Well first you have to ask yourself is the Bible living and Active and God himself, or is it just another coffee table ornament or some book of stories as some would say. Everything first starts with mindset, do you have a eternal perspective or a worldly perspective ? If you have a worldly perspective then you most likely will have a lot of grey areas because you hold your views to a worldly human standard. If you have a Eternal perspective you are not concerned with what the world thinks or the temporary worldly views of life, you have a God centered view on the life here and the life in heaven and want to obey and trust in the lord. Don’t be distracted by the World around you. In 1stJohn 2:15-17 God says
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”
Whether you know it or not, the world is passing away, and the only thing that will stand is God’s Word, and those who believe it. The only thing that is eternally relevant is his Word. The bottom line in our choices must not be “is it convenient, is it financially or socially profitable, is it popular, etc.”, but “Does it honor God?”
People love to use the word YOLO ( you only live once) which is true you only live once, for Christ! The bible says :
”“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.“ Matthew 24:36-37 ESV So many people live in a temporary world they are only concerned for what happens here on earth, here and now but, our time on Earth should be used to Glorify God. Ask yourself truly what in your life is Glorifying God right now? As Christian and a child of god we are expected to be a light, a messenger, we are to love others as Christ loved us!, we are to Forgive, show mercy, pick up our Cross as Christ did for us! Do you feel you are doing that in your daily walk? In your job? in your Home life? Another thing to think about is, would your actions cause a another brother or sister in Christ to stumble ??”
It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.“
Romans 14:21 ESV
”You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.“
1 Corinthians 10:21 ESV
When i was early on in my walk with Christ i though walking with Christ was just worrying about me, I wasn't thinking about how my actions could be causing someone else to stumble. I though it was pretty much to each is own, and that's just not the case. when I read these scriptures it really hit me that i needed examined my life, and really dig deep and ask is my life glorifying god? Is there anything I'm doing or have done that has led others astray from god ? and once that conviction fell over me i started changing things in my life i had a new profound perspective. God was working in me and the Holy Spirit was helping, and I'm a forever work in progress until the day the Lord comes to get me.
Scripture is a tool we can use to teach us, it corrects us , it molds us into a more Christ like image. Our actions and Words are to reflect the image of Christ, NO I'm not saying i'm Christ. We fall short everyday, but it is our purpose to glorify him and give the Gift of the gospel his word and truth to those around us and to plant the seeds for them to Grow
To truly live a Christ like life is not a easy road we will suffer and have trials just as Jesus suffered but with a Eternal perspective we have assurance of where we are going we no longer live in a fear we know where our true Home is in Heaven. '
Well ..
now that we have the Eternal perspective down we can now ask ourselves do we believe in the Bible as truth? As Christians Gods word is truth! " in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God!! That means when you are reading scripture you are with God how awesome is that! Now you can see how important it is to read and learn Gods word! not as a chore but as a way to personally know him and spend time with him. One of the reasons I share Scripture any chance i can. Let's face it he always says things better then me anyway.
How do we know the Bible is true?
Archaeological evidence that the Bible is true
Contrary to what some assume, the Bible is not a collection of made-up stories about people who never existed. Archaeological evidence has repeatedly disproved the notion that all the people, places and events in the Bible were simply fabricated.
Consider just a few of the discoveries that have confirmed biblical accounts:
The Tel Dan Stela. In 1993 and 1994, fragments of a stela (inscribed stone) were found at Tel Dan in northern Israel. The stela contained an inscription with references to “Israel” and “the House of David.” Prior to this discovery, critics had disputed whether the biblical King David actually existed.
The Pilate Stone. Many critics dismissed Pontius Pilate as a mythical figure. But in 1961, a block of limestone was discovered in Caesarea, with an inscription that contained the name “Pontius Pilatus” and referred to him as the prefect of Judaea, confirming the biblical record.
The authenticity of Acts. Sir William Ramsay was convinced that the book of Acts was a hoax, as it contained many details that had no independent verification. He traveled to Asia Minor in the late 1800s with the intention of proving his belief. However, after extensive research, he concluded that “you may press the words of Luke [the writer of Acts] in a degree beyond any other historian’s and they stand the keenest scrutiny and the hardest treatment.”
The above discoveries are just a small sampling of many archaeological confirmations that help us know the Bible is true.
FUFILLED PROPHECY
Fulfilled prophecy helps us know the Bible is true
There is perhaps no more compelling evidence that the Bible is the true Word of God than fulfilled prophecy. When you consider how difficult it can be to predict what will happen tomorrow, let alone centuries from now, it becomes apparent that of all biblical content, prophecy would be the most likely category to contain false statements. And yet despite the fact that a large percentage of the Bible is prophecy, not a single prophetic statement has been proven wrong—and while many statements have a future fulfillment, a large number of detailed prophecies have already been fulfilled. Biblical prophecy has been proven time and time again to be unfailingly accurate because it comes from God. God stated:
“I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done” (Isaiah 46:9-10). Only God can precisely foretell the future, which is why fulfilled prophecy is part of how we know the Bible is true.
So now that we have Eternal Perspective and can see the Bible is truth, Finally ask yourself is the Bible really Black & white or is there grey? I personally know the Bible is truth, it has shown me over and over there is no grey areas I either choose God, or Myself which only leads to Death. For example look at the days of Noah god told him to build a boat in the middle of no where and that he was going to flood the earth, Noah tried to warn every one and yet they still chose their own selfish lives and Noah chose to obey God. Very black and white either follow gods will or your own you choose! I keep the Bible (his word) near i work daily to follow his will for my life not my own. I was bought with a Price (”for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.“1 Corinthians 6:20 ESV). For some this news can be hard to wrestle with, I get a lot of people who say but i feel in my heart or my heart tells me differently. Let me show you what god says about our Hearts :
”The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?“
Jeremiah 17:9 ESV
This is why we need Jesus we need his words to help us because we cannot even trust our own Hearts we need Jesus to take our heart of stone and give us. A heart of flesh..”And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,“ Ezekiel 11:19 ESV
The devil is always lurking looking for anyway to deceive you. You don't think he would use your hearts desires to distract you from God ? He uses our temptations our desires to pull us away even though is seems good may even feel good doesn't mean it's Good! which is why we need to examine ourselves to scripture and to always be seeking the lord and his word so that we will know what is right and wrong according to his words not our own.
”he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.“
Luke 8:10-15 ESV
I hope this helps in some way or another i hope this Encourages you to spend sometime with God and learn his word I promise you its life changing! I'm going to close out with a prayer
Dear lord,
Thank you as always for inspiring me through your words, may it bring the readers and your faithful follows comfort to know they can rest in you and that your word is truth!. Please bless my fellow brothers and sisters protect them from the evil one who lurks. teach them to put on the armour of God ! Thank you for the knowledge you give, continue to shape and mold us to your image and help us grow to know you more and do your will. Thank you for always being the loving and merciful God that you are in Jesus name amen.