Revelation 22:18-19
I give fair warning to all who hear the words of the prophecy of this book: If you add to the words of this prophecy, God will add to your life the disasters written in this book; if you subtract from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will subtract your part from the Tree of Life and the Holy City that are written in this book.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
I have written several times about how I take adult clothing in good shape and refashion it into something for children. My cousin Owen LOVES the color orange, so I bought an orange knit polo shirt at the thrift store and used the fabric to create a pair of shorts. There were pockets on the chest, and these I put on the side of the legs like cargo pockets. When I was done, you would never know that these little boy shorts had once been a man’s polo shirt!
I am constantly taking something old and repurposing it into something fresh and new… something that my little ones or I will enjoy. And there is nothing wrong with this. In fact… it’s a good thing! Waste not, want not, you know! I try to utilize virtually every scrap of the fabric in one way or another to create something that will have “life” and meaning for someone else.
Here’s the deal… too many of us are doing this with the word of God… and this is not okay! Our “excuse” is often that… “This is not really what God meant! When Jesus commanded us to love one another, He meant love them in your heart. He surely didn’t mean that we should reach out to the dirty, homeless drug addict and offer to feed him/her. He wasn’t saying to share a pew at church with someone who is openly gay or from another race, much less welcome those who practice other religions into our homes and our communities! And I know that He most definitely was not telling us to be kind and loving toward those who have treated us unkindly and/or gossiped about us and tried to damage our reputation! God certainly doesn’t mean for us to spend our hard-earned money on orphans, the elderly, or that person who we assume must be too lazy to work! This is not how God meant for us to love others!”
We create a “new garment,” so to speak… one that is fresh, enjoyable and comfortable. But it doesn’t look one bit like God’s original “garment”. We twist and turn our interpretations of God’s word so much that it bears little to no resemblance to what God intended and/or actually said. We pick and choose… take parts of the Old Testament so literally that we essentially ignore the New Testament. In her book, Just Give Me Jesus, Anne Graham Lotz says talks about how in Old Testament times, people were required to bring their very best lamb to the priest as compensation for their sins. The “sinner” would stand before the priest and confess his sins while holding this beautiful, pure, soft lamb. Then the priest would hand him a knife and call for the lamb’s neck to be sliced. This was how the “sinner” was held responsible for his own sins…he had to actually sacrifice the lamb and feel the blood wash over his hands.
When Jesus quite literally became the Lamb of God on the cross, all of this changed. He sacrificed His blood for us, once and for all. Does scripture still tell about the sacrifice of lambs? Absolutely! Is this how we atone for our sins today? Absolutely NOT! If you pick and choose, twist and turn, or take one scripture passage out of context in relation to the big picture, you will have something that even God often doesn’t recognize… and He will not be pleased.
We have to be very careful that our own desires and agendas do not color our interpretation of God’s word. It’s very easy to find a verse or two that may seem to justify our thoughts and actions… if we take them out of context or do not consider the bigger picture of what is written in the Bible as a whole. Every word has meaning and importance…and we must carefully consider how these words weave together to present the message that God is sending us. God may use the same scripture passage to speak to us in different ways on any given day… but at the heart of His message, His intent and commands never change. His plan for our lives is constant… His outline for how we as Christians are supposed to speak and act is clear – and it never goes out of style.
My challenge for each of us is to look at our own lives and see where we may have twisted things – even a little – to suit our own needs and desires. Where might we have misinterpreted God’s word… even if unintentionally? Let’s ask God to reveal Himself to us through fresh new eyes… let’s open our hearts and minds and really get what He is telling us through His word. And let’s leave the repurposing and refashioning for thrift-store finds and crafty seamstresses. Are you in?
©2013 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label twisting the word of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label twisting the word of God. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for August 6, 2012
Psalm 71:24
All day long I will announce your power to save. I will tell how you disgraced and disappointed those who wanted to hurt me.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Twisting words has become common practice in today’s politics… or maybe we are just more keenly aware of this because of social media and the Internet. At any rate, something of a sport has been made from taking a comment and repeating it out of context in order to make a particular point. One example I noticed in the last couple of days was a post circulating on Facebook that says people are complaining about a new gold-medal Olympian from the United States, because she gives the credit to God so often. The implication is that only one particular political party is complaining about her “Christian” behavior… and the “Christians” belong to the other party (not the party that is complaining)!
Another campaign-related post showed two people praying over a meal in a restaurant and implied that a particular candidate was going to preserve our “freedom to pray if we so choose.” Is anyone really thinking about this? We can pray anywhere, anytime! This caption did not say, “…freedom to pray in a public restaurant, out loud, with our heads bent over.” Do we really believe that God only hears the prayers that make a public scene?
We like to do this with scripture verses, too. We quote the Bible in a context that suits our needs at the present time and give little to no regard to what was really being said in a particular scripture passage. I have to believe that God is not amused when we use our Christian faith to twist and shape things to suit our needs. I do not mean to single out any one political party or person here. We are all guilty… and we need to stop!
It is time to recognize that our God is so powerful and all-encompassing that He really doesn’t need us putting words in His mouth… or operating as judge and jury on His behalf. He will handle these things perfectly. And our attempts to do this for God only serve to show us up for our lack of faith and confidence in His abilities to get the job done!
Think about it… do un-believers look at these comments and think, “That’s the kind of faith I want! There’s the God I want to serve – One who depends on His children to wield justice on His behalf!” Or do they want a God who says, “Come to me, and I will give you rest. I will show you the truth and how to operate in it… and I will handle anyone who tries to shame or disgrace you.”
I am reminded of the old hymn that says, “I know whom I have believed… and am persuaded that He is able …to keep that which I’ve committed… unto Him against that day.” I am persuaded that God is indeed able to use me when I humble myself to Him… to provide me with His truth to guide me… and to handle any who would dare to try and misconstrue or exploit my witness. And I trust Him to do exactly that. Do you?
©2012 Debbie Robus
“I Know Whom I Have Believed” – 1883 – Daniel W. Whittle ~ James McGranahan
All day long I will announce your power to save. I will tell how you disgraced and disappointed those who wanted to hurt me.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Twisting words has become common practice in today’s politics… or maybe we are just more keenly aware of this because of social media and the Internet. At any rate, something of a sport has been made from taking a comment and repeating it out of context in order to make a particular point. One example I noticed in the last couple of days was a post circulating on Facebook that says people are complaining about a new gold-medal Olympian from the United States, because she gives the credit to God so often. The implication is that only one particular political party is complaining about her “Christian” behavior… and the “Christians” belong to the other party (not the party that is complaining)!
Another campaign-related post showed two people praying over a meal in a restaurant and implied that a particular candidate was going to preserve our “freedom to pray if we so choose.” Is anyone really thinking about this? We can pray anywhere, anytime! This caption did not say, “…freedom to pray in a public restaurant, out loud, with our heads bent over.” Do we really believe that God only hears the prayers that make a public scene?
We like to do this with scripture verses, too. We quote the Bible in a context that suits our needs at the present time and give little to no regard to what was really being said in a particular scripture passage. I have to believe that God is not amused when we use our Christian faith to twist and shape things to suit our needs. I do not mean to single out any one political party or person here. We are all guilty… and we need to stop!
It is time to recognize that our God is so powerful and all-encompassing that He really doesn’t need us putting words in His mouth… or operating as judge and jury on His behalf. He will handle these things perfectly. And our attempts to do this for God only serve to show us up for our lack of faith and confidence in His abilities to get the job done!
Think about it… do un-believers look at these comments and think, “That’s the kind of faith I want! There’s the God I want to serve – One who depends on His children to wield justice on His behalf!” Or do they want a God who says, “Come to me, and I will give you rest. I will show you the truth and how to operate in it… and I will handle anyone who tries to shame or disgrace you.”
I am reminded of the old hymn that says, “I know whom I have believed… and am persuaded that He is able …to keep that which I’ve committed… unto Him against that day.” I am persuaded that God is indeed able to use me when I humble myself to Him… to provide me with His truth to guide me… and to handle any who would dare to try and misconstrue or exploit my witness. And I trust Him to do exactly that. Do you?
©2012 Debbie Robus
“I Know Whom I Have Believed” – 1883 – Daniel W. Whittle ~ James McGranahan
Daily Devotional for June 24, 2012
June 24 ~ Acts 2:7
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
Scripture taken from the The King James Version present on BibleGateway.com, which matches the 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States.
This morning I visited my grandmother at her Assisted Living Facility. She wanted to go outside and sit on the porch, but it was already 93 degrees in the shade, so I suggested we go to the dining room. “Would you like to hear me play some hymns?” I asked. “YES!” she said enthusiastically. I positioned her beside the piano in the dining room and began to play some of her favorites. Soon, several residents had joined us, and one lady sang virtually every hymn I played. She sang strongly and knew all the words. I tried to play each hymn through at least twice to give her time to really recognize it and sing along.
As I played the hymns, I considered how some of them remind me of Holy Communion, as they are often played during this service. “Nearer My God to Thee,” “Blessed Be the Tie That Binds,” and “Faith of Our Fathers” come to mind as some of the “Communion hymns” I recall. So I asked my grandmother, “Would you be interested in taking Communion again?” The answer was “Yes!” and I talked with her and a table-mate, who belongs to my church, about receiving Holy Communion.
When I rose to leave, a man at a nearby table motioned for me to come to him. He asked, “If you are going to have Communion, are you going to serve it once a week, like the Bible says?” Another man at his table looked at him, perplexed, and said, “Where does it say that in the Bible?” The first man said he didn’t know the exact verse, but the Bible says that they gathered once a week at the church to “break bread.” “What else could that mean?” he asked. Man #2 and I almost simultaneously replied, “… to share a meal!” I can’t repeat what Man #1 said to that, but it was not nice… and he was not happy! I wished them a good day and left, feeling like I might have started a religious World War III!
After I got home, I did some Google searches for Bible translations of the phrase “break bread” – and the Greek meaning of these words. I discovered several websites that address this very question, but I particularly liked this one… http://www.zianet.com/maxey/reflx168.htm ... check it out if you like. I don’t know the author, Al Maxey - a Church of Christ pastor in New Mexico - but he addresses several verses in Acts that refer to the breaking of bread. He notes that many newer translations have decided that this means “Holy Communion.”
But Maxey concludes: "Thus, are we reading back into the text what we want it to say, or need it to say, in order to fit our practice?!" Sadly, I think that is very often exactly what is taking place…we impose our theology upon the text, rather than drawing our theology from the text.
The blunt reality is -- and many seem very reluctant to face this -- we simply have insufficient data with regard to the phrase "breaking bread" to insist upon any one interpretation or practice over another. Yes, we all have our personal convictions, and that is good. We have also embraced certain traditional practices based upon those shared convictions, and that also is fine. What we must never do, however, is assume that all those who differ with us are godless wretches with dishonest motives and darkened hearts who are bound straight for the torments of hell. This is the perspective of militant factionists and sectarians, and does not reflect the spirit of Christ Jesus. We need to rise above such ignorance and ignominy.
We are children of God ... we can do better than that! Love demands it; Unity demands it; our Witness to the world demands it. May God help us all to live and love outside the guarded gates of our dogma, for when we do so we enjoy the blessings of the expanded parameters of God's household of faith. ‘Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread’ (1 Cor. 10:17).”
I could not say this any better. We twist and turn the words of the Bible to suit our needs and our circumstances… and “breaking bread” is the tip of the iceberg! And as Rev. Maxey says, we are not serving as the hands and feet of Jesus by doing this! I honestly don’t believe that God is keeping a count of how frequently we take Holy Communion… particularly in comparison to how we behave the rest of the time! This experience reminded me to check my own thoughts and actions and see where I might be putting my desires and influences on God’s word for my life, rather than truly hearing what He is saying to me. I probably should do this more frequently… and I would invite you to do the same.
©2012 Debbie Robus
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
Scripture taken from the The King James Version present on BibleGateway.com, which matches the 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States.
This morning I visited my grandmother at her Assisted Living Facility. She wanted to go outside and sit on the porch, but it was already 93 degrees in the shade, so I suggested we go to the dining room. “Would you like to hear me play some hymns?” I asked. “YES!” she said enthusiastically. I positioned her beside the piano in the dining room and began to play some of her favorites. Soon, several residents had joined us, and one lady sang virtually every hymn I played. She sang strongly and knew all the words. I tried to play each hymn through at least twice to give her time to really recognize it and sing along.
As I played the hymns, I considered how some of them remind me of Holy Communion, as they are often played during this service. “Nearer My God to Thee,” “Blessed Be the Tie That Binds,” and “Faith of Our Fathers” come to mind as some of the “Communion hymns” I recall. So I asked my grandmother, “Would you be interested in taking Communion again?” The answer was “Yes!” and I talked with her and a table-mate, who belongs to my church, about receiving Holy Communion.
When I rose to leave, a man at a nearby table motioned for me to come to him. He asked, “If you are going to have Communion, are you going to serve it once a week, like the Bible says?” Another man at his table looked at him, perplexed, and said, “Where does it say that in the Bible?” The first man said he didn’t know the exact verse, but the Bible says that they gathered once a week at the church to “break bread.” “What else could that mean?” he asked. Man #2 and I almost simultaneously replied, “… to share a meal!” I can’t repeat what Man #1 said to that, but it was not nice… and he was not happy! I wished them a good day and left, feeling like I might have started a religious World War III!
After I got home, I did some Google searches for Bible translations of the phrase “break bread” – and the Greek meaning of these words. I discovered several websites that address this very question, but I particularly liked this one… http://www.zianet.com/maxey/reflx168.htm ... check it out if you like. I don’t know the author, Al Maxey - a Church of Christ pastor in New Mexico - but he addresses several verses in Acts that refer to the breaking of bread. He notes that many newer translations have decided that this means “Holy Communion.”
But Maxey concludes: "Thus, are we reading back into the text what we want it to say, or need it to say, in order to fit our practice?!" Sadly, I think that is very often exactly what is taking place…we impose our theology upon the text, rather than drawing our theology from the text.
The blunt reality is -- and many seem very reluctant to face this -- we simply have insufficient data with regard to the phrase "breaking bread" to insist upon any one interpretation or practice over another. Yes, we all have our personal convictions, and that is good. We have also embraced certain traditional practices based upon those shared convictions, and that also is fine. What we must never do, however, is assume that all those who differ with us are godless wretches with dishonest motives and darkened hearts who are bound straight for the torments of hell. This is the perspective of militant factionists and sectarians, and does not reflect the spirit of Christ Jesus. We need to rise above such ignorance and ignominy.
We are children of God ... we can do better than that! Love demands it; Unity demands it; our Witness to the world demands it. May God help us all to live and love outside the guarded gates of our dogma, for when we do so we enjoy the blessings of the expanded parameters of God's household of faith. ‘Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread’ (1 Cor. 10:17).”
I could not say this any better. We twist and turn the words of the Bible to suit our needs and our circumstances… and “breaking bread” is the tip of the iceberg! And as Rev. Maxey says, we are not serving as the hands and feet of Jesus by doing this! I honestly don’t believe that God is keeping a count of how frequently we take Holy Communion… particularly in comparison to how we behave the rest of the time! This experience reminded me to check my own thoughts and actions and see where I might be putting my desires and influences on God’s word for my life, rather than truly hearing what He is saying to me. I probably should do this more frequently… and I would invite you to do the same.
©2012 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for May 2, 2012
May 2 ~ Ephesians 4:14
We must stop acting like children. We must not let deceitful people trick us by their false teachings, which are like winds that toss us around from place to place.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Please pardon my rather gross analogy today, but when I was teaching kindergarten, a fellow teacher used to tell our 5-year-olds, “Stop picking your nose… you’ll poke out your eye!” Apparently, many of the children believed she was telling the truth. Of course, as they grew older, I’m sure more than a few figured out that this truly would not happen. But the young students, eager to trust their teacher, took her admonishment to heart!
So many of us are like children when it comes to our faith… but not always in a good way. We trust others to tell us God’s truth instead of discovering Him for ourselves. We take the word of men and women – often well-meaning souls – who have decided that “this is what it says in the Bible,” which translates into… “this is what you ought to believe!” So some of us grow up in our faith believing certain interpretations created by man are actually literal scripture references. Sometimes we discover the true word of God in these situations and change our way of thinking… and sometimes we cling to these falsehoods and make them part of our own witness.
We can’t put words in God’s mouth… and we cannot merely accept the word of other “teachers” about what He says. We have to dig deeply on our own and discover God’s message for us. We can stay children who fear poking our eye out, or we can grow up and get to truly know God and what He desires for us.
It’s up to each one of us to decide whether we will stand in confidence that we have heard from God… or whether we will let others toss us about like the wind. Where do you stand today?
©2012 Debbie Robus
We must stop acting like children. We must not let deceitful people trick us by their false teachings, which are like winds that toss us around from place to place.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Please pardon my rather gross analogy today, but when I was teaching kindergarten, a fellow teacher used to tell our 5-year-olds, “Stop picking your nose… you’ll poke out your eye!” Apparently, many of the children believed she was telling the truth. Of course, as they grew older, I’m sure more than a few figured out that this truly would not happen. But the young students, eager to trust their teacher, took her admonishment to heart!
So many of us are like children when it comes to our faith… but not always in a good way. We trust others to tell us God’s truth instead of discovering Him for ourselves. We take the word of men and women – often well-meaning souls – who have decided that “this is what it says in the Bible,” which translates into… “this is what you ought to believe!” So some of us grow up in our faith believing certain interpretations created by man are actually literal scripture references. Sometimes we discover the true word of God in these situations and change our way of thinking… and sometimes we cling to these falsehoods and make them part of our own witness.
We can’t put words in God’s mouth… and we cannot merely accept the word of other “teachers” about what He says. We have to dig deeply on our own and discover God’s message for us. We can stay children who fear poking our eye out, or we can grow up and get to truly know God and what He desires for us.
It’s up to each one of us to decide whether we will stand in confidence that we have heard from God… or whether we will let others toss us about like the wind. Where do you stand today?
©2012 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for January 7, 2011
Proverbs 30:6
Don't change what God has said! He will correct you and show that you are a liar.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Years ago, my husband worked with a man who liked to say, “If you lie, you fry. – Hezekiah 3:5.” For the record, there is no book of Hezekiah in the Bible… and this is not an actual scripture passage. We’ve laughed at this phrase and used it as a running joke for years. But there are other phrases that people use and claim to be scriptural… such as “God helps those who help themselves”… that are not actually found in the Bible, either.
While these phrases and others like them are relatively harmless… and they may even hint at an actual Biblical truth… some people want to interpret scripture to suit their own situation or desires… and this is very dangerous. When you hear someone say, “That may be what the scripture says, but that’s not what God meant,” your antenna should automatically be raised. A lot of us would like to twist God’s words to justify our own desires and behaviors. But this simply is not how we Christians should operate!
Everybody makes mistakes, and we will all have to admit at some point that we were wrong about one thing or another. But nothing will ever compare with the humility of having to admit you twisted God’s words to suit yourself. God will not be pleased, mocked, or misrepresented! If you believe there is “wiggle room” with the laws of God, you are greatly mistaken. The devil – the king of liars – has convinced you that God can be swayed… and I assure you, He cannot!
We cannot change what God has declared… and honestly, we don’t want to do this. His ways are perfect… His plans are exactly right for us… His will is for us to have everything He designed for us and to experience peace, prosperity and joy in Him. The only change necessary is how we are thinking… our attitude and our reactions to life circumstances. Don’t try to change what God has said… instead, ask Him to change YOU… to give you an attitude of humility and servitude - and confidence in His plans for your life.
©2010 Debbie Robus
Don't change what God has said! He will correct you and show that you are a liar.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Years ago, my husband worked with a man who liked to say, “If you lie, you fry. – Hezekiah 3:5.” For the record, there is no book of Hezekiah in the Bible… and this is not an actual scripture passage. We’ve laughed at this phrase and used it as a running joke for years. But there are other phrases that people use and claim to be scriptural… such as “God helps those who help themselves”… that are not actually found in the Bible, either.
While these phrases and others like them are relatively harmless… and they may even hint at an actual Biblical truth… some people want to interpret scripture to suit their own situation or desires… and this is very dangerous. When you hear someone say, “That may be what the scripture says, but that’s not what God meant,” your antenna should automatically be raised. A lot of us would like to twist God’s words to justify our own desires and behaviors. But this simply is not how we Christians should operate!
Everybody makes mistakes, and we will all have to admit at some point that we were wrong about one thing or another. But nothing will ever compare with the humility of having to admit you twisted God’s words to suit yourself. God will not be pleased, mocked, or misrepresented! If you believe there is “wiggle room” with the laws of God, you are greatly mistaken. The devil – the king of liars – has convinced you that God can be swayed… and I assure you, He cannot!
We cannot change what God has declared… and honestly, we don’t want to do this. His ways are perfect… His plans are exactly right for us… His will is for us to have everything He designed for us and to experience peace, prosperity and joy in Him. The only change necessary is how we are thinking… our attitude and our reactions to life circumstances. Don’t try to change what God has said… instead, ask Him to change YOU… to give you an attitude of humility and servitude - and confidence in His plans for your life.
©2010 Debbie Robus
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