What Makes My Heart Sing?

For me, there's nothing more important than truth. Our arch enemy knows it sets people free. Like Christ said in John 8:31 and 32 (Bible in Basic English), "Then Jesus said to the Jews who had faith in him, 'If you keep my word, then you are truly my disciples; And you will have knowledge of what is true, and that will make you free.'"

Being able to know the truth also helps us resist the Devil and cling to Christ. As Peter admonished his readers in 1 Peter 5:8 and 9, "Be serious and keep watch; the Evil One, who is against you, goes about like a lion with open mouth in search of food; Do not give way to him but be strong in your faith, in the knowledge that your brothers who are in the world undergo the same troubles."

Old Testament worshippers also felt the wonder of God's holy law. Psalm 119:165 exclaims, "Great peace have lovers of your law; they have no cause for falling."

Falling is what causes people to turn from the truth. We read in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, "Now as to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and our meeting with him, it is our desire, my brothers, That you may not be moved in mind or troubled by a spirit, or by a word, or by a letter as from us, with the suggestion that the day of the Lord is even now come; Give no belief to false words: because there will first be a falling away from the faith, and the revelation of the man of sin, the son of destruction, Who puts himself against all authority, lifting himself up over all which is named God or is given worship; so that he takes his seat in the Temple of God, putting himself forward as God."

We can depend fully on what the Holy Spirit inspired the scripture writers to write. As Jesus said in John 17:17, "Make them holy by the true word: your word is the true word."

So important is God's word that Jesus quoted it when tempted by the Devil. Matthew 4:4 records, "But he made answer and said, 'It is in the Writings, Bread is not man's only need, but every word which comes out of the mouth of God.'"

May you always remain in the truth.

What Writing and the Gospel Have in Common

The written word is special for many reasons. It preserves history for future generations. It can be referred to in matters of law and religion in order to settle arguments. And we also get the feeling of traveling back in time when we read ancient documents.

God understands the written word's power. The Ten Commandments were written in two stone tablets, making those laws permanent. Anybody needing clarification could just read what the law said rather than depending on people and their faulty and selective memories.

The phrase, "it is written" occurs seventy-nine times in the Bible. Jesus himself quoted the Old Testament during his temptation in the wilderness. As he told Satan in Matthew 4:4 (BBE), "But he made answer and said, 'It is in the Writings, "Bread is not man's only need, but every word which comes out of the mouth of God.'"

We can also understand what power the written word has in reviving the followers of God. Israel was in one of its apostate eras when God's written law was rediscovered. As 2 Chronicles 34:14 (KJV) explains, "And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses." This resulted in nation-wide repentance.

The apostles also wrote to the churches in order to correct misunderstandings among them and to give the congregation correction. As 1 Corinthians 5:11 (BBE) reads, "But the sense of my letter was that if a brother had the name of being one who went after the desires of the flesh, or had the desire for other people's property, or was in the way of using violent language, or being the worse for drink, or took by force what was not his, you might not keep company with such a one, or take food with him."

By these examples alone, we can tell how God uses the written word to preserve his truth. I hope to include this valuable lesson in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Without the written word to refer to, people can make all sorts of bogus claims of what God said.

On Thursday, I'll post about who is considered a saint according to the Bible.