Why the emphasis on this Holy Book? Because God and His Word are inseparable. The average person and his word may be two different things, but our Eternal God, Our Holy God, our Omniscient God are one and the same in all times—yesterday, today, and forever. Our Eternal God has spoken His Eternal Word. Our Holy Bible is a miracle Book because it comes from our Eternal God who is the miracle Worker; God created the world by His Eternal Word, and through His Holy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, He created a new redeemed human race.
No book ever written has been attacked and despised as much as this Holy Book—a sure proof that evil was angrily on planet earth to make every effort to hold the human race in eternal bondage. While the Bible has been opposed throughout many nations, it remains the most powerful book ever written because it is the Living Book, the Word of God. Our Holy Bible is the Written Word, and our Lord Jesus Christ is the Living Word. We read in John’s Gospel, chapter 1, verse 14 that “. . . the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
The Holy Bible is ridiculed, rejected, renounced, blasted, and burned, yet it survives! Why? Because it is the Living Word of God, and as Jesus declared in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” John Wesley, the great evangelist of the 1800s in all of Europe and in most of the world, cried out, “O give me that Book! At any price give me that Book! It is enough for me. O let me be a man of only one Book, the one, the Holy Word of God!”
In these days of confusion, frustration, and depression, we greatly need to turn to the Holy Book of hope, faith, and salvation. For example, I would suggest we read the Psalmist’s discovery in Psalm 119, verses 107 and 108: “I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.” And then, read verse 105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Let me remind all of us—saints and sinners—the Word of God does not merely comfort us. Thank God, He is merciful enough to convict us of sin so that we can repent, believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, and become a new creation in Christ Jesus! It is called “the new birth.” We were born in the flesh in physical birth, but we are born of the Spirit in our new birth. Not only are we forgiven of our sins, but we are also adopted into God’s redeemed family. Our names are inscribed in God’s “Lamb’s Book of Life in Heaven,” and we are children of God indwelt by the Holy Spirit of power to help us live the Christian life!
And, let me remind all of us that the Holy Spirit, who inspired the writing of our Bibles (both the Old and the New Testament), that the Holy Spirit helps us live out an obedient life through our study of our Bible. Yes, He inspired those words, commands, truths, and blessings! He will help us in our reading and in our praying, and He will strengthen us when we are tempted to revert to carnal thoughts and actions. He will strengthen our understanding and help us change our minds to please the Lord rather than give in to fleshly temptations. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin and helps us repent and believe. And it is the Holy Spirit who also empowers us to resist temptation, understand the Word of God, and grow in grace throughout our lives.
By the light of Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Christians are enabled to see the truth and the will of God as well as sense the lies of Satan. We are enabled by the Holy Spirit to discern what is good, pure, clean, and needed. In these last days, the fact is that the devil is training and releasing his hosts of this present darkness to tempt and mislead us, seeking to cause us to grieve the Holy Spirit with backsliding, disobedience, and turning back to the world and the flesh.
Therefore, it is essential that we stay close to the Word of God! And before I close this message, I want to say to all believers that our greatest need as children of God is to continually ask God for more of His Holy Spirit! Even the apostles who had been filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost felt the need of fresh fillings of the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:31).
The law of the land contained in our American Constitution may be amended from time to time. But, let all mortals understand the warning that no amendment must ever be made to the Holy Word. Modern scholars must be careful in updated translations to make certain they are not changing the message of those divinely inspired truths in the Old and the New Testaments!
Dear readers, since we are living in testing and difficult times, let us all turn more hungrily to the Word of God. May the Holy Spirit help us realize that we are reading truth that transcends all generations, cultures, and races. No, we do not worship the Bible; we worship the God who inspired it, because His Holy Book explains the merciful redemption plan conceived by God the Father long before He and the Word (Jesus) created the world.
Most books are born in the minds of the authors, and some of their works get into print but live only a comparatively short time before being forgotten. While God’s Holy Book is often ridiculed, renounced, and rejected, many of us are committed to prayerfully allowing the Holy Spirit to open our minds to the love, the light, and the life that will help us overcome the world and be faithful to the end. It certainly feels good to live in the confidence of being ready to meet our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when He comes for us either in death or at His Second Coming for our eternal abode with Him.
So, let us thank God that we have the timeless truth in the Word of God, which is as binding and glorious in the 21st century as in its beginning. Scriptural truth does not differ from age to age. Men’s ideas will differ, customs may change, and the world’s moral codes can be trashed, but the Holy Book of God will stand throughout time and pass the test at the Great White Throne Judgment!
Note: All scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.
The Holy Bible is ridiculed, rejected, renounced, blasted, and burned, yet it survives! Why? Because it is the Living Word of God, and as Jesus declared in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” John Wesley, the great evangelist of the 1800s in all of Europe and in most of the world, cried out, “O give me that Book! At any price give me that Book! It is enough for me. O let me be a man of only one Book, the one, the Holy Word of God!”
In these days of confusion, frustration, and depression, we greatly need to turn to the Holy Book of hope, faith, and salvation. For example, I would suggest we read the Psalmist’s discovery in Psalm 119, verses 107 and 108: “I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.” And then, read verse 105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Let me remind all of us—saints and sinners—the Word of God does not merely comfort us. Thank God, He is merciful enough to convict us of sin so that we can repent, believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, and become a new creation in Christ Jesus! It is called “the new birth.” We were born in the flesh in physical birth, but we are born of the Spirit in our new birth. Not only are we forgiven of our sins, but we are also adopted into God’s redeemed family. Our names are inscribed in God’s “Lamb’s Book of Life in Heaven,” and we are children of God indwelt by the Holy Spirit of power to help us live the Christian life!
And, let me remind all of us that the Holy Spirit, who inspired the writing of our Bibles (both the Old and the New Testament), that the Holy Spirit helps us live out an obedient life through our study of our Bible. Yes, He inspired those words, commands, truths, and blessings! He will help us in our reading and in our praying, and He will strengthen us when we are tempted to revert to carnal thoughts and actions. He will strengthen our understanding and help us change our minds to please the Lord rather than give in to fleshly temptations. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin and helps us repent and believe. And it is the Holy Spirit who also empowers us to resist temptation, understand the Word of God, and grow in grace throughout our lives.
By the light of Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Christians are enabled to see the truth and the will of God as well as sense the lies of Satan. We are enabled by the Holy Spirit to discern what is good, pure, clean, and needed. In these last days, the fact is that the devil is training and releasing his hosts of this present darkness to tempt and mislead us, seeking to cause us to grieve the Holy Spirit with backsliding, disobedience, and turning back to the world and the flesh.
Therefore, it is essential that we stay close to the Word of God! And before I close this message, I want to say to all believers that our greatest need as children of God is to continually ask God for more of His Holy Spirit! Even the apostles who had been filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost felt the need of fresh fillings of the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:31).
The law of the land contained in our American Constitution may be amended from time to time. But, let all mortals understand the warning that no amendment must ever be made to the Holy Word. Modern scholars must be careful in updated translations to make certain they are not changing the message of those divinely inspired truths in the Old and the New Testaments!
Dear readers, since we are living in testing and difficult times, let us all turn more hungrily to the Word of God. May the Holy Spirit help us realize that we are reading truth that transcends all generations, cultures, and races. No, we do not worship the Bible; we worship the God who inspired it, because His Holy Book explains the merciful redemption plan conceived by God the Father long before He and the Word (Jesus) created the world.
Most books are born in the minds of the authors, and some of their works get into print but live only a comparatively short time before being forgotten. While God’s Holy Book is often ridiculed, renounced, and rejected, many of us are committed to prayerfully allowing the Holy Spirit to open our minds to the love, the light, and the life that will help us overcome the world and be faithful to the end. It certainly feels good to live in the confidence of being ready to meet our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when He comes for us either in death or at His Second Coming for our eternal abode with Him.
So, let us thank God that we have the timeless truth in the Word of God, which is as binding and glorious in the 21st century as in its beginning. Scriptural truth does not differ from age to age. Men’s ideas will differ, customs may change, and the world’s moral codes can be trashed, but the Holy Book of God will stand throughout time and pass the test at the Great White Throne Judgment!
Note: All scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.
No comments:
Post a Comment