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The Christian Bible
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What is the Christian bible?
The Holy Bible is the written Word of God. It’s the book in which God reveals Himself to mankind. The bible is God’s love letter to His children.
The Christian bible is the book of all books. It’s the most famous book ever written and it tops the best seller list with world-wide sales of over 100 million copies each year.
The word bible is the English form of the Greek word Biblia. The word bible means “books.” The Holy Bible is a collection of 66 books written by 40 different authors who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. These writers consisted of men in many different social ranks from kings, peasants, fishermen, tax collectors, educated and uneducated, Jews and Gentiles.
The Christian bible contains 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. The Old Testament was written before Jesus and the New Testament is about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, the son of the living God.
The bible is perfect.
“God’s way is perfect. All the LORD’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.” (Psalm 18:30 NLT)
The bible is true.
“For the word of the Lord holds true, and everything he does is worthy of our trust. (Psalm 33:4 NLT)
The bible is inspired by God.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT)
The bible will last forever.
“Forever, O Lord, your word stands firm in heaven.” (Psalm 119:89 NLT)
The bible gives us wisdom.
“Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your decrees.” (Psalm 119:99 NLT)
The bible can be trusted.
“Your decrees are perfect; they are entirely worthy of our trust.” (Psalm 119:138 NLT)
The bible reveals the truth.
“He refuted all the Jews with powerful arguments in public debate. Using the Scriptures, he explained to them, “The Messiah you are looking for is Jesus.” (Acts18:28 NLT)
The bible is holy.
“God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.” (Romans 1:2 NLT)
God’s Holy Spirit helps us understand
“And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, “Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:12-16 NLT)
Everything a person needs to know about life is in the bible. It’s not a book of fairy tales as some people believe, but it’s the source of truth and direction for our salvation.
The legitimacy of the bible’s claims as being divinely inspired is through the fulfillment of bible prophecy. The bible claims to contain more than a thousand prophecies. A huge majority of these prophecies have already come true which can be verified by world history. Bible prophecy is being fulfilled even today. Israel becoming a nation in 1948 is just one of the major events prophesied in the bible.
So, what is the Christian bible? It is God’s manufacturer’s handbook for life. It’s full of knowledge and wisdom. The bible reveals how God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it. The bible is our best source of truth and direction for Christian living. It teaches about peace amongst the turmoil in our life. It gives us instructions on how to manage money, how to be debt free and how to have financial freedom. The bible gives us the blessings and the promises of the covenant of Abraham if we walk in obedience to God. God’s Word teaches us how to defeat Satan and all of his demons,"Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. (Luke 10:19) But the most important thing we learn from God’s Word is that forgiveness for our sins comes through His son, Jesus Christ. Our eternal destiny depends on believing God’s Word, the Bible.
God’s perfect will...where do we find God's perfect will for us?
The shortest chapter in the Bible is 117
The longest is 119
The center is 118
There are 594 verses before chapter 118
There are 594 verses after chapter 118
They total 1188
The center verse in the Bible is 118.8
This is where you will find it - in God's Word, the Bible.
When things get tough, always remember ... faith doesn't get you around trouble, it gets you through it. It is better to put your trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. Amen.
It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." (Psalm 118:8 NKJ) This says it all doesn't it.
Read Your Bible
By Bob Gass
"'Your word is...a light to my path.'" Psalm 119:105 NKJV
When asked 'What book has most influenced your life?', most people say the Bible. Yet fewer than 14% of us read it every day. How come? Here are some of our most common excuses:
(1) 'I've no time.' Really? Many of the books in your Bible can be read in 10 to 45 minutes . By taking a chapter a day you can complete the book of Proverbs in a month and the Epistle of James in five days.
(2) 'I don't know where to begin.' If starting in Genesis and working your way through seems overwhelming, use the SoulFood reading we provide you each day. SoulFood and will take you through the whole Bible in a year in bite sized pieces . Just get started!
(3) 'It's not exciting.' Do you like romance? Read the book of Ruth. Looking for adventure? Try Judges or Acts. Enjoy poetry? Explore Song of Solomon. From history to how-to, it's all in Scripture.
(4) 'Isn't going to church every week good enough?' Billy Graham says, 'The Bible is the road map for life, and while your pastor can highlight the best route to take, you learn how to navigate life's twists and turns for yourself.'
(5) 'It makes me uncomfortable.' When you don't know what God's Word actually says, it's easy to equate it with negative experiences and hypocrisy you've observed, then throw out the baby with the bathwater. No question, the Bible makes you face hard truths: '...it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.' (Hebrews 4:12 NIV) It gives you a check-up from the neck up. But you'll discover who you are, what you're called to do, and become empowered to do it!
There are many different versions of the Christian bible such as the King James Version, New King James, New International Version, New American Standard, Amplified Bible, New Living Translation and many others. It doesn’t matter which version you choose to read and mediate on as long as you choose a translation that you can understand. I prefer the New Living Translation. This version helps me to