Have I Read the Manual?

I was awake at 4 o’clock in the morning. I couldn’t sleep. So, I decided to go down to the kitchen and make a hot drink. I didn’t want much, so I half-filled the cup and put it in the microwave for just a minute. Next time I looked, it had boiled over and was running all over the turntable. I quickly switched it off, and began mopping up the milky liquid.

I thought I would have another try, but the microwave no longer had visible numbers on its side. They had gone away. At that point, I heard my wife making her way to the kitchen.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to make a hot drink and the numbers have gone away.”

“You have to reset the timer.”

I had just about worked that out for myself, but I didn’t know how to reset it.

“Like this.” Tap, tap, tap, and all was back to where it should be. This time the drink was successful, but I was even more wide awake than ever.

 

“Why couldn’t I do that?” I asked.

“Well, you could if you had read the manual!”

I didn’t even know there was a manual, or where it was. Then I began thinking about another ‘manual’, the manual for life - the Bible. I wondered how many people knew about that manual, and whether they had read it.

The manual for life is the key to godly living. It’s the handbook on how to live in a strong relationship with God through Jesus. It’s the key to God’s master plan for mankind. It’s the restoration of our relationship with Him and the suffering Jesus endured to rescue us from eternal condemnation.

It relates the history of God’s chosen people, from captivity to prosperity. It contains words of wisdom for every conceivable situation we may find ourselves in. Through the psalms, we learn how King David and others cried out to God in very real and dangerous circumstances, and how God heard their cry. Time after time He drew them to Himself.

In it we read of the life, and wisdom, of Jesus, and about the miracles and wonders He performed, (which He can still do today). We read of ways to maintain godly living, and how we can depend on Him in every situation. By regular reading, we become familiar with God’s purposes for our life, and how to stay clear of the enemy’s clutches.

Just think! If all the principles in Scripture were adhered to and applied to our lives, we would become strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. We would walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil.

We can be born again into a new life, way beyond this humdrum earthly existence. We can shine for Him in our lives, so the world would be able to see the life and power of Jesus Christ. And we can have a glimpse of the glory of eternity, which is the destiny of every true believer. It’s all in the manual.

I managed to get to sleep, eventually.