Jump Start # 1628

2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

  The B-I-B-L-E, yes, that’s the book for me…is a great song that is sung in VBS and children’s classes. It is the book for me. Our verse today, very familiar and oft used by preachers, reminds us of the place of God’s word in our lives and our responsibility toward it.

There are some things the Bible won’t do. That is shocking for some to hear. They feel that the Bible is the end all solution to all things. Just read a verse, we are told, like taking a daily vitamin, and everything will be ok. Preachers some how work in “study your Bible” into every lesson, no matter what the topic.

What are some things the Bible won’t do:

1. The Bible doesn’t answer every question. That’s surprising to many of us. Got a question, run to the Bible.  That’s not the intention nor the purpose of the Bible. It is not Heaven’s encyclopedia to look things up. Who did Cain marry? What happened to the dinosaurs? Where did the devil come from? Why did Jesus pick polar opposites, like Simon the zealot and Matthew to be apostles? Were James and John His cousins? Those are just questions from the book. What about questions in your life? Should I marry her? Should I take the promotion and move? Should I get involved or mind my own business? Just how much should I give?  Questions, questions, questions. The Bible doesn’t answer all of these.

2. The Bible doesn’t foretell my specific future. How long will I live? How many kids will I have? The Bible isn’t written to reveal those things. It can show us if we are pleasing to God and ultimately if we are on the path to Heaven or not, but so many details about the future, will not be found in the Bible.

3. The Bible alone won’t solve all of my problems. This is where we sometimes leave the wrong impression. Are you discouraged? Just read a verse. Confused? Read a verse. Having doubts today? Read a verse. Feeling tired? Read a verse. Worried? Read a verse. Reading those verses many give you solutions, they can strengthen your faith, but just reading alone won’t make your problems go away. Just reading a verse won’t fix a troubled marriage. It won’t bring home a wayward child. It won’t bring unity to dysfunctional relationships. YOU have to work on those things. Reading a verse doesn’t do it without your input, your changing things and your involvement. We hand out verses like they are anti-biotics. Just take a couple a day and you will feel better and be back to normal in a short time. No, it doesn’t work that way. Worry won’t stop just because you read a verse. You have to make some changes about how things affect you. The Scriptures can lead you, but you have to do something. Reading a verse won’t bring back communication in a strained relationship. You have to sit down and talk. The Bible can remind us, shape us, encourage us and help us, but we have to take the steps and roll up our sleeves and do things.

4. The Bible isn’t the end to all that I must do to please God. Reading the Bible is much easier than living the Bible. To read the Bible but that’s it, doesn’t mean that a person knows God nor is doing what God says. More than just reading, is becoming. Peter said, “Be holy as He is holy. Be—become that light in the world. Become a disciple of Jesus.  Become a living stone. Change.

5. The Bible doesn’t tell us every detail of what we must do. Now, I am not implying that there are additional revelations, or, more messages coming from Heaven. When Paul listed the works of the flesh, in Galatians 5, he said, “envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, Justas I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal 5:21). What are the THINGS LIKE THESE? Paul didn’t list a complete itemized list of the works of the flesh. There are SUCH THINGS and THINGS LIKE THESE that the spiritual heart will recognize through the teachings of God’s word that are also wrong. In Hebrews we find, “Solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” Discern is to think. Not everything is spelled out. Not everything can be found on a list. There is some discerning that must take place.

Our verse today, presents two powerful actions. First, be diligent. Older translations use the word, “Study.” Diligence is the idea of getting at something. Getting busy. Action. Not delaying. Make pleasing God first on your “To-do” list. You want God to approve of you. If the world slaps you on the back, but you have disappointed God, you have failed. Be God approved. You cannot be right with God and wrong with His word. Don’t be like a workman who is ashamed. Don’t stand in line to get a paycheck for doing nothing. We see that all the time. Co-workers who spend the day on the phone or playing games on the computer and not doing much work. They find ways not to work. They ought to turn their paycheck back in, but they won’t. They gladly accept a wage for doing nothing. They ought to be ashamed. You are not to be that way. You are to be serious about pleasing God.

The other action involves handling God’s word. Handle it accurately or carefully. Have you ever been to a military funeral? I’ve done several. After my part, the military takes over. Very solemn. Guns are fired. Taps is played. And then the flag that is draped over the casket is reverently folded with extreme care and dignity and handed to the family. Many times, those that are folding the flag are wearing white gloves. The family holds that flag to their chest. In many homes, we have special display cases that we keep those flags in. They are special. Handle God’s word that way. Don’t be careless. Don’t skip the details. Don’t assume. Do your homework. Look up words. Chase those rabbits. Know it. Know it well. Know it accurately.

Knowledge of God’s word will drive out fear and error. It will help us build confidence and it feeds our faith. It is through our faith and walk with the Lord that we please God. It is our faith that conquers fear and allows us to stand boldly with the Lord.

Don’t settle for, “It’s in the Bible somewhere…” Find it and know where it is. State a passage correctly. Understand how your English Bible fits together—the chronology of the books and the history and the background of the times. Know dates. Know names. Know why this or that happened? Make your Bible user friendly. Underline in it. Write things in the margins and back pages. Write other verse references. Tape things in the back that will help you. Make it friendly to you. Don’t be afraid of it. Handle it. Handle it accurately, but handle it. Understand it. Use it. Go to it.

It’s been said that a Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone whose life is not falling apart.

Give me the Bible…more than a hymn, a way of life for the child of God.

Roger