What’s in your safe? Some people keep their valuables in a safe. Some people keep their guns in a safe. I know people who have money stashed in safes all around town. In one home we lived in we had a floor safe! It was inside our walk-in closet and was covered by carpet. It was just full of valuables! Ok, it kept our important papers but no money. But, just in case we needed it it is was there.
I suppose we all know what Fort Knox is? Fort Knox is the depository of the gold reserves for the United States. Is all the gold controlled by America actually in Fort Knox? Is there really ANY gold in Fort Knox? Well, since 1937 gold has been on deposit in its vaults. The main vault lies below ground lined with granite. The door “is protected with a blast-proof door weighing 22 tons.” And, it is said that not any one person can open the vault. Outside the main building the grounds are surrounded by a maze of fencing and military personnel for protection. Sounds pretty safe to me! And, it is accessible if need be.
Do you know that each one of us has a safe? It may not be in your floor, in the wall, or at your bank. But, we have a safe. It is to hold the most valuable possessions we have. It should be consistently guarded and added to. Our safe is called our heart. The Psalmist says in Psalm 119:11, “Your Word I have treasured in my heart.” Our heart is to be the depository of God’s Word. Each day we should be making deposits. And, regularly we should be making withdrawals. But, unlike any other type of valuables we own, this possession, once used, can simply be put back into our safe.
In some safes are yellowed papers from many years ago. These papers must be handled with care so as to be preserved. For some of us, we placed a valuable verse or biblical principle into our safe long ago. And, that verse or principle has just sat in the safe and is yellowed from non-use. For some people, their safe is pretty empty due to a lack of deposits. For others, the safe is quite full, but it is never accessed for a withdrawal.
Today, think about your safe. What’s in it? What have you taken out recently? In your safe you have different “safe deposit boxes” where you can place verses. Today, go to your safe and use its contents.
When I was in high school I loved math. In fact, I took all the math I could take. In my senior year I took trigonometry. I know what you’re thinking, HIM!? Yes, I took this challenging course because I thought I would go to college to become a math major to teach math someday. My grades were pretty good in trig. Those long equations seemed right up my alley. One other student and I were battling it out for the title, “Math Student of the Year.” But, ones thing tripped me up. Though I could do the equations and follow the intricate formulas, I was careless in the details. I would add 2+2 and get 5! Then, because of that one small mistake, my final calculation was incorrect. I was just too fast and caviler.
Life is much like that. We can get the big picture right. We can know that we are to make decisions based upon God’s Word. We can know it and reflect on it. The subject matter isn’t our problem. We can move from Genesis to Revelation in record time. Our problem, however, is that we are too caviler in the small details.
The difference between truth and error can be a wide gap or a small crack. False teachers can get close but still be teaching error. And, the minute we let down our guard and think we have all the answers we are in danger of being taken off the right path.
On occasion we need to go back to “check our work.” My math teacher used to say that to me a lot. She would hand me back a homework assignment or test and tell me to recheck my work. When I did, I would often find the smallest mistake that made my conclusions incorrect. If I had only checked it before I handed in the assignment or test, I might have been the math student of the year.
No two answers can be correct to a math problem. Although they may look right, unless we follow the correct steps, we will be wrong. Two students solved the following simple math equation differently and both thought they were correct. They were asked to solve the following; 3+4×2. One student answered 11 the other answered 14. The first student multiplied 4×2 first and then added 3. The second student added 3+4 and multiplied by 2. Which is correct? If you chose student number you 2 you are………wrong! In math you do multiplication before you do addition. So, in this equation you multiply 4×2 and then add 3. Both answers look correct, but, only one is.
As you read and study the Word of God be sure to ask the right questions and find the right answers. Even a small mistake can result in a grave error, like missing Heaven by a mile.
When I was a “youngin” I remember hearing a song about this topic. Kitty Wells, a popular Country and Western singer, sang a song entitled, “Dust on the Bible.” In the song she sings about going to a friend’s house to visit and seeing their Bible laying on a table covered in dust. It was obvious their Bible was unused. She was saddened by that fact. She sang that we should “get the dust off the Bible and redeem your poor soul.”
Maybe her singing was a bit “twangy” and method a bit outdated. But, her message is one needed to be heard by every generation of believers.
We have all entered 2014 with the same amount of time given to all. Today is January 17. If you had read four chapters a day you would have already finished 68 chapters! If you had begun in Genesis you would be to Exodus 18. If you had begun with Matthew you would be finishing the Gospel of Luke. Think of the good things you could have been reading about.
But, it’s never too late to begin a Bible reading schedule. You can do it so many different sways. The key is to DO IT.
After reading this, if you haven’t been reading God’s Word daily, stop to read at least a chapter. If you will begin today, read four chapters a day, you will complete the Bible in 2014.
20 years ago Hank Hanegraaff of the Christian Research Institute wrote a book to expose some of the excesses happening under the umbrella of Christianity. His book was one of many being written to warn believers of the dangers of departing from the historic faith “once delivered to the saints.” His work, among others, was clearly in the pathway of the Apostle Jude’s warnings in the first century.
In our evening services we have embarked upon a study of the Book of Jude. We are attempting to see what Jude had to say to his culture, and how this small book speaks to our culture. Error and apostasy are still the same animal. The basics of Satan’s attacks haven’t changed since the Garden of Eden. Satan will seek to cause doubt in the minds of people as to the truthfulness of God’s Word. If that tactic doesn’t work, he will try a direct denial of God’s Word. If that doesn’t work, he will seek to detour folks into something else to believe. In each case, whether hundreds of years ago or today, Satan’s goal is to bring people to a rejection of God and HIs Word.
If your spiritual antennas are not up when you listen to or read the works of a teacher, they should be. You and I must be discerning people as to truth. Error can be easily made to sound true simply by redefining the words or presenting a half-truth as a whole-truth. Many well know “preachers” of God’s Word today fall into that category. Sunday evening we spent some time pointing out these false teachers.
Recently Dr. John MacArthur organized a gathering of Bible-centered preachers to expose the gross errors within the “Word-Faith” movement. He called his meetings, “Strange Fire.” From that meeting a book has been written to get the information to more and more people. I would recommend the reading of Hank Hanegraaff’s book and John MacArthur’s book as primers into these false teachers and teachings.
May each of us keep our hearts and heads in tune with the God of Truth.
If you would like to read either of these books, just click on the image. It will take you to Amazon.
Ok, it kept our important papers but no money. But, just in case we needed it it is was there.
