Shortly before leaving for college my saintly pastor came to visit me and offer me a few words of advice on the importance of being well prepared to serve God. During our conversation he advised me to take every course that had anything to do with speaking or writing. “Larry,” he said in a voice that reflected sincerity and compassion, “it does not matter how much you know about the Bible, if you can’t explain it so people can understand it, accept it and live it, you’ll be letting God down.” It made good sense to me and I followed his recommendation carefully.
One of the classes I took emphasized the difficulty of people hearing what a speaker says and interpreting it correctly. It is easy to hear what someone says but quite difficult to pass it on without changing the words and the meaning that the speaker intended. When this happens something is lost in “transmission” and it could be a matter of life and death if the message passed on is incorrect or inconsistent.
The importance of the integrity of God’s message is clearly presented in Psalm 92:5, “Your statues stand firm!” That means “Whatever God said is so.” His Word contains no errors, no mistakes and no information that can lead us astray if accepted as written. In fact, the word for statues emphasizes the fact that Scripture rests on the integrity of God our Creator. His statements, promises, warnings and commands are not to be changed to meet the desires of man but to proclaim and present the everlasting covenant between God and man.
Prayer: We thank You, Lord, for the trustworthiness of Your Word that declares the Way, the Truth and the Life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Scripture for Today: Psalm 93:5 Your statutes, Lord, stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days.
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