How to know beyond a doubt the Truth about God, Jesus and the Bible.

You believe many things are true. Some beliefs are very deep and have really big consequences on the way you live your life, others barely make a difference to you. But have you ever wondered whether you can trust your belief system? Have you ever challenged yourself to become committed to the truth, no matter how hard it may be to swallow? 

Very, very few people I know have taken such radical steps in their lives. The majority of people are what they are because they were 'born into' whatever it is they identify with - spiritually, religiously, culturally, socially, nationally, or politically.

The practicing of discernment, to verify whether we can trust our sources has always been an uphill battle. Unfortunately, circular thinking is name of the game when it comes to discussing especially spiritual matters.

How do you know that Jesus really is the Son of God, Messiah, King, Lord and Savior?

How do you know the Bible is really the Divinely Inspired word of God?

How do you know whether what your pastor or rabbi or priest or imam or guru or teacher is saying, is the truth?

How can you tell whether what you are reading, hearing or even speaking is truth?

If these questions make you squirm a little then hold that feeling. Ruminate on it and don't be afraid to challenge your dearest beliefs. This is something very good because its the ONLY WAY TO HAVE REAL FAITH.

So how do you really know the Truth? 

I call it - and maybe many others do to - the witness of the Spirit. God Himself created us in His Shadow and according to His Life-Blood. Which means every man and woman has the capacity to ask God and listen from Him - if and this is a big IF, they are willing.

What qualifies you to be able to hear the Witness of the Spirit?

Only your willingness - a willingness to embrace the Truth no matter what it may show up to be. This is something only you decide and only you can be satisfied with. Because I can not teach you to listen, but I can merely suggest that you try to ask and listen.

When I was an atheist, I heard the Witness of the Spirit saying Jesus is the Truth. I heard Him and knew it was God because I had asked Him to show me the Truth if He was there. I wanted to know the Truth and was open to it. 

I began to read the Bible and told myself it was the words of men. But I read in conversation with God, asking Him to show me if this was the True Word of God or not. Nobody taught me and I didn't seek the confirmation of what I was reading or believing. And you know what, I discovered for myself that the Bible from Genesis to Revelations is all inspired by Him. 

That "Jesus is Truth" and the "Bible is divinely inspired" is something I know spiritually before knowing it experientially, intellectually and even emotionally. No one can remove this faith nor add to it. 

Likewise, I can not convince you that Jesus is the Truth nor that the Bible is His inspired word. Even if I showed you beyond a doubt that Jesus is the Prophesied Messiah who rose from the dead historically, and even if I proved to you beyond a doubt that the Bible is an accurate book, that it is true to the original and archaeologically and historically valid, for me this has little value. It has little value because God doesn't need me to defend His Son and His Book. 

All the debates and efforts to convince and persuade and win over people are made completely apart from the Witness of the Spirit. 

And what about those who want others to see the Truth? Well, if it depends on you saying this or that than whatever it is your saying is made from man and not God. But when the Spirit Himself witnesses about the Truth, He does so in complete alignment with the Love of God and the Light of God - that in Him there is no darkness - and He does so with Power and Glory. 

I sure do want the many, near and far to embrace the Truth. I am very much "Evangelical" in the sense that I want the Good News of Jesus to spread and am honored to be a vehicle of the Gospel as much as God uses me. But I spent years of my life doing so for the wrong reasons and without the Witness of the Spirit, without His Glory, His Power and His Love being manifest. And I when I began to simply rest and removed the burden of trying to convince others of something I could not, I found that I blessed them far more.

Too many Christians try to convince people of the Truth. God doesn't need us to defend Him. But He delights in showing up where He is earnestly sought after. So just rest. If you seek Truth, ask and listen. If you seek to sow Truth, do the same! And enjoy the process. None of this makes sense if it is a dry and bitter affair. 

May God illumine your hearts and fill you with His Peace and Light. Amen.