Deepening Your Love for the Word of God

By Eric Elder

www.theranch.org





Have you ever thought about going to Israel? I’m planning a trip there this fall and would love for you to come along! But even if you can’t come, I thought this would be a good time to share with you how much it can help to deepen your love for the Word of God when you know that the people and places mentioned in the Bible are real.



When I was a kid in Sunday School, my teachers would put maps and charts and pictures on the wall, showing us what Israel looked like in the days when the Bible was written. But the images looked so distant and unfamiliar that it never occurred to me that Israel was still a real place that I could still go and visit today. Even when studying the Bible as an adult, it hardly crossed my mind that the Israel of today had much to do with the Israel of the Bible.



So I was caught by surprise when I had a chance to actually go to Israel myself. On my first day out, driving around the countryside with my host, I saw a small sign on the side of the road that said, “Tomb of Samuel the Prophet.” I did a double-take and asked my host, “Does that mean it’s the tomb of Samuel THE Prophet? The one who anointed King David to be king over all of Israel?”



From that moment on I started to picture the whole Bible differently. Here I was, looking at the same hills where Samuel grew up, spoke to God, and was eventually laid to rest. All of a sudden, the reality of the people and places described in the Bible came to life in a whole new way!



When my wife had a chance to go to Israel a few years ago, I asked her several months after she had returned home if she had thought much about her trip since she’d been back. She said, “Every day!” Every day since she had gotten back, every time she read the Bible, the images of what she had seen in Israel came back to her mind. She says she can’t remember how she pictured those stories before she went to Israel, but ever since going there herself, the pictures are vivid and clear in her mind.



Now you don’t have to have to go to Israel for the Word of God to come alive to you. The words in the Bible are already “living and active” all on their own. As the writer of Hebrews said:



“For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double- edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).



God has brought His Word to life to me many times, causing the words on the page to practically stand up in three dimensions, especially when they answer a question that’s been burning on my heart.



So I know you don’t have to go to Israel for the Bible to come to life, but I’m sharing this with you about Israel today so that the next time you read your Bible, you’ll read it with the assurance that the people and places described within it really did exist--and you can still see many of those same cities and sites today!



You can still stand at the top of Mount Carmel, where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to rain fire down from heaven. You can still sail on the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus calmed the storm and preached to thousands on the seashore. You can still visit the city of Bethlehem, where David tended sheep, and where Jesus Himself was born.



It’s all real, and every archaeological discovery over the years seems to confirm the reality of what God has recorded in His Word. Maybe they should change the name from Israel to “Is-Real!” At least, that’s what it has become to me.



So whether you’re able to come with me this fall or not, keep on reading your Bible, remembering that the stories you’re reading are absolutely real. And if you do want to join me this fall, you can read more about the trip in the P.S. below.



But first, let’s pray...



Father, thank You for Your Word, which tells us so much about who You are and how You’ve cared for people throughout history. Help me to read Your Word in a way that will deepen my love for You, and in a way that helps me realize how deep Your love for me already is. In Jesus’ name, Amen.