Do I Truly Know the Bible?
The Bible became a part of my life on the day I was born. As a pastor’s kid, I was at the church every single time the doors were open. I’ve also had my fair share of leftover communion. It’s a perk of the position!
I attended a Christian university where I was required to take Bible classes. I even read through the entire Bible once. Checking those boxes for that reading plan made me feel like I’d really done something. I’ve attended (even led) Bible studies my entire adult life. Yet, I feel like there is so much about the Bible that I do not know. Last month, I stepped back and thought about my writing and asked myself “am I truly pointing my readers to Jesus?” It says that I do on my website. I say it when people ask me about my writing. I do my absolute best to use God’s word appropriately. But do my words truly point you to Jesus? As I mulled this question over in my mind, two things happened.
I finally sat down and outlined a devotional to go along with my book Made for More coming out this Fall!!! (I’m anxiously waiting on final edits to come back my way!!!) This book is my story of God’s grace and glory in my life but it’s so much more. When I became obedient to God’s plan for my life rather than selfishly striving for my own perfect life and perfect plans, I found true peace and freedom. I want this for you too! The second thing that happened is that I began to go deeper with God’s word. I learned that sometimes the English language doesn’t do Greek or Hebrew language justice. I’m seeing stories that I’ve read hundreds of times in a whole new way.
Did you know that the man who helped Jesus carry his cross (Mark 15:21), Simon of Cyrene, is the same man whose wife was like a mother to Paul (Romans 16:13)? It's safe to assume that since Mark included both of Simon's sons' names, Alexander and Rufus, in his gospel that they were followers of Jesus Christ. The church in Cyrene that this family would've been a part of also sent one of their members, Lucius, to send Paul and Barnabas off on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:1).
Let me summarize this. The random man that was forced to help Jesus carry his cross and witness the cruelest death left a legacy of following Jesus with his family and his hometown.
Coincidence?
I think not!
Is your mind blown too?
Simon had no idea the seeds that he was planting that day as he helped carry that cross.
There is so much power in knowing and understanding these amazing Bible stories on a deeper level. So, here’s the deal. The Bible is still relevant today and it’s part of our armor as Christians.
Did you know that too?
"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Ephesians 6:17 (NIV)
I want to share what I’m learning with you. Simple, Biblical truths. I’ll never claim to be a theologian but the Bible was made for all of us.
We’ll call it “What You Didn’t Know Wednesdays!” You can follow me on Facebook or Instagram to see what I'm learning every week. It’ll be fun. Even more fun than communion leftovers.
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