Are You Following the Right Instructions?

I bought a new Coach purse yesterday! Guess how much I paid for it? $300? No, even less. $150? No, even less. $100? Lower. $50? Even lower.....  Well, at this point, you are saying to yourself, "Girl, you didn't buy a Coach purse for less than $50. You might have bought a Couch purse or a Coash purse, but you didn't buy a real Coach purse for that price!"  Well, I paid a low price and the purse has Coach written on it. That's all I know. The fabric has C's written all over it. Now, those C's might stand for "Copied" and "Counterfeit"...but I'm going to carry that thing just like its the real thing! I didn't have a brown purse to go with my brown shoes and now I do. That's all that matters to me. For me, when it comes to purses, they don't have to be real. I don't like to pay a lot of money for my purses. You can't have a low price and a real Coach purse. Sometimes, you just can't have it both ways.

I parked in front of a store yesterday and noticed that the neon sign on the door said "Open" and the flip sign in the window said "Closed". Obviously someone forgot to change one of the signs. There was a problem with the message being sent. You can't have it both ways...you are either open or closed.

This summer my children and I went through all of my recipe books and selected several recipes that we wanted to try. When we try a recipe, we all decide after dinner whether or not we like the dish enough to cook it again, or if we just want to throw away the recipe. I found a recipe for shepherd's pie. We tried it one evening this past fall and it was edible...but something was missing. It wasn't great...it was "okay".  My daughter said, "It was okay, but it would have been better if you added more green beans". My oldest son said, "It was okay, but it would have been better if it didn't have any green beans". Okay...so how do I fix that problem?You can't have it both ways.

Since that time, I have checked out some additional shepherd's pie recipes and asked a couple of friends what they put in their shepherd's pie. Well, it turns out, my shepherd's pie never had a chance. My recipe called for tomato soup. All of the other shepherd's pie recipes that I found called for cream of mushroom soup or something similar. No wonder the thing didn't taste right. I followed the directions exactly.  I did everything the recipe asked me to do, bought all of the ingredients, and cooked it at the temperature and length of time that the recipe called for...but it just wasn't right. The problem was that I had flawed instructions!

Today, there are a lot of counterfeit messages and mixed messages regarding life, religion, spirituality, etc.  You can read a lot of books that sound good, sound inspirational, etc. but our basic instruction manual was written thousands of years ago. It is The Holy Bible. Its our road map, our guide, our GPS, our sword, our weapon, our answer, our inspiration. Please don't misunderstand me. I love to read and I love books. I particularly enjoy devotionals and self help books. I love to study psychology, counseling and social work related materials. I'm not suggesting that the only  book you should ever read is the Bible. (I'm hoping that any doctor that ever operates on me or one of my family members has read some medical textbooks in addition to the Bible!) I just had to use a dictionary because I was spelling the word counterfeit incorrectly! There's nothing wrong with that.

However, when it comes to some of the "spiritual" writings that are in print today and some of the "mysticism" out there, I encourage you to please be very careful. Just like my shepherd's pie, you don't want to follow flawed instructions. There are some books that sound "bible-like" but they are not the Bible. There are some things that sound spiritual, but they were not inspired by the Holy Spirit, and they are actually very dangerous.  Anything that you read as a guide or as a plan to live by, should agree with all Biblical principles. If you need a book on finances, choose a book on finances that lines up with scriptural principles. Find out what the Bible says on finances first and then find a book about handling your money according to scriptural principles. If you need a book or resources on marriage, parenting, substance abuse, weight loss, or whatever your issue, I encourage you to use a concordance or online search to see what the Bible has to say on that topic. Then, search for Christian authors who are experts in the area in which you need help.

Sometimes, its okay to have a counterfeit. My daughter wanted some Uggs boots. Well, I saw the price. For right now, she's going to have to settle for some "Fuggs" (Fake Uggs). That's okay, she likes her new boots. However, when you are dealing with spiritual issues, you absolutely must insist upon the real thing. There is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. There is only one inspired Word of God...and its The Holy Bible. Do not accept a counterfeit message and do not follow counterfeit advice!

I encourage you in this new year, to develop a habit of daily Bible reading. If you aren't a fan of reading, find a Bible on CD. You can listen in your car or while you are getting dressed each morning There are Bible plans you can research online that will help you read through the Bible in a year. If you struggle with reading the Bible, maybe you should try a different translation that is easier to read. Try the Everyday Bible or The Message translation. Go to a Christian bookstore and see just how many Bible choices there are! Google "through the Bible in a year" and see what resources are available to help you read through the Bible this year.

2 Timothy 3:17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Set aside time today to get into the Word!