I'm Thankful for...(part 4)

I'm Thankful For...My Bible

 Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

Exodus 20:3-17 "3. You shall have no other gods before me. 4. You shall not make for yourself a carved image ~ any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5. you shall not bow down to them or serve the, For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me. 6. but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. 7. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 8. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9. six days you shall labor 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11.For in six days the Lord make the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 12. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.  13. You shall not murder. 14. You shall not commit adultery. 15. You shall not steal. 16. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17. You shall not cover your neighbors house, you shall not covet your neighbor;s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servants, nor his ox, nor hid donkey, nor anything that is your neighbors." 

 Psalm 23
 "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake. Yea, thought I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I've heard the Bible described as Gods love letter to us, as a Parent's instruction manual, as a history book, and so many more.  It is all those and so much more ~ it is a living, breathing document ~ just as applicable today as it was 1000's of years ago.  We can learn about the character of God, the way to get along, about ancient lands, about how to behave, about how the Lord God feels about our actions, how to worship Him, about life here on earth and what happens after we die (there are only 2 outcomes), about how to come to a Saving relationship with Him ~ the one true God, we learn how to recognize false prophets, idols, and other stumbling blocks in our lives. The most important thing we learn about is God ~ His nature, His character, His love, His wrath, His anger, His perfection, His Holiness.

And no matter how much we read and study, we will never learn all there is to know about the Lord.

He continually peels back the "scales from our eyes" to reveal more of Himself and His word to our understanding daily.