God intended that His word, the Bible, be understood and applied (2 Tim. 3:16-17).  He wrote it in such a way that we can understand it when we read (Eph. 3:4).  To claim that the Bible cannot be understood is tantamount to saying God failed in revealing His will.  One cannot attack a book without maligning its author.

While the Bible can be understood, it is not all easy to understand.  There are sections that are hard to understand (2 Pet. 3:16).  These passages are not impossible to understand, but require effort to ascertain the meaning.  Sometimes help is needed in arriving at the proper meaning (Acts 8:31).  The Bible is a tremendous volume that is able to provide nourishment to people at various stages of spiritual development.  Both milk for the babies and meat for the mature may be found within its pages (1 Cor. 3:1-3; Heb. 5:12-14).  It is an inexhaustible resource of wisdom that ever challenges man with the loftiest of themes (Psa. 139:17-18).

God’s word is truth (Jn. 17:17).  Jesus Christ is the personal revelation of truth (Jn. 14:6).  While we will never know everything, we can all glean enough truth to be set free from sin, if we continue in Jesus’ word (Jn. 8:31-32).  It is God’s desire that all men come to saving truth in Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:4).  All truth necessary for salvation was revealed to the first-century apostles and prophets and preserved in a literary reservoir that is the twenty-seven books of the New Testament (Jn. 16:12-13; Heb. 2:3-4; Jude 3).

Each Christian has the responsibility to study this word and grow in knowledge of the truth  (2 Peter 3:18).  If we do not grow, we may forget even the basics that we should know (Heb. 5:12).  We can become blind to what God has done for us (2 Pet. 1:9).  We can even become entangled in the pollutions of the world that we had once escaped when we had come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Pet. 2:20).  Instead of forgetting the soul-saving truth that has been presented to us, let us study all the more that God will approve of us for correctly handling His word (2 Tim. 2:15).   God wants us to be filled with knowledge of His will, always increasing our understanding (Col. 1:9-10).  This way we will be firmly established in His truth and richly blessed by having His words in our hearts and on our tongues (Col. 2:2-7; 3:16).

What does your personal Bible study throughout the week show about your desire to know more about God’s word?  What about your attendance at the Bible classes offered by the church?  What about not merely your attendance, but your preparation for these studies?  Do you go home afterwards and think and study further on points made in these classes? Or are the Bible classes of the church just a box that you check each week because you were physically present?  Do you desire to know more of God’s word?

-Mark Day

I am a scribbler. I tend to be the type of person that makes notes whenever I hear something that may be handy in an article, devotional, or sermon. These notes can be found on a post-it, scrap paper, or even on my “note” app on my phone. Recently as I was looking through my “note app” and discovered at one time I had noted the following: “I am thankful there is a God to love me, a Savior who died for me, and a Bible to guide me”. Amen! I don’t know where I heard or read that statement, but it is indeed true. I am, as we all should be, thankful…

There Is A God To Love Me.

1 John 4:8, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” God is love, but not just love. Love is one of the primary features of God’s being. Just as God is infinite in all His other attributes, God is also infinite in love. This is the love that seeks the highest good of another. Were it not for the love of God mankind would be without any hope. However Ephesians 2:4 states, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us…” God’s love is great because it extends to all including the individual.

A Savior Who Died For Me.

Galatians 1:4 speaks of Jesus “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father”. Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” J. W. Shepherd in the Gospel Advocate Commentary on Galatians says the following regarding this verse “In his love for the church (Ephesians 5:25) Christ does not lose sight of the individual believer. Each member of his body is the direct object of his love, and it is as true that he died for each as it is that he died for all. Hence, the individual believer appropriates to himself that which is the possession of all.”

And A Bible To Guide Me.

Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” The Word Of God is a light to show me the way, to keep me from stumbling, to keep me from falling, to keep me on the right path. Psalm 19:8, “The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.” The world we live in thinks that happiness comes from many various sources (money, position, power, etc.). The psalmist points out the only way that man can be truly be happy is to study and submit to the Word of God. God’s statutes and commands are right because they descend from right personified, Deity. They are pure because it contains no falsehood or error. The commands of Jehovah enlighten man’s eyes in that they instruct him in the proper way, both for the here and now as well as preparation for eternity.

Yes, indeed dear friend, I Am Thankful. “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name” Psalm 100:4

-Jerry D. Sturgill