Introductory Things

I am writing this series of blog posts primarily to help a special friend, Habibi, to understand why God and the Bible are so essential to everything in my life. It is my fervent and continual steadfast prayer that my Habibi will grow to love God and His Word as I do.

It could be that these writings about my understanding of God and His Word, may help others as they seek God. It may also help some prepare to explain who God is and why it is important to pursue Him. That would be wonderful.

Before we start studying the Bible, we need to understand a few things about the Bible. The Bible contains sixty-six individual books, which together form one book. With many different authors, written over centuries, this library of books tells one unified story of God’s desire for mankind, the history of man’s rejection of God, and God’s sovereign efforts to fix the relationship between God and man. Interestingly, the history contained in the Bible stretches from the beginning of time into the time when all things have been set right between God and all things, including man and the created universe.

The Bible presents the story, not a story. It is the authoritative account by which all other accounts will be judged.

The main theme of the Bible is the reconciliation between God and man. That reconciliation is the central theme of the Bible may be understood by studying Luke 24:25-27,

And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that ^athe prophets have spoken! 26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

 New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Lk 24:25–27). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

We will study Luke 24 a bit more in the next post, but notice how Jesus reproves the foolishness of His disciples for not understanding that all Scriptures point to Him.

Application: As the Bible states, all of history is explained in the Bible. The central theme of the Bible is Jesus, the Savior of all those who believe. Those who follow Jesus receive special blessings from Him, Who made us to know Him and enjoy Him forever. Believe in and follow Jesus.