Introduction
This is for anyone to read, but mostly, I am writing it to share with my brothers and sisters in Christ who may be vulnerable to the people who make it their life's mission to to make you fall away.
I wrote this after I started getting messages from someone in response to one of my posts on social media (it seems this person had watched Zeitgeist one too many times).
I don’t understand why someone would work so hard to make me not believe. What does that individual have to gain? How does my faith harm you? Anyways. Let's continue.
Ok, I hear you....and I agree.
Let's get something straight, though; true followers of Christ are not "religious" by the world's, man's, or YOUR standards.
True, bible believing people are not controlled by fear of man or death.
Sounds pretty FREE and not controlled to me! APTTMH!
My high priest is King Jesus.
Not a pastor, any teacher throughout history, or a religious priest with merely the breath in his nostrils. While we can help each other learn and grow, we must always test everything and every person.
And if any man or leader forces the bible or any of it's instructions on a population, I would certainly have to question if they are being led by God and if they are using God's name in VAIN for their own agenda and purpose.
It clearly says in His word that we are to dust our sandals off and move on if the message isn't received. You can't legislate or force a new mind and heart with man-made laws. That is the job of the Holy Spirit, not man. We share the Good News and then people have the freedom to choose.
True followers of Christ understand the Gospel is to be shared, not forced.
Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved.
I speak the truth in Christ; I am not lying, as confirmed by my conscience in the Holy Spirit.
For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
Matthew 16:26, 2 Corinthians 12, Romans 9, Romans 15, 2 Corinthians 2
Just a heads up, be careful how you approach the little children, those new to the faith, and those weak in the faith (which I was weak in the faith when this person was causing me to stumble).
The scriptures say in Matthew 18, "And whoever shall cause to stumble one of these of the little ones believing in Me, it is better for him that a heavy millstone should be hung around his neck, and he be sunk in the depth of the sea."
Advice for those new to the faith, weak in the faith, or want to have faith:
Read, listen to, and study things that will solidify your faith! If you are reading, listening to, or studying something that is making your faith falter, DROP IT.
There may be truth to it, but it may be something you aren't ready for and you can pick back up at a later time. I am speaking from personal experience on that. We need to be able to endure patiently until either we're called home (take our last breath) or until Jesus Christ returns. Solidify your relationship with Christ first and foremost.
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Cor 2:14
I am not a Bible scholar or a professional writer. Just a child of God who wants to help others. I will try to make things flow well so it’s easy to read. AND....I will keep it simple! My intended audience is not the ones who already know all the things. I barely skim the surface on most of these blog posts intentionally. It's up to you to dig deeper if you are led to. These are things that have helped me over the past several years; so if these things helped me, surely there's someone else out there it may help to stand firm and endure patiently.
The Reliability of the Bible & Did Jesus Exist?
Jesus obviously existed and is a historical figure.
But let's dig a little deeper.
"I use to be a skeptic. I use to be a doubter. I use to believe the Bible was just some old book that we could go to when we were dealing with tough times in life.
That all changed for me eight years ago. When I actually read through the Bible and saw that it was perfect in every way. And from Genesis to Revelation it testifies of Jesus Christ.”
Quote source: Chad Thomas
The Old Testament, written hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth, contains over 300 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled through His life, death, and resurrection.
Mathematically speaking, the odds of anyone fulfilling this amount of prophecy are staggering. Mathematicians put it this way:
1 person fulfilling 8 prophecies: 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000
1 person fulfilling 48 prophecies: 1 chance in 10 to the 157th power
1 person fulfilling 300+ prophecies: Only Jesus!
Link to a great study on those prophecies is at the bottom of this post.
Jesus is real. He was here on this earth. He was crucified. Risen. Jesus Is Alive. Jesus is the only way to the kingdom of Heaven!
Repent and Believe the Gospel.
"How can we believe the bible? It's a book "written by men"!"
When Satan knows you’re a truth seeker, he knows exactly what doors to knock on in your mind. Being a truth seeker without the help of the Holy Spirit almost sent me on a dark and hopeless path!
Once we lose that child-like faith and become adults who question everything, maybe the next step could be to study the chronology of the Bible and what prophesies did Jesus fulfill.
Jesus was not a mythical figure; He's documented in more places than the Bible. He was mentioned by Jewish and Roman historians, as well. There were many eyewitnesses. Again, just skimming the surface here! Tons of interesting reading to do on that topic!
When you begin studying the Bible and see all the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ, that's your tangible evidence He is Who He says He is.
When you start looking at the chronology, I hope you will see, with the help of the Holy Spirit, that this is something God has done for us! Because He knew we'd ask questions.
𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉. Man is truly without excuse; rejecting the groundwork He laid to live our lives, choosing ourselves and our own knowledge, lusts, and desires...our way results in spiritual and physical death. The results of us trying to do this thing apart from the wisdom and instruction of God is evident throughout history and in our own lives.
That's your 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 that 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫.
History merely repeats itself (Ecclesiastes 1:9). It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. We just don't learn! Grateful for The Most High's grace and mercy and for every single additional day and breath He gives us.
𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆. 🕊️
How the Old and New Testaments line up/match up is nothing short of magnificent. Truly a God-breathed miracle. Hundreds of years passed between different books being written; the synchronization is stunning.
It’s not like the Bible writers were sitting around at a table together and boom...the Bible was done. Hundreds of years and miles separated these authors; a scroll here….a tablet there….and it all lines up with each other countless times! There were no "chapters and verses".
Sure, there are several versions of the Bible out today and many distort and even leave out/add verses. But we have the resources to be able to assist us with that matter. Most importantly, we have the Holy Spirit to aid us in our discernment. Be sure to read my home page of this site for more on that matter and other disclaimers for an answer to the frequently asked question, "Which version of the bible is best?".
The Bible is not just a book.
The Bible was written over a period of roughly 2,000 years by 40 different authors from different continents, who wrote in different languages. The Bible declares some 3,800 times, "God said," or "Thus says the Lord."
For example, "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." Matthew 24:35
"The Bible was written over a course of 1600 years between 2000 and 3600 years ago. 66 books written on 3 different continents by 40 different authors most of which never met each other yet they form a flawless integrated message system.
The infallible, God breathed, divine, inerrant, and inspired Holy Word of God is eternal perfection."
- Paraphrased from Greg The Berean
Many also seem bothered that books were written several decades after they happened. That time span is within the lifetimes of many eyewitnesses to Jesus, His miracles, and His ascension.
When Christ yielded His spirit at the Cross (Matthew 27), many people saw the the veil of the temple torn in two and felt the earth quake, many saw the graves come open and the bodies of the sleeping saints arise - they went into the city and appeared to many!
All those people....saw. And they believed.
They said, "Truly. This was the Son of God."
This is why even though there have been haters of Christ since the beginning, Christ's name lives on.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
There are 2 types of skeptics: An honest one and a dishonest one.
An honest skeptic isn’t sure, but is willing to objectively investigate a matter. When given a logical or rational reasoning, he or she accepts it.
A dishonest skeptic doesn’t want to know the truth. He doesn’t want to read an answer, except maybe to mock and scoff some more.
Word document below: There are over 300 prophecies that point directly to the Messiah.
See the comment section below for links regarding
evidence for Jesus outside of the Bible and more neat, faith building things.
May the peace of God be with you.
"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand."