RELEVANCY?

A COMMON QUESTION?

  A sister in Christ once told Ann and I that their family’s church has a new pastor and that he is insistent about every parishioner bringing their own Bible, and looking up the Scripture he is preaching/teaching on, and following along as he does so.

  My silent reaction was “Wonderful!” and remembering that prior to coming to Omaha in 84’, our family never attended a church where everyone didn’t carry their personal Bible, turn to the subject verses and follow along in preaching and teaching settings. (References given, you would hear the rustling of pages.) Nor until 31 years ago had we been around so many Christians that had difficulty locating books and passages in the Bible when required to do so.

  Is this because there is a common question that we seldom now ask or hear: Does the God’s Word say anything about contemporary events, stresses, problems, needs, wants, habits, decisions to be made et al? Plus, if so, how do I find it in God’s Word?

  None of the above is meant to be holier-than-thou criticism on my part, but a call for those of us that claim Jesus is Lord, saying we believe His Word, to turn to His Book. Consider the thoughts of some of our forerunners on this topic.

  St. Augustine (354-430) “The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.”

  Martin Luther (1483-1546) “The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.”

  George Mueller (1805-1898) “The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts.”

  Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) “Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years.”

  Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) “In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and strength.”

  Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) “Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet-anchor of your liberties; write its precepts in your hearts, and practice them in your lives. To the influence of this book we are all indebted for all the true progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future.”

  Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) “”I never had any doubt about it being of divine origin …. Point out to me any similar collection of writings that has lasted for as many thousands of years and is still a bestseller, worldwide. It had to be of divine origin.”

  These days I enjoy the at-hand convenience of several Bible translations, commentaries, and Hebrew and Greek definitions in my pocket downloaded free in my iPhone.    

EBB4  July 8, 2015