Clear Words

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17 ESV). Recently someone sent me the following quote (it has not been edited): Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is that frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe. When I first read it, I was amazed that it was true. I didn’t have any trouble at all understanding it. That prompted me to think about how we read the Scripture. There is no doubt in the Apostle Paul’s mind that ALL Scripture is inspired and good for us. That’s his declaration to young Timothy in our reading this morning. However, I wonder how often we neglect the truth of the bible in favor of the world’s truth. We have listened to the world tell us that the Ten Commandments are no longer valid. We have listened to modern opinion tell us that the Scripture is not reliable and should not be taken seriously. We have listened philosophers tell us that there is no God, we are gods our selves. We have listened to far too many voices as they cry against the truth of God’s word. This may be the subtlest danger Christians face. A former park ranger at Yellowstone National Park tells the story of a ranger leading a group of hikers to a fire lookout. The ranger was so intent on telling the hikers about the flowers and animals that he considered the messages on his two-way radio distracting, so he switched it off. Nearing the tower, the ranger was met by a nearly breathless lookout, who asked why he hadn’t responded to the messages on his radio. A grizzly bear had been seen stalking the group, and the authorities were trying to warn them of the danger. Any time we tune out the messages God has sent us, we put at peril not only ourselves, but also those around us. The real truth is that the Bible is a clear word from God. You don’t need theological degrees to understand them. You don’t need hours of intensive study to discover the promises declared there. You only need to open its pages and read! The words will be clear to you!