The Bible is Essential Part 1 - Studying and Abiding in God's Word

Read: Psalm 119:105, John 8:31-32, Deuteronomy 8:3 , John 15:1-17,  1 John 2:1-6, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12

The more we walk with Christ the more we should have a desire to know Him, The Holy Spirit and His Word more. 

Unfortunately, I continue to see the trends and statistics that state that there are a large amount of people who identify as Christians, those who even attend a Church somewhat regularly, who rarely pick up the Word of God to read and study it for themselves. (See several links to statistic examples below this communication)

They often can't even name basic things like the 4 Gospels or other very rudimentary things about The Scriptures...things that the average "Sunday School" aged child could answer...not that many churches even have Sunday School anymore for kids or adults anymore. It's as if some give an intellectual nod to the Bible but they don't really own their faith.  

They don't honor God's Word nor give it the proper place in their lives that they should. 

It's Not "Hammer Time": Being mindful of your words and actions.

Read: Proverbs 10:11, Proverbs 12:18, Proverbs 15:4. Proverbs  16:24, Proverbs 18:21, 1 Corinthians 13.

God has given us many tools and also wants to produce the fruit of The Spirit in and through us. Sometimes people forget that things like harshness, anger, etc are not part of the fruit of The Spirit. 

Furthermore, the scripture reminds us that Love is patient, love is kind...(See 1 Corinthians 13) but sometimes others in our lives or even ourselves lack these very things in relation to others. I'm also reminded of Proverbs 16:24 "Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body." 

As always, our words can bring life or death to the hearer. Our words are more powerful than we realize because those words whether good or bad, stay with the hearer and sometimes much longer than they should when we speak unkind words. This is why I've shared in the past that the old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words may never hurt me," while a nice sentiment, it's not really true because words do hurt and it takes more time mentally and emotionally to heal from words spoken to us. 

While there are times where we need to be more firm in our communication, we need to remember that even in being firm with others who have wronged us, or who need correction, or that we disagree with, we need to season that with grace so we can represent The Lord more effectively. 

Prayer Is A Gift But Remember: God is NOT Your Personal "Genie in a Lamp".

Read:  Matthew 6:1-15, Hebrews 4:16, Mark 11:24, Matthew 21:22, James 1:5-8

Prayer is a precious gift and vital tool that God has given us. 

The fact that we can freely talk to The One Who gave us life is amazing and we should never take this gift or Him for granted. 

As we approach prayer, we need to remember and be encouraged that He's a loving Father Who knows what's best for us and when He instructs us to pray believing in faith and to approach Him with confidence, He really means it. 

Can and should we pray about everything in faith as the scripture tells us? Of course, but, we have to trust God's will and pray according to His will just as Jesus modeled for us in The Lord's Prayer. (See Matthew 6:1-15) 

Unfortunately, some have taken this as an invitation to believe and or teach that He's going to give us everything we want just for the asking. Or, equally flawed are those who "demand" that He give them what