Over the years I have heard so many things concerning Christianity that I have had to filter through the only source of truth I know that I can trust and that is the Word of God. And yet I have seen every kind of doctrine imaginable “proven” by taking verses from the Bible and applying them to the doctrine someone is trying to support or defend. I have done it myself. I am not sure that is how we are supposed to interpret the scripture. If you start with a premise you want to defend, of course you are already biased. You can “prove” most anything you want by supplying those who you are trying to convince with just the “facts” that you want them to hear.

I see the same reasoning in the scientific world, which can be very biased in many, many ways. I could cite examples that would probably fill several volumes just in areas I am aware of. 

One example is the evidence about the detriment that sugar has caused to our overall health. It has not only been downplayed, but actually squelched, in the interests of that industry. Sorry to use that example at this time of the year and believe me, I still eat too much of the stuff, knowing that it is one of the major causes of inflammation. 

It also lowers our ability to ward off disease and it can create a dependency, just like alcohol (which turns into sugar in our brains).

But the sugar industry would have us believe that it is OK to indulge in it in larger quantities than we should to maintain health.

After being a Christian for a very long time and hearing all kinds of things concerning Christianity, I have come back to some very foundational truths. It is Jesus Christ alone that saves us from our sins. It is Jesus Christ alone that empowers us to live our lives from a place of victory and gives us the ability to represent His nature and character without all the efforts that so many try to attach to the gospel. The more time I have spent just reading and studying the Word of God to know God and His plans for our lives, the more I have come to the conclusion that we have made it far more complex than it needs to be or should be.

Now, I am not talking about staying ignorant or not being able to defend what you know to be the truth, but rather, the opposite. The more of God’s Word that I understand, the more I realize that both Old and New Testaments point in one direction only. Jesus Christ was represented in types and shadows under the Old Covenant, but it was Him that all the law and prophets were proclaiming and foretelling. 

Some of those who authored these books of the Bible could “see” things that their natural eyes and their intellect could never have revealed. They spent time with God and came to know Him so intimately, that He allowed them to peer into the future and see their Messiah.

I am reading the scriptures with fresh eyes and ears, allowing the Holy Spirit to teach me the things that I need to know. The unsaved world is not interested in religion or anything else that does not bring peace into their confused lives that are so full of fear and turmoil. Many are searching for something that they probably could not define nor identify. They know their lives are empty, without real purpose. We have their answer right in front of us. But we have been so busy doing things that really do not have eternal value, things that have sidetracked us from our true mission — The Great Commission which is fulfilled when we walk in The Great Commandment (to love the Lord with all of our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves).

I want to challenge all of us to begin to look at the Word of God as though you are reading it for the first time, without reading into a scripture what you already know or think you know. I have been doing this using a newer version of the Bible or varying the different translations I have read from in the past. 

I am seeing some things in a fresh way that is giving me deeper insight and understanding. We have not even scratched the surface of the ocean depths of revelation concerning our God. We need to approach Him with the same wonder that a small child has as they begin to explore some place they have never been. There are many promises in the Bible that encourage us to seek Him with all of our hearts and when we do, we will find Him. He will reveal Himself to us in ways that will cause us to seek Him even more because He is so wonderful and so amazing.

Let me quote I Corinthians 2:9-10 in the Passion Translation: “Things never discovered or heard of before, things beyond our ability to imagine — these are the many things God has in store for all his lovers. But God now unveils these profound realities to us by the Spirit. Yes, he has revealed to us his inmost heart and deepest mysteries through the Holy Spirit, who constantly explores all things.”