Keys to the Kingdom
By Carolyn Tucker
Everybody thinks of BYOB as “Bring Your Own Bottle,” but I’m not. Nor am I referring to it as “Bring Your Own Baboon” or “Bring Your Own Bassoon.” Nope, I’m thinking of “Bring Your Own Bible.“ When I was a young girl, an older gentleman in the church once said to me, “I can look in the pages of someone’s Bible and tell you what they believe because of the scriptures they’ve underlined.” I’ve pondered his statement many times as I continue to underline in my Bible 55 years later. Howard was also the same Christian man who once told me, “I love ya, but it puts an awful strain on me.”
The value in reading and studying the Bible is not to argue theology, but to learn how to live out God‘s design for our everyday lives. We are to renew our mind every day by reading, meditating, and practicing God’s Word. It’s a choice. After we decide to follow Jesus, the decision-making process has only just begun. “I am constantly renewed in the spirit of my mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude] and I put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:23-24 AMP.) “I put on” is a choice.
I stand in my closet and choose the clothes I’m going to put on. I stand in front of the bathroom mirror and make up my mind as to whether I’ll put on makeup. We make minor preparations for the day and often neglect the major ones that matter the most. In the morning, we sometimes forget to make up our mind to be Godlike. And then wonder with regret that evening why we blew our stack, spewed out unkind words, and didn’t act a thing like Jesus. It’s really not a good idea to try to put our life together without referencing the official Instruction Manual.
Sneakers or sandals, button-up or T-shirt, we’re constantly making choices. No one is holding a gun to our head to get us to put on the nature of Christ every day. It’s our call. Apostle Peter invites us to holy living when he writes, “So think clearly and exercise self-control….So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do…” (1 Peter 1:13-15 NLT.) In order to stay alert and obey God, we must know what He says. Everything we need to know is provided in the pages of His Word. It’s our user’s guide for “How to be Holy” in all of our conduct and manner of living. Nothing is left out in the tall order to “Be holy in everything you do.”
Consecrated followers of Christ are instructed to be holy, which is living a dedicated life to God and being devoted to His service. It’s the ongoing practice of individuals being set apart to God and aiming for moral and spiritual excellence. God never tells us to be something that’s impossible. Apparently, it’s possible to be holy. So knowing and practicing His Word guards against ignorance and helps us in our walk with Christ on the highway of holiness.
The Key: BYOB to church and underline in it. Then when you’re gone, the next generation can read it and be reminded of what you believed.