What is THE Secret to an Amazing Relationship with God?

What is THE Secret to an Amazing Relationship with God?

This question is one that many Christians are thinking, but not asking. Why aren’t they asking it? Fear? Lack of desire? Lack of belief? I assure you, after “How do I become a Jesus Follower?” this is the most important question for any person who wants to really obey Jesus and have a powerful impact for the Kingdom of God.

Oh, if you just want to coast in life as a Christian, then feel free to stop reading. But then again, doing so may be the path to Hell.

But, before we really get into the question, just a quick reminder that if you’d like to send in questions yourself and maybe get featured on a blog, click here for our Ever Nearer contact form.

First You Must Believe

It was about 35 years ago in a small country church. Now, I know that sounds like a cliché, but it’s true. The church was literally seven and a half miles outside of the nearest town, and that town had a population of fewer than 500 people. So yeah, a country church.

Through a set of circumstances only God could have coordinated, and a family who showed the love of Christ to a lost young man, that’s where I met Jesus. I was saved and on the way to Heaven.

My friends, I was on FIRE for God! He transformed my whole life, I followed Him to a new university, changed majors multiple times (not God’s fault 😊), and met my amazing bride. Life wasn’t always easy, but I was doing my best to be a good Jesus follower. Sometimes I failed. However, I believed in Jesus as my Savior.

But Then What?

From the day of my salvation until just a few short years ago something was missing. I was living a Christian life. I read my Bible fairly often, went to church very faithfully, loved my wife and children. I served on teams at church, my favorite girl and I led small groups and mentored engaged couples, we did all the things good American Christians do.

And yet…and yet, something was missing. Life was happening, we were growing older, the kids graduated and left the house, and I still desperately loved my wife, but I wasn’t happy. In fact, I was often miserable. Perhaps one day I’ll speak about the depths of that misery in a public forum like this, but that’s not the point of today’s post. Just know it was bad y’all. Really bad. Almost no one knew, I kept it to a very small number of people.

The truth is, I wasn’t enjoying the life that was promised to Jesus followers, the one Jesus Himself offered us.

“I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief enters only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.”
-John 10:9-11 CEB

I had gone through the gate. I was saved. I was generally avoiding the schemes of the enemy. But living life to the fullest? No. Not really.

Where Most of Us Lost Our Way

Recently I heard a message that was directly applicable to this topic. It’s amazing how God always puts such things together. I am reminded of the following quote that is attributed to Albert Einstein:

“Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.”

But you and I, we know there are no coincidences.

Back to the message. The focus was on peace, and I highly recommend checking it out. During the message, the pastor, Mike Burnette, made an observation. He mentioned that there was a specific place where the church often fails. It’s not intentional, and it’s not true of every church. Even in churches where it’s not true, the failure still often happens, and when that’s the case, it’s on us, the individual Jesus followers.

Let me paraphrase of what he said:

The peace from Jesus inside us is always growing IF we are growing in Him. In the life of the Jesus follower there are two major steps. 1) Surrender your life to Christ and 2) Orient your life around Him. The second one is where the church often fails.

I know why Jesus followers frequently don’t have an amazing relationship with God. And I know it because I literally lived it for decades. Pastor Mike summed it up perfectly.

Why We’re Always Miserable, Defeated, and Bored

Where was the joy of the Lord in my life? Why did I almost scoff when I read the words of Paul to “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” I wasn’t feeling it. Again, I was a born-again Christian, saved with eternity in Heaven ahead of me, but in this life? It was miserable at times.

So much of life was a struggle, I felt defeated, just getting through the days was a chore. I often complained about my daily work. One time I said to my lovely bride, “I just wish this week was over.” She poignantly replied, “I’m tired of wishing my life away.” She was right…but what was wrong with me?

When I discovered the secret to an amazing relationship with God, it became clear why I was miserable, defeated, and bored in my Christian walk. It was simple. So ridiculously simple.

Do you know what the problem wasn’t? It wasn’t that I was wrong about salvation. My salvation was assured. I was right in that I was missing something, and the Holy Spirit had been trying to tell me for a long time.

If You’re Not Where God Wants You to Be…

A year or so ago one of our previous pastors, Zac Alvis, made a statement in the middle of the message. I frankly don’t remember the big idea of the message, but I know the point God had in it for me. Zac said, “If you’re not where God wants you to be, you will be miserable.”

At that point I knew part of my problem. We were in the wrong place physically. We had been in the same community for over 20 years, we had attended the same church, then a plant of the same church, the entire time. There wasn’t an issue with the church, some people were really growing, but it wasn’t where the Lord intended for us to be any more.

However, the secret to an amazing relationship with God isn’t about changing states, cities, or churches. It’s truly not. I’ll tell you the secret now, and then flesh it out more. Here is the secret:

Orient your life around God.

That’s it. I told you it was simple. And you know the sad thing? For all those years I thought I had been orienting my life around God. I mean for real. Shall I go back over the list?

“I read my Bible fairly often, went to church very faithfully, loved my wife and children. I served on teams at church, my favorite girl and I led small groups and mentored engaged couples, we did all the things good American Christians do.”

Doesn’t that sound like a life oriented around God? Seriously. How much more God-focused could a person be? It turns out that the answer is, a lot.

Bringing Back the Joy

Do you know how the revival in my heart started?

I was about two years ago when I stopped reading the Bible and began studying the Bible and making daily posts on insights I was receiving from the Holy Spirit. It grew like wildfire when I radically changed my prayer life. It got more powerful when I stopped caring what people thought and went all in with God. It became highly focused on Him and His actual mission when I let go of stupid arguments.

Each of the links in that last paragraph gives away part of the secret to my transformation into a Jesus follower who has an amazing relationship with God. All of that began without changing locations.

Do you know what has caused a very recent, exponential growth in my joy in life? Listening to the words of Pastor Zac. “If you’re not where God wants you to be, you will be miserable.”

We left everyone in our immediate family. We moved six hours away. New state, new church, new type of home. Just me and my lovely bride…and the God of the universe. We didn’t know anyone here. It was a little like Abraham following God’s call.

Don’t get me wrong, we miss our kids, grandkids, and many friends. But we are loving the worship, the messages, the opportunities to serve, and the small groups at our new church. We love the weather, the state, and the people. Most of all, we love that by obeying God, we’ve regained His joy.

But It Wasn’t About the Move

Can I make one thing very clear? The secret to an amazing relationship with God isn’t about moving to a new place. It’s what Pastor Mike said.

Orient your life around God.

The joy wasn’t because of the move. The joy was in the obedience to the Lord. The joy was in falling in love with studying His word. The joy was in learning how to pray. The joy was in talking about Him with other people. The joy was in making every aspect of my life about Him, celebrating Him, writing about Him, listening for and to Him. Becoming one with Him.

Why was I miserable? Because I was working to be the kind of person I thought God wanted me to be. That’s not the way to have the joy of the Lord. Please hear me sister and pay attention to my words brother. God isn’t looking for you to work to become the best Christian you can be.

God wants you to be close to Him. He wants you to draw ever nearer. And how do you do that? By making your whole life focused on Him. By orienting your life around Him. By seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness. And that elusive joy you seek? It’s something that He will ensure is added unto you when you orient your life around Him.

I love you Jesus follower!

-Troy

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How Can I Witness About God When He Lets Innocent People Suffer?

How Can I Witness About God When He Lets Innocent People Suffer?

Y’all, I don’t usually take a question and immediately turn it into a blog post, but this one tugs at my heart, and I feel the Holy Spirit calling me to address it.

It comes from my friend Shell Giermann, who I’ve known for many years! If you also want to submit a question like Shell did, head over to our contact page.

Let me give you the scenario as Shell sent it to me. She was talking to a friend. This friend “had a strong faith as a child, still believes there is a God, but really wants nothing to do with Him because of life experiences. Her big struggle is how a God who knows all and loves all can allow babies and children to suffer. (She was abused and lost a newborn who lived for 12 hours- and she never got to hold him.)”

“All that to ask - how do I witness to, encourage, and show God’s love to someone who doesn’t understand how a loving God allows things like this?”

Wow. This one really hit me. Let’s see if we can help Shell’s friend reestablish a strong relationship with the Lord!

The Two Questions

The fact is, Shell gave us one question, but there’s another lurking under it. And the lurker is where we must start. The questions are:

1. Why does a loving God allow difficult things to happen to “innocent” people?

2. How do I reach people who don’t care about God (or don’t believe He exists) because they’ve never gotten a satisfactory answer to the first question?

Get ready.

Why Does God Allow Difficult Things to Happen to “Innocent” People?

I’m not going to try to spin this answer. Frankly, I don’t know. Do you know? Does anyone know? If you find out, please drop me a line.

Ok, now that we’ve gotten the honest, human answer out of the way, we can dig in.

No one knows why God allows difficult things to happen to “innocent” people. If you’ve noticed, I keep putting quotes around the word innocent. The reason is simple, most of us are not innocent, at least until we’ve been forgiven and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. But babies and children who are too young to understand? Yeah, they’re innocent.

Even so, this leads us to the broader question. Why does a loving God allow bad things to happen? Well, most bad things happen because of the actions of evil people. But we’ve already answered the question, Why Doesn’t God Destroy All the Evil People? If you haven’t read that, it might be good to check it out and then come back here.

Maybe God Causes Bad Things to Happen Because It’s Part of His Grand Plan

Oh, how many times have you heard some variation of that one? You know, someone passes away, is killed by a drunk driver, is abused by another person, or one of many other horrible things that can happen, and the answer is, “It must have been God’s will.”

RIDICULOUS!

God does not cause bad things to happen. God does not bring wrath or punishment on people who belong to Him. God is never the cause of evil. And yet evil happens, often without explanation.

The Massacre of the Innocents

“When Herod knew the magi had fooled him, he grew very angry. He sent soldiers to kill all the children in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding territory who were two years old and younger, according to the time that he had learned from the magi. This fulfilled the word spoken through Jeremiah the prophet: A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and much grieving. Rachel weeping for her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because they were no more.”
-Matthew 2:16-18 CEB

These verses record what is sometimes referred to as The Massacre of the Innocents. Scholars estimate that as many as several dozen little boys were murdered by Herod’s forces in a failed attempt to kill the young Jesus. Did God make a plan for this to happen? No. But the event did happen, and it was recorded in the Bible. Matthew even shows how it echoes the prophecy of Jeremiah, written at least 500 years before the birth of Christ.

It wasn’t God’s idea for all these boys to be destroyed. It wasn’t God’s plan for families to be shattered with tremendous grief. It wasn’t God’s plan. Evil is never part of God’s plan.

Why did this happen? We don’t know. But it did.

Does God Even Care?

Shell’s friend has an understandable point of view. Why would we want to be close to and to spend eternity with a God who lets these things happen and doesn’t do anything to stop them?

A quick story. When I was in my early teens, I was desperately in love with a girl. Well, it was most likely just hormones, but I thought I was in love. She lived in a larger town about 25 minutes from us. But once a week my dad and I went to a laundromat in that town, and I was excited to find out we were less than a mile from her house! YES! So, I asked my dad if I could walk down and see her while he did the laundry. The answer was no. Every time we went, the answer was no. I could not understand. I was so close! Do you know why the answer was no? Because the laundromat was on the main road, it was very busy, and her house was on the same road. My dad didn’t want a 13ish year-old kid walking along a dangerous road.

Now, I knew I’d be fine, I was sure I could get to her place safely, and yet the answer was always no. But my dad was much wiser than me, recognizing all the potential dangers that I could not see. God is very much like that to us. He is wise beyond compare.

I did not understand why my dad deprived me; I did not understand why he said no. But I understand now. I’m older, wiser, and have more experience.

Do I understand in the moment why God allows some things that are clearly bad to happen? No. But there are occasions when sometime later, with more experience, perspective, and wisdom He helps me to understand. And then there are some things I will never understand until He gives me full knowledge in Heaven.

Yes, God Cares

“Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. Cast all your care upon Him, because He cares for you.”
-1 Peter 5:6-7 MEV

God does care about you and those things that cause you grief. He does care about all that you and those that you love have suffered. But we live in a broken, sinful world where sometimes things happen that we do not like and that we cannot control. I am sorry that is the case, but it’s part of the price we pay for original sin and the gift of free will.

How do we know that what Peter said in the verse above is true? That God really does care for us? Because the actions of those who hurt us in this life, and the unexplainable, painful situations we encounter cannot overcome this one basic truth.

“But God shows his great love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners.”
-Romans 5:8 NCV

And, for those things that are not directly caused by our sins or the sins of others:

“I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created.”
-Romans 8:38-39 CEB

In fact, the only thing that can keep us from the love of Christ is ourselves. We alone have the power to choose to send ourselves to Hell.

The Second Question

And now we get to the (slightly modified) second question, the one Shell originally asked.

How do I reach people who don’t care about God (or don’t believe He exists) because they’ve never gotten a satisfactory answer to the question of unexplained suffering?

Toward the end of chapter 6 of the book of John, many of the disciples stopped following Jesus. The reason was that He taught some challenging truths, and they didn’t want to accept them. It seems that’s where we are with Shell’s second question.

Her friend lived through some incredibly difficult experiences and walked away from God. She could not accept the truth that many uncontrollable, painful things happen in this world, and we don’t always understand them. I don’t like that truth either. Each of us has lived with pain, some of you have dealt with very great pain. Yet you continue to be Jesus followers. Why? And why should Shell’s friend come back to Him? Here is a clear answer I can give you, and it comes from the most headstrong of the disciples.

“From that time on, many of His followers turned back to their old ways of living. They would not go along with Him after that. Then Jesus said to the twelve followers, “Will you leave Me also?” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, who else can we go to? You have words that give life that lasts forever.
-John 6:66-68

“You have the words that give life that lasts forever.” He has the words of eternal life. And He is the only way to Heaven.

I guess that leaves us with a choice. We can accept that we cannot understand everything that happens in this world, whether good or bad, and follow Jesus to Heaven. Or we can decide to reject Jesus because we think that we should have the same level of understanding as God and go to Hell.

On that second option, I like this quote from End of the Matter (click the link to read the whole post, it’s very good).

“In Job 38, we see the LORD answering Job. Through this address, God shows that neither Job nor his counsellors possessed complete knowledge and how limited human understanding really is. When God responds through this passage, He is teaching that there is something more fundamental than an intelligent solution to the mystery of innocent suffering.”

The Answer

Here is the answer to Shell’s second question. We witness to people who have walked away from God due to unexplained suffering by showing them the love of Christ. We demonstrate to them how God cares for them by caring for them ourselves. We teach them that God’s love is ever present by being ever present vessels of His love for them even through their struggle to deal with unexplained suffering.

We keep loving, we keep supporting, we keep staying close to them. We draw ever nearer to them as we also draw ever nearer to Jesus. Jesus didn’t explain away the pain of suffering, He had compassion and He healed it. He still heals our pain, and we can be part of that healing by always loving those who remain in pain. And He wants us to be part of His patient kindness.

“Don’t you realize how patient he is being with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see that he has been waiting all this time without punishing you, to give you time to turn from your sin? His kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.”
-Romans 2:4 TLB

That is how we witness to those dealing with the pain of unexplained suffering. We love them and through His love draw them back to Jesus.

The Final Word

I will make one request before ending this time together. If you see value in it, please share this post with anyone you know who has dealt with the difficulty of unexplained suffering, whether they are still a Jesus follower of have walked away from Him. Perhaps it could be part of the healing process.

I pray that it is so.

Love you all,

-Troy

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Where Do I Find Time to Study the Bible?

WHERE DO I FIND TIME TO STUDY THE BIBLE?

Let’s answer this one with just two words.

You don’t.

There ya go. Good enough? Might be our shortest blog post ever. Oh, you want more? Okey dokey.

But the truth is the truth. You and I, we don’t find time to study the Bible. At this point you may be thinking, “Ok, he doesn’t know me at all. I study the Bible every single day. Well, most days. But I DO find time to study the Bible.”

Maybe You’re Doing It Wrong

Full disclosure. I used to find time to study the Bible. Every once in a while, I still do. And maybe I’m mistaken about you. Perhaps you also find time to study the Bible.

But if you’re finding time to study the Bible, like I did for many years, I suggest you’re going about drawing ever nearer to Jesus in the wrong way. Oh, and if you’re waiting for me the say, “you don’t find time to study the Bible, you make time to study the Bible“ that’s not the plan.

I can’t make time, you can’t make time, only God can make time. We each get 168 hours in a week, and none of us can add to that.

The problem is inherent in the original question, “Where do I find time to study the Bible?”

The Better Question

The better question to ask is this, “Why should I prioritize time to study the Bible?” You have other responsibilities. Maybe you’re a spouse or a parent. Maybe you’re taking care of your own aging parents. Maybe you’re running kids to all kinds of activities, daycare, school, sports, etc. Maybe much of your time is consumed in your job or business. Maybe the work of caring for the home and duties such as laundry and cooking keep you tied up. Maybe even the work of the church, whether paid or volunteer, fills many of your weekly allotment of 168 hours, on top of everything else.

Maybe your schedule is so packed that finding time to study the Bible is a major challenge. I mean seriously. You have a lot going on. Perhaps you’re dreadfully busy.

With all the demands on your time, why should you even bother trying to find time to study the Bible? Oh, wait, we determined that was the wrong question. Let’s look at some of the words of Jesus.

“You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot follow me unless you love me more than you love your own life.” -Luke 14:26 CEV

Thanks For the Guilt Trip

I tell you what, if I was already crazy busy and someone laid that verse on me to pressure me to spend more time studying the Bible, I’d be just a little upset. I might think, “Buddy, I don’t need you trying to guilt me into reading the Bible, that’s NOT going to help here. I’m doing my best to be a good Jesus follower!”

I agree, it’s not very helpful…without explanation. Here we go.

You don’t want you to study the Bible only for your sake. (Just an aside, studying the Bible is different than reading the Bible. Studying means digging in for deeper understanding, meaning, and application to life. You read fiction novels. You study the Bible so God can use it to change your life, and the lives of those you influence.) You want to study the Bible. Or hopefully you will want to do so after this next part.

Why I Prioritize Studying the Bible

In my more than 30 years as a Jesus follower, I didn’t always study the Bible. I read the Bible, at least most days. Ok, who am I kidding? There were periods of time where I didn’t really even read the Bible. Do you want to find yourself slowly drifting away from God and back into old sinful habits? I know the recipe for that…stop paying attention to His Word.

But a couple of years ago I started making it a priority to study the Bible. At the time I had a full-time job, I had family responsibilities with grandchildren, I volunteered at church, I spent time with my lovely wife, I was an avid runner, and I did some of the work that’s associated with being a homeowner. In short, I was busy, just like you.

But somehow the Holy Spirit reached out to me to download a one-year New Testament reading plan. I can say that reading plan was a major part in changing my relationship with God. It wasn’t that the plan was special, it’s literally just dividing up the New Testament into sections for daily reading. But what it did was allow me to focus on a specific passage each day, while also seeing the sweeping narrative of the life of Jesus, along with the almost unbelievable results of all He said and did. That process, no doubt the work of the Holy Spirit in me, got me excited about what I would learn next! In fact, it also led me to post scripture passages along with my own associated commentary on applying it to our daily lives. I’ve now been doing those daily posts on social media, only missing an occasional day, for about two years.

I truly love studying the Bible! Perhaps in another post we will tackle the question, How Should I Study the Bible? Because, as I mentioned, it’s more than just the reading of passages.

Ok, Really, Here’s WHY I Prioritize Studying the Bible

The first purpose for me (and for you) to prioritize studying the Bible is probably obvious, it’s to support your drawing ever nearer to Jesus. It promotes your own spiritual development. It allows you to love and serve Him better. It makes you more attuned to hearing His voice and following His promptings. It also allows you to let go of guilt over forgiven sins and to let go of mistakes you’ve made. In short, there are many reasons for each of us personally to study the Bible.

But for me, there is an even greater purpose…and it’s why I produce all the content at EverNearer.com and other places. You see, when I prioritize studying the Bible, it impacts every person I interact with. My children, my grandchildren, the people I serve, the people I work with, my church, my extended family, the amazing woman I am married to, every person I touch, including YOU, benefits from me studying the Bible. It’s part of creating a powerful army of Jesus followers!

People grow closer to God because I study the Bible. Hopefully, because I study the Bible, many souls will be saved that would otherwise have gone to Hell. I want the world to be changed for the Kingdom of God, and it comes back to me prioritizing studying the Bible.

What About You?

Listen, you’re busy. I get that. So am I. You have a lot to do and if you take time to prioritize studying the Bible, you may wonder how it will all get done. Can I bring Jesus back into the conversation at this point?

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” – Matthew 6:33 NLT

Two points, and then I’ll wrap this up.

1)     Do you trust God to do what He said He would? Then seek His Kingdom above all else, including studying His Word. And He will make sure everything you need is fulfilled.

2)     Is anything more important than making an eternal difference in the lives of those you love, and anyone else the Lord brings under your sphere of influence? I don’t think so.

Finally

Don’t try to find time or make time to study the Bible. No, put His Kingdom first, and prioritize studying the Bible. No earthly activity has anywhere near the same level of importance. Let God use you to do His perfect will to reach the world.

If I Don't Follow Every Command of Jesus, Will I Go To Hell?

If I Don't Follow Every Command of Jesus, Will I Go to Hell?

Well now, that’s a fun question. Any time someone ends a sentence with, “will I go to hell?”, it’s certainly going to draw some interest. Nobody wants to be the person who makes the eternally fatal error that sends them into the lake of fire.

A quick look at the Bible

Some theological questions (FYI “theology” is the study of God) appear to require a lot of study to understand the logic and implications. This one does not. Let’s look at one statement Jesus made.

I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.

This is a reply Jesus made to the thief on the cross when the thief said “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” You can read the entire account of the crucifixion that these quotes came from in Luke 23. At this point there were three crosses, two with criminals being punished for their crimes, and Jesus, the completely innocent One, between them.

What Jesus meant

Jesus meant exactly what He said. That very day, before nightfall (perhaps not counting the period of darkness immediately after Jesus died) the man who asked Jesus to remember him, would be with Jesus in Heaven. There’s really no other way to interpret this verse.

Isn’t that encouraging? This man, who would never be a regular Jesus follower, who would never go to synagogue again, who would not have any opportunity to pay restitution for his thievery, gets to go to Heaven. I’m so glad this interaction was recorded in the Bible!

What does this mean for our question?

Here’s the situation. Jesus gave us many commands when He was on Earth. Sometimes I worry that I’ll forget one or miss one and be in grave danger of the fires of Hell. But then I remember the thief on the cross. Did he follow every command of Jesus? Did he “go and make disciples of all nations” and baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Did he get reconciled with his enemies (Matthew 5:23-24) before he came to Jesus? Did he serve other people (Matthew 20:26-28)?

No, as far as we know he did none of those things. He was a criminal who has sinned against God and man, and therefore was condemned. The End. Oh, wait, that’s not what happened. Jesus said the man would be in paradise with him “this very day”. Ok, back to the original question.

If I don’t follow every command of Jesus, will I go to Hell?

Here’s the answer: No.

I’m sorry, what??

The answer is no. Or stated another way, based on the evidence of the thief on the cross, it is possible to not follow every command of Jesus and still get into Heaven. Ok, full disclosure, just typing that sentence made my inner Pharisee freak out a little bit. But I can only go by what the Bible says here. I’ll give you another example. In the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) Jesus tells the story of a man who needed people to work in his vineyard. Several times “early one morning”, and at 9:00 am, noon, 3:00 pm, and 5:00 pm he kept returning to the marketplace, hiring people to come and work in his vineyard with the promise to “pay them whatever was right at the end of the day.”

At the end of the day, he paid each person exactly the same amount. Those had been there for just a short time got the exact same pay as those who had been there all day long. Now, this angered the people who had been there all day, and they said, “Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.” Well, that’s true. He paid them the same, and the people felt it wasn’t fair. And they were right, it wasn’t fair.

Why the Kingdom of God Isn’t Fair

It wasn’t fair, and we should celebrate that! This parable is an explanation of the grace of God. It doesn’t matter what we have or haven’t done, or how long we’ve been saved by grace. As long as we have sought Jesus for our forgiveness, He gives us all the same reward of eternal life. No, you don’t have to follow every command of Jesus to get into Heaven.

Then Should We Ignore the Commands of Jesus?

Hmmm. I can see where you might think that’s ok. But the answer to that is also no. And the reason that answer is no is tied to what Jesus called the “first and great commandment.”

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37)

As long as we are alive on this Earth, we should do our best, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to obey the commands of Jesus. This is one of the outcomes of loving the Lord our God. Do you have to obey evey command of Jesus to get into Heaven and avoid Hell? No. But if you love God, if you love your Savior Jesus, if you love the Holy Spirit, then you should have the desire to follow the commands of Jesus. After all, they are for your good.

One Last Point

Recently I heard Pastor Robert Morris make this profound statement, “The key to the presence of the Lord is obedience.” Here’s the point. The power of God to accomplish the will of God in your life will only be manifested to its full potential when you are filled with the presence of God. And the Holy Spirit of God doesn’t go where He’s not welcome. We welcome Him in by being humble, and obeying the Word of God.

No, you don’t have to follow every detail of every command of Jesus to avoid Hell. But if you want everything God has planned for your life, then the path to that is obedience. There is no other way to drawing ever nearer to Him.

Do I Have to Read the Whole Bible?

DO I HAVE TO READ THE WHOLE BIBLE?

Let’s start with the answer…and then I’ll tell you a story.

No. No you don’t have to read the whole Bible. A preacher or other faith leader may have told you that you have to read the whole Bible. You don’t.

Now for the story, and why you may end up reading the whole Bible anyway.

Where it all started

Very early in my Christian journey, when I was just starting out as a Jesus follower, a young woman who was instrumental in me coming to Jesus gifted me with a brand-new Bible. It had a brown, faux leather cover, and included a convenient protective zipper. My name was embossed on the front in a beautiful flowing script. It looked and felt like a precious offering, an appropriate way to present the Word of God. That Bible is literally sitting right next to me. She presented that Bible to me nearly 34 years ago. It was a thoughtful gesture, and the ideal gift for a young man new to faith in Christ. Here is a photo of it in its current, well-worn state.

The problem

But there was one issue with that Bible, one the young woman’s father noted immediately. One that would make growing in my new-found faith more difficult. You see, the Bible was in the King James Version. Now, let’s be completely honest. I don’t know about you, but for me, still today, the KJV is a tough read. In fact, even in a more modern version, such as the New Living Translation (my go-to option for most study), the Bible can be challenging to understand. But unlike the KJV, with all the thines, thous, shalts, and thus saiths, it’s not generally recognizing the individual words that trips us up. No, it’s understanding the meaning behind the words.

The next problem

Another issue is the shear size of the Bible. Even my old KJV, with print small enough to ensure I have to bust out my reading glasses, clocks in at over 1,000 pages. My NLT is half-again that large, at 1,498 pages. Seriously, that’s a whole lot of text to take in, and a HUGE time commitment to get through the entire thing.

So, what about the question?

Right. Back to the original question, do I have to read the whole Bible? Nope. Jesus never said you have to read the whole Bible. No one in the Bible ever said you have to read the whole Bible. It’s not a commandment to read the whole Bible. You won’t go to Hell if you don’t read the whole Bible. In fact no one in the Bible could have commanded you to read the whole Bible, because the Bible it its current form (66 books arranged in two Testaments) didn’t exist until more than 350 years AFTER the resurrection of Jesus. Now, the Old Testament, minus the chapter and verse divisions, has been around since before the time of Jesus. But neither Jesus, nor any other New Testament figure, commanded us to read the entire Old Testament. I do want to point out that over and over Jesus affirmed the Old Testament as the true and reliable Word of God. However, again, He didn’t command anyone to read the entirety of it.

Then why do pastors and other Christians say I should read it all?

Oh, well, there is a difference between what we have to do and what is often good for us to do. You don’t have to eat, but if you stop, life will fairly quickly stop being as much fun as it is. Just as you require food to continue to be healthy, or even to simply live, reading the Bible is essential sustenance for the Jesus follower who wants to keep growing. I actually have read the whole thing all the way through following one of those “Bible in a year” plans. I may have done it twice. I don’t think either time I finished it in a year. 😊Some parts are exciting and read like an adventure novel. Some are fascinating history. Several sections give wise sayings and practical advice. There are hard to grasp (without explanation) prophecies, and looooooong lists of genealogies. Then, of course, throughout the Bible God shows up, often giving us His exact words. The New Testament is especially engaging with the four biographies of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The accounts of the early church in Acts are WAY fun to read, and all the different letters from various people such as James and Peter, Paul, and Mary (just kidding, Mary didn’t write a letter, that was a joke for the Boomers and Gen Xers). And don’t get me started on the wild ride that is the book of Revelation. As an aside, if you’d like my favorite no-nonsense look at Revelation, check out Answers for Chicken Little by Dr. Dan Boone. Dan is a former pastor of mine and the president of a university now. Yeah, I know somebody famous. Hmmm. Actually, two of my former pastors are presidents of such institutions, I feel like a slacker. But still no, you don’t have to read the whole Bible.

Having said all that…

Do you have a best friend? Someone who knows you well, and you also know them well? How did you get to know them? You spent time with them. You learned about their likes, their dislikes, their hopes and dreams. You learned about what they love and what they hate. If you know them well enough, you even learned their deepest desires. Do you want to know God that way? Would you like Jesus to be closer to you than any best friend could possibly be? Closer even than a spouse? Then you want to draw ever nearer to Him. Ever Nearer isn’t just a catchy name for a Christian website. It’s a philosophy for living as a Jesus follower. And one of the most critical ways to draw ever nearer to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is to spend time in the Bible.

What should I read?

Here are my thoughts. The vast majority of my Bible reading is in the New Testament. I want to focus on how Jesus lived, how He tells me to live, and how those who knew Him personally learned from Him and the Holy Spirit. I have read the New Testament all the way through more than once. In fact, I’m working my way through it again right now. But I don’t neglect the Old Testament. The Lord has much to teach us from those same scriptures that Jesus knew and often quoted. Oh, don’t worry about following all those laws about sacrificing animals, etc. That doesn’t apply to us anymore. Perhaps another blog post could be written about those changes.

In conclusion

As we said at the very beginning, you don’t have to read the whole Bible. But if you want a better understanding of God and who He is, you may want to consider it. You’ll get more guidance from the Word through the Holy Spirit by making Bible reading part of every day of your life. You’ll see not only the small details that are apparent at a verse level but gain an understanding of the sweeping history of God leading His people to salvation and beyond, from the time of creation until the very end of history. Do you have to read the whole Bible? No. But your ability to draw ever nearer to Jesus will be far greater if you do.