Examining the Message in Light of the Word

         How is your Bible knowledge?  Many people know many things about the Scriptures and can mention certain facts about the many of the narrations of the Scriptures.  I was sitting on the platform with a recently graduated seminary student.  He made the comment that when he went into seminary he thought he knew all there was to know about the Bible.  After graduating from the same seminary, his conclusion now was that He felt he knew nothing about the Bible.  It is a continual growth process and the longer it goes, the more we feel a lack of knowing what we should know about the Bible.  Historically, there was a time when the average home may not have had a copy of God's Word.  We can thank men like Wycliffe and Tyndale for their efforts in making the Bible available for people like you and me.  Now, we have the Scriptures but what do we do with the copies that we have.  Acts 17:11 says, " These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."
           The historical account of Paul's journeys find him entering Thessalonia and then being forced to leave and he went down to Berea.  The people of Berea checked out Paul's statements by searching the Scriptures.  At that time, all they had was the Old Testament as the New Testament was in the process of inspiration so most of the things to which Paul referred were from the Old Testament.  Apparently the people of Thessalonia took what Paul said and didn't check it out but the Bereans checked out everything Paul said.  I recently wrote a devotion on acts 20 and my finger slipped an wrote Acts 29.  Well, there is no Acts 29.  Maybe some of you found that mistake but I only heard from one man who stated that I had put the wrong chapter number in the devotion.  I will say that you all have quite often made corrections for my spelling and even wrong words.  We had one man here in our area that upon being saved, began reading his own personal Bible only to discover that over 50 pages were missing.  It was a publisher's error for that one copy but do you know you have all of God's Word in your hand.  That former preacher told the congregation that they should be diligent in reading their Bibles to make sure their own copy was all there.  Be like the Bereans who searched the Scriptures daily.  Praise God today for sending us His Word.