Primary Texts: Philippians 3:7–10; John 5:39; John 10:27; John 17:3
Introduction
July 12 is a special day for me.
Had she lived, my Mums would have celebrated her 106th birthday today. And if you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’ll know that she was my rock.
When I was six years old, she began a routine with me that would shape the rest of my life.
She didn’t simply read the Bible stories to me.
She taught me the value of reading them for myself.
Every day, before I started my homework or went outside to play, she insisted that I spend five minutes reading my Bible.
Five minutes became ten.
Ten became twenty.
Twenty became thirty.
Before I knew it, reading God’s Word had become less of a requirement and more of a desire.
Looking back now, I realize she wasn’t just teaching me to read the Bible.
She was helping bring it to life.
I don’t think she could have imagined that little boy would one day teach Sunday School, write daily devotionals, or spend countless hours studying Scripture.
She was simply planting seeds.
Today, I realize those seeds are still bearing fruit.
And perhaps the greatest way I can honor her isn’t simply by remembering her…
It’s by continuing what she started and building on that legacy.
Have You Ever Noticed?
Have you ever picked up a book, read a page or two, and immediately known who wrote it without having to look at the cover?
Have you ever picked up a book, read a page or two, and immediately known who wrote it without having to look at the cover?
For me, it’s authors like Max Lucado, C.S. Lewis, and John Grisham.
Each has a distinct voice.
A unique rhythm.
A recognizable way of telling a story.
The more time you spend reading an author, the more familiar you become with the way they think.
Eventually…
You recognize the author before you ever see the cover.
That made me wonder…
Isn’t that how Bible study is supposed to work?
More Than Information
I think we’ve stumbled onto something that explains why some Bible studies become dry while others become life-giving.
If my goal is simply to know the Book…
Eventually I’ll accumulate information.
But if my goal is to know the Author…
Every page…
Every reading…
Becomes another introduction.
That’s a lifelong pursuit.
The purpose of Bible study isn’t merely to know the Bible.
It’s to know the God who gave it.
The Bible doesn’t change…
But we do as we walk with the Author.
Paul
If anyone could have claimed to know the Scriptures, it was the Apostle Paul.
Long before he became a follower of Christ, Saul of Tarsus had devoted his life to studying God’s Word.
He wasn’t simply religious.
He was, in his own words, “an Hebrew of the Hebrews… as touching the law, a Pharisee” (Philippians 3:5).
A Pharisee among the Pharisees.
Trained under Gamaliel.
He had spent his entire life studying the Torah and the Prophets.
He knew the Law.
He knew the promises.
He knew the history.
He knew the Scriptures better than almost anyone alive.
Yet before the Damascus Road…
He knew the Word…
But he did not know the Savior to whom the Word pointed.
Everything changed that day.
Not because Paul received a different Bible.
But because he finally met the Author.
Years later…
After churches has been planted.
After miracles had been witnessed – and experienced.
After beatings had been endured.
After several prison sentences.
After writing much of what would become the New Testament…
Paul still writes,
«“That I may know Him…” — Philippians 3:10»
Notice what he doesn’t say.
He doesn’t say,
“That I may know more.”
He says,
“That I may know Him.”
Relationship had become greater than information.
The Difference
This may be one of the most important truths I’ve ever learned.
You can know the Scriptures…
without knowing the Savior.
But once you know the Savior…
you begin reading the Scriptures differently.
Suddenly…
Joseph isn’t merely a story about forgiveness.
He’s a picture of God’s providence.
David isn’t merely a shepherd who became king.
He’s another glimpse of God’s faithful heart.
The Psalms aren’t simply beautiful poetry.
They’re invitations into a relationship.
Everything changes because you’ve come to know the Author.
Jesus Said the Same Thing
Jesus confronted the religious leaders with these words:
«”Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
— John 5:39»
They knew the text.
They missed the Person.
The tragedy wasn’t that they studied too much.
The tragedy was that they stopped at the study.
His Sheep Know His Voice
Jesus also said,
«”My sheep hear my voice…”
— John 10:27»
I’ve often thought of that as something mysterious.
Now I think it’s something deeply relational.
Why do sheep recognize the shepherd’s voice?
Not because they studied acoustics.
Because they’ve walked with him.
They’ve heard him call.
They’ve learned his character.
They know him.
Recognizing the Author
When you’ve walked with the Author long enough…
You begin to recognize His heart before you’ve finished reading the story.
Have you ever noticed that certain composers have a signature style?
You can hear just a few measures and immediately know who wrote the music.
Not because every song sounds the same.
But because the composer’s fingerprints are woven throughout the melody, harmony, rhythm, and cadence.
I think Scripture is much the same.
Genesis doesn’t sound like Psalms.
Psalms doesn’t sound like Isaiah.
Isaiah doesn’t sound like John.
John doesn’t sound like Romans.
Different human authors.
Different audiences.
Different centuries.
Yet the more time you spend with God…
The more you begin recognizing His fingerprints.
Mercy.
Grace.
Patience.
Holiness.
Justice.
Truth.
Faithfulness.
Love.
Those themes keep appearing throughout Scripture.
Not because God keeps repeating Himself…
But because His character is beautifully, consistently recognizable.
Different movements.
Same Composer.
Eternal Life
Then Jesus says something that has completely changed the way I think about salvation.
Praying to the Father, He says:
«“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” ~ John 17:3»
I’ve read that verse countless times.
For years, if someone had asked me, “What is eternal life?” I probably would have answered, “Living forever in heaven.”
Jesus gives a different answer.
He doesn’t begin with a place.
He begins with a Person.
“This is life eternal… that they might know Thee.”
Not simply know about Him.
Know Him.
That one statement changes the entire purpose of Scripture.
The Bible isn’t merely preparing us for heaven.
It’s introducing us to the God with whom we’ll spend eternity.
Every page reveals another glimpse of His heart.
Every promise reveals another aspect of His faithfulness.
Every command reveals His holiness.
Every act of mercy reveals His love.
Every story reveals His character.
And every time we open His Word, we’re invited to know Him a little more than we did yesterday.
That’s why Bible study never becomes obsolete.
The Bible doesn’t change…
But we do as we walk with the Author.
The longer we walk with Him, the more familiar His voice becomes.
The more recognizable His heart becomes.
Until one day we find ourselves reading a passage we’ve read dozens of times before…
And suddenly we see Him in a way we never have before.
Not because the passage changed.
Because we did.
That’s the journey.
Not merely accumulating information about God…
But growing in a relationship with Him that will continue for all eternity.
Closing
As I think about my Mums today, I realize she gave me a gift far greater than I understood as a little boy.
She taught me to open the Bible expecting to meet God.
Not merely to learn facts.
But to know the One who inspired every page.
That’s the legacy she left me.
And it’s the legacy I hope to leave others.
Because the goal isn’t simply to know the Bible.
The goal is to know the God who gave it.
The Bible was never given merely so we could learn God’s works.
It was given so that, through His works, we would come to know His heart.
If Lessons From Samuel & the Psalms accomplishes that…
Then we’ve done far more than study David’s life.
We’ve introduced people to the Author who has been patiently revealing Himself from Genesis to Revelation all along.
