By the Word of God

"'Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?' Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them 

the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures."

Luke 24:26-27

The great preacher D.L. Moody once said, “I prayed for faith and thought that some day it would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith didn’t seem to come. One day I read in Romans that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." I had up to this time closed my Bible and prayed for faith. Now I opened my Bible and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since!" The two men on the road to Emmaus, didn't have the faith to understand the suffering and death of Christ, nor fully believe His resurrection, until Jesus "explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures." If they had been familiar with Moses and the prophets they would have known that the Messiah would have to suffer and die before He would be glorified. We know from the rest of Luke 24 that after Jesus taught them these things their eyes were opened to who He was, and they remarked how their "hearts burned" within them. God's word builds faith. If we want to know Him and have the faith that warms our hearts, we need to spend time studying the Bible. Faith doesn't come like a lightning bolt, but by the word of God.

Find the Truth

"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so."

Acts 17:11

The Berean Jews were eager to hear Paul preach. Their hearts and minds were open to what he had to share. But they didn't take what Paul said lightly. They examined it with the truth of Scripture -- the Old Testament. The word examine in the original Greek is Anakrino -- meaning to investigate, inquire into, scrutinize, sift, question; specifically in a forensic sense of a judge to hold an investigation, to interrogate. In other words, the Bereans were a serious lot when it came to spiritual teaching. When they learned what Paul taught was true, many of them became believers. It is good to listen to preachers, but we must be as noble-minded as the Bereans and test the words we hear with Scripture. Dig in, study it for ourselves in context and discern if what we have been taught is, indeed, true. U.S. Treasury agents are trained to recognize counterfeit currency by spending hours studying the real notes. They become so familiar with true currency, that false ones are easily recognized. The more time we spend in the Bible, the more truth we will learn and, consequently, the more able we will be to detect false teaching. "For [the Bereans], the Bible was not just a pretty book of poetry or mystery or nice spiritual inspiration for thoughts-for-the-day. It was a book of truth, and that truth was there to find out." -- David Gruzik

Comfort Food

"Your words were found and I ate them, 

And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;"

Jeremiah 15:16

At a Gideon convention D. J. De Pree of Zeeland, Michigan said of God's word, “We must read it (1 Tim. 4:13); eat it -- that is, take it into our very being (Job 23:12; Jer. 15:16); bathe in it for spiritual cleansing (John 15:3); look into it as a mirror to see our true self (James 1:23-25); meditate on it (Psalm 1:2; 1 Tim. 4:15); memorize it (Deut. 11:18; Psalm 119:11); study it (2 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 5:12-14); teach it to others (Deut. 11:19; Col 3:16) ; talk about it (Josh. 1:8); and sow its seeds of truth in the field of the world (Matt. 13:3-9; Luke 8:11).
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Blessed are those who feast upon the word of God. Who find joy in it and for whom it becomes the delight of their hearts. For them it is pure comfort food.

The Best Book of All

"The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body."

Ecclesiastes 12:11-12

There are many non-fiction books on my shelf, and many more on the shelves of bookstores and the public library that I will never have time to read. They are not divinely inspired. In fact, there are some authors who, after they have written a certain work, comment years later that they wrote in error. We can weary ourselves looking for answers in books written by men and women, or we can strengthen our hearts and minds by making the Bible our source of instruction. Between its covers we find all we need for an abundant life.

A Closer Look

"But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;"

1 Thessalonians 5:21

Things aren't always what they seem to be. The eagle in the photograph may appear to be real, but it isn't. It's a sculpture. The more familiar you are with a live eagle, the more easily you will discern that the one in the picture is an imitation. In the same way, the more we study the Bible and come to know the true Christ and His gospel, the better equipped we are to identify an imposter. We should never take at face value the teachings of any man or woman, but test them by the scriptures. Always take a closer look.

Be Transformed

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." 

Romans 12:2

Aligning our thoughts with the way the world thinks only takes us further away from God and His will. If we want to know the will of God, we need to spend time reading the Bible. As we do, our thoughts become more like His, and our desires follow. The customs and patterns of modern culture are no substitute for the word of God.