If you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;

Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up you voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as hidden treasures;

Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. 

For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:2-6, NKJV

Have you ever considered how wonderful the Bible is? Just think of it: we have the very words of God available at our fingertips! Within its pages, we have the secrets of the universe - God's universe. The Bible tells us where we came from and, more importantly, where we are going. It tells us exactly what God expects of us. It is a book of virtues, instructing us in every important character trait from honesty and integrity, to kindness and love. It gives us peace when everything around us seems to be filled with turmoil, and hope when it seems that all hope is gone.

A lot of modern day math books will have "solutions", giving the answers to the odd numbered questions to help you figure out if you are on the right track or not. The Bible, in a manner of speaking, also has the answers to the "even problems". It is like having the teacher's manual, a handy guide indeed for those who require the right answer for every problem. After reading through the Bible daily for over 40 years now, I have found that there is no problem in life that the Word of God has failed to give the correct answer for.

The Bible gives comfort to us when we are grieving. At our times of greatest loss, God's Word can lift up our spirits and give us the strength to continue. When we have departed from God's paths, it alone shows us the way back. It is like a map that never needs updating, for its destination never changes. Just think about that for a moment: God gives us the perfect route back to Him from wherever it is in this world that we may have wandered. Though we might occasionally become lost because we have strayed from His paths, His map will always allow us to find our way again.

And the Bible always has the right thing. It is a treasure beyond belief, but it comes with this caution: We must seek its instruction as earnestly as a prospector for silver or gold would seek their treasure. It comes with great responsibility, for God will hold those who fail to seek Him accountable. As Jesus said, "seek and you will find" so the possibility of not finding God's way is only there for the disinterested and the lazy. 

When you think about the wonder of the Bible, it should leave you in awe. It tells us everything that we really need, if we will just look, for God desires for us to be saved, not lost. And incredibly, He desires for us to be with Him, in this life and in eternity, and the Bible reveals how we can do both. 

It is the greatest love letter ever written, and it is written to us! But knowing all of this, yet seeing so many people in this world who are struggling and lost, begs the question: With such a treasure at our ready disposal, why is it that there is still so much sorrow and so much pain? And the only answer can be is because so many reject God's perfect direction and are seeking their own way.

It is because too many of us are wise in our own eyes and feel that we don't need directions. You men will understand, especially those of you who lived during the pre-GPS days. It is hard to admit that we do need direction, so we will often stubbornly circle the same lost path rather than ever admitting that we might be lost and in need of help. But this eternal truth becomes plain to all who have tried to find their own way: You cannot find the way home without God's direction! The good news is that we cannot be lost with that direction.

So, summing it all up: The Bible gives us strength when we are weary, encouragement when we are discouraged, a knowledge of being loved when we feel that we are unloved, and infallible directions when we are lost. It supplies our every need and gives us the answer to every question. 

It tells a lost world how it can be saved!

With all these treasures so readily available, why would anyone go without the daily daily counsel of the very words of God? That's a good question!