A few Easter Sundays ago at North Pointe, we hosted an egg hunt for the toddlers through primary aged children in our community.  Among the mob of rustling bags and pounding footsteps, I observed my youngest son at age five attempting to be kind but assertive in finding as many eggs as possible.  After it was all said and done, I learned that his effort has yielded not just the average sugar-laden capsules but also one of the “door prize” eggs.  The problem was that he failed to appreciate the significance of this special egg which had a piece of paper telling of some epic prize to claim.  To him the egg was filled with “just a piece of paper” which he quickly discarded in a hurried search for more candy. Do you realize how often our token trip to church reflects this impoverished view of the Bible as “just a piece of paper?”  This foolish perspective robs us and others of treasure troves of truth that no other book can offer! What Biblical Words Describe This Treasure?

  1. It is “spoil.” Psalm 119:162 I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. Note: If we get nothing out of church except the booty of God’s Word, our lives have been and will be tremendously enriched.
  2. It is “necessary food.” Job 23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. Note: If we approached the Bible in our local churches as absolutely necessary nutrition for survival and growth, it would transform the teaching and preaching ministry of God’s Word.
  3. It is “joy.” Jeremiah 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. Note: God’s Scriptures received by or shared by smiling souls possesses uplifting, powerful potential in our assemblies.
  4. It is “warning.” Psalm 19:11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. Note: One of blessings we miss the most in our relationship with the Bible is often how the Lord not only offers promises but protections through His preventive cautions and confrontations.
  5. It is “success.” Joshua 1:8 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. Note: Much of the feeble, fatalistic stumbling in local churches of today is our lack of faith and obedience to the dynamic revelation of God.
  6. It is “sharp.” Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Note: When we lose sight of the significance of Scripture, we lose the palpable conviction of sin and confrontation of self-deception.
  7. It is “spirit and life.” John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. Note: We must realize that without the Bible, we are without the Spirit; without the Spirit, we die!

Don’t be like my preschooler in missing the significance of the sacred “paper” inspired and preserved by almighty God for you!  As you share in the privilege of opening the Bible with other believers this Sunday, don’t forget what those precious pieces of paper represent!  I am not picking on you because you throw away or rip up Bibles with blatant heretics.  I simply long for you to be deeply moved by how much latent power in a copy of Scripture is ready to be unleashed into our hearts, homes, churches, and communities.  We don’t necessarily need more drama, music, technology, and professionals for us to experience what God can do.  Our local assemblies do desperately cry for lips and lungs that preach it more, heart and ears that love it more, fingers and eyes that open it more. R.A. Torrey writes in Why God Used D. L. Moody, “You may talk about power; but, if you neglect the one Book that God has given you as the one instrument through which He imparts and exercises His power, you will not have it. You may read many books and go to many conventions and you may have your all-night prayer meetings to pray for the power of the Holy Ghost; but unless you keep in constant and close association with the one Book, the Bible, you will not have power.  And if you ever had power, you will not maintain it except by the daily, earnest, intense study of that Book. Ninety-nine Christians in every hundred are merely playing at Bible study; and therefore ninety-nine Christians in every hundred are mere weaklings, when they might be giants, both in their Christian life and in their service.“