The early Church Fathers accepted the Old Testament Scriptures based upon the testimony of Jesus. Jesus had revealed to His disciples that His life and ministry fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. [Mt. 5:17-19, KJV]

Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?”  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He ...

I have written about the supernatural nature of Scripture, focusing on the revelatory nature of God's Word. I have also written about how humanity "got the message" [so to speak] of God's revelation. Through the process of "inspiration," God directed men to write down what He revealed to them.

Authority of Scripture

Today, let us consider the authority of Scripture. The Bible claims to be authoritative because it reveals God's decrees and laws.

• The Scriptures are the commandments of the Lord (1 Co. 14:37; Heb. 1:2). Since God created humanity, we must obey the old and New Testaments as God's orders to us. The primary revelation "in these last days" is Jesus. Jesus demonstrated by His life, as well through his words, the love of the Father. The New Testament writings of Paul, Peter, and others serve as part of this Written revelation concerning Jesus that helps to clarify Jesus' sacrificial role and to prepare the Church for Jesus' return.
• Over one-third of the Bible consists of...

The Bible claims to be a supernatural book, a record of God's purpose and plans for humanity. It reveals how humanity's relationship with God was broken and restored through God's sending of Jesus Christ to die and become alive again. It also promises that when Jesus returns, all vestiges of sin will be removed from humanity's experience forever.

Yet how did the supernatural revelation of God's plans get recorded in a written form? The Bible plainly states that God is a spirit, yet the Bible, for all its supernatural claims, is a material object that even a child can hold in their hand. How did something composed of spirit change into a material asset? The answer is a process theologians call "inspiration."

Through "inspiration," each of the sixty-six books of the Bible was originally written down. God Himself supernaturally guided the writers to write what He wanted. As 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us,

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and...

The Bible is unlike any other religious work. While other works express man's philosophies or religious ideals, the Bible declares that It alone contains a true and accurate written revelation of God.

Now, as we continue the discussion of the importance of the Bible, we must recognize that the Bible is the written, recorded revelation of God [Jesus is the Incarnate Word].

So what does this mean to say that "the Bible is the written, recorded revelation of God?" 

Now, before I answer that, we have to stop a moment and consider some words that religious scholars nonchalantly fling about in describing the Scriptures. Knowing these words will may our discussion clearer. We could spend days discussing each of these definitions, but their meanings will become more evident as we progress.

• The first definition is "revelation." "Revelation"refers to a supernatural communication from the Creator God to man. Through this unique revelation, God reveals a truth or truths to a person which...

Have you ever considered what the world would be like is God had never spoken to humanity?

A world void of the revelation of God [either through His prophets or through His Word] would be significantly different. If God had never revealed Himself through His Word, humanity would never have received the assurance and peace that come through faith by hearing God's Word (Ro.10:17). The basis for Western civilization's law and society would not exist. Men would have no absolutes or truth to guide them. If God had not spoken, "at sundry times and in diverse manners… unto the fathers by the prophets. . .” or "unto us by his Son" (Heb. 1:1-2), and if that revelation had not been written down it would have been forgotten by latter generations, the only possible revelation available to man would have been the more obscure revelation of nature, history, or of conscience.

However, the revelation of nature, history, and conscience is incomplete. Yes, God has spoken through nature...

The Bible is unique in that it was composed over 1600 years. This Bible, a collection of some sixty-six smaller books, claims supernatural authorship (1 Pe. 1:25; Ps. 119:89). Although some forty men were involved in the creation of the various sections of the Bible, God alone is responsible for the words contained in the Scriptures. This supernatural authorship is confirmed repeatedly by phrases such as “thus saith the Lord,” “the Lord spake. . . “, etc. However, the Bible also reveals that man was important in the formation of the Bible. Moses gave the Law as he received it to Israel (2 Chr. 34:14). Ecclesiastes is called “The Words of the Preacher.” (Ecc. 1:1). Therefore, the Bible is the result of a combined effort between God and humanity.

The Scripture Itself explains how this cooperative effort between God and man to produce the Bible occurred. The Bible states,” All Scripture is given by inspiration of God . . . .” The Hebrew...

It’s Alive!

The importance of the Bible in my life has become more apparent as I have grown as a Christian. However, no matter how my failure to acknowledge its influence, the Bible [that collection of books that dares to claim to be the written Word of God] has always undergirded my existence.

I was eighteen years old before I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior; however, I had grown up in the organized church. In Sunday school, I learned the Bible stories found in the Old and New Testament. The Biblical themes taught to me in Sunday School undergirded the development of my moral character and thinking. Although I assumed the Bible was inaccurate in its scientific and historical record and historical record [because of what I was being taught in public school], I still felt the impact of the Bible’s teachings. As a result, my sinful nature was somewhat checked during my youth.

In junior high school I read through the New Testament and found it boring. I was offended...

What do you think of the Bible—that is, the sixty-six books revered by Christians? Do you consider it relevant to your own life or to the problems that society faces today? Do you consider the Bible to be a collection of fables spun by superstitious men in the past to control people? Or do you consider the Bible to be a provocative set of moral teachings?

Perhaps you think it is merely a book sometimes held up by extreme right-wing politicians trying to persuade you to listen to them.

Or perhaps you never consider the Bible or its contents.

However, if I asked if you liked ice cream, and you said, “I hate ice cream”, I might ask you why?  Did you find it too cold or too sugary? If you replied, “Oh, I’ve never tasted ice cream”, I might ask you why you hate something you have never tasted.

If you told me that you couldn’t open the lid off the ice cream container and that frustrated you, I would reply, “Well, let me open the ice...

This is the day the Lord has made we should rejoice and be glad in it!

While enduring the horrors of the concentration camp in 1943, Dutch author Etty Hillesumwrote these profound words in her diary as she sought to banish worry,

Ultimately we have just one moral duty; to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves—Etty  Hillesum.

Ms. HIllesum fully understood what Jesus meant when He declared,

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34)

Ms. Hillisum certainly understood that life can bring great frustration and pain.  She experienced continual danger, humiliation, and pain while being in a concentration camp.  However, Ms. Hillisum realized something that many of us do not; the only thing that she could control was her own attitude and mind. Worry and anxiety would only sap her strength.

Worry is a false god that promises control; but worry merely opens the door to the...

Prophecy—August 11, 2022.

This prophetic word seems to be the last of a series that the Lord spoke to me from August 4, 2022-August 11, 2022. If I understand the Lord correctly, while the time of forbearance is ending for unjust, unrighteous leadership, God will rescue, affirm, and restore those who long for Him [even if they don’t realize it yet].

 Comfort. Speak “Comfort” to My people.

For just as I deal sternly with the proud, the rebellious, and the unrepentant, so I will deal with My people tenderly. I will touch them as you would handle a delicate rose without bruising a single petal of the rose. I will lift them in My arms as a mother cradles her newborn child, and I will walk beside them as a groom walks with his bride.

I will bring them joy and peace. I will break off all the heavy loads—the false expectations and deceptions that the enemy and the false ministers placed on My people so they may walk in freedom. Those who...