More Than A Book Pt. 1

“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” -- John‬ ‭5‬:‭39‬-‭40‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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Has it ever occurred to you that the goal of the Bible is more than you knowing the Scriptures in the book? If all we did was to know the verses in the book, we would be stopping at the surface when God wants us to go deeper. Not necessarily deeper in theology, doing word studies in Greek and Hebrew, or memorizing verses, although all of that is wonderful. But as we see in the text, you can know the Scriptures and not have the life promised in them. You can know the Scriptures and not know the purpose behind them. You can know the Scriptures and not know Jesus. The very goal of the Scriptures is to point you to Jesus. I genuinely want to say that if you know the Scriptures but not Jesus, then you know nothing at all. Knowing the Scriptures but not knowing Jesus is like having a recipe book without ever tasting the food. It's having a map but never taking the journey. The Scriptures are meant to point us to Jesus, and without that connection, it's like having information without the actual experience. It's not just about knowing facts; it's about knowing and experiencing the living reality of Jesus. In simple terms, it's like having a map to a treasure but never finding the treasure itself. The question remains: do you know Jesus or just the Scriptures? In the following blogs, we will discuss practical tips on knowing Jesus.

I once heard a story about a group of Christians gathering together in fellowship discussing their favorite Bible verses. One man said Psalm 23 was his favorite, and he began to break down what the verses meant to him. After he finished, the audience clapped because his knowledge of the scripture. One elderly lady was sleeping in the back; they woke her up and asked her what her favorite verses were. She paused to reflect, and with tears running down her eyes and her voice shaking, she said, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul…” After she finished, the whole room was speechless and crying with her. Someone asked the man why the reaction was so different if she used the same verse? He responded, “I knew the verse; she knew the shepherd.” My Friend, I urge you not just to know the Scriptures, but know the Sheapard. Don't just know the words, but know the man.