Great peace have they who love God’s Word.
My times are exactly where I want them – in the hands (Psalms 31:15) of the Omniscient God. But how could I be sure of that if I seldom or never read my Bible? (Dr. Youssef) “Your respect for God is measured by your respect for the Bible.” If you told me you had received a letter from someone you loved but had never opened it, I would not believe that your love for that person was real. We don’t worship the Bible, but we worship the God of the Bible and find Him ‘relived’ as we read the Bible in order to hear His voice in the Words He speaks. We read, hear, heed and obey His Word if we are honest when we say that we love Him. We need God’s Word which is alive and full of power (Hebrews 4:12) to cut away, like a surgeon’s scalpel, everything harmful within us, to penetrate to the bone every deed, thought and motive. We can so easily deceive ourselves when it comes to motive if we are not listening to the Lord. There is only one thing I own that I would never part with or be willing to part with and that is my Bible. Every time the Lord gives me a fresh new insight into God’s Word, He fills me with longing for more. So, I will keep on reading the Bible, exploring the Treasure Chest, digging into the Gold Mine.
I find it thrilling to trace the Divine Strategy of Sovereign Wisdom through the centuries of Scripture and read in the N.T. something which confirms an O.T. principle which was written hundreds of years previously. Here is just one of very many examples. We are told in the O.T. (Proverbs 3:6) to acknowledge God in all our ways. Then we come to the N.T. (1 Corinthians 10:31) and we are told to honour and glorify God in everything we do. If I acknowledge God always for Who He is, all He is and His rightful claim on me because He purchased me (1 Peter 1:19) with the precious Blood of Christ, then my desire and purpose will always be to glorify and honour the Lord in everything I do everywhere and at all times. On my own, this desire is totally beyond my doing. This is why the Bible is so essential to me. From it I learn there is no need to be defeated. My Bible tells (2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Corinthians 5:2l, Galatians 2:20) about the exchanged life which is Jesus Christ Himself living in me and living His life through me. I continue to grow in the exchanged life by moment – by – moment, in every decision and circumstance, yielding to Jesus in dependence on the Holy Spirit. There is always more to learn and more growth to be experienced. I’m not to keep looking at myself to check my progress but to yield myself (Romans 6:13) as an instrument of righteousness to God so that every member of my body is His servant for His will and purpose. My life should be (Oswald Chambers) “An illustration of the transforming power of the Redemption of God in Jesus Christ.”
Through the Word of God, the Holy Spirit (Major Ian Thomas) will “teach my mind, control my emotions, direct my will and govern my behaviour”. I always have a choice and because I have (1 Corinthians 2:16) the mind of Christ I can choose to deny the flesh. The Lord showed me something to-day more clearly than I had ever understood it before. If God completely removed and eliminated my indulgent weaknesses, He would be taking away my opportunity for learning to discipline myself. What actually is the mind of Christ? Jesus tells us (John 8:29) it is a mind completely set and fully determined to do always and only that which pleases the Father. (John Calvin) said “The human heart is an idol factory.” How could I or you or any Christian be so dangerously foolish as to neglect regular meditation on God’s Word?
A couple of days ago I met a lady in the elevator who spoke of the terrible times we are experiencing in the world at the present time. That gave me the opportunity to declare God’s Sovereignty and tell her that nothing is ever out of God’s control. Later I was thinking about that brief encounter and the Lord showed me clearly that my witness to her was not something I had done for God but a holy privilege and gift He had granted to me and I fully understood and I was grateful.
Every word we can speak to please God, every opportunity we have to witness to Jesus and His atoning death, every time we receive and can share Truth from the Almighty Sovereign of the universe – always - - it is God’s holy privilege and gift to us. We know that (Job 12:10) the breath of all mankind is in the hand of God. Because my breath is God’s gift to me, I must be sure to use my breath to speak only the words which will honour the Lord. How horrifyingly sinful to use my God-given breath to speak words that deny or dishonour Him in any way. Lord (Psalms 34:13, Psalms 141:3) set a watch on my lips and guard my tongue. Hearing and/or reading God’s Word adds to our guilt if we refuse to apply and obey it.
(Dr. Youssef) referred to a balance scale (Mark 8:36-37), which God presented with the most important question ever asked. On one side of the scale is the entire wealth of this whole temporary world. On the other side of the balance is the external soul of one individual person - - maybe yours. The balance scale reveals that the one soul weighs more and of higher value than the entire riches of the whole world. There is nothing that compares with the value of one human soul.
Your soul will exist in a never-ending forever somewhere. It is your choice whether you will live with Jesus Christ in the perfection of joy in eternal heaven – OR – with Satan in the unending torment of eternal hell. What can a person give as a ransom for the return of his soul, for a blessed life in God’s eternal kingdom? There is no answer to what he can give because in all creation there exists nothing of sufficient value. But don’t despair - - God’ Grace is still operating and avails for those who seek salvation in God’s way. God so loved (John 3:16) that He gave His only Son Jesus Who is (John 14:6) the only Way, the only Truth and the only Life. Whoever receives Jesus (John 1:12) becomes a child of God. BUT the only way we can come to the Father for salvation is through Jesus by His shed Blood and atoning death. There is no other way.
The more we look at the balance scale and begin to realize the immense value of one soul, we can see more clearly and urgently our responsibility to make known the good news of the Gospel of salvation to others as it is declared in God’s Word. That is one of the reasons why it is so important for us to read our Bibles, so that we’ll be prepared and ready to share the living Word of God at any and every opportunity.
Will anyone I know, anyone you know, stand trembling at the brink of hell crying hopelessly, “No one (Psalms 142:4) cared for my soul”--?? Why was it important to say (John 21:11) that even with 153 large fish the net was not torn or broken? Because when they became fishers of men, the net of Truth, of salvation of saving grace, of Redemption would never break. It stood fast and firm then and it gathered (Acts 2:41) 3000 souls in one catch. Thank God it still holds firm and strong to-day and will continue to be indestructible no matter how often we cast it on the sea of lost humanity. If we are faithful in casting out the net, God will always have someone who will be faithful (John 4:37) to haul it in be it us or others.
Check yourself and see how long it has been since you opened God’s love letter to you. Great peace have they who love God’s Word and (Psalms 119:165) nothing shall cause them to stumble.