Having dealt with the subject of prayer and the Word as offensive weapons against meaningless matters, it now seems fitting to explore the subject of the Holy Bible as itself a matter of the greatest meaning.
First of all, God asserts that the Holy Bible is a matter, in this case a text, of great meaning because it addresses the most meaningful matters (subjects) in life, Gentle Reader (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NKJV), life that He created and understands better than anyone else. It gives us a history of the world. It details the authentic lineage of mankind from the first man, Adam, to the Divine Man, Jesus, Son of God, a record unsurpassed in quality by any other worldly document. It demonstrates the works of God in relationship with humans and His Creation.
The Bible also records God’s words of truth and prophecy concerning Christ the Messiah who would come to be with us, explain God the Father, and rescue us from the downfall of the creation and humankind that occurred in the early moments of creation and carries on even now. The Bible reveals the name, the nature and the purpose of God’s major adversary and the prime mover in the human downfall, Satan. It explores the ongoing methods and tactics of Satan in his maneuvers to seize rulership of the creation and humankind from God. It contains the origins of evil, sin and death and what people need to know for successful daily living, combat in spiritual warfare and to live a victorious life. All this and more—truly meaningful matters.
As to how to handle all these meaningful matters, the Holy Bible, Scripture, promises that God the Father is in charge, my friend—and will always be in charge, and He Himself will make victory in life possible for believers. As concerns spiritual warfare, an old gospel song says it well: “The Lord will fight my battles for me, and He has given the Victory (in Christ Jesus). There’s no need to worry, no need to fret, the Lord God Almighty has never failed me yet. Victory is mine! Victory is mine! Victory today is mine. I told ole’ Satan, get thee behind. Victory today is mine!”
Victory—what a savory word—a word promised in Scripture, for believers, by God.
As a believer, to understand how to be part of this victory I keep a list of “Verbs for Victory,” Gentle Reader, collected from the Holy Bible—Old and New Testament—which though not complete in all regards is remarkable nonetheless. All the verbs, when used to direct one’s thinking and doing, are powerful to prosper the believer and to lead on to victory in spiritual warfare and other life challenges I face as a follower of Christ.
For instance, taken also from Scripture—persevering in Christ Jesus, being an overcomer in Christ Jesus, fighting the good fight, staying the course and finishing the race in Christ Jesus are other victories I value and for which I contend and for which the verbs rightly tune my mind and behavior.
To collect and consider the verbs of Scripture is an amazing pursuit, with significance far beyond what seems possible from the very ordinariness of the effort. But I can assure you the effort qualifies as a truly meaningful matter and offers an enduring life-enriching experience.
Consider this: We may have difficulties in this life, Dear Reader, but scriptural verbs lead us through them. They tell us that God IS (present tense) with us in them; that we are to RELY on (count heavily on) relationship with Him, LOVING and TRUSTING Him (BIG active Scriptural verbs! Just think: I want to be loved, you want to be loved and guess what, God wants to be loved—not so hard to grasp, is it?); that we are to THINK ABOUT and REMEMBER Him (more BIG active verbs!) all the while.
Do so, and He PROMISES (real commitment) to be our Great Solution in all things—as long as we ASK (a must, God does not choose for us) of Him and HAVE CONFIDENCE (from knowing Him) in Him. Scriptural verbs give one power, Attentive Reader, the power to focus on and plot a meaningful course through meaningful matters.
A very meaningful note here (meaningful in that this note can really improve the quality of one’s life) is that there is safety in taking the clear advice of Scripture, Gentle Reader. To me a sense of safety is precious. And I have discovered how valuable, how protective it is to be deeply familiar with and appreciate Scripture. I have also found this to be true: Mine the wealth of Scripture and one will profit; Consciously remember to do what He says—to ask of Him in all things and TURN TO (not away from) Him as to the perfect father and family—and it is guaranteed that one will discover for oneself the truth of the refrain “Victory is mine!” Have no doubt, safety abounds in relationship with God.
Bringing us to a particularly joyful, meaningful matter not to miss: Maybe not in the world, Gentle Soul, but in God there are guarantees and they, along with all else one needs to know to rightly carry on in life, can be found in the Holy Bible—bestselling book of all time and, God promises, our best resource for both protection in spiritual warfare and genuinely meaningful living.
To be continued . . .
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