BEING EQUIPPED WITH THE WORD

All Scripture is inspired by God and
profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, for training in
righteousness
so that the man of God may be
adequate, equipped for every
good work.
II Timothy 3:16,17

In our day, there are any number of Bible retreats and conferences folks can participate in as often as they would like. Some people attend those things because they are enjoyable and give a quick shot of spirituality. For others it may mean a salvation experience or re-dedication of a life that has perhaps come off of spiritual rails.

A couple of years ago, Brian and I attended a seminar at the Billy Graham Cove. The speaker for almost five days dealt with God's Word in general and our treatment or lack thereof, of it. The first few session really blew me away. Our leader didn't seem to deal with the Bible at all. We started out with our belief in God, how we know there is a God, how God speaks to us and how God spoke through His Son. I must say to you that it had been a very long time I thought in these basic ways, especially talking about how we feel about God. What DO we think about God? I don't mean just listing His attributes. Person to person, what do I think about Him and how engaged am I with Him? Such introspection, I saw, was necessary if one was to benefit from a positive approach to God's Word.

These led us in many ways of looking at the Bible...what it is, what it does and how did we get it in the first place. I know it all seems Sunday school-ish but we got down to some things I hadn't thought of in years.

For instance, our leader, Woodrow Kroll held up his Bible and simply said:

“Since God wrote only one book,
I think He would be pleased to have
us read it.”

During a question/answer time, he was asked the best version of the Bible one can read. Again his answer was simple:

“Read the one you have.”

With that we were challenged to consider that our Bibles are the only way to know God and not reading it is going to affect how we feel about God and how well we know Him. We also heard over and over that the Word is God's spoken Word, actually words from His mouth to the prophets and others in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, He spoke through His Son and Spirit. We're not talking about mental telepathy in the formation of the Bible. God spoke verbally, word by word, what He wanted His Word to say, using Godly men to receive the words, doing what writing God wanted, but spoken words that make up the precious book we call the Holy Bible.

We live in troubling days ...days of insecurity and yes, evil. The only thing that is going to keep us mentally and spiritually sane, is to be in our Bibles as often as we can. We won't benefit from just a light scanning over it. It must be digested and applied in these days. It's the only thing that can grant us the security we desire. His words to us will speak peace and truth to us for He is Truth.

Father, I'm so grateful You SPOKE the words of Your book, that tells me about You. Your book is THE source of my knowing You and learning from You. Thank You for your Holy Spirit, Who teaches all you want me to know about Yourself. May I be willing to walk in obedience and love as I know You desire. In Jesus name....Amen