Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO 63080
Date: January 1, 2006
COMMITTING TO DAILY BIBLE STUDY
David B. Smith
A man once said of the Bible, “The Bible is an ocean of truth which is simple
enough for children to wade at its edges and deep enough to challenge the most
brilliant of inquiring minds for a lifetime.” What an apt description of God’s Holy
Book! The Bible is indeed an ocean of truth, the full depth of which has not been
reached. It can never be exhausted. Man will never “arrive,” so to speak. Thus it
requires of men a lifetime of devotion.
This is not to say that the Bible is impossible to understand. Paul stated that
the Bible is well within the ability of men to comprehend (Eph. 3:3-5). Jesus even
said that the things from heaven have been hid “from the wise and the prudent,
and hast revealed them unto babes” (Matt. 11:25). However, the Bible is a book for
a lifetime. The Psalmist yearned, “open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalm 119:18). The Bible is both the treasure
chest and the treasures within the chest. Even from a surface reading a man can
know that this is a great treasure indeed (note the principle in Matt. 13:44-46). Yet
when a man reads the Scriptures, even familiar passages, he will always find
nuggets of gold anew. Plus, the more a man reads the Bible, he will find the
personal benefit unequalled by any other activity in the world. He gains deeper
knowledge of God and the things of God (Ps. 119:18, 27); he fortifies himself
against the evil in the world (Ps. 119:11); he prepares himself to defend God and
help others know the truth (Ps. 119:42); and, he receives encouragement to press
on toward the mark (Ps. 119:54).
While the world is making resolutions for the New Year, why not make one
personally to read the Bible every day? Be like the Psalmist — “I opened my mouth,
and panted: for I longed for thy commandments” (Ps. 119:131) — and desire God’s
Word as one thirsty for water.
—Via “The Transformer,” Weekly Bulletin of the Northside church of Christ,
Calhoun, GA, December 25, 2005
THE BIBLE LIVES!
Generation follows generation — yet it lives.
Nations rise and fall — yet it lives.
Kings, dictators, presidents come and go — yet it lives.
Hated, despised, cursed — yet it lives.
Doubted, suspected, criticized — yet it lives.
Condemned by atheists — yet it lives.
Scoffed at by scorners — yet it lives.
Exaggerated by fanatics — yet it lives.
Misconstrued and misstated — yet it lives.
Ranted and raved about — yet it lives.
Its inspiration denied — yet it lives.
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The Book of God will stand secure
When sun and stars decline;
Its ageless truths will still endure
To prove its source divine.
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of
God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the
glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower
thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is
the word which by the gospel is preached unto you” (I Peter 1:23-25).
THE ANVIL
Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith’s door,
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;
Then looking, I saw upon the floor,
Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.
“How many anvils have you had,” said I,
“To wear and batter all these hammers so?”
“Just one,” said he, and then with twinkling eye;
“The anvil wears the hammers out, ye know.”
And so, thought I, the anvil of God’s Word,
For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;
Yet though the noise of falling blows was heard
The anvil is unharmed . . . the hammers gone.
John Clifford (1836-1923)
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“For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89).
“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him:
the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John
12:48).