Much A-BOOK About EVERYthing

30th October 2006, Singapore - What do you do with the Word? And if you haven't heard, the Word is how Christians refer to the Bible. A book that isn't quite like any other book 'cos this historical record is a finely-woven piece of literature (poetry & song!) that also entails geographical layouts, architectural nitty-gritty, war strategies, climatic disasters and a shudder-inducing charting of what's to come. Just a book? Nah!

When it's said to be God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16), you can count on it being inspired directly by God Himself and no other. Yet it can remain simply a book, just like the many on your coffee table or on the library shelves. What makes it come alive is when it takes root in our hearts, not just our minds. It's odd how some people literally swallow the words but burning pages of books and drinking their ash. That isn't it, but surely ash can't be too tasty not a comfort food.

Comfort comes from knowing God's Word at our finger tips. Reciting them off the cuff, having them on the tip of our tongues and being readily armed to share it. It was a recital of verses for our Sunday School senior department yesterday as the church commemorated Reformation Sunday - the day Martin Luther pinned the 95 theses up, protesting the teachings and beliefs of the Roman Catholic church.

To stand our ground, we need to have and hide God's Word in our hearts. To keep those verses in the book isn't of any good. What good is a dispensary that disptaches medicine when the patient who brings them home doesn't apply it or consume it? That Sunday morning recital has reminded me of where God's Word should really be --- out of the book, in my heart and on my lips!