Bible
My bible is god's written revelation to man. it was written by the living god, yahweh, through men inspired by the holy spirit.
"every word in it is without error and is "God Breathed" 2 Timothy 3:16 NIV
these words are living words.
it is a collection of 66 books penned by 40 different writers over 1500 years written by one authur…the god of the bible, yahweh himself.
the first book of genesis was penned by moses in 1405 BC and the last book of revelation was penned by the apostle john in ad 95. the old testament consists of 39 books and the new testament consists of 27 books.
this is the whole word of god. there is nothing missing nor is there more to come from further revelations.
in isaiah 40:8 it says that the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of god will endure forever.
every word in this book about the past has actually happened and every word in this book about the future will happen.
isaiah 55:11 tells us that every word that proceeds out of the mouth of god will not return void, it will accomplish what he desires and achieve the purpose for which he sent it.
it is to be proclaimed, not debated.
there have been many translations over the years from the original hebrew and greek languages on the way to being available to VIRTUALLY all languages in the world. there have been very few errors and omissions along the way. the dead sea scrolls were discovered in 1947-1956. these were ancient old testament biblical manuscripts that date back to 200-300 bc. there are new testament findings that are even more decisive because there is a much larger amount of material to study. some of these writings date back to within 50 years of the original writing. WHEN COMPARED WITH THE VERSIONS WE HAVE TODAY, THE ACCURACY was found to be AT 99.99% Every archaeology find in history has completely backed up the bible.
god intended for his book to abide forever. psalm 119:89 says; your word, lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. it is a recording of his exact words! it is sacred. it is very useful for reading, studying, and obeying. it is totally truthful and completely trustworthy.
it is a place to go for the correct directions in life.
as well as a lighthouse, as a warning to keep us off the rocks.
psalm 119:105 says that “your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path”
reading the bible we can learn about god’s character.
how he created the universe.
what pleases him.
what displeases him.
how evil entered the world through the fall of an angel named lucifer and how he is at work corrupting the whole world beginning with adam & eve and continuing up to this very day.
even though god is not the authur of sin, he allowed all men to pursue their evil desires so that he could receive glory by demonstrating his grace and mercy to disobedient sinners.
how he interacts with us REBELLIOUS people past, present, and future.
how he provides a way for us to be saved from this evil and our sins through the birth, life, CRUCIFIXION, and RESURRECTION of his son, our lord jesus christ, the most important man in history,
the pouring out of the holy spirit.
the beginnings of the church.
how one day his son will come again and rapture out his church of true believers, judge the non believers and then set up his 1000 year reign on earth.
how one day he will un-create the universe.
and then create a new heaven and a new earth and the description of what it will be like for those who repented of their sins and TRUSTED in the lord jesus who will spend their ETERNITY in the presence of god.
and TRAGICALLY, a description of the place called hell where all those who did not repent of their sin and trust in the lord jesus will spend their ETERNITY SEPARATED from god.
we learn that the name of our god is yahweh and that he is the same god back then as he is right now.
the word of god is alive and active. sharper than any double edged sword. it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
should you not own a bible, i can suggest two POSSIBILITIES. both are study bibles that have thousands of foot notes to help you understand the bible in greater detail.
for the new christian, "the life principles bible" by charles stanley is a great bible.
click here: The life principles bible
for the christian that has been walking with the lord for a while, "the macarthur study bible" by john macarthur would be a good choice.
click here: macarthur study bible
i prefer the New international version (niv) for its ease of reading in plain english. the new american standard bible (nasb) is also easy to read and understand.
in today’s digital world there is also available a bible app that you can download to your devices free of charge.
click here:
holy bible
there are many translations to choose from as well as the option to listen to the bible read to you. there is even an option to set a timer that will stop it after the chosen time elapses.
REGARDLESS of whether you use the digital or printed methods, these collection of books that form the bible are the most important written in the history of the world.
it is literally the “living words” of god.
think about that.
we have a book that has written in it the actual thoughts and words of god the father, yahweh, and god the son, jesus christ, and god, the holy spirit.
and the apostles as they formed the new church!
what in the world could be more valuable that that?
for me, it has come to be the most valuable possession in my life and i read from it every day.
i pray that you will too…
