The Bible

Of late in one of my recent posts I made the statement that “books are good but the Bible is better”, although I always knew that this statement was true; I seemed to miss a persuasive necessity to drive this reality home until I was sitting in a doctor’s consulting room as he was running late with his appointments, which afforded me the opportunity to read two chapters of Paul’s epistles. It was only then that it dawned upon me again that reading scripture certainly feeds the soul. Just by reading the Bible its truth began to pop with the beauty of scripture revealed in a fresh light. Regardless of what we think we know or what we have already read in the past the Word of God is an extremely precious commodity filled with fresh revelation to all who explore it with intent. Not “fresh revelation” as something new needs to be discovered, by re-inventing the wheel but new to the readers understanding which in turn fuels their faith and ignites our hope. These types of encounters are priceless… how do I know this to be true? “TT” (tried and tested)! God is faithful, He cannot deny himself and it is impossible for God to lie. The Lord Jesus is the Word, the one who became flesh and dwelt amongst us.

We all need to begin somewhere, the first step must be calculated; a determination to change our habits and resolve to read the bible; pencil time into your schedules, diarise your alone time with the Word of God. If God was determined to use His Word to sustain all of creation and He has given us His written Word that is freely available to so many of us, best we use it to deepen our relationship with Him. The Word of God reveals so many beautiful attributes of God which strikingly silence the opinionated suppositions of this world.  

Did you know that those who place their faith in lying signs and wonders above the importance of God’s Word haven’t understood the value of God’s Word and its saving power. You can always test the validity of any church by how much value they place upon the written Word. The world understands power by might, through weapons and the like, the Arms Race proves this point emphatically; it is not so with our great God, His Word is His strength and the enemy will always look to water down the Word even amongst those who falsely claim to be Christians. Have nothing to do with compromising the Word and it will be well with our souls. Look to it, trust it and depend upon it. The only true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob decided that the Bible would be His treasure map in order for us to find Salvation in His beloved Son and then to be sustained by the Holy Spirit which always points us to scripture, never away from it, Satan does that!  

There is a day coming; take note of what is highlighted; “Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations. Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run. As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle. Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale. Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths. They do not jostle one another; each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted. They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls, they climb up into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief. The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The LORD utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the LORD is great and very awesome; who can endure it?” (Joel 2:1-11)

Creation begun with words from God, time is also governed by His Word and the heavens with the earth as we know them will also end with His voice; “And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.” – The beginning of time as we know it. God then gave an instruction to Adam, do not eat from the tree of the “Knowledge of Good and Evil” which Eve disobeyed and then Adam followed her folly and sin entered into the hearts of all men from there-on in. Cain killed Abel! Moses went up the mountain and there he conversed with God and received the “Ten Commandments”, introducing the law of God to His people, the Jews, the seed of Abraham. The Word began flesh; the Lord Jesus Christ was born and brought with him salvation for all of mankind, for all who would believe in Him. And when time has run its course the heavens and the earth as we know it will be folded up as a garment with a new heaven and a new earth established. And all of these truths are found penned in the Bible, the written Word of God.

I trust we understand the value of the Bible and the insights it gives us to this life and the life to come. We must all learn to place our trust in it for it is a lifeline which God has afforded all those who seek out His will and purpose. By the good graces of God I am learning to love it more and more as the voices of this world drive so many from it. The Bible is our rudder to His will for our lives. Where will you stand on your dependency upon His Word, as for me and my family we will trust it from here on in, will you?

Signing off

Tyrone