Home  |  Previous  |  Next  |  lftd05

Mar.28.05: Light for the Day - "If It Be the Word of God …"

-- John 1:1-5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.
4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

----------------------
If It Be the Word of God …

G. Campbell Morgan had grown up in a Christian home, never questioning that the Bible was the Word of God. But in college, his faith was severely challenged and he began to entertain doubts. “The whole intellectual world was under the mastery of the physical scientists,” he later said, “and of a materialistic and rationalistic philosophy. Darwin, Huxley, Tyndall, Spencer, Bain, ... . There came a moment when I was sure of nothing.”

In those days, opponents of the Bible appeared every Sunday in great lecture and concert halls across England, attacking Christianity and the Bible, and these brilliant atheists and agnostics troubled the young student. He read every book he could find, both for and against the Bible, both for and against Christianity, until he was so confused, so riddled with doubt that he felt he couldn’t go on.

In desperation, he closed his books, put them in his cupboard and turned the lock. Going down to a bookshop, he bought a new Bible, returned to his room, sat down at his desk, and opened it. 

He said, I am no longer sure that this is what my father claims it to be—the Word of God. But of this I am sure. If it be the Word of God, and if I come to it with an unprejudiced and open mind, it will bring assurance to my soul of itself. As he looked into the book before him, studying its form and structure and unity and message, he was amazed. He later said, That Bible found me. I began to read and study it then, in 1883, and I have been a student ever since.*

-- Nelson's complete book of stories

------------------------
-- Psalm 119:9-11
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? 
By living according to Your word.
10 I seek You with all my heart; 
do not let me stray from Your commands.
11 I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.

-- Psalm 119: 81,89,90,101,105,113
81 My soul faints with longing for Your salvation, 
but I have put my hope in Your word.
89 Your word, O LORD, is eternal; 
it stands firm in the heavens.
90 Your faithfulness continues through all generations; 
You established the earth, and it endures.
101 I have refused to walk on any path of evil, 
that I may remain obedient to Your word.
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.
114 You are my refuge and my shield; 
Your word is my only source of hope.
133 Direct my footsteps according to Your word; 
let no sin rule over me.

-- Colossians 2:6-8
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him,
7 rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

-- 2 Timothy 3:12-15
12 Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
13 But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will go on deceiving others, and they themselves will be deceived.
14 But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.
15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.
-- 2 Timothy 3:16,17 *** God's Word ***
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.
17 It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.

-----------------------
-- Matthew 5:18 
I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

-- Revelation 22:18-21
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.
19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
20 He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon!" Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

<Revelation 22:21 is the last verse in the Bible>