Lesson Book for All Mankind

God committed the preparation of His divinely inspired Word to finite man. This Word, arranged into books, the Old and New Testaments, is the guidebook to the inhabitants of a fallen world, bequeathed to them that, by studying and obeying the directions, not one soul would lose its way to heaven.

The Bible points to God as its author; yet it was written by human hands; and in the varied style of its different books it presents the characteristics of the several writers. The truths revealed are all “given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16); yet they are expressed in the words of men. The Infinite One by His Holy Spirit has shed light into the minds and hearts of His servants. He has given dreams and visions, symbols and figures; and those to whom the truth was thus revealed, have themselves embodied the thought in human language.

The Lord speaks to human beings in imperfect speech, in order that the degenerate senses, the dull, earthly perception, of earthly beings may comprehend His words. Thus is shown God’s condescension. He meets fallen human beings where they are. The Bible, perfect as it is in its simplicity, does not answer to the great ideas of God; for infinite ideas cannot be perfectly embodied in finite vehicles of thought. Instead of the expressions of the Bible being exaggerated, as many people suppose, the strong expressions break down before the magnificence of the thought, though the penman selected the most expressive language through which to convey the truths of higher education.

God designed the Bible to be a lesson-book to all mankind, in childhood, youth, and manhood, and to be studied through all time. He gave His Word to men as a revelation of Himself…. It is the medium of communication between God and man.
Faith I Live By p. 10
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for a friend who has a visitation hearing tomorrow. Pray that God will direct according to what is best for the children. Rose
—–Please pray for Allayne who went to the ER last night with severe pain and swelling in her leg. Rose
—–Please pray for my family. My mom died today. Heidi
—–Please, continue praying for our ministry in the Amazon. We are having many challenges, but we know we are doing God’s Work. We need strength and faith to keep going. Rob
—–I am getting a foster child today. Please pray my landlady will be okay with it and the transition Will go smoothly. Nancy
—–Please pray for the upcoming meetings in our church. Rose
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Dear Friends,

My grandfather, Edwin Harmon, was the my favorite person as I was growing up. Even though he often worked two jobs, he spent his evenings telling me stories, playing drawing games, making shadow pictures on the wall, or when he was too tired to do anything else, listening to me sing. I thought he was the best person in the world. Anything my grandfather did, was wonderful.

When he was at work, I often played in his room. Everything he had in there fascinated me. I thought it was fun to climb into his large, overstuffed chair and lie upside-down and pretend that the ceiling was the floor and the floor the ceiling. When I would tire of that, I would look at his adventure magazines and fishing magazines and some books he had of the holocaust .

One day when I was four, I decided to explore the contents of the drawer in the little table that was by his chair. Inside, there were a few papers and his plug of Apple Jack chewing tobacco. I picked it up and smelled it. It smelled good. In my childish reasoning, I thought that if it smelled good it must taste good and took a big bite.

Almost instantly I got very sick to my stomach. I spit it out, but I had swallowed enough of the tobacco juice to make me miserable. I didn’t know what to do. I knew that I had done wrong for my grandmother had warned me not to touch it. If I went to her, I would be in big trouble, so I decided to hide. I felt very sick, but I didn’t dare come out. I spent the entire day hiding underneath the dining room table.

Now that I’m older, I’m sure that my grandmother knew where I was and what I had done because she left me there to be miserable. She walked past that large, dark, highly-polished table many times that day but never seemed to notice me. If she had not known my whereabouts, she would have called until she found me. Perhaps she walked by so many times because she was checking to make sure that I was alright, or maybe she was hoping I would come to her and tell her what I had done and ask her forgiveness and ask her for help.

God’s Holy Word tells us, that we all have taken a “bite” of the “chewing tobacco” of sin, and when we do, it makes us as miserable as I was on that long-ago day. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Rom 3:23 We all deserve the “wages of sin” which “is death” , yet we have Someone Who will help us if we will only ask Him. Instead of running to Him and asking for forgiveness and help, we think of God as I thought of my grandmother—-someone just waiting to punish me. How that must break His Great Heart of Love.

There is a day of judgment coming, but when He must finally punish those who will not repent, it wrings His heart with anguish. The Bible calls it “His strange act.” Isa 28:21 Peter reminds us, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise…but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 He, Who gave His only begotten Son, yearns for us, longs for us to come to Him. With pleading in His voice, He says, “As I live…I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die?” Eze 33:11 “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jer 31:3

Let us confess our sins for He has promised forgiveness and cleansing for every sin. <1 John 1:9> Let us flee into His loving arms where we will find rest and comfort, guidance and strength, blessing and grace to help in time of need. “Behold, now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Cor 6:2

Rose