God's Word

             I had the blessing of meeting a man named Uzele Mesa. He was an evangelist from Kenya and had come to a local church to speak as a representative for a mission organization. He was speaking at our annual mission conference and he challenged us about reading the Bible through. Uzele read the Bible through ten times in one year and each time in a different language. At least one of those times would be on his knees and his instructions to those around him was to not bother him with food until he had finished. If you read the Bible around the clock, you could finish in 96 hours which is four days. People would walk for days to come to one of his evangelistic meetings and thousands were coming to Christ at each one of them. His prayer was for people to take care of the new believers with follow up material. I know that there are many people who read through the Bible each and every year as it may only require 20 minutes a day or less. Not all of us are avid readers and there are times when I struggle keeping my mind on the task at hand. Second Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 

         This passage is very popular when one speaks about the value of the Scripture itself. The passage reminds us where the Scriptures came from as being “God breathed.” The passage also reminds us of four different applications during various times in our lives. For many, their exposure to the Word of God may only come in the end zone of a football game when someone raises a poster with John 3:16 written on it. The world has long tried to imitate the life of the believer by the wearing of “religious jewelry” so as to try to designate themselves as some sort of follower of Christ. The bumper sticker or the cross around ones neck or the display of verses on your body doesn't make a person a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe in God's Word as being perfect in every way and true in every way. What Paul said in this passage is true and trustworthy as it holds up the value of God's Word in our lives. Without the scriptures, we have no way of measuring any kind of standards in society. The world ends up like the last verse in the book of Judges where it concluded with, “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” The second verse of today's passage shows us the purpose of the Scriptures in “that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” If you want to know how to live a good life and end up in a blessed eternity, then follow God's Word. If you want to know what success is, follow God's Word. If you want to find peace, hope and love, then follow God's Word. In the end, you will never go wrong. Now reading God's Word is just one of five ways you are to have an input of the Scriptures into your life. There is also, hearing, studying, memorizing and meditating on the Scriptures. You may not be the best reader in the world but there are at least four other ways to enjoy God's Word and all of them are important. Paul spoke of the renewing of our mind in Romans 12:1-2 and John wrote about the blessing of reading the book of revelation and the Psalmist spoke of the value of meditation on God's Word and the memorizing of God's Word. May the Scriptures be more than a book on the coffee table, but written on the tables of our hearts. Praise God for His Word today.