As my “Psalm 23 Shepherd,” Lord Jesus, you lead me beside the still waters, like the picture here—you give me opportunity to be with you, to take in, to gain eternal perspective.

You lead, but I must both follow, and then drink. I must choose to spend time in your Word, in worship, in intercession and confession, in pouring out my heart and lifting up my soul to you. And I can do this because you are “good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy to all who come to you” (Psalm 86:5 KJV).

As I choose to drink from your Word and revel in your presence, you will restore my soul: bringing refreshment, insight, wisdom, understanding, greater faith and more praise.

You work to restore my soul to more of its pre-fall perspective, making me more like yourself. “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory…” (2 Cor. 3:18).

As David wrote in Psalm 138:3 “In the day when I cried you answered me, and strengthened me with strength in my soul.” Our soul is our mind, our will, our emotions and God wants to transform each one, starting with our mind: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2.

That’s the place to start, being in the Word every day, reading, memorizing, meditating, obeying. Simple, hard, good!

As our great Shepherd, Lord Jesus, You have made a total commitment to our good: patiently and persistently prodding, providing and protecting us. You do this even though we daily grieve you with our rebellious love for sin, our stubborn selfishness and our unholy focus on things rather than relationships.

Because you are good, we can be sure, on a moment by moment basis, of your faithfulness, of your goodness, of your wisdom, of your grace, of your power at work in our lives–no matter what failure there may be on our part.

As the Psalmist, Asaph, wrote, “When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. YET I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory” (Ps. 73:21-24). What great Love and Commitment on God’s part!

We praise you that you have chosen to be our Shepherd, Lord Jesus. Help us to follow you faithfully, trust you Truthfully, obey  you wisely, submitting to your shepherding moment by moment, now, today and always.]

Psalm 22:30 “Posterity will serve him;”

[There will always be an ongoing line of believers, sustained and guided by you, no matter what the era may be–just as there were in the Dark Ages, in the Middle ages, in the Enlightenment, in modern times, in postmodernism and now in the “me culture.” Man tries to go his own way, but there are always those who respond to your invitation to walk in your Way.]

Psalm 22:31 “future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn—for he has done it.”

[There will also always be a witness, there will always be propagation of the gospel. You, Lord God, in your righteousness, truth and grace have done all, prepared all by sending out your Word in creation, in the work of the Spirit, in your written Word, in spoken witness, in dreams or visions if necessary.

You have everything ready and will bring all history to your desired end: the elimination of evil, the entrance of eternity, the enlightenment of all by your eternal character. Praise you for your greatness, your goodness, your glory that was, is, and is to come!

You alone are worthy of faith and obedience, of trust and praise, for you are wonderful, you are the only One to be worshiped. Help us to do so every day, all day!

Philosophical Evidence

The Bible has ways of solving philosophical problems that no other philosophy or religion has been able to do.

For instance, if God is love, then he needs something to love. But if he needs what he has created so he can love someone, then he is dependent on us and therefore not truly God. However, in the trinity (Three persons in one God), God has relationships needed where he can love others (the Father, Son and  Holy Spirit), making him independent and transcendent of all creation.

The fact of the trinity also shows us how far superior, how completely other God is from us. No one has ever thought up something like the “Three-in-One Trinity.” We cannot possible grasp the essence of the trinity; this shows us that God is for beyond us.

Then there is the problem of unity versus diversity. Which is right? The trinity solves this dilemma: three in one; one in three. Both are right!

Then there are the twin problems of evil: its origin and solution. The Bible provides clear answers to both of these while adhering clearly to the stated principles of God’s pure and holy character. Sin came from disobedience, salvation comes by the obedience of Christ. The legal and ethical problems of sinful humans being allowed to enter heaven without making it sinful, are solved in the death and resurrection of Christ, bringing the possibility of forgiveness, transformation and sanctification. This means there is a hope for the end of evil, something that no other religion or philosophy, to my knowledge, can provide.

The Bible bridges the chasms of confusion, giving us a road to clarity and charity.

For further input google “philosophical evidence for the Bible.

Part 2 of evidence for the validity of the Bible. Today’s is a bit longer, cos there’s lots of prophetic evidence!

Prophetic Evidence

There is a plethora of prophecies in the Bible that have been fulfilled. One good website for further reading about this is http://www.reasons.org/, from which I got the following examples at http://www.reasons.org/articles/articles/fulfilled-prophecy-evidence-for-the-reliability-of-the-bible

(1) Some time before 500 B.C. the prophet Daniel proclaimed that Israel’s long-awaited Messiah would begin his public ministry 483 years after the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25-26). He further predicted that the Messiah would be “cut off,” killed, and that this event would take place prior to a second destruction of Jerusalem. Abundant documentation shows that these prophecies were perfectly fulfilled in the life (and crucifixion) of Jesus Christ. The decree regarding the restoration of Jerusalem was issued by Persia’s King Artaxerxes to the Hebrew priest Ezra in 458 B.C., 483 years later the ministry of Jesus Christ began in Galilee. (Remember that due to calendar changes, the date for the start of Christ’s ministry is set by most historians at about 26 A.D. Also note that from 1 B.C. to 1 A.D. is just one year.) Jesus’ crucifixion occurred only a few years later, and about four decades later, in 70 A.D. came the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus.

(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10⁵.)*

(2) In approximately 700 B.C. the prophet Micah named the tiny village of Bethlehem as the birthplace of Israel’s Messiah (Micah 5:2). The fulfillment of this prophecy in the birth of Christ is one of the most widely known and widely celebrated facts in history.

(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10⁵.)

(3) In the fifth century B.C. a prophet named Zechariah declared that the Messiah would be betrayed for the price of a slave—thirty pieces of silver, according to Jewish law-and also that this money would be used to buy a burial ground for Jerusalem’s poor foreigners (Zechariah 11:12-13). Bible writers and secular historians both record thirty pieces of silver as the sum paid to Judas Iscariot for betraying Jesus, and they indicate that the money went to purchase a “potter’s field,” used—just as predicted—for the burial of poor aliens (Matthew 27:3-10).

(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10¹¹.)

(4) Some 400 years before crucifixion was invented, both Israel’s King David and the prophet Zechariah described the Messiah’s death in words that perfectly depict that mode of execution. Further, they said that the body would be pierced and that none of the bones would be broken, contrary to customary procedure in cases of crucifixion (Psalm 22 and 34:20; Zechariah 12:10). Again, historians and New Testament writers confirm the fulfillment: Jesus of Nazareth died on a Roman cross, and his extraordinarily quick death eliminated the need for the usual breaking of bones. A spear was thrust into his side to verify that he was, indeed, dead.

(Probability of chance fulfillment = 1 in 10¹³.)