By Brenda Groves
The Post Newspaper Contributing Writer
As the youngest of four sisters I was constantly under the influence of their intellects, advice and opinions.
One of my siblings was notorious for “pulling my leg” and I fell for it nearly every time. I remember when I was around 4 or 5 I stepped on a nail and it went through my foot and on the way to the ER my Sister leaned close and whispered, “You know they will have to cut your leg off to get the nail out.” (Now if I had taken a minute to think about that I might have realized that statement didn’t even make sense. Yet, I believed her, and wailed at the top of my lungs all the way to the hospital. Lol!!) Now, my oldest sister usually tried to intercede with the truth, but for some reason I refused to believe her.
So, with this in mind, when I hear people try to discredit the Bible as outdated, or just a book of suggestions, merely opinions written by a group of men a long time ago, I have to wonder “who are they listening to? Other men?”
From the beginning, (literally), Satan is always challenging the word of God, and basically God’s love for us. He attacks our thoughts with deceptive suggestions such as: “Are you really His beloved.” “Is the Bible really true?” “Did God really say that?”
The answer is YES!!
I love the word of God! And even though I am still learning and may not understand all of it, I am not leaning on my own understanding, I believe every word is truth and approach it (Him) like that.
But for many years I also questioned the validity of the Bible as God inspired for one main reason, I was living in darkness and darkness cannot comprehend (understand) the Light because Light exposes the evil intents of our hearts. Even if we are basically a good person in the eyes of others, no one is born into this world with a sinless nature. Except for Jesus.
My heart was evil, and for me, deep down, I was afraid to believe that the Bible is true because that would have huge implications on my life, and I would need to make a life changing decision. (But when I came to the end of myself, I did not want to be me anymore. The weight of my sin debt was too heavy to carry any longer. I was the walking dead, but at that moment I called out to Jesus with all of my heart and made peace with God.)
Now some religious doctrines have presented it as a book of rules and regulations of what man must do to obtain right standing with God. Do good – to be good. It hasn’t always been represented as “His”story of an intimate relationship between God, our Creator, who wanted to be a Father to mankind. “God IS love.”
The relationship that was broken when men chose to “succeed from the union” and God’s awesome plan to purchase our freedom and a way to be reunited with Him.
And sadly, the predominant religious approach is to use the Bible to change the outward appearance of people. Behavior control in a sense. Guilt or fear factor tactics to make people tow the line so to speak. (And under the Old Covenant the law was necessary. People could be born again in the spirit. Evil hearts of stone could not be replaced with hearts of flesh. Jesus had not come yet.)
The truth of the Bible approaches change from a heart level. The heart is the source of our external behavior. Only God can take away our hearts of stone, and replace them with a heart of flesh through our faith response to what the Lord Jesus has provided for us by grace.
You know, the night I got born again I confessed just one sin, the only “sin” that separated me from God, not putting faith in Jesus who has paid for all of our sins.
But I did remember hearing the Gospel message of Jesus.
That night, 27 years ago, I just got real with God, I mean I spoke to Him without religious pretense. I told Him that I did not want to be me anymore. I told Him that I knew about Him but I did not know Him. And I said, “God, I want to know You.”
And humbly, yet truthfully, I said with all of my heart, “Jesus, I want to know You, and I’m not moving one step until l talk to You.”
Jesus said in John Chpt. 3, “You must be born again,” and in Romans Chpt. 10, “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
That night my tiny mustard size seed of faith came into agreement with what God had already provided by His saving grace, and God’s word worked a miracle in my spirit. Jesus’ right standing in exchange for my own unrighteousness. The word of God working in me to reproduce a born again, blood bought child of God.
Without a doubt I knew Him and I also knew I was forgiven of ALL my sins, past, present and yes, even future sins were paid for. (Jesus is not going back on the cross each time we sin.)
Some people believe that the Bible is out of date- presents old fashioned ideas, yet this two thousand year old Book is still a best seller world wide, as the will and testament word of the only true living God.
It is not a self help book, or suggestions on how to live a better life. (Although, through the atonement of Jesus are precious promises here for us in this life as His living beneficiaries.) The word of God offers transformation, death to life, curses to blessings. Orphans to “joint heirs of Christ.” It has been here long before we were, and will stand long after we are gone.
The Bible is the living word of God. It is Holy Spirit inspired and it is alive and active. I have testimony after testimony how I have seen it working in my own life, and the lives of countless others.
God’s word, mixed with our faith, has resurrection power to change lives, supernaturally overcoming physical circumstances, when we come in agreement for His will to be done here on earth, as it is in Heaven. And it is just too late for anyone to convince me otherwise.
I know Jesus, I have met Him in the spirit and He is alive!
You can’t convince me that the Bible is not valid, or incorrect for today’s world or contradicts itself. “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.” We are the variables.
And as the pastor once said, “We don’t read the Bible, the Bible reads us.”
“The fear of man brings a snare.”
Do not take my word for it, look it up for yourself.
(Gen. 3:1-7, 6:15; Matt: 6:10,15:18-19, Heb. 3:8, 4:2,4:12; Isaiah 40:8, 55:11; Mark 7:20-23; Jeremiah 17:9-10; Psalm 141:4; John 1:1-18, 29-32,17:3; Romans 12:2; 1 John 4:7; Proverbs 29:25; Ezekiel 36:26; 2 Peter 1:21; Eph. 2;8-9. NKJV)
Contact Brenda Groves at: bkgroves1996@yahoo.com
