The Bible Is for Transformation, Not Ammunition

“If we primarily use the Bible to have the right answers, to win arguments, and to point out other people’s sin then we are using the Bible wrong. The Bible should help form us into the people God created us to be.”

I posted this thought to X a few months ago, and the more I have pondered this, the more I realize how easy it is for us as Christians to misuse God’s Word. The Bible is a great gift He has given us for knowing His heart and character, yet we often reduce it to a weapon in theological debates, a tool to shame others, or a way to reinforce our own sense of being right.

But Scripture was never meant to be reduced to ammunition. It was given for transformation.

The Danger of Using the Bible Wrong

When Jesus confronted the Pharisees, He didn’t condemn them for ignoring Scripture; He rebuked them for misusing it. They had mastered the text. They could quote the Law and the Prophets. They even prided themselves on being defenders of truth. But in their zeal for knowledge and authority, they missed the very purpose of God’s Word: to point them to the Messiah and shape them into people of justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23).

If we treat the Bible only as a source of information or as a tool for argument, we can fall into the same trap. We might win the debate but lose sight of the call to love. We might expose someone else’s sin but ignore the pride or anger in our own hearts. We might be “right” and still be wrong.

The Bible’s True Purpose

Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (CSB) that all Scripture is “inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Notice the emphasis—Scripture corrects us, trains us, equips us, and completes us. Its aim is not simply knowledge, but formation.

God gave us the Bible so that through it we could be transformed into the likeness of Jesus. This should not surprise us, sin corrupts the image of God in us, and Jesus came to undo the work of Satan and restore God’s image. So every page whispers God’s story of redemption and invites us to live differently because of it.

• The Psalms train our hearts to worship and trust God in every season.
• The Gospels call us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, imitating His love and humility.
• The Prophets challenge us to pursue justice and care for the vulnerable.
• The Epistles guide us in living as a Spirit-filled community, marked by grace and holiness.

The Bible is not just about knowing the truth—it is about becoming people of truth.

How We Can Use the Bible Right

How can we stop using the Bible as ammunition in debates and start receiving it as a source of transformation?

• Read to be formed, not just informed. Ask not only “What does this mean?” but “How does this shape me?”
• Invite the Spirit to search your heart. Instead of using the Bible to diagnose other people’s sins, allow it to confront your own.
• Practice what you read. James warns us not to be hearers of the Word only, but doers (James 1:22). Each passage invites us into obedience.
• See Jesus at the center. All of Scripture points us to Christ (Luke 24:27). If our reading does not draw us closer to Him, we are missing the point.

Becoming the People God Created Us to Be

At its core, the Bible is God’s story shaping our story. It reveals who He is and who we are meant to be in Him. When we approach it humbly, not as a weapon but as a word of life, we begin to see the Spirit forming us into people of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23).

That’s the goal—not winning arguments, not proving ourselves right, but becoming more like Jesus.

So let’s commit to reading the Bible the right way: not for ammunition, but for transformation.

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

Our Dreams and God’s Desires

Think for a moment about the different dreams you’ve carried through your life. What kind of family did you imagine? What career did you picture? What friendships, home, or adventures filled your hopes for the future? Why do we dream the dreams that we do?

If you’re anything like me, many of your dreams have stayed just that—dreams. And often, our dreams rise out of our expectations about what will make us happy. We assume that certain milestones or accomplishments will finally give us the life we want. Yet very few of us ever achieve the exact life we once imagined.

On one hand, that’s not entirely a bad thing. The life we pictured when we were younger was often shaped by unrealistic expectations. If many of those dreams had come true, they might have led us into situations we were not ready for. I can’t imagine living the lifestyle of a sports star or rock star—surrounded by pressures and temptations that could easily pull my heart away from God. And what if I had married the first person I ever had a crush on? Reality rarely matches our adolescent fantasies.

As we mature, we recognize that life is better, safer, and more meaningful when some of our early dreams remain unfulfilled.

But then there are other dreams—dreams we believe are essential to our happiness. The single person may be convinced that marriage is the key to a full life, while the married person might quietly wish for the freedom of singleness. Others believe that a certain job, achievement, or possession is the missing piece that will complete them. And when these dreams do not materialize—or worse, when something cherished is taken away—our world feels as if it has collapsed.

In those moments, we cry out: “God, don’t You care about my happiness? I thought You loved me!” And very often, the response we hear is silence. We pray and pray, and heaven seems unmoved.

But Scripture insists that God does care. Peter writes:

“Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you. Cast all your cares on him, because he cares for you.”

—1 Peter 5:6–7

So we face a tension: If God cares for us, why doesn’t He help us achieve the life of our dreams? Why does He allow disappointment, delay, or loss?

I am convinced the problem is not with God. The problem is with our dreams.

God’s purposes for us are far larger, deeper, and more eternal than our pursuit of earthly happiness. What we want from life and what God desires for our lives are often two very different things.

We dream of being served; God desires that we serve.

We dream of sudden wealth; God desires that we become generous.

We dream of recognition; God desires the quiet faithfulness that only He sees.

To discover the life God has for us, our dreams often must break. Not to crush us, but to awaken us. When our dreams collapse, they create the space for God’s desires to take root.

Until that happens, we will always invest more effort into chasing happiness than pursuing holiness. Yet holiness—not happiness—is God’s ultimate desire for us. James reminds us:

“Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”

—James 1:2–4

Trials and disappointments shape us into the people God created us to be. They force our gaze upward. They draw us away from illusions and toward reality. They teach us endurance, maturity, and trust.

When we cling tightly to our dreams, we become blind to the better life God desires for us. So sometimes, in His mercy, God lets our dreams shatter—not to harm us, but to free us. Because if we never adjust our focus, we will settle for a life far smaller than the one He intends.

Holiness, purpose, and Christlikeness are found not in the life we dream up, but in the life God is forming within us.

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

When the Church Prays

Acts 4:23–31

What do you do when the pressure comes?

That question reveals far more about us than we often realize. Pressure exposes instincts. It shows where we turn first, what we trust most, and how we understand the mission God has given us. Acts 4 offers us a glimpse into the instincts of the early church—and in doing so, it gently confronts many of our own assumptions about prayer, power, and faithfulness.

The story of the church began with remarkable momentum. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out, the apostles preached Christ with boldness, and three thousand people pledged their allegiance to King Jesus through baptism. These believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Luke even tells us that they enjoyed the goodwill of the people.

But goodwill is a fragile thing.

By Acts 3, the tone changes. Peter and John go to the temple, heal a man crippled from birth, and proclaim Jesus as the risen Messiah. Instead of celebration, they are arrested, interrogated, and threatened by religious authorities. They are commanded never to speak in the name of Jesus again. The church moves quickly from favor to friction. Faithfulness becomes costly.

So how does the church respond when obedience brings opposition?

Acts 4 shows us that prayer is not something the church does after exhausting all other options. Prayer is what the church does when it knows that only God can carry the mission forward.

The first thing we see is that a united church turns to God. When Peter and John are released, they don’t go off on their own to recover. They return to their people. They report what happened, and the church responds—not with a strategy meeting, not with damage control, not with a debate about risk—but with prayer. Together, they lift their voices to God.

This detail matters. Luke emphasizes that they prayed together. This was not the pastor praying alone while everyone else listened. This was the whole church turning to God as one body. They recognized that they were under spiritual attack, but they did not panic. Prayer reminded them who they belonged to and why they existed. It was an act of surrender, trust, and unity.

Their prayer also begins with the Sovereign Creator. Before they ask for anything, they worship. They address God as the Creator of heaven, earth, sea, and everything in them. This wasn’t a way of ignoring the problem—it was a way of seeing the problem rightly. Worship reorients our hearts. It reminds us that God is not fragile, local, or threatened. He is not reacting to events; He reigns over them.

As the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible notes, this church had no political power, no cultural leverage, and no institutional authority—yet they prayed to the One who rules all creation. That truth still reshapes how we pray today.

Scripture also shapes their prayer. The church quotes Psalm 2, a messianic psalm that describes the nations raging against the Lord and His anointed King. Psalm 2 reminds God’s people that human rebellion is real—but never ultimate. God laughs at the arrogance of earthly power and establishes His kingdom anyway.

The church understood that Herod, Pilate, the Gentiles, and the religious leaders all played a role in opposing Jesus. Yet none of it fell outside God’s sovereign purposes. God did not cause their sin, but He used their rebellion to accomplish redemption. Prayer anchored the church in God’s sovereignty rather than their circumstances.

This is why Scripture must shape our prayers. When the days are evil, as Paul later writes, wisdom does not come from panic or control. It comes from being formed by God’s Word and guided by His Spirit.

The church’s prayer is also strikingly honest—and fearless. They do not pretend the danger isn’t real. They name the threats plainly. At the same time, they do not ask God to punish their enemies, remove all opposition, or make life easier. Faith doesn’t deny fear; it refuses to let fear rule. Prayer becomes the place where fear is voiced but not obeyed.

Then comes one of the most challenging parts of the passage: they pray for boldness, not safety. They do not ask for protection, comfort, influence, or success. They ask for faithfulness. They ask for courage to continue speaking the word of God. They ask God to confirm their witness through His power.

The NLT Life Application Study Bible observes that God may remove the problem—but more often He supplies courage instead. Boldness is not recklessness. It is obedience in the presence of fear. This reframes how we often pray for our churches. Our deepest need is not ease, growth, or stability. Our deepest need is faithfulness.

Finally, God responds. The place where they prayed was shaken—a sign of God’s presence, echoing moments like Mount Sinai and Isaiah’s call. They were filled with the Holy Spirit, not because He had left, but because they needed renewed empowerment. The mission did not change. The opposition did not disappear. But the people were changed. They spoke the word of God boldly.

The early church understood something we often forget: God’s work cannot be done in human strength. Churches can grow through plans, programs, and strategies—but discipleship, the heart of the church’s mission, only happens by God’s power. Prayer does not change the mission. It changes the people who carry it.

We pray not to earn God’s favor, but to align our hearts with His. We pray because we expect God to move.

Andrew Murray once wrote

“The more time you spend in God’s presence, making His thoughts and will your own, the stronger your faith will grow that God will use your prayers in the carrying out of His plan of redemption.”

That is what making disciples is all about—seeing God’s redemption at work in the world and joining that work through prayer.

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

Sunday Prayer: A Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Father God,

Because of Your mercy, we come to You with grateful hearts. You have given us life, forgiveness, and hope through Christ, and today we offer ourselves back to You. Take our bodies, our time, our words, and our choices, and make them a living and holy sacrifice—pleasing in Your sight and shaped by gratitude, not obligation. Teach us that true worship is not confined to a moment, but lived out in surrendered lives.

Lord, guard us from being shaped by the patterns of this world. Too often we drift without noticing—absorbing its values, its fears, and its priorities. Renew our minds by Your Spirit. Reorder our thinking, realign our loves, and reshape our desires so that we reflect the heart of Jesus rather than the culture around us.

As You transform us, help us discern Your will. Give us wisdom to recognize what is good, pleasing, and perfect in Your sight. Send us into this week as people who think differently, live faithfully, and worship You with all that we are. We offer ourselves to You again today.

Amen.

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

Trusting God More Than Ourselves

“True surrender to God requires letting go of our own will and embracing His, trusting that His plan is better than ours. We need to trust Him more than we trust ourselves.”

Surrender is not a word we usually like. It feels like weakness, failure, or defeat. From childhood, we are taught to be strong, to stand our ground, and to fight for what we want. But the way of Jesus turns the world’s wisdom upside down. In God’s kingdom, surrender is not defeat—it’s freedom.

When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He faced the most difficult test of surrender anyone could imagine. He knew the cross was before Him, and He wrestled with the cost: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will”(Matthew 26:39). In that moment, Jesus modeled what true surrender looks like—laying down His own will in order to fully embrace the Father’s.

That’s the challenge we all face. We might not be staring at a cross, but we all carry desires, plans, and preferences that we cling to tightly. We tell ourselves we trust God, but when His direction cuts across our own, do we resist or release?

Why Letting Go Feels So Hard

The truth is, we tend to trust ourselves more than God. We think we know what’s best for our future, our families, our careers, our finances. We lean on our understanding because it feels safer and more familiar. Proverbs 3:5–6 tells us otherwise: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Letting go is hard because it requires faith. It requires admitting that our perspective is limited and that God sees what we cannot. Faith asks us to believe that His plan is not only bigger than ours but also better.

What Happens When We Trust Him More

When we surrender, we discover the peace that comes from knowing we are not in control. The burden of carrying the future lifts because it is safe in God’s hands. This doesn’t mean life will be easy. Jesus’ surrender led Him to the cross. But it also led to resurrection, victory, and eternal hope.

The same is true for us. God’s plan may lead us through valleys, but He will always lead us toward life. Surrender doesn’t guarantee comfort—it guarantees His presence and His purpose. And in the end, that is far greater than anything we could arrange on our own.

Living Out Surrender Daily

Surrender is not just a one-time decision; it’s a daily posture. Here are three ways we can practice trusting God more than ourselves:

1. Pray honestly. Bring your desires, fears, and plans before God. Then echo Jesus’ words: “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
2. Obey quickly. When you sense God leading you through His Word or His Spirit, don’t delay. Obedience is where trust becomes real.
3. Release outcomes. We can do what God asks of us, but the results belong to Him. True surrender means letting Him define success.

The Invitation

Surrender is not about giving up on life; it’s about giving our lives to the One who gave His life for us. It’s about trading the illusion of control for the reality of God’s care.

The question we each need to ask is this: Do I trust God more than I trust myself?

When we can answer “yes,” not just with our lips but with our lives, we step into the freedom and peace that only surrender can bring.