Usually I find that user manuals are boring, but I’ve found one that is anything but boring, and it the user manual for life, the Bible. God has given the Bible for us to have success in spiritual growth. If your like me when it comes to a new gadget in my home or a new toy of some kind, be it the newest phone upgrade or iPod, the last resort is the user manual. I typically try to navigate by intuition or by asking a friend. But when I finally get in trouble I turn to the user manual. Unfortunately that’s the way most of us live our lives. God has given us this amazing collection of His inspired words to give us everything we need to know Him and to live life successfully, yet we often turn to it as a last resort.
In my book Life Palette, I write about how God is the artist of our lives and how He has created us to be His masterpiece. However, we have a part in this masterpiece in that we give Him the Palette to paint our lives with, our Life Palette. There is no greater place to get an understanding of what should be on our Life Palette or how to develop our Life Palette than the Bible, God’s Word. In fact that’s why we have the Bible; “God desires to communicate His will. That’s all a part of why He sent Jesus to the earth, to get up close and personal with us as human beings. That’s why He gave us the Bible, His Word.” (Chapter 2 Life Palette) Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Tim. 3:16-17 and said that the Bible teaches us what is true, shows us what is wrong in our lives and helps us to do what is right. “God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
This is the way to build life on a solid foundation so that regardless of the storms you will live with joy, peace and success. So today, I am building my life on the solid foundation of God’s Word, the Bible. Rather than wait until I’m in desperate trouble in my life I’m going to read life’s user manual and let it shape my relationships, decisions and thinking so that I can operate in every good work that He has for me. Give it a try! Read 2 Tim. 3 16-17 today.
This coming weekend I begin a new talk series called Endless Treasure at Alive Church. “Endless Treasure” is a five week talk series that is guaranteed to transform your thinking about what it means to have faith and looks at what we can expect of God every time we come to Him with a request. The content of this series is foundational for everyone who desires to be successful as a follower of Jesus. Imagine what would happen if you truly understood the incredible treasure that God has placed within you. I hope that you can join me!