Principles and precepts ( Principles, promises, power and presence II)

I have heard many people ask “How can something thousands of years old (the Bible) be relevant today?” But just because something is old does not mean it’s not true or relevant. I mean the wheel was invented centuries ago, and we certainly can’t dispense with the wheel!

I believe there is a reason Judaism is more successful than the rest of the world. The Jews have more Nobel prizes per capita and more innovation per capita, in fact Israel is known as “The startup nation.” To me, it is very clear that a big part of this is the lasting effect of centuries of being immersed in the principles and precepts of Scripture.

Last day I was talking about the advantages a 12 step program has when the higher power is identified as the Christ of Scripture. This morning I want to talk about the advantage of embracing the principles and precepts of Scriptures as our guide.

I want to start off by drawing attention to some of the claims Scripture makes of itself. In Psalm 119:105, we read “Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” In Proverbs 14:12 we have “There is a way (a path) that seems right to a man, but the ends thereof are destruction.” As part of my journey to becoming a Christian, I was suffering the consequences, the destruction if you like, of my poor choices. And I read the above and “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked whatsoever a man sows that will he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

And I had deceived myself, I had not even considered that my poor choices would have such negative consequences, and the consequences of that what seemed like small choices turned out to be enormous. In fact my life is a perfect illustration of this last Scripture. I mean if you plant potatoes you don’t get carrots, and if you plant one potato you get many potatoes. Even so in my rebellion I was reaping a harvest of consequences of my rebellion. These included a broken marriage, separation from my beautiful little daughter, and a whole cartload of emotional pain and brokenness. So when I came to the Scriptures, and read some of the above verses I thought “This book knows me!” But back then I had no idea just how much it knows me.

I have come to realize that there is much wisdom in the ancient scriptures. In fact I have found that the principles and precepts of the Scriptures are a faithful guide, a light that illuminates the way I should go. And I have found in His ways, in the ways revealed in the Bible, there is life, and health and peace. In the words of a chorus that we sing over and over in the fellowship “I don’t want to go back to my old life!”

In 2 Timothy 3:16 we read “ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” One way to look at this, is to see that Scripture shows us the right path (teaching), it shows us how we got off the path (reproof), it shows us how to get back on the path (correction) and it shows us how to stay on the path (instruction in righteousness). The next verse goes on to say that these things equip us for life. And I see the proof of these things not only in my own life, but in the life of many who take Christ as their higher power in the Christ centered recovery program 'Celebrate Recovery.' More to come, stay tuned!

Father, I had to learn the hard way that when You say no it’s for our provision and our protection. But thank You Lord that I did learn it. All those accusations about You being a killjoy are simply not true, but thank You that You use the pain that follows our poor choices, to help us to find You. I praise You Lord in Jesus Name Amen.