The Bible is the only written revelation of God to man. In the Bible we find out what God wants mankind to know about Himself and His Plan. No one has ever successfully refuted the Bible. Many mock the Bible but avoid challenging it point by point. No one who has done in-depth research, honestly examining the evidence for the Bible's inspiration and truthfulness, has been able to disprove the Bible. In fact, history records many who set out to disprove the Bible, who instead became believers.
The Bible is composed of 66 books, by about 40 different writers of various backgrounds, living during a period of about 1,600 years-yet they present ONE message. Such a miracle can only be explained by there being ONE author, who was in control of all these human writers.
The Bible was written in three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.
One of the strongest arguments for the accuracy of the Bible is its 100% accuracy in predicting the future. These future predictions are called "prophecies." The Old Testament was written between approximately 1450 BC and 430 BC. During that time, many predictions of the future were recorded in the Bible by God's prophets. Of the events that were to have taken place by now, every one happened just the way they predicted it would. No other "sacred writing" has such perfectly accurate predictions of the future. Could man, especially dozens of men, writing in different countries and different times, foretell the future so accurately? Never! Only God could do such a tremendous thing.
No one but God could reveal the future in such detail, often hundreds of years before the events occurred. Not only the future of cities, nations and the world, but also concerning the future birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ.
For example, the truth of 2 Peter 1:20-21 can not be denied. "Above all, you just realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet's own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God"
Just consider, for example, this powerful report:
He was despised and rejected-
a man of sorrows, acquainted with
deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were
punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God's paths to follow
our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.
Would you like to venture a guess about who is being discussed? It's pretty clear is it not? It's a description, with detailed accuracy, of the suffering and crucifixion of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. What is remarkable is not so much the accuracy of the account, but the DATE when it was written: these words were written by the Jewish prophet Isaiah (in Isaiah 53:3-6) more than seven hundred years before the life and death of Jesus. Even more revealing is that he had predicted that Christ would be "pierced for our rebellion" centuries before crucifixion as a method of execution had been invented. Furthermore, in the last three verses of that chapter he even foreshadows the resurrection of Jesus. Read the passage for yourself! It's like a historical account-written in advance.
The above evidence of fulfilled prophecy is just one case in point. Hundreds of Bible prophecies have been fulfilled, specifically and meticulously, often long after the prophetic writer had passed away. Another example comes from Daniel who predicted in about 538 BC (Daniel 9:24-27) that Christ would come as Israel's promised Savior and Prince 483 years after the Persian emperor would give the Jews authority to rebuild Jerusalem, which was then in ruins. This was clearly and definitely fulfilled, hundreds of years later.
More prophecies that were given in the Bible regarding Jesus' First Coming were all fulfilled to the letter. Below are a few of the prophecies written in The Old Testament hundreds of years before Jesus' birth. The fulfillment came in the New Testament when the events actually happened.
1. He would be born of a virgin (prophecy, Isaiah 7:14)
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit" (fulfillment, Matthew 1:20)
2. He would be born in Bethlehem (prophecy, Micah 5:2)
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem (fulfillment, Luke 2:4)
3. He would be crucified (prophecy, Psalm 22;fulfillment can be found by reading Mathew 27 and in parallel Gospel passages)
In all, there were over 100 prophecies made about the First Coming of Jesus Christ. All were literally fulfilled. This gives us confidence that the more than 300 prophecies in the Bible related to His Second Coming will also come to pass exactly as predicted. These are just the prophecies related to Christ himself, there are actually about 1000 prophecies in the Bible as a whole, approximately 500 of which have already been fulfilled. Many are related to historic events in Bible times.
God's nature as a God of truth, plus His faithfulness in bringing Bible Prophecy to pass, give us confidence that future prophecies will also be fulfilled. This should give us added assurance that the Word of God is a trustworthy document on which to base our salvation, our relationship with God, and all other aspects of living our lives in the light of His presence.
Consider this: If everything that was prophesied thousands of years ago that was supposed to come true by now has...doesn't that at least slightly concern you that the rest of what is prophesied for the future MIGHT COME TRUE TOO??? Are you ready for those things to happen? Do you even know what they are and what they might mean for yourself on earth AND in the after life? If you are reading this I'm guessing you are at least wondering about now. The answers lie in the Bible. I hope that you will continue to read this blog as I continue to examine the Bible.
coming soon: Examining the Bible: The Proof of Archeology and Science
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Examining the Bible: What do YOU believe about the Bible?
Can the Bible be trusted? Is it just a collection of legends and stories, or is it the inspired word of God? Many people today assume that modern way of thinking has discredited the Bible, but the facts of history, and the discoveries of archaeology, confirm its contents to be true! The Bible recounts the past with amazing accuracy, and it predicts the future like no other book. Most of the world has been misled and misinformed about the Bible.
As I discussed in my previous post, I spent my two first years of college as a Journalism major. I was a reporter for my college newspaper. Every good journalist is a researcher. You can't report about something that "might" be true. You certainly can not hope your "hunch" is correct when reporting a news story! This journalism training as well as my own natural tendency to be a skeptic, made my seeking my spiritual path that much more difficult. There was simply no way I was ever going to put my trust in a religion or spiritual movement that had no proof source. If this was something I was going to devote my life to and teach my children about, it had to be 100% accurate and I needed proof.
Therefore the focus of this post is the proof supporting the accuracy of the Bible. After all, if the Bible is not true or it is filled with errors, Christianity would only be a "blind faith", something people believe without any evidence to support it. Christianity is NOT a blind faith. In fact it is the ONLY religion that can prove itself, and a main source of that proof is the Bible. The existence of all this evidence is one reason why I started this blog. In the year I was almost completely bed ridden before and after back surgery and in the 12 years since I have never found another religion or spiritual movement that can prove itself. In fact I'm constantly amazed to see how people can put all of their trust and blind faith into something that has no evidence to back up what it claims.
What do YOU believe about the Bible? Is it really the inspired word of God? Was it accurately preserved for thousands of years as a unique revelation from the Creator of the universe? Or is it just a collection of humanly devised myths and fables? Do we even have the right books in the Bible, or are important sources missing that would change our view of God, Jesus Christ and Christianity? Can we trust Scripture? Is the Bible vital and relevant today?
Today, many educated people assume that science and modern thoughts and concepts have thoroughly discredited the Bible. The assumption thrives because so many know so little about the Bible. Many people today are simply unaware of discoveries that continue to confirm the historical accuracy of Scripture. Instead, people are encouraged to believe that all religions are equally credible, without comparing the source books of those religions. As a result, millions are unaware of how the Bible is unique, and what amazing features distinguish it from all other religious books.
Before you accept the idea that the Bible is "just like any other book", or that it has no relevance for you, you need to examine the evidence for yourself. That evidence is eye-opening and you need to understand why so many today doubt the Bible's credibility, and what the truth about the Bible can mean to your future.
Because I feel that the Bible is so important to my faith and is in fact the proof source of what I believe, it will be the first and foremost piece of the Christian puzzle that I will write about and I will be spending several posts on this topic. My prayer is that if you are a believer, you will be blessed to learn about the solid evidence that supports your faith, and can share it with others. If you are spiritually seeking, or already believe in another religion, spiritual movement or are agnostic or even atheist...than I challenge you to at least read the series of posts with an open mind and heart. I am very confident that your eyes will be open to the Bible like never before.
The contents of Scripture can be verified by the facts of history and the discoveries of modern science and archaeology. Additionally the Bible provides the answers to life's big questions. Not only do the hundreds of detailed Bible prophesies accurately reveal the future course of world events, they set the Bible apart from all other religious books. The Bible provides a dimension of knowledge that is simply not available from any other source.
With so much evidence available, the real question that we face today is simply whether or not we can believe the Bible. As you read my series of posts on this topic, you will see that the answer is, "Yes, we can!"
return soon for: Examining the Bible: The Proof of Prophecy
As I discussed in my previous post, I spent my two first years of college as a Journalism major. I was a reporter for my college newspaper. Every good journalist is a researcher. You can't report about something that "might" be true. You certainly can not hope your "hunch" is correct when reporting a news story! This journalism training as well as my own natural tendency to be a skeptic, made my seeking my spiritual path that much more difficult. There was simply no way I was ever going to put my trust in a religion or spiritual movement that had no proof source. If this was something I was going to devote my life to and teach my children about, it had to be 100% accurate and I needed proof.
Therefore the focus of this post is the proof supporting the accuracy of the Bible. After all, if the Bible is not true or it is filled with errors, Christianity would only be a "blind faith", something people believe without any evidence to support it. Christianity is NOT a blind faith. In fact it is the ONLY religion that can prove itself, and a main source of that proof is the Bible. The existence of all this evidence is one reason why I started this blog. In the year I was almost completely bed ridden before and after back surgery and in the 12 years since I have never found another religion or spiritual movement that can prove itself. In fact I'm constantly amazed to see how people can put all of their trust and blind faith into something that has no evidence to back up what it claims.
What do YOU believe about the Bible? Is it really the inspired word of God? Was it accurately preserved for thousands of years as a unique revelation from the Creator of the universe? Or is it just a collection of humanly devised myths and fables? Do we even have the right books in the Bible, or are important sources missing that would change our view of God, Jesus Christ and Christianity? Can we trust Scripture? Is the Bible vital and relevant today?
Today, many educated people assume that science and modern thoughts and concepts have thoroughly discredited the Bible. The assumption thrives because so many know so little about the Bible. Many people today are simply unaware of discoveries that continue to confirm the historical accuracy of Scripture. Instead, people are encouraged to believe that all religions are equally credible, without comparing the source books of those religions. As a result, millions are unaware of how the Bible is unique, and what amazing features distinguish it from all other religious books.
Before you accept the idea that the Bible is "just like any other book", or that it has no relevance for you, you need to examine the evidence for yourself. That evidence is eye-opening and you need to understand why so many today doubt the Bible's credibility, and what the truth about the Bible can mean to your future.
Because I feel that the Bible is so important to my faith and is in fact the proof source of what I believe, it will be the first and foremost piece of the Christian puzzle that I will write about and I will be spending several posts on this topic. My prayer is that if you are a believer, you will be blessed to learn about the solid evidence that supports your faith, and can share it with others. If you are spiritually seeking, or already believe in another religion, spiritual movement or are agnostic or even atheist...than I challenge you to at least read the series of posts with an open mind and heart. I am very confident that your eyes will be open to the Bible like never before.
The contents of Scripture can be verified by the facts of history and the discoveries of modern science and archaeology. Additionally the Bible provides the answers to life's big questions. Not only do the hundreds of detailed Bible prophesies accurately reveal the future course of world events, they set the Bible apart from all other religious books. The Bible provides a dimension of knowledge that is simply not available from any other source.
With so much evidence available, the real question that we face today is simply whether or not we can believe the Bible. As you read my series of posts on this topic, you will see that the answer is, "Yes, we can!"
return soon for: Examining the Bible: The Proof of Prophecy
Sunday, January 20, 2013
My testimony of faith
Before I dive into everything I am excited to share about my faith in this blog, I think it is important to share how I came to believe in the things I do.
I became a Christian 12 years ago. It happened shortly before I had a very serious back surgery and I had been in chronic, life altering pain for over a year. Prior to that I had some exposure to God and church, but mostly I would say I was agnostic. I did not subscribe to any religion. I believed there was a "God" which to me was a "higher source" or "power" that I mostly misunderstood and knew nothing about. I also believed in mostly metaphysical or New Age ideas including that we create our own reality through projecting positive thoughts and feelings out to the universe. I did not believe in concepts like sin, heaven, hell or Satan. I also believed in reincarnation and believed I had lived several prior lives. I never read the Bible, knew nothing about Jesus nor did I care to. Then, suddenly in my early thirties I suddenly found myself surrounded by Christians. At work, in my neighborhood and just about every where I turned it seemed I was in the presence of what I then referred to as "one of those annoying Christians"
I was always annoyed when anyone tried to talk to me about their Christian faith. I was invited to church many times and had several people witness to me....but I was just simply NOT interested. I felt confident in the fact that I was in control of my destiny and I had absolutely no need for religion. Looking back I realize that is how I saw anything having to do with God or Jesus. I saw it as a religion.....and THAT was a turn off. Both my husband's parents and my parents had experienced bad experiences with going to church. My husband and I both looked at the idea of church and religion as something that we were just not interested in.
Then around the time my children were 2 and 7 something in me changed. I can't explain it really other then to say that I felt like something was just MISSING from my life. God continued to send Christians into my life and suddenly these people did not seem as annoying anymore. In fact one of my co-workers Carol and another friend and neighbor Carrie, were Christians and they just seemed so happy and so fulfilled. It wasn't that I wasn't happy and fulfilled myself...to the outside world I had everything. A loving husband, two beautiful children, a beautiful home to live in, an exciting career....but still I felt this VOID. So when I was invited to church with both of these friends I decided to give it a try. My husband agreed to come along so we went to two different churches and even joined a small couples group. Suddenly my mind became very interested in what I was learning about. I was still very skeptical, but I was willing to keep an open mind and learn. At this time Kevin suggested that we try going to the Catholic Church as that was his background. I agreed we should try it. So for a year we went to Sunday masses and went through a series of classes on Catholicism called RCIA. Part of me loved the Catholic church...but another part of me was bored there. I found the Sunday masses boring, and mostly after a year there I was more confused then ever. I didn't know who to pray to...God? Jesus? Mary? I learned how to pray the rosary and went to confession. All of it seemed very ritualistic and confusing to me. However I thought, well if this is what I need to do to get to fill my spiritual void...then so be it. I thought to myself...the more I go to mass, the more I pray the rosary...the more the void will be filled. We had the kids baptized in the Catholic church, my daughter and I received our first communion and I was confirmed. I remember coming home from church with our certificates that afternoon and STILL feeling a void, I still felt like something was missing. After a few more months of attending the Catholic church Kevin and I realized it was not for us and we stopped going.
After that I spent a couple of years just drifting along continuing to feel like I was in a spiritual void. I just pushed the whole idea of God and Jesus aside and threw myself into my career in Pharmaceutical Sales and parenting my children.Then one day in 2001 my life changed in an instant. One evening after work I was busy doing house work and came around the corner from the hall in our home upstairs. I had a laundry basket in my arms that was piled very high with laundry. I was in a hurry and wasn't paying close enough attention to the fact that I was about to step onto the first step of the staircase. I lost my footing and before I knew it I had lost my balance and was sliding down the stairs on my rear end. I fell down very quickly and my tail bone was bumping along each stair as I went. I was powerless to stop the fall and ended up landing very abruptly onto the tile below. I landed with a thump on my tail bone first and then my body twisted and my lower back made a very distinctive cracking noise I will never forget. I had fallen down a very steep flight of stars in an instant and I found myself seriously hurt and crumbled on the tile below.
That day was the last day of my Pharmaceutical Career. I had herniated a disk in my lumbar spine (L5-S1), seriously bruised my tailbone and dislocated my left sacroiliac joint. My very busy and active life as a working Mom was no more. I lived with non stop excruciating pain for months on end. I was on large amounts of narcotics to just take the edge off of the pain. I endured several cortisone injections in my low back, tail bone and sacroiliac joint. I tried physical therapy. Nothing worked and in fact I just kept getting worse and worse. A typical day for me was to do nothing more than lie in bed or the couch and only get up to use the rest room. I was unable to sit as the pain was so unbearable every time I tried. I ended up falling into a deep clinical depression. My Mother n Law was an incredible support to us and helped our family during this difficult time. She cooked meals, she took me to all of my Dr apts., she cleaned and did laundry. She helped the kids with their homework. Honestly if it would not have been for her help I don't know what we would have done.
I also had 3 neighbors that came over and brought meals. Two of these neighbors were Christians and one was Mormon. One of the Christian neighbors brought her Bible over to my house and would sit and read scripture to me. She prayed for me and shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with me. This was the first time in my life that I learned the whole story, the true gospel of Jesus. The other Christian neighbor left a book for me by Stormy O'Martian called "The power of a praying women" Those neighbors and that single book is what finally began to fill the spiritual void inside. Several more months went by with me being almost completely bed ridden. I filled those long days lying there in pain reading. I read over 40 books on Christianity and purchased my first Bible and started completing Bible study work books. In addition to the books I read on Christianity I also researched other religions. I spent my first two years of college as a Journalism major and I was a reporter for the school newspaper. I knew the importance of research to find the truth. I had nothing but time on my hands as I was literally bed ridden for a year. So I poured all of my time into researching and looking for my spiritual truth. I knew the void in my life had to be filled and I was desperate for something, anything to fill that void. After extensively researching Mormonism, further research into Catholicism, and really examining the New Age movement... as well as examining several other religions; what I found was 100% proof without a single doubt that Jesus was the true son of God and that the Bible was a 100% accurate, infallible, living and breathing word of God. I came to believe that God created the universe and the earth and that he created me. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and invited the holy spirit into my life. Once and for all...the void was gone. I was saved. There is more to my story but I will stop here and save the rest for another post. I WILL say that I am 100% sure that my fall down the stairs was not an accident. I believe that God stopped me in my tracks to get my attention. He knew my nature, which was to push Him and the spiritual hole inside aside. He knew that if He put me in bed for a year with nothing to do but read, research and pray; that He would finally get my atttention. I'm happy to say that twelve years later my back is much better and I am absolutely glad that God pursued me, even to the point of causing a health crisis to get my attention.
I know to some of you what I have just described may seem way "out there" or very strange and confusing. I know that, because I was once in that position. I looked at anyone that would tell me they were "saved" or were a Christian as very odd and none of it ever made sense to me. So that is why, I feel God has asked me to write this blog. To hopefully help anyone who is in the same position I was the first thirty odd years of my life. Feeling a void. Feeling confused about ideas like God or Jesus. If you are that person, if you ask yourself what would happen to you if you died today...where would you go, would you just perish? Would you be reincarnated into another person? Would you go to heaven...to hell? If you do not have the answers to these questions or if you are not 100% sure that what you believe in is true....then I ask you to become a reader of this blog. This blog is also for fellow believers. I plan on sharing many exciting topics that are relevant to today's Christian.
Maybe you will live to the ripe old age of eighty, ninety or even higher. Actuary tables say that these days your chances are fairly good. By most standards that would be a pretty long life span. But have you ever thought of that length of time against the backdrop of eternity? Try plotting those eighty years on a chart next to eternity and you'll soon realize that your entire earthly life in represented by a tiny dot that's barely visible next to what follows it. What if all your days here are mostly just preparation for the life that comes next--the REAL one? How would knowing that now affect your priorities and daily decisions?
Many people today spend all their time and energy on their bodies, which are only containers of our real self, the soul, which, according to Jesus and the writers of the Bible, will persist long after our bodies have turned to dust. When you think of it that way, it's easy to see that the soul has immeasurable value. A person's soul, my soul, your soul, according to Jesus, is incomparably more valuable than the entire world of possessions, pleasures, power and prestige.
In fact, Jesus...known for his ability to speak directly to the heart of the matter--asked in Mark 8:36-37; "And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?"
Maybe you aren't so sure about matters of the soul at this point in your life. Perhaps the whole realm of the spiritual seems unreal or unimportant to you, or like something you'd rather not think about until later...like when you get closer to that seemingly distant age of eighty or ninety.
May I encourage you to think again, and at least to say, "Maybe"? Admit to yourself that if these things are true, then Jesus' point about the importance of the soul is valid-big time! Do you doubt that? Then at least be consistent enough as a skeptic to also doubt even your own doubts, and keep reading. As you come back each week and read this blog, keep saying to yourself, "Maybe God IS real"; "Maybe the Bible IS God's message to us", "Maybe Jesus truly WAS the Son of God", "Maybe I NEED what Jesus offers me", "Maybe God is speaking to ME." I'm hoping that you will be open minded enough to genuinely consider the possibilty that these things could be true.
In the upcoming posts I will write in this blog I will cover many of the following topics and many more:
Is there a God?
Can the Bible be trusted?
Are we accountable to God?
Who was Jesus and what was his purpose?
Is divine forgiveness available?
What do I need to do?
I'm assuming that these are some of the questions that most perplex those who think seriously about spritual matters, their own lives, and the future. I'd like to end this post with one last comment. If you have had a bad experience at a church or with a person who claimed to be a Christian but certainly did not act like one....please do not let those experiences keep you from God. I realize now that PEOPLE (yes even Christians) will fail you. However GOD NEVER FAILS.
Thank you for reading my testimony and for pondering the topics I have covered today. I'm so excited to share with you in what I know will be a very exciting journey. The journey of living a spirit filled life.
I became a Christian 12 years ago. It happened shortly before I had a very serious back surgery and I had been in chronic, life altering pain for over a year. Prior to that I had some exposure to God and church, but mostly I would say I was agnostic. I did not subscribe to any religion. I believed there was a "God" which to me was a "higher source" or "power" that I mostly misunderstood and knew nothing about. I also believed in mostly metaphysical or New Age ideas including that we create our own reality through projecting positive thoughts and feelings out to the universe. I did not believe in concepts like sin, heaven, hell or Satan. I also believed in reincarnation and believed I had lived several prior lives. I never read the Bible, knew nothing about Jesus nor did I care to. Then, suddenly in my early thirties I suddenly found myself surrounded by Christians. At work, in my neighborhood and just about every where I turned it seemed I was in the presence of what I then referred to as "one of those annoying Christians"
I was always annoyed when anyone tried to talk to me about their Christian faith. I was invited to church many times and had several people witness to me....but I was just simply NOT interested. I felt confident in the fact that I was in control of my destiny and I had absolutely no need for religion. Looking back I realize that is how I saw anything having to do with God or Jesus. I saw it as a religion.....and THAT was a turn off. Both my husband's parents and my parents had experienced bad experiences with going to church. My husband and I both looked at the idea of church and religion as something that we were just not interested in.
Then around the time my children were 2 and 7 something in me changed. I can't explain it really other then to say that I felt like something was just MISSING from my life. God continued to send Christians into my life and suddenly these people did not seem as annoying anymore. In fact one of my co-workers Carol and another friend and neighbor Carrie, were Christians and they just seemed so happy and so fulfilled. It wasn't that I wasn't happy and fulfilled myself...to the outside world I had everything. A loving husband, two beautiful children, a beautiful home to live in, an exciting career....but still I felt this VOID. So when I was invited to church with both of these friends I decided to give it a try. My husband agreed to come along so we went to two different churches and even joined a small couples group. Suddenly my mind became very interested in what I was learning about. I was still very skeptical, but I was willing to keep an open mind and learn. At this time Kevin suggested that we try going to the Catholic Church as that was his background. I agreed we should try it. So for a year we went to Sunday masses and went through a series of classes on Catholicism called RCIA. Part of me loved the Catholic church...but another part of me was bored there. I found the Sunday masses boring, and mostly after a year there I was more confused then ever. I didn't know who to pray to...God? Jesus? Mary? I learned how to pray the rosary and went to confession. All of it seemed very ritualistic and confusing to me. However I thought, well if this is what I need to do to get to fill my spiritual void...then so be it. I thought to myself...the more I go to mass, the more I pray the rosary...the more the void will be filled. We had the kids baptized in the Catholic church, my daughter and I received our first communion and I was confirmed. I remember coming home from church with our certificates that afternoon and STILL feeling a void, I still felt like something was missing. After a few more months of attending the Catholic church Kevin and I realized it was not for us and we stopped going.
After that I spent a couple of years just drifting along continuing to feel like I was in a spiritual void. I just pushed the whole idea of God and Jesus aside and threw myself into my career in Pharmaceutical Sales and parenting my children.Then one day in 2001 my life changed in an instant. One evening after work I was busy doing house work and came around the corner from the hall in our home upstairs. I had a laundry basket in my arms that was piled very high with laundry. I was in a hurry and wasn't paying close enough attention to the fact that I was about to step onto the first step of the staircase. I lost my footing and before I knew it I had lost my balance and was sliding down the stairs on my rear end. I fell down very quickly and my tail bone was bumping along each stair as I went. I was powerless to stop the fall and ended up landing very abruptly onto the tile below. I landed with a thump on my tail bone first and then my body twisted and my lower back made a very distinctive cracking noise I will never forget. I had fallen down a very steep flight of stars in an instant and I found myself seriously hurt and crumbled on the tile below.
That day was the last day of my Pharmaceutical Career. I had herniated a disk in my lumbar spine (L5-S1), seriously bruised my tailbone and dislocated my left sacroiliac joint. My very busy and active life as a working Mom was no more. I lived with non stop excruciating pain for months on end. I was on large amounts of narcotics to just take the edge off of the pain. I endured several cortisone injections in my low back, tail bone and sacroiliac joint. I tried physical therapy. Nothing worked and in fact I just kept getting worse and worse. A typical day for me was to do nothing more than lie in bed or the couch and only get up to use the rest room. I was unable to sit as the pain was so unbearable every time I tried. I ended up falling into a deep clinical depression. My Mother n Law was an incredible support to us and helped our family during this difficult time. She cooked meals, she took me to all of my Dr apts., she cleaned and did laundry. She helped the kids with their homework. Honestly if it would not have been for her help I don't know what we would have done.
I also had 3 neighbors that came over and brought meals. Two of these neighbors were Christians and one was Mormon. One of the Christian neighbors brought her Bible over to my house and would sit and read scripture to me. She prayed for me and shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with me. This was the first time in my life that I learned the whole story, the true gospel of Jesus. The other Christian neighbor left a book for me by Stormy O'Martian called "The power of a praying women" Those neighbors and that single book is what finally began to fill the spiritual void inside. Several more months went by with me being almost completely bed ridden. I filled those long days lying there in pain reading. I read over 40 books on Christianity and purchased my first Bible and started completing Bible study work books. In addition to the books I read on Christianity I also researched other religions. I spent my first two years of college as a Journalism major and I was a reporter for the school newspaper. I knew the importance of research to find the truth. I had nothing but time on my hands as I was literally bed ridden for a year. So I poured all of my time into researching and looking for my spiritual truth. I knew the void in my life had to be filled and I was desperate for something, anything to fill that void. After extensively researching Mormonism, further research into Catholicism, and really examining the New Age movement... as well as examining several other religions; what I found was 100% proof without a single doubt that Jesus was the true son of God and that the Bible was a 100% accurate, infallible, living and breathing word of God. I came to believe that God created the universe and the earth and that he created me. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and invited the holy spirit into my life. Once and for all...the void was gone. I was saved. There is more to my story but I will stop here and save the rest for another post. I WILL say that I am 100% sure that my fall down the stairs was not an accident. I believe that God stopped me in my tracks to get my attention. He knew my nature, which was to push Him and the spiritual hole inside aside. He knew that if He put me in bed for a year with nothing to do but read, research and pray; that He would finally get my atttention. I'm happy to say that twelve years later my back is much better and I am absolutely glad that God pursued me, even to the point of causing a health crisis to get my attention.
I know to some of you what I have just described may seem way "out there" or very strange and confusing. I know that, because I was once in that position. I looked at anyone that would tell me they were "saved" or were a Christian as very odd and none of it ever made sense to me. So that is why, I feel God has asked me to write this blog. To hopefully help anyone who is in the same position I was the first thirty odd years of my life. Feeling a void. Feeling confused about ideas like God or Jesus. If you are that person, if you ask yourself what would happen to you if you died today...where would you go, would you just perish? Would you be reincarnated into another person? Would you go to heaven...to hell? If you do not have the answers to these questions or if you are not 100% sure that what you believe in is true....then I ask you to become a reader of this blog. This blog is also for fellow believers. I plan on sharing many exciting topics that are relevant to today's Christian.
Maybe you will live to the ripe old age of eighty, ninety or even higher. Actuary tables say that these days your chances are fairly good. By most standards that would be a pretty long life span. But have you ever thought of that length of time against the backdrop of eternity? Try plotting those eighty years on a chart next to eternity and you'll soon realize that your entire earthly life in represented by a tiny dot that's barely visible next to what follows it. What if all your days here are mostly just preparation for the life that comes next--the REAL one? How would knowing that now affect your priorities and daily decisions?
Many people today spend all their time and energy on their bodies, which are only containers of our real self, the soul, which, according to Jesus and the writers of the Bible, will persist long after our bodies have turned to dust. When you think of it that way, it's easy to see that the soul has immeasurable value. A person's soul, my soul, your soul, according to Jesus, is incomparably more valuable than the entire world of possessions, pleasures, power and prestige.
In fact, Jesus...known for his ability to speak directly to the heart of the matter--asked in Mark 8:36-37; "And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?"
Maybe you aren't so sure about matters of the soul at this point in your life. Perhaps the whole realm of the spiritual seems unreal or unimportant to you, or like something you'd rather not think about until later...like when you get closer to that seemingly distant age of eighty or ninety.
May I encourage you to think again, and at least to say, "Maybe"? Admit to yourself that if these things are true, then Jesus' point about the importance of the soul is valid-big time! Do you doubt that? Then at least be consistent enough as a skeptic to also doubt even your own doubts, and keep reading. As you come back each week and read this blog, keep saying to yourself, "Maybe God IS real"; "Maybe the Bible IS God's message to us", "Maybe Jesus truly WAS the Son of God", "Maybe I NEED what Jesus offers me", "Maybe God is speaking to ME." I'm hoping that you will be open minded enough to genuinely consider the possibilty that these things could be true.
In the upcoming posts I will write in this blog I will cover many of the following topics and many more:
Is there a God?
Can the Bible be trusted?
Are we accountable to God?
Who was Jesus and what was his purpose?
Is divine forgiveness available?
What do I need to do?
I'm assuming that these are some of the questions that most perplex those who think seriously about spritual matters, their own lives, and the future. I'd like to end this post with one last comment. If you have had a bad experience at a church or with a person who claimed to be a Christian but certainly did not act like one....please do not let those experiences keep you from God. I realize now that PEOPLE (yes even Christians) will fail you. However GOD NEVER FAILS.
Thank you for reading my testimony and for pondering the topics I have covered today. I'm so excited to share with you in what I know will be a very exciting journey. The journey of living a spirit filled life.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Welcome to Living a Spirit Filled Life!
Welcome to my new blog! If you are reading this you are either, A. a reader of my other blog, Definitely Debi (www.definatelydebi.blogspot.com) or B. a new reader. Either way, I thank you for taking the time to check out my new blog. This blog was born out of what I can only describe as a "calling". I've felt God asking me for at least the past 6 months to start this blog and I've spent that time praying about and planning how I would fit this new venture into my already very busy schedule.
My goal is to write at least one post a week on this blog. Unlike my other blog "Definitely Debi" which focuses primarily on myself, my interests and my family; in this blog I will be writing about spiritual matters.
Before I begin however I want to share a quick disclosure. Anything I write about is 100% about my OWN personal beliefs and feelings about God and spiritual matters. We all have our own personal truth in life and this is mine. My hope is that other believers will enjoy what I have to share and that those who are either seeking or of another faith might find something interesting or beneficial for wherever they may be (or not be) in their own personal walks through spirituality. The number one thing I learned from my Mom is to always keep an open mind. It is because I have done that in my life that I have been open to researching many areas of spirtuality and continue to do so even after becoming a Christian 12 years ago. I will say that the more I research, the more convinced I become that Christianity is my spiritual truth.
On some occasions I will discuss religions and matters of faith/spirituality that are OTHER than my own. This in no way will ever be meant as an attack or criticism of these alternative religions or matters of faith/spirituality. If you read something that you do not agree with or believe in, I am open to constructive comments or concerns, but would appreciate it if you would not use the comments section of the blog to attack my post or my faith.
My hope is to leave the comments area "open" to be a place where readers can share their constructive and/or encouraging thoughts and comments. If however, it becomes a place for attacks or nasty criticisms I will have to close the comments area.
With all of that said.....once again, Welcome to Living a Spirit Filled Life!
My goal is to write at least one post a week on this blog. Unlike my other blog "Definitely Debi" which focuses primarily on myself, my interests and my family; in this blog I will be writing about spiritual matters.
Before I begin however I want to share a quick disclosure. Anything I write about is 100% about my OWN personal beliefs and feelings about God and spiritual matters. We all have our own personal truth in life and this is mine. My hope is that other believers will enjoy what I have to share and that those who are either seeking or of another faith might find something interesting or beneficial for wherever they may be (or not be) in their own personal walks through spirituality. The number one thing I learned from my Mom is to always keep an open mind. It is because I have done that in my life that I have been open to researching many areas of spirtuality and continue to do so even after becoming a Christian 12 years ago. I will say that the more I research, the more convinced I become that Christianity is my spiritual truth.
On some occasions I will discuss religions and matters of faith/spirituality that are OTHER than my own. This in no way will ever be meant as an attack or criticism of these alternative religions or matters of faith/spirituality. If you read something that you do not agree with or believe in, I am open to constructive comments or concerns, but would appreciate it if you would not use the comments section of the blog to attack my post or my faith.
My hope is to leave the comments area "open" to be a place where readers can share their constructive and/or encouraging thoughts and comments. If however, it becomes a place for attacks or nasty criticisms I will have to close the comments area.
With all of that said.....once again, Welcome to Living a Spirit Filled Life!
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