8. The Bible has the power to transform my life, my character, and my relationship with God.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
To some people, the Bible is not much more than a history book. Others would say that it has “changed my life.” What would be your perspective or experience?
Jesus makes the statement, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Are there truths of the Bible that you believe have the power to set people free? What would some be?
If the Bible does have power, is it because the Spirit works in us as we read Scripture, or that the Spirit knew the ideas that we would need to live well and inspired people to write those ideas?
Everyone wants to experience the goodness of life. We may not always be aware of this desire and we may not be conscious of our thoughts that tell us what the good life is, but deep inside we hold an idea of what the good life is and how we should go about finding it. The Bible is a guide to the good life. It is God speaking through the writers of the Bible to give us a vision of the good life and instructions on how to experience it.
God created us, He loves us deeply, and He desires that we experience the ultimate goodness of life. The Bible is God’s personal letter to us instructing us how to experience the good life that He lovingly desires for us. Jesus in particular speaks to us about the good life. Jesus, both as God and as human, knew better than anyone what the good life was and how we could find it. The teachings of Jesus help us understand that the good life is most often not what the world tells us it is, and we certainly do not discover the good life by living as the world does.
The good life is not found in possessions, power, influence, status, or pleasure. Rather, the good life is found in loving relationships with one another and with God. But, in our broken and diseased state, we are not capable of doing what we need to do to become what we need to become in order to take hold of this good life. The Bible can teach us how to live and behave differently so that we become the kind of people that naturally experience the abundance God desires for us.
If taken seriously and followed faithfully, the Bible can serve to shape our character, our lives, and our relationships. Jesus said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:31-32 NIV). The teachings of Jesus, when followed, have the power to set us free--free to experience the abundance that He desires for us. Free to be healed of our character diseases. Free to reject the faulty ways by which our culture pursues the good life. Free to walk with God on our journey of life and enjoy His unconditional love.
The Bible, especially the teachings of Jesus, has the power to change our lives, both now and forever