There's Gold in Those Pages

It's still reverberating in me...the importance of Scripture to a family foundation. Some questions I asked on Sunday:

• If Scriptures were gold, and your heart is a bank, how rich are you? (Lu 6:45; Ps 19:10) The Psalmist says that God's Word is "more precious than gold."
• Are you as diligent about training your children in the Bible as training as an athlete? (hours in study vs hours in practice)
• Which do you encourage more: cleaning their room or cleaning their mind?
• If someone asked your spouse or your children for a list of your most-read books, would the Bible be on the list?

No book compares to the Bible. The Scriptures are more precious than gold. How rich are you?

Here are some resources to consider for memorization:

1. Navigator's Topical Memory System - This resource helps you memorize 60 verses on important topics like discipleship, relying on God's resources, and growing in Christ. Great tool. Here's a more detailed description.

2. APP! Another cool tool is an app for your phone that helps you memorize. Check this out!

When they heard "this"

Great time this morning with staff and interns on a mark of a healthy church as found in Acts 2: spirit-empowered gospel preaching. "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”Acts 2:37. What does "this" refer to? Peter's spirit-empowered gospel message. The message cut through to the heart. What else can do this!!!

On the same day, I see this video on the power of God's Word. You've got to see THIS!

"Every Word"

Question: Is the Scripture inspired by God? Then are the actual words inspired by God?

I'm not a scholar. I can read the Greek manuscripts of the NT but not very well. But I'm continually amazed not only at God's Word but the actual words God has preserved for us.

Dr. Martin-Lloyd Jones was the first one I heard talk about this and I believe this is true: God did not only "breathe" the principles and ideas of Scripture. He breathed the specific words.

As we looked at 1 Peter 3:7 on Sunday, I was reminded of this again. Peter is talking about how the way we treat our wives affects answered prayer. Peter uses the word ἐγκόπτω (pronounced eng-kop'-to). It's only used a few times in the NT and it means 'to cut-off.' It is related to a military term that means to dig a trench. In effect, Peter is saying, "If you treat your wife with disrespect or abuse her, your prayers will be intercepted." Like having call-waiting...the prayers will be cut-off by enemy traffic. Wow. What a picture. 


I believe that God chose Peter and used his specific vocabulary to preserve not only this principle for us, but the actually word ἐγκόπτω. Think how Jesus responded to Satan in the wilderness, "But he answered and said It is written Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" Every word.

Wow. God's word(s) are amazing.