19. The Goodness of God in the Gift of Scripture. Uche Anizor. 2026. 224 pages. [Source: Review copy] [Christian nonfiction, theology, 5 stars]
First sentence: The twentieth-century pastor and writer A.W. Tozer famously wrote, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us... Worship is pure or base as teh worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God." The shape of our worship and the course of our lives are dictated by our sense of what God is like. This conviction led Tozer to conclude that "the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like." I have often wondered if what Tozer said about our view of God is equally true regarding our view of Scripture, God's word. What comes into our minds when we think about the Bible?
In this book we have twenty meditations on the Word of God, on Scripture, taken from (inspired by) Psalm 119.
Psalm 119 is AMAZING and wonderful and extremely practical and packed with insights and truth. Truly it is a love song to the Word of God. I highly recommend reading this Psalm often. It would be my hope that believers instead of "dreading" this long Psalm would come to LOVE it and see it for what it is.
So let's unpack the title. Scripture is GOD-BREATHED. Here we have the very words of God Himself. We have his revelation. That revelation is a GIFT, the best gift, the truest gift. And this gift is one of an infinite amount of proofs that God is GOOD. He gave us HIS word so we would come to know him, love him, seek him, serve him, obey him, ENJOY HIM, glory in him. It is more than just "knowing" right from wrong. It is a GIFT of relationship. Scripture reveals the GIFTS the LORD has given us. So it isn't just one gift--but many--beyond what we can fathom.
Chapter titles unpack the "gifts" of Scripture:
The Gift of Blessedness
The Gift of Purity
The Gift of No Shame
The Gift of a Wonderful Counselor
The Gift of Fear
The Gift of Salvation
The Gift of Fruitfulness
the Gift of Warnings
The Gift of Peace
The Gift of Understanding
The Gift of Sight
The Gift of Nourishment
The Gift of Strength in Addiction
The Gift of True Truth
The Gift of Freedom
The Gift of Life
The Gift of Joy
The Gift of Wisdom
The Gift of Righteousness
The Gift of Hope
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