The Word

-Chapter One-

C.J. Mahaney encourages and instructs Christians to take the Bible as a whole and make it the standard by which they live by. The Bible is the inspired Word of God and is meant to be the instruction manual for God's people. Cutting sections out of the Bible, or pasting new ones in, is absolutely unacceptable and leads only to wasted lives. 

The danger of "editing" the perfect Word of God is decline. God desires for His people to enjoy life, but He does not desire for them to waste their lives. He wants them to follow the words of Jesus in Mark 10:45:

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve..."

God placed man here not so He could serve them, but so that they could serve Him. That service is not only purposeful, it is joyful, fulfilling, and desirable. 

I finished this chapter with three thoughts: 

I need to be careful not to cut and paste to make my own Bible.

 I need to be in the Word daily, that I may know the Truth and discern that which is not true.

I need to live out the concepts the Lord is teaching me.

Life As Usual?

Reading "Worldliness - Resisting the Seduction of A Fallen World" has already been quite a challenge. The reading itself is very enjoyable- it's the digesting that has proven to touch more than my mind! 

I have come to realize a serious, honest, in-depth self-evaluation is absolutely necessary right now. I am far from what most would consider worldly, but I have my faults. This book has begun to do just what I hoped it would, that is, point out practical ways that I can more consistently do whatever I do for the glory of God. 

According to contributor and editor, C.J. Mahaney, worldliness is simply "the love for this fallen world" (p.27). He goes onto quote Joel Beeke who said:

"The goal of worldly people, is to move forward rather than upward, to live horizontally rather than vertically. They seek after outward prosperity rather than holiness. They burst with selfish desires rather than heartfelt supplications. If they do not deny God, they ignore and forget Him, or else they use Him only for their selfish ends. Worldiness...is human nature without God." 

The content of this book is a testimony to the fact that God builds precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little in the lives of His people. 

Check out the book! It's more than a good read, it uses Scripture to equip saints for a truly abundantly good life!