Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet!

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet!

(Psalms 119:105)

The Bible happens to be our operation’s manual for life. In it we can find sound and wise instructions, from our Creator, on any number of subjects, necessary for life, and also for eternity.

I’m reminded of a testimony I once heard from an old Texas preacher, of how he said that he had always owned a Volkswagen bug, and how he thought that was God’s chosen car for him.

He went on to say that in every Volkswagen vehicle he had ever owned, the method for starting it was always the same, “You mashed down on the accelerator, and crank the engine, until it starts.”

He said this one year, back in the late sixties (I think it was) that he had bought himself a brand new Volkswagen, and was having nothing but problems. He said he thought for the first time, he had gotten a lemon.

As it happened, he was scheduled to do a retreat up in the mountains, and was afraid of having car problems and getting stuck; so he broke down, and for the very first time, he opened the glove compartment, and took out the owner’s manual for this car.

He said the very first thing he read was, “DO NOT ‘MASH’ DOWN ON THE ACCELORATER TO START THIS CAR; this car has been equipped with an automatic choke, and to start, merely press once on the accelerator to the floor, and then turn the key and start the car!”

Like most guys, myself included, we don’t like to read instruction manuals; and the reason is, we always figure that we can figure it our ourselves; but in this case, this guy had suffered needlessly, because he didn’t know what he didn’t know.

He went to say, “You know, the manufacturer of this vehicle wrote an operations manual for its proper operation and maintenance; and in order to get the maximum life and efficiency from the vehicle, it would have been wise for him to have started by first reading the manual; and he would have then avoided lots of problems.”

He went on to say that our manufacturer, and Creator, who is God, also wrote an Operations Manual, and it is found in the Holy Bible (Book of Information Before Leaving Earth)!

The same thing applies to our life, as it was with that Volkswagen, if we would just follow the Operations Manual, we’d avoid a lot of heartache and pain; but being the dumb clucks that most of us are, who think we already know it all; we most always end up learning the hard way.

One thing we all will learn eventually, that is if we live long enough, and if we are smart enough to seek out a relationship with God, and that is, just as the Bible instructs, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Prov 9:10)

So here are our marching orders today, for all who have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church, in these days:

Proverbs 3:1-7

Further Benefits of Wisdom

¹ My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,

² for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.

³ Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴ Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.

To quote a commonly used blessing, that was often spoken by one of my favorite characters in an old television series that I used to watch: “Live long and prosper!” But even before we can even begin to hope to do that,
if we are not operating in Wisdom, according to the our Operations Manual, then our chances of living long, and of our prospering at anything, are slim to none.

Our life is a gift and a choice; and God has given each of us a free will, and the opportunity to choose on whom, or what, we will spend it?

It has always been God’s purpose that we, who are part of His creation, who are also created in His image, and after His likeness, that we of our own free will and volition, would choose to spend our lives on Him; as that has been His plan all along, and His reason for creating us, to begin with.

To the extent we don’t operate in this way, is what SIN is all about, were all of us like dumb sheep have gone astray, and the Lord has laid upon Him, Jesus, the inequity of us all!

However, being the gentleman that He is, He will never force Himself upon us, but He leaves it for us to decide?

It’s my pray that more and more this message will get out, for it is the ONLY hope, not just for our nation, but also for the entire world; that people will begin to take God’s warnings seriously, and that more people would listen to His instructions, and start by being born-again, and being saved! Selah

Shalom,

Skip Barland

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