New Year Survival Pack Episode 2

Survival Food

Psalm 119:129-133 (KJV)

Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. [130] The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. [131] I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments. [132] Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name. [133] Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

Psalm 119:129-133 NJKV

Your testimonies are wonderful; Therefore my soul keeps them. 130 The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple. 131 I opened my mouth and panted, For I longed for Your commandments. 132 Look upon me and be merciful to me, As Your custom is toward those who love Your name. 133 Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me. 

If you want to be strong and healthy you have to have good nutrition. The same thing is true in our spiritual lives. It is important for us to have nutritious spiritual food. We have to feed on God's word. You cannot resist temptation and trials of the world without the Bible. Any dietitian will tell you that to resist the temptations of the "bad" foods, you have to start off the day with a healthy breakfast and have available throughout the day things to fuel your body.
119 is the longest chapter in the whole Bible, but it is chocked full of references to the Bible.

1.) Do you appreciate your Bible? How often have you thanked God for your Bible? Have you expressed your gratitude to God for providing the book of good nutrition for our spirit?

Inspirational Thy testimonies are wonderful, Wonderful references to another name for God, unique, one of a kind, none other like it. He is our wonderful savior. The Bible is one of a kind, it is unique. There are those that say it is inspired, much like any other book of literature. How many weeks would you come listen to lessons on Shakespeare? (I can remember having to sit through Romeo and Juliet and thinking that this is cruel and unusual punishment.) Some say some of it's inspired and some isn't. If the Bible is inspired in spots and some of it is divine, then who is going to tell us which parts are inspired and which are truth? You don't have a Bible that is filled with holes, you have a Whole Bible. Do you want to know how I know this was written by God?

2Timothy 3:15 (KJV)
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2 Timothy 3:15 & 16 NKJV
and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
 
This book has sense of harmony, sense of oneness from 40 different writers from every strata of society, 1600 years of time span, and several different continents, but all have the same hero and the same message.
Indestructibility
The Bible has persevered regardless of the the attacks on it. It has been attacked like no other book. Around 303 a.d., The roman emperor set out to destroy the Christian faith. 22 years later, Constantine declares the Bible the book of truth. Voltaire hated the Bible, "when I am through the Bible will be extinguished from the minds of he people." $500k was spent on an old Greek Bible. The same year, someone spent only $0.08 for all of Voltaire's writings. Tom Payne wrote The Age of Reason. He said, when I'm through, there won't be 5 Bibles left in the world. In the congregation of our church today there were more than 200, and that was a small church on the side of the road on the edge of  Greene County Arkansas. Lawrence O'Donald, a television broadcaster is pushing to remove the Bible from the presidential inauguration. Mr. O'Donald believes why should my president lay his hand to swear on a book he doesn't believe in and neither does "most of America." Don't worry about this book. It will survive. (And Mr. O'Donald needs to check his statistics.)

This book has delivered addicts. It has dried up drunks. It has transformed liars and thieves. The Bible has soul saving power. It also has soul comforting power. Broken hearted families have been comforted by God, by the word of God. It has wisdom-giving power. It has joy-giving power. The rich people are not usually the happy people, quite opposite. It is foolish for Christian people to sell themselves for the pursuit of money.

2.) Do you absorb your Bible? Do you let the Bible get into your life? Do you allow God's word to be digested into your life?

You first have to read it. The devil will do what ever he can to make you believe you don't have time to read your Bible. Make a commitment, make it a priority. He'll tell you that you can't understand it. TRY! If you were having trouble getting a package of Twinkies open, you'd do what ever you had to in order to get into those Twinkies. Try to understand. One of the keys to understanding is to apply the rule of context. Before and after verses show you the context of what is being said. What translation should I read? Don't let the devil mess you up with that! Read the translation that speaks to you. An unread Bible is like uneaten food. You can't get through the day without getting the sustenance to thrive. Not a Little Debbie cake and a Mt. Dew, but real food.

3) Do you apply your Bible?

While reading the Bible is imperative, it isn't the only thing we have to do. It's not just how many times you have been through the Bible, but how many times has the Bible been through you? You have receive it, you have to have a teachable spirit when you read it. Are you willing to obey what you read the instant you read it? If you are, the good news is you're in for blessings unending. It is not only to be read but is to be applied in out daily lives. How can people who profess to be Christian live contradictory lives? They have failed to allow what they believe to affect the way they behave. Be not just hearers of the word, but doers.

Apply God's word to your family and it will heal your family. Bring the entire family to the altar of God and ask Him to wrap His arms around you and heal what you have broken.

It will change our national life. If we can get those who just say they are Christians to start doing and not just saying, we will not just survive but we will thrive!
Make a commitment to read your Bible every day. It will change you, your church, your family, and your nation.


dcs/TG




Regarding the choice of translation, I have my preferences, but so does each and every person. It also depends on what I am doing. When I am reading my morning scriptures, I prefer Holman or NKJV. When I am writing, I reference NKJV or KJV, sometimes both. When I was searching for a Bible, I asked the clerk which she preferred and she said the same, it depends on the purpose. If the translation is one of the things that is causing you pause for reading the Bible, try reading the different versions on the various websites. I use www.biblestudytools.com but there are as many sites as there are translations.