Cell Phone VS Bible
I'm not generally interested in forwarded e-mails, but a few days ago, one came to my inbox with some good thoughts. I have no idea who the message originated with, but I am sure the author will not mind me sharing with you here. It reads:
Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?
What if we carried it around in our purses and pockets?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to our kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
I'm not an extreme cell phone user, but my phone is with me almost all the time - attached to my belt. My first cell phone was purchased for emergency use only. That was year ago. Now, I use my phone regularly for both calls and texting. On occasion, I've forgotten it at home, and upon realizing such, turned back to get it. Admittedly, my cell phone has become quite important.
Maybe you're not a cell phone user, but there are all kinds of things which can garner our attention and seem to become an "essential" part of our daily life. A seemingly endless list could be considered: your car, day planner, computer, daily newspaper, television, friends, job, etc., etc., etc.. None of these are inherently wrong, and all have their proper place and use in our lives. However, we need to make sure that we have our priorities set aright.
The Lord Jesus, in what is commonly referred to as the sermon on the mount revealed that our primary focus in life should not be on the basic essentials of life (food, drink, clothing, etc.), but that we should
“...we need to make sure that we have our priorities set aright.”
...seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)
If the Lord did not want our attention to be saturated in these rudimentary items, then certainly He does not want us to be wrapped up in the unessentials of life. We must look beyond the temporal to the eternal; beyond the carnal to the spiritual.
The apostle Paul, writing to Timothy said:
...bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. (1 Timothy 4:8)
It is not that bodily exercise is wrong or has no value to it, but it fails in comparison to the spiritual exercise of godliness. This is the case with all things this world has to offer; they are comparatively unimportant. Temporal things only carry with them benefits for the life that now is - they are powerless to affect any good for the life that is to come. In fact, Solomon acknowledged that the goods of this life can bring eternal trouble, if misused.
There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: riches kept for their own to his hurt. (Ecclesiastes 5:12)
Friend, let us realize what is important in life. The goods of this life can be destroyed and stolen, but the treasures of heaven endure into eternity (Matthew 6:19-21; Luke 12:15)
What is your most valuable possession? It's not the phone, car, day planner, computer, etc.. All this stuff is unimportant in the eternal picture. And yet, at times we treat them as though they were of great value. Your most valuable possession is your Bible! Let's treat it that way!
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Answering The Atheist
Complaint:
On what day of the month was Jehoiachin released from prison? Was it on the 27th day of the month (2 Kings 25:27) or was it on the 25th Jeremiah 52:31)? Is there a contradiction?
Response:
Do these texts in question identify different dates? Yes, they certainly do. Jeremiah recorded:
Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. (Jeremiah 52:31)However, the writer of 2 Kings wrote:
Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. (2 Kings 25:27)
I suppose the easiest conclusion to draw would be that a contradiction exists here. However, if there are any other plausible explanations, such must be taken into consideration.
I have no personal experience with the release process of a prisoner, but if what I have seen on TV and read online is factual, the day upon which the release is decided upon, or even upon which papers are signed, is not necessarily (nor likely to be) the date when the prisoner will be set free. It would seem that the process can take some time as it navigates the gears of bureaucracy.
It would seem that ancient Babylon was not free from some "red tape" also. Is it not possible that in Jeremiah's writing, he identifies the date upon which Evil-Merodach gave the order for Jehoiachin to be released, but the writer of the history of the kings records the date upon which the order was executed?
There is no contradiction.
This article is in response to Skeptic's Annotated Bible