Did you know that 1 hurricane = 500,000 Atomic bombs?

@Subsumedpat So true, and very interesting, thank you for sharing that.

@Coletracer I'd say so! 😂

@HotDad I just want to say that there's so much that many think they know about the Bible, but they do not. It is much more detailed than that. Our Savior did not leave, nor entrust his precious Word, to be written by just anyone. His Word shall never pass away. The Bible says that everything else will pass away, but his Word shall [i]never[/i] pass away and it is miraculous how it has survived all these centuries and still is the greatest book on Earth and the most popularly sold. Though we certainly won't know [i]all[/i] the details about the bible, being we're in this century, God did not leave us in the dark, to wonder how we really got His Word or why we need it. I believe God is not a liar. I believe he would not tell us something if it were not true. He is love personified and most importantly, without sin. His Holy Word, tells us that which he wanted and needed us to know, and was given through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In order to have that inspiration from the Holy Spirit, one must be "in Christ". And that is why he did not entrust his Word to unbelievers. He tells us exactly in his Word, that it was given to [i][u]holy[/u] men of old[/i], under the direction of the Holy Spirit, which spoke to their hearts what to write. [b]Never[/b] would they have known, in such great detail, about future events in OUR century, except that the Holy Spirit told them.

There are so many reasons why we can know that the Bible is the Word of God. For one, no other person or book in this world, can give prophecy that is 100% accurate. The mark of a true Prophet the Bible says, is that they are one hundred percent accurate! Except for future prophecies, of course, each and every prophecy in the Bible, has been fulfilled to date, that was supposed to come to pass, as evidence of the holiness of that book. The Bible gives us a list with scripture of all that came true. I have the list.

Nothing is by coincidence with God. But what's more amazing, is that the Bible is as up-to-date as [b]tomorrow's[/b] newspaper. It tells us exactly what is going to happen in the future and why. No other book can do that with 100% accuracy. That's because God's Word is spiritually alive and all knowing, as it comes from Him. God said man really has no excuse for not knowing or preparing for what comes ahead, when it was given to him through God's Word. Past prophecies have all come to pass and been fulfilled and all the future prophecies shall be fulfilled because it is God's will and it must be accomplished in order to redeem mankind. We know of no one else who would sacrifice their life for us like Jesus did. It is amazing and not by coincidence by any means, that Isaiah the prophet, prophesied Jesus is coming, 500 years before Jesus came and he also prophesied exactly how Jesus would die and how that not one bone in his body would be broken, and scripture confirms that no bones in Jesus's body was broken, even when they nailed him to the cross. And that is not an improbability. Prophecy does not get more accurate than that. How could Isaiah know, way back then, that no bones would be broken in Jesus's body? The Bible is the wisest book in the universe. When people were crucified in Jesus's day, the soldiers would come around and break their legs to make sure they were dead. They did not do that to Jesus. Just as Isaiah prophesied.

But this is what Jesus wants each of us to ask ourselves:

Spiritually speaking, do you plan on resolving your own, eternal destination? If so, how will you do that, when it is God who sets the standard for entering heaven? How will you have your sins forgiven, so you don't drag them into heaven, because sin cannot enter heaven, or it wouldn't BE heaven. So how will you get in?

One of the Bible’s greatest truths is that when Jesus Christ died on the cross, He took all our sins, and transferred them to Himself. He knew we couldn't POSSIBLY pay for them ourselves, because it is in our nature to sin. We cannot magically remove it. We simply don't know how to do that. If we did, it only makes sense, that we wouldn't need Jesus to remove our sins. Sins have a connection with our spiritual soul, and it's eternal destination. But those who have come and invited Jesus to come into their heart and life as their Savior, have had all their sins washed away by the blood of Jesus and remembered no more and therefore, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. God's word says so and that's a promise. God never breaks a promise. He's really the only person we can believe and trust in to keep his word and his promises, in this world.

We may not know every detail, but Jesus told us exactly what we need to know, in order to reach heaven and live with him eternally. And that's what really counts. I know I'm not going to miss Heaven because I don't understand every single thing in the Bible. I'm not about to gamble with my own soul. When Jesus forgives us, there is absolutely no more condemnation whatsoever, to keep us from heaven. Roman's 8:1 ... And the condemnation does not come from Jesus. Condemnation comes only from sin in our lives. Sin actually brings condemnation [u]on us[/u], while Jesus removes it [u]from[/u] us. If we ask Him to.

@HotDad [quote]As for the feeling of the 'Holy Spirit': people of many religions out there experience something 'spiritual'. Maybe it's just our brain's pleasure system because we evolved with religion.[/quote]

I am so glad you said that because you are exactly right! But let me say two things:

Religion has absolutely nothing to do with salvation. As you know, anyone can have "religion", however, religion is nothing but man-made philosophy. Religion did not die on the cross to save us from our sins. Jesus did. Salvation through Christ brings a personal relationship with him. There are many that [b]feel[/b] religious or spiritual, yet they do not have the promise and Gift of the Holy Spirit that God sends inside one, when they accept him as Savior. That is the big difference. That cannot be mimicked or substituted for feelings. Christians do not walk by feelings, but by faith. Faith is what allows God to act on our behalf as we trust in Him.

Salvation is never based on our performance. It is based on God's sacrifice (work) on the cross, to save us from our sins. The Bible says we cannot get to Heaven by our own works or efforts. It is totally impossible. We are saved by grace through Christ Jesus. If grace was based on our performance, it would no longer be grace. Prayer is the key to heaven, but faith unlocks the door.