When I was first coming to Christ I struggled with doubt and understanding the authority of the Bible. I prayed fervently and continually asking God, “how can this truly be the inspired word of God? How has this book not been corrupted or how could the book be put together by men and called the word of God? God, please reveal to me the truth. I need you to show me.” I did this all the while reading verses of the Bible from the internet. At the time I did not read the bible through as a book but would google verses on various subjects and read them all. The more I read the Bible, the more my faith increased, however, there remained a seed of doubt in me that I needed answers to.
Finally, I bought a physical Bible and tried my best to read it. When purchasing the Bible, I had no clue which version or translation to get, so I prayed about it for a while, and eventually I was led to get the King James Version which I still use and believe is the best English translation today. At first, I was very overwhelmed and didn’t know where to begin. Sometimes I would pray and ask God to lead me through the book and show me what he wants me to know. Then I would open the book to a random page and read whatever I saw. One day I did this and opened the Bible to a random page, not paying much attention to what book I was reading and started reading at the beginning of that book. I only read for about 15 minutes. A few days later I did the same thing and opened the book to a random page. I wanted to move on and not read the book I had just opened to, but I wanted to go to the book of Psalms. However, something kept me from doing this. I read the book I randomly opened to from the middle until the end. Then I was really interested, so I went to the beginning of the book to read the whole thing. It was the same book I had read a few days earlier. I thought, “God must be trying to tell me something”.
After buying my first Bible, I had been persuading my mom to read the Bible. I had also purchased Bibles in bulk around the same time after a dream God gave me when I was fasting and seeking to know what was going to happen in the future. The Bibles I bought came supernaturally quick in the mail, and as I was opening my packages, my mom told me something. She said she was reading her bible and accidentally dropped it on the floor, so it closed. She then opened her bible back up and it opened to the exact same page that she was on. I then told her, “God leads the people seeking him through his book. Sometimes people just pray for God to lead them to what he wants them to know and then they open the Bible to a random page.” I told her this is what I do. As I said this, I took one of the bulk Bibles I had bought and demonstrated to my mom opening the bible. The bible opened to the first page of the book of Job. This was the same book that God brought me to twice just days before! I was excited and praised God.
Then the next day I was telling a coworker about how great the Bible is and how it is the word of God and we should all read it. I told my coworker that you need to be seeking God with a pure heart and relying on him to teach you the words in the Bible, not man. Someone can be a priest or a scholar and read the Bible for 30 years but not have any understanding of it because they are not seeking God with a pure heart. They lack understanding because they are not living righteously as the word says and are relying on the wisdom of man to teach them instead of the Holy Spirit which is the spirit of God. That same day on lunch break I was in my car reading one of my bulk Bibles I had purchased. Something made me that morning bring the Bible with me to work. My coworker was also in her car on the lunch break and I was led to walk up to her car and give the bible to her. She, not mocking but somewhat jokingly said, “So if I just say God show me something, then he will show me what I need.” While she did this, she very dramatically opened the Bible. It opened to the first page of the book of Job! This was within a few hours of me telling her about the bible and the supernatural things that happened to my mom and I regarding the bible. We were both excited and surprised and I praised God the rest of the day. This made her believe and even stirred up several other coworkers.
Then a few weeks later I was telling my friend about the Bible and gave him one. A few weeks after that, he texted me saying, “what was the book you kept opening the Bible to when you prayed?” I said the book of Job and he excitedly texted me back that he had prayed to God, ran his fingers through the pages and randomly opened his bible to the first page of the book of Job. Another miracle! Although it does not seem like much, I consider this an amazing miracle. Simply because it shows that the Bible is the word of God and should be read if we have access to it. God did this because he was pleased that I had stepped out in faith and told others about the Bible and God wants to confirm his word so people believe. God has done this miracle several more times as well. Not only did it cast out all my doubt concerning the Bible, but it catches the attention of those who do not know anything about the Bible. It is God telling people that he wants them to read it. The Bible says that the preaching of the gospel comes not with word only but with power. There is power in the word of God. God comes in great power, with miracles, healings, casting out demons, raising the dead. I know God was pleased with me stepping out in faith and proclaiming the gospel and testifying to others. So, God did miracles. This may not seem as great as instant healings and other miracles, but I consider anything that convicts someone to repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel, a miracle. It is not by my own power or holiness that God did this, but it was simply because God wanted to confirm his word, answer my prayers and get peoples attention. God did this because he was pleased with the testifying of his word and his word does not come back void but goes out with power. The word of God and the name of Jesus Christ has power to do many mighty works and it is a mighty weapon to the pulling down of strongholds and every high thing that exalts itself above God.
One thing I learned from this is that God is more than willing to work with and for us, but we must give him the opportunity to. Faith without works is dead. So, we must step out in faith and allow God’s power to work through us. This is the exercising of our faith. These miracles alone prove that the Bible is the truth and it stands with the testifying of two or more witnesses. God is the creator of everything, so do you think it is a difficult thing for him to put together a book? The people who wrote all the books in the Bible were men of God and were inspired and led by God to write what they did. Even many things that God directly said are written in the Bible. There are prophecies of Jesus Christ in ancient manuscripts hundreds and even thousands of years before Jesus walked on the earth and they all line up with each other. These prophecies were written by people from entirely different regions of the world and many years apart. The prophecies are from men that never had access to the other manuscripts and yet wrote the same thing about Jesus. It is impossible to explain to someone that hasn’t read the Bible how all the books in the Bible supernaturally align with each other. The only explanation is that God was the director of it. Regarding the men who decided what books were to go in the Bible (the Council of Nicaea), if they were wicked men or not, God can use anyone for his glory, including the wicked. God uses wicked leaders and governments all the time.
It is so important to read the Bible. However, we must not read it just to read it or to act like we know something, but we must read it to know God. Our intentions and heart has to be pure. The Bible says our faith is increased by hearing the word of God and we are sanctified by it. This is very true, and I can testify that this exact thing happened to me. The more I read and heard the words of the Bible, the more my faith increased. The Bible contains some of the most beautiful words ever spoken. There is so much knowledge, wisdom, lessons, and spiritual words in the Bible. It is how you can learn about God and how to live your life. Please do not take your opportunity to read the Bible for granted. There are places in the world where people are being beaten, imprisoned, and killed over a single page of the Bible. Before I read the Bible, I had no idea how incredibly wonderful and important it was. I had no clue what was really in it. I guarantee you will be changed forever if you read it with your heart set out on truth. So, what are you waiting for? Buy or grab a Bible and get reading!
