The Best Seller

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. (Revelation 10:1-3 ESV).. So many people are now in the process of releasing their autobiographies. For many of these there are people lining up for blocks at bookstores for personal signings. Some of them reach the top of the best-seller lists before being released “publicly.” I must confess that I haven’t bought any of these. You shouldn’t read any political statement into that; I simply don’t care to read very many historical or biographical works. However, I began to think about these releases and their popularity. And, while I’m sure they are all very good books, they are not THE book. In fact there is only one book that really tops the list. The Bible is the clear winner! The Bible is the best selling book of the century! God's Holy word breaks all records! More Bibles are sold than any other book in the world. Wouldn't that be a great headline for tomorrow's (or any days) edition of your local paper? Whether it is written or not, the heading is true! The Bible is THE book! Our reading today takes us to the time when John visited Heaven. He saw the mighty angel, standing with one foot in the water and one foot on the land, holding the word of God. It was a symbol that God controls all of His creation. His word is the ultimate truth, the only real truth of this earth. The angel is a reminder to us today that we need to revere His word in our lives. The Bible is more than just a bestseller. In fact, it is the very heart of God. When we read it, we are hearing directly from the Creator. It is our hope and future. It is the sustenance of our faith. It is the foundation of everything we believe about God. His word is without error; totally and unmistakably relevant to help us in our daily lives. It is our very life source! Yet, most people spend only a small portion of their time reading it. In fact, surveys indicate that 43% of church members today only “rarely” read the Bible outside their worship services. A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion. Evangelist Robert L. Sumner tells about him in his book The Wonders of the Word of God. The victim’s face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in Braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the explosion had destroyed the nerve endings in his lips. One day, as he brought one of the Braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had “read” through the entire Bible four times. That’s the kind of love for the Scripture we should strive to have. Spend some time in the real “best-seller”! You won’t regret it!