And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
– Philippians 4:19 (NLT)
I could lose everything in life. There’s not anything I have here on earth that is guaranteed. If I lost it all though, I’d be okay because no one can take away my identity in Christ. Whether I live in a mansion on a hill or a shack in the swamp, I have my Jesus. Whether the world is for me or against me, I have my Jesus. When I am knocked down, I get on my knees and there I find my Jesus. His Word is planted deep in my heart and I believe it all.
– Melissa Taylor
His divine power has given us everything we need to experience life and to reflect God’s true nature through the knowledge of the One who called us by His glory and virtue.
– 2 Peter 1:3 (VOICE)
For us, there is one God, the Father who is the ultimate source of all things and the goal of our lives. And there is one Lord—Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King; through Him all things were created, and by Him we are redeemed.
O my soul, come, praise the Eternal with all that is in me—body, emotions, mind, and will—every part of who I am— praise His holy name.
– Psalm 103:1 (VOICE)
Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
– Psalm 103:1 (NKJV)
Praise the Lord! Let all that I am praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.
– Psalm 146:1,2 (NLT)
I was privileged to hear Joni Eareckson Tada speak Saturday night at the Desiring God Conference. Most of you know Joni, a quadriplegic, was paralyzed 38 years ago in a diving accident. She gave a great and convicting message but as the time of worship began, I saw something that was more impressive than anything I heard. I saw Joni dance.
Joni handles her wheelchair as deftly as any Nascar driver on a racetrack. No sooner had the music begun than Joni began to “dance”. As much as a quadriplegic can dance, she danced. Joni has just enough movement and strength in her hands and shoulders to grip the controls on her chair and maneuver herself without the aid of others. Suddenly the chair began to move with the music. She thrust forward, then backward, then forward, then backward. Smoothly, and yet with obvious passion, she turned to the right, then the left, then the right again.
Suddenly, the forward and backward and side to side movements gave way to spinning. Well, as much as a paralyzed person can spin. Joni began to turn her chair in circles, first clockwise, then back again. If she ceased her movements, if was only so that she could lift her contorted hands as high as her paralysis would allow. It wasn’t very high, but who’s measuring!
I had to ask myself why I often stand like a vertical cadaver. I have the glorious gift and privilege of being able to celebrate God and honor Him with my body. I can kneel, lift my hands to heaven, fall prostrate, clap, and yes, move to the right and left and dance.
I went home thinking about Joni and thinking about her God. What kind of God is this who can inspire such freedom and joy in one who, from a human point of view, would appear to have very reason to hate Him? What kind of God is this who has the qualities and characteristics and attributes and beauty and glory that He can be found worthy of the praise and gratitude and “dancing” of a woman who’s spent the last 38 years in a wheelchair? Wow! Now that’s some God!
– Dr. Sam Storms
I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and all his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord, so I celebrate before the Lord. Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes!…
I was inspired to write this piece after listening to a interview my cousin, Kathy Gray, did on her new book “Light in Our Darkness”. In the interview Kathy said, “We were never created to perform. We were created for relationship.” Amen. Thank you, Kathy
– Susie Stewart
Don’t be mistaken; in and of ourselves we know we have little to offer, but any competence or value we have comes from God. Now God has equipped us to be capable servants of the new covenant, not by authority of the written law which only brings death, but by the Spirit who brings life.
– 2 Corinthians 3:5,6 (VOICE)
But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
– John 1:12,13 (NLT)
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith…
– Galatians 3:26 (NIV)
See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know Him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is.
– 1 John 3:1,2 (NLT)
And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.
Would I rather God grow me through the tough stuff
or stay unchanged,
stagnant?
He uses all for my good,
and I can rely on this promise
I trust Him to mold me
with His loving hands
– Susie Stewart
Still, Eternal One, You are our Father.
We are just clay, and You are the potter. We are the product of Your creative action, shaped and formed into something of worth.
– Isaiah 64:8 (VOICE)
We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan.
– Romans 8:28 (VOICE)
Every man’s character remains as it is, or continues in the direction in which it is going, until it is compelled by IMPRESSED FORCES to change that state. Our failure has been the failure to put ourselves in the way of the impressed forces. There is a clay, and there is a Potter; we have tried to get the clay to mould the clay.
– Henry Drummond
What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’
It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before Him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.
– John 4:23-24 (MSG)
In prayer we are occupied with our needs, in thanksgiving we are occupied with our blessings, but in worship we are totally occupied with God Himself.
– A.P. Gibbs
Worship is not a repetitious exercise of rituals and formulas. These create a veil that actually prevents us from enjoying the presence of the Lord. Worship is the heart poured out in gratitude and awe, expressing our appreciation of who He is and what He has done for us by His grace through Jesus Christ.
– Dave Hunt
Worship is the path to experiencing the presence of God, the way to face-to-face intimacy.
As a new believer I often said my purpose was to know Him and make Him known. Too often my emphasis was on making Him known rather than on knowing Him…. My desire to serve God was good, but my priorities were out of order. God’s Word clearly says that the first and most important thing is this: to love God with all our being (Matthew 22:37-38). This is the first and greatest commandment. The second commandment is loving others, which includes ministry or works of service (Matthew 22:39). I had reversed these two.
It’s so important to be able to say, I am not primarily a worker for God; I am first and foremost a lover of God. This is who I am.
…When our priorities become turned around, and we place more emphasis on loving others than on loving God, we are headed for spiritual and physical exhaustion.
– Linda Dillow
All of us need to be lovers who work rather than workers who love.
– Bob Sorge
You first, God
All others –
people
work
recreation
ministry…..
Second
And not just in theory
but in Truth
I love You, Lord!
I delight in You
worship You
adore You
and I find my grounding here
find my purpose here
Loving You
And finding more reasons to love You
increases my delight in You
increases my awe of You
makes me want to love You more
For You loved me first
and drew me to Yourself
– Susie Stewart
O True God, You are my God, the One whom I trust. I seek You with every fiber of my being. In this dry and weary land with no water in sight, my soul is dry and longs for You. My body aches for You, for Your presence.
– Psalm 63:1 (VOICE)
I have loved you with an everlasting love— out of faithfulness I have drawn you close.
– Jeremiah 31:3 (VOICE)
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.
– Psalm 27:4 (NIV)
Come, let us worship Him. Everyone bow down; kneel before the Eternal who made us.
When God is silent, He is not still. God does some of His best work in the dark. He does some of His best work when you don’t think He’s doing a thing. He’s behind the scenes, working it out. He is faithful even though you feel you cannot see Him.
He has a plan for you, and it is a good one. Your commitment in the dark is the path to your victory in the light. Commitment to keeping your faith is the path to your victory in the light. Commitment to keeping your faith, seeking God, and not throwing in the towel when no human solution is in sight is the secret to exchanging emptiness for abundance.
– Tony Evans
Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”
– John 5:17 (NIV)
O God, do not remain silent. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. Do not keep quiet, O God.
– Psalm 83:1 (GW)
When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible — with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation.
1. Does the Bible claim to be uniquely inspired by God?
A. The Bible claims that it is uniquely inspired
1. 2 Timothy 3:16 – “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”
2. 2 Peter 1:20, 21 – “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
B. The writers claimed to be inspired
1. David (2 Samuel 23:2 – “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me”)
2. Jeremiah (Jeremiah 2:1-2 – “Thus says the Lord”)
3. Paul (1 Thessalonians 4:1,2 – “commandments…by the authority of the Lord Jesus”)
4. John (Revelation 1:1 – “The revelation of Jesus Christ…to his bondservant John”)
C. Jesus claimed that the scriptures were inspired (Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:44 – “all fulfilled”).
Note: The Forms of Inspiration
God directly revealed parts of scripture to some writers (prophets in particular) who spoke exactly the words God gave them (Moses – Deuteronomy 4:2; Isaiah – Isaiah 59:21; Paul—Galatians 1:12, etc.).
God otherwise superintended the writing of men who wrote exactly what God intended. They used their own styles and expressed their thoughts freely knowing what they meant. Yet, through the Holy Spirit, God at the same time determined the content and controlled the accuracy of all they wrote. This is the miraculous aspect of inspiration.
2. What other evidence is there that the Bible is inspired by God?
A. Supernatural change
The Bible causes supernatural change in people’s lives when its message about sin and salvation is accepted. A visit to any Bible-believing church will give plenty of examples.
B. Fulfilled prophecy
C. The Bible contains many prophecies recorded and then later fulfilled. Here are some examples:
1. Israel’s Rebirth as a Nation after being dispersed many centuries ago was predicted by the Bible (Isaiah 11:11 – written circa 750 B.C.; Ezekiel 37:1-14 – written circa 600 B.C.). For almost 2,000 years (since A.D. 70) the nation of Israel did not exist. Then, on May 15, 1948, Israel became a nation. In 1967 (The Six-day War) its area quadrupled and Jerusalem became Jewish property.
2. The Destruction of the city of Tyre was predicted in detail by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 26 – written circa 600 B.C.). In 332 B.C. Alexander the Great completed the destruction begun by others. Each detail Ezekiel predicted was fulfilled.
3. Four great successive world kingdoms (Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome) were specifically prophesied and described by Daniel (Daniel 2 & 7 – written about 535 B.C.). Each detail was fulfilled as these empires rose and fell in the coming centuries.
4. Over 300 prophesies in the Old Testament describe the details of Christ’s birth, life, death and resurrection. The odds of even a few of these coming true in one person are staggering – much less 300 of them.
D. The Distribution and Indestructibility of the Bible
1. The Bible is far and away the world’s “best seller.” By 1932 it was computed that 1 billion copies of the Bible had been published. By the 1960’s it is estimated that over 2 billion were published. Currently, a total of 3-4 billion is reasonable. No other book is even close.
2. The Bible has been translated into well over 1000 languages, representing about 90% of the world’s population.
3. Throughout the centuries, various enemies have tried to destroy the Bible (Diocletian Edict, circa A.D. 300). Voltaire, the French philosopher and skeptic, predicted in the 18th century, that the Bible and Christianity would soon be obsolete. In 1828, fifty years after his death, the Geneva Bible Society was using his press and his house to publish Bibles.
4. Jesus had predicted, “Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away” (Mark 13:31).
E. Archeology supports the Bible
1. Numerous archaeological finds have supported the Bible’s accuracy. Otherwise unknown places, events and dates have proven to be historically accurate. Nelson Glueck, a leading Jewish archaeologist said, “It can be categorically stated that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference” (Rivers In The Desert, Farrar, Strauss and Cudahy. 1959. P.31). This does not prove inspiration, but it confirms the credibility of writers who also claim that they wrote with God’s authority.
F. A Logical Argument for Inspiration
Charles Wesley proposed the following logical argument:
“The Bible must be the invention either of good men or angels, bad men or devils, or of God.
1. It could not be the invention of good men or angels; for they neither would or could make a book, and tell lies all the time they were writing it, saying, “Thus saith the Lord,” when it was their own invention.
2. It could not be the invention of bad men or devils; for they would not make a book which commands all duty, forbids all sin, and condemns their souls to hell to all eternity.
3. Therefore, I draw this conclusion, that the Bible must be given by divine inspiration.”
(Robert W. Burtner and Robert Chiles, A Compend of Wesley’s Theology, Abingdon Press. 1954. p.20)
3. Hasn’t translating the Bible over and over ruined its reliability?
No. The English translations we have are not the end of a long chain of translations; they are translated directly from Hebrew (O.T.) and Greek (N.T.) originals.
Not
Hebrew —Greek —Latin —English
But
German —English —Hebrew —Greek
The reason we have many different English translations is that scholars have continually updated them to incorporate new linguistic research and to keep up with changes in modern English.
4. How do we know that we have what Moses, David, Jesus, or Paul really said or wrote?
Since there were no copy machines, the texts that the human authors wrote had to be recopied by hand as they wore out or as more copies were needed. Here’s how the text was preserved so accurately.
Old Testament – The Jewish people had scribes who were in charge of the manuscripts. They were so meticulous about doing it perfect that they counted all the paragraphs, words and even letters so they would know if they had copied correctly. They even knew the middle letter of each book so they could count back and see if they had missed anything.
The oldest complete copy of a Hebrew Old Testament in museums today are dated about A.D.1000. That’s a long time after the originals were written (1450-400 B.C.), so one could question if after many centuries of copying we really have the original words. That’s where the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 is so helpful. These well-preserved texts date back to 100 B.C. Amazingly, there is virtual agreement between the Dead Sea Scrolls and those dated 1,100 years later! This proves we can trust the Hebrew copies of the Old Testament that are existing today.
Example of Isaiah: Virtually identical through all the years of copying.
Written 700 B.C. by Isaiah
Copies found among Dead Sea Scrolls 100 B.C.
Complete Hebrew Manuscripts A.D. 1000
Today’s Bible
New Testament – The reliability of the New Testament Greek texts is even more certain than the Old Testament texts. The New Testament was written A.D.45 – A.D.90. Some fragments of Greek texts exist that date back to A.D.120 and A.D.150. That’s only 35-100 years after the originals that Paul, John, Luke and others wrote! Another big help is that there are 4000-5000 New Testament Greek manuscripts existing today. By comparing these many copies, scholars can weed out possible copying mistakes. Compare these two factors of Date and Number of existing manuscripts and copies with other literature that historians consider accurate:
Manuscript
Date of Oldest Manuscript Existing
Copies
Plato
1,200 years later
7
Ceasar
900 years later
10
Herodotus
1,300 years later
8
Aristotle
1,400 years later
5
New Testament
Only 35-100 years later
4,000-5,000
5. Doesn’t the Bible contradict itself?
No. The Bible was written over a period of 1,600 years by about 40 authors on three continents in two major languages. The writers included and Egyptian-trained scholar (Moses), a general (Joshua), Kings (David, Solomon), a farmer (Amos), a fisherman (Peter), a tax-collector (Matthew), and a rabbi (Paul), but amazingly they present a consistent viewpoint of life and set of facts.
Can you imagine 40 different writers today form such different backgrounds agreeing on any subject today? But in all its 66 books, the Bible is self-consistent on such significant issues as where we come from (special creation by God), why we’re here (to serve and glorify God) and where we’re going (eternal life or eternal judgment).
Critics allege that there are many discrepancies in the Bible. But the seeming discrepancies in particular details can generally be explained in one of the following ways:
a. Logical explanations – Sometimes two seemingly contradicting statements are both actually true. When Matthew refers to one angel at Jesus’ tomb and John describes two, there’s no contradiction. Where there’s two there’s one. Matthew wasn’t counting. He just described what one of the angels said.
b. Copyist’s mistakes – There are occasions where existing manuscripts (Greek or Hebrew) disagree on certain words or phrases. A few times when two books of the Bible record the same event a number has been changed. It’s not hard to imagine that someone copying the manuscript by hand (not the original inspired author) miscopied a number, name or accidentally inserted some margin note into the text.
c. Interpretive misunderstanding – Critics sometimes allege that Jesus and Paul or Paul and James disagree on something. But those are dubious claims based on what an interpreter thinks a verse means. The burden of proof is on those who claim to see disagreement. Seemingly contradictory statements can be shown to harmonize well by understanding the contexts in which they were written.
6. How do we know the right books are in the Bible? It was just people who decided wasn’t it?
Yes and No. It was human councils such as the one led by Athanasius in A.D.367 which listed the 27 books in our New Testament today. But they didn’t determine which books were inspired; they merely recognized the supernatural character those books already had. The following tests were used to conclude that a book or letter was indeed scripture (tests of “canonicity”).
a. Is it authoritative (Does it claim or exhibit God’s authority – “Thus saith the Lord”)?
b. Is it prophetic (Is it written by a known “man of God”- 2 Peter 1:20)?
c. Is it authentic (Is it consistent with other revelation of truth)?
d. Is it dynamic (Is it shown to be life-changing)?
e. Is it received (Is it accepted and used by believers)?
(Norman L Geisler & William Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, pp. 137-144)
7. How do you know if you’re interpreting the Bible right? So many different groups claim to follow the Bible.
There are three basic approaches to Bible interpretation.
a. Used by cults. Cults use the Bible to try to prove views they already have. The real authority of their view is always some single leader who has his or her ideas in writing. The cult considers those writings as equal in authority (actually greater) than the Bible. They then lift some Bible verses out of context to support their views.
b. Misunderstood by liberal scholars. Scholars who don’t accept the authority and inspiration of scripture interpret the Bible in purely human terms. They feel free to call the Bible “wrong” on issues if society’s standard is different. So they also take the liberty to water down statements that they deem unacceptable. (The seriousness of sin; the need to trust in Christ for salvation, etc.)
c. Taken literally in its historical and grammatical contexts. Conservative Bible scholars who take the Bible at face value consistently arrive at the same interpretations on major issues. Some detailed interpretations will always vary, but the major messages are clear. Literal interpretation simply means “take it as it was meant.” A figure of speech is taken that way. A grammatical form is assumed accurate. What a term or phrase meant at the time in history is worth researching and then understood accordingly. This view let the Bible speak for itself.
Abide in Jesus as your wisdom. Seek to maintain the spirit of waiting and dependence that always seeks to learn and will not move but as the heavenly light leads on. Withdraw yourself from all needless distraction, close your ears to the voices of the world, and be a docile learner, ever listening for the heavenly wisdom the Master has to teach. Surrender all your own wisdom; seek a deep conviction of the utter blindness of the natural understanding in the things of God; and wait for Jesus to teach and to guide what you have to believe and have to do. Remember that the teaching and guidance do not come from without: it is by His life in us that the divine wisdom does His work. Retire frequently with Him into the inner chamber of the heart, where the gentle voice of the Spirit is only heard if all is still. Hold fast with unshaken confidence, even in the midst of darkness and apparent desertion, to His own assurance that He is the light and the leader of His own. And live, above all, day by day in the blessed truth that, as He Himself, the living Christ Jesus, is your wisdom, your first and last care must ever be this alone: to abide in Him. Abiding in Him, His wisdom will come to you as the spontaneous outflowing of a life rooted in Him. I abide in Christ, who was made unto us wisdom from God: wisdom will be given to me.
– Andrew Murray
You are partners with Christ Jesus because of God. Jesus has become our wisdom sent from God, our approval, our holiness, and our ransom from sin.
– 1 Corinthians 1:30 (GW)
Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. A branch cannot bear fruit if it is disconnected from the vine, and neither will you if you are not connected to Me.
I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you abide in Me and I in you, you will bear great fruit. Without Me, you will accomplish nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is like a branch that is tossed out and shrivels up and is later gathered to be tossed into the fire to burn. If you abide in Me and My voice abides in you, anything you ask will come to pass for you. Your abundant growth and your faithfulness as My followers will bring glory to the Father.
Susie Stewart 