READING: Psalm 8-13, Romans 1
Sometimes I wonder what it’s like for folks around the world to hear or read the Bible for the first time. The storyline is a unique one, but it answers the questions of life that all peoples ask. It grants hope to the hopeless, strength to the weak, and comfort to the hurting. It convicts while also offering the solution to our sin problem.
I think about these realities because I remember when I first heard the Word as a 12-year-old. It was all new stuff to me, and I couldn’t get enough of it. I devoured the first two books of the Bible, battled through Leviticus, and then continued to the good news of Jesus that echoes throughout the Gospels. In those days (and even more so now), the rest of the story that culminated in the establishment of the church and the promised return of Jesus was ever before me.
God’s Word, the psalmist reminded us in today’s reading, is perfect and powerful: “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times” (Psa 12:6). Particularly in contrast to the wicked who “lie to one another [and] they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts” (Psa 12:2), God speaks only truth. His words are refined and purified, not in the sense that they somehow weren’t perfect and needed improving, but in the sense that they’ve always been without deceit and falsehood. His words are trustworthy because He is Himself trustworthy.
So, I’m reminded today how grateful I am that God has granted me full access to His Word. He is good.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for Your Word and for Your faithfulness to keep it.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Psalm 14-18, Romans 2