You and I cannot stand without it!
Many years ago, we sang this chorus in Sunday School
“The Bible stands though the hills may tumble,
It will firmly stand, if the earth should crumble,
I will plant my feet on its firm foundation
For the Bible stands.”
Every Word of Scripture (Isaiah 40:8) is alive with the breath of God. Every history-making Word contains self-fulfilling power. The last Passover (Luke 22:19-20) led to Gethsemane, which led to Calvary, which led to the empty tomb. He is not here (Luke 24:6) He has risen, AS HE SAID, as He told you. The Words He had spoken when He spoke them (Matthew 16:21) were as certain as history that had already happened. It is the eternal Word of the Sovereign God. The Bible is our inerrant authority and is a bottomless treasure chest and gold mine. The Holy Spirit continually reveals its priceless jewels and pure gold nuggets.
Often, I am filled with wonder when I happen to be reading in the New Testament. It will remind me of a verse in the Old Testament. Then it expands in my mind until it seems like a whole field of flowers blossoming in my heart. Jesus was God (1 Timothy 3:16) manifested in the flesh, the same God Who took Abraham outside into the starlight (Genesis 15:5) and made a promise to him which was represented by the numberless stars. What place does the Bible have in our lives? Do we leave Jesus alone (John 16:32) because we are scattered to our own interests? Or am I interested in only those things which interest Jesus? The only way I can learn His interests is by being a student (2 Timothy 2:15) of God’s Word.
Faithful reading and meditating on the eternal Word of the Living God should be a top priority of our daily lives along with gratitude for the privilege of having free access to the Bible. To-day in our world many do not have such privilege and freedom. I met 2 people at different times and both told me that they were Christians. They also told me they didn’t read, didn’t have and don’t want a Bible and both refused my offer to get them a Bible. Personally, I don’t believe that they are Christians or have any understanding of what it means to be a Christian. We will all be accountable to God not only for what we know but also for what we could have known.
Why did Jesus (John 13:5) wash the feet of Judas? Even though Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him, in obedience to His Father for the plan of Salvation, He would not betray Judas to the other disciples. If they had known, Judas would never have made it out of that room alive. Without the Bible. how could we know: - - - ? - - the incredible (1 John 3:1) love of God, that before He created the Sun, God said (Genesis 1:3) let there be light and there was light, that Jesus stood still (Mark 10:49) for a blind beggar, that He took (Mark 10:16) little children into His arms to bless them, that in the midst of His own excruciating pain He (Luke 23:42-43) redeemed a dying thief, that He (John 14:2-3) prepared a place for us and that He is coming back (1 Thessalonians 4:17) to take us to the Father’s house. And so much more in the Bible to make Jesus increasingly real and precious to us as the Holy Spirit enables us to know Him (Philippians 3:10) in the power of His Resurrection.
The name Christian does not mean one who attends a church and does good deeds. It means Christ-one, one who belongs (Acts 11:26) to Jesus Christ by the transforming power of God through the shed Blood and atoning death of Jesus. Someone has said that when on the Cross, Jesus said (John 19:30) It Is Finished, God said AMEN (1 Corinthians 15:20) by the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. God’s will and my longing desire for me is to be increasingly like Jesus. My thoughts, words, deeds, desires, attitudes, interests, stewardship, should all represent Jesus because, they have their source in and direction from Him. From the Bible we learn that (Dr. Swindoll) “God does the unexpected (Genesis 50.19-20) to accomplish the incredible.” Here is something so comforting that I could not have known without my Bible and whatever – no matter the circumstances, situation or condition in my life - - because of God’s Sovereignty in my life - - I can always say ALL IS WELL. The most valuable thing I own that I can touch, the one thing above all that I would never part with, is my BIBLE. The written Word of God is the backdrop, the frame, the setting (Isaiah 9:6) for the (John 1:1) Living Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. The risen Jesus Christ is the Resurrection Life and if His Life does not dominate in us, we cannot understand fully the teaching of God’s Holy Word.
Does what you eat show on your face? When a little child or a glutton eats, sometimes their food is smeared on their face. God said to the priests (Malachi 2:1-3) that because they did not obey the Lord and take to heart His commandments, He would send a curse upon them. The Lord would curse their seed grain so they would have no harvest. The famine would be so intense that any food they could find to eat would be as repulsive to them as their blemished sacrificial animals were to God. The value of their sacrifices to the Lord was as repugnant and worthless as the animal dung, which was taken away and God said they would be treated just like that dung. When God said He would smear dung on their faces, I think He is telling them that they would have to face the desperate situation which would follow no harvest. What little they could find to eat would be as repulsive as dung. These words were to the priests, the spiritual leaders. How could the people be being taught the Word of God? They would not dare (Malachi 1:8) to offer these to the government as payment for their taxes but their hearts were so hard, they thought they could get away with offering damaged rejects to Holy Almighty God. We should be faithful in prayer, support, gratitude and be encouragement for godly pastors and teachers.
Conversely, if we obey the Lord, feast on the riches (Colossians 3:16) of the Word of Christ, nourish our souls with spiritual medication through regular Bible meditation - - - it should be reflected in our faces. Are you a ‘sour puss’ or does your heart and face glow with the wonderful life-building nourishment of Scripture? We should never be so foolish as to damage our souls by neglecting our Bibles.
It is possible to have such a warped concept of beauty that we settle for vain imaginations and paltry useless attractions. We need to memorize and meditate on this verse (Zechariah 9:17) How great is God’s goodness and how great is His beauty. The Bible tells us (1 Chronicles 16:29) to worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness. Every attribute of God has supreme beauty but if our focus is trained to (Psalms 27:4) behold the beauty of the Lord and our prayer and desire is to learn more of Him and His beauty, then the beauty of our God (Psalms 90:17) will be upon us and we will be co-workers with Him.
When the two angels went (Genesis 18) to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord stayed with Abraham. Was the Lord just wasting time when He discussed Abraham’s hope that the destruction might be prevented? NO, and a resounding NO! Why was God talking about the overthrow of those wicked cities which
had already been ordained? He was bringing Abraham into a deeper relationship with Him as Abraham learned more of God and His righteous character, His justice, fairness, mercy and holiness. Because of God’s patient talking with and listening to him, Abraham got to know the Lord better and more than he ever had. Long ago Abraham discussed this with the Lord and to-day I am discussing it with our glorious, timeless God.
Like Abraham, as I converse with the Lord, I am seeing deeper into and comprehending more the beauty and patience of God’s loving nature and character. Are you getting a sense of awesome wonder of our ever-present always – now eternal God? Have you entered into the reality that the Bible is the precious, personal, loving, intimate revelation of Himself to each one of us individually?
The Bible stands, eternally stands and you and I cannot stand without it.