When Jeremiah delivered God’s Word, King Jehoiakim pulled out his penkife (Jeremiah 36:23). Page by page, he sliced it into the fire.

“Censer-ship”

Today, many supposed Christians do the same. Which is more harmful? To attack God’s Word openly, or twist it while claiming to be its representative?

Sometimes I worry that there are as many versions of “Christianity” as there are Christians. On matters of our faith, and especially on modern disputes, how can we understand the Bible more clearly?

When you see so many interpretations, you begin to wonder if it’s possible to know what the Bible even teaches about a given issue—until you actually read the Bible, that is.

Every July in Pamplona, 200 to 300 people go to the hospital for contusions and falling injuries. It is the famous “running of the bulls.”

How would it be to stand in that narrow Spanish street, seeing the stampede come at you? There are only two choices: you hide, or you join.

That’s what God’s word is like to us. Hebrews 4:12 calls it a double-edged sword, quick and powerful.

As Christians, we face a choice: will we dodge the oncoming force of the character of God? Will we miss the whole frightening thing, or will we choose to place ourselves directly in its path?