Does your e-mail inbox get flooded with all kinds of junk like mine sometimes does? Occasionally I’ll receive something from someone who’s forwarded some information they’ve been forwarded that is considered urgent and serious. The problem is that often what’s being passed along is nothing but urban legend, hoaxes, rumors or misinformation – if not malicious slander.
Some are just plain stupid. I remember receiving one some time ago from the founder of Applebee’s Restaurants. He promised that if I would forward this e-mail to nine friends to help “get our name out to more people in rural communities” then he would send me a confirmation number for a gift certificate worth $50 to his establishment. Maybe I’ll never know whether that one was real or not, since I didn’t do anything but delete it.
Then there are always scam artists out there who go “phishing” to try to steal your credit card information, bank account numbers and other pieces of personal identification. They arrive in your inbox looking like official correspondence from your bank, from the IRS or from other legitimate sources. But if you give out what they’re asking for, you’re really asking for it!
Beyond e-mail, who unquestionably trusts the news media anymore? To me it always feels like when political issues arise we’re not getting a completely objective and unbiased report. You’re hearing the story from the left or from the right, or from whatever leanings the reporter or news outlet maintains.
At times it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s fake. How do you separate the fact from fiction? How can you be sure of what’s true and what’s false? Is there anything today that you can count on to be 100 percent reliable, spin-free, and without any mixture of error?
The answer is a resounding yes! If you’re looking for something you can count on, pick up your Bible and know for certain that you are holding in your hands the infallible, inerrant, unchanging Word of the one, true, everlasting God.
Throughout the ages skeptics and critics have tried to discredit the Bible, they’ve attempted to point out alleged contradictions and generally dismissed its contents as myth. Yet the Holy Scriptures have stood the test of time, they’ve overcome foolish and ignorant men’s feeble arguments, and they have proven themselves to be completely reliable and perfectly true.
The reason the Bible is trustworthy is because its author is trustworthy. The Bible is literally “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). Human writers recorded the Scriptures as they were divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. The Lord God is trustworthy beyond scrutiny, and so is His Book.
And in His Book, God reveals Himself to man. If you read the Bible for human history, read it for literature or read it for inspiration, you’re missing the point. The point is that Almighty God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is, wants you to know Him, His purposes and His ways. Read the Bible to seek God!
When you do, and as you let the truth of the message unfold, you’ll see that the Scriptures all testify about Jesus Christ. You’ll see that God’s plan to redeem sinful man, saving him from eternal death and saving him to everlasting life, is fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus. The question then becomes: How will you respond? Will you embrace Christ by faith as the Bible reveals Him, or will you reject your only hope for salvation?
This Christmas, take a close look at what the Bible really says. Examine the prophecies in Isaiah and Micah and elsewhere of the Messiah’s birth long before Jesus came into this world as a baby. Watch as they unfold in Matthew and Luke’s narrative of Jesus’ arrival. Read in wonder as God reveals His great love for you and imprints His truth upon your heart and impresses you to put your faith in Christ.
When it comes to your inbox and other communication avenues in today’s world, I can’t give you any fool-proof instruction. Be discerning. Do some research. Don’t be gullible. But when it comes to the divinely inspired Word of the eternal God, only a fool would not believe.
No comments:
Post a Comment