WEEKLY READINGS:
Genesis 1-3, Luke 1-3
READING FOR STUDY PAPER:
Psalm 1, 19, 119v 81-112
The need for a guide
When we are visiting a place we have never been to
before, we need some sort of a guide. It may be we
buy a map, or a guidebook. It may be we ask a friend
who has first-hand knowledge of the way - but we
must have a guide.
So, as we travel through life, we need a guide. We
need to know what is the purpose of life, and how we
should live day by day. The Bible claims to have the
answer to these questions.
The answer, of course, is in the Bible. God, the great
maker of all things, has given us the guide-book that
we need. If we would please Him, we must take that
guide-book, and read it, and study it, and think about
it day by day.
The Bible makes great claims. It speaks with
authority, claiming to be the Word of God. Many
times the prophets of the Old Testament begin their
message with the words, "Thus saith the Lord". The
apostle Paul tells us that "all Scripture is given by
inspiration of God" (2 Tim.3:16).
If these claims were not true, and the Bible were not
the Word of God, we could put it on the shelf and
forget it. However beautiful its teachings, they would
have no claim upon us.
Since the Bible is true, we dare not ignore it - unless
we want to ignore God, and cut ourselves off from
the offer of life which He has made!
How do we know that the Bible is true?
What reasons are there for believing the Bible to be
true? There are so many reasons that we cannot give
them all here, but will mention a few of them.
In the first place, we have the Lord Jesus Christ's
word for it. In His days, only the Old Testament had
been written - and Jesus believed every word of it.
Whenever He was challenged over anything that He
has said or done, He would support His words and
deeds by referring to the Old Testament.
When the Sadducees came to Him, arguing that there
was no such thing as resurrection from the dead, He
said to them,
Then again, there is the wonderful fulfilment of
prophecies. The Bible speaks, from time to time, of
events that are to come to pass hundreds of years
later.
"Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power
of God” (Matthew 22:29).
Then He went on to prove to them, from the Old
Testament, that the hope of resurrection from the
dead was part of the revelation of God.
Jesus speaks of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; of David
and Solomon, and of many other people about whom
we read in the Old Testament; and from the way in
which He speaks of them, we know that He believes
the Old Testament stories about them.
Then there is the fact that no one has ever proved the
Bible false. Many enemies of the Bible, including
some very clever men, have tried to do this, but they
have all failed. If we stop to think about this, we have
to admit that it is a remarkable thing.
Then again, there is the wonderful fulfilment of
prophecies. The Bible speaks, from time to time, of
events that are to come to pass hundreds of years
later.
In Matthew 2 for example, we read that the wise men
came to Herod to ask "Where is He that is born King
of the Jews?". Now Herod asked the chief priests this
question, and they at once replied, ,
"In Bethlehem of Judea". How did they know?
Because, hundreds of years before, it had been
prophesied in one of the books of the Old Testament -
Micah 5:2.
The history of the Bible, written so long ago, has
been proved true again and again by modern
discoveries. So we could go on finding more proofs,
but the best way is to read the Bible for ourselves.
Then, gradually we come to see how each part fits in
with the others, like the pieces of a jig-saw puzzle.
We gradually come to see what a perfect picture it
makes when complete showing to us the whole
purpose of God.
The contents of the Bible
The Bible is not really one book, but a collection of
books - 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New,
making 66 in all. They were written by many different
authors, over a period of several thousand years, yet
all combine to give us one complete story - the story
of the working of God's purpose with man, from its
very beginnings recorded in Genesis, right up to the
time when "The kingdoms of this world are become
the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He
shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev.11:15).
The Old Testament
The first five books of the Old Testament were written
by Moses, who is called in the Bible, the "servant of
God". The first book is called Genesis, which means
"beginnings". It tells us about God's dealings with
the first men on this earth.
Then follow Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronomy. These four books tell us how God
brought the Jews, whom He had chosen to be His
people, out of Egypt, and gave them the land of
Canaan (Israel). Then follow a number of books
telling the history of this people, and God's dealings
with them.
When we come to the book of Psalms, we find some
of the finest poetry that has ever been written. You
don't like poetry?
But the poetry of the Bible is different. It speaks of
feelings we all have at times, yet cannot put into
words. For instance,take these verses from Psa.8:3
& 4.
“When I consider Thy heavens, the word of Thy
fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast
ordained; What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?
and the son of man that Thou visitest him?”
Haven't you ever felt like that when you looked up at
the stars at night?
Then we have the books of the prophets - the long
prophetic works of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel,
followed by many shorter prophecies.
You will find a complete list of books at the front of
your Bible - this is just to give you some idea of their
order and content.
The New Testament
This begins with four separate stories of the life of
Christ, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John -
each one telling the story in his own way.
Then follows the story of what happened after Jesus
Christ was risen from the dead. Here we read about
the first churches that were formed, in a book called
"The Acts of the Apostles".
We have then a number of letters written by various
apostles to help these young churches and, finally,
the Book of Revelation. Again, if you want a complete
list, you will find it in the front of your Bible.
Note: If you would like more proof of the reliability of
the Bible, write and tell us, and ask for a copy of the
leaflet Is the Bible true? Of course It Is!