You've Got to Get Your Hands Around This.

7 minutes ago

5 min read

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/287e82a4/youve-gotta-get-your-hands-around-this

In my last Morning Briefing, I prompted you to live by truth in your life. I'm not talking about your truth, and my truth--but THE TRUTH. The greatest source for truth this side of Heaven is the Word of God.

I have loved the Bible since my mother first gave me my very own when I was four years old. And as every month goes by, I love it even more. The Bible alone holds the answers for life and living, and is itself life giving in tangible ways. For instance, Scripture empowers us to refute self-defeating lies that come into our minds and replace them with truth, literally rewiring our brains!

And of all the things to which you give your attention, the Bible stands alone.

->"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of God stands forever."1

Reading the Bible, at least for me, requires focus and discipline to avoid distraction. And yet – consider this study, showing that reading Scripture four times a week reaps the following benefits in a person’s life:

Feeling lonely drops 30%
Anger issues drop 32%
Bitterness in relationships drops 40%
Alcoholism drops 57%
Sex outside of marriage drops 68%
Feeling spiritually stagnant drops 60%
Viewing pornography drops 61%
Sharing your faith jumps 200%
Discipling others jumps 230% 2

The Bible is available and accessible, from smart phones to iPads and apps galore, though I love to hold it in my hands so I can underline and make notes in the margins. One of my most treasured possessions is my mother's Bible with notes in her handwriting. (she went to Heaven in 2006)

We are on the precipice of encountering the Light and Life in John's gospel, but first, it is helpful to have a basic working knowledge of the Bible as a whole.

The Bible is not ordered chronologically. So, then how is the Bible set up? When you hold a Bible in your hands, what do you have? In your left hand, you would have the Old Testament, and your right hand, the New Testament.

The Old Testament spanned more than a thousand years, while the New Testament just 80 – 90 years, with 400 years of silence in between, in which God did not speak.

-The Bible was God-inspired, or rather 'God breathed', the Greek word that Paul used.3

One of the ways we know that the Bible is true is that even though it was written by 40 different authors over such a huge span of time, there are no contradictions. A-m-a-z-i-n-g. Throughout, we learn of the character of God.

Old Testament

-It is a written record of the history of mankind and Israel specifically, penned in Hebrew, spanning about 1440 b.c. to 400 b.c. Again, not ordered chronologically.

-There are 39 books in the Old Testament which can be classified as:

--The Law of Moses – first five books – also called the Torah or Pentateuch

--The Prophets – Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel +

--12 minor prophets - Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,

Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

--The Writings – Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles

-The Protestant church accepts identically the same Old Testament books the Jewish people did, and as Jesus and the apostles accepted. The Roman Catholic Church, since the Council of Trent in 1546, added 14 books of the Apocrypha

What is in the New Testament?

--Written in Greek, it contains 27 books

-->finished before 70 A.D.4 (This date is critical in supporting the veracity of Scripture-- and only recently, dated much earlier than previously thought)

--The Gospels – the four gospels record the birth, life, death, resurrection of Jesus Christ, and His training of the disciples. They are written by four different men, slightly different 'takes' and purposes

--History - the establishment of the early church and its spread through Mediterranean lands, primarily Acts

--Letters – After Paul’s conversion on the Damascus Road in Acts 9, we are able to read his letters to the churches—also called the ‘epistles’; there are 13 of them. They are loaded with our Christian doctrine and the right way to live.

--The book of Revelation, written by the apostle John when he was on the Isle of Patmos, apocalyptic.

The NT was written by the apostles of Jesus Christ or companions of the apostles. This means that the authors were either eyewitnesses of the events they described or they recorded eyewitness firsthand accounts (take a look at: 2 Peter 1.16; 1 John 1.1-3; 1 Corinthians 15.6-8; John 20.30,31; Acts 10.39-42; 1 Peter 5.1; Acts 1.9; Acts 2.22; Acts 26.24-28)

It is valuable to know that the gospels were written when many were alive who could remember the things Jesus said and did. The writings would have been refuted and the writers discredited if they recounted or represented falsehoods. Think of it--of course, Jesus' disciples, other followers, Jewish leaders and Roman guards would have known where Jesus' borrowed tomb was, and that it was indeed empty!

The Bible alone answers the big questions of life, starting with how we can know what is true, how we got here, why we are here, what happens after death, and so much more.

The main thing to know is that the Bible is what it purports to be . . . TRUTH.

It is the Word of God, regardless of how a person regards or feels about it. Scripture. is. defensible. That is to say, it is supported by archaeological evidence, fulfilled prophecy, historical and scientific evidence, along with corroborating accounts by contemporary historians of the day--namely Josephus and Tacitus.

People read the Bible for information, direction and inspiration, and find it filled with more than they can ever fully comprehend. Simply, there is nothing more worthwhile to read than the wisdom in the pages of the Word of God. I think of the psalmist—the ‘man after God’s own heart’-who said,

“Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.” Psalm 119.89

***And here is something I have noticed - those who read the Bible, seek to understand and apply it, are radically changed by it. Their lives are transformed.

Why does it have the power to change us? As our friend Paul wrote to young Timothy, 'Inspired by God, it is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.5

Yes, Sir, the Bible is worth our time and effort to understand its content.

The Bible tells it like it is--I gotta tell you, if I were writing the Bible, I would have left out the mess-ups and sins of our would-be heroes -- but not God, he did not. Take David, who we all love as a shepherd/then anointed king who commits adultery and kills his lover's husband! Seriously?! Yet after all of that, God still refers to him as 'a man after his own heart'.6 Fact is, we are all sinners, and so were our Bible heroes.

If you are wanting to gain a broader understanding of the Bible, including structure, people, lands, types of writing, get ahold of 30 Days to Understanding the Bible by Max Anders. 15 minutes a day, and you will learn so much!

O, dear Lord, your Word is a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path,7 and for that we greatly thank you! Amen.

The best response to the gift of Scripture ... Let it Be A Hallelujah, Lauren Daigle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvfPK0gCdUc&list=RDBvfPK0gCdUc&start_radio=1

Christine!