May 24, 2003
DFO 1958Comp.
1. WHETHER YOU ACCEPT & BELIEVE IN ITS TEACHINGS OR NOT, IT CANNOT BE DENIED THAT THE BIBLE IS THE MOST REMARKABLE, AMAZING & ABSOLUTELY UNIQUE BOOK THAT HAS EVER BEEN WRITTEN! Of course, most people today sort of pooh-pooh & dismiss it because they cannot help but associate the Bible with do-nothing Christianity—Churchianity—which, with all of its vain traditions, hypocrisy & lack of love for the poor has discredited itself in the minds of most people & has thereby discredited the Book they claim to be following!
2. BUT THE FACT IS THAT THE CHURCH SYSTEM TODAY IS ABOUT AS FAR REMOVED FROM WHAT THE BIBLE REALLY TEACHES AS CAPITALISM IS FROM COMMUNISM!—Jesus Himself told the churchy religious leaders of His day, "You have made the Word of God of none effect through your traditions!" (Mk.7:8-13) The true foundation & Truth of God laid down in the Bible has been so cluttered up through the centuries by all the fabrications, contortions & distortions of the preachers that it has been buried under all the churchy debris & the rubble of the rabbis!
3. BUT IF YOU REALISE THIS & HAVE AN OPEN MIND & ARE SINCERELY SEARCHING FOR THE TRUTH, then you can sweep away all the churchy garbage & false interpretations & delve down to the beautiful foundation of the Bible, & see the true plan & how things are supposed to be! You will then discover that the Bible is not merely some churchy handbook, but that it is the most wonderful, supernatural, miraculous‚ amazing, marvellous Book in the whole World!—Which has the answers to everything!—Where we came from, how we got here, why we're here, how to survive & be happy while here‚ & how to love & have happiness forever!
4. BUT BEFORE DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT TO ACCEPT & BELIEVE IN THIS AMAZING BOOK, consider the following seven facts that set it aside as a truly unique Volume:
5. WHAT AN AMAZING & REMARKABLE BOOK! Yet so many people today, who consider themselves so smart & so knowledgeable, ignore the Bible completely! Time & time again we talk to people who've been through years of college & university & have read hundreds & hundreds of books—huge tomes & volumes of textbooks, religious books, philosophical books & all kinds of books—yet have never even cracked open the Bible‚ the most fascinating Book in the World!—In which you can find almost anything: Drama, love, hate, peace, war, romance, poetry, prophecy, history‚ mystery, etc., etc.!
6. JUST THINK ABOUT IT: WORDS OF WISDOM FROM THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO‚ FROM THE DAYS BEFORE MOSES! It's such an important Book & one of the oldest Books in the World, yet a lot of "educated" people don't even bother to read it! They waste time on all of their complicated & confused theories while neglecting the very Words of Life, the Bible, which is so simple, direct & to the point!
7. IF YOU WERE GOING ON A LONG JOURNEY & DIDN'T ALREADY KNOW THE WAY, YOU WOULD BRING ALONG A MAP, WOULDN'T YOU?—Well, you are on a long journey, & the One Who does know the way has instructed some of His men to draw a detailed map so you won't get lost & so you can learn the right way to operate down here & ultimately make it safely to your final destination! But to say you don't have time to read God's Map, the Bible‚ is like a driver going on a long journey & saying‚ "Well, I'm in such a hurry to get there I don't have time to look at the map!"—But if you'll just take the Bible & simply read it, believe it & follow it, you will be on the right path & wind up at the right place!
8. AND THAT IS ACTUALLY THE GREATEST PROOF THAT THE BIBLE REALLY IS THE MIRACULOUS, SUPERNATURAL WORD OF GOD HIMSELF—IT WORKS! So why not try it!—It's the greatest, most enduring, wisest, most truthful Book in the whole World that you can really trust! I'm sure that you will find it an absolutely inexhaustible source of wisdom & knowledge, out of which you will constantly find "treasures new & old"!—Beautiful! (Mt.13:52)
9. OF COURSE THE MOST WONDERFUL THING ABOUT THE BIBLE IS THAT, THROUGH ITS WORDS, WE CAN GET TO KNOW ITS AUTHOR!—For the Bible is God's great Love Letter to us! Its Life–giving Words make it the greatest Book in the World, with the only Author in the World that can guarantee life & love & happiness & Heaven forever through simply reading it & believing in its main Character, the One Who loved us so much that He gave His Own Life to save us—Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
10. ALL OF THE WONDERFUL‚ THRILLING THINGS THAT YOU READ ABOUT JESUS DOING IN THE BIBLE CAN & DO HAPPEN TODAY TOO, for "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today & forever!" (Heb.13:8)—And just as He spoke to men of old, His prophets of the past, so He is still alive & speaks to us today, thank God! In fact, He has spoken to & given us a lot of Words for today, this Endtime in which we are now living! Of course true, modern-day prophecy doesn't teach anything contrary to that which is already in His recorded Words in the Bible, but it sure fills in a lot of gaps & makes things clearer!
11. SO TAKE THE BIBLE & SINCERELY PRAY, "OPEN THOU MINE EYES‚ THAT I MAY BEHOLD WONDROUS THINGS OUT OF THY WORD!" (Ps.119:18)—But don't get bogged down in the "begats" & genealogies of Genesis, nor the Jewish History & ancient past of much of the Old Testament that is over & done with! Take the New Testament & the wonderful Words of Jesus in the Gospels & read them—not as fairytales of the past, but as God's Word for you today—& see how inspiring, uplifting, feeding & encouraging the Truth of the Word of God can be!—In the beautiful Gospel of John particularly, you will find the spiritual depths of the Love of God & His Salvation for you!
12. HAVE YOU RECEIVED GOD'S LOVE THROUGH JESUS? Have you tasted the wonderful, soul-satisfying waters of His wonderful Word? If not, receive Jesus into your heart personally by simply asking Him to come into your life, to forgive you of all your sins & give you His Love & peace & free gift of eternal life!—Then you can not only read His Word with understanding, but you'll have the love & the strength to obey it & to share His Truth & Love & Wonder Working Words with others who need them too!