The words of God are of the utmost importance. I was once told that Bible translations are a “secondary doctrine.” In other words, it’s a preference, like hymns vs. contemporary music or chairs vs. pews.
My Bible says “man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live” (Deut. 8:3). God’s word is our food; our nourishment. We are (spiritually) dead without it.
Does that sound like a “secondary doctrine” to you?
God also warns us not to take too much pride in our possessions and forget who gave us such blessing. When our wealth multiplies, we are not supposed to “say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth” (Deut. 8:17), because “it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish: because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God” (Deut. 8:19-20).
This is a strong condemnation of the state of the United States of America as we know it today. From the rampant greed of capitalists to the perversion of “Christian” churches who preach “prosperity doctrine” from the pulpit, America has forgotten that our wealth and prosperity comes from God. His warning is the destruction of nations who forget him.
I think we have lost the idea of God. Our churches focus on Christ, which is the centerpiece of the Christian religion. However, we have gotten away from the part of Christ that was the dominant force in the Old Testament.
We know that Jesus is God, but we do not understand God.
Deuteronomy 10:17 says, “For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward.” Verse 20 says “Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.”
God is a being who can wipe out the entire population of the earth with a word. He did it with a flood, and he will do it again at Armageddon.
God is a being who was willing to wipe out every single member of the children of Israel who escaped slavery in Egypt and start again with Moses and Aaron.
God is a being who can create an entire universe or end it with a whisper.
God is a being who killed those Israelites who complained about him with fiery serpents, swallowing them with the earth, and plagues.
We are supposed to FEAR God, as well as love him.
We barely whimper when God’s Ten Commandments are removed from schools and government buildings.
We are silent when television programs openly mock Christians.
We don’t hold our own politicians responsible for continually trying to “help” Israel by stopping them from building settlements and expanding their borders into territories promised to them by God.
God, whose name is Jealous, must watch as we stare at food pictures on our cell phones and play video games rather than spend time in prayer or reading our Bibles.
We forget the power of God, because he has become a sort of genie for us. We want him to grant us wishes, not judge us according to our sins.
We don’t want his judgment coming upon us, but we take his mercy for granted. He could easily swallow us up into the ground at any given moment, but we’re worried about losing a job or feeling uncomfortable without electricity.
Be honest. We do not FEAR God’s power, but someday very soon all creation will.
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