Walking With Jesus

Sharing the Good News of Jesus (Part 2)

“And now we are here to bring you this Good News.” (Acts 13:32a NLT)

Yesterday we looked at why it’s so vitally important to“BE” good news before you share the Good News. I’m convinced that’s why a lot of people today are reluctant to come to church or have a meaningful conversation about who Jesus is and what He’s done for them. They’ve been badgered and beaten down by well-meaning people who are too often insensitive to the Lord and to the people with whom they’re speaking. In other words, they’re not Good News.

Jesus was always sensitive to the needs of the persons with whom He spoke and His speaking was always motivated by a heart of love. The more we grow in our likeness of Jesus, the more effective we will be in pointing our friends and loved ones to Jesus. The more they are able to see Jesus in us, not only in the way we speak, but in the way we live, the more open they will be to allowing Jesus to speak to them through us.

Our motivation in sharing our faith must always be to honor and bless Jesus, and our goal must be to help those with whom we share, find a full and complete life in Him, not simply miss hell or gain heaven. Please understand. I long for heaven, but my longing centers on one thing – Jesus! Jesus is the Treasure I seek on earth and the Treasure I’ll find in heaven. He’s worth more to me than all the world has to offer.

I’m convinced that to the extent those with whom the Lord has laid on our hearts to speak can sense a genuine love and concern for them and for Jesus, to that extent they’ll open their hearts to us and be willing to listen. Prayer is foundational in allowing that to happen.

Dick Eastman said, “Behind the saving grace of every believer is someone praying.” Sharing our story, our spiritual journey, our faith – however you want to think of it, MUST begin with prayer if our goal is to lead someone closer to the Lord. Prayer prepares our heart and mind to speak, and prepares the heart and mind of the one with whom we share to hear what God is seeking to say to them.

Never underestimate the way the Lord is working in you AND in the one with whom He lays on your heart to speak. In my nearly sixty years of walking with Jesus, I have NEVER led a single soul to saving faith in Jesus, I’ve simply been a vessel through whom the Lord has been faithful to do HIS saving work. He’ll work in you to the extent you’re willing to ask Him (prayer) and then are willing to get out of His way and allow Him to work through you to His honor and fame (faith).

The first and best way to help others know Jesus is to continually seek to know Him intimately yourself. Then you can allow the Holy Spirit free access to fill and empower you in any way He sees fit to reach others for Christ’s glory and honor. He will give you insight and understanding as to whom He desires you to speak and guidance as to what to say. That process begins on the day you invite Jesus to be Lord and continues until the day you close your eyes in death.

Every one of us who are Christ-followers, whether we’ve just begun our walk or we’ve walked with Him for many years, can share our faith effectively to the extent we submit to the Spirit and simply ask Him to speak through us.

There’s one other aspect of sharing our faith I’d like us to look at tomorrow.

Blessings, Ed

Sharing the Good News of Jesus (Part 1)

“But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went.” (Acts 8:4 NLT)

Helping those in our spheres of influence to know Jesus takes time and persistence, but with the Lord’s help and guidance, it can become a lifestyle. By God’s grace, over the years God has used me to lead people to a saving knowledge of Jesus, but I’m not the proverbial “expert.” Jesus is the expert and anything we do to honor Him is by Him and for Him. What does that mean? It simply means, as Jesus said in John 5:5: “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (NLT)

What does that mean? It essentially translates – fruitfulness (effectiveness in anything we do for the Lord) depends upon connectedness (closeness to the Lord). With that in mind, let me offer some suggestions as to how to help others come to know Jesus in a personal and powerful way.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

First, before we can share “Good News” we have to BE good news! What does that mean? To me it speaks to our motivation. WHY do we want our loved ones, friends, or anyone with whom we have contact, to come to Christ? And even as I ask that odd question, it seems counterintuitive, but for the sake of those we’re seeking to reach, it must be asked. What’s my investment? Behind my desire to share my faith, is there any hint that it’s for my own personal edification? In order that I might feel better about myself? (i.e. so others can recognize how “spiritual” I am?). Or is it so the person with whom I’m sharing can stay out of hell or go to heaven? In my understanding of Scripture, if our only motivation for winning people to Jesus is selfish or to keep them out of hell, we’ve missed the point of the Cross.

Jesus said in John 10:10: “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” (NLT) “Rich and satisfying” essentially means full or complete, in short, a life that’s continually seeking to become more and more like Jesus (see Romans 8:29). Nothing this world offers can compare to closeness to Jesus. What’s my point? To be effective (fruitful) in influencing others to commit their lives to Jesus, our lives must be fully surrendered to Him, thus enabling US to become a channel through which the good news can flow.

Years ago I was developing a relationship with a young man who came to my house regularly for pest control. We were standing in my driveway talking and for the first time he was beginning to open up to me about why he had no interest in Christ or attending church. As we were talking, another young man I’d recently met, joined the conversation. Without my prior knowledge, but in an obvious effort to impress me with his “sharing,” the second man began to ask my friend questions like: “Do you know you’re lost without Jesus? You need to repent and give your life to Christ right now before it’s eternally too late.” On and on he went until my friend whom I’d nurtured for months to lay the groundwork for a meaningful relationship, suddenly turned away and left. I never saw him again and he wouldn’t return my calls.

Was the man who was “sharing” with my friend, “wrong?” In that context, yes, he was. While his words were “right” his sensitivity to the Lord was absent and rather than drawing my friend TO Christ, he pushed him further away. Seeking to share the Good News, because it was given without apparent regard to my friend’s needs, and from selfish motives, became for my friend, bad news.

We’ll pick up this theme tomorrow.

Blessings, Ed

What It Means To Be Filled With The Holy Spirit (Part 2)

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.” (Ephesians 4:31 NLT)

It may be helpful to think of being filled by the Spirit more like being a funnel than a jar. It’s not God’s intent simply to be ‘stored’ in us, waiting for us to remove the “lid” and let Him out. It’s more like He’s being poured, constantly flowing, through a funnel, always on His way to accomplish something, not only in us, but through us. In us as He seeks to develop the fruit of His presence, enabling us to grow in Christ’s likeness. And through us as He puts on display the work He is accomplishing to enable others to be drawn to Him through our lives.

The plot thickens when we consider the ways we can “block” the flow of the Spirit’s efforts. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:30: “And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.” (NLT) It’s in this context Paul speaks of bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, slander, sexual immorality, impurity, greed, all of which address issues over which the Holy Spirit can give us victory if we’ll let Him.

When we take our focus off of Jesus and give authority to our carnal nature to seek our will rather than His, we clog the Spirit’s flow and not only cause stagnation in our own lives, but prevent the Spirit from being able to put Jesus on display in and through us. Being filled with the Spirit is a grace gift, that when seen in proper perspective can liberate us to be all we were originally designed to be.

Justification is the legal term whereby God through Christ treats us “just-as-if-I’d” never sinned. It’s the miracle of new birth, made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross in our place. Sanctification, which is the life-long process of becoming more like Jesus, is made possible by the Holy Spirit’s constant flow in and through us.

Once we’ve yielded our hearts and lives to the Lord, been forgiven and set free to be a brand new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17), the Holy Spirit begins the process of conforming us to the likeness of our Savior. That’s the goal of being filled with the Spirit.

What that looks like can vary from person to person, but for me a significant turning point came when I was going through my divorce. I’d literally lost most of my worldly possessions – job, house, car – and my heart was aching with the weight of the loss of my wife and my inability to provide for my two children.

In my heart and mind I’d lost everything, but the Lord, in His grace and mercy, assured me I hadn’t lost Him, and He was all I really needed. Though I’d followed the Lord for many years, He came to life in me in a new and fresh way as we walked together through that valley of despair. I was no longer afraid of all the uncertainties of life that Satan uses to cause us to worry and fret. In those moments of desperation and need I gave myself to the Lord in full surrender, entrusting my future to Him without reservation and He gave me freedom and victory I’d never known before.

The infilling of God’s Holy Spirit flows most freely and powerfully in and through a fully surrendered heart. Because of the Holy Spirit’s work in me, my heart’s desire is Jesus. I no longer crave the trinkets of the world, but have found my Treasure in Jesus.

Blessings, Ed

What It Means To Be Filled With The Holy Spirit (Part 1)

“Then you will overflow with confident Hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13b NLT)

While “being filled” is a common expression, when it has reference to the Holy Spirit, the co-equal, co-eternal third member of the triune Godhead (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), it has some very far-reaching implications for our lives.

We fill our vehicle tanks with fuel, our glasses with water, our stomachs with ____________ (I’ll let you FILL that one in). The point? The time God gives us is FILLED with all kinds of choices, some to which we give little or no thought. Some things we choose are good – i.e. to love, to serve, to be productive, to attend church etc. But some are not so good.

We have free will, which essentially means, we decide who and how our lives will be filled. Following Jesus is an act of our will, a decision we willfully make. The gift of grace that allows us to be forgiven and restored to a right relationship with God is extended to us, but as with every gift we’re offered, we must choose to accept it.

When we choose, by an act of faith, to receive Jesus as Savior (Redeemer/Rescuer) and Lord (Master/Owner), we’re essentially relinquishing the rights to our own life. Our lives which were once filled with ourselves – i.e. our pride, our lusts for the things of this world, our carnal nature – are now filled with God Himself in the person of His Holy Spirit.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” (NLT)

But what does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? According to Jesus shortly before He ascended back to heaven, in Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” But why? He continues: “And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (NLT)

Since before the beginning of time it has been God’s plan and desire that we would reflect His majestic splendor in and through our lives. Genesis 1:26 reminds us: “Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us…'” (NLT) Paul echoes that thought in Romans 8:29 when he writes: “For those whom He foreknew – of whom He was aware and loved beforehand – He also destined from the beginning…to be molded into the image of His Son (and share inwardly His likeness).” (The Amplified Bible) But how is that possible? Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit!

That’s why we need God’s powerful Spirit to live in us. Jesus said that apart from Him we could do nothing (John 15:5), but with Him nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37). Being filled with the Holy Spirit means we’re no longer dependent on our own resources and ingenuity, but are energized and empowered to do anything and everything the Lord equips, enables and asks us to do.

Let’s stop here for today and pick it up tomorrow.

Blessings, Ed

Asking Some Hard Questions About Suicide (Part 2)

“He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin…” (Titus 2:14a NLT)

When a loved one or friend takes their own life, our hearts and minds fill with questions. Yesterday we looked at “Am I to blame?” and today we’ll look at: “Will my loved one be in heaven?” While this may seem like an evasive answer, the truth is – God alone knows with certainty. This centuries-old debate continues today, but the bottom line is, God alone knows the eternal destiny of EVERY person who dies, by whatever means.

We often judge another person on the basis of outward evidences, but God alone knows a person’s heart. What does that mean? It means I can have an opinion that someone is going to heaven or hell, but the reality is, only God knows for sure.

Anyone can do something that may seem completely out of character for them, yet when it becomes known, it could give a wrong impression of what’s actually the intent of their heart – i.e. they commit suicide.

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

Suffice it to say at this point, that what is in the heart of a person who takes their own life, while a mystery to us, is perfectly clear to God. God alone can determine why they did what they did and He alone decides where they will spend eternity. Suicide, in my understanding of Biblical teaching, will not be the determining factor as to whether or not a person goes to heaven.

If you’ve lost a loved one or friend to suicide or are considering taking your own life, please seek help from a competent Christian counselor or trusted Christ-following friend, but more importantly, seek the Lord directly. When I first came to Jesus I was ignorant of the Bible and knew nothing about prayer. I sat an empty chair across from me and imagined Jesus was sitting in it. I just talked to Him about whatever was on my mind. At times I would kneel, as though kneeling at my Savior’s feet. Pour your heart out to Jesus. No one knows how you feel better than Jesus.

Now that I’ve walked with Him for many years, I sense His closeness nearly every second. I’ve learned to discern His voice and receive His guidance in every avenue of my life, realizing His “voice” often speaks most clearly through the Bible, godly friends, authors, pastors and teachers.

May I assure you, there’s nothing you’ve ever done or said for which He won’t forgive you and He will NEVER stop loving you. Often the biggest issue we face is a matter of focus.

Consider the words of this old hymn: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” (Helen Howarth Lemmel) Turn your focus upon Jesus and give Him permission to bring the healing He desires to bring to you.

He loves you! He’s with you! He’s for you! He’s reaching out to you in your desperation and wants to walk with you to a full and satisfying life in Him. Please let Him. I can tell you based on my own experience, as well as the experience of many others, there’s nothing this world can offer that compares with having Jesus as your best friend.

Blessings, Ed

Asking Some Hard Questions About Suicide (Part 1)

“He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin…” (Titus 2:14a NLT)

Having wrestled with depression much of my adult life, I’ve seriously considered suicide as an option on more than one occasion. The insights and guidance of godly friends and professional Christian counselors have been helpful, but ultimately what saved my life was the grace of God. The Bible is now my constant companion and my closeness to the Lord is a second by second comfort, but it hasn’t always been that way.

As a Pastor for nearly forty years, I’ve counseled people suffering with the haunting thoughts of suicide and, unfortunately, had to officiate the funeral of one who took his own life. There’s been much debate as to why people choose the path of suicide and what the spiritual implications of that decision are.

Perhaps the most troubling question for the family and friends who are left behind is: “Am I to blame?” And the pressing question for many: “Will my loved one be in heaven?” We’ll look at the first question today and tackle the second question tomorrow.

The reality is – God alone knows the answer to those questions; however, I can say with reasonable assurance, a person who ends their own life has more issues than the trauma of a single event – i.e. an argument with a family member, friend, co-worker, etc. They likely have long-standing emotional issues with which they’ve dealt for years, which come to a head for any number of reasons, forcing a person to conclude they have no alternative.

Their minds are closed to reason and governed by fear, isolation and/or hopelessness, resulting in an irrational and self-destructive ending. However, most often the self-destruction has begun in a person’s life long before the actual event of their death. Addictions or chronic, unhealthy behaviors such as drugs, alcohol, depression, anger, sexual/pornography and others over time lower a person’s ability to see their behavior clearly, leading to confusion as to what’s real and what’s not. Right seems wrong and wrong becomes more easily seen as right, which can, in the best case, lead to asking for help, but too often results in permanent mental, physical or emotional damage and/or death.

Ironically, attempting suicide can actually be the proverbial “cry for help”, and sometimes is the first step on the road to recovery. Yet, the repercussions caused in the lives of the survivors of a suicide or even an attempt, are far beyond the scope of this brief article.

Let me address the first of the two most common questions.

“Am I to blame?” The short answer is a resounding “NO!” Those who commit suicide make the decision to take their own life, irrespective of and sometimes in defiance of the pleas of those who are key influencers in their lives and who are, most often, the ones urging them to “get help.” An argument may have ensued just prior to a person’s decision to end their life, or there may have been an on going “drama” that ultimately led to the person’s decision, but in the end, only one person made the choice to die at their own hand. Regardless of their often conflicted motives, the decision to choose life or death was theirs alone.

If you are considering taking your own life or know someone who is, PLEASE call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255. or reach out to a trusted friend immediately.

Blessings, Ed

How to Love Your Neighbor (Part 2)

“Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (James 2:8 NLT)

Yesterday, we looked at three initial steps to consider if you want to love your neighbors. Let’s continue with a few more things we did in Dallas, then shift to something we’re doing in Las Vegas.

4. Begin group study. After almost a year we planned our first study at our house. We used whatever the current sermon series was at that time for curriculum and invited our closest neighbors and a few others, including a few from church. Everyone accepted.

5. Get intentional. After we’d been meeting for a while, I invited each person to share their story – i.e. tell me about your family growing up; talk to me about your job, your plans, your dreams, aspirations, religious background/training, and so forth. I then asked them if I could share some things about me, which included my love of Jesus and my desire to live my life to His honor and fame, including loving them without condition.

6. Expand the study. At the end of that first series we asked those who participated if they’d like to continue with another study, which they did, leading to an open invitation to everyone on our street (about 30 houses) for our third study. My wife and I made invitations and placed one on every door on our street.

We read/studied Bob Goff’s book Everybody Always, with those who responded to our invitation. Goff’s book addresses how to love our neighbors with intentionality, which is the goal of this process. Additionally, we wanted to see who may have the heart for and interest in leading a study in their home, reaching out to the ones with whom they’ve been nurturing relationships in and outside the neighborhood.

Since we’ve moved to Las Vegas (about a year ago), we were basically back to “square one,” so we decided to give some invitations to the neighbors we’d met while walking our dogs. We invited about 20 people to come to our house for a “carry-in” dinner. Only one couple didn’t come, but we had a great time and a lot of positive things have grown out of that.

This is a prayer-filled process that focuses on loving our neighbors in response to God’s command (Matthew 19:19). The only agenda is God’s will, because I know that it’s not His will that anyone perish (2 Peter 3:9). He alone can save and I’m only one of many instruments He’s using to draw my neighbors to Himself.

Realizing He’s working powerfully in the lives of each one He lays on my heart to love, I simply want to do my part when and where I can by being available to the Lord to bless my neighbors and by regularly praying for them. I accomplish this every morning when I walk my dogs. I pray for neighbors by name if I know them, and the others I pray by household, that each person in that house would be open to the Lord as He draws them to Himself.

It may sound crazy to some, but the Lord has given me a desire to see “Sin City,” which is a common reference to Las Vegas, become “Son City,” as thousands yield their lives and livelihoods, to Jesus. I’m believing the Lord for an unprecedented move of His Spirit upon the people of Las Vegas, changing lives and eternal addresses of those He’s drawing to Himself.

I just want to be a part of what God is doing. How about you? What’s He putting on your heart to do to love your neighbors as you love yourself? You can’t focus on what you can’t do, you’ve got to focus on what God is calling and equipping you TO DO!

Blessings, Ed 😊

How to Love Your Neighbor (Part 1)

“For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians 5:14 NLT)

John MacArthur said: “I don’t want to be successful, I want to be useful.” Those words spoke to me in regard to learning to love my neighbors. I chose not to focus on “success” – i.e. winning every neighbor to Christ, but on “usefulness” – doing what I can with what God has given me. So, I did a personal inventory.

Of course, the excuses came first. “I’m an introvert (I’m scared).” Or “This is Dallas (where I lived at the time), everybody already knows about Jesus or nobody wants to hear about Jesus (they’re not open to hearing about Jesus from me).”

Then I began to hear statistics that as many as 90% of the population of any given city in the U.S. is un-churched, and the light finally came on for me. The Lord gave me a plan to love my literal neighbors, starting with those who were closest. Couple that with something I read recently that said nearly 89% of people who don’t know Jesus, don’t know anyone who does. Let that sink in for a minute. I think of Romans 10:14 (NLT): “But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?” Our being sent isn’t really an issue. Jesus gave us a clear command in Matthew 28:19a: “…GO!” Okay, so what might that look like? Consider the steps I took.

1. Allow the Lord to prepare your heart. What does that mean? For me it meant examining my motives. WHY did I want to make an effort to reach out to my neighbors? Was it simply to gain points with God, to show Him what a great person I am? Or was it to do my part in carrying out His great commission.

Fortunately, God has taught me that He’s pretty smart and I’m not (in comparison 😊); that He’s God and I’m not; that He’s everything and apart from Him I’m nothing. At this point in my life, any effort on my part is to give expression to my gratitude for all He’s done and is doing in and through me. I simply asked the Lord to purify my heart and my intentions so that any recognition would be His and His alone.

2. Once I understood my motives were pure and I sought no personal gain from wanting to love my neighbors, I asked the Lord to give me a vision of what could happen if I trusted Him without reservation. He outlined a means whereby I could pour my life into a few neighbors, who in turn could pour themselves into a few neighbors and so forth until virtually every person in our neighborhood would have exposure to someone who loved them unconditionally, was praying for them, and to whom they could speak about Jesus when they got ready to have that conversation.

3. Start with those who are closest. When we lived in the Dallas, Texas area, for almost a year my wife and I started pouring ourselves into our next-door neighbors, a young couple from India who have now become parents of a handsome little man, and our neighbors across the street, a husband and wife with two children. It’s important that you understand, these precious neighbors were never our “projects.” We had no “agenda” except to love them and serve them in whatever ways the Lord gave us opportunity.

Now that we live in Las Vegas, our strategy has changed a little bit. I’ll share more how in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Giving Thanks!

“She fell at his feet and bowed before him, overwhelmed with gratitude.”

(2 Kings 4:37a NLT)

In 2 Kings 4 there is a story of a wealthy woman who lived in Shunem, who had no children. Because of her kindness to Elisha, the prophet, though her husband was old, Elisha told her she would have a son. The next year when Elisha was passing that way, just as he had said, she had a son.

One day, when her son was still a child, he went with his father to help him in his fields. While working, he complained to his father that he had a severe headache, so one of the servants carried the boy home, where his mother held him in her lap as he died.

She summoned Elisha, who, by God’s power, was able to bring the boy back to life. This is the only place in the New Living Translation where you find the word “gratitude.” The mother’s knee-jerk reaction was to fall at the feet of the man of God and worship the God of miracles in gratitude.

Can you begin to grasp the range of emotions that mother felt – to be childless, then be given a son, only to have him die at a young age, then have him be given back to her! Can you even begin to imagine anything for which you could be more grateful in that moment?

In Luke 17 there’s a story of ten men who had leprosy, who all cried out: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (Luke 17:13 NLT) Jesus healed all ten, but only one, a Samaritan (hated by Jews), returned to give thanks. In verse 16 it says: “He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking Him for what He had done.” This man, like the woman of Shunem, was overwhelmed with gratitude, leading him to worship at the feet of Jesus.

It’s interesting to me that the word which in this verse is translated “thanking,” is the word from which comes our English word “Eucharist,” that is commonly used to refer to Holy Communion. Those of us who know and love Jesus, participate in Communion as an opportunity to bow before our Savior, giving thanks to the One who did for us what we could never have done for ourselves.

Could that Shunamite woman have healed her son? Could the leper have healed himself? Can any of us heal ourselves of the deadly disease of sin, shame, and guilt? Of course not! Realizing that swells our heart with gratitude and thanksgiving.

Today, in America, is Thanksgiving Day.

As you pause to give thanks, many around tables filled with food, and loved ones and friends with whom to share it. Please don’t forget to thank the One who made America possible. Who gave you the food, the family, and the friends you so appreciate and enjoy. He who has forgiven you and cleansed you of all unrighteousness as you knelt at His feet in humble submission to His authority in your life.

Even if you’re alone as you read these words, give thanks to the One who is with you. He loves you more than you can imagine. Even if these are hard times and you’re struggling to find something for which you can be thankful, understand that gratitude is a decision, not an emotion. Thank Him that you have the gift of life. Determine afresh today, you’re not going to waste that precious gift. Reach out to someone and let them know how much you love them and how grateful you are to have them in your life.

Bow before your Savior, the Lord Jesus, and confess your need of Him. Confess your desire to please and honor Him above all else. Confess your willingness to let Him lead you wherever He decides, helping you do whatever He desires. You may not feel it, but make the decision to be grateful today.

Something I would be remiss if I didn’t mention – I’m grateful for YOU! Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to read these articles. I pray you’ll sense the Lord’s loving closeness on this special day.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Why Is the Bible So Important?

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful…” (2 Timothy 3:16a NLT)

When I was in college in the 1960’s I would make frequent trips to my mailbox. I couldn’t afford to call my girlfriend very often, so I had to rely on the mail. Receiving a letter from her was like hearing from heaven. I’d rip it open and read as fast as I could until I reached the part I was really wanting to see. You know, the part’s where she told me how much she loved me, missed me, couldn’t wait to see me – all the “good” stuff.

As a follower of Jesus, that’s a lot like how I view the Bible. I see it as God’s “Love Letter” to me. I love learning about Jesus and hearing how His love for me motivated so much of what He did while on this earth.

In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT) Paul wrote: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

Considering all the things happening in our world today, all the directions in which we’re pulled, all the options for evil that exist, I thought it might be refreshing to “drink in” some of the refreshing words of God. To see the purpose of the Bible and to understand why it’s so important, on so many levels.

This is the last letter Paul wrote, so he’s essentially summarizing for Timothy what, in his mind, is most important. In the verses above he outlines several reasons the Bible is so vital.

It’s inspired by God. The Amplified Bible says: “God-breathed (given by His inspiration).” What does that mean? It essentially means that God personally chose every author. He considered their mind, their personality, their life experiences, their skill as a writer. Then God coupled those things with the guidance of His Holy Spirit to produce exactly what He knew we’d need to read, to enable us to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, Jesus. (Romans 8:29)
It’s useful to teach us what is true. Truth is often debated today, but the Bible is comprised of truth that is defined by God. The Bible teaches us things that, from God’s point of view, are wrong in our lives (sinful) and teaches us what is right (His way for us to live). God has given us free-will, which gives us the option of accepting what He says or rejecting it. But Jesus said that He was the embodiment of all that is true, so to follow Him is to follow the path of God’s truth that leads to righteous living.
It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. The Holy Spirit convicts, convinces and reveals to us when something in our life is wrong, which is the first step in turning from it. How can we correct something we don’t know is wrong? Then the Spirit guides us in ways to replace what’s wrong with something that is right. If I didn’t know that lying or gossiping were wrong behaviors for a Jesus follower, I would see no need to take steps to correct them.
God uses the Bible to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. God knew us before we were a twinkle in our earthly father’s eye. He meticulously designed and equipped us for the specific roles that we would play in the carrying out of His plans on earth. The Bible refers to the primary tools God gives us as spiritual gifts, which when coupled with our natural abilities, give us everything we need, to do the good things God has in mind for us to do for Him.

This, obviously, is just a “snap-shot” of why the Bible is so important. But I’m praying that you’ll see yourself differently as you view yourself through the lens of how God sees you. As the pages of the Bible, God’s written word, come to life in your heart and mind, I pray you’ll begin to see how He has designed you to do what only you can do in the fulfillment of His purposes in and through your life.

It’s a big deal to be a child of God. To be chosen by Him to play a key role in the unfolding drama of the fulfillment of His will on earth, leading to the climax of history when Jesus returns. Not long after I committed my life to Jesus, I heard a radio preacher say, “When Jesus returns, He’s not coming back to take sides, He’s coming back to take over!” I’m so glad I’m standing strong with King Jesus.

The Bible has helped me understand what that means and what it should look like in my life. If you haven’t already, I invite you to begin your journey with Jesus today. Check out a brief video by clicking the link below that will help you understand what to do. Time is short. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet and begin to follow the One who is the central theme of the Bible.

https://hutchcraft.com/the-bridge-to-god

Blessings, Ed 😊