Picture this: A young, headstrong teen jumps in behind the wheel of a car having never operated a vehicle in his life. He has no drivers license and is blinded by his own confidence and supported by what he's heard: "It's easy," his friends persuade, "Push the accelerator to go. Apply the brakes when you want to stop."
So recklessly following his friends definition of driving, the young teen takes off giving no thought of the danger he's heading into. He starts weaving in and out of traffic like a mad man with no sense. With the accelerator shoved down to the floorboard, he's hauling down the road disobeying every speed limit sign. He races dangerously around curves (sometimes on two wheels), flies over railroad tracks without looking at the "X" and two "R"s signage warning him to watch and listen for oncoming trains. He ignores a bright red sign- the "slow down bump ahead." He ignores a neon yellow crosswalk sign clearly displaying the walking person symbol. Then, yet again, he slips right past the another yellow warning: "sharp curve ahead." Other metal signs he disregards are the - "school zone," - "deer crossing," -"lane ends, - "low clearance, - "merge left" " - oncoming traffic," - and the ever so important, "STOP AHEAD." He ignored them all! Who would do that? Who breaks every core traffic law, creating serious safety risks and legal trouble??
Why do you think he was so foolhardy to disregard every posted warning sign that was not intended for the purpose of restricting him, but for his safety!?
There are two reasons:
#1. He believed the incomplete, partial opinion & misguided advice given by his friends regarding operating a vehicle safely on the road. There's more to driving than just stop and go as they told him. He adopted their opinion as fact WITHOUT DUE DILIGENCE. And for him with itching ears, he did just what he wanted to hear. Tremendous amounts of important facts were missing from what they told him most likely because they lacked all the facts themselves!
#2. He never bothered to open and read his state drivers manual to know if what his friends told him was correct or thorough. So he PAID NO ATTENTION TO THE WARNING SIGNS, what they meant, or had any inkling they were placed strategically to keep him safe. There's a reason for every kind of a manual .. for instructions, guidance, clarity, even to ensure safety. Manuals or regulations, instructions, even laws aren't designed to limit your potential, but rather to ensure your protection.
The analogy above illustrates the same 'danger' a person, any person, is in who recklessly believes other peoples opinions about the Bible, Jesus Christ, and what the big "manuel," (THE BIBLE) says about laws, instructions, how to stay safe on lifes road, even about Jesus whom it's all about. But you cannot travel this life and safely protect your soul without reading and applying God's manual for yourself! Did I lose you there? Are you the lazy-type? Don't want to "waste" your time? Don't want to hear something that might uncover what you're doing in the dark is wrong?
We simple cannot adopt another persons opinion, interpretation, or believe everything we hear from others regarding who or what God is without His manual verifying TRUTH of what we hear! Including what you read in my own blogs! Spiritual direction and guidance comes by reading, seeking, and examining the Good Book ourselves. Let me ask you ..
*Would you attempt a culinary dish prepared for a dignitary not knowing anything about its preparation without seeing a recipe?
*Would you attempt to jump-start a car when you know nothing about positive or negative terminals?
*Would you feel safe grabbing a fire-extinguisher during a bazing fire without knowing how to operate it first?
*Would you attempt CPR on a person or child without knowing the thorough instructions of chest compressions at the right depth and rate?
Then why would you believe any general consensuses about the Word of God offered through the "opinions" of scoffers, doubters, agnostics, and atheists without ever having read the Bible manual for yourself proving if their statements are biblical facts?
Such false opinions as:
That everyone goes to heaven.
That all faiths lead to God.
That Jesus was just a prophet and not the Son of God.
That there was never a resurrection.
That Mary becoming pregnant without sperm was and is impossible.
That Noah could not have built such a large boat by himself without saws or drills.
That Christ is not the only way to heaven. That's too restrictive.
That there isn't such a truth as talking in tongues unless you are mentally unstable.
That God's reported infalable Word isn't pure , flawless, or without error.
That the parting of the Red Sea is just a made-up story.
That the earth wasn't created in just 6 days.
That God did not inspire the apostles to write the four gospels.
That women cannot teach others regarding scriptures.
That no donkey ever spoke, nor can rocks cry out.
That no giant fish ever swallowed a man called Jonah.
That walking on water is a myth, logically an impossibility.
That Simon Peter never found a gold coin in the mouth of a fish placed there miraculously by Jesus to supply Peter his need to pay taxes.
Shall I go on? My question would be, what do you believe about these things?
Are you believing others OPINIONS? Others DEDUCTIONS? Other's VIEWS? Others PERSPECTIVES? Other's THOUGHT PROCESSES? Have you ever opened a Bible?? Are you accepting so-called truths at face value without doing research? Have you ever questioned or doubted what you've heard all your life and settled with? NO? Then how do you know what is true? Do you care that without the real truth you're like a blind man driving toward a cliff?
Ask yourself why you won't open a Bible? Why won't you look in it? Why won't you research what it claims? There isn't a possible way to prove what you've been told, heard, or taught is correct unless you compare it to the Good Book. But you can't do that if you never open a BIBLE! You may actually discover what you have believed through your own logic, or adopted as YOUR TRUTH from someone's elses opinion, has been nothing but a reckless drive through lifes roads and hiways. A drive without any warning signs to keep you safe from dangers that you have no idea you're in. Please, I urge you to open a Bible. Ask God Himself to show you Truth and assure your safety now and especially after you take your last breath.
Until He Comes,
-Pat-
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