The Bible changed me…

I picked up the book for what seemed the hundredth time and began to read. Within moments I knew it was impossible, I could not read this book no matter how many promises or how good my intentions. Slamming it shut I stared down at it with total frustration. “What makes you so different than hundreds of text or fantasy books I have had to read?” I thought. Why could I not read the Bible?
Three months ago, I had agreed to two things that would keep peace in my house and maybe save me from another divorce that had been threatened if I could not do as agreed. One was to abstain from drinking from Friday evening until late Saturday evening. So far, I had done so without much issue, even if I still felt it wasn’t fair. But the second thing, was reading the Bible and I had failed miserably at this task.
I continued to stare at the leather-bound book and felt contempt and resentment for it. My life turned upside down because of a book half full of tales that couldn’t be believed and the other half about an itinerant carpenter who had a lot of good things to say but was killed anyway. No one nor no book was going to convince me that he was the son of God or he was raised from the dead. Just more folk-lore. How was I ever going to get through this?
Another month went by and still I had to keep my frustrations hidden. I had been lying to my wife but now she wanted to start discussing what I had been reading. “Was there no end to this!” I grumbled to myself as I was on my daily walk. As I walked a little further, it came to me. Why not listen to it? I was listening to a book as I walked, that would be an easy way to get around this thing. Audible, the audio book club I belonged to must have a Bible I could download on my MP3 player. Yeah, that was it! That is where my world changed!
The Bible, the most extraordinary book ever written. It really is a compilation of books, containing, in most versions, 66. 39 books of what we call the “Old Testament” and 27 in the “New Testament.” It is with this that I struggled, like so many before me. Where to begin? How do I understand something that seems full of intrigue and violence and is yet said to be all about love? And in my case, this was compounded by total disbelieve. That was and is the mystery because when I was exposed to it, I was changed.
Some will say, “I have read it and it did nothing for me.” Or, “The Gospels all conflict with each other, how can they be true?” And so many other negative comments I have read. But I can only say this as a man who came to the Bible as a complete skeptic, when I finally was opened to it, a miracle happened. You see, the moment I made that decision to listen, God opened my mind in ways I had never thought before.
For almost a year, 45 minutes a day. I listened Old Testament and New. And without me even realizing it. I began to see God plan to save a world He loved so much that His Son would have to die, yet it would not end there. That Son Jesus, also called the Christ, would be raised to His rightful position again, at the right hand of His Father, giving us a hope beyond all this terrible we see around us.
Verses from Genesis, the first book, promising a Savior, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) Through the prophet Isaiah who described that Savior, “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain. Like one from whom the people hide their faces he was despised and we held him in low esteem. (Isaiah 53:3) and further, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 55:5) Into the Gospels showing that Savior in the man, Jesus, “…. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) It became so clear.
Yet there was so much more. Prophecy that would allowed me to see world history through God’s eyes. Books like Daniel and Revelation. But bottom line it was all about hope and promises that can be believed, “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2) Jesus, I came to see that all these books, the Bible, were about Him and that changed me.
I got to add here, it did not happen overnight. I was a hard-core skeptic, I did not want to believe. But as the evidence piled up, I found no other book held so much truth and has stood the test of time. I took the leap of faith. I trusted and believed.
Today, almost 8 years later, I read God’s Word daily. I seek still to understand it more clearly and most of all I share it wherever and whenever possible. That is what I am doing today. If you haven’t picked the Bible up lately, try it. Read or listen, it will change your life.
Blessing John
8/2/17