Certain things have happened in my life lately to cause me to think about why I love the Scriptures – my Bible – without all the ‘extras’ like commentaries, concordances, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and all the other ‘people’ available I can use to help me understand it. Don’t misunderstand me, I like all those things, but they also tempt me to be lazy. So I started a list. There’s a personal story or two (or three or more) around each item on the list, I just didn’t just make these up. This morning, June 7, 2009, at 7:10 A.M. U.S. Mountain Daylight Time, this old soldier proclaims to anyone who might read this, I LOVE MY BIBLE! OK, here’s the list so far:

• God wrote it.
• I have an embedded instructor, the Holy Spirit.
• It says what it means and means what it says.
• It always tells me the truth about me.
• Sometimes it’s like a cool drink of water on a hot day or a warm blanket on a cold night.
• Sometimes it’s a trip to the woodshed, but that’s OK too.
• There are times when a single verse at the right moment is all it takes for an important truth to sink in.
• When one verse isn’t clear about a particular subject, there are usually others that are.
• If there isn’t a clear rule or regulation (like the Big 10) there is a principle to be found.
• If I assume it’s ALL true those things that seem to contradict really don’t. Sometimes it takes a little more study, but that’s OK. I love the book.
• Sometimes a single verse at the right time is all it takes for God to settle a matter for me.
• A verse out of context is prone to misapplication. ‘Context’ is to Scripture what ‘location’ is to marketing.
• I should read everything Scripture says about something before I go to other people, commentaries, etc. Sometimes that takes a little discipline, but it’s really worth it. Finding out that my on-board instructor told me the same thing He told Augustine, Luther, Spurgeon, and a few guys still alive, is a good feeling.
• If it can’t be clearly supported (versus ‘proof-texted’) by Scripture, it’s probably not a spiritually life-threatening issue. Sometimes it just ain’t so.
• If all the commentaries, study guides, teachers, preachers, pontificators and motivators disappeared, I’d still get down the trail of life just fine.

If you’ve read this far, and something in the list ‘rang a bell’ for you, please share it. And if something not on the list rang a bell, share that too! We would love to hear from you.