Why is the Bible called the Holy Bible?

in ,

Prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.  (2 Peter 1:21)

“One more book, Dad! Please!” my two-year-old daughter tells me as she looks at me with her baby blue eyes and holds up her favorite book. It’s amazing how many books we read in a sitting, everything from: Pete the Cat to the Biscuit series, to Pinkalicious to Dr. Seuss. These books contain short stories that hold the attention of the listener (and the reader) while providing some entertainment or education along the way.

We read for many reasons. And we know that most of the things we read whether online, in the newspaper, or in a book must be read with a discerning eye. The problem is that we sometimes struggle to know which parts of them are real and true.

This can be a challenge. But what about when it comes to the Bible, the Holy Bible. Well, that is another story! Why? Throughout Scripture we are told that God’s Word is different. What makes it different? The author is God. Yes, men wrote the Bible but God is the main author. It is his holy, perfect Word.

God tells us some remarkable truths about his Word such as: God’s Word cannot be broken (everything it says is reliable). His Word is truth (why would God lie to us?). His Word is sharp (it can pierce through the hardest of hearts). His Word is alive (it is active). His Word is powerful. His Word always achieves God’s purpose. His Word will never pass away.

While these truths are important to note, it is the message of God’s Word that can’t be overlooked. For God says that the purpose of the Bible, the Holy Bible, is for us to know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in his name.

The Bible is holy. But you have to open and use it to get anything out of it. If you want to change a heart or be comforted by God’s grace, you have to “blow off the dust” and share or listen to the holy words of our God. These are the words that he authored through men, for you, to tell you about his great love and saving activity in Jesus, so that through the encouragement of the Scriptures you might have hope.

What is a Christian Worldview?

in ,

Sam and Harry are two brothers who are able to see eye to eye on just about everything. But every August, it seems that they have a hard time agreeing on anything. Whenever football season starts up, Sam and Harry are always at odds. Though these two men had been born brothers, they grew up rooting for different teams. And whenever their rival teams play each other, Sam and Harry leave the stadium with very different views of the same game.

In many ways, Christians and non-Christians are able to see eye to eye when it comes to the ways of the world. Most people, no matter what their beliefs may be, like to be treated fairly, to have a feeling of personal security, and to have a sense of purpose in life. There are times, however, when a Christian’s view of this world can be very different than their neighbor’s. Often, it’s the joys and woes of daily life that demonstrate the differences. Whether celebrating a milestone, or coping with a disappointment, or even facing death, Christians and non-Christians can think, talk, and act very differently.

What makes a Christian ‘tick’? Why do believers look at their world with such a different perspective? The answers to these questions reveal what Christian faith is all about. While the world around them believes in things like fairness, decency, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, a Christian believes in the God who is this world’s Maker, Savior, and Counselor. Simply by speaking the words of a Creed, every Christian makes a powerful statement of who they really are—not only in relationship to their world, but also in relationship to the God whose world it is.

When a non-Christian sees a lifetime’s worth of achievements as the sum total of hard work or as simple dumb luck, the Christian sees the hand of God. When a non-Christian sees a world filled with madness and uncertainty, the Christian sees a world for which Christ died. When a non-Christian struggles to see their purpose in life and where they ought to fit in the world, the Christian sees God’s own Spirit at work.

Christians confess their faith in God. “This is the God who made me what I am, gives me what I have, and who holds this whole world in his hands!” Even if Christians and non-Christians can’t see the world eye to eye, the truth of God is always in view.

Know Jesus - With HIM all things are possible. Whataboutjesus.com

Knowing Jesus or Knowing about Jesus—what’s the difference?

in ,

Isn’t social media wonderful for staying in touch? Watch a video of your nephew’s first step. Share your grandmother’s recipes. Make personal contact with your best friend on his birthday. Monitor your classmate’s battle with cancer.

Even though separated by a distance, you carry your friends and family around with you in your pocket or purse. But it’s not the same as being there in person, is it? There’s no substitute for holding your mom’s hand at the clinic when she gets the bad news, or sitting by your dad’s side at the funeral. A relationship is more than following a news feed, it’s being an eyewitness to history and experiencing it.

What kind of relationship do you have with Jesus? Most people know the facts about his life, as told to them by parents and preachers. In Nazareth, the people knew who Jesus’ parents were. They heard reports about his preaching and his miracles, and they were thrilled to have him come for a visit. But they didn’t know him as well as they thought. He announced, “No prophet is accepted in his hometown” (Luke 4:24). And when Jesus started to tell them what needed to change, the people of Nazareth tried to kill him.

Just knowing the facts about Jesus doesn’t change my behavior or attitude. Just following the story with my head won’t make me feel ashamed of my sins and lead me to trust him as my Savior. And it certainly won’t get me to heaven, because knowing about Jesus isn’t the same thing as knowing Jesus. Knowing Jesus means taking to heart what he says about my sins. Knowing Jesus means there’s nothing I can do to make this relationship work, but that he makes it all possible. Knowing Jesus means experiencing his love and forgiveness. Knowing Jesus means walking with him through the darkest days of my life. Knowing Jesus means a relationship that never ends, no matter how bad the news is.

How can you be close to someone who lived so long ago? Read the eyewitness accounts written in the Bible. Put yourself in their place and apply what they saw and heard to your own life. Stay in touch with your Savior by regularly reading and listening to God’s Word, and speak to him in prayer. Join together with other Christians to grow in your knowledge about Jesus and what he means for you.

It’s true: No Jesus, no peace. Know Jesus, know peace.

What does the Holy Spirit do for us?

in ,

A famous doctor once conducted a series of autopsies in which he made a stunning observation. Here is how it happened. He had carefully examined the body of a convicted murderer when he noticed a connection to the body of a convicted thief. The two individuals had the exact same internal problem. It got a little crazier. He went back over the notes from a few other cases and he discovered that a few more bodies had the same internal problem. But it didn’t stop there. He went back over all his cases and, regardless of the person’s background, all of the people had that same internal problem. The doctor shared his findings in a book which is still the top-selling book of all time.

Do you want to know what the connection was between all of those people? They all had heart problems. You have probably heard the name of the doctor. His name is Jesus. Jesus once pointed out (Mark 7) that all evil thoughts and actions come from within the heart. When someone cuts you off on the highway and your first reaction is NOT to smile and wave, it comes from within the heart. When someone hurts your feelings and you want to hurt them back, it comes from within the heart. When you say something in anger that you immediately want to take back, it comes from within the heart.

That is the problem. So what is the solution? One man said it well, “Create in me a pure heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10). We need new and pure hearts and God is the only one who can create them. This is where the work of God the Holy Spirit comes in. He uses something sharper than a surgeon’s scalpel to penetrate and change the heart. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God. Like a skilled surgeon, the Holy Spirit cuts deeply in order to heal divinely. The Holy Spirit uses that Word of God to teach us that the “blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:17). The Holy Spirit uses that Word of God to change the heart so that it beats with faith and hope and love. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God so that it pours out joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness. Thank the Holy Spirit for your new heart!

How is Jesus the Savior of the world?

in ,

On September 11, 2001, passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 attempted to gain control of the hijacked airplane that was by most accounts headed for a target in Washington, D.C. The plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. All 44 passengers were killed. The valiant passengers sacrificed their lives so that possibly many more lives were spared. Those passengers were lifesavers in the sense that they substituted their own lives for the lives of others.

Christians refer to Jesus as a lifesaver. Jesus saved our lives and the lives of every single human being. That is quite an astounding assertion. How specifically did Jesus save the human race? The answer hinges on Jesus serving as our substitute.

The Bible clearly states that God is absolutely holy, righteous and just. The problem is that we human beings are not in God’s spiritual league, far from it. The apostle Paul bluntly reminds us that no one is perfect: “There is no one righteous, not even one…All have turned away and have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10,12).

We are sinful; God is not. Left to ourselves, our lack of holiness will prevent us from living eternally in our holy God’s presence. God’s Word says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Instead of going to heaven, our final destiny is eternal death in hell. Jesus said that those who are not righteous will be cast by God into the place of torment (Matthew 13:49,50), the abode of the evil angel Satan. It is an ominous and bleak eternal outlook!

But God intervened. We have a lifesaver. We have a substitute. In unimaginable love, God the Father sent his Son, Jesus, to save us from death and hell. As true God and true man, Jesus lived a holy and sinless life in our place. Jesus substituted his holiness for our lack of holiness, so that because of Jesus God counts us completely holy!

Then in remarkable humble love for all of us, Jesus suffered and died. On the cross, Jesus suffered the agony of eternal separation from God the Father’s love. We deserved that eternal punishment for our sin, but God put Jesus under the sentence of death as our substitute.

Then victoriously Jesus rose from the dead to prove that he fully accomplished our salvation. He is the Savior who rescued the world from the guilt of sin, the hold of death, and the power of hell by his perfect life and his death for us.

Trust Jesus who is your “substitute” Savior, and all these eternal blessings are yours!

What happens to us when we die?

in ,

What happens to us when we die? What an important question, because we all need and want to know the answer!

Many people attempt to guess at an answer, even people whom many others trust! The guesses are all over the place. Some people think that we will reincarnate as a new life after we die. Others think we continue as a ghost over a favorite spot or maybe as an angel over a favorite friend.

Our eternal God gives the trustworthy answer in the Bible for his believers. He moved one of the authors of the Scriptures to write:
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

We no longer have to grieve like everyone else who may still be guessing about what happens to us when we die. The question has been answered for us. By his death, Jesus paid for our sins. By his resurrection, Jesus guarantees that those who believe in him will have life with him after death. We will spend eternity with him in glory!

Now, since we know that those who fall asleep in Jesus will enter life in heaven, we want to dedicate ourselves to reading, studying, and applying God’s Word! We want to make sure that all our loved ones know the truth about God’s love for them in Christ, so that trusting our Savior we don’t have to wonder what will happen to us when we die. We know with confidence that we will be together forever with the Lord in heaven.

Why did Jesus do miracles?

in ,

When Jesus lived on this earth, he made some astounding claims. As a twelve-year-old, Jesus reminded his parents that God was his Father. In his sermons he said things like, “I am the light of the world… I am the way, the truth and the life… I am the living bread that came down from heaven…” (John 8:12, 14:6, 6:51). Near the end of his life, Jesus answered the question “Are you the Son of God,” saying, “Yes, it is as you say” (Matthew 26:64).

Jesus claimed to be divine. One would think that the divine would be able to do things on earth that mere humans could not. If Jesus really were divine, he should have been able to perform miracles.

Jesus did just that. He healed the sick, walked on water and even raised the dead. These miracles helped to support his claim that he was the true God come to earth to save mankind. Jesus said, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves” (John 14:11).

Jesus’ miracles did more than just support his divine claims. Jesus’ miracles provided him an audience to hear his message. Some came to see Jesus drawn by the prospect of seeing or receiving a miracle. When they came, Jesus also took the opportunity to tell them about the good news of forgiveness.

However, Jesus’ miracles were no mere marketing tool. Jesus genuinely cared about people and used his divine power to bring healing and happiness. The Bible tells us, “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14).

Finally, Jesus’ miracles helped to build up the faith of those who believed in him. For example, one night Jesus slept in a boat while a deadly storm raged on the sea. Deathly afraid, Jesus’ friends woke him up and pleaded with him to do something. In a miracle of divine proportions, Jesus raised his hands, rebuked the wind and the water, and the storm immediately calmed (Luke 8:22-25). Jesus’ miracle of power over the storm helped bolster the weak faith of his friends.

What Was Jesus Doing Before He Began His Ministry?

in ,

“Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.”  The Bible, in Luke 3:23, gives us that life-marker for Jesus.  The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) then go on to describe a three year ministry of Jesus.  So we know Jesus died, rose and ascended into heaven at about age 33.  What was Jesus doing all those years before he celebrated his 30th birthday?

Aside from the account of Jesus’ birth and infancy, there is only one account in the Bible about his boyhood.  That’s the time when the 12 year old Jesus was in the temple courts of Jerusalem amazing his teachers with his knowledge of the Scriptures.  You can read about it in Luke 2:41-52.  The account ends in an interesting way.  God tells us that the boy Jesus did not remain in Jerusalem in the temple.  Instead he was obedient to his earthly parents and went back with them to his hometown of Nazareth.  There in Nazareth, from age 12 to 30, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

That’s it.  That’s all we’ve got in the Bible about what Jesus was doing for all those years.  We might wish we had more.  That’s when it’s good to remember that the Bible wasn’t given to us so that we could know every detail of Jesus’ life on this earth.  It was given to us that we might be, as Paul once wrote to Timothy, “wise unto salvation.”  That’s a shorthand way of saying the Bible tells us exactly what we need to know about Jesus in order to believe in him and be saved.

Speaking of “saved,” consider that one little statement that summarizes 18 years of Jesus’ life and what it says about being saved.  “Jesus grew in favor with God and men.”  This means Jesus was loving God perfectly and loving his neighbor as himself perfectly for all those years.  He was keeping every single command of God’s holy will.  The Bible says that he was just like you and me except that he did not sin.  Jesus, true God from eternity, came to earth and became a perfect human being.

So what does that have to do with being saved?  It means you have a perfect Substitute.  Jesus places his perfection over your sin so that you may stand before God as not guilty.  Jesus himself affirmed this at his baptism when he told John that he had come “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).  And the apostle Paul underscored this truth when he said that Jesus “was born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

What does Jesus teach about Peace?

in ,

It was more of the same: The usual morning battle to persuade the sixteen year old to get in and out of the shower in under an hour.  The struggle to get the seven month old fed, dressed, changed, and dressed again.  The usual clash with thousands of other drivers also trying to shave minutes off their daily commute times.  The mental fatigue involved with trying to figure out what went so wrong that there are separation papers in the glove box needing to be signed by Friday.  The physical wars all over the world covered daily on talk radio news.  It was more of the same.

As she squealed into stall number 21 five minutes late for work, the stupid bumper sticker on the Chevy in stall 20 caught her eye again as it did every day: “No Jesus no peace; Know Jesus know peace.” She scoffed to herself and then shouted out loud for all to hear, “What-EVER!” sounding a lot like her teenager.

Although the noise of life makes it difficult to have peace, this is exactly what Jesus promises, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

Jesus’ peace most likely won’t quiet a screaming child.  Jesus’ peace doesn’t guarantee a slick commute in the morning.  Jesus’ peace won’t make all your problems and all the world’s conflicts fade away.

Jesus does, however, promise a peace that will quiet your heart.  Knowing that Jesus came into this world to heal damaged relationships with God brings peace to a troubled soul.  Knowing that Jesus came to open wide the doors to heaven brings true peace to confused and searching minds.  Knowing that Jesus is waiting to welcome you to his eternal home where there will be no more “noise” makes all the noises of life a little easier to deal with.

Jesus promises, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”

How did we get the Bible?

in ,

Very frankly, that question is the topic of lengthy books and scholarly study. After all, it’s a huge question! How do we know that we have what God originally gave? We want – and need – to know! Here’s a very brief explanation.

God gave the Old Testament in the Hebrew language, along with a bit of Aramaic (a cousin language to Hebrew). The Jews then took the originals and made copies. As they did, they had to be absolutely precise. The scribe was allowed to correct one error. If he were to make more than one error (in the whole book!) he had to throw away the copy, and start over. The copying was painstaking, careful work. Because of that, our copies of the Hebrew Old Testament are extremely consistent, with hardly any questions about the text at all.

God gave the New Testament in Greek, the common world language of that time. Because Christianity spread into Europe, North Africa, Turkey, etc., many copies had to be made. So, for example, one person would dictate the text, while several people made copies. The result is that we have hundreds and hundreds of copies of the New Testament, coming from those several different regions of the world. By comparing all the manuscripts, we are able to be positively sure of almost every single word in the Greek New Testament. In less than 1/10 of 1% of the text are there any questions at all as to what the text ought to read, and in each of those cases, no truth of the Bible is impacted.

One example. Matthew 1:18 begins, “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: …” But, quite a few Greek texts read, “the birth of Christ Jesus” instead of “the birth of Jesus Christ.” Some others read, “the birth of Christ,” and there’s even two which read “the birth of Jesus.” We’re not sure what the text ought to read. Because it’s God’s Word, we take every single word seriously. Yet we also realize that whether the text reads, “the birth of Jesus Christ” or “the birth of Christ Jesus” etc., there is no question whatsoever as to the point God is communicating.

So can you be sure that we have the Bible, the pure Word of God? The answer is “yes.” And we thank God for that, for He’s promised that even if the mountains were to pass away, yet His Word will never pass away (Matthew 24:35, 1 Peter 1:24-25)! God has preserved it! And He will!