Bible Blurb: Oh, How God Loves!

You say: "I hate myself."

God says: "As my servant, you are a steward of sacred mysteries." (1 Corinthians 4:1-5)



You say: "Nobody really loves me."

God says: "I love you and gave my only begotten son for you." (John 3:16; John 3:34)



You say: "I can't forgive myself."

God says: "I forgive you and put your sins as far from me as the east is from the west." (1 John 1:9; Romans 8:1, Psalm 103:12)

Bible Blurb: Weary and Worn?

You say: "Lord, I'm so weary."

God says: "I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28-30)



You say: "I can't find a way forward."

God says: "I will direct your steps." (Proverbs 3:5-6)



You say: "It's not worth the effort."

God says: "It will be worth it." (Romans 8:28)


Related reading: But God!

Bible Blurb: All Things Through Him

You say: "It's impossible."

God says: "All things are possible." (Luke 18:27)


You say: "I can't go on."

God says: "You can do all things through me." (Philippians 4:13)


You say: I can't do it."

God says: "My grace is sufficient." (Psalm 91:15; II Corinthians 12:9)


Related reading: Are You Anxious?

Bible Blurb: Are you Anxious?

You say: "I can't manage."

God says: "I will supply all your needs." (Philippians 4:19)

You say: "I am afraid."

God says: "I have not given you a spirit of fear." (II Timothy 1:7)

You say: "I'm always worried and frustrated."

God says: "Cast all your cares on me because I care for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

The Bible's Author

By Hope Ellen Rapson


The Bible’s Author from above
Revises me so I can love.
Not only Him, but also you
So together we might be true
To the plot, purpose, and design
He formed for us before all time.

Bible Blurb: Defining Discipleship

"Defining Discipleship" with Matthew 16:24-25

"The Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

"Discipleship is more than turning over a new leaf. It is more fitful and disorderly than gradual moral formation. Nothing less than daily, often painful, lifelong death will do." --William Willimon, "Repent " Bread and Wine, Readings for Lent and Easter, Plough Publishing House.

Related reading: The Builder and the Building

Bible Blurb: "Mini Bible"

God made, Adam bit,

Noah embarked, Abraham split,

Joseph ruled, Jacob fooled,

Bush talked, Moses balked,

Pharaoh plagued, people walked,

Sea divided, tablets guided, promise landed.

Saul freaked, David peeked,

Prophets warned, Jesus born,

God walked, love talked,

Anger crucified, hope died,

Love rose, Spirit flamed,

Word spread, God remained.

Related: Bible Blurb: Probability and Reliability; Bible Blurb: Be Specific!; Bible Blurb: The Bible is a Library

Bible Blurb: The Bible is a library

The Bible is a library of 66 books. It is called Biblia in Spanish, a word that is closely related to biblioteca, meaning library. These books were written by 44 authors over a period of about 1500 years. The 39 books of the Old Testament were composed between 1400 and 400 B.C., the 27 books of the New Testament between A.D. 50 and A.D. 100. Among these books we find poetry, liturgy, prayers, historical records, king lists, sacred drama and letters (epistles).

Related reading: Biblical Blurb #1; Biblical Blurb #2

Bible Blurb: Specific details

Biblical Blurb: Be specific!

Recently a group of young people were asked, “What specific details in the New Testament about Jesus’ last week do you think it would be impossible to predict?” These were their top five picks, and where they found the prophecy in the Old Testament:

1. Jesus would be betrayed by a friend for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15, 48-50)

Psalms 41:9 - “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.”

Zechariah 11:12 - “…And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver.”

2. Jesus would be silent before His accusers (Matthew 27:12)

Isaiah 53:7 – “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”

3. His garments would be parted and lots would be cast as to who would get which part (John 19:23-24)

Psalm 22:18 – “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

4. His bones would not be broken but his side would be pierced (John 19:33-34)

Psalm 34:20 – “He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.”

Zachariah 12:10 – “An I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and please for mercy, so that, when they look me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a first born.”

5. Jesus would be buried among the rich but would rise from dead (Matthew 27:57-69; Acts 2:31)

Isaiah 53:9 – “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”

Psalm 16:10 – “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.”

These young people picked only five out of twenty possibilities, which they believed confirmed facts, not coincidental fiction.

Related reading: Bible Blurb: Probability and reliability; Bible Blurb: The Bible is a Library

Bible Blurb: Probability and reliability

Probability and Reliability

When written out fully, 10 to the 157th power looks like this:

100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

If one considers only 48 prophecies found in the Old Testament about the coming of Messiah described in the New Testament, occurring in the life of a single person, the probabilities would be only one (1) possibility or probability in the number written out above.

All of them were fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ, whose life, crucifixion, and resurrection we celebrate and proclaim during what is called “Holy Week,” the seven day period between the what is called “Palm Sunday,” when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt greeted as a king with palm branches waved by the crowd, and the third day after his Roman crucifixion when He rose from his grave and was seen by many, the day Christians designate as “Resurrection Day,” popularly known as Easter.


Source: Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door by Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler


Related reading: Bible Blurb: Specific details; Bible Blurb: The Bible is a Library,