Believe it or Don't

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made.”
John 1:1-3

The Bible is an incredible book. Taken simply as literature it contains some fantastic stories, many of which could fall into other genres of literature like: fairy tales and fables, myths and maybe even a little science fiction. Consider just few of these stories. A boy kills a giant and becomes the king. A man lives for three days in the belly of a big fish. Three slaves survive a fiery finance. A peasant girl becomes the queen of Persia and saves her people from total destruction. Another peasant girl is told she will give birth to the messiah and gets pregnant without - well you know. A man named Phillip disappears from one location and appears in another. Then there are the amazing creatures described in its pages as well. Amazing stuff right?

Now if the Bible was just any book we could decide which of the many stories it contains we wanted to believe and not to believe. But, the Bible is not just any book it is the very word of God and he took great care in preparing it and protecting it so that people could get to know him. It seems to me that He intended for us to believe all of it, but not everyone - including some Christians - do not believe it all.

For instance a 2009 poll revealed that among weekly church goers: 24% believed in evolution; 41% did not believe in evolution and 35% had no opinion on the matter at all.

The story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is one of the most fantastical stories in the Bible. God become a man - born into this world like the average human is. He grows up and chases out demons, brings people back to life, heals with a touch or a word. Then he dies a brutal death and come back to life himself. I believe that story is true, that it happened the way it is related in the Bible - all of the Christians I know believe it too. So how can some say they believe that and then turn around and say that same God could not possibly have made the universe and everything in it in six days?

Do you pick and choose what you believe when you are reading the Bible? Do you believe in Jesus but not in God’s creation of the world? Do you believe there is more than one way to heaven even though Jesus says he is THE way?

I want to encourage you this week to spend some time thinking and praying about what you believe about the Bible and what it says. It is my prayer that you will go closer to God as a result.

A Prayer
 Father - Thank you for giving us Your book. Help us as we read it to really understand what you are saying to us. Help us to believe what it says and may that realization draw us closer to you even as we are overwhelmed by your immenseness. You hold our world and everything in it in your hands and still you came to be with us for a time - to save us. Thank you for loving us so much. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.