When I got married, my mother bought me a Betty Crocker Cookbook so that I could learn to cook! I still have, use, and cherish it today. Thank you, Mom and Betty Crocker!
I tell my Sunday school children that the Bible is the “cookbook” God gave us for life. Just as we need a recipe to bake a cake or cook a meal, we need God’s word to “make a life.” Without a recipe, our cake may not turn out as intended. Well, in the absence of God’s word and its application, our lives will not turn out right.
I have made many mistakes. Haven’t we all? They could have been avoided, just by knowing God’s word and heeding it. “Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” Isaiah 48:18
When Rick and I purchase an item requiring assembly, he has a tendency to assemble first and look at the directions later. This is not always a good thing! In that same attitude, we tend to live our lives according to our will, before actually consulting God’s instructions. After all, He is the manufacturer and we are simply the product. How we stand up under repeated use and pressure depends upon adherence to the specifications.
The big difference between baking a cake without following the recipe and living a life apart from God’s direction is that a cake CAN’T rise once fallen, whereas a life CAN be changed [immediately] by consulting the “Manufacturer” and His instructions. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9
What rewards we stand to reap, when we spend a little time listening to Our Creator! A fellow writer recently confessed she didn’t read much. She further clarified she mostly reads the Bible. I thank God for that. If we read at all, it should begin with God’s word. ”Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105 KJV and “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.” Psalm 119:11
Now, let me say, I don’t believe the meaning of “hid in my heart” is memorization only. If you can’t memorize easily, you shouldn’t disregard this verse as “it’s too hard for me” or “I can’t do it” and therefore, never try. Many scriptures surface in my mind that I have not memorized. Sometimes it’s from listening to others, like a Sunday school teacher or minister. But more frequently, it’s because I, myself, have simply read God’s word.
So, just as Betty Crocker taught me how to cook, God teaches me how to have life more abundantly, when I consult his Book.
God bless you all. Have a fun and fruitful summer. Suggested Bible reading 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Psalm 119.