The Bible is a Guidebook for Right living.?

Question

Again we are reminded that the Bible has and intensely practical purpose, to give guidance for human life. Life consists of the continuous round of experiences. Daily and hourly we undergo experiences that we find difficult to understand and interpret. Often these experiences tempt, confuse, damage, even overwhelm. Life becomes increasingly puzzling, difficult, dangerous, hard. How can I understand the meaning of it all?

Answer 1

i think your getting alot of biased and narrow- minded answers here. people who choose not to follow gods word will dig up any verse they can find , without even understanding why it's even in the bible, to make god look like some big mean bully. but thats not the case, you need to be faced with all sides of these stories to truly understand their purpose in the bible. and to answer your question, yes, there are many wonderful guidelines in the bible to help you live a happy life . yes, you can choose to ignore the advice of your creator that knows the outcome of every possible scenario, and is telling you the best way to go about something as to not fall to the worst case scenario. it's not a book of rules, just very good suggestions, from someone that knows where these suggestions will lead. and i have found that many people that choose to ignore the simple guidelines written for us, live a total unhappy, miserable, and unproductive life.

Answer 2

cheez! after reading all that it makes God sound like a monster. If Ishmael had died wouldn't it have stopped the continuous wars in that area between his seed and Isaac's all these years? But God took pity on them and saved the child. Had he known the future would he have done that?

The flood had to be because he split the earth the continents were actually divided and it became better as a protection.
when there was space between Europe and North America
South America and central and the Islands that appeared.

Many people actually had a much better life for thousands of years before European was able to get there and over take them. Which resulted in the death of thousands or millions of Native Americans or Indians. The Spaniards conquered South America and many native tribes were wipped out.

That shows that water was a protection from the Europeans. Would there have been those years of peace without the ocean as security.
Also, Gingus Kong was a brutal dictator and was planning on executing the slaves or captives. But during the night they escaped and boarded boats and set sail across the ocean not knowing where they were going. They collected water from rain and ate sea weed and fish until they landed on the Hawaiian Islands were they flourished for thousands of years before they were discovered by the white man.
then again thousands were killed showing that the water was a protection for them for many years.
We may not understand all the reasons why God has to do the things he does. Lots of things were done by humans that God gets blamed for. Did he approve of the exacution of those men concerning Dinah? No he didn't.
that was what her brothers did, not a command from God.

But, I am sure the commands the man was talking about is the Ten commandments.
about lying, stealing, adultry which was a protection for women. murder and incest, was forbidden.
They were commanded to set aside one day to rest, was that difficult? NO, but if he didn't say do it or else. Man is so rebellious he wouldn't do it.
Actually they didn't do it anyway.
You were not there and some of the things God gets blammed for he had nothing to do with.

Answer 3

Apostle Paul said in a letter to the church at Corinth that "we see as through a glass, darkly" but all things would be revealed when we get to heaven. So you shouldn't expect to understand the meaning of it all here on earth.
If you are a Christian, you should know that we war against our flesh (carnal mind) and our spiritual mind. The Holy Spirit guides you in your understanding of the scriptures. You should also attend a bible study or consult a minister or Sunday school teacher about what puzzles you. Also pray for understanding and God will grant it. Get some companion books like a concordance and/or commentaries to help you read and understand the scriptures. If the King James version is difficult for you to understand, try an amplified version, or a bible with side by side scriptures in King James and amplified text.
The bible is a guide for living, to believers. Paul also said that all scripture is good for instruction, correction and guidance. Its stories of faith, destruction, redemption and restoration are wondrous to those of us who believe. To those of a reprobate mind, they are confounding and stories of a tyrannical God. That is evident in the majority of the answers you have received.
I say with Joshuah, "Choose you this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
God bless you.

Answer 4

well flannelpyjamas1 the bible is chock full of advice for every day life

mean bosses
unruly kids
cold spouse
stress of being a hostess

but the best advice i can give you is to know the one who inspired the writers of the bible who is able to speak to you (the holy spirit that is) just as I am doing that is how you understand the meaning of it all.

John 16:13 (New International Version)

13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

Answer 5

With all due respect for the Bible, the old saying, "Life is what you make of it", is essentially true. Most of the "difficult" decisions don't really need to be THAT difficult. The lessons to be learned in the Bible still hinge on one resounding subject: faith. To better understand your own life and all of it's little intricacies, have faith in yourself to be able to conciously decide between right and wrong, and act accordingly.
It never hurt anyone to pause, think about, weigh options for, and ultimately choose a side to these life experiences. We tend to act in haste, and have a difficult time accepting consequences for ill-advised actions.
Be strong. Be safe. Be smart.

Answer 6

Well, I think you are on the right track in expressing a desire in wanting to crack open and explore God's word to you. However, don't try reading the Bible straight through from Genesis to Revelation or you'll more than likely get bogged down and want to quit somewhere around Exodus 25 with the construction of the portable tabernacle for the ark of the covenant.

I don't want to sound over simplistic, but try to find a Christian Church and support group that suits you and brings you closer to the Word, Jesus Christ.

Answer 7

Really, you need to just put your trust in God. You have to believe that there is a divine order to things in the world and to your own life. As we go forward, it may seem difficult, puzzling and overwhelming, but as we look back at the way we've come, we can see where it makes sense. God was arranging things to create the best outcome. But if we don't listen to God, we can look back and see the opposite--where we did what we wanted and the outcome was not so great.

Answer 8

The Bible is for man to learn to live a righteous life unto God. We are spiritual people who must be nourished by the Word of God. We learn about God's will and purpose for our lives.

Think of this: There are 3 levels for determining hardship and difficulties:
1. We deserve it (natural and inevitable result of poor choices and foolish behavior)

2. I don't deserve it, but its a part of life - its a broken world, with rampant evil, illness, and natural disasters.

3. I was doing something good, and this is the thanks I get - sometimes trouble comes your way when you are being nice to someone else or engaged in a good cause.

Bottom line: God does not cause suffering, but He allows it to happen for reasons we don't always understand.

Answer 9

Daily reading of the Bible can provide practical guidance for everyday life, that's true. And since it's a "living" word of God, the illumination that it provides to the believer is always fresh and relevant. Add to the Bible reading, prayer and meditation, and you have both an outlet for your concerns and fears, and a source of power to strengthen and encourage you.

Answer 10

God is NOT [the author] of confusion, but of "peace".
With all thy getting, get it: understanding = grace glory.

The Bible is a Guidebook for living only, not life + death.
It's foolish to wanna be right, if only to make others wrong.
Grace neither makes nor takes sides. Only Law Law does.
But Law vs Law is divided against itself, shall fall, to ruin.
Romans 8:2 Law vs Law? It's a Loser vs Loser either way.
If justified by either Law, then "fallen" from Grace above.
If fallen from Grace above, to Law, then Christ of no effect.
If Christ is of no effect, then dble kiss divided @ss bye bye.
Such is what the Spirit saith unto the churches in Galatains.

What part of law is the ministration of DEATH didn't you get?
What part of many shall come: to DECEIVE did you not get?
Perhaps you skipped out of the TAKE HEED 101 Class.
Perhaps you haven't read Hebrews 2, about how to escape.

The GRACE(ONLY) of our Lord Jesus Christ with you all. Amen.