Worded Beliefs - Week 15

I’ve mentioned before that I believe God speaks to me situationally. While I would love to hear Him speak in other ways (something I’ve been praying for), the company and circumstances He brings my way can always reveal His guidance if I’m willing to pay attention. Last week I wrote about the promises of our Lord. How we can learn to trust in them while standing firm on the grounds in which He’s laid them out for us. Since writing about these promises, our pastor preached on promises, I’ve had Bible verses given to me about promises, and I’ve heard the word promise more times than I can count. There isn’t a clear direction of where to go with these circumstances but I fully trust it’s a confirmation that God’s promises are valid.

There are many many many promises our good God has given us in Scripture. Promises like, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) Promises that tell us we can have peace because He has overcome the world. (John 16:33) Promises that say God has given each one of us a gift (1 Peter 4:10) and that Christ is with us wherever we go. (Joshua 1:9) In these promises (and the countless others) we can watch the truth of God flourish in our lives. We are able to witness His power by asking Him to reveal it and we can learn of His power by reading what He’s done.

This past week I completed reading through the entire Bible. It took less than 20 minutes each day, for 365 days. It was my second time reading it all the way through and my first time in order. I read things I didn’t know were in there and as I read it again I’m sure it will be the same. In reading this past year I’ve learned new things about what God has done throughout history, about the people who followed Him, and about the pattern society has in parting from Him. I’ve been reminded in reading that it’s impossible to fully understand the greatness of God but to trust in His faithfulness while living in praiseful declaration. Some Scriptures were difficult to get through sequentially, some had me wonder why they were in there, and others I questioned. However, regardless of my own understanding, I fully believe that in their original form, the Scriptures are accurately and verifiably the word of God, something I never would have considered 12 years ago.

I didn’t grow up in a church, or even a home that talked of God. I didn’t always have a relationship with Jesus and I never really thought about who He is. Though I spent some time in a youth group throughout my teens, I went mainly to get out of the house; I went mainly to get in trouble before and after. I never took seriously the subject of what we were gathering together to discuss and I certainly didn’t believe God cared about me. In my mind, there was no God and if there was, I was unsure of who that God was. In my early twenties my curiosity grew and I asked for a Bible. I wanted to be able to defend my disbelief. I wanted to be able to point out all the things I found dysfunctional about the Christian religion and underline the several contradictions I found. In doing so, I didn’t find any inconsistency, I didn’t find reasons to doubt their centrality, and I found out that the truth of the matter was always the same whether I agreed with the Word or not. Jesus came so that we could have life and life abundantly. (John 10:10)

Over the years I’ve looked into other religious worldviews, I’ve studied some of the biggest theological ideas, and have found none more rational than that of our Triune Creator. Every view on God may have some point of truth but they can’t all be completely true, they just can’t. So what makes me so sure that the Holy Bible is the complete truth of God? Well aside from the life it breathes into ones soul, no other book has been ostracized more than these Scriptures. No other book has survived as many attacks for over 1,900 years (since the beginning of time really) and then remained the number one best seller in the world. As far as I know it is not illegal to read any other book other than the Bible in select areas over the globe and for no other Word do people risk their lives in being killed to love on people in telling them the truth of who Christ is. Because of these things and the ways that God has directly worked in me, I am sure that the 66 books of the Holy Bible are right and true. “Every word of God proves true.” (Proverbs 30:5a)

This doesn’t mean that certain things in our Scriptures are easy to swallow, easy to understand, or easy to agree with. It doesn’t mean that I have an everyday interest in reading, or even an excitement about spending time with them, but it does mean I believe they can change your life.  It does mean that if you read them completely I believe they take root in your heart. There’s no sense in saying we don’t believe in God if we don’t know who God is and we can’t know who God is unless we take the time to find out. Once we take that time to discover the truth of who God is we can continue to discover what He’s really like by experiencing our life with Him, by rereading His Word, and by building on our already present relationship with Him. God has been extremely kind in giving His people a glimpse of His power. He has written out the truth of life for us to share with others and it makes good sense to believe.