Prosperous Life

       Books about a specific area of interest are sometimes referred to as a “bible.” When I was about twelve years old, I joined the Boy Scouts of America and got my own copy of the Boy Scout Handbook. It was, in those days, referred to as the Boy Scout's bible. If I wanted to know anything about the outdoors, camping, tying knots, tracking animals and recognizing poison ivy, all I had to do was to look in the Boy Scout Handbook. In the U. S. Navy, I was given a copy of the “Bluejackets Manual” which gave me the same information only involved more about life on a ship. It also had knots in it and taught you many things you had to learn before becoming a “salty” sailor. There might be a lot of books on specific subjects that are referred to as bibles but there is only one Bible that tells you how to be a Christian, how to live this life, and how to get to heaven. Joshua 1:8-9 says, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”  

         It makes no difference how you cover the book. You can use the best leather with gold trim and as many colored ribbons for markers as you want and you can put a fancy name on it, but there is still only one Bible. In the days of Joshua, he referred to what he had at the time and it was the Books of Moses or what we refer to as the Pentateuch or in other words, the five books of Moses. It was the “law.” I often hear a quote these days where a man said we have over 200,000 pages in law books because we couldn't follow ten laws on a tablet of stone. Man has written history books, encyclopedias and other sources that contain a lot of knowledge and even a lot of instructions on how to be successful in life but Joshua already covered it in one simple passage in the beginning of the book that bears his name. Do you want to be successful and prosperous in this life? Then, the answer lies in the exhortation given in this passage. You need to be in the habit of meditating on the Word of God. I can go to the Boy Scouts Handbook or the Blue Jackets Manual and find out how to tie a square know instead of a “granny knot” but I can only go to God's Holy Word, to find out how to live this life and how to find heaven as my final goal. Square knots are pretty and secure, but they won't get me to heaven. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:9-11 where he hid God's Word in his heart that he might not sin against God. Of all the books ever written, the most valuable and precious is the B. I. B. L. E, the Word of God. How will you have a successful and prosperous life? You can achieve all of those things the same way as was already mentioned by Joshua. You need to be having your mind centered on God's Word day and night. Everything that happens and your reactions all need to be run through the filter of the Word of God. You won't go wrong. Praise God today for His Word, the one and only Bible.