The “How” Questions about the Bible

“How can I be sure the Bible is true?”

“How can I be sure that all the books of the Bible are the Word of God?”

“How can I be sure the Bible was accurately copied over the last 3,500 years?”

One thing you can be sure of, if you haven’t already asked yourself these questions, is that someone you know is going to confront you with them. Maybe that individual will be trying to pick a fight; maybe they will be sincerely looking for answers. The important thing is that you are prepared to respond.
When people asked Jesus tough questions, he never shied away from giving an answer. In fact, he encouraged people to ask the kind of questions which typically make us feel uncomfortable. As Christ’s followers, we need to equip ourselves to the best of our ability to be able to respond to the “how” questions people ask in regard to the Bible.
The Bible didn’t come to us by a divine special delivery. It didn’t fall from the sky. God wrote it for us by working through everyday, ordinary human beings like you and me. Maybe that’s why people have so many questions about the Bible. They wonder, “How could something written by people actually be the Word of God?” But God also left us with powerful evidences which ought to create in us the strong inclination to read his book. There are reasons—good reasons—to believe the Bible is exactly what it claims: God’s Word.
Join us this Saturday evening (6:00 pm) or Sunday morning (10:00 am) as we explore the answers to the Bible's “how” questions. What you are going to find is, if you haven’t been reading The Book lately, you’re going to want to pick it up again—to listen to what God has to say to you.

A Wasted Life?

“Hey, how ya’ doing?”
Looking up from the TV, he said, “I’ve been better.”
It wasn’t a stellar beginning of a conversation, but it was enough to keep things going. He was in the hospital for drinking too much. When I asked what motivated him to magnify his intake of alcohol, he blandly replied, “That’s what I do.”
For the next 15 minutes or so we talked about a wide variety of subjects as I tried to find something that was even a little positive in his life. But it didn’t happen. His marriage had failed. His kids hated him. Every boss he ever worked for expected too much of him. His girlfriend stole his money. And, to top things off, he would be getting out of the hospital in a day or two with no place to go.
“What are you going to do when you get out of here?”
“Live in the streets. It can be done.”
Not really knowing what else to say, I asked, “And what about 'God stuff'. Think there’s anything to it?”
“I don’t know. He might be there, and he might not. I guess that’s the safe way to look at it.”
“Isn’t that like saying, ‘I’ve got $10 million dollars for you, but I’m not going to tell you where it is’?”
“That would stink, man.”
“Don’t you think that if there’s a chance God is out there, it might be worth it to find out about him?”
“Don’t preach to me. I won’t listen.” And then he ended the conversation, actually rather politely, with the words, “I’ve got to use the bathroom.”
Walking out, I turned to him and said, “I’m sorry.”
He looked surprised.
“This has been really depressing. I’m sorry."
He laughed. And life went on for him.
As I walked down the sterile white corridor, I couldn’t help but think of the old saying, “Only one life—it will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
Join us this Saturday evening (6:00 pm) or Sunday morning (10:00 am) as we focus on and celebrate the life worth living…for eternity.

What Have You Done that Will Last?

I built a gate out of wood recently. It is very apparent after only a week of existence that this gate has a limited life. The wood, which looked straight and true in the store, was wet. After a few days in the hot sun it warped. I console myself with the thought “It’s only temporary. I’ll come up with something better in the future.” But the future of this particular gate is certain—it will not last.

Several months ago my hard drive crashed. The computer technician looked at me and asked, “Is your stuff backed up?” I answered with a certain pride that I backed up my data automatically each week. Everyone knows that’s what a tech savvy person does. When I went to restore my files I found that my back up had not backed up the majority of ten years worth of work. For a few moments I thought I was in cardiac arrest. The even greater tragedy of the whole experience came when I realized how little my life had changed after losing all the material I had once considered so valuable. Life went on and very little changed. Apparently my work was not meant to last.

It is a humbling thing to look at our lives and realize that the vast majority of what we give our very best to will not last even the length of our life time. It either breaks, gets lost, becomes outdated or it loses its relevance.

There is a saying, “You can’t take it with you.” That’s only partially true. No, you can’t take your money or stocks or car with you into the afterlife. We must leave that all behind. But you will take the people you influenced for Christ with you. And you will spend eternity with them in the presence of the Lord. Do you think about life that way? Are you giving your best to what will last? Or are you too tired, too busy to lead others to Christ while you give your best efforts to stuff you’re going to give up anyway? Life is going fast. How do you want to spend it?