Equipped

Imagine a teacher showing up to class without her lesson plans and no idea of how to teach. Imagine a soldier going to war with no gear or weapons and no training. What would happen if a lawyer showed up to court, with no knowledge of his case or how the law works and inevitably no opening statement? I think we all know in each of these circumstances things would not go well. As a matter of fact, the outcomes could be disastrous. 

Growing up, I had no direction or guidance. I had no clue about life in general and therefore I felt like I had no purpose. No one taught me that education was important. No one taught me what respect was. No one showed me how to be an upstanding citizen, or how to just live a “normal” life. Most kids grow up thinking about college or a career, or at the very least where they want to work when they are old enough. None of that ever crossed my mind. Those concepts were never introduced to me. During my childhood, I had mixed messages from my parents. We couldn’t just be normal kids when my dad was around. There was no playing, jumping around, being noisy, laughing, or goofing off. We didn’t dare want to risk getting our dad angry and being yelled at or whipped with the belt. When my dad was home he controlled our every move and we made sure we didn’t even whisper so we wouldn’t bother him. We would just sit on the living room floor or on the sofa with my mom and didn't move or talk. When my dad finally left our home for good, things went in the complete opposite direction. My mom had no control over us kids, we certainly took advantage of this newfound freedom! Now we had no boundaries, no rules, no discipline. We were rude, unruly, disrespectful, rotten to the core brats! We came and went as we pleased and did whatever we wanted. But I soon found out that having too much freedom was almost as bad as having no freedom. I didn’t know what to do with my life. I didn’t have basic life skills. I felt lost and helpless.

I remember when I first began my journey as a Christian, I just wanted someone to tell me what to do and how to do it. I desperately needed guidance. Not just spiritually, but in every aspect of life, because I had no idea how to live a normal life. 

Someone once said that the acronym for the word Bible is Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. I needed instruction. But I also needed direction and guidance. I needed understanding and peace of mind. I needed people in my life that could show me how to function normally. I needed healing and faith. I needed deliverance and hope. I needed salvation. I needed God in my life, and I needed to know who God was. Through preaching and teaching, through fellowship and friendships, through prayer, and through reading and studying the Bible, I have obtained all of that, and so much more. I can’t begin to express the depth of how much God has changed and fulfilled my life. There’s no way to show you all the life-fulfilling principles, and concepts found in the Bible, that I have been able to apply to my life. These principles that have become precious treasures that I can glean from time and again. 

If you are not reading and studying the Bible, you are doing yourself an injustice! If you are not reading the Bible, you are missing out on gaining some of the most profound knowledge and wisdom. If you are not reading the Bible you are losing one of the greatest opportunities of a lifetime, which is getting to know the One True God. The Bible is not only life-changing, but it will change the course of your life like you have never imagined possible. There is no other written literature in the world that is alive and life-giving. 

We must know the lesson plans. We must have the correct gear and weapons. We need to know how to plead our case. We need to be prepared with our ‘opening statements’ as well as our ‘closing arguments’. We need the guidance and direction of the Bible. And we need the principles and concepts taught within its pages so that we can be equipped for life. 

Psalm 32:8

Isaiah 11:2

James 147:3,  James 5:15

Acts 2:36-41, Acts 4:12

John1:1, John1:14, Isaiah 9:6, John 10:30, Matthew 1:23, Isaiah 44:6