Over the past few months I have been reminded
about the importance of having an anchor for the source of my belief system. No
matter how many good books, stories, commentaries and blogs I consume they
simply reflect a perspective from the best book. The Bible. Our secularist
world casts suspicion and doubt at our Scriptures and questions whether it is
relevant, real or perhaps simply someone’s version of history. I was recently
re-reading a discipleship training manual by Winkey Pratney when I came across
these fantastic reminders about the power of the Word of God. Winkey starts by
stating:
“Make no
“mistake” about it – the Bible is here to stay!
The Bible is a Book from God about God – the
story of His love for man. Its central Figure is Jesus Christ, God robed in humanity; the record of His origin,
birth, life, death and resurrection. Its message
is stranger than fiction; that the God Who spun the worlds in space once
visited earth to provide a way to heaven; and that man may share a new Kingdom
in His very own family. The Bible is no
ordinary Book – it is strangely different
because it was written by men who listened to the Voice of God. The words
they penned were more than human. They
live like fire to each new generation, fresh as wind and pure as rain…
It is not a book of history; although, its records have been accurately substantiated
by modern archaeology. It is not a book of poetry;
although, it has been the inspiration of countless songs and poems through
the centuries. It is not an adventure story;
although, few novels have matched the sheer drama of its pages. It is not a
book of ethics or morality; although, civilization’s
finest and fairest laws have been forged from its principles. It is not a text book, but it still astonishes
scientists and scholars from fields as widely-differing as genetics, geology
and nuclear physics. The Bible is a unique record of man’s problem and God’s
own answer; the Good News of salvation from sin through Jesus.
“What man has produced, man can exhaust... we
have outgrown every other book that belongs to the past; but instead of
out-growing the Bible we have not yet grown up
to it. The Bible is not only up-to-date, but it is always ahead of date” (C.A. Benham). Centuries
of study by the most able scholarship have not begun to exhaust its riches. The
profoundest study has only revealed unfathomable depths of wisdom Mark Twain said “It’s not the things I don’t understand in the Bible that
bother me; it’s the things I do understand!”
This accurate insight exposes the real reason
most people are afraid to study the Scriptures; they are afraid they may meet
the Author, and they know that they
are not ready to do so. For many
people, objective evidence as to the authenticity of Scripture is almost useless; their “atheism” or “skepticism”
is merely a convenient excuse for moral cowardice and willful blindness. Such a
rejection of the Word of God does not stem from lack of evidence, but
from lack of honesty, integrity and
moral purity.” (1983: Youth Aflame.
Winkey Pratney)
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