“Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Matthew 24:33-36
A friend posted a piece on Facebook last week; the top of the frame showed two houses; one was small and in need of repair and was labeled poor people live here. The other house was very large and opulent and labeled rich people live here. And in the next frame were two freshly dug graves of the same dimensions and depth and that revealed where we all will end up one day. This reminded me of a Men’s Network video driven Bible study that I led some thirty years ago where a hearse was winding it’s way through a beautiful urban cemetery with a U-Haul trailer in tow. You may have a lot of stuff, but you won’t be taking it with you when the day that IT has been appointed for you, the one on the other side of the dash on your stone, unexpectantly arrives. Not much lasts forever on this side of Paradise. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”
The Bible is still the most read, most published, and most translated book in the world. And, most importantly, it’s still changing the lives of those who apply what it teaches to their lives and influence others wandering aimlessly without Hope. There are seemingly a large group of souls in this fallen world who need to hear the truth from the pages of God’s Word.
One of the reasons that I believe the Bible is God’s Word is that it has survived so many attacks throughout history. At different times throughout history, it’s been illegal to own a Bible. In fact, that’s still true in some countries today. Many people have been arrested, jailed, and even killed because they refused to give up their copies of the Bible. And still the Bible has survived.
Despite all the attacks, today the Bible is the greatest single source for so many cultural achievements. It’s the greatest source for music, art, and architecture. If you took the Bible out of culture, you would destroy most of the major music, artwork, and architecture of the past 2,000 years. Even much of our English language comes from the King James Bible. Only the Word of God will last forever because truth is eternal. Everything else in our fallen world will pass away one day.
Voltaire, the famous French philosopher who lived from 1694 to 1778, was a brilliant atheist. He wrote a number of letters deriding the Bible. One of his writing’s made a very bold statement: “One hundred years from today, the Bible will be a forgotten book.” NOT! Today, way too many people have forgotten that quote, but they haven’t forgotten the Bible! No matter how hard the Hopeless attack the Bible; it always survives and it always will. You can depend on that. Read it. Believe it. Trust it. God’s Word will provide you with Hope for tomorrow and peace when IT is here.
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you,
Jay