God's Message to Us

God's Message to Us - By Grant Phillips - https://www.raptureready.com/2020/07/30/gods-message-to-us-by-grant-phillips/ I certainly do not know the statistics, but I wonder if people read very much today? I'm talking about books now, not newspapers, comic books, etc. Many books today canbe read on electronic devices. I suppose that counts, but it just doesn't seem the same as holding a real book in your hand. The greatest book ever written, and I guess the least read, would have to be the Bible. As the title above says, it is God's message to us. Have you ever wondered what Godhas to say? Have you ever wondered what He is like? Maybe you have personal questions or would like to know what is going to happen to us when this earthly life is over. Adrian Rogers once said, "Someone said, 'The Bible is such a wonderful book. It is shallow enough that a little child can come and get a drink without fear of drowning,and so deep that the scholars can swim in it and never touch bottom.'" Sometimes my wife and I like to read 'legal thriller' books written by a secular author that are very well written. The author has the ability to pull you into the storysimply by using words, and has written many books. Several have even been made into movies which have also been successful. You just can't beat the Bible, though. Casual Bible readers will start nodding off to sleep about now, but those who are serious about really getting into God's Word justcan't get enough. The book of Revelation is without doubt the least read book in the Bible, but it is the only one that promises a blessing by doing so. "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near" (Revelation 1:3). If you want to know what the future holds, there it is. It's all packed into that one book ... Revelation. But that's not all; there are several books within the Bible thattells us future things, and the more we read them, the better we understand Revelation. People often get discouraged when reading the Bible, saying they just can't understand it. Hey, no one, and I mean NO ONE understands it all. Think about it. God, specificallyJesus Christ, wrote it (John 1:1-5), so no one is going to completely understand God. He is the Creator. We are the created. That would be like me trying to explain how a computer works to a grasshopper. BUT ... God wants us to understand it. Otherwise, therewould be no need for Him to write it. The only way to really understand the Bible as a Christian is to allow the Spirit of God, who we call the Holy Spirit, to teach us as we read. He is the best and only teacherwe need. If we are a Christian, we have the Spirit of God living within us. He is the pledge with which God has sealed us as a guarantee, promising we always belong to Him. "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge" (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). Many Christians are missing so many blessings by not being faithful readers of the Bible. Many try to get their spiritual 'kicks' from emotional genuflecting, instead ofthe real thing. To me, that is like eating the white of an egg instead of the yellow or eating cottage cheese instead of gravy and biscuits. Once you've had the best, the heck with all the rest. I'm sorry, but anyone who can eat just the white of an egg orcottage cheese is tougher than I am. That reminds me of sermons. (Don't ask me why.) Who knows, but this is another great example. Comparing the Bible to anything else is like comparing today's sermonetteswith sermons from men like Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Surely you must admit there has been at least once in your life that you wondered what God says about something. Don't go ask someone. Read His book. I've never known ofa question that cannot be addressed from God's Word. When you rely on someone else to tell you what God says, you're getting their opinion. Don't settle for an old used rattletrap; get a brand spanking new car. Get it from the horse's mouth, in other words.Get the original, not a copy. God has a message for each of us. It is in His book. Read the Bible. Enjoy! You'll be blessed! Grant Phillips