No matter what your level of preparation, it is important for you to include a well-bound, large print, red-letter edition of the Authorized King James Version (KJV) Bible at your location. Besides its uses as a riser or as reading material, it is the only reliable source for knowing God’s will on a subject. The KJV is a solid translation and has all the essential information needed to verify God’s direction for your life. The large print enables low-light reading. The red-letter passages record God speaking. In a TEOTWAWKI situation you may need to know how to activate this Book of books.
To get the most from the Bible, start by reading anywhere in the Scriptures and when you come upon a promise God made, underline or highlight the promise and include it in your prayers. For example, you can quote Deuteronomy 28:1-14: “And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt harken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. …The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; etc.” and then ask God for the same in your life. You cannot beat this method of activating God’s promises with your faith.
A key to understanding the Bible in its entirety is the revelation that The Lord Jesus Christ is the Word of God. Jesus enjoyed calling Himself “the son of man” because of this miraculous achievement of God that the Word became flesh. The four Gospels introduce you to this Man. The Lord Jesus Christ proved that everything He said was truth when three days after dying by public execution, He resurrected from death.
One of the most important Scriptures is Matthew 13:12 “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.” Jesus was speaking here of having revelation of the truth. Faith comes from the revelation of the Word of God to your spirit. Many passages in the Bible, when read aloud, are encouraging to children. Always have Scriptures to quote for building-up your faith.
The Book of Acts can be viewed as the acts of the Holy Spirit among the apostles. The letters from the apostles can be read as if they were addressed to you. The final book of the Bible is the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. It may be helpful for you to know that the seven churches called out in the Book of Revelation are seven progressive periods of the Christian church, originating with the Church in Ephesus denoting the apostle Paul’s time, continuing through the Church in Sardis depicting Martin Luther’s time, the Church in Philadelphia foreseeing John Wesley’s time and ending with the Church in Laodicea describing our time. The message here is that the Christian church today needs to repent. The outcome of the book however, is not difficult to understand. The Scriptures teach you to actively wait upon God and receive when you believe.
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Even if you presently cannot imagine how you would benefit from the Holy Scriptures, make sure you pack a Bible. – M.G.