Romans 16:17
And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Several years ago, Greg worked with a man who would say, “If you lie, you fry!...Hezekiah 3:5”. Sounds good, right? And truly, there are a lot of scripture verses about honesty…but this is not one of them! Let me know if you find the Book of Hezekiah in your Bible!
The October 2010 issue of Tails magazine carried a photo of celebrity chef Rachael Ray and her dog, with this headline…” Rachael Ray finds inspiration in cooking her family and her dog”. Oh, what a difference punctuation can make!
I share these two examples to illustrate that it is easy to get the wrong idea and/or misinterpret what we read and hear. And nowhere is this more prevalent than in the understanding of Scripture. Many times while writing these devotionals, I must back up and read the surrounding verses – or even surrounding chapters – to determine what was really being said and intended in a particular passage. Yet many wish to take one or two verses – or even a portion of a verse – and make it fit a specific agenda. And this is where we get into trouble.
Paul is challenging the Romans to carefully consider what we read and hear…and this is good advice in all arenas – not just the scriptures. Study the Bible and discern what God is really telling you in each verse. Dig deeply and make sure you understand the nuances and “where the commas have been removed” by some. Don’t take everything people tell you – or that you see in print – as the Gospel. Ask questions…use your head…proceed with caution.
If you lie, you very well might “fry”…but not because “Hezekiah” said so. And I know with a fair amount of certainty that Rachael Ray is not inspired by cooking her family and her dog. Where have you drawn wrong conclusions based on a snippet of information? Isn’t this a great day to start gathering all the facts and letting them guide your steps instead?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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