Thankfulfor God’s Word

 Thankfulfor God’s Word By Hal Lindsey Our primary knowledge of Jesus comes from the Bible. So how is it that so many people say they follow Jesus, but that they don’t trust the Bible? Howcan a person who doesn’t trust the Bible know that he actually follows Jesus? Jesus — the real Jesus — is revealed in the Bible. Can we know the real Jesus? Does the Bible provide a faithful record of God’s revelation to humanity? Can we be sure? Yes! The Bible is self-authenticating.That means it proves itself. It does this by way of fulfilled prophecy. Remember that Bible prophecy is not vague like Nostradamus or hit-and-miss like so many modern people who claim to be prophets. It’s specific, and it’s perfectly accurate. For instance, how could someone two or three thousand years ago make an “educated” guess about 21stcentury technology? They couldn’t. Yet the Bible says a great deal about it, and it’s right on the money! Because prophecy proves the Bible’s trustworthiness, we can completely trust the Person it points to from Genesis to Revelation — Jesus! God’s standards for those who claim to speak for Him are high — impossibly high for a charlatan or fraud. The book of Deuteronomy gives two ways toknow if a prophet can be trusted. Deuteronomy 18:21-22 addresses the question directly. “And you may say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come aboutor come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” [NASB] Start there. Do the prophet’s words come true? God promises to always tell the truth. And since He knows everything, He never has to guess. If someoneclaims to speak His words, they will get it right because they are getting it from Him. Close doesn’t count. It must be meticulously correct. It also has to agree with the other things God has revealed. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 says, “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and givesyou a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams.” [NASB] Even if the prophet seems to perform a miracle, don’t believe the prophecy if it is not consistent with what God has already revealed about Himself.God would never tell people to go after other gods. No true prophet of God would ever say such a thing. The bottom line is that God does not contradict Himself. With just those two requirements, it’s a miracle (literally) that any of the prophets survived. God set His standard high to filter out the fakes. Hisword had to be as reliable as Himself. And it is. That God chose to speak to us proves His loving care. He’s not aloof. He’s interested. Christians don’t just believe that God exists. We believe thatHe has spoken. He has not left us in silent darkness. He has given us the light of His word. And His word allows us to know, follow, and love Jesus. That’s something to be thankful for every day of every year. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. May God richly bless you through the holidays and beyond! --------------------- God’sStandard of Righteousness By Hal Lindsey The Bible has a lot to say about righteousness. But the single most important thing to remember is that our righteousness falls short of God’s righteousness. Jesus teaches this over and over in the Gospels. His teaching on adultery and murder must have been especially shocking to the religious Jews of thattime. He taught them that God’s standard is not just about what you physically do or don’t do. It’s also about your thoughts and attitudes. You can impress everyone with your actions, but God looks on the heart. Romans 10:3-4 talks specifically about the nation of Israel. But it applies to all who trust their own righteousness rather than God’s. “For they beingignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. [NKJV] To be ignorant of God’s righteousness is to be ignorant of God’s standard. In Matthew 5:48, Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Fatherwhich is in heaven is perfect.” [KJV] God is the standard. Anything short of Him is sin. People reading Matthew 5:48 see it as impossible and so they work hard to make it mean somethingless. Some point out that the Greek word used for “perfect” can also mean “complete” or “mature.” They say the Lord was simply telling us to be mature. But how mature? How complete? How perfect? As mature, complete, and perfect as you Father in Heaven. Canyou do that on your own? No. Neither can I. We are sinners and need a Savior. Those who are ignorant of God’s standard sometimes seek to establish their own righteousness. Do you remember the Lord’s parable about the Phariseeand the tax collector? The Pharisee prayed, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.” [Luke 18:11-12 NKJV] Jesus then talked about the tax collector standing at a distance, not even lifting his eyes toward heaven. He “beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be mercifulto me a sinner!’” [Luke 18:13 NKJV] Of the tax collector, Jesus said, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified.” [Luke 18:14 NKJV] Now go back to the beginning. Luke 18:9 reveals exactly why Jesus told the story. “He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that theywere righteous.” Don’t trust in your righteousness. It’s not good enough. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned….” But the verse doesn’t stop there. It goes on to say, “…and come short of the glory of God.” Think about how far we fall short of God’s glory. Most people judge their own righteousness by how their lives stack up against other people. But the real measure is not people. It is God Himself. Naturally,no mere human can measure up to Him. In fact, only God measures up to God. That’s why God the Son became a man and lived a perfect human life. Now He offers His righteousness to us as a gift. We didn’t live the perfect life that Jesus lived, but through Hisgrace we gain the benefit of it. 2 Corinthians 5:21 puts it like this. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” VISIT: PROPHECY WATCHER WEEKLY NEWS: HTTP://PROPHECY-WATCHER-WEEKLY-NEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM