The Psalmist said of God,“For with thee is the fountain of life”(Psalms 36:9). There is in that statement far more than our mind can comprehend. He is the source of all that is good.“In Him we live,and move,and have our being”.He has all we need and gives all we have.And,He does so because of grace–no one is earning their way with God. He gives because He is our Father and He desires to give even more than what we allow Him to give, yet we “limit the Holy One of Israel”.

We fail to appropriate what is available simply because of our mis-conceptions about God. In our mind, we drag Him down to our level and suppose that He is either unable or unwilling to provide what we need–what fools we are! We forget that He is the Infinite Fountain of life, love, liberty,and all good things. We forget, as Octavius Winslow wrote, “That the heavier the demand we make upon God, the more we shall receive, and that the oftener we come, the more are we welcome.  That we cannot ask too much.  That our sin and His dishonor are, that we ask so little.  We forget that He is glorified in giving; and that the more grace He metes out to His people, the richer the revenue of praise which He receives in return.  —the heart that gave Jesus will withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly.”

When you feel barren and dry, even fearful that you might perish, remember He “is the fountain of life.”

—-be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke—shine as lights in the world.–Philippians 2:15

There is a story of one Christian man, a deacon and very involved in his church, who was sitting in traffic and late for work. His car was plastered with bumper stickers that read, “Honk if you love Jesus!” and “Jesus is my hero!”

He had already sat through three red lights, and the lady in front of him was talking on her cell phone and trying to apply mascara all at the same time. When the light turned green, she wasn’t paying attention, and continued to sit at a stand still, holding up traffic.

The man began honking, shouting from inside his car, and shaking his fists at the lady to move on. Finally, after traffic began to creep forward, the man noticed red and blue flashing lights behind him. As he pulled over and rolled down his window to greet the officer, he said, “What did I do wrong? I’m late for work, and you’re holding me up!”

The officer responded, “Sir, is this your car?”

The puzzled man growled back, “Yes! Who else do you think it belongs to?”

The policeman replied, “Well, when I saw the bumper stickers on the back of your car and the way you were acting back there, I thought the car must be stolen!”

I’ve read this story many times before, but here’s something that you might not have thought about– How should we respond to a situation like this? Most people assume that the best course of action would be to remove the bumper stickers, but is that really the answer? I don’t think so. Instead of changing the stickers we need to change our attitude. Removing the bumper sticker doesn’t remove the problem. That just deals with the fruit of the problem. We need to get to the root of the problem, which is a change of our behavior. The daily devotional “Senior Living” gives this good advice:

It’s easy for us to become frustrated and impatient with the world. But, many of us often come too close to tarnishing our witness for Jesus because of our words and deeds. Decide to put on the full armor of God each morning in prayer and God’s Word, so others will see Jesus in you. Ask God to help make you a shining witness of His love, kindness, and gentle spirit each day as you interact with those who don’t know Him.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.–Proverbs 4:23

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.”–Psalm 119:105-106 

 

The US Department of the Interior once conducted an experiment using migratory birds. The birds were tagged with metal strips reading “Wash. Biol. Surv.”—for Washington Biological Survey. The code was changed, so the story goes, after a farmer from Arkansas wrote to the department: “Dear Sirs, I shot one of your crows. My wife followed the cooking instructions attached—she washed it, boiled it, and served it. It was the worst thing we ever ate.”

 

Sometimes instructions can be misunderstood. I once read of a brochure put out several years ago by the Durham, NC, County Public Library that explained the use of the card catalogue. The brochure told of one patron who, upon reading “See Main Entry” on a catalogue card, went out to the front steps of the library.

 

Imagine trying to live life with misread instructions. Even the simplest of tasks would be challenging if you were not sure how to perform them! While some people live life without realizing the “instructions of life,” we as Christians can find God’s instructions for living in His Word.

 

God has provided His directions for us. He shows us in the Bible how to live a moral life, how to have a happy marriage, how to find peace in the middle of trials, how to find joy, and so many other ways to live a productive life. The Bible is the best “how-to” book we could ever own!

 

But as is true with “how-to” books, the Bible can only help you if you are reading, studying, and obeying its principles. You wouldn’t read a book on gardening then do the opposite when trying to cultivate a garden; so why read the Bible for help in you marriage and not heed its teaching?

 

The effectiveness of the Bible in your life is directly proportional in how much of it you obey. Do you apply the principles and commands God outlines in His Word? God has given you what you need, but it will only benefit you as you are obeying His Word.The Bible has the answer for any situation you face.———

 

Never take for granted the fact that God has provided His Word for you. The answer for any question, problem, or difficult situation you face can be found in God’s Word. Take time each day to read and spend time in God’s Word. But also take time to search for the answer to the problem you may be facing. God has the answer; you simply need to find them. Read God’s instructions and follow His directions for your life today. –By Dr. Paul Chappell