What you do when you read the Bible? God being all Powerful, wouldn't be God if He wasn't able to keep His own Words from being tampered with by human beings or the Devil himself. Yes, there are many people who have published different versions, but thank God, we still have access to the original manuscripts were the New Testament was written.
There are different translations of the original New Testament Books, but having the originals in Greek, has caused the translators to strive to the utmost to provide us with translations faithful to the overall context of the original books, besides the fact that they were ardent believers, exemplary Christians as well.
Also the Elders of the Early Church were very strict about keeping the apostles' writings exactly as the originals, to avoid opening the door to devilish doctrines.
There are still many copies of the "The Early Church Fathers' own writings as well, they are the men who led the Early Church after the apostles."
I am writing this because I have read ample studies from different serious sources and Christian denominations, so I am not making any of these things up.
Besides I have been deeply studying the Bible several hours a day, for the last 52 years, and I can reassure any of you, that when you open the Bible and read it, you are opening the door to a spiritual dimension, the most amazing and wonderful world, which we cannot enter unless we are born again, as Jesus stated.
Jn 3:3-8 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?
Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.
The Spirit breathes where He desires, and you hear His voice, but you do not know from where He comes, and where He goes; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
The apostle Paul wrote...
2Ti 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfected, thoroughly furnished to every good work.
Now...
Jn 1:1-2, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God… And the Word became flesh, and dwelled among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and of truth.
I have shared these passages so that we can see that the words in the Bible are Jesus, He is the Word, and the Word is Jesus. Jesus is the Word made flesh.
Heb 4:12-13 For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing apart of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight, but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
When we open a Bible and read with a sincere desire to know God more, we are actually opening a door to the Spiritual World. We know that God is Spirit, and our five senses cannot perceive the spiritual dimension, therefore our physical mind cannot grasp the spiritual world since it is a different dimension. When we know that the Word of God is alive, we then realize that Jesus himself is the one who is in front of us and He begins to speak to us through his Holy Spirit throughout the Bible, and that is an amazing truth.
Jn 4:24 God is a spirit, and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Every time you take time to read your Bible, know: God will speak to you. The Word is alive & the Word is Jesus!
Jn 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, If a man loves Me, he will keep My Word. And My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
Those promises, if you meditate on them for awhile, you will see that they are SENSATIONAL, infinitely sensational. When we spend time reading the Word of God, then God begins to dwell in us, that means God the Creator, the only God, let’s see, if we think a little about the characteristics of God, we could say they are: Love, Majesty, Holiness, Mercy, Wisdom, Power, Eternity, Health, Light, Abundance, Freedom, a thousand other wonderful things, the same Spirit of God, with all that He is, happens to move into our being. Having this reality in mind must be sufficient reason for us to take time with Him, and make it the most sought out time of our day. Like when a boyfriend in love is crazy about spending time with his girlfriend, so should we long to be alone with our God.
Mat 6:6 But you, when you talk to God, enter into your room. And shutting your door, pray to your Father in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly.
Let's look a little more at what Jesus says about his Word. Whenever possible, it is good for our soul to read the Scriptures out loud.
Jn 6:63 It is the Spirit that makes alive, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and are life.
When the Word of God speaks of the flesh, it refers to our physical man and the material world around him, in which things are temporal and will vanish away, in the world of God, life is eternal. By introducing the Words of God into our soul, we are filling ourselves with the Spirit and the Life of God Himself. Can you see it?
Mat 4:4 But He answered and said, It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
Do we want to be perfect and be fully prepared for every good work? Do we have an excuse for not being? Not, if you have the Bible and study it.
2Ti 2:15 Study earnestly to present yourself approved to God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.
Can you see the difference between coming before God prepared with the promises you know He has given you & which you believe, & claiming them properly, or that of coming before Him, having no idea what He has promised you, and therefore not knowing how to ask and with little faith or none at all?
Rom 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Jas 1:6-7 But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For do not let that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord;
Now, knowing the Word and not obeying it, is worse than not knowing it.
Jas 1:22-25 But become doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man studying his natural face in a mirror. For he sees himself and goes his way, and immediately he forgets what he is like. But whoever looks into the perfect Law of liberty and continues in it, he is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work. This one shall be blessed in his doing.
When we read the Word we can see what God affirms of us in it, we look at the definition of what God says about us in His Word, that we are more than conquerors in Christ, that we have been redeemed from all sin, that we are free from sin, that we have been sanctified and healed for Him and by Him, that we have all our needs met by God, etc., 1Jn 5: 4, Rom 8:37, Rom 6:22, Col 2: 13-15, 1Pe 2:24, Phil 4:19
But if we don't follow His Word, which mainly means, loving God and those around us selflessly, then we will be forgetful hearers, and we will fall into the mediocrity of a Christianity without the Power of God.
I assure you, that your spiritual life and trust in God will grow, as you walk in love reading & obeying by faith what you see in His Word.
True Christianity is not a religion, it is a personal relationship with the Living God!
How many Christians are there that only aspire, in their life, to go to church on Sunday, & maybe one other day during the week, then try as much as their will power will allow them to stay away from sin, & then see if they make it to Heaven when they die? What do you think God thinks of that kind of life? Boring to say the least.
But Jesus has promised us, to be with us every day until the end of the world and fill us with HIS POWER, to represent Him to the nations while we rescue the Sons of God still lost in the world. Mat 28: 18-20, Mar 16: 15-20, Acts 1: 8
Nowadays there are thousands of thousands of preachers talking about the Word of God, most of them giving their personal interpretation of the Bible. But why not read it for yourself?
And matter how good the preacher is, we have a good example in the New Testament of what to do... Act 17:10-11 And the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. They, when they arrived, went into the synagogue of the Jews. And these were more noble than those of Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily to see if those things were so.
Which means it's important to double check what we hear, to see if those things are so!
It is true that the Spirit of God speaks through his Sons too, & there is a time to listen to anointed preachers, but what am I telling you is: your Heavenly Father wants you to spend time with Him, alone, He loves you!
Mat 6:6 But you, when you pray, enter into your room. And shutting your door, pray to your Father in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly.
Listen and learn from good preachers who inspire you to trust God, His Love and kindness, and who, at the same time, inspire you reach out to higher goals, knowing it is God who dwells within you.
But don't idolize those who are living & preaching the true Gospel; all that is good in them comes from the same Spirit of God that dwells within you. But for the love of yourself and yours: avoid all those who mostly accuse you of being a sinner, who call you unworthy, undeserving, etc., and make you think that unless you keep the Law, God will not answer your prayers; that is call "Religion". In True Christianity we obey commandments because God has already given us the power to obey them, because of the new Spirit He gave us Gal 2:16 knowing that no one is made right with God by following the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ; even we believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith in Christ, and not by works of the Law. I say this because no one can be made right with God by following the law.
Love in Jesus… Alejandro
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