Whole Bible Christian Living

It's a God Thing

Whole Bible Christian is a term that we came up with, sort of by running out of other names. We are believers in both Jesus as the Messiah and the whole of His Word, including His Law or Torah, as a discipleship method and lifestyle, motivated by love.

So we get rejected by the Jews because of Jesus, and rejected by the church because we live the Law.

A pastor who recently denied us permission to attend his community church (we were invited by members) told us after (allegedly) reviewing this website that we were all about "rules and regulations." He said atheists and non-believers are welcome there, but we are not. A half-glance at the material here should've been enough to keep him from making that claim, but we think it was more of an excuse than a reason. He obviously wasn't paying attention to the fact that he had a 'rule' or a 'regulation' about letting us attend! We (as well as God) are not about rules and regulations. We are about a soft heart of flesh with the Law written on it, as indicated by the new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34 which is also quoted in Hebrews chapter 8.

33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Jeremiah 31:33 ESV)

According to Paul in Ephesians 4:4-6 there is only one body, worshipping one God and one Lord with one faith. One God means Jesus and the Father are one. One body has been in existence since the Garden and means there is no Jew or Gentile, no synagogue or church. One faith means that the entire Bible belongs to His one body. This faith, His Word, has also been in existence since before the beginning and applies to everyone all the time no matter what.

13 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NASB95)

Just because recently established (in history) churches or synagogues reject us doesn't mean we are rejected by God. These bureaucracies have no power to exclude anyone from the one Body of the Christ. God loves us and provides guidance for growing and strengthening the Life that He gives us. We can love Him back by adoring every Word He speaks and scrambling to put it everywhere in our lives that it belongs. Isn’t it wonderful that we have something like His Law to tell us where the boundaries are, where we should go and where we shouldn’t go?

Some claim that the Torah is 'old' or 'Jewish' or a 'shadow,' and therefore they sit in judgment on parts of the Word and deem them irrelevant. But the Bible never says these things or things like them. In fact, Jesus says that "Scripture cannot be broken" in John 10:35 and that "whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19). This life is a 'shadow' of the next too, but that doesn't mean it's less important or concrete. If we are faithful with little (or 'shadows') we will be faithful with much. "Shadows" and "old" and "Jewish" as they are generally taught in the church belong with the teachings of men we are warned about in Colossians 2.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8 ESV)

God never intends for His people to stand in one place once we gain right standing with Him by grace through faith. He wants us to move, and part of our movement is in taking on all of His ways as spelled out in His Law. It is the best discipleship system ever designed, and is guaranteed by Him to produce fruit that is pleasing. We don't follow rules and regulations to get to God. We follow them because He got to us. He doesn't owe us salvation because of our own righteousness. We owe Him our lives because He purchased us. We submit to His Rule because He saved us first and we love Him.

The Holy Spirit uses the Torah to tutor us in the way we should go, and when we get ‘all grown up,’ it still functions to guard and protect. When I was young I learned the law of the electrical socket, meaning don't put things in that don't belong. Now that I'm grown up the law still applies, I just don't have to be told or have my hand smacked. Laws don't go away just because we don't need a tutor to tell us right and wrong. We shouldn't be so arrogant to think we're grown up such that we don't need His Word anyway. His Word is the foundation on which we can build a house that honors Him in every area. His Law is love in action, and through it, we learn how to love Him and how to love others as well.

As we obey each command, we touch our Lord and Master and Friend, and He touches us. From this flows worship, thanksgiving, praise and testimony to His provision and blessed love. It is no big deal to incorporate all of God’s requirements for holy living, because He doesn’t ask very much of us. As our Father, of course, He’s not going to leave us hanging after making us new creations. He shepherds us with tender loving care, making boundaries and warning us away from dangerous situations.

Regular reading and consistent doing (what Jesus calls eating His body and drinking His blood in John 6) feeds us and draws us closer to God and each other. Followed in the Spirit, His "living oracles" as Stephen calls them in Acts 7:38 give us concrete steps to help in producing the fruit of the Spirit. They lead us to the Christ as they always have and always will. Reading and doing all of what God gives us in His Living Oracles is not a Christian thing. It's not a Jewish thing.

It's a God thing.

Footprints by the Sea

We first posted this version of this poem about ten years ago, having received it in an email. As far as we know, the author is anonymous, although a writer by the name of Sam Glenn has a book by the title 'Buttprints in the Sand' and may have been the author. Or another version exists from a Rev. Robert Schaibley apparently. We've even found a version that is supposedly an "orthodox" Lutheran version.

Last night I had a wondrous dream, of prints in beach sand I had seen.
Though my feet hadn't walked that shore, I saw the footprints of my Lord.
And when a different print appeared, I asked the Lord, "What have we here?
This print is larger, round and neat, and wasn't made by walking feet."
"My child," He said, in somber tone, "For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to stand - not ride. To walk and let me be your guide."
"You would not stand. You would not grow. The walk of faith, you would not know.
So then I finally got fed up, and there I dropped you on your butt."
"Because in life, there comes a time, when one must fight and one must climb;
When one must rise and take a stand, or just leave butt prints in the sand."

What We Have For You on the Whole Bible Christian Website

Tips for using this site: Press the ctrl and the plus sign keys to make it larger, or ctrl and minus to make it smaller. Mouse over the slide shows and click for more information or links to articles. Click the Play button at the very top right for some good tunes, and don't forget to visit Berea for discussion and more study.

Our site is organized around material for the Heart, Mind, and Soul. We realize, of course, that all of His Word is for all of our heart, mind, and soul. But we needed some short menu headings, and most of our content falls under one of those main headings or another. Sort of.

For the Heart, we currently have Manna and Bruce's book 'Hidden In Plain Sight: The Heart of the New Covenant.' Eventually we hope to have some children's pages featuring crafts and other material for home schooling whole Bible Christians. Manna is our annual reading schedule consisting of the first five books of the Old Testament and the first five of the New Testament, plus other readings from various other books. There is a chart and a booklet you can print if you want. A draft of 'Hidden In Plain Sight' is here too, with each chapter in a PDF file for your reading enjoyment and to print for your own personal use. This book lays out the framework of the whole Bible approach to loving God through living the whole of the Word.

For the Mind, we present over 40 articles from Bruce as well as selections from other authors and websites. We have them listed by Subject, Author, and alphabetic. We've also got some Study Helps featuring software recommendations, information on the Talmud, Myths and Facts of the conflict between Israel and everyone else (okay, Arabs), other great websites, and references. Be sure to check out our free booklets too.

For the Soul we have Jokes and other Humor, Comics (yes, there are some good comics with biblical themes) and Inspirational stories and thoughts, along with some help for Starting your own whole Bible assembly or congregation.

If you'd like to interact with other whole Bible believers or interested people and study the Word further we invite you to visit Berea, our bulletin board or forum. You can read with no requirement, but if you want to join in you have to register. We will get an email when you do, and after we approve it you're on your way to a fuller and more fruit-filled walk with your Father and Lord.

We also have a nifty Photo Gallery, an About page with pictures of our family, Frequently Asked Questions, Doctrinal Specifics (the Long and the Short of it) and a Contact form for further information, opinions, and donations if you choose. Please let us know what you think (constructive, of course) and if you have any suggestions or you caught any errors. Thank you for your time and we hope the Lord blesses you tremendously through the information we've collected and developed.

Matisyahu - One Day

Enjoy this song from a Jewish reggae singer.