The Good Portion : ScriptureSample

Supernatural Book 

  The Bible is much more than a book of wisdom for answering life’s questions. It is the true story of God creating a people for Himself, to know Him personally through His Son, Jesus Christ. With many different genres, these sixty-six books read like a library, and yet unity pervades the entire collection. Streams of meaning run through words and themes, connecting prophets, law, poems, history and discourse. Water from the rock leads to living water from the rock of salvation. Manna in the desert points to the bread of life, coming down from heaven. Priests who sacrifice bulls and goats make way for the Great High Priest who sheds His own blood once and for all for sinners. One has only to open and read to see the unity of the Scriptures. Just as a beautiful pearl necklace is evidence of a skilled jeweler, the unity of the Bible testifies to the supernatural Author. When you read the book, it’s evident that only God could have written it! And it’s evident that His words are true.

Years ago, my husband and I drank tea with a young man named Ugur in a dingy back office in Eastern Turkey. After becoming disillusioned with Islam, Ugur had set out to find truth. While in college in Istanbul, he investigated many religions and read their sacred books, but the truth still eluded him. Then a professor suggested he try the Bible. Since none of the churches in Istanbul would give him a Bible, he ordered one online. Upon opening the book, Ugur said, “The truth jumped out at me, and it was this man, Jesus!”

Ugur became a Christian and an avid Bible reader, opening it daily in front of his shop and inviting others to read along with him. He tasted and saw that the Bible, sweeter than the lumps of sugar he put in his tea, was God’s true Word. Four years later, Ugur was martyred for his commitment to the Word. He was murdered at a Bible distribution center where he was working to spread the Book that he so valued. Do you value the Book? Don’t you want to know the God of this Book?