September 15, 2012 Greetings My Friend, It is Sunday afternoon and Junior is asleep in the chair next to me. I am contemplating turning on the TV. My thoughts turn to the Bible. I grew up in a church that believed the Bible was a handy tool written by man and therefore a lot of error is in it. When I first married Junior I asked a lot of questions. Junior’s standard answer was “What does the Bible say?” I got irritated with that answer and started reading the Bible. I had felt that I was not educated enough to understand the Bible. When I had finally read through the Bible the first time, I was amazed. I understood it. Junior taught me to pray before reading the Bible each time. I continue to do that. I ask God to open my eyes to the lessons He wants me to learn. God has blessed me and many days I find a nugget or two as I read. At my former church I was taught that Satan was not real. If I did not want to believe in him then that was ok. As I read the Bible especially when Jesus talked I found that Satan was indeed a part of the Bible. I asked my minister one time and I was told that it was a matter of interpretation. I was confused because Jesus said outright that Satan was real. How do you interpret that Satan is not real out of that? Jesus even told Peter one time “Get behind me Satan.” So I tend to believe the Bible as it is written. My fear is that I may interpret God right out of the Bible. I have had ministers tell me that we all are going to heaven. Again as I read the Bible I find that we have a choice. We can either accept Jesus as the only way to heaven or not. If we choose to not believe Jesus is the only way to heaven then we are headed to hell. Again I find that I tend to read the Bible with a sense that what it says is what is real. I learned one time a way to know what to believe in the Bible is that if a statement is in the Bible more than one time you know it is something you need to believe. I believe that man wrote the Bible sure enough but I also believe that God’s Word was written through the Holy Spirit. By that I mean that God made sure the Bible says what He wants it to say. As I have taken classes through the years I have learned that the Bible is 98% accurate to the original text. I have also learned that Shakespeare’s writings are not that accurate. At this point I tend to believe God wanted us to learn from the Bible and He has had His hand in the Bible so each generation can learn and grow in it. As I think on the age of the Bible written thousands of years ago I marvel. Each generation can read the Bible and grow in God’s ways. I find lessons consistently as I read the Bible. I sometimes can read a passage a couple of years in a row and find another lesson in the same passage. For me I find that I need to be upfront and honest with God. When I give God my true heart then God begins to impart the lessons I need to learn. Sometimes it hurts to admit my faults but God I have learned isn’t in the business of beating me up for the sake of beating me up. God wants my best and if I am honest then God leads me and helps me walk away from the junk that I have allowed into my life. Through the years I have learned about Agape love. That is seeking another’s highest good. I find that is how God treats me. He wants my best. When I learn to grow in that I find life to be amazing. I also find when I have walked through a huge struggle alongside of God I marvel at what I can face. I have always wanted to be a mother. I have had years when I have not been friends with my kids. It hurt me to no end but with God I found I could do life. I met people and God gave me wonderful friendships. When my child re-entered my life I found myself not to be angry, bitter or upset. I was able to pick up our friendship and go with it. Through the years God gave me the strength to carry on. God gave me the tenderness of heart to re-enter the relationship as well. I have no bitterness in me at this point. I am thankful for the years God worked on my attitude so when the right time came along, I could be a friend again. I also marvel that I don’t hate my ex. I really don’t. God has told me that He will deal with him. I have let go of bitterness. Now I lived with fear and finally with the aid of Prozac I am able to realize that this man can’t hurt me anymore in any way. So it took me a while to learn I can’t be hurt. I had to have the help of medication but God has given me what I need to be able to do life. I learned most of the lessons of life through reading the Bible and then I have developed a prayer life. I try to pray as I go to sleep and wake up through the night. This year I learned to pray in my comfy chair so I am adding to my prayer life now. As I look on FB I have a tendency to go to prayer for different requests I see. Yup I believe the Bible as it is written and I try desperately to not to interpret God out of the Bible. If I give God my true heart God will help me live the way He created me to be. I like that. May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you. Love Janet