“ Search the Scriptures.”
"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.". John 5:39.
Every book is written to be read. So was the Bible. It is literature, written by God’s command, for God’s people to read. It contains records, written for the purpose that future generations might read them, study them. The proper method of Bible-study is to search, that is, “to look through and through.” Those who would be strong in the faith mttst first be mighty in the Scriptures. The Bible unsearched is a mine unworked. There is a drifting away from Bible-reading. How few read the Bible every day! And yet Jesus says: “ Search the Scriptures.” Search to find the hidden treasures. Martin Luther used to teach his children to read the Bible in the following way: First read through one book carefully, then study chapter by chapter, then verse by verse, and lastly word by word; for he said: “It is like a person shaking a fruit-tree: first shaking the tree and gathering up the fruit falling to the ground, then shaking each branch and afterwards each twig of the branch, and, last of all, looking carefully under each leaf to see that no fruit remains.” In this way, and in no other, shall we also find the hidden treasures of the Bible. Dig deep into the mine of God’s Word, and you will find spiritual wealth, which will enrich you for this life and fit you for the life to come. If we read other books, much rather should we read the Bible.
Yet many who do read the Bible nevertheless do not find the way of salvation in it because they do not read it right. To our human reason the Bible is a closed book. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolish ness unto him.” You need the guidance of the Holy Spirit, because the Scriptures are spiritually discerned. The Holy Spirit must lead you into the truth; He must give you the eye of faith to read and understand. Then we shall be able to read and understand the deep things of God.
Prayer.
O Lord, to Thee I commend the labor of my hands; give
success to my projects, and let me accomplish what I undertake in Thy name, so that Thy light may cast a bright beam on my path, to Thy praise and glory and to the welfare of my neighbor. Let Thy Word be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, through Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. O Lord Jesus, in Thy name and upon Thy Word I will cast out my net. O Lord, help; O Lord, grant success! Amen.
