Saturday 20 Jul 2013

Saturday Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16

Key Verse: 1 Thessalonians 2:13
13  For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

Devotion:
How do you look at the Word of God? How do you see your bible? Do you see it as another study book or a personal message from your Creator God? Do you believe it all or just the parts that you want to believe? Do you take it in and then accept the parts that will not cause arguments and put aside the parts that others will argue against?

When the apostles took the gospel message to the people they did not hold anything back. They knew that they would have to face all manner of persecution as they tried to teach the truth that Jesus had taught them; Jesus had warned them that they would face these persecutions and so they were ready for them. I’m not too sure that they were ready for the ferocity of the actions from the people but they began to understand why. They had seen what the crowds did to Jesus and they were prepared to stand up for God now; so when they saw others who were willing to take the Word of God as the absolute truth, they were encouraged!

God’s Word is holy! It is the truth. It contains all the goodness and wisdom that any one of us needs – if only we would take it in and treat it as that holy and truthful account from God! When we try to do our best to describe how important God’s Word is, we fall short of the mark. No doubt you will forget about the words that I have written down here in a short while, but hopefully you will remember the verses and how they apply in your own life. Don’t just read the bible like a book, read it like a personal message from God to you!

You will have to fight against all manner of people trying to tell you that the bible is just another book (even though it is the world’s best seller) and that it was written by men (even though it is the inspired word of God) and you will have to come up with your own reasons for believing it. Well, once you have a relationship with Christ you too will be able to say why you believe it as the truth; others who do not have that relationship will see those reasons as just another bunch of words... Do not be discouraged! God is with you!

Points to Ponder:
Do you believe your bible?

Are you really trusting your bible?