I
bow down toward you holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast
love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and
your word. (Psalm 138:2 ESV)
The bible is made up of 66
books with 1,118 chapters, 774,746 verses, and 3,500,034 words. The bible is
not a book of philosophy, but its content is philosophical. The bible is not a
book of science, but there is no discrepancy between ascertained facts of
science and the bible. The bible is not a book of history, but it is found to
be accurate when recording history. When it comes to the bible it has been
said, “Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be right.”
The Word of God Impacts the People of God
The will
of God is found in the word of God; in fact, the God himself revealed through
the prophet Isaiah that his word will not return unto him void, but will
accomplish the task he sent it to accomplish (Isaiah 55:11). Knowing this fact
should cause us to read our Bibles consistently even when we don’t understand
what we are reading. I guarantee that because the Holy Spirit lives in you,
even though you may not understand, there will be a verse, a phrase, a word
that will impact your heart. So, don’t worry about the parts you don’t
understand because God has a way to use that word despite our ability to
comprehend.
I can’t
tell you how the chicken dinner I had last night nourishes me. I don’t know how
the amino acids and protein molecules work chemically or nutritionally. I just
dig in and let it sustain me. The same is true when it comes to the Bible. You
might not understand every nuance of doctrine intellectually, but it will still
energize and edify your spirit. The word of God will do its work in our lives
if we will be consistent in allowing it to do so.
Every part
of scripture is pregnant with meaning, and is abounding with insight. It will
take us an eternity to discover and appreciate it all. If you’ll dig in and not
give up, you’ll see that the Bible is practical and applicable truth for your
life. As you begin to make the correlations Bible study will stop being a
discipline and start becoming an adventure.
Scripture to Claim:
So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not
return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall
succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11 ESV)
by Sam Nobles
