God Speaks Through the Bible

“This Jesus Christ is the center… of the whole Scripture. The sum of divinity is the Scripture; the sum of the Scripture is the gospel; the sum of the gospel is Jesus Christ”  - Thomas Adams

If you and I are truly Christians, we more than likely concur that God spoke to the writers of both, the Old and New Testaments in a very personal and specific way. As we have come to know, these are the words of God as he speaks today.

This “communication” with God through the Scriptures is lost on many. To these, the Bible is just a book of stories and prayers. It is nothing more than a collection of readings that are delivered in church, and then put aside until next Sunday.

In a 2013 survey, the Barna Group ascertained that nearly nine out of 10, or 88 percent, of Americans own a Bible. The same survey found that these same individuals have an average of 4.4 copies in their homes. 

However, according to the same survey, just 13 percent said they read the Bible daily. Apparently many are just using their Bibles as dust-collectors because they probably haven’t opened them in quite some time (Romans 15:4).

Look, I’m not going to go deeply into research percentages here; that’s not the point of my message. What I am trying to get across is that God is speaking to us right now, we just need to know where to find His voice.

Prayer is certainly important, you might even say that it is crucial to having a healthy relationship with Him. But so is reading the Bible! 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that, "All Scripture is God-breathed..." This means they are His very words.

Yes, we can share our most intimate thoughts, requests, and affections with God through prayer. Still, if we really want to hear Him speak to us, we have always had his words available to us in the Bible. 

19th century English Christian evangelist, George Muller said, "God is the author of the Bible, and only the truth it contains will lead people to true happiness." Even so, it's not enough to simply open the Bible and thumb through it.

One must diligently, consistently, and whole-heartedly absorb it. Our hearts and minds must be in tune with God in order to hear his speak to us (Romans 8:7). We cannot approach God with an attitude, or selfish aspirations (Psalm 119:36).

When you do sit down to read the Bible, read it reverently. Remember who you are listening to. The Word of God is precisely what you have in front of you, and should be treated as such. You will find the more you read, the clearer God speaks!

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12; Isaiah 55:11; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Luke 11:28; Proverbs 4:20 

Prayer: "And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. You, Lord, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked,"  - Psalm 12:6-7

Blessings always,

Vaunda