Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105 

 

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Matthew 4:4 

While faith, and faith alone, is the foundation for our relationship, and the hope we have in Jesus Christ and our belief in the Bible as the infallible word of god, it is vitally important to have basic knowledge concerning the Bible. Since it is the source most of us rely on daily to continue to grow in our understanding and walk with the Lord, it is important to understand and be able to answer questions regarding it’s authenticity and reliability, especially since some of those questions are likely to arise when witnessing to others or encouraging them to rely on the Bible for the comfort and encouragement they need when standing for marriage restoration.

Campus Crusade for Christ, International provides a lot of information and answers about the Bible, who wrote it, when it was written, and how it is always verified through historical and geological facts and discoveries, so we strongly encourage you to read it. It’s important to prepare yourself for the work the Lord calls you to by learning more about the Bible and its history, because you never know when you’ll need that knowledge, especially as you support and encourage others who are standing for the biblical principles concerning marriage restoration, or divorce and remarriage.

Most of us already know that taking a stand for marriage restoration is very challenging and difficult, and not possible without an extraordinary measure of faith. Unfortunately, we can’t usually count on our friends or family to encourage, support or understand us as we undertake this challenge, and many times we won’t even have the support of our own church family. Fortunately, we do have the assurance found in Romans 10:17 (NKJV), which saysSo then faith Comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.Then Psalm 119:114 saysYou are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.So, in addition to understanding more about the history of the Bible, we have to be very familiar with it ourselves in order to walk in the faith and assurance it gives us that the restoration of our marriage IS possible in Christ Jesus, and that He will give us the strength and grace we need when we put our hope and confidence in the power and promise of His word.

Anyone very familiar with computers has probably heard the term GIGO, which means Garbage In, Garbage Out. That means the right data has to be put into your computer in order to get the right information in return. In the same way, as Christians, we need to remember GIGO, which for us means God In, God’s Outcome. That’s why we so strongly recommend setting time aside every day to be alone with the Lord in prayer and meditation on His word. The Bible is God’s love letter to us, His Beloved, and His Owners’ Manual for us as His Creation, so we need to take the time to read it carefully to make sure we fully understand it and how to apply it to our daily lives. We recommend reading one chapter of Proverbs every day and five chapters of the Psalms every day in addition to five chapters a day from the Old or New Testament, starting at the beginning and working your way through to the end. By doing that you will read the Psalms and Proverbs through every month in addition to whatever other Bible reading plan you have, and you’ll be amazed how much encouragement and confidence that gives you. One approach we like is to read Proverbs 1 and Psalm 1, 31, 61, 91 and 121 on the first of the month, and continue that sequence for each day of the month. Since Psalm 119 is so long, you might want to pull it out and save it to read with Proverbs 31 on the thirty-first of those months that have thirty-one days. Since so many of us have difficulty reading and understanding the Old Testament, we suggest reading it in one of the more modern translations like The Message. In fact, you might enjoy reading the Proverbs and Psalms in different translations each month too. Many of the translations are available at BibleGateway.com, which is an EXCELLENT online Bible study tool. Studying God’s word is one of the most important things we do as Christians, and we know we can rely on it because of the awesome promise we have in the following scripture:
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11

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All Bible verses are from the New International Version 1984 unless otherwise indicated.