30 Days in the Bible, Day 14: 2 Timothy 2:14-19

As Paul describes the essence of the gospel in verses 8-9, there is one phrase that seems almost to be a passing line, but that I think jumps off the page. Paul considers the gospel message something that is of such value that he is willing to be chained in prison for preaching it. Yet he points out that, contrary to him, “God’s word is not chained.”

Throughout history, and throughout our world today, many have tried to stamp out God’s Word. It has been banned and criminalized by those who oppose its teachings. It has been denied and belittled by those who don’t wish to wrestle with the truth it presents. It has even been hidden from people by religious leaders who wanted to make themselves the arbiters of what it said. Many Christians have died not only standing firm for Jesus, but refusing to give up or deny the Bible and its teaching.

Despite all these attempts, the Bible and its presentation of Jesus Christ still have power to change people’s lives today. The Bible truly is unchained. The Word is carried to every corner of the globe through printed copies, radio messages, and the Internet. Many Christians spend their lives making it accessible through translation and distribution. Others risk their freedom and even their lives to get the Bible to those who seek to know more about what it says.

We have looked at the power that the Word has, and how that power is applied through the Holy Spirit. That power cannot be stopped or stifled by human efforts. It may seem for a while that people succeed in removing the Word from their world, but the power of God’s Word has always emerged from their efforts with its power and majesty intact.

In his sermon “The Lover of God’s Law Filled With Peace,” Charles Spurgeon draws this analogy: “The Word of God can take care of itself, and will do so if we preach it, and cease defending it. See you that lion. They have caged him for his preservation; shut him up behind iron bars to secure him from his foes! See how a band of armed men have gathered together to protect the lion. What a clatter they make with their swords and spears! These mighty men are intent upon defending a lion. O fools, and slow of heart! Open that door! Let the lord of the forest come forth free. Who will dare to encounter him? What does he want with your guardian care? Let the pure gospel go forth in all its lion-like majesty, and it will soon clear its own

way and ease itself of its adversaries.” The Bible has a power that need sno defense. If we read it, learn it, and preach it, that power will change lives today.

(Spurgeon’s sermon is well worth reading in its entirety. You can find it online at

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/sermons34.iii.html.)

30 Days in the Bible, Day 13: Psalm 119:97-104

Many ancient cultures produced what is called by scholars today “wisdom literature.” The Israelites were no exception. The Bible contains several books that are entirely written in that genre, including most of the poetic books of the Old Testament. While Psalms is not entirely a wisdom book, it contains many references to wisdom, and several psalms would be considered pieces of wisdom literature. Wisdom was a prized attribute for a person in ancient cultures.

Our own culture generally values knowledge over wisdom. What is admired is the “expert” who has detailed knowledge about a particular field. Where modern thought falls short is in what the purpose of knowledge is. One can accumulate facts forever, yet never really use them to make a difference in life or society.

Ancient cultures can teach us a lot here, but we must be careful. Wisdom writings from other ancient civilizations stress the importance of wisdom for the individual. The wise person is one who can control himself and who uses what he has gained to make his own life better. Wisdom arises from pondering one’s own experiences and drawing the proper conclusions from them.

Biblical wisdom has a different emphasis. Wisdom comes not from personal life experiences, but from the Word of God. By meditating and studying the Word, you can learn to live a life that is directed by the Lord, and that avoids many experiences that give you a more painful kind of experience. (Ecclesiastes is a wisdom book written by someone who learned the hard way!) Since God is both omniscient (all-knowing) and wise, His revelation can point you in the right path.

Following the Scriptures doesn’t mean you will never have difficult experiences. (See Job.) What it will do is enable you, as you follow the precepts of God, to ensure that you don’t create difficulties for yourself through disobedience. This section of Psalm 119 (the “mem” section, for those keeping track of the alphabet) links the study of the Word with obedience to the Word. Wisdom thus becomes the practical way we put the Word into practice in our lives.

Even when going through trials, we can find wisdom in the Bible to take us through those times. We will have troubles, illness, loss, and struggle, but we can rely on the Word of God to guide us through those times. Let God’s wisdom, revealed by the power of the Holy Spirit through His Word, guide you along the path of your life.

30 Days in the Bible, Day 12: Joshua 1:1-9

The book of Joshua might have the most abruptly discouraging opening of any book in the Bible. Not only does it tell us that Moses is dead, that’s the first thing God says to Joshua in the book. Joshua had been trained and commissioned to replace Moses, so he knew this day would come. Moses had almost certainly informed him that he would not be returning from Mt. Nebo. The Lord told Joshua that Moses had died, since no one ever saw Moses’ body.

Yet even as prepared as he was, the reality of becoming Israel’s leader still might have given Joshua some second thoughts. Three times the Lord tells him to be courageous, and He adds a “do not be afraid” for good measure. Joshua had shown himself to be a man of courage during the journey to Canaan, but the Lord still reminded him to have courage as he took Israel into the land.

Certainly that courage came from knowing that the Lord was with him and with Israel, but God gave Joshua another source of courage and confidence. The Law that the Lord had given to Israel through Moses was intended to guide the nation and its leaders as they went forward in following God. Joshua was to constantly be reading, studying, and living the Word of God as the leader of Israel, and in that Word he would find the Lord speaking to him.

In addition to meditating on the Word, which we looked at yesterday, Joshua was to keep the Book of the Law “on his lips.” Whatever he said to Israel and its leaders, whatever judgments he made, whatever directions and orders he gave to the people, they were to be steeped in God’s Word. Although Joshua would speak with his own voice, he was to reflect what God had already said in his words.

A good preacher or Bible teacher will express God’s Word constantly. They won’t simply reflect the words of the passage they are addressing at the moment, but recall other parts of Scripture that bear on their teaching and its application to life. Not only that, but when they give advice or address an issue, it will be apparent that their words aren’t just founded on their own ideas or even a theological or philosophical system, but on the Bible.

We live in a world that wants to tune out Jesus and His Word. In order to engage with ideas and teachings that oppose the Lord’s will, we must be prepared to use the Word as the solid foundation for what we say. When we rely on the Word, and on the Holy Spirit as He guides us in knowing, understanding, and using the Word, we will have confidence and courage as we face the challenges of our society and culture today.

30 Days in the Bible, Day 11: Psalm 1

What does it mean to meditate on the Word of God? The psalmist uses an intriguing word here for “meditate.” It is a word that is often used to describe the growling of a wild animal such as a lion. This is not the roar of a sudden attack, but the extended sound that might be made to warn off an enemy that is approaching.

The word took on another meaning later, and it is used in the Bible of both the godly and the unrighteous. The idea is the thoughts of the heart, or the plans that are mulled over either to engage in rebellion against God or to consider His truth. Perhaps the meaning came from envisioning people muttering to themselves, or, in the case of meditating on Scripture, people reading it aloud softly to themselves.

The word implies an extended consideration of its object. If we are going to meditate on God’s Word, we can’t just read through it quickly and move on without thinking about it. We also should be moving past what occurs to us immediately to ponder the full depth of what the Bible says in a given passage.

Some passages will require more meditation than others. There are places in Scripture where I don’t believe any human being will ever fully grasp completely. Other passages relate straightforward information that can be understood with a few moments thought. We need to give the Word the full attention and time that it requires to unfold its meaning to us.

You can overthink what the Word says sometimes. I love reading the writings of early Christian authors, but some of them tried so hard to find a “spiritual” meaning for everything that they took stories and made every detail fit into some preconceived idea they thought was needed to make the Bible suitable for a sophisticated Roman audience. In the process, they made the Bible say things it didn’t intend (at least not in that place).

We must be careful that we don’t do the same kind of thing today. When we meditate on the Bible, it can be tempting to make it apply to our own situation in such a way that it looks more like wish-fulfillment than faith in what the Lord says. That’s why meditation requires deep thought, and an understanding of the rest of the Word. As we go “day and night” into the Word, and gain a broader as well as a deeper understanding of what the Spirit says through it, we will be able to apply Scripture to life in a way consistent with God’s intentions.

Reading the Bible in large chunks to gain a grasp of the full revelation of God is a valuable practice, one I engage in myself. It must be balanced, however, with time spent truly thinking about what specific passages teach us. A genuine understanding of the message of the Bible doesn’t happen overnight. It requires time, and a lifetime of study and meditation will continue to find depths of knowledge and wisdom we haven’t seen before. God speaks through His Word; we need to take the time to listen.

30 Days in the Bible, Day 10: Romans 12:1-2

Throughout the history of the church, there has been a debate about the place of the mind in Christian discipleship. Some have argued that we need to get beyond the frailties of human thought and open our minds to spiritual realities that can’t be humanly comprehended. Others argue the opposite, the true discipleship begins with cramming our minds full of facts and theological constructs so we can get a full grasp on divine reality.

Neither of these ideas are correct-or incorrect. What is missing is the balance between them. In today’s passage, we are told that spiritual transformation begins by a “renewing” of our mind. This doesn’t mean finding a new and different way for our minds to function, nor does it mean to simply add more information to what we already know. Paul is calling for us to change both the way we think and the content of our thought.

The Greek word for “renewing” is only used twice in the New Testament, both times by Paul. It is used here and in Titus 3:5, where it is used of the “renewal” of the Holy Spirit that results in salvation. The underlying thought is that if we wish to be renewed, we must be reborn as new creations in Christ. Changing your mind isn’t enough; you need to use your mind in a new way.

That’s why you can’t argue a person into the kingdom of Christ. I am a firm believer in the necessity and value of apologetics, the area of study that defends the truth of our faith. For many people, there are questions they need answered to open them up to a confrontation with the gospel. But the arguments themselves don’t bring people to Jesus without the renewal that only comes through the Holy Spirit. Changing a mind requires a change of heart.

Even after we come in faith to Jesus, we need to continually sacrifice ourselves daily and seek that renewal. I would love to tell you that a Christian mind comes automatically with salvation, but the Bible teaches us that it is a lifelong process. (That’s part of the main theme of these 30 days, by the way.)

One of my favorite prayers from the Book of Common Prayer is the Collect for the Second Sunday in Advent, a prayer for the Word of God to change us. The language is a little old-fashioned, but the point is well made: “Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.” As we allow the Word to enter us and change us, we will gain hope and peace through the Savior it reveals to us. 

30 Days in the Bible, Day 9: Psalm 119:105-112

If you grew up in a Sunday school or children’s program at a church, you probably memorized Psalm 119:105 at some point. (If you didn’t, you can do it now!) The verse is a tremendous reminder of the fact that the Word of God serves to illuminate for us the correct way we should live. Without it, we could not find our way through the darkness that sin creates in our world.

The remainder of this section of Psalm 119 (the “nun” section*) shows us how that darkness can affect us even when we follow the Lord. These verses speak of the trials we may face in our lives. Verse 107 speaks of suffering, which affects everyone at some time. Many scholars believe that David wrote this psalm, and he certainly experienced suffering in his life, some of which came even though he did what was right in God’s sight. Christians can expect that we will face trials and troubles in our lives as we live in a world corrupted by sin. Yet we can hold up in suffering as we rely on what the Word tells us about our Father and about our Savior.

Verse 109 speaks of danger that even threatens his life. Whether this was a specific danger or just a general statement of the hazards of life, it is a reminder that each day our lives may be at risk. None of us is guaranteed another day. Some Christians today are at risk of being killed, imprisoned, tortured, or exiled for their faith. Even as we face the risks of each day, we must not forget what the Bible teaches us, and allow the Word to draw us to the Lord so He can bring us through.

The danger in verse 110 is different. Here it isn’t the dangers and risks of everyday life, but the challenge of those who oppose God and want to trap us into falling away from Him. By remaining true to the teaching that God has given us in His Word, we can avoid straying from the proper path that it illuminates. The world wants to pull us away from Jesus, and to silence our witness. By remembering the revealed truth given to us through the Word, we can stand in times of trial and temptation.

The Word truly is a light for us, but it isn’t just a light that shines when all is going well. It is a light that takes us through darkness. We certainly live in a dark world today, just as those who lived in David’s time did. That true Word of God, now fully revealing the Savior and Lord who is its central theme, is just as effective for us today as it was for those who first read it. We must continue to allow its light to shine on the paths of our lives so that we might walk in way that please and honors Jesus Christ.

*Psalm 119 is an example of an “acrostic poem,” in which the alphabet is used to give structure to the poem. This psalm is divided into 22 8-verse sections. Each verse of a section begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and the sections go through the alphabet in order. In this section, each verse begins with the Hebrew letter “nun.” If you ever wondered why your Bible has Hebrew letters at the head of each section of Psalm 119, here’s your reason.

30 Days in the Bible, Day 8: Psalm 19:7-14

[NOTE: In the “30 Days in the Bible” devotional, the reference for this is given as Psalm 10:7-14. It is actually Psalm 19:7-14. This is a typo on my part, and one I failed to correct before sending the document to be printed. I apologize for the error.]

We think of the Bible as a book, but it might be better to view it as a library. Not only are there 66 individual books in the Bible, written by 40 or more authors, but there is a variety of literary genres represented. There is narrative (stories), poetry, epistles (letters), wisdom (sayings), apocalyptic (strange-seeming writings about the future), and several other types of writing. Most books contain more than one kind of literature; for example, many prophetic books are written in poetic form. When we read Scripture, we are getting a cross-section of the kinds of writings that were written over 1500 years of history.

Despite all the differences in form and style, however, the Bible has one message to convey. Every genre brings out different aspects of that message, and we may find we appreciate some forms more than others. The Bible tells us about God, about His standards, about our condition, and about the way of salvation.

In the Old Testament, the Law was the revelation of God’s holiness and the terrible price that had to be paid for sin. Prior to the coming of Jesus to fulfill His earthly ministry and mission, the Law, with its sacrifices, showed that sin required the shedding of blood for forgiveness. The lambs, goats, and bulls that were sacrificed pointed to the ultimate sacrifice that would be made when Jesus went to the cross and sacrificed Himself for the forgiveness of our sins.

The psalmist here uses several words to describe the Word of God. Many of these words refer to aspects of the Law, including the word for Law (Torah) itself. He writes of statutes, precepts, commands, and decrees. While each of these terms has a slightly different shade of meaning, the idea that comes across is that whatever is written in the Word has an incredible value for us.

Perhaps more striking is the inclusion of “fear” in the list. We think of the “fear of the Lord” as our proper response to the majesty of God, not a fear that trembles afraid but one that recognizes our place in light of His glory. Here, though, the emphasis is probably more on the Word as what demands that reverential fear, the revelation of the Lord that calls us to come before Him with humility and holy respect. That use of the term fits in with the general structure of the poetry here.

Each word is connected to both an attribute and an effect:

1)      The Law is perfect, which refreshes the soul.

2)      The statutes are trustworthy, providing wisdom to those open to it.

3)      The precepts are right, and a source of joy for the heart.

4)      The commands are radiant, enlightening the eyes of our hearts.

5)      The fear is pure, and eternally existing.

6)      The decrees are firm, all of them righteous.

This could be a discussion for many posts, but the point is not to dissect the Word into its various component parts and assign them each a specific value, but to open up a larger, glorious vision of just what the Word is and does. As we continue to read and study the Word, may all of its parts continue to bless us in a variety of ways.

30 Days in the Bible, Day 7: Revelation 22:6-11, 18-19

While there are many who would agree that the Bible is God’s Word, some want to define what that means in their own way. Cults may accept the Bible, but want to add other writings that are on the same level with it. Various denominations may want to add the traditions of the church as an equal authority. Others might want to ignore parts of the Bible because they are “outdated” or “don’t speak to our modern society.” You can find many ways that the Word of God is given proper lip service, but essentially rejected in practice.

There is another way that we can “add to” or “subtract from” the Word of God without going so far in our doctrine, however. If we fail to learn, understand, and apply the whole Bible to our lives, we effectively take away from its authority. By choosing which passages we want to accept and simply ignoring those we don’t, we have placed ourselves above the Word.

One example of this kind of selective acceptance of Scripture is found with many “prosperity gospel” teachers. They emphasize the promises of the Bible regarding health, wealth, and success, while downplaying or even skipping over passages that teach about trials and tribulation. In the end, they have created a new Bible, and taken Biblical teaching out of the Word as surely as Thomas Jefferson’s scissors.

Accepting the full authority of Scripture doesn’t mean that we all will agree on every point. Christians have historically disputed doctrines like predestination and the end times. All sides in these disputes, however, recognize that they have to account for the whole of Biblical teaching. You can’t make a good case for a point of doctrine by choosing a few texts and not addressing the rest. I believe we will continue to debate many points within the church, but that those involved will do so with a proper understanding of what the Bible is and where its authority comes from.

As we read and study the Bible, we need to come to it as God’s authoritative Word. We may find parts of the Bible that are confusing to us at first, and maybe even some teachings that we wish weren’t there. There will be some passages we love to study, while others may be a real challenge to us. We need to accept all the Bible teaches, and understand the focus on Jesus as Lord and Savior, if we want it to unleash its power in our life.

Sometimes we might find that the most challenging passages aren’t the ones hard to understand, but those that we can comprehend but that tell us we need to change our lives. For example, the wonderful good news of Jesus starts with bad news: we’re sinners, separated from God, and we can’t help ourselves. People don’t like to be told they’re both evil and helpless. Without that tough foundation, though, there is no gospel, no story of how Christ came to take our place and how through faith in Him we are made right with God. You may find other teachings just a uncomfortable, but remind yourself whose Word you are reading. Then ask for the power to make the changes the Word commands.

People naturally want to make themselves the ultimate authority for their own lives. The Bible has a name for this; it’s called sin, putting yourself in God’s place. As we humble ourselves to approach God’s revelation, placing ourselves under its authority and seeking to understand its teachings better, we can overcome that desire and find our place in God’s family and kingdom.

30 Days in the Bible, Day 6: Isaiah 55:8-11

This passage is appropriate for a day in which our area has been hammered by one of the worst snowstorms we’ve ever had. We’ve got over a foot out in the yard right now, and some forecasts say we could get two feet here. Such a large amount of snow is a nuisance, making travel impossible, requiring removal from sidewalks and driveways, and creating risks for power outages.

Yet snow is beneficial in the long run. As it melts, it replenishes the water in the ground, and snow pack can bring needed water to our rivers, streams, and reservoirs come spring. It also can be beneficial to businesses that need snow and cold to operate, such as ski areas. While I’m sure I’ll be grumbling while I dig out my car tomorrow, I recognize that snow is a gift from God which blesses our earth.

Isaiah points this out in our passage today. Rain and snow come down from the heavens, and create conditions by which people can be fed and provided with drink. I don’t think the phrase “come down from heaven” is an accident; Isaiah may have used it to stress the ultimate source of these benefits as God.

Rain and snow have a purpose created by God. This purpose is used as an illustration of how God’s Word also has a purpose for which God sent it. The Bible has a power and purpose that makes it effective in bringing about God’s will. While many may read the pages of Scripture with no intent of believing what it says, or even to find problems and issues they think they can exploit, the Word can change them as they read.

There are mission organizations whose goal is to make the Bible more readily available to people. These groups believe in the power of the written Word of God. Whether by distributing Scriptures or translating them into indigenous languages, the people involved in these ministries show a confidence in the purpose of God’s Word when it is presented to those who need to know Jesus.

If we have that same commitment, we will both make use of the Word in our own lives and seek to share the Word with others. Never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit when using His inspired revelation to point people to salvation through the Jesus Christ. The Word will accomplish the purpose of God and bring about changes in human lives for His glory.

30 Days in the Bible, Day 5: 1 Corinthians 1:17-28

Christians are often thought by those in the world to be somewhat simple and foolish. While others chase after what “science” tells them, or search for some new and novel way of thinking, or pursue new combinations of ideas no one else ever thought of, Christians rest in a faith that is thousands of years old. While every generation finds new ways to apply the truths of the Bible to their contemporary lives, and seeks new ways to present the eternal truths of God to those around them, the core elements of the Christian faith do not change.

Or perhaps I should say those truths should not change. There are many who call themselves “Christians” who have abandoned the Word of God, orthodox teaching, and even Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son of God. They prefer the acclaim and appreciation of those in their world to the approval of the God who wrote Scripture. Many would rather follow the current thoughts of a sinful world than be thought of as “narrow-minded” or “old-fashioned” in their faith.

To our world, the truth of God is seen as foolishness. Paul encountered this already when he wrote to the Corinthians about AD 54-55. Christianity was only about 20 years old when it was attacked for its “foolish” teaching about the cross of Christ. To the cultured Greco-Roman world, a dead criminal could hardly be considered any kind of a god, much less the ultimate God above all gods. The wisdom of the Greek philosophers didn’t have any place for a teaching such as this.

Sadly, our own world thinks of Jesus in much the same way. The death of Jesus is accepted, but the Resurrection is not. Thus the cross is just the way a good man and great teacher died. The idea that Jesus was and is truly God is rejected out of hand. The world wants to put Jesus in a box which people can understand, and make him into something with which we are familiar, rather than accepting Him for who He really is.

Even inside of the church, people try to make Jesus acceptable to the world. A recent controversy involving a prominent evangelical college found a professor at the school claiming that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. She overlooked the fact that Muslims reject the divinity of Jesus, and so do not worship Him as God. Sadly, other teachers at the school sided with her, and urged she be kept on the faculty! To them, it was more important to be seen by those outside as tolerant and open-minded than to remain true to Christ.

If we hold fast to the Bible, and to the Savior revealed there, we will be seen by the world in a negative light. Our own intellect and wisdom will be called into question. The questions we must answer is this: are we more interested in pursuing human wisdom, or the wisdom of God? Do we want a Jesus that the world applauds, or one who judges that world? Are we willing to be thought fools by those who think they are wise, so that we might gain the true wisdom that comes through Jesus Christ? The way you answer will show where you believe wisdom lies.

30 Days in the Bible, Day 4: Hebrews 4:12-13

Our passage today has a curious phrase that describes the penetrating power of the Word of God. The Word is said to penetrate “even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.” The pairs in these phrases have been subject to much interpretation and speculation over the centuries. The fact that there is no consensus on what they mean seems to indicate that there is something else the author intends to convey by using this phrase.

I think the point made here is that the power of the Word penetrates to the most intimate parts of the human being. It drives into the immaterial, spiritual part of our selves, and it even affects the inner life of our body. Modern medicine has shown the connection between the body and the spirit. (Of course, many deny the existence of a spirit, and just talk about the “mind.” They leave out just what the mind is if there isn’t any spirit.) The Word of God can and does disturb us to the very depths of our being.

This is what verse 13 teaches us. Everything we do, no matter how secretive we may be, is known to God. Whether we act with our physical bodies or within our spirit, God uncovers all we think, say, and do. The Word shows us what God’s standard is, and we realize as the Word confronts us just how far short of that standard we fall.

If it wasn’t for the forgiveness available to us through Jesus, the Word’s penetrating power would leave us spiritual and physical wrecks. That very disturbance, however, shows us our need for salvation, and the Bible also reveals to us the way to that salvation, the person and work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Even more, Scripture reveals to us that we have forgiveness of all of our sins, even those we commit after salvation, through the blood of Jesus. Our hopelessness is turned to hope through Him.

As we become aware of our sinfulness, and as God’s Word reveals His standards and His provision, our very core is shaken and remade. The penetrating power of the Word shows us our need, and shows us our Savior. When we come in faith to Jesus, we are reborn and remade, and our life at every level is changed forever.

30 Days in the Bible, Day 3: 2 Peter 1:16-21

There are so many theologies and philosophies around today that it can be overwhelming. I think one of the chief motivations behind people who hold to some kind of relativism is the desire to avoid thinking about and evaluating the truth claims of all those systems. If we pretend that they all are somehow equal, maybe even the same deep down, we don’t have to examine them and decide which are true and which are false.

This can’t be held for long, however. There are contradictory claims made by different thinkers, and these contradictions can’t just be swept under the rug. For example, Christians believe that Jesus is God, while Jews and Muslims do not, and atheists don’t believe that there is any God. All of those groups cannot be correct, no matter how much wishful thinking we engage in.

Peter is emphatic here in today’s passage that the followers of Jesus have a solid foundation of truth for their faith. There are two solid foundations for the beliefs we hold. The first is that Jesus’ life was seen by many eyewitnesses. Some of those witnesses wrote about Him themselves, while others received their information directly from eyewitnesses. Unlike the myths about gods in human form in Greek or Roman mythology, those who were alive at the time of Jesus saw Him as He lived, taught, and performed miracles, and the stories about Jesus were told by those who saw Him.

The second solid foundation is the Word that is inspired by the Holy Spirit. The authority of the Bible does not rest on the wisdom and genus of human authors, but on the God who inspired them to write. We aren’t reading the opinions of people, but the revelation of God. I enjoy reading early Christian writings, and I admire the wisdom and thoughtfulness of many authors from the first centuries of the church. However, I don’t mistake their wisdom for God’s Word. They themselves used the Scriptures to make their points, and relied on the power of the Word rather than their own minds to teach the truth.

If we want to know the truth, we need a reliable source. As we read the inspired Word of God, and we see what those who saw Jesus have to say about Him, we can have confidence that He is the Way to the Father, and that He is the Wisdom we need for our lives today.

30 Days in the Bible, Day 2: John 1:1-14

Any discussion of God's Word has to begin with the Person who embodied that Word, Jesus Christ. John applies the Greek word "logos" to Jesus four times in the prologue to his gospel. While he may have borrowed the term from Greek philosophy, John gives it a much different content. "Logos" isn't just a philosophical construct, or even some sort of archetype which may have a reality beyond our world. The "Logos" in John is a divine Person, eternally existent with God while also being God Himself.

The doctrine of the Incarnation is one that goes beyond anything we can imagine a finite human beings. How can Jesus be both fully God and fully human at the same time? I don't pretend to have an explanation of it, but I think that the revelation of God as Triune and the revelation of Jesus as the God-man are meant to stagger us. If we believe the Word of God, and if we believe these teachings of the Word, we have a God who we can't fully comprehend, who is beyond us not only in power but in His very being. If God is like this, then He is isn't a simple God we can grasp and manipulate for our own purposes.

Jesus, as the living Word, pointed the way to the Father in His teachings. The Word gave us His words, and those words have been passed along to us by those who heard Him speak. Although Jesus certainly said much more than we have in Scripture (as John himself points out in John 21:25), what we have is what He wanted us to know. The Holy Spirit inspired the authors of the gospels (and the rest of the New Testament) to write down the teachings of and about Jesus that were needed for all generations.

We, of course, did not see or hear Jesus while He was here on earth. Yet we still have access to the Word through the Word. The Bible reveals the truth about the living Word, Jesus, to us today. All of Scripture speaks about Him; Jesus even made that point Himself (John 5:39). May the written Word of God guide us to the living Word every day as we read and study it for His glory.

30 Days in the Bible, Day 1: 2 Timothy 3:14-17

The inspiration of the Bible is a critical teaching for the Christian. If the Bible is merely the spiritually motivated work of human beings, it may have some value, but we can pick and choose what still applies today. If it is truly God's Word, however, then it has authority over us no matter where and when we live.

While there is power in all that the Bible teaches, Paul points out its supreme value to Timothy in verse 15. He states the the Scriptures are "able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." (NIV) There is a reason that we need a special revelation from God Himself. As much as we can learn about Him through creation and conscience, we cannot learn His purpose for us without hearing from Him.

The central theme of the Bible is Jesus. Whether you are in the Old Testament or New, what we read is pointing us to the accomplishment of our salvation through Jesus' death and resurrection. We might be able to learn the historical facts about these events through those who witnessed them and wrote about them, but we would not know just what they meant without the inspired Word. 

When we read God's Word, we are confronted with the immense love that Christ had for us, the tremendous sacrifice He made for us, and our need for faith in Him to be forgiven of our sins and made right with God. Through the Holy Spirit, we respond to Jesus in faith, and we are saved. It is then that the four functions of Scripture listed in verse 17 will have an impact on our lives: teaching, rebuking, correction, and training in righteousness.

We cannot have a genuine faith in Jesus Christ without knowing what the Word teaches us about Him. It is the Bible that reveals who Jesus is, what He has done for us, and how we can come to Him. The Bible is story God tells to us, so that we might be restored to Him through His Son. As children of God, we should seek to spend time with our Father's revelation so we may understand how we may please and honor Him.

30 Days in the Bible: Introduction

At my home church, we are going through our annual "30 Days in the Bible." We give out a devotional that people can use for 30 days to spend time in the Word and to be inspired to study the Bible. (A draft of this guide in PDF format may be found here if you would like to use it.) I will be adding some additional observations about the passages on certain days here on this blog. Each post should be a stand-alone devotional of its own. Even if you aren't following the "30 Days," guide, I hope you will still find the comments here helpful.