Certainties

As I sat on the edge of my bed and reached for my Bible early yesterday morning, I had the sudden thought of “the CERTAINTIES of the Bible.”  Those words caused me to pause in the darkened room and allowed me a moment to consider what that phrase meant to me.  When I glanced at the little New Testament in my hand, I could see the shadows of the many Post-It notes that I had placed in the book in order to mark scriptures that were meaningful to me over the last few months.

And that is when it hit me!  I realized at that moment that there are many verses of scriptures within that book that hold a high level of CERTAINTY to me.  When I look at those tagged, underlined, highlighted or circled verses, as Piper liked to do, I realized that I had already decided that those particular promises are true and will work for me when I release my faith in regards to them.  In other words, I have a definite EXPECTATON that those words are the written Word of God that is CERTAIN to work in my life for the particular situation or need that I am actively believing for them to fulfill for me.

Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “Faith assures us of things we EXPECT and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot (yet) see.” (God’s Word ©)  When it comes to those particular verses, my EXPECTATIONS are high and I find that I am thoroughly convinced that my situation will have a positive result. 

In the book of Colossians, the Apostle Paul encourages us “to continue to advance in faith, assured of a firm foundation to grow upon. Never be shaken from the hope (or better translated EXPECTATION) of the gospel you have believed in. And this is the glorious news I preach all over the world.” (Colossians 1:23 The Passion Translation)

I also realized when I laid back on the bed next to the dog who was contentedly lying there after enjoying the snack I always give him following our daily pre-dawn adventure into the backyard, that I already have pre-formed CERTAINTIES concerning the Bible every single time I pick it up! 

Whenever I reach for one of my over 50 translations on the bookshelves in my study or downloaded into my computer Bible Study program, I do so with the CERTAINTY that this book IS the Word of God, was written by men of old who were divinely led and inspired by the Holy Spirit, is THE FINAL TRUTH on any matter under the sun, and is the book of LIFE and LIGHT that I will do my best on a daily basis to obey as I seek personal guidance, physical and spiritual strength, peace, joy, grace and bountiful portions of His Love to interact with and splash onto anyone I come into contact with each day!

Years of personal experience, training, education and 48 years married to the most spiritually sensitive individual that I have ever had the honor of knowing, has worked together to establish my foundation of CERTAINTY that assists me in understanding the Bible as I do.  Today, I found myself recounting Piper’s and my unique Christian background, experience, training, education and ministry involvement that contributed to that CERTAINTY that was deeply established in us. 

Our individual backgrounds, me in Catholicism, and Piper with the American Baptist Churches of the West, led us to become involved, while attending Chico State College, with the InterVarsity Christian organization on weekdays and Sunday services at the Catholic Newman Center on campus, with an occasional visit to the country Pentecostal Church in nearby Paradise, California.  After college, we came back to town and jumped into to a total submersion in ministry at her Baptist Church for close to ten years and then found ourselves serving in various other churches from the Assembly of God denomination, Foursquare and the Word of Faith… and throughout it all, we attended countless classes, seminars, conferences, camps and Bible School.

Now some people might call our background a crazy, mixed goulash of a seemingly unrelated mishmash of experiences, events and activities … but Piper and I always saw it as a heavenly planned and orchestrated SERENDIPITY of EXACTLY what WE needed in order to fulfill the particular and unique calling that our Heavenly Father directed us to fulfill in our life together!

And I think that the same could be said for each of you.  Never allow yourself to think that someone is better suited for, trained, educated or prepared for than you are, for something that you feel led to go after.  For each of us are blessed with a unique blend of life experiences that makes us who we are!  It also helps us to understand the reasoning behind the CERTAINTIES we may or may not have for what is written in our Bibles.

Got a pen and paper handy?  I challenge you to take a few moments to quickly jot down some of the CERTAINTIES that you feel are established in you when you read your Bible.  Those CERTAINTIES are the foundations that you’ll use to understand the gospel truths that you will put into motion in your lives!

Have a great rest of the week!