Reason 1: It Works!

The Bible quote: “The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” is a great revelation to most people who are beginning to read the Bible (and sadly that includes many people who regularly attend church).

What shocks most people, reading the Bible for the first time in the manner and for the reason God gave it to us, is just how practical it is.  The caricature of the Bible is that of a poor man's book of morals and philosophy, dated, ethereal . . . like most other religious books; some man's manifesto used to control other people while enriching themselves.

Then, on reading it (especially if starting with Jesus in the New Testament), we find One who is unexpected and different – He makes bold, tangible and readily testable promises. Early on, Jesus turns conventional religion on its head.  Religion, as we know it (and sadly, as most often mistakenly presented as Christianity) has as its theme: Do a, b, c (sometimes down to zzz) for God now and you will be blessed in eternity, sacrifice now/benefit later.

The Bible tells us that Jesus, in contrast, “brought grace and truth” – the message being that:

1. God does not need us because there is nothing, even at our best, that benefits Him.
2. Jesus, as God, does, however, offer grace (the gift – and everything associated with it) so that, with, through, by and in these gifts we can become His followers in a new life, using what He has made us and gives us as part of His Kingdom.

But (and this is where those who feel they have something important to hold on to and would lose if they choose to follow Him), we can't have and keep the old and the new. We can't:

• Be 2 people at once,
• Walk 2 ways at the same time,
• At the same time, seek diametrically opposing goals,
• Love what is bad and self-destructive and expect to grow and progress . . . 

So, what is the result?  Exactly what Jesus tells and shows us in the Bible – “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Only losers (those who never had, lost it if they, at one time had or, even if still having something, once consider so important, it no longer fulfills them) understand they have nothing to lose/to give up and, as a result, can see and test Jesus’ offers, however unbelievable they may sound!

Who could dare believe by “seeking first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things [ALL our daily physical needs] will be given to you as well.” Only the one who has no other option, no bird in the hand.  Who is foolish enough to believe One (Jesus – who else would be this bold?  After all, if we try it and it doesn't come true we cannot rely on anything else He says!): “I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.” Who could dare believe?  Not the ones with much of anything to risk.  Jesus makes bold claims that are verifiable, but the proof is in the trying and doing.  Or, as the Bible challenges: “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”  And the really Good News? We can read and understand these great promises ourselves, we don't have to wait and hope that some day someone may tell them to us!

A winner of a billion-dollar jackpot would have to hire people to keep the mobs from reaching them to plead that the billionaire give them "all things."  Jesus, not limited by any amount of money, says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  There is no other way to legitimately read or interpret these (or His many other) promises. The issue, rather, is whether the path of finding them (seeking first) outweighs the supposed payoff of what we are seeking first today (what we were seeking first yesterday and will be seeking first tomorrow - one great disappointment after another) versus the Bible promise: “From the fullness of his grace we have all received [and will receive as we ‘stay the course’] one blessing after another.

Why read the Bible?  Because it works!  How best to read the Bible?  Look for the treasures – the promises of Jesus for life now and as a basis for believing “I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”  After all, Jesus did tell and challenge us (unlike any other religious leader, because they could not deliver!): “I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?”  We must read the Bible to find the earthly things He tells and teaches us.