It is amazing how powerful words can be. Only a short phrase can bring someone to tears or spasms of laughter. Words are subtle. A person can say something which seems totally acceptable to all the people in the room except for one individual. To that person, those same words are a stinging criticism. Words well-spoken can change peoples’ lives for the better. Words poorly chosen can ruin relationships permanently. Words have meaning. Meaning which powerfully influences human life.
Can you imagine life without words? How would we express our deepest emotions of happiness, gratitude, love, contentment, uncertainty, insecurity, despair? While it is good to be alone with our thoughts for a time, we all need someone to whom we can express ourselves. Words – they are one of God’s greatest gifts to humanity.
God is the God of words. And the most spectacular of all words we have are those spoken to us by God. The Bible is often called “God’s Word” because in it he has spoken to his creatures in a way that is intelligible and understandable. In the Bible we learn the most profound truths of who God is, who we are, the purpose of our lives, and most significantly, what happens after we die.
2700 years ago, a group of Jewish men wrote under God’s inspiration. These men were called prophets, people who spoke on behalf of God. They left 17 books which are in the Old Testament. What they wrote is sometimes hard to understand, on other occasions hard to swallow. But always, their words are relevant and instructive to this very day.
Christians often
concentrate their reading of God’s Word to the New Testament, and there are
some good reasons for that. But it can happen that our lack of reading the Old
Testament prophets is due mostly to the uncomfortable challenges they present.
And that is not wise. If you are up to a stiff, but healthy spiritual workout,
join us for one of our weekend worship services. Sometimes what we don’t want
to hear is exactly what does us best.
