March 11, 2018
Hymn 349 - New for little Children
Prayer
Last time we looked at Proverbs, there were some verses that talked about God’s Word. Today, let’s look at some other verses that speak about the Bible, and see what they tell us about it. Sometimes we forget how important the Bible is, and have to be reminded. There was once a family being visited by a godly brother. The father said to his son, “Son, why don’t you go get that good book that we all love so much?” Promptly the boy went and returned with the Sears catalog, greatly embarrassing His parents! The Bible should be the good book that we love so much.
1 - Inspired 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21. These verses tell how God inspired Scripture. It wasn’t man’s idea or will, but instead was given by God. Only God was present at Creation, and yet Moses wrote the book of Genesis. God told him what happened so that he could write about it. Some things in the Bible are history, while other things were prophetic, and would happen in the future. A lot of those prophesies were fulfilled when Jesus came to Earth, while others are still to come. The Bible is God’s word, and He has preserved it for us over many years.
2 - Truth John 17:17. This verse calls God’s word the truth. Jesus Himself was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Bible is truth. Many people doubt it, but we can verify the history and stories that it tells. We can see that many of it’s prophesies have come true. We must accept all of it, or none of it. We don’t have to doubt it; what we read is true.
3 - Eternal 1 Peter 1:25. The Bible will last forever; it will be Eternal. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” God has a place for the Bible in eternity. Many people have tried to get rid of it, or thought that it would disappear, but God has carried it on. We can be thankful that we still have it!
4 - Sufficient Proverbs 30:5-6. Some may think, “The Bible is an old book. Is it still important for us today?” Well, Agur here tells us not to add or take away from God’s word. It is sufficient, and is all we need to help us live for God. It is all that we need for salvation and our Christian pathway. We don’t need to add to it, or look to other “scriptures”. It is the full revelation for every need. Psalm 12:6 tells us that God’s word is pure; there is nothing missing from it.
5 - Faith Romans 10:17. The Word of God gives us the understanding to live by faith. The Holy Spirit must teach it to us (otherwise it seems like foolishness) and through reading it, God will give us faith. The Scripture is powerful, and it will have an effect on those who hear it. God says that it will not return to Him void, but will accomplish what He wants.
6 - Joy Jeremiah 15:16. We should get joy from the Bible as we read about God’s salvation, promises, His care, and His protection. We know that we can depend on Him, and this should bring us joy. This encourages us to get into the Bible and read it every day, so that we know more about God. We receive spiritual strength as we read, and we need to have an appetite for the word daily.
7 - A Lamp Psalm 119:105, 130a. The Bible is like a light to our path. We’re always happy to have a flashlight in the dark so that we don’t stumble. Similarly, the word of God helps us know what to do and how to act in this dark world.
8 - Valuable Psalm 119:128. Is God’s word valuable to us? Do we see it as a gift, a revelation, from God? Having it is better than having all the treasures of Earth. We should want to understand it in a way that affects us like this. May we value our Bibles!
James 5:1-20
The beginning of this chapter appears to be written to unbelieving Jews. Some of them were more occupied with riches then with God. James gave them a word of warning. Riches can get a hold of people and becomes the most important thing in their life. They strive so hard to get and end up doing more harm in the end. They may have gained at the cost of others.
In verses four through six we have a matter of fraud. They were using the people they hired. They appear to have been reaping crops. God took note of the fraud and heard the reapers’ cries. The money doesn’t seem to have been used for God. Verse five makes them sound a bit like beasts. And in verse six they ended up killing the just; which is exactly what they did to the Lord. “the love of money is the root of evil”. Money in itself isn’t evil. It’s the greed or love to have more that is the error.
In verse eight James is now talking to true believers. What gives us to go on day by day? The hope of His coming. They were to go on patiently in view of this hope. The pathway takes patience. It doesn’t always turn out like we hope. We need to anchor our hearts in God Word. It is our guide, compass, and all we need.
Darby translates “grudge” in verse nine as complain meaning literally groan. God doesn’t like complainers. He’s referring to brethren here. We’re to look to the faithful ones who are going on. There comes a day when our life is spread out before the Lord. That should make us sense that we need to be careful. We need to help one another not hinder and harm.
James reminds them to take a look at the writings by the prophets when life wasn’t what they expected or hoped. We can look at Daniel and all he endured. Also Ezekiel with the captives and what he went through. He may have thought Daniel was lucky to be in the king court.
James did have a tender heart. He was holding the pen, but this was inspired by God. It is interesting how God used these men to give us His Word.
Hymn 200 - ‘Tis the hope of His coming
Prayer