Good morning students,
Remember the assignment that some of you did on discovering if we have become overly dependant on the Internet and computers? This morning I discovered one of the things I have become dependant on the Internet for; my Bible. I have become so acustomed to reading my Bible online that I never take my Bible anywhere but to church. My problem this morning is that I cannot connect to that site and I am not at home where I could choose for a dozen different Bibles. It is strange the Internet will allow me to connect to any site but that one.
I am getting a small taste of the restrictions that many parts of the world live under, where what they watch and read is censored by their government or society. There are places in the world where it is illegal to own a Bible and possession of one can lead to imprisonment or death. I am certain that most of you would not even give your Bible a second thought. You have probably always had access to one. In fact, there are probably at least three Bibles in your home. Take a minute and count the number of Bibles that you know for certain your family possesses.
Most of us have read the missionary stories that tell tales of towns or villages that do not have one Bible to share among the believers. There are stories of how, when a Bible does manage to make it there, the pastor will tear the pages out and give one to each person to memorize and then circulate. They are desperate to memorize the Bible because they know it can be taken from them at any moment. Can you imagine living with such a fear? Can you imagine it being that important to you?
The fact is that the Word of God is the revelation he has chosen to give to us, to reveal his heart to us, that we would know him enough to make the right decision to trust him. It guides us, teaches us, corrects us. It gives us a moral center in our lives. It gives us an absolute that does not change. There is nothing that the Spirit will instruct us in that goes against the Word so it is our method of knowing if the voice we hear is the Spirit or the enemy. It also gives us a tool to know the true servants compared to those that would seed confusion. It is a great source of encouragement and wisdom. It is one of the most precious treasures that we have been given
We know according to the prophecies that a time is coming when we will have to hide away the Word of God like a precious treasure, that the enemy will try to wipe it from the face of the history of man. He may be able to threaten the physical form of the Bible but he will not be away to wipe it from our hearts. This is the importance of memorizing it now while we can. Perhaps it does not seem urgent to you now but how will you instruct your children when it becomes illegal to possess a Bible?
I am frustrated this morning and annoyed. Yet I will be able to go home and pick up one of my many Bibles. My lack of access is simply for a short period. My frustration will pass. But what about those who live in the darkest areas of our world? What will our frustration be like in the future?
