A BIBLE IN EVERY ROOM IN MY HOUSE

Part One

"I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot
believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. But
the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel,
enlightened me with His gifts, and sanctified and
preserved me in true faith."
----- - - -Martin Luther

God’s grace is given every day for all of us, because sin and temptation come upon all believers each day. We as believers need a fresh supply of God's wonderful grace each moment each day. We can't just rest upon what we received even Sunday at Worship. Christ the Lord brings us daily His strength to help us understand the evil of sin and the strong hold of temptation upon us. Your nearest friend is not the TV, (close) music, or NASCAR (ha! wait, that is getting close).

I want a Bible in view in every room at my house. Why? It’s a reminder that when temptation comes I have the Word close.

If we understood the dynamics of the heart and the deceitfulness of sin, we would make sure that a Bible would be as close as our remote to our Play Station or TV or Radio. There is something about even seeing a Bible that causes me to stop and say, "This is Christ the Lord’s Word. He is holy. I am his child. Obey Him." To this day, I don’t put anything on top of my Bible. I want a quick availability to open its pages to get a word from the Lord.

We need an understanding of what sin can do at anytime in our life. We might go months, or years and say "I am not tempted to sin in this manner." And before we know it, we are in that sin that will destroy or ministry, our family, or job, or life. Few ministers live to fail. Few Christians desire to fall into sin that will destroy their life. But it happens each day.

Consider what Thomas Brooks wrote in 1660. He knew it:

Whom do I have in heaven but You? And I desire
nothing on earth but You. My flesh and my heart
may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my
portion forever." Psalm 73:25-26

The true Christian seeks God as his choicest and chief
good. God is a perfect good, a solid good. That is a
perfect good--to which nothing can be added; that is
a solid good--from which nothing can be spared. Such
a good God is, and therefore He is chiefly to be sought.
God is a pure and simple good; He is a light in whom
there is no darkness, a good in whom there is no evil.
The goodness of the creature is mixed, yes, that little
goodness which is in the creature is mixed with much
evil; but God is an unmixed good. He is good, He is
pure good. He is all over good. He is nothing but good.

God is an all-sufficient good. Augustine said,
"He has all--who has the Haver of all."

God has in Himself . . .
all power to defend you,
all wisdom to direct you,
all mercy to pardon you,
all grace to enrich you,
all righteousness to clothe you,
all goodness to supply you,
all happiness to crown you.

God is a satisfying good, a good that fills the heart and
quiets the soul. In Him, I have all. I have all comforts,
all delights, all contentment. As the worth and value of
many pieces of silver is to be found in one piece of gold,
so all the petty excellencies which are scattered abroad
in the creatures--are to be found in God. Yes, all the
whole volume of perfections, which is spread through
heaven and earth--is epitomized in Him. No good below
Him who is the greatest good, can satisfy the soul. A good
wife, a good child, a good name, a good estate, a good
friend--cannot satisfy the soul. These may please--but
they cannot satisfy.

Ah! that we should seek early, seek earnestly, seek
affectionately, seek diligently, seek primarily, and seek
unweariedly--this God, who is the greatest good, the
best good, the most desirable good, who is--
a suitable good,
a pure good,
a satisfying good,
a total good, and
an eternal good.

"Whom do I have in heaven but You? And I desire
nothing on earth but You. My flesh and my heart
may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my
portion forever." Psalm 73:25-26

Drafted by Charles 12-04 06 Proof Read by Charity Whisnant