I once heard that B.I.B.L.E stood for "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth." At the time, I was impressed by the clever acronym. However, I've since come to frown on it. Never before and never will there be such a book to revere as the Holy Bible, God's living word. It is not just a book that we are handed as an instruction manual. Oh, no! It is far more than that. It claims of itself that it is "alive and active! sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, bones and marrow, discerning the motives of the heart" -Hebrews 4:12.
NOW THAT IS A MIGHTY PROCLAMATION! A book is alive? What does that even mean? I can tell you that it means just that. The words on the page are the spoken word of the infinite and one true God. "The word of God stands forever!" -Isaiah 40:6
Romans 10:7 also makes this very serious claim: "...so faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." The B.I.B.L.E yes, that's the book for me, and that's the ONLY book so able to perform and do mighty work in our hearts. It is NOT an instruction manual of "basic" things before we die. It is everything of SEVERE AND GRAVE IMPORTANCE while we are on this earth and mattering for our eternity with God. Sharper than a two-edged sword? Gosh, even if it were sharper than a plain old sword wouldn't it still be more unfathomable than any other book known to man? Do not pick up your Bible light-heartedly to "browse" for some good insight. Pick it up with complete and utter reverence and respect. Open it's cover expecting to not only read with your eyes but to drink with your very soul the not-so basic design of God for his people. Expect that you will find yourself seeing words illuminated on a page...possibly words you have read before, but suddenly they have revealed to your soul a great, new, and unexpected truth. This week I have been reading Isaiah, and MAN OH MAN, did God makes some INTENSE statements about his character and nature promises to His chosen people. I have been uplifted night after night as I DRINK IN THE TRUTH AND LIVING PROMISES of God's words. This week in Isaiah I read about a virgin who would come to deliver a Son...only it was written some 500 years before that actually happened. The prophesies that have unmistakenly come to pass continue to ring true over and over that God cannot lie, his word is strong and will stand forever. There are prophesies in the Bible that we are still waiting to see fulfilled...and they WILL come to pass. One of those is that Jesus Christ (who's birth we are celebrating this very season) will come back with a thunderous rapture to take home the ones who's veins pump with his very blood. Do you have Jesus' blood covering your sinful heart? Please consider the verse in the Bible 1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. If you do that, and accept Jesus as not only Savior but also Lord, he will bring you home when that final prophesy is fulfilled.
SO, please, look at your Bible with a new appreciation. It is AMAZING!
See this video of my son before his first birthday. He's singing before he can talk. He's so special to me!
