Practice what you read

For my birthday Jane bought me a new bible, it is a Life APlication Study Bible (NASV). As you should recall from a previous blog titled “Why I don’t read the Bible,” I don’t read the bible, I study the bible, 5 of them to be exact. I was studying the New American Standard Version (NASV) and the New King James Version (NKJV) with a bible app on my iPhone called YouVersion. I now have the NASV in paperback, and boy do I love it. There are maps, references, a dictionary, and tons of other extras. Anyways, the pic at the top of the Screen is what my dining room table looks like every morning. I now have 4 of my 5 bibles in paperback, I have my Strong’s and my Vines thesaurus and concordance, paper and pencil for taking notes, and of corse my morning brew, aka, a 32oz turtle mocha. The only thing that you don’t see in the pic is my iPhone that I use for my (NKJV) and of corse all of the extras that I get from YouVersion. You don’t see it because I used my iPhone to take the pic. If you are reading this blog from Blog Spot or Word Press, and can’t see the picture, please visit www.MitchellBoxeth.com, and visit my most recent blog.

If it seems like I am going a little bit to far, to really try to understand the word of God, you may be right. I question myself on that sometimes. It is one thing to read and study the bible, but it is quite another to live by the bible. There have been countless bible scholars throughout history that new the bible like you wouldn’t believe, but they didn’t live by the bible. If you don’t live by the bible, than what’s the point of reading it or studying it.

Yes, you need the solid foundation of the bible, to live the life God wants you to lead, so the bible is a an absolute must. But reading the bible alone will not get you to heaven. Here is what the bible Says.

Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4. (NASV) Of corse this is Jesus talking to Satan while being tempted for 40 day in the desert.

Exodus Chapter 20, The Ten Commandments
You shall have no other Gods before me
You shall not worship idles
You shall not take the name of the Lord in vein
Honor the Sabbath day to keep it holy
Honor your Father and Mother
Don’t kill
Don’t commit adultery
Don’t steal
Don’t lie
Don’t covet

Matthew 25:31-46
Here is where Jesus separates the Sheep from the Goats, and commands up to cloth the naked, feed the hungry, take in the poor, visit the people in the hospitals, and in the prisons.

Do you not know that the unrighteous will NOT inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, not adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, not thieves, nor the covetous, not drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. (NASV)

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” And he said to them, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and foremost commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole law and the Profits.” Matthew 22:36-40 (NASV)

In this last paragraph Jesus is basically saying that the bottom line is if you want to get to Heaven you need to love God, and love others. This backs up everything that was quoted from the bible in this blog.

There it is my friends, so my question to myself is, am I reading these bible in vein, and am I actually living out the words of God to the best of my ability? I don’t think that I am. But, I am aware of that, and I am working on changing my life every day, and I have shared my struggle with all of you, so now I have you to keep me accountable. My goal in life is to for people to look and me and my life and for them to be able to say wow, that Mitch guy and his family, they are the real deal, and we can look to them as examples.