This WOWED me!

It’s not every day that something wows me. Not necessarily every week either but this past week was an exception. As I prepared a message last week, my topic was the Bible specifically what is the bible. So, I turn to passages in scripture that describe this collection of 66 books we call the Bible and its purpose. Paul writing to Timothy gives us some great words as he helps Timothy in ministry.

 ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God^[a] and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 HCSB

So, I began with the first phrase there are two words to consider here. The first is “scripture.” The World English Dictionary defines scripture as “a sacred, solemn, or authoritative book or piece of writing.” Other religions have their sacred writings. Islam the Koran, Mormonism the book of Mormon, Hinduism has the Bhagavad-Gita to name a few but the Bible is the is the Christian Faith’s sacred writing or---scripture.

The second word we must consider is inspired. You may notice a footnote

 Footnotes:

1. 2 Timothy 3:16 Lit breathed out by God; the Scripture is the product of God’s Spirit working through men;

The word in Greek is theopneustos Pronunciation the-o'-pnyü-stos it is used only once in the Greek. In all 27 of the New Testament books this word is used only once. In my way of thinking it appears only once because in the very precise language of Greek it describes only one thing “inspired by God.” Follow me down a road of thought for a minute. When a person is choking the time to perform the Heimlich is when they have insufficient air exchange. You know this when they can no longer speak. To speak there must be air-moving, breath. Breath is what we use to make sound and form words. In Genesis 1 God spoke and created life. In Genesis 2:7 God breathed the breath of life into Adam. Then in John 1 we read, “the Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.” (The Message) The breathed out spoken word of God became the incarnate living word. This book we call the Bible is special and not just because it was the first book printed or the all time best seller but because it is literally the sacred, God breathed out Word that gives life.

When we open and read this most special book we don’t simply take in knowledge but we can breathe in the very breath of God. The breath that spoke nothing into something, stars and planets, plants and animals, water and dry land and ultimately man and woman. Now that is something yet a July 2013 State of the Bible survey commissioned by the American Bible Society revealed 57% of the people surveyed read it less than 5 times a year and more than half (57%) of those ages 18-28 report reading the Bible less than three times a year or never. Is this true of you?

Why would you not read it when you are tired, discouraged, depressed, distraught, beat down, overtaxed, had the life sucked out of you tired? It alone is the breathed out word of God who gives love and life meaning and purpose simply because he wants to! I suggest you change that! So, here is what I ask of you today. I challenge you to commit for the next 7 days to read the sacred, God breathed out Word that gives life every day. At a minimum one chapter or 10 minutes more if that ups your ante. God is always asking us to come to him for rest for life for hope for joy. The Bible is his rest and joy, hope and life.

One word of caution, if you like how things are now don’t open the Bible, don’t you breathe in the breath of God in his word that brings life. It will transform you and the way you live. If you don’t want that then DON’T DO THIS.

In His Service and Yours,

BroG