BBD 09.16.04 The Bible
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
pressures I have been unable to write as frequently as I would like. For the
immediate future I will begin resending devotionals written a few years ago.
Thank you for your prayers, support and understanding!
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The Burning Bush Devotional
(Over 13,000 subscribers in 75 countries)
09.16.04
The Bible
“This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall
meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all
that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then
you will have good success.” - Joshua 1:8.
We say we know it’s true but we have a hard time believing the importance of
God’s Word. We have seen the little sayings on church signs like:
“Dusty Bibles lead to Dirty Lives”
“A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to a person that isn’t.”
George Gallup says, “We revere the Bible, but we don’t read it.” Around 92
percent of Americans own at least one Bible with the average home having
three. 20 million or more are sold each year not even including the millions
that are distributed free of cost.
The Bible has become much like a well liked piece of furniture. We know it
is there but we never open it up to mine the treasures it contains.
According to surveys by George Gallup “only four in 10 Americans know that
Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. A majority cannot name the four
Gospels of the New Testament. Only three in 10 teenagers know why Easter is
celebrated. Two-thirds of Americans believe there are few, if any, absolute
principles to direct human behavior. Fewer than half can name the first book
of the Bible. Six out of 10 cannot name half of the Ten Commandments. 80
percent of Christians believe the Bible says “God helps them that help
themselves.” 12 percent of Christians think Noah’s wife was Joan of Arc!
Thomas Reeves a University of Wisconsin Historian says, “Christianity in
modern America is, in large part, innocuous. It tends to be easy, upbeat,
convenient and compatible. It does not require self-sacrifice, discipline,
humility, an otherworldly outlook, a zeal for souls, a fear as well as love
of God. There is little guilt and no punishment, and the payoff in heaven is
virtually certain.”
We know the problem but how do we change? For me it began with a commitment
to read God’s Word each day. It grew from there to a commitment to read
through the Bible each year. From those earlier commitments, study and
memorization of the Bible have flowed. Where do you find the time to do
this? According to Tyndale House Publishers 64 percent do not read because
they say they are too busy. An amazing thing will happen if you give time to
reading and studying the Bible. You will not actually lose that time. God
always gives us supernatural energy to seek Him. We will see that the time
used to seek God is given to us many times over through a quality of life
that we have never experienced before. “For then you will make your way
prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Copyright © 2004. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. On June 8, 1998 the email
version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Ed Wrather is available for revivals, conferences, and other speaking and
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