Skip to main content

I personally find my most significant encounters with God happen through moments

My Bible: reasons to believe in the power of the Bible

Previous Next

'I personally find my most significant encounters with God happen through moments when I’m studying the Bible.

In my late teens, I went through Ephesians and it had a major impact on me. I got a fresh experience of God’s love for me and how much Jesus loves the church. It moved me to tears, which is unusual. It stopped me in my tracks.

I also love the great outdoors. I recently built a treetop platform so I can climb up, get away from it all and read the Bible. And when I go mountain climbing, I take my Bible with me.

Weather permitting, I read a bit on the summit – like Psalm 121: ‘I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD’. The Bible is also a resource for those tough seasons of life.

My father died last year, which was huge. I went through various emotions with it and wondered if I had the strength to carry on when I didn’t feel like being in front of people. But I kept repeating 2 Timothy 2.1 where Paul says, ‘But you my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus’.

I felt like that was my heavenly father giving me something to hold onto when I would have fallen on my face otherwise. Our world has been shaped by the power of this text. And that’s not just historically true, it’s still a best seller.

Even if you don’t believe, that’s a good enough reason to check out the Bible. It’s a starting point for understanding the world. I remember a friend at university who became a Christian. He was keen to get into the Bible. But when he first tried, he said it was like being asked to eat an elephant. You don’t know where to start. I developed The Bible Course to help people engage with the Bible.'

Do you have a story to share? Email [email protected]

More Stories

My wife and I were told we’d likely never have children

My wife and I were told we’d likely never have children – even if we went through certain procedures. I was born with a “defect”, and after both of us went through some tests, I discovered I had one or two other issues...

I was furious. I had just come back from being interviewed by a college

‘I was furious. I had just come back from being interviewed by a college with a view to being trained to be a Baptist minister. The last thing my minister had said to me before I left was, “The one thing they won’t ask...

I became very ill when I was 20 years old and was hospitalised

I became very ill when I was 20 years old and was hospitalised, nil-by-mouth, on a morphine drip, etc. This illness led to me being in and out of hospital for the next year or so. At that time I wasn’t a Christian but my...

I’m sometimes guilty of thinking I know better than everyone else

I’m sometimes guilty of thinking I know better than everyone else. That mindset often extends to thinking I know what I need better than God. When my wife and I were moving house, I found that I tried too often to force...

I was an executive in a company. A colleague had retired and died very suddenly.

I was an executive in a company. A colleague had retired and died very suddenly. He was a lovely man, and I went to his memorial service. We sang, “Do not be afraid for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name...

I keep coming back to John 6.67–68

I keep coming back to John 6.67–68 where Jesus has been teaching and people are finding it hard to understand and lots of his peripheral followers are falling away.

Want to share how the Bible has impacted your life? Email [email protected]

Read the Bible icon Read the Bible