The Bible

THE DAILY WORD
By Jim Seekamp

Thursday April 30, 2009

1 Peter 1:24,25 (NIV)
24. For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25. but the word of the Lord stands forever."

The word of the Lord stands FOREVER!! That's a powerful statement, since the Bible is the WRITTEN Word of the Lord. But it must be correctly handled:

2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
15. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who CORRECTLY HANDLES the word of truth.

We cannot treat the Bible like a text book. Yes, it does contain history, which could be seen to be like a text book, but it is intended to reveal Jesus Christ to us, and in so doing, reveal God the Father to us!

More than anything, the Bible is a biography. It is here so that we can get to know God, just like any biography helps us get to know the person that it's about.

If we study the Bible like a text book, we are in danger of only looking at the words and trying to understand them.

If we study the Bible like a biography, we get to know the person behind it, and it makes for a better understanding of the entire book!

Really, the Bible is not just a biography; it is an AUTOBIOGRAPHY, since God is the real author:

2 Peter 1:20,21 (NIV)
20. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

We need to make it our main goal to understand what God is like in order to correctly understand the Bible. If we understand that God is love, like the Bible says, and we understand that His love for us is unconditional and perfect, we can more easily understand what the Bible is saying!

PRAYER
Thank You Father for Your wonderful, life-giving Word. Help me understand Your Word so I can know Your goodness and allow You to govern my life more completely.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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