ALL IN

Greetings,

Gallup.com recently published a poll showing that only "24% of Americans believe the Bible is the literal Word of God."  Sure lots of people believe some of the Bible is true, and many others find the stories inspiring, but barely one out of four of us believes the Scriptures to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

I was kind of shocked when I read this, but then I had lunch with a pal who casually said, "I absolutely believe the Bible is  God's Word, but not everything in scripture is relevant for today."

I sat there with my mouth open, not sure how to respond.  And then I asked, "Which parts do you think are still important?"

For me, it is easier to cast my entire self, my entire brain, my entire soul onto the Lord and His Word then to have to first figure out what is still important or not, true or not, relevant or not, or applicable or not.

God takes the guesswork out of it:

"All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right" (2 Timothy 3:16).

When we accept the Bible as the complete and infallible Word of God, when we exercise our faith to believe that all scripture is useful and beneficial, when we are determined to apply the whole truth to our lives, we begin to get a clearer understanding of everything that's messed up so God can fix it and bless us.

And in the process, this "all in" mentality  -  tuning in to ALL God's Word  -   means we will be "bursting with health  -  body and soul" (Proverbs 4:22) and "He will be a shield and protection to us" (Proverbs 30:5).

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We are all in today! We believe Your entire Word and look forward to the blessings that are ours when we exercise our faith.  We need health, and we need protection! In Jesus' name, AMEN.