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Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6, NIV).
Christianity is a relationship with God, and the essential ingredient of any relationship is communication.
In the Bible, God talks to us.
I find it fascinating that the Gospel of John describes Jesus as “the Word” (John 1:1). Jesus is so interested in talking to us that His name is “Word”!
With Christianity as a religion of communication and the Bible as the inspired Word of God, let’s consider the most essential aspect of any conversation.
Trust!
We must believe that God exists and trust His words to have a good conversation with Him. When we question the Bible and lose trust in its integrity and authority, we annul our ability to talk with God.
If we say to our spouse, “I don’t trust you anymore,” how well will a conversation go? How can any future dialogue be meaningful?
Same with all conversations—we must trust one another.
When we doubt the Bible, we are saying, “I don’t trust you, God.”
The Bible says that Jesus is the Word. The Biblical word for “inspiration” found in 2 Timothy 3:16 (NASB1995), which describes the origination of the Bible, can be translated as “God-breathed” or Scripture is literally a “breathing out” conversation with God.
Understanding the power of Biblical conversation in the Word of God, James writes…
Get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls (James 1:21, NLT),
If we don’t trust the Bible, we don’t trust God. We then ruin our ability to talk with God and to receive His saving power.
The Author of the universe inspired the Bible. In the Bible, we understand the nature of God and the impact of our sins. We find the solution in Jesus, we learn how to live powerfully in God’s abundance, and we hope for a relationship with Him for all eternity.
And it all begins with trust.
Losing trust and denying God’s Word carries a great penalty, as we read in Hebrews 10:26-27…
Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment… (NLT).
Fear, anxiety, and judgment result from an absence of God’s blessing in our lives.
But peace comes from our relationship with Jesus, with this relationship dependent upon having great conversations with God.
These conversations are Biblically based truth, and the Bible is only meaningful to us through….
Trust!
Before we read the Bible this week, let’s say, “God, I trust your Word!”