By Pr Isaiah White
The Bible is not just ink and paper because that has no power at all. We must understand that the book we know as the Bible is, in structure, a book like any other.
In its ink and paper, it has no difference from other books. There are many people out there treating the Bible as the Muslim Quran that is assumed to have powers.
It is occultism for Christians to assume that they can place their Bibles on the places they ache and be healed.
It is paganism for a Born-Again Christian to place the Bible under their pillows or even use the literal book for exorcism.
What will help you succeed in life is not the literal book, but the powerful Word of God expressed through the Bible.
We learn this from Prophet Joshua, when he told believers of his time:
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.
“For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).
Shall not depart
Joshua was not calling believers to venerate the book; he wanted them to believe and act upon what was written in it.
It is for that matter that he called them to ensure that words written should not depart from their mouth, and as they meditate in it day and night.
Joshua reminds us believers that the Word of God as it is transcribed in the Bible should be our manual for living life in this sinful world.
The Word of God should shape our speech and form not just our thoughts but also our thought patterns.
The Word of God as expressed in the Bible must be at the foundation of our worldview. Christians should not look at or perceive the world like the non-believers.
We live in an information age where there is knowledge and information about almost anything and everything is everywhere.
The world is filled with teachers, students and philosophies.
It is a world of no absolutes, but relative truths and the plurality of truth as an underlying theme of living life.
It is for this reason that Apostle Paul warned Christians through these words:
“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 5:6).
I do not know which books you have read, which magazines, how many newspapers and tabloids; the truth of the matter is that they are all filled with ‘empty words’.
The Greek phrase translated as ‘empty words’ is ‘Kenois Logois’.
This phrase does not state that a word lacks meaning and therefore it is devoid of meaning, but rather the ‘emptiness’ of such a word is that its meaning is out of touch with ‘reality’ of the Word of God.
Whatever philosophies we have been made to believe in this world are contrary to reality. Eventually, these philosophies will not help us achieve real success in life.
To be blessed in this world is not how much material possession you have, but the quality of the philosophy of your life.
If your philosophy is not the Word of God, then no matter how educated, how rich or even how physically healthy you are, you are neither blessed nor successful.
Psalms 1:1-3 says: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful:
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law, he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”
Core principles
To register real success in this life, you need God first. The second principle is truth. Knowing and saying the truth will set you free in the world of captives (John 8:32).
Love is the third; to succeed in this life you need to love your neighbour as you love yourself (Mark 12:31) and finally true success in having faith.
Placing that faith in the right place not just for this life but for even the life to come (John 3:16).
The Bible presents these principles cohesively as ways to succeed in this life and the life to come. This is why you need the Word of God as your principal guide.
