Pastors With Lasers And A 2000+ Year-Old Book
Isn’t it interesting how technology has become an extension of humans in today’s world? Pastors highlight their powerpoint presentations with laser pointers and preach sermons across the internet viewed by believers across the world. And, most of us have the internet in our pockets. It’s sometimes hard to remember what life was like before this kind of technology.
Back in the day, we would sit at the kitchen table and ask questions of our parents, “What's the tallest mountain in the world ?” We would all sit there nodding our heads side-to-side responding, “I don’t know. We’ll have to go to the library and look it up.” The next day (if you wanted to know the answer badly enough), we would get on our bikes, ride to the library, look in the dewey decimal drawers and find the book with that information in it. Then, we’d actually have to find the information in the book! Of course, it was easier if it was an encyclopedia, but it wasn’t always in the encyclopedia.
We certainly find information more quickly today than ever before. But, how do we know that what we’re reading is a reliable source? The difficult task is discerning if what we're reading is accurate. We have to consider the source.
For example: What if you’re having difficulty with your computer and you enter your problem into the search bar on Google ... and find "an expert" that says “re-install everything”! Is that the correct solution? What if your computer required a simple fix, rather than directing you to do something so extreme?
How do we know the Bible is reliable and correct ... the authority? Why are there so many believers and how did they all discern that the Bible is the Inspired, Living Word of God?
When we learn about history in school, the reality is that we weren’t actually there to witness it. We have to depend on the author and the sources from which the information was obtained. If we were learning about World War II, we’d have to weigh the credibility of the witnesses that shared the information with the author ... the more credible witnesses "sourced," the better. We would believe it as the truth.
And, so it is with the Bible. A group of highly credible, first-hand eye-witnesses either wrote the Bible or had a writer transcribe their testimony in the Bible. There are many witnesses to the miracles, lives and stories of people that lived all those years ago. When you really consider it, if you believe what you learn in history class because of the witnesses and testimonies the author shared ... you have no choice but to look at the Bible in the same way. It’s a collection of God-inspired words from highly credible sources and first-hand eye-witnesses. You’ll find that scholars, doctors, accountants, carpenters and other well-educated people were witnesses in God’s Word. In fact, the Bible has not changed since it was written (you’ll find that most non-Christian religions will make changes to their charters/books).
Although the Bible has been around for thousands of years, the Word is real and, thanks to technology, more accessible than ever before. In that Bible you are carrying "in your pocket," you'll find prophecy being fulfilled and lessons that still apply in today’s world. In this broken world, there are many unbelievers. I pray that they will soon take the time to read God's Word. It’s amazing that the Bible contains a great many of those prophecies about the future that have already come true and that are actually coming true today.
Here are just a few examples that show how God's Word proves and validates itself:
- Psalm 22:16-18 -> Matthew 27:35 -> John 19:31-34
- Isaiah 53
- John 16:16-33
- Mark 14:27-31