Sharpen your swords!

[notice]A response to what is happening prophetically in the world today — A monthly column by Julie de Lisle[/notice]

I am not sure about you, but The Bible is the most important book I own.

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The Bible Is My Standard. It is “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105 ESV). It is what I read daily, it is the bread I eat, fresh daily “manna”. It’s what sustains me. If I don’t read it, it feels like my day is not complete somehow. I sometimes read it like a story book, sometimes I just browse it, at other times I study it and cross reference and pull a thread that just keeps running. Regardless of how or what time of day, and the length I spend reading it, it makes my day possible. Every word of God proves true (Proverbs 30:5). Whenever the days get busy and I feel like I don’t have “time”  to read The Word of God, I know those are the days I must, more than ever. It’s the one thing that is constant in my life. The word of God is living and active.

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Unique book
The Bible as a book itself is very unique. Let me give you a little info; It contains 66 books, divided among the Old and New Testaments.There are 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. The Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by over 40 different authors from all walks of life: shepherds, farmers, tent-makers, physicians, fishermen, priests, philosophers and kings. Despite these differences in occupation and the span of years it took to write it, the Bible is an extremely cohesive and unified book. It was written over a period of some 1 500 years, from around 1450 B.C. (the time of Moses) to about 100 A.D. (following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ). Many scholars agree that Job is the oldest book in the Bible, written by an unknown Israelite about 1500 BC. Others hold that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) are the oldest books in the Bible, written between 1446 and 1406 B.C. The youngest book in the Old Testament is the book of Malachi, written about 400 BC. The oldest book of the New Testament is probably the book of James, written as early as AD 45.The Book of Revelation is the youngest book of the New Testament, written about 95 AD. The Bible was written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek.

The entire New Testament as we know it today, was canonized before the year 375 A.D. The Old Testament had previously been canonized long before the advent of Christ. ”Canon” is derived front the Greek word “Kanon,” signifying a measuring rod. Thus, to have the Bible “canonized” meant that it had been measured by the standard or test of divine inspiration and authority. It became the collection of books or writings accepted by the apostles and leadership of the early Christian church as a basis for Christian belief. It is the standard by which all Christians throughout the ages live and worship.

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The first translation of the Bible made into English was in 1382 AD, by John Wycliffe. The Bible was printed in 1454 AD by Johannes Gutenberg who invented the “type mold” for the printing press. It was the first book ever printed.

The oldest almost-complete manuscript of the Bible is the Codex Vaticanus, which dates from the first half of the fourth Century. It is located in the library of the Vatican in Rome. There are older fragments of the Bible that are still preserved however– the oldest being a tiny scrap of the Gospel of John that was found in Egypt, dating back to the beginning of the second century. (It is currently in the Rayland’s Library in Manchester, England). The Holy Bible has been translated into 2 018 languages, with countless more partial translations, and audio translations (for unwritten languages). In comparison, Shakespeare, considered by many to be the master writer of the English language, has only been translated into 50 languages.

The Bible is still the best-selling book in the world. Isn’t that just AMAZING!

Life changing
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1) the Logos word. Oh how I love the book of John, how I love The Bible. In November I attended a class by one of our elders on the book of John. I can undoubtedly say it changed my life. Life rang out from every verse and chapter. The whole book lit up my redemption by Jesus’ death on the cross like a bonfire on a moonless night. I felt His life, His heartbeat in every word. There was this incredible anointing on the word that day, and as I looked around I knew that the   Spirit of God was impacting each and every one of our lives in the room and we would not be the same. Tears flowed all day as revelation upon revelation opened up to us. Jesus is revealed to us through John as: I am the bread of life! I am the light, I am the gate, I am the shepherd, I am the resurrection and the life, I am the way the truth the life, I am the true vine. And that all in just one book! My heart was crying out for every word on every page of this Book to be that alive always. By the end of the last session that evening there was a silence for what felt like 10 minutes. We were holding our breath. The hunger for the Word and burning desire that started that day has not waned. Because the more I read, the more I read. I have an addiction, and what a good one it is, It’s not a dead letter but a living pulsating letter. It has the power to change lives, even nations and history itself.

There are so many books around today that we can read, but really if this is the only one you have on your shelf you will not be lacking. Just start today, you will get to know God more, you will grow spiritually in leaps and bounds. The Word will guide you through your daily life and trials. The more you read the more the Holy Spirit can give you understanding and revelation and the truth of the word will bring you so much freedom and peace.

My prayer for us as Believers today is that we would get rid of some of those ” seven steps to…” Books on our shelves and ” eat and drink ” a little bit more of the life giving Word of God.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8 ESV

 So go ahead, don’t wait and sharpen your “swords”.

In His Grip

Julie.