2 Timothy 3:16-17 – “Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, I was reminded again of something that I had let slip.  I was reminded of the incredibleness of God as revealed in the compilation of the Bible.  The Bible, although not compiled chronologically, is a purposeful progression.   We do not read or study it that way to our loss.   We pick and choose isolated passages for particular purposes or proofs of our position.  God compiled it for our total enlightenment.

I do not have time, and you do not have the patience to let me detail what I am saying and what I am seeing.  So, a snippet will have to suffice.

Haggai 1:6-8 reveals both a condition and a cure for the heart.  Zechariah 1:3 builds on that, giving the pathway to restoration.  That is followed by Zechariah 2:5.  The revelation and promise of the restored heart being the demonstration of God as a Wall of Fire to protect us.

Another progression is seen in Matthew 11 when John’s disciples asked, “Are you the One?” Jesus responded with, “Pay attention to what I am doing, and you will know.”

In that condition, we realize God’s peace, power, provision, and protection.  Building from that revelation, we get verse 25.  Then, in that condition and position, we hear the incredible words of verses 28-30.  His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.   Not ours, but His.  Our burdens and yokes are anything but easy and light.  Total surrender brings total rest.

Then Matthew 12:10 surfaces, and it blows my mind.  Why was the question even a question?  “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”   If they had been in the position and condition of Haggai and Zechariah, as described in Matthew 11, it would not have been asked.  The focus was not God, not good, and not people; it was RULES!

That led to the revelation of divided kingdoms and the picture of the heart as a house or kingdom.  Then it sounded the alarm about failure to return to and keep returning to God, as seen in Matthew 12:43-45.  Being set free requires filling the house with God to stay free!

In Matthew 13:29-30, we realize that in the restored condition, we are enabled to nurture the wheat.  Our job is not to root out the tares but to nurture the wheat.  God will sort it out at the harvest.

We move along in the development of the heart and come to the realization that the external is secondary.  The heart is the mainspring.  If there is no filter on the tongue, it reveals the true condition of the heart.

The Bible progressively moves our focus from self to service and from self to God.  God has given us a road map to victory, but we don’t follow the GPS.  We ignore turns and map out our own pathways.

The Bible is inspired and profitable as a road map.  Using it the way God designed it produces the benefits God planned.  We rob ourselves if we don’t use the guide.

LORD, help us to have a renewed appreciation of the purposeful progression of your Word!