Communication can get lost in translation. If you ever played the game Telephone as a kid, you know how easily the original message gets corrupted, sometimes in hilarious ways.

That makes the message of the Bible even more amazing. It's a true biography of God, sixty-six books recorded by forty different authors over a period of roughly 2,000 years. Why did God go to all the effort to communicate with us? Because He is a personal God--He knows you and wants you to know Him.

God has communicated with us in two main ways: what we call general revelation and special revelation. General revelation is the design we see when we look at the natural universe. As David wrote, "The heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1). When you look at trees, mountains, and beaches, you're looking at God's handiwork. Same for the sun, moon, and stars--and as David noted, "There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard" (v. 3). But while the heavens and earth are continually speaking to us about God's work, it's not enough.

That's why we need special revelation--the Bible. God's creation tells us He is intelligent, creative, and powerful, but it doesn't tell why we're here, what His plans are for us, or where we're going after this life. For that, David said, we need God's Word: "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (v. 7). The Bible tells you the rest of the story--and that story centers on God's great love for you.

The best part of the Bible is that it's trustworthy. You won't hear that from a lot of folks these days--even in the church. But the Bible can be trusted. It exhibits certain characteristics that no other book can claim.

One of the main characteristics is accurate transmission. We have close to 24,000 manuscripts of the New Testament. The only other ancient text that comes close to having that many manuscripts is Homer's Iliad--and there are far less than 2,000 of those. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls uncovered the meticulous work of biblical scribes, who copied with incredible precision the ancient texts. Rest assured--you have the Bible God wanted you to have.

So what's your attitude toward God's Word? Is it worth your time and effort? J. Vernon McGee used to say, "Every Bible needs to be bound in shoe leather." Once you've acknowledged that God is speaking through His Word, you need to do more than just learn the Bible. You have to put it to work in your life.

Have you discovered that the Bible knows exactly where to hit you? That God can take a phrase or a verse and bam, it's enough? So He does. And thus you and I can navigate our lives when everything seems so dark: the light of Scripture comes on and stabilizes our future. Let His Word renew and guide you today.