Saturday, February 20, 2010

FREQUENT GUEST BLOGGER: MAKE YOUR DEFENSES STRONG, BY NIKKI HAHN

(Nikki writes for the Nikki Hahn Journal)

I did not question your faith or whether you believe when I challenged you on Thursday. What I did was to challenge you to think about your real motivations. The Bible is not a coffee table book. It is not something to show how ‘good’ you are as a Christian. It does not matter the size of the Bible. Are you reading your Bible?

Every morning I have a schedule. I get up, have coffee with my husband, and work out for 30 minutes to an hour. In this schedule I try to remember God. I try to sit down with my Bible, pick out a Psalm or favorite chapter to read, and follow it up by praying. I try to remember those in need of prayer naming them and their concern. I also try to copy our Pastor’s way of praying, thanking God first, confessing my sins, and praying for the people on my Oikos list. He has really made me think about how I pray every day.

This morning on Christian radio, a speaker spoke about addictions. He is addicted to frappacino’s (the kind you buy in the store). He is so addicted he will run to another store if the first store doesn’t have any left. His point being that he is so passionate about Starbucks, he wonders why it is so hard to be passionate about God. Anything you put first before God is an idol. All ready you can see we have broken another commandment. Angry thoughts are also the same as murder. I’m glad Jesus went willingly to the cross for me. Without Him, I would have been judged by the Ten Commandments. The Bible is consistent. The Old and New Testament are not contradicting each other. Jesus spoke about our behavior in Romans 13:8-10, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.

The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,”[a] and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Dr. Ron Carlson says, “If you do not believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, if you do not believe that the Bible is of a supernatural origin, than I challenge you to a test.”

I said to the student, “I challenge you to go to any library in the world; you can choose any library you like, and find 66 books which match the characteristics of the 66 books in the Bible. You must choose 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, written on 3 different continents. However, they must share a common storyline, a common theme, and a common message, with no historical errors or contradictions.” I went on to say, “If you can produce such a collection of books, I will admit that the Bible is not the inspired word of God.” The student’s reply was almost instantaneous, he emphatically stated, “But that’s impossible!””

I am a believer that Christ died on the cross for my sins and yours, but my life will not exude safety and joy because of it. Bad things happen to good people. I live in a fallen world full of sin and evil. I walk this path home enduring temptations and sometimes, falling into temptation. Christ enables me to walk this path enjoying life in spite of the hard times, finding joy in His work, and knowing I will receive the consequences of a bad and good decision in this lifetime.

I am His child and I welcome His discipline. I know He loves me and I know my Father will only do what is best for me. If you do not know the Bible, but claim you love Christ, read the Bible. A Christian unarmed in the world is susceptible to fall to the ploys and temptations the world offers—riches, a great life, fame, cults and your every want. There is only one way as described in John 3:16 to get to Heaven, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” But that is not the end of the story. Read your Bible.

NIKKI IS OUR FAVORITE GUEST BLOGGER. HER WEBSITE IS www.thehahnhuntinglodge.com



1 comment: