This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Joshua 1:8
God has given us an incredible treasure in His Word. It is the only certain and unfailing source of truth because, although it was penned by human authors, they were directed by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). And since God not only gave the Word but preserved it, we can fully trust everything that it says. It was no accident that Satan’s very first temptation was based on questioning whether what God said was really true. That spirit is still active in our world today as people challenge various things that the Bible says, attempting to undermine its authority and to allow their doctrine to be more acceptable to unbelievers.
In addition to having a high view of the Scriptures, we must treat the Bible not just as information, but as direction and guidance for living. The evangelist Gipsy Smith was approached by a young man at the end or a service who said that he had not found any inspiration in the Bible even though he had “gone through it several times.” “Let it go through you once,” replied Smith, “then you will tell a different story!” God’s Word is given to us to direct our path through life.
While the Bible is completely true and trustworthy, it only has its intended impact on Christians’ lives when we do what it says. “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (James 1:25).
