The Book that Shocked the Nations

~~ John 14:6 NIV84 ~~  Jesus answered “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 

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by Carley Cooper

No matter what genre you like to read, there’s one book that will shock everyone; Christians and Non-Christians alike.  The Bible.

Yes, You Read that Right

Doesn’t matter what side of the fence you're on about believing in God and His Word or not; reading the bible will astonish, surprise, and intrigue you.

The Bible is filled with:

• excitement
• action
• drama
• intrigue
• surprise
• romance
• science
• mystery
• tragedy
• murder
• and more.   

The Bible:

• is educational
• is realistic
• is a true story, yet filled with parables
• is a complete instruction manual for life
• can answer any question you have about anything (that doesn’t mean you will like the answers, but any question you have can be answered.)
• proves itself on every point it makes 

People in the Bible were as Flawed as You and Me

God knows that we are not perfect.  We are broken because of sin.  The people that God chose to be the examples for us, were as flawed as the rest of us.  He chose people that we could relate to, to be examples for us.  

• NOAH was a drunk
• ABRAHAM was too old
• ISAAC was a daydreamer
• JACOB was a liar
• LEAH was ugly
• JOSEPH was abused
• MOSES was a murderer and couldn't talk properly
• GIDEON was afraid
• SAMSON had long hair and was afraid
• RAHAB was a prostitute
• JEREMIAH and TIMOTHY were too young
• DAVID was a murderer and adulterer
• ELIJAH was suicidal
• ISAIAH preached naked
• JONAH ran from God
• NAOMI was a widow
• JOB went bankrupt
• JOHN THE BAPTIST ate bugs
• PETER denied Christ
• The DISCIPLES fell asleep while praying
• MARTHA worried about everything
• MARY MAGDLENE was demon possessed
• The SAMARITAN WOMAN was divorced...more than once
• ZACCHEUS was too small
• PAUL was a murderer and a blasphemest
• TIMOTHY had an ulcer
• and LAZARUS was dead!

You NEED the Bible

The Bible is better than the latest movie.  It will satisfy and shock you at the same time.  Wars are fought over its contents.  However, it will also show you the Truth.  That is, the one and only Truth.  Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NIV84)  Read the bible, study it, look up original text, study the culture of the day.  You will be amazed at what you learn.  You will also be saved and get to have an eternal life in Heaven if you accept what it says.  Without accepting Jesus, you won’t get to have that privilege.  

Let’s Pray

~~ Dear God ~~ Wonderful, loving, and gracious Father, so often I’m guilty of not reading Your Word when I should.  So often I don’t understand what it means.  Other times I take what it means and twist it to suit my own desires.  Thank You for Your Word.  Please help us understand everything we read within its pages, to accept and take to heart everything You tell us.  In Jesus name, AMEN.

Now It’s Your Turn

Thoughts?  Questions?  Want to share your story?  Ask for prayer?  Please consider sharing in the comments section; even if the link you clicked to get here was on another site.  (If you’re on the homepage, click on the post headline, and scroll down to find the comments section.)

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Why All or Nothing is Everything!

~~ Matthew 7:3 (NKJV) ~~  And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?

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Chloe
Photo Credit: Laura Keating Photography
(Laura Keating is my cousin in Newfoundland.
She's an awesome photographer.  Check out her work here.)

God’s Word is an all or nothing deal.  There are no option or elective packages offered.  You believe Him, or you don’t.  If you accept Jesus you will be saved.  If you reject Him you will not be saved.  People choose to reject certain parts of the bible, accept others, and then accept even other parts, but only after they have chosen to twist it’s meanings.  

OUCH!  That Hurts!

Ever have a speck of something in your eye?  It hurts; doesn’t it?  Sometimes it’s no bigger than a piece of dust, yet it feels half as big as your eyeball.  Poking, washing, rubbing is futile.  Even asking someone else to look for you doesn’t produce any results to get it out.  The worst part is, it’s irritating you to no end and you don’t even know what it is.

A few months ago something like this happened to me.  Except, this time it came in the form of a conversation with a group of people.  Since then something has been irritating me about it, yet I couldn’t figure out what it was.  I mean, there was the obvious thing; that neon signs didn’t start flashing saying “Carley’s right!”, and no one bowed to my awesome wisdom.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized this wasn’t what was bugging me.  What was it?  I wasn’t sure.

You see, there were four or five of us sitting around a table chatting after a dinner party.  The subject of God’s Word came up.  Eventually the conversation worked its way into the fact one of the others said that the bible was written by man.  Three of us told her that the scriptures are all God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16 NIV84).  Her response was one I’ve heard before, ‘I’ve reconciled within myself , and this is what I believe’.  She followed up with another that wasn’t new to me, ’Other organizations, denominations and religions have their own versions of the bible or what they call their holy scripture.  Who’s to say who is right?’  Reconciled to what?  And, God tells us straight out who is right... He is, and His Word proves itself on every point.  People don’t believe that the Bible was inspired by God; that every word comes from the breath of God; even though the bible says it is.

Ah Ha!  There it Is!
After a lot of thinking, I have discovered what is bothering me about this issue.  My thinking on it is this: if they don’t believe that God is the author of the bible; that the writers of the Bible could not have been filled and guided by the Holy Spirit, then they don’t believe it can happen to themselves.

As a Christian who has come to have a relationship with Jesus; thereby being filled with the Holy Spirit, I can assure you that my life, and who I am inside has changed.  Prayer, faith, stumbles, problems, and sheer determination that I won’t ever quit has helped me to let God do His work in my heart and life.

The experiences that I have on a regular basis cannot be missed.  Take, this blog post;  or for that matter, the whole Worship Melodies website.  It started because of God was directing me to do it.  Personally I think it’s a wonderful story and testimony in and of itself.  Every time I write, I ask God to use me to write a great message.  So often; more often than not, I end up with an article to post that was not in my mind to write.  Then as I reread the end product I can see a message, flow to the logic, and symbolism built in sometimes, that I never would have thought up on my own.  I know many writers, even non-believers, have that experience.  It’s as if the piece that’s being written takes on a life of its own.  But I know, from the work that I create, that it is definitely the Holy Spirit working in me.  So therefore, I know He can work in others lives as well.  If I never knew / believed it before my relationship with Christ, I know it now.  Therefore, I know that God could have, and I believe did indeed inspire, direct, and breath the words He wanted written by Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Jeremiah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Jude; and a number of others.

Now, to Flush it Out...
Because I am filled with the Holy Spirit, and I pray that I will always have strong faith, be obedient, and always let my focus stay on Jesus; I know that I am saved.  I know I am going to Heaven.  However, if I didn’t believe that God could inspire all those writers of the bible, than why would I ever assume that He would / could fill me and direct my life.  One cannot believe He can fill them and not others.  So therefore... and here’s that speck that was bothering me... if one does not believe that the writers of the bible were inspired by God then they cannot, themselves, be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, they are not saved.  Once we invite Jesus into our hearts, as our Lord and Saviour, He fills us with the Holy Spirit immediately, and His work will start to happen.  My friend isn’t saved.  That’s what was bothering me.  I love her.  I want to see her have a relationship with Christ, to know she is going to spend eternity in Heaven with God.  I want that for all those I love the most.  God is real.  His Word is His; not a fairy tale.  He loves you.  He longs to have a relationship with you.  Why are so many afraid of this?  Are you?  Why don’t you trust Him and see what happens if you were to accept all of His Word as the truth?

Let’s Pray

 ~~ Dear God ~~  You are so loving and merciful.  Your grace is something we cannot truly understand.  So often I can’t see the forest for the trees; I have a plank in my own eye while trying to see the speck in another’s eye.  Thank you for washing out the specks from my eyes.  Please help me to always get rid of my own planks before judging others.  Please help my friends who do not know you as well as they think they do.  Open  their eyes as you have mine, and let them truly see the Light and the Truth.  In Jesus name, AMEN

Now It’s Your Turn
Thoughts?  Questions?  Want to share your story?  Ask for prayer?  Please consider sharing in the comments section; even if the link you clicked to get here was on another site.  (If you’re on the homepage, click on the post headline, and scroll down to find the comments section.)

Enter your email address to get Worship Melodies posts in your Inbox:     Delivered by FeedBurner To prove you are not a robot or spammer you will receive a confirmation email. Click the link provided. . Check out these other great options or join in the conversations...
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