Welcome to Day 170 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about finding nourishment in the Word of God to get us through the day. In each devotional, I take a variety of scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses each) and build our understanding of what they teach via their context and connecting scripture. My goal is to help you understand how to be the type of human God created you to be. Today’s passage is Psalm 33:4-5.

Psalm 33:4-5

NASB	NLT	VOICE
4 For the word of the Lord is right, And all His work is done in faithfulness.	4 For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does.	4 For the word of the Eternal is perfect and true; His actions are always faithful and right.
5 He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.	5 He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.	5 He loves virtue and equity; the Eternal’s love fills the whole earth.

A person’s words are measured by the quality of their character. If you trust someone before because they came through for you, you will most likely trust them at their word. If someone has broken your trust because they never follow through with what they say, you will most likely not trust them again. If your friends trust what you say, it’s because they trust you. If you trust what God says, it’s because you trust him to be the God that claims to be.

There’s a struggle that we face as Christians in trying to interpret Scripture in our current worldly context. We can take the words found in the Bible at face value find conflict information, uncommon rules, and concerning lifestyles. We read them and struggle with how to apply them in our world today. This can cause people to lessen the impact of God’s word and therefore lessen the impact we feel about God’s power. However, if we read the biblical stories with taking away the message instead of its literal story, we can learn more about God and learn how to live a godlier life according to his message. The baseline principle found in his teachings is something that is universal and timeless.

If you believe that God is truly the God of the universe, the Almighty Creator, then believe what he teaches us in the Bible. The Bible is dependable because God doesn’t lie or forget his words, he doesn’t change his teachings or leave his promises unfulfilled. God used people who were broken to conduct his mission of the Bible, both then and now. We are imperfect people, made perfect through his son, who has a loving relationship with our Heavenly Father. Trust God’s teachings to you because they are holy, trustworthy, and unchanging.

Next meal: Manna for the Mind #171