Pastor Buddy’s Blog

Self-help books …

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Journal,

Billy Graham’s column on ’self-help’ books really caught my eye this morning. Someone asked him why they could not seem to change, and that they had read dozens of books on self-improvement with no help in sight. I really love Billy’s response. Thought I’d pass it on.

Rev. Graham - Let me ask you a question: Have you ever read the greatest book that was written on how to become a better person? That book is the Bible — and if you’ve never read any of it, I urge you to do so.

Why do I say this? The reason is because the Bible isn’t just another book on self-help. In fact it isn’t a ’self-help’ book at all because it tells us that we are too weak to change our lives and make ourselves into the kind of people we ought to be. We may not like to admit this — but it’s true, as you know from your own experience.

Instead, the Bible points us to God, for only he can change us and make our lives different. We can’t change our lives — but God can, and he will if we let him. God loves us, and he doesn’t want us to be sunk in a pit of helplessness and despair the rest of our lives.

How does this happen? It begins with repentance — telling God we know we have sinned, and we are turning from our old ways of living. Then we must turn to Jesus Christ and ask him to come into our lives as our Savior and Lord. When we do, God himself comes to live with us by his Spirit. Then we’ll discover the same truth the Apostle Paul discovered: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:23).

Well, what can you add to that?

Yesterday I had a? PET scan. This Thursday will be my 5th chemo and the doctor will share the PET results with me. I am? confident that things are going? well.?

Been receiving a number of calls from family and others. Lots of prayers in place. Uncle Cullen called me Sunday morning just before church services. Had a? call from my cousin Nelda Ruth just this afternoon. What a treat. I haven’t seen her in a number of years.

Andre called me last evening. Wants me to get ready for a fishing venture. I’m all for that. Need to put my new (used) boat through its paces. In fact Betty and I went on an outing today to check up on equipment for the boat. I haven’t been fishing in so long don’t know if I even remember how.

My devotion this morning had me in? Psalm 19. Verse 7 really stood out. David said, “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

This entire Psalm is a treasure but as my thoughts centered on God’s law being perfect, I also thought about how imperfect we humans are.? Then I recalled how the law of Moses could never save anyone. It? simply pointed out our imperfections. In fact the more law minded we become, the more we will find ourselves struggling. Then like the Pharisees, we add? laws and more laws until the weight of the law is unbearable.

Is there an answer for this? Yes indeed. Paul said, “For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh.” (Rom8:3)

What God did was take the law and nail it to the cross. He then took the perfections of Jesus and placed those perfections on our account. And in place of the law we are now given the indwelling spirit of Jesus to teach us how to walk in God’s ways.

The point being that there is no law of condemnation hanging over any believer’s life. Where the law condemned, Jesus set us free by taking the law out of the way. This is why the apostle said, “Therefore there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”

The Greek text is even more emphatic in saying that there is not now and never can there be a? damnatory sentence against any of God’s people. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (Jn8:36)

Now we have to make full circle. If the law is perfect, how then does the law offer any of its perfections to believers today? Good question. Paul said that the law is good if we learn to use it lawfully. This means that we must always look at the law through the lens of the new covenant. It also means that the Lord can use the law as a book of revealing Himself to us. Once we understand this, then we can approach the whole of the Scriptures with a healthy attitude.

Think I’ll leave this be for now.

Talk with you later.

Blessings,

Buddy

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