A lot of time we approach life and its challenges with what
we think that God said, rather than by what God said. And each time
this happens, we can be sure not to get the results promised in the
word. In the garden of Eden, the devil accosted Eve with a lie regarding
God, in her response she said something that was not exactly what God
had told them about the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. She said that God had told them not to touch or eat the fruit of
the tree. But God never said they should not touch the fruit. This
misrepresentation of what God said became a major factor in the devil's
ability to deceive her and get her to eat the forbidden fruit.
There are other things that God has said in His word that
we often misrepresent, and they cause us problems. For example, many
people think that God said that money is the root of all evil, yet, God
never said this; what He said is that the love of money is the root of
all evil. When this is not corrected, the tendency is for one to treat
money as something to be dreaded, because it is evil.
In Romans 6:1, the bible says, shall we continue "in" sin
that grace may abound? But many people think that what is said is, shall
we continue "to" sin that grace may abound? Once what we think that the
bible says is different from what the bible says, understanding and
applying what is really said becomes impossible. So it is important that
we constantly align what we think of the word with what the word
actually says.
Toni
