“Let me know that he is dear to me by his Word;
I am one with him by the Word on his part,
and by faith on mine;
If I oppose the Word I oppose my Lord
when he is most near;
If I receive the Word I receive my Lord
wherein he is nigh.
Oh thou who hast the hearts of all men in thy hand,
form my heart according to the Word,
according to the image of thy Son,
So shall Christ the Word, and his Word,
be my strength and comfort.
From “The Valley of Vision” page 31.

2Peter 1:20-21 (NASB)
20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,
21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

James 4:4-5 (NASB)
4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?

There has always been a tendency by some Christian churches and individuals within them to accept Jesus as Savior, but selectively accept the Holy Scriptures. One of the major purposes of the scriptures is to establish the Law handed down by God and then point us to the grace of Jesus because we cannot perfectly keep the Law. It doesn’t remove the requirements of the Law as some have attempted to do. A well known actor, when traveling, would find the Bible in the hotel room and tear out pages that he didn’t like. He was attempting to lower the standard of the Law, so he would feel better about his sin.

We don’t become acceptable to Jesus by trying to change the law. We become acceptable to Jesus by accepting His free gift of salvation and believing in Him as Lord and Savior. That includes accepting the truths written in the Word, repenting when we sin, knowing that we cannot perfectly meet those requirements. Instead we accept the law, pray that God would give us the power to follow it, and praise God for His mercy and grace.

Heavenly Father, I praise You for not only the sacrifice of Jesus to pay for my sin, but for the Bible. Even though You have given to us a large volume of scripture to let us know about You and what you expect from me, I understand that it is a minuscule fragment of the glory that You are. I repent when I sin against the Law and ask that you point me toward Your perfection. I pray that I would not be tempted to reject anything within the Bible. When I accept Jesus, I accept the Bible, for Jesus is the Word. I pray this in His name. Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,

“Let that grace now, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.”
From “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” Hymn

1 Peter 2:16 (NASB)
16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.

As a child, I can remember singing in church the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”. When it came to the verse that contained the word “fetter”, I can recall how I would pause because I didn’t know what that word meant. Later when I did know the meaning, I thought it a rather odd word to use. I thought we received freedom from sin when we believed. Why would we need to be bound to God? It seemed to be the opposite of what was taught as the gospel.

But the old hymns have rich truth in them. As I sang this hymn in church last Sunday, I realized that it was so true that I need to be bound to Jesus. I need His strength to keep me on the right path and only when my heart is sealed with His, can I follow Him faithfully. And the words of the old hymn became my prayer.

Heavenly Father, O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be; Let that grace now, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander – Lord, I feel it – prone to leave the God I love: Here’s my heart, O, take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above. These things I pray in the name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior forever. Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,