Don’t just read the Bible. Live it

Tempo Desk
7 Min Read

 

wrd fr bel san luis - word alive

A MAN once bragged that he read the Bible from cover to cover several times. But someone remarked, “People who read the Bible from cover to cover, know only the cover.”

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Just reading the Bible is not enough. It may even be boring since the stories and passages are read and re-read through the years.

What’s more important is to ponder God’s message or what God is telling you and apply it in everyday life.

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For instance, after read­ing Jesus’ messages to for­give not just seven times but 70 times 7 (meaning unlimited) or “You shall not kill…steal” or “Honor your father and mother,” you should then put these into practice as the will of God.

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There’s a story about a priest and his friend, who owned a soap factory. As they were out taking a walk, the soap maker said cynically, “What good is religion? Look at all the troubles, violence, and miseries of the world af­ter thousands of years of preachings and exhorta­tions about goodness, jus­tice, and peace.”

The priest said nothing. They continued walking until they noticed children playing in a muddy canal. Then the priest said, “Look at those kids. You say that soap makes people clean, but see the dirt on those youngsters. Of what good is your soap?”

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The soap maker got peeved and sharply re­acted, “But, Father, you ought to know that soap cannot do any good unless it is used.”

“Ah exactly,” replied the priest. “So it is with Chris­tianity and its TEACHINGS. They are ineffective unless they are used or put into practice.”

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January 20-25 is National Bible Week and culminates today, National Bible Sun­day.

Let’s remember that the teachings and commands of God as contained in the Bible are there not to re­strict our freedom but rath­er serve as guide in life and work for our own good, in­dividually and collectively, as a nation.

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Take, for instance, God’s command of fidelity to one’s spouse. Some men feel restricted of their free­dom to enjoy the company of other women or worse, grossly disregard their marriage vows. Infidelity, however, inflicts deep emo­tional wounds, bitter quar­rels, and a broken family.

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Moreover, God’s com­mand, “Thou shalt not steal,” is imposed not only to restrict our greed or amass wealth that are ill-gotten but also the wanton and unabated violation of the commandment leads to the country’s economic stagnation and perdition.

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LAUGH WITH GOD. A small boy asked a friend why his 80-year old grand­ma was always reading the Bible.

He replied: “Because she’s cramming for her Fi­nal Exam!”

Note: The Bible should not be read only to “cram for the Final Exam” but read always.

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  1. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible? Ans: Samson. He brought the house down.
  2. Which servant of God was the most flagrant law­breaker in the Bible? A. Moses. Because he broke all 10 Commandments at once. (That is, when he threw down the stone tab­let inscribed with the 10 Commandments)
  3. What do they call pas­tors in Germany? A. Ger­man Shepherds.

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ANGRY AT GOD. A wealthy man got angry at God be­cause of the enormous suf­ferings of calamity victims and homeless people.

“How can you allow such misery?” he cried out, shak­ing a clenched fist upward. “Why don’t You do some­thing to alleviate their suf­ferings?”

And somewhere deep within himself came God’s answer: “Indeed I’m do­ing something. I CREATED you.”

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For those spared from the                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             devastating wrath of Taal Volcano, thank the Lord. But as an act of gratitude, reach out to the poor vic­tims by donating cash or in kind to your respective parishes or the accredited evacuation centers.

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FAMILY TV MASS – aired on 5PLUS Channel 59 at 6-7 a.m. every Sunday and at U-Tube on “The Filipino Catholic” at 8am. Sponsor: FEU UNIVERSITY COMMU­NITY, MANILA. Presider: Fr. Sherwin Tristan Aromin, SVD.

The FAMILY that prays to­gether stays together.

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