A most important library! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 24:25-27,

"He [Jesus] said to them, 'How foolish you are, and how slow of heart
to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have
to suffer these things and then enter his glory?' And beginning with
Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all
the Scriptures concerning himself."

Cleopas and his companion were upbraided by Jesus for being foolish
and "slow of heart to believe". Not understanding the events that had
taken place in Jerusalem concerning the arrest, crucifixion and
resurrection of Jesus betrayed a lack of faith. Jesus accompanied them
on their walk to Emmaus and we are told he responded by taking them to
the Scriptures. Luke tells us that beginning with Moses and taking
them through the prophets he explained what they needed to know about
himself. This was the need when unbelief was encountered: go to the
Bible!

I am reminded of where Paul says faith comes from, how it is generated
in the heart of an unbeliever. In Romans 10:17 he says, "Consequently,
faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through
the word of Christ." It is in the Scriptures, the Bible that God
speaks a message for us. It is this "revelation" of God, concerning
himself that provides us opportunity to come to belief in him. A vital
and most important thing for us all as Jesus himself said, "I tell you
the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has
eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death
to life." John 5:24. If we want eternal life, we have to believe in
him.

Paul points to the challenge of faith. None of us are born into it as
it is something that must be acquired. This is how Paul puts it, "How,
then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can
they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they
hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless
they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those
who bring good news!'" What is it that is preached? It is what Paul
says a few verses later when he speaks of the "word of Christ".

There are many purposes for which God gave us the Scriptures. In them
we learn of him. We read of his great love and his frightful judgment.
Additionally, he provides us truth by which we can order our lives in
this lost and fallen world. But, certainly, the most chief of all
purposes of the Scriptures is the opportunity to embrace God in faith
as we encounter him there. Of the Scriptures, as Paul says to Timothy,
"from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to
make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may
be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17.


As a most important library of sixty-six books, the Bible provides us
the opportunity for faith, just as with Cleopas and his companion on
the road to Emmaus with Jesus, exposure to the Scriptures is the
antidote for unbelief.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com