The Living Word of God
One of the biggest misconceptions about the Bible is that it’s just another book.
In fact, many Christians treat Scripture as if it’s just a collection of ancient letters and books that inform us about God and religious matters.
While the Bible is certainly a collection of ancient documents, it is also much more than that. It is the very word of God. The Bible is inspired by God, which means He spoke through humans to create these letters and books.
More than that though, God’s Word is living and active. The Holy Spirit uses the Bible to speak to us even today. This is what makes Scripture distinct from any other book.
James tells us in James 1:22-24 that the power of Scripture doesn’t just come by hearing it, but by living it out.
Scripture has the power to radically change the way we live, but we must take the effort to first read it, and then do what it says.
James says that anyone who reads Scripture and doesn’t follow God’s way is only deceiving themselves. We think we are following God simply by reading His Word, but God desires that we live out the truths of Scripture in our own life.
This is what it means to follow God’s way rather than our own.
Take a moment to consider a few ways you can begin to live out the truths in Scripture. Spend some time in prayer asking God to reveal to you an area of your life to transform by His Word. And then, resolve to not just hear God’s Word, but to do what He says as you follow after Him.
The Importance of Unity
What does unity mean to you? In a chaotic and divided world, sometimes the word “unity” can sound like something irrelevant, something that just can’t work in the broken world we live in. Division is nothing new. In fact, it was a challenge very early in church history and something the apostle Paul addressed head-on.
In 1 Corinthians 1, we see that Paul had received reports that believers in Corinth were segmenting themselves based on who shared the gospel with them. They said things like, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or, “I am of Christ.” Rather than being united as one body of Christ, they were dividing themselves into smaller groups and factions.
Paul was very moved by this. In 1 Corinthians 1:13 he asks them these simple questions: “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” Paul didn’t want the believers of Corinth to get lost in comparisons and separations. He wanted them united under ...