Did you ever get a letter from someone you loved and couldn't wait to open it? God has written many letters to us in a book called the Bible. The Bible is a book God wrote himself, about all his creations. It is the most important book you will ever read, for it explains the creation of all things. It tells as how to live to please God, to enjoy life and be happy; but most important, where we will live forever when we die. God loves us and wants us to be happy.

"God, who giveth us richly ALL THINGS TO ENJOY " (I Timothy 6:17)

 

In Genesis 1:1, we read, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Did you ever wonder why God made you? The Bible tells us why. God is love and God wanted children. "For it became him (pleased God), for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory" (Hebrews 2:10).

God loves us very much, we are "his offspring" (Acts 17:28). He knew we would make mistakes, need help and forgiveness so he planned to send Jesus Christ, his only son to die for our sins Bo we could be counted right, while we were learning to be like him. When our faith leads us to obey God, we can obtain eternal life.

"For GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

 

Where did God come from? God just always was, and he is "eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God" (I Timothy 1:17). We would be unwise to deny that God exists, for the Bible tells us his creations prove his existence.

"The INVISIBLE THINGS of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are WITHOUT EXCUSE" (Romans 1:20).

To illustrate, if I were to walk into your room, I would see objects like a bed, clothes and pictures that would tell me someone had put them there. This is what God means when he says the "creations" in the world all whisper C r e a t o r, and since God is our maker, he has the right to rule over his creations. "God that made the world and all things therein" (Acts 17:24).

God has given us the Bible, and preserved it through the ages as he promised, that we might know him and his will. It is by God's word that we can be "born again" into God's family, the "Church," thus becoming Christians. God guarded his word (seed) so it would not be lost. The Bible gives hope to the dying, is a compass to the living, Eternal Life to those who choose to follow its teachings.

"Being BORN AGAIN, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the WORD OF GOD, which liveth and abideth FOREVER" (I Peter 1:23).

God did not leave us wondering, "Did God really write the Bible?" Many happenings foretold in the Old Testament came true, just as they were predicted.  For example, the death of Christ, his scourgings, and his being buried in a rich man's grave were all predicted to happen (Isaiah 53:5-9). They did happen, and are recorded in the book of Matthew (27:26-60) in the New Testament. Yet the prophet Isaiah foretold these happenings hundreds of years before they happened.

The Psalmist wrote about the piercing of Jesus' hands and feet and how others would "cast lots" for his clothes. (Psalms 22:16-18) In the New Testament these happenings are recorded. (Mark 15:24) The prophecy that Jesus would come out of "Bethlehem" is found in Micah 5:2 and happened. (Matthew 2:6) The prophet Isaiah said Jesus would be "born of a virgin" and his name shall be called "Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). This is seen in the writings of Matthew (Matthew 1:23, also see John 1:14).

Matthew Maury, an oceanographer, was reading in his Bible one day about the "paths of the sea." (Psalms 8:8) Believing the Bible to be true, he searched and found them. These same sea lanes he charted are still being used today. Astronomers today have discovered "empty places" in the North where there are no stars and planets. Job, a man of God in the Old Testament, spoke of this long ago and knew the earth "hung on nothing." Only God could have told Job this scientific fact.

"He (God) stretcheth out the north over the empty places and HANGETH THE EARTH upon nothing" (Job 26:7).

Solomon whom (the Bible tells us) God granted much wisdom, made this scientific statement: "AR the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. . ." (Ecclesiastes 1:7). All human blood, is the same of all races (Acts 17:26). We at one time did not know this scientific fact, yet the Bible reveals it to us. Isaiah, one of the prophets in the Old Testament, knew the earth was round long before man ever sailed around the earth. A great reverence for God should befall us as we view Isaiah's vivid picture of the greatness and majesty of God and his creations. It should move us to search out and find a way to harness God's great power and wisdom to use in our fives. It is also a power we would not want to be used against us, should we choose to take God's word too lightly.

"It is he (God) that sitteth upon the CIRCLE OF THE BARTH, and the in habitants (people) thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in... " (Isaiah 40:22).

Archaeological discoveries further prove the Bible is truly the word of God. The flood God once brought upon the earth is proven by the large sediments of sand, silt and other refuse 7-8' thick found at various locations, the relics of a previous civilization buried beneath. Scientists believe that only a large body of water remaining on the earth a long period of time could have caused such sediments.

The Bible teaches that "faith comes by hearing the word of God" (Romans 10:17). So God had to preserve his word to produce faith in you and me. The Bible has endured the "test of time," has not gone "out of print" and is still a "best seller." It promises happiness to those who have tried God's word, claimed his promises and found them to be true. There's nothing like trying something for yourself.

"PROVE ME now herewith, saith the LORD OF HOSTS, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be ROOM ENOUGH to receive it" (Malachi 3:10).

The Bible is God's manual on how to have a happy home; handle difficult people, stress, poverty, fear and be a survivor in bad times as well as good; how to control the deeds of the body, reach the lost and prepare to meet our creator, God.

What do we mean by the truth? Jesus said, "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17). The Bible is God's word and is the truth we are speaking of. Through study we can read and understand God's word, otherwise it is useless to us.

"STUDY to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING the word of TRUTH" (II Timothy 2:15).

We can see that it takes more than just reading the Bible to "rightly divide" the truth about what pleases God. We must study. The Bible is like a mirror and we see a reflection of what we look like to God and know whether we are living a life God approves of or one we would be ashamed for him to see. "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 3:32).

"Broad is the way that leadeth to destruction - narrow is the way that leadeth to life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).

Suppose we were to take a trip to another town. We would check our map daily to see if we were taking the right highway. We wouldn't just start out driving and hope to get there. As the compass always points north, the Bible always points us to God and the route to heaven. Plan to go there.

All of the Bible is true, but some commands do not apply to us today. To explain, suppose you picked up your bible and read in Genesis where the Lord said to Noah, "I will cause it to rain upon the earth 40 days and nights." If you didn't know very much about the Bible, you might think the first time it rained that it would rain 40 days and nights, yet this event has already happened.

In choosing a Bible to study choose one that has been translated from the original language. Some books today called Bibles, really aren't. They are just comments of scholarly men on what they think the Bible is teaching. While we can learn much from them we must remember they are the "words of men" who can be wrong.

For example, I am writing these-Bible lessons to share some things I have learned from studying, but they are not God's words, except for the quoted verses. Study the Bible for yourself and compare what people say and teach you with the Bible. Let God speak to you through study. Be like the Berean Christians who "searched the scriptures daily," to see if these things were true (Acts 17:11).

The Bible contains 66 books - 39 books of the Old Testament written in Hebrew and 27 books of the New Testament written in Greek. It was written by "holy men" chosen and guided by God, as they were moved by the "Holy Ghost" (II Peter 1:21). Thus, God closely guided the writing of his inspired words. This is why so many men who lived hundreds of years apart could write the Bible in complete harmony.

1. "________________, who giveth richly all things to ___________________." (I Timothy 6:17)

2. "Now unto the King Eternal, Immortal, ________________ the only wise God." (I Timothy 1:17)

3. The Bible tells us that we have to be "BORN AGAIN" by God's seed which is the "WORD of _____ which liveth and abideth___________________" (I Peter 1:23-25)

4. The Psalmist wrote about Jesus saying, "They pierced my hands and my feet," (Psalms 22:16) referring to the crucifixion. From our lesson, where is this mentioned in the New Testament? (give scripture)_______________

5. The prophet Isaiah knew the earth was round long ago when he said, "It is he (God) who sitteth upon the _______________of the________________." (Isaiah 40:22)

6. How can we "rightly divide" the WORD OF GOD and know what the TRUTH really is? _________ (II Timothy 2:15)

7. The way to Eternal Life is a _________________ way. (Matthew 7:14)

8. Which early Christians searched the scriptures daily to see if what they were being taught was God's truth?_______________ (Acts 17:11)

9. The Bible contains ______ books in the Old Testament and ______ books in the New Testament.

10. The Holy men who wrote the Bible were guided by God as they wrote, and spoke only as they were guided by the __________ __________(II Peter 1:21).

NAME__________________________ LESSON RECEIVED____________________

ADDRESS_______________________ LESSON RETURNED____________________

________________________________ GRADED BY____________ GRADE________

I will promptly grade your answers and mail you the results.

Or, write for the free Bible course to be mailed to your home.
I will promptly grade them and mail you the other lessons.

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