By Dan Jenkins
As one reads the Bible or listens to sermons, he learns great truths. He learns the truth about the origin of the created world, and this knowledge becomes the basis of faith. He reads about the lives and struggles of godly men and is filled with awe when he sees their faith and how it sustained them. Yet, sometimes he just wishes that God would give him a personal message.
He studies the scheme of redemption and what sin does and how it brings bondage. He reads and sees how the blood of Jesus surpasses the blood of bulls and goats. He comprehends that His precious blood is the basis of salvation and the great price Jesus paid when He died such a horrendous death. He marvels at all of this and there is no doubt it impacts his life and the decisions he makes, yet he may still wish that God would give him a personal message.
He reads the Bible and sees those messages God personally gave to Noah about the building of the ark and the coming flood. He reads about God’s messages to Abraham about Ur and later about offering Isaac. He may not want to receive the message about his own son that Abraham received about his son, yet he thinks how wonderful it would be to receive a personal message from God.
Perhaps this story will help you, if you have ever had thoughts about God giving you a personal message. A Christian who I know so well tells the story of how he now looks at such messages. His first two children were born just fourteen months apart, and one night as he was telling them bedtime stories, he said to them, “I want to tell you something so important. Are you aware that when God wrote the Bible, He put in it one special verse for you? So, when you read this part of the Bible and this one verse remember that God put this in the Bible especially for you.”
Their eyes were wide with excitement to know what personal message God gave just for them. That verse?
“Obey your parents … for this is right” (Eph. 6:2). The truth is that this verse is in the Bible as a personal message to children!
The man then thought, “Are there any verses in the Bible God put there especially for me?” What about loving your wife like Christ loves the church? What about training your children in the teachings of God? It then dawned upon him that every verse, chapter, book, event, parable, discourse and every word is God personally speaking to him!
When you arrive at this point in your life, it will change how you study. This holy book is God’s message, written personally to you and it gives you all you need to know. You do have a personal message from God – read it!