The Bible - Knowing God's Word
June 7, 2009
Last Friday I watched the last late night show with Jay Leno. A portion of that show featured “Jaywalking” with Jay asking people on-the-street questions. He asked quite simple questions and I was blown away with the lack of knowledge of those he questioned. He posed questions like: what is the largest state in the USA? Who wrote Lincoln’s autobiography? Name one of the 10 Commandments?
There are three common terms for the Bible: the Bible, God’s Word, and the Scriptures. I want to encourage you to commit to read the Bible in 90 days over the summer beginning today, June 7th. And I want you to sign up for a small group that will discuss that portion of the Bible you have read the previous week. You will not only read the Bible but will have an opportunity to learn some thing about what God’s Word means.
Some don’ts. Don’t give up. If you get behind, try to catch up; but if it is too much, then pick up where the reading is. Schedules will be on our website and in the bulletin each week.
Don’t get hung up on parts that you have read that you don’t understand. Our goal here is not to understand everything you read because you won’t! Keep reading. And don’t get hung up on the ‘begats’ in the Old Testament where it lists numerous names and who their sons were. This lineage was very important to the Hebrew people. Skim over them if you have to, but realize that these were real people who actually lived who had these weird names.
Also, don’t get hung up on the details of the construction of the Tabernacle unless you are into construction or architecture or interior decorating.
And don’t get hung up on history. I am aware that a lot of people don’t like history and find it boring. Try to remember that this is the story of God’s people. You have your own story and history. All those photos of grandparents, great-grandparents, and family tree is your history.
Don’t think that you have to read the Bible. You can listen to it instead, or do a combination of reading and listening. You can get fairly inexpensive copies of the Bible on CDs from Amazon, Christian Book Club, maybe even Ebay. Great way to get into God’s Word while driving, cutting the grass, sitting on the beach, etc.
And now some ‘do’s.’ Do remember that the Bible is the story of God’s work in our world. It is the story of God creating the heavens and the earth. How He created Adam and Eve and how and why they fell out of God’s favor and blessing. The rest of the Bible is the story of how God set forth His plan to win Adam and Eve and their descendants, you and me, back into His family. We call it salvation.
Do make it a priority. If it isn’t a priority, you won’t get very far. Summer is a great time to do this because “it’s summer time and the living is easy.” Life isn’t as busy and hectic. Church life and responsibilities greatly lessen over the summer months.
Do set aside a time and place on a regular basis to read the Bible in 90 days. You are creating a habit and a routine that will help you meet your goal and finish well.
Do pray and ask God to help you get it done as well as to understand something of what you are reading, both the big picture and the small picture.
Do find a Bible that you will read. I do not recommend the King James Bible unless you are an extremely disciplined person or you really like KJV. I would recommend the Living Bible, the Message or some other that would be easy reading for you.
Why read the Bible? Because it is God’s Word and is God’s truth. The Bible speaks to all areas of our lives and has the answers for life’s most difficult as well as obvious questions. The Bible is God’s revelation about His nature and character and who He is as Yahweh, “I AM.” It reveals God’s wonderful love for us. The Bible reveals that we are sinners and explains why we are sinners estranged from God. We find in the Bible that we are broken and need fixin’ by God’s Spirit and work. That is why Jesus, God’s Son, came into our world to be the antidote to sin and the healing power of our broken spirits.
The Bible tells us that while earth is our home we have a house prepared just for us in God’s heaven. And that God wants each and every one of us to be there with Him for all eternity.
It is in the Bible that we hear that God wants a personal relationship with us so that we can have friendship with Him and He with us. It is in the Bible that we read that since God designed and created us, who better to tell us how we should live our lives than the One who made us? So God has set before us how we should live each and every day. Doing it God’s way results in joy and blessings. Doing it our way results in bitterness and cursings.
There is no other book like the Bible. It is unique and stands alone. Nothing can compare to it. Why? Because it is God’s Word and God’s truth that leads us to life and ultimately to life eternal. Without God’s Word we walk in darkness and live our lives in futility and frustration. And we end our lives separated from God fro all eternity.
The focal point of God’s Word is the Word made flesh, Who dwelt among us. His name is Jesus. He gave His life that you and I might have live now and forevermore. We celebrate and remember that greatest of all acts of sacrificial love through the partaking of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.