Bible - Why Bother? #2 Series

Last week we focused on the purpose of the Scriptures: what are they for and why should we bother getting ourselves acquainted with them? We learned the Bible is God’s self-revelation that pulls back the curtain for us to know who God is, who we are, the purpose of our lives, and the destiny of the world. We also learned of seven distinct blessings which come from engaging with them.

I heard a story not too long ago about a man in prison and his Bible. It seems there was a young man in prison who was serving 5 years for multiple offenses. It was a tough road for the young man’s mother. She went to the prison as often as she could. She lived in the city and the young man was incarcerated downstate. It took her a bus, a train and a taxi to get there. If she couldn’t go, she would mail a letter. On one particular visit, her son asked her to loan him few hundred dollars to buy supplies and books. She said she would think about it. The next week a Bible came in the mail from home. On the top of the Bible, there was a sticky note that said, “Son, I love you. Pray and read your Bible.” The man was ticked off. He got on the phone and called his mother. “Mama, I appreciate the Bible, But what I need right now is a five hundred dollars.” She told him over the phone, “Son, Pray and read your Bible.” He got even angrier and hung up on His own mother.” He then wrote his mother a note. “Mother, I know you believe in God, but that’s the problem with you Christians. You are so heavenly minded that you don’t know how to function in the real world. When I need five hundred dollars, I don’t need a Bible. I need a check, cash or a check! If I need money, don’t send me a Bible and tell me to pray!” He received a letter back, “son read your Bible and pray. He was so irritated with his mother that for the last months he was in jail, the bible stayed in the corner of his room and he refused to see or talk to his mother. On the day he was released, she was there waiting for him. As they met for the first time, the young man said to his mother, “Mama, you let me down. I need you and you let me down.” She said what do you mean, son? I wrote you. I called you. I asked you face to face for five hundred dollars and every time you gave me this same old line. Pray and read your bible.” “Well son, did you pray and read your bible,” she asked. “Yeah. I did but I am still as broke now as I was when you told me to pray and read the bible the first time.” She asked, “Do you still have your Bible?” He reached into his satchel and handed her the book. “Son, let me ask you one more time, did you pray and read your Bible?” “Yes Mama. I told you I did.” Son, you neither prayed or read your Bible.” With that she snatched the bible and in every major section, there was a one hundred dollar bill taped to the page. If the boy would have just read the bible, he would have figured out the thing he desired most was in the book. Because he didn’t take the Word of God seriously, he never received what the word of God had to offer him. – Tony Evan’s book of illustrations. P21 (adapted)

This week we gather to discuss why the Bible is so important to some, like that man’s mother. What makes a mother wait years for her son to open the word of God? What is the Bible and how can I make sure I am interpreting it correctly?

To get started, let’s read how the Bible describes the Word of God through the following intriguing similes:

1. The bible is Like a Double Edged Sword:

o Hebrews 4:12: -”For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

2. Like Fire:

o Jer 23:29: – “”Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?”

3. Like Hammer:

o Jer 23:29: – “”Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?”

4. Like Lamp and Light:

o Ps 119:105: – “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.”