If you consider the words that you’ve spoken during the past 24 hours, how would you evaluate them? Were they loving, kind, joyful, uplifting, frustrated, tired, anxious, angry, gossipy, or malicious? The Bible says, “ ‘Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks’ ” (Matt. 12:34, NKJV). When we have junk in our hearts, it comes out in our words.
We’ve all experienced feeling frustrated, tired, or stressed, and that state of mind changes what comes out of our mouths (often words we later regret). In contrast, when our heart is bursting with love for someone, it flows through our words.
In the same way, God’s Word speaks of His heart and His intentions toward us. It’s amazing to think that these very words, straight from the heart of God, are in our possession in the Bible. It’s truly incredible to see the power God’s words have held throughout history.
“It is one thing to treat the Bible as a book of good moral instruction, to be heeded so far as is consistent with the spirit of the times and our position in the world; it is another thing to regard it as it really is—the word of the living God, the word that is our life, the word that is to mold our actions, our words, and our thoughts. To hold God’s word as anything less than this is to reject it. And this rejection by those who profess to believe it, is foremost among the causes of skepticism and infidelity in the youth.”—Ellen G. White, Education, p. 260.
Discussion Questions:
What are all the logical and rational reasons you have for your faith? Probably a whole lot more than you realize.
How can you make sure that Bible study and prayer are the foundation of your relationship with God? How can you have a relationship with God without both prayer and Bible study?
If someone wanted to deepen their relationship with God, where would you advise them to start reading?
How can you live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord? (Deut. 8:3). What might that really look like in your life?
What do the following passages tell us about God’s words? Heb. 11:3; Ps. 33:6; Matt. 11:4, 5; 1 Thess. 4:16; Eph. 6:17; James 1:21.
Summary: The Bible is living and powerful, and reading it is foundational to growing our relationship with God. Not only does it teach us about God’s wonderful character and His interactions with humanity throughout earth’s history—it also speaks to each of us today when we come to it in humility.
Supplemental EGW Notes
Reflecting Christ, “God’s Authority Forever Established,” February 15, p. 60.
Lift Him Up, “Strong in the Strength of God,” September 4, p. 261.\
The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.