Bible Readings:
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. (Psalm 119.105)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3. 16 – 17)
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4. 12)
A Thought
Most of us enjoy a good book, whether it be a ‘whodunnit’, a love story or a biography of epic heroism. My taste in books is rather eclectic, so I dabble into many different writing genres and I will often have several books on the go at once to suit my current mood. Over the past few months, I have read my way through three particularly contrasting books.
On holiday, I read Two Destinies by Wilkie Collins, one of my favourite authors. This was a typical Collins’ love story with mystery, hidden identities, twists and turns, but with the wholly predictable and satisfactory happy ending. I then went on to The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri. This international bestseller is both provocative and harrowing. We are introduced to the uncomfortable world of desperate asylum seekers, fleeing for their lives. This is also the dark world of traffickers, false documentation and escape in flimsy boats for exorbitant amounts of money.
At present I am reading The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young. This charming and insightful book is equally provocative in its way, putting us in touch with the natural world around us in a fresh way by careful observation of the social behaviour of cows and other farm animals. And when I can’t sleep, I will turn to an old favourite like 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, which I have read many times before. This is an entertaining exchange of letters between the author in New York and the staff of an antiquarian bookshop in London.
However, the Bible, the international bestseller of all time, is sometimes referred to as ‘the’ good book. The Bible is an amazing library within itself, containing various different genres of literature in its pages. We have books of the law, histories, allegory, poetry, biography, letters, and more. There are descriptions of the natural world, love stories, architectural plans, instructions for living, as well as tales of mistaken identity, great battles, sinister plots and murder. The Bible has them all!
I never tire of reading the Bible because there is always so much more to discover. Scripture is the God-breathed, inspirational and life-changing. It provides guidance and direction for my life. It gives teaching and correction to help me live a wholesome and balanced life. Most of all, it is the Word of God, living and active, coming to me fresh every time I read it. This is one of the reasons that the ‘Open the Book’ assemblies thrill me so much. We have a wonderful opportunity to introduce this amazing book to our school children in dramatized form. They can participate in the drama too, and invaluable way of learning by doing.
Why not dip into ‘the good book’ yourself – today!
A Prayer
Author God, write the words of your good book deep into our hearts, that we might be thoroughly equipped for life and every good work. Amen.
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet by Amy Grant