Thursday, November 23

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2017

 

 

“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.  For,

 

‘All people are like grass,

    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

     but the word of the Lord endures forever.’”

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!  We have many blessings to celebrate today.

 

The apostle Peter touches upon the imperishable seed of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who has rescued us from sin and death and given us the opportunity to be born again.  He connects the “living and enduring word of God” – our Lord Jesus Christ – with God’s Word, both spoken and revealed through the Scriptures.  In Christ, we have the Word made flesh; in the Scriptures, we have God’s Word recorded for us.  Both of these seeds are indeed imperishable:  with Christ having been raised to a new life and God’s Word lasting throughout history as testimony to God’s character and love for people.

 

Yesterday, Danielle and I visited the Museum of the Bible, which recently opened in Washington, D.C.  I would highly encourage you to visit, as it brings the Word to life and points to the many faithful believers who have ensured that the Word has remained active throughout history.  The Museum houses many copies of first versions of the Scriptures, noting the great importance of translating the Scriptures into local languages of the people.  Early translators of the Scriptures into English faced great peril in their work, and they benefited from one another’s work (and others’ efforts to gather Greek and Hebrew texts into organized form).

 

For me, the visit solidified my belief in the Scriptures as the inspired Word of God.  The Scriptures faithfully record miraculous events that have meaningful archaeological support, and their testimony records the grave challenges – and shortcomings – that the authors faced, from Moses to the prophets to the apostles.  Only God (duly) receives “lionized” treatment; human characters’ failures emphasize their authenticity and dependence on an all-powerful, all-merciful God.

 

In a particularly moving section, the Museum shared a video that looked at first-century Galilee from John the Baptist’s perspective.  He quoted the section from Isaiah included above as a great motivation for his life and ministry.  His faithfulness to that living and enduring Word made him a proper harbinger of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

We would all do well to treasure God’s Word more in our lives and to live faithfully according to its precepts.  May we not become so distracted as to miss its direction.

 

 

Lord God, thank You for sharing Your Word with us.  Thank You that endures forever and that it brings life.  Thank You for sending Your Son as the Word made flesh so that we may know You and experience Your love.  Please reveal more of Yourself to us in the coming days.  We love You and honor You as the source of all Providence today.  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

 

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