfectly and even submitted himself to men!

Christ's submission amazes me! It is paramount as a Christian to learn to submit our will

to our Father's will. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but it's end is the way to

death.”Proverbs 14:12








God can be trusted. He is always faithful to His promises and His Word. He never

changes! Over and over again He has proved this in my personal life and in His Word!








God provides. When I have a need I take it to Christ and He always provides what I need.

It isn't always what I want, but He is faithful to give me all that He knows I need. I'm

learning to Pray (instead of worry) when I have a need. 








Relationships are the most important investment I can make on earth. I've learned

that relationships should always take priority over my plans and goals. It is so easy to

forget this when I have a long list of things I want to do. God is gracious to keep

reminding me of this. The longer I live, the more I understand this truth. Sometimes I

have to chose between finishing my list and loving the people I'm with. I'd rather invest in

people than my plans. 








Handling conflict in a Christlike way is better than avoiding it, responding in our

flesh, or trying to ignore it. Because relationships are valuable, it is worth taking time

to study how to handle conflict. Scripture gives us all that we need to know in order to

do this. One of the things I've learned is that when I am upset at someone else, I need to

spend time in prayer examining why I am upset. Sometimes I am upset because of selfish

reasons and not because the other person has sinned. Sometimes the other person has

sinned, but I can overlook it whenever I remember all that God has forgiven me. If I

cannot overlook it and I'm still offended, I try take time examining my own part in the

conflict. I ask God to show me how the other person is feeling and any sins that I need to

repent of. Then I ask God to help me to be humble and truly listen, and I go seek

restoration. First, I ask for forgiveness if I have sinned. (It's important not to make excuses

when asking for forgiveness. Like Adam and Eve we often have the desire to make

excuses, but God doesn't accept them, and we aren't truly repenting if we are still making

excuses.) After, this I tell the other person as graciously as possible how they have

offended me and what I would prefer them to do in the future. Then it's time to listen and

ask questions to try to understand the other person because they are usually frustrated too.

The goal when talking about conflict cannot be to prove ourselves innocent or to retaliate.

It must be done in a loving way and we must be ready to forgive. We must seek

restoration when we have conflicts and not leave them unresolved. I am still learning to do

this. God's grace and Word is sufficient to guide and help us in every conflict we will ever

face. Handling conflict is definitely one of the most important skills I've learned. An

excellent book with Biblical principals for handling conflict is, “If you Bite and Devour”

by Alexander Strauch. He explains in depth that when we are faced with conflict,

Christians must act in the spirit with love and humility; control their tongue, anger, and
criticism; and pursue reconciliation and peace. There are hundreds of helpful scriptures in
this book!



It truly is more blessed to give than to receive!






It's important to be teachable and to seek counsel. I've learned the hard way that pride

is destructive, and that I won't learn what God wants me to learn, unless I am humble and

I listen to others. Instead of resisting instruction, I should actually seek it! Wisdom is

precious and should be sought above riches. It can only be gained through humility.






Momentary pleasure is a destructive and subtle idol. I've learned this from experience.

Living for pleasure and seeking to live a comfortable life is dangerous. If that is our

ultimate goal, we won't be willing to obey God. He said, “If anyone would come after me,

let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matt. 16:24 Following Christ

isn't comfortable. It's downright hard and will cost you everything, but true joy is found in

following Christ. We can easily be tricked, as Adam and Eve were, to trade eternal joys

for momentary pleasures. Worldly pleasure is counterfeit. Scripture teaches, “In [God's]

presence there is fullness of joy; at [His] right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm

16:11. This is a very important thing to learn, and one of the most important things God

has been teaching me. Satan still entices people with momentary pleasures, but we can

resist him through Christ's strength and he will flee from us.






It is important to be thankful and enjoy God's gifts. I'm learning to say, “This is the

day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” Sometimes I forget to give God

the praise He is due for all the ways He has graciously blessed me. I don't want to be like

the lepers who were healed but forgot to come back and thank Jesus. I want to remember

to praise Him. Scripture commands us to do this, and I'm learning to bless the Lord at all

times and ascribe to Him the glory He's due. Psalm 34:1 Psalm 96:8






Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for God's glory

alone, and 

Scripture alone is to be our authority. These are known as the five solas of

Scripture and are central doctrines in my faith. These are the very heartbeat of the Bible

and Christianity.






Christ is returning and it's important to be ready! Scripture teaches He will come like

a thief in the night. We should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Because He's coming back, it is important to be saved and to be faithfully living for

Christ!


In Christ,
Dallas

Victory!

To the extent that we depend on God, we will be victorious over sin! If you are struggling with sin, if you cannot seem to be victorious in an area of your life, pray and depend on God for the power you need! Galatians 5:16, "But I say, walk by the  spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh."

To the extent that we walk by the spirit, we will triumph! We do not have the power to obey God in our flesh. We must give our struggles to God in prayer and walk in the power of His Holy Spirit. Really meditate on what it means to walk by the spirit. You will find that when you understand what it means to walk by the spirit, you will have the power to overcome the Evil one.

The dishwasher was just so irresistible for my little brother! All he thought was,"What better use for a dishwasher could there be than to climb upon it and rattle the dishes? " It took a very long time to train him not to climb on it! What temptation seems irresistible to you? If you want to be victorious, depend on God for your victories and walk by the spirit.

Hiding In My Heart

The Challenge
I have a very difficult time memorizing things. In fact, I learned to skip count by singing a song, and I still sing songs in my head when I do my math. I can remember things for a small amount of time, but they just don't stick. When I don't use it, I loose it. I assumed I just couldn't memorize God's word either until one day something inspired me to try.

The Inspiration
I was conversing with a friend who told me of a teacher she had. He had memorized the whole book of Ephesians. The teacher challenged her, and she challenged me to memorize it. I began trying, but it wouldn't stick. Finally I made a melody up and recorded small portions of it on my Ipod. I listened to a few verses every night before I went to sleep until I had memorized them. I repeated this process until one day I had finished The whole book after about a year. As I was learning it, I went around singing it, and as a result many of my family members have memorized portions of it too.

The Benefits
It is so nice to always have large portions of scripture with you so that you can use them to meditate on if your thoughts begin to wander to sinful places. It is also good to have scripture in your heart when you are witnessing. I like the fact that if Bibles were ever illegal I'd still have some of it with me.  Not only that, but it gives me wisdom when I need to make decisions (Psalm 119:24). In Psalm 119:105 The psalmist compares Gods word to a lamp for our feet. I think this is such a wonderful picture of what scripture is. When God's word is in our hearts we have a light with us to guide our steps.

The Goal
Memorizing scripture for the sake of just knowing it will not profit you very much. You must hide it in your hearts so that you may not sin against God as the psalmist says in Psalm 119:11 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Our goal for memorizing scripture should be to apply it to our lives. Scripture is one of our defenses against temtation. We need to hide it in our hearts not just in our heads.

The Charge
Do you have a hard time memorizing scripture? Pray God will help you. God has given our minds the capacity to memorize the entire Bible. Don't you think God would want us to use what He's given us well? Be creative and look into different methods for memorizing God's word. You may sing a song, write it on paper, or pace back and forth. Just find whatever helps you to hide it in your heart! God's word is precious! Read it, memorize it, meditate on it, and obey it!

Never Smell a Cinnamon Tic-Tac

   They were so shiny and red. We had been told not to eat them, and we were quite bored while we sat waiting for our mom to find the right pair of shoes at the mall. My little sister and I sat under the chairs with mommy's purse and eyed the cinnamon tic-tacks. We rarely got to have candy because it was not healthy, and mommy cared more about health than we did. It was so tempting, but we knew we should not eat them, so we continued to stare at them. Next, we decided to just hold the container so we could see them better. Then, we decided that we should smell them so that we could better imagine how they would taste if we were eating them. Then, it happened. Gracie sniffed the tic-tack right up her nose. It began to sting because it was cinnamon and everyone in the mall knew it (including mommy). We ended up going to the hospital, and Gracie sounded so much like a siren that no ambulance was necessary. By the time we got there it had dissolved, but Gracie was in much pain!
I was feeling terrible because it had all been my idea!

   Now this true story took place a good ten years ago, but the lesson I learned from it is still applicable today. I learned that one should never smell a cinnamon tic-tack because chances are, one might end up with a stinging nose. No, I'm just kidding. Seriously though, we shouldn't taste, touch, handle, or "smell" temptations. In the scriptures Solomon instructs his son saying, "Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not proceed in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not pass by it; turn away from it and pass on."(Prov 4:14-15) We are supposed to avoid the evil path. We aren't even to go near it! (And yes, that means no smelling your mom's tic-tacks.)

   I remember when it would be my turn to empty the trashcans from around the house into the large kitchen trash can, and little things would fall on the floor during the process of dumping them. I was so disgusted with the thought of picking up the little pieces with my bare hands, that I would go and get  grocery sacks to use as gloves instead of just washing my hands afterwards (which I would have to do anyways). The fact is, most of us are clever enough to find ways around doing things we do not like. We should go to the same measures to avoid temptation. If it is a sin, our attitude should not be an attitude  that says, "How close can I come to doing it without doing it?", but an attitude that says " How can I go out of my way to avoid coming into contact with it?" Can we expect to handle hot embers in our bosom and not have our clothes burned?(Prov 6:27) When we get too close to temptation we will most likely get burned!

   Lastly, avoiding temptation is not enough. We must also pursue what is good. I would like to close with this charge to all of my readers: "Now flee from youthful lust and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, with those who call on God from a pure heart." ( 2 Tim 2:22)