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What is Your Source?
My children, my last message, Created for a Purpose, was about the importance of teaching your children. Your responsibility also includes teaching them to teach their children.
Today we will discuss the source of what we teach them.
We are under constant attack by the world around us. Those who promote evil are everywhere, in our schools, government, organizations, and even some of our churches.
Those who promote evil are well-organized and determined to win our minds and souls.
You must learn and teach the truth to offset what the world teaches.
So where do you find the truth?
My learning of God’s truth had to start with my mother. I know this because I cannot remember a time in my life when I did not know God’s presence. She must have taught me about God before my earliest memories.
As I grow older I only remember her teaching me to pray and seeing her read her Bible.
Mother always took me to church and encouraged me to do my Sunday School lessons every week. With her help, I grew in faith and understanding but still lacked enough of the truth to avoid foolish arguments.
10,000 angels
When I was a second or third grader, I remember arguing with a friend about angels. Vernon was a Catholic and his priest told him that 10,000 angels could stand on the head of a pin. I had never heard anything about angels and pins but I was sure that angels were bigger than that. So I told him that he was wrong, that only 20 could.
The point of this story is that without the truth we can easily accept lies or get carried away with our ideas. Believing false teachings or our wrong ideas can bring disaster to us and ours. We can find ourselves in arguments just as foolish as I was engaged in with Vernon about angels.
The Truth Will Set You Free
Our world is full of false teachings and human ideas of what is right or wrong. The only way you can guard yourself and your children against the world’s teachings is to know the truth.
Jesus told His disciples in John 8:32 NKJV, 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
So, what is the truth and where do you find it for yourself and your children?
The world is full of crazy ideas about what is right and wrong. Some of those ideas even sound reasonable from a worldly point of view. The problem is the answers that come from human nature are prone to evil and usually wrong.
Our nature is to want what we want and therefore justify ideas and actions by our desires. We put forth theories and then accept them as facts without evidence. Much of what we call science is theory and not fact.
We put off obeying
Often we put off doing what is right until we acquire something we want. Like Satan, our pride and feeling of self-importance cause us to ignore God’s Word.
What we want and what God has planned for us are usually not the same.
True joy comes from surrendering our will to God and living obediently to the laws of God. The Bible is the only source we have for understanding God and His plan for us and our children.
The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV, Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Why the Bible?
Our world is in constant change. Each generation faces different problems. Evil gains a stronger hold on society and then is turned back by the truth of God. The battle never ends between good and evil.
We live in a time when it seems that evil will win and there will never be an end to the rise in evil. However, this feeling is not new. In ages past they have had the same feelings. Sin is always with us and will be until Jesus returns.
The Bible tells the history of God dealing with mankind from Creation to the birth of Jesus. The Apostles gave us an account of the beginning of the Church and its struggles against sin.
Through the ages
God and His righteousness are the only constants. He gives His Creation the rules that will give them abundant lives. God also punishes those who break His laws.
The unchanging nature of God is seen throughout the Old Testament. Likewise, in the New Testament, Paul says in Hebrews 13:8 NKJV, “ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
God is the one constant we can depend on in life. The truth of His Word never changes.
The old saying that the only things that are certain are taxes and death is false. The truth of God’s Word is and will always be certain and the source of all truth in our daily lives.
Why trust the Bible?
This is a very valid question! God does not require blind faith. It is OK to question everything that pertains to your eternal salvation. God wants you to look at the facts He gives you.
When I was young I knew little about the Old Testament. I knew some of the most popular Scriptures. Verses about Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Samson, David, and Goliath, and a few others. However, this one verse, which comes from the New Testament, stuck in my mind.
2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV, the Apostle Paul tells us, “ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
Paul is, of course, speaking of the Jewish Scriptures, but over time, I realized that it applies to all 66 books of the Bible.
Why?
The Evidence
I started this article intending to give you a mountain of information to prove that the Bible should be our only source. However, I am only going to list a few basics and let you build your faith from there. While I am living, I will be glad to provide more if you ask.
One thing for sure is that God’s Word changes lives for the better. I am an example of that fact. Even though I felt God’s presence all my life I did not always live as I should. The times I failed to follow God’s guidance I always ended in trouble.
The mountain of evidence that the Bible should be our source is so great that I will only touch on the few points that I believe are important for you to know. Hopefully, you will search for more.
First, is documentation.
There is more documentation for the Hebrew Bible than any other document in history. God chose to build a nation and entrust His written word to them. They have preserved it for thousands of years against all kinds of enemies who have tried to destroy it and them.
Many ancient scrolls and tablets refer to the events recorded in the Old Testament.
The 66 Books of the Bible, (39 Old Testament, 27 New Testament), have an astonishing history of survival. The Bible was written by over 40 writers over several thousand years and yet in complete agreement on God’s plan for us.
Scrolls were hand-copied many times over the centuries. Normally there would be little changes each time. Yet, the fact that they have stayed true to the originals is a miracle in itself.
Are they correct?
How do we know they were translated correctly?
In 1946, a Bedouin shepherd discovered some jars in a cave on the rim of the Dead Sea. They had been hidden there for over 2,000 years. (Dead Sea Scrolls)
The book of Isaiah was one of the books found. It was over 1,000 years older than the scrolls used to translate the Old Testament into what we refer to as the Old Testament.
After centuries of copying it has remained essentially identical.
Second is Archeological
The accuracy of the Scriptures is used by archaeologists to locate many historical sites such as the ruins of the city of Jericho. The discovery of the Hittite people as well as many other people groups.
Many of the sites excavated would never have been found if not for the study of the Scriptures. These excavations have provided evidence of events, people, and places recorded only in the Bible.
Study and exploration continue to verify the historical facts listed in the Bible. After many hundreds of years of study, I do not see this changing. The Bible is accurate as it is!
Third is Scientific Fact
The Bible is not intended to be a scientific record, but it is amazing that when it touches on science it is always correct. Facts such as the earth being round to there being paths in the sea and beyond.
Science proved the wisdom of God’s dietary laws. Before modern science came into play, God protected His people. He gave them a list of safe foods and a list of those that were not safe for them in the desert.
God even forbade the wearing of blends of wool and linen. In Deuteronomy 22:11 we find, “You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together.”
In 2003 a study found that materials had a frequency, wool had one of 5000 and linen also was 5000. When blended it was reduced to zero.
The healthy human body has a frequency of 100. It was found that frequency lower than 100 put a strain on the body. The blend of wool and linen would cause a strain by lowering the body frequency. You can read the full Article Here.
There are at least 29 other places where Scripture defines things that scientists did not discover until recent centuries. You can seek them out.
Fourth is Prophetic Accuracy
We can have complete confidence in the prophecies of the New Testament because we can look to the accuracy of the Old Testament. God told the people repeatedly what would happen and then it did.
One example is when He told Moses before Joshua led Israel across the river into the Promised Land, that Israel would be unfaithful to Him.
God delivered them after 400 years in Egyptian bondage. For 40 years He provided for them in the wilderness and now they were going to take possession of the Promised Land.
Moses was 120 years old when God told him he was going to die and Joshua would lead the Israelites across the Jordan.
Moses addressed the Israelites before they crossed and gave them the message from God found in Deuteronomy.
Israel did exactly what God told Moses they would do and exactly what Moses told them they would do. God punished them just as He said He would. You can find the complete prophecy in (Deuteronomy chapters 28-31).
The Old Testament prophesied when, where, and how Jesus would be born hundreds of years before the event. The fulfillment of these prophecies about Jesus is found in the New Testament.
Fifth is honesty
God gave us His divine laws to help and guide us into all righteousness. He wants us to have happy and productive lives. God gave us many examples to help us understand both our strengths and weaknesses.
He gave clear examples of the blessings that came from obeying His Law and the problems and penalties of disobeying. We can see all of the human weaknesses in the heroes of the Bible.
God did not whitewash the lives of those who served Him. You look at the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Samson, and David to name a few and all of them sinned against God. They were in no way perfect and certainly committed many sins.
We all have two choices in our lives. Our lives can be lived to honor and follow God or we can follow the world. God gives us a free choice and He tells us both the blessings and the cost.
Many of our Bible heroes tried both ways. God used David and made him a mighty king, but David committed adultery and sent the woman’s husband to his death. David repented, but his sin cost him and the nation of Israel greatly. The Bible shows us that all sin has a cost to us and others affected by it.
I know
Children, I know that this article is nowhere near complete. I want you to read it and think. You will have to do a lot more searching if you want all the evidence that the Bible should be your source.
I have learned from God’s Word that I do not need anything the world offers to be full of joy. God has always given me more than I need so I can share with others.
Like Paul says in Philippians 4:12 NIV, 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Wealth and things do not bring happiness. Going to the Source is the only way to real happiness. Trust in the One who can provide all you need and you will find true happiness.
Sadly, today too many turn from His Guidebook. or toss it out entirely, and try to figure it all out on their own. When this happens, we all lose. Our sin always hurts others as well as us.
Life With Meaning and Joy
The Creator of the Universes gave us rules and commands, precepts, and guides to help us live in the most fulfilling and meaningful ways. God shows us how to live on earth, understand Salvation through His Son Jesus, and obtain eternal life with the Father.
We learn, through His Word, how to obtain the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s indwelling brings joy to living and meaning to life by serving God and bringing Him your gratitude,
In conclusion, living to glorify God is the purpose for which we were created.
I begin the day praising God and seeking His Will. When evening comes I end the day praising Him for all He has done in my life. I always thank Him for the children He blessed me with.