How the Bible Can Give You a More Than Life

We live in a world where adverts promise a lot from the products they are trying to sell -

If you buy this skin cream you will look 25 for the rest of your life

If you buy the bleach cleaning spray you and the members of your family will never get sick

If you buy this shampoo your hair will shine, be thick and glossy and swish beautifully whenever you move!

The Bible promises that if we read it and it becomes part of our daily thinking we will live a “more than” life. (click here to tweet this) Whilst this claim may seem outrageously incredible, unlike those from TV adverts we can rely on what the Bible tells us completely and utterly. Extravagant a promise it may be, but the Bible is truth and it really can give us the life we are looking for!

Have you ever bought something which seemed to promise a lot and then you felt completely let down by what it turned out to be in reality?

Last year, I bought a Kindle. I was thrilled by the potential I now had of downloading so many books from Amazon that were either free or next to nothing. However, after reading about half a dozen fairly dire, poorly written novels I realised that I wanted to be more discerning about the books I chose to download.

Similarly, some of the non-fiction books that I have downloaded have failed to deliver what they have promised. Many books that promise to help me to transform my home with impressive organisational tools, or to revitalise my quiet time, or give me innovative time-management techniques have led me on a journey not towards enlightenment but disappointment.

Whilst I generally don’t pay very much for Kindle books and so do not feel like I have wasted much money on books like this, I do often feel disappointed by the time I have invested in reading things that leave me feeling let down by their failure to deliver the wisdom that they have promised.

O how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
For they are ever mine.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
For your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged,
Because I have observed Your precepts.
I have restrained my feet from every evil way,
That I may keep Your word.
I have not turned aside from Your ordinances
For You Yourself have taught me.
How sweet are Your words to my taste!
Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
From Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way.
Psalm 119:97-104

This stanza from Psalm 119 describes the “more than” life that the psalmist is living because he lives it with the Bible at the foundation of all he does. He meditates on the Bible all day because he loves God’s Word. Therefore, he is able to make some pretty big claims about the gifts that the Bible gives him. He says that the Bible gives him -

1. More wisdom
Vs 98 tells is that the psalmist has more wisdom than his enemies. The Bible gives us wisdom. It is full of strong teaching, sound morals, profound truth and good old practical common sense. Therefore, if we read the Bible regularly and allow it to inform how we live our lives we will be full of wisdom. Doesn’t this sound attractive? To be wise in the decisions you need to make, the way you parent, love your husband and conduct your other relationships, and ultimately in the way you serve and glorify God.

2. More insight
The psalmist tells us in vs 99 that the Bible gives him more insight than all his teachers. The definition of insight is the capacity to gain an accurate and deep understanding. If we meditate on God’s Word daily we will increase our capacity to gain accurate and deep understanding of how God wants us to live our lives. What amazing knowledge!

3. More understanding
Finally, in verse 100 we are told that the psalmist understands more than the aged. Normally as we grow older we gain more understanding of life through maturity and experience. Yet, the Bible offers us understanding beyond our years! If we observe the precepts that God has given us in the Bible we have mature understanding about how to live.

What does this all mean? Well, it means that we will screw things up less. We will make the right decisions, be more equipped to resist temptation when it comes along, be more blessed in our relationships, and have more successful lives. If this was an advert for a Kindle book, you’d think it sounds too good to be true, eh? Only the Word of God can give us all these things. This is the “more than” life.

The Bible is never going to let us down or be a disappointment . The only way that this will happen is if it sits on our bookshelf unopened.

No wonder the psalmist uses one final “more than” to describe the Bible and the part it plays in his life. In verse 103, he declares how sweet the words of the Bible are  to him, more sweet than honey! Imagine the most delicious cake you have ever tasted. The Bible is even sweeter than that. And the best thing is it’s calorie-free! We can feast on its delights every day and we will consume all its goodness, flavours and nourishment. Let us learn to live the “more than” life from the Bible which offers us so much more than any other book ever written.

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Photo used with permission by pixaio courtesy of Stock.Xchng

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