God Communicates with us through His Word - The Bible

Introduction: Is it not remarkable that the God of the universe, the creator and sustainer of all that is seen and unseen – would actually want to communicate with us? After all we are creators of a material, physical world to which we relate through our five senses. God is a Spirit and we in our physical state cannot see Him, hear Him, touch Him, so how can He communicate with us? He does so through the Bible. In a miraculous way the Bible speaks to each of us. Its truths apply across generations, across cultures, across all life experience.

We are pleased to share with you some wonderful insights from DEVOTIONS FOR A DEEPER LIFE by Oswald Chambers. Enjoy! “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” - Matthew 28:19.

What does the Bible mean when it says to be an example to the flock of God? You must be walking example of what you believe, in every moment of your life, known and unknown. You must bear the scrutiny of God until you prove that you are indeed a specimen of what He can do. Then He will send you out to disciple all nations.

What souls are born again into the kingdom of God, the church of Christ makes a tremendous rejoicing, as it ought to make. But then what does it do? When God brings souls to you, what have you to do? Disciple them! And the only way you can disciple them is, not by making them proselytes of your views, but by teaching them to do what Jesus commanded you.

Do you say, “Do as I say, but not as I do'? To disciple people for God, we must become what other people should be. Prayer thought: I resolve to be a true example of the transforming grace of God.

“Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why live, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules” - Colossians 2:20 Everyone attempts to communicate directly with God. This is why mysticism is a natural ingredient in everybody's make-up, whether he calls himself “atheist,” “agnostic,” or “Christian.”

Jesus Christ reveals that we come into communion with God only through Him. If we refuse Him, we probably will be deluded by supernatural forces stronger than we are. We are deluded into thinking that we can have communion with God though self-denial or, as the apostle Paul puts it, “will-worship and neglecting of bodies.” People can be so wonderfully devout in the mistaken ways of dealing with God!

But when Jesus Christ brings us into communion with God, He does not give us a set of rules and prohibitions. He does not call us to make ourselves nothing. Rather, He transforms our bodies, our relationships, our possessions, and every aspect of our lives as He reconciles us to God. Prayer Thought: I praise Your name, O Jesus, for redeeming me from a life of confusion.

“The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave [a] came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow” - Psalm 116:3. God will put you through many trials to make you “good bread” for the little ones to eat. He wants to bake you well enough to be His standard bread; then He can break you for the little ones, for the feeble amongst the flock.

The apostle Paul said, “I am willing to be accursed from God if Israel my kinsmen could be saved that way. I am willing to spend and be spent, though the more I love, the less I be loved” – 2 Cor. 12:15. What was the ruling passion in that man's life? His devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Have you lost that consuming passion? Remember the Lord Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, and ask the Spirit of God to give you a full insight into that. Ask Him that you may understand it again, and understand it in a new way. Then go forth and “measure your life by loss, not be gain; by the wine poured forth, not by the wine drunk.”

Prayer Thought: O God, make me a blessing to others. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished – Matthew 5:18

The Bible is a universe revelation facts, not known to uregenereted common sense, and the only exegete of these words is the Holy Spirit. Understanding comes only to be degree of the individual's reception, recognition, and reliance on the Holy Spirit. Just as facts in the natural world have to be accepted, so facts in the biblical world of God's will have to be accepted. Our explanation of the facts may be more or less open to dispute. But we can alter the facts.

The Bible is God's revelation of Himself in the interest of grace. Only as we are the recipients of the grace of God will the Bible be opened for us. This Bible is not a book containing communications about god; it is God's giving of himself, in the limitation of words, in the interests of grace.

The Bible is not a fairy tale to beguile us for a few moments from the sordid realities of life in the natural world. It is the divine complement of the laws of nature, conscience, and humanity. To be ccontinued Prayer Thought: Lord Jesus, your Word is “a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads” - Deut. 11:18. In dealing with biblical facts, our aim is not just to produce “specialists,” but to make healthy, practical workers in the work of our Lord. Bible specialists have their counterpart in the natural world in scientists such as astronomers, biologists, geologists, and others. The research systems of these specialists are of the very greatest value to us. We will consult them from time to time; yet their findings have value only as they aid our daily experience. The same is true of the findings of our Bible specialists. I believe it to be essential to be born of the Spirit of God before we can enter into Bible study. I believe that the only meaningful method of the Bible study is to “prove all things” – 1 Thess. 5:21, not by brain only, but by personal experience. That is the only way to understand spiritual matters. Prayer Thought: Reading Your Word, O God, is a blessing. “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” - 2 Peter 1:20-21 The Bible, it will be found, not only explains the greatest number of facts; it is the only ground for explaining all the facts. The Bible contains the regions for the loftiest exercise of our regenerated intelligence. It puts in the hands of the Spirit-born the key to the explanation of all mysteries. The Bible does not contradict reason; it introduces a new universe of facts to reason, which demands its loftiest exercise. The falling of rain from heaven after a time of drought would defy any poet to describe its beauty. Likewise, no tongue can tell the refreshing insight of the Word of God, coming to a soul after a time of difficulty and perplexity. Prayer Thought: Your Word, Lord, helps life to make sense and gives me hope for the future – the hope of eternal life in heaven! Stay Blessed 2nd October, 2009 Remember our Bible study time on Sunny FM – Tuesdays 5:30am; Asempa FM – Sundays 5:30am; and Unique FM – Saturdays 7:30pm.