Dear Precious Friends,
On this fill our soul Sunday, I pray you are able to worship God, take in His word, fill your soul with truth as we prepare for a new week!
When I first began really seeking God's word for my life, I was in an amazing Bible study with a group of the most amazing Godly women. We always started the study with this song: (PLEASE CLICK THE LINK AND LISTEN TO THIS BEAUTIFUL SONG)
THY WORD, Amy Grant
Here are the lyrics:
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path
When I feel afraid, think I've lost my way
Still You're there right beside me
Nothing will I fear as long as you are near
Please be near me to the end
I will not forget your love for me
And yet my heart forever is wandering
Jesus be my guide, hold me to Your side
And I will love You to the end
Nothing will I fear as long as you are near
Please be near me to the end
And a light unto my path
You're the light unto my path
I would watch the other ladies sing this song with eyes closed and such passion, joy and tears....all I could think is how much I wanted to understand this same feeling and know what was in God's word that would invoke such a response.
Little did I know this was the beginning of the most life changing journey where God's word would be the absolute truth to my life and where I could never get enough... like the deer panting for water, so my soul thirsts for you Lord.
God's word is our absolute truth and the more we study it the closer we get tot he Lord... In the beginning was the word, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Bible contains 66 books, written by approximately 40 different writers, over 1600 years, on 3 different continents, in 3 different languages, on thousands of different subjects, yet with one central theme—God's redemption of mankind from sin won for the whole world by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible is internally consistent ("self consistent" or "logically consistent")It is historically accurate when it speaks on historical matters.
The authors would be trustworthy. Those who try to disprove it's truth have become our greatest believers. The Bible has many prophecies. A prophecy is when someone tells us what will happen in the future. In the Bible it means, at the time the verse was written, God was telling people what would happen in their future.
The Bible has around 1,817 prophecies.
Prophecies are a very important thing to pay attention to because if someone claims to know the future but ends up being wrong, then they are liars and should not be trusted. So, if we want to know if we can trust the God of the Bible we have to know if His prophecies came true or not.
In other words, prophecies are important because when they come true, they give us proof that God is who He says He is. And it also proves that the Bible is the Word of God.
What’s interesting about the prophecies in the Bible is that they have all either come true already, just as God said they would, or the time has not yet come for them to happen. But I want you to look into this for yourself as well; you shouldn’t just take my word for it, because when you study the prophecies for yourself it will help your own personal faith in God to grow.
My Mentors Jim and Shirley Cashion, Ginger Carlson, Pastor Joel & Becky Hunter, Dana Woods, and so many more would always say it all starts with knowing that God's word is the ABSOLUTE TRUTH. NO QUESTION...100% TRUTH!!! The more we read it the more we are ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN OF THIS!!!
Let's just take Isaiah 53.... This chapter is a prophecy and reminds us that Jesus was born around the year 4 BC but the book of Isaiah was written between 739 and 681 BC. So, this means that more than 600 years before Jesus was born, God told Isaiah that Jesus would be born. Also, the majority of the book of Isaiah in written on one of the 7 original Dead Sea Scrolls which were discovered in a cave in Qumran. This scroll is dated to be from the year 125 BC which means there is a physical copy of this prophecy in existence today which was written 121 years before Jesus was born. WOW WOW WOW... This is just one example of proof of God's truth!!!
We journey through a fallen world with many dangerous pitfalls, slippery places, and dark foes seeking to destroy our close fellowship with our Lord, but in Psalm 119, we are given a beautiful promise and an eternal truth... that God's Word is a gleaming lamp to our feet that will guide us through the darkness of this fallen world and it is a shining light to brighten the pathway we take.
Not only are there external difficulties and dangers to face in life's journey, but also there are internal failings and weaknesses that lurk deep within our soul which can cause us to walk away from our 'First Love'... but God's Word provides a sure foundation upon which to stand in a darkened world that is falling apart.
Scripture is our secure guidebook to return us into a right relationship with the Lord when we abandon the road of righteousness or stray from the path of peace.
The Word of God is an inextinguishable lamp to guide us along the right path, and it is a radiant light that banishes the shadows of uncertainty, by illuminating the next step in this sin-soaked world.
Opening-up of the pages of Scripture will brighten the path we take, re-energize our hope in Christ, and provide understanding to the one who walks humbly before the Lord.
God's Word is the light of truth that is written for our learning to lead us away from each shadowy danger that crosses our path and to strengthen our faith in our Savior as He gently leads us. It lifts the darkness before us... and straightens every crooked path.
His Word not only brightens our pathway, guards us on our journey through life, and warns us of each lurking danger, but it is a treasure-trove of precious gemstones to be hidden deep within our heart - for it contains words of wisdom to guide our thinking, precious promises to encourage our hearts, godly instruction on how to live as the Lord desires us to live, and it is the perfect pattern for Christian living as well as the qualified adjudicator of our daily conduct.
The Bible is the sure Word of the living God, Who has told us the end from the beginning, and all God’s children do well to take heed to its precious pages as unto a light that shines in a dark place.
When we read, highlight, learn, and inwardly digest the Word of God, and guard it within our hearts, it is a lamp to our feet, a light to our path, and it brightens up every corner of our lives - for it is God's instrument to lead us into holiness and to guide our feet into His way of truth.
I know one day my son Branson will have my Bible when I go to heaven... I love making sure when I read a passage and it means so much to me, I write to the side, highlight and make certain to share the truth spoken in whatever season of life I am in. See picture posted of my Bible.
Charles Spurgeon says a well worn Bible is equal to someone who isn't!
AMEN!!
My Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your written Word which provides me with such strength for today and great hope for tomorrow. As I step out into the darkness of this fallen world, I pray that Your Word would truly lighten the way I take and lead me in the path of righteousness. Help me to hide its truths in my heart, and may I be ready and willing to follow Your will for my life as I face the difficulties and trials that lies ahead, in the strength of Your mighty power. Thank You for Your Word of light and truth in this dark world. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.
Source: God's word, Holy Spirit, Knowing Jesus Devo
