Ancient Word; Anchoring Words
When the amount of uncertainty swirls around us as it has in recent days, I am so grateful that the God who created the universe has communicated to us directly. I am so thankful for the anchoring truth of the Bible.
That may sound like church lady talk but, it’s not just that. I’m committed to recovery from that faux existence. This esteem for the Word is REALLY important for life, especially for when we are outside the church.
The Bible is so much more than ancient literature or bedtime stories. Creator God makes Himself know through the Bible. He wants us to know Him and be at peace with Him. God has preserved His Word for so many centuries because He loves us and doesn’t want us to live in fear or uncertainty. THAT, my friend, is breathtaking!
For what can be known about God is plain to them,
because God has shown it to them.
For his invisible attributes, namely,
his eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly perceived,
ever since the creation of the world,
in the things that have been made.
So they are without excuse. Romans 1:19-20
As turmoil swirls around us – not just the normal personal stuff but national and even global turmoil – we need the anchoring truth of the Scriptures which transcends time, cultures, racial bias, political systems, religious trends, and historic context.
The stories of Scripture demonstrate how God has powerfully and tenderly kept His promises to all kinds of people in all kinds of ways.
The songs of Scripture show us how God delights in our celebrations of His faithfulness and His loving-kindness and His rescues.
The sermons of Scripture explain His purposes, His character, and His plans, even when they unfold in ways that our broken imaginations can’t grasp and our limited understanding cannot fathom.
Meditate on the lyrics of “Ancient Words.”
Now is not the time to take that Word for granted. Now is not the time to hear it casually. Now is not the time to view it as one of several good opinions. Now is not the time to miss its timeless, life-giving value.
Now is the time to really think about what we hold in our hands when we open the Scriptures. Now is the time to be familiar with the promises and instructions. Now is the time to hear it – as deeply as its Source deserves.
Now is the time to remember that the Living Word, Jesus, left Heaven to live out God’s truth in front of us (to the point of dying in our place) so that we could know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God loves us and invites us to know Him.
Now is the time to remember that we have access to the very words He breathed life into. To comprehend that after all this time this Word is still used by the Spirit of God to bring strength and hope and comfort and transformation.
Now is the time to saturate our minds with what God reveals about Himself so that our hearts are marinated with His very life in us and our lives overflow as a clear representation of our loving, powerful God.
When we read that God’s breath brought life to Adam and power to believers at Pentecost, we can better understand that His very breath is infused into the words of Scripture so that they are living and powerful (i.e. inspired). This is no ordinary book!
Jim preached about the Power of the God-Breathed Word recently.
His prayer keeps echoing in my heart:
I pray that the Word of God will spread across our land like a mighty rushing wind transforming our racist, dishonest, hate-filled world into a world filled with unity, honesty, integrity and love, where God’s name is honored and not removed or defamed, where lying is not condoned, where truth is practiced, and selfless leadership is honored, where Christ’s name is declared, where lives are transformed and relationships are healed, where forgiveness and grace abounds, where His Word is preached and God is glorified.
O, dear God, bring that mighty rushing wind of Your breath to our land, do what You did at Creation, do what You did to Adam, do what You did to the disciples in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. Bring it, God, we pray, by the power of Your God-breathed Word. Amen
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