One of my favorite books of all time is the late Dr. Ken Connolly's The Indestructible Book, an absolutely astounding account of the history of the Bible. (The video version, with the same title and narrated by a fragile but energetic Dr. Connolly, is my favorite documentary -- not to be missed!)

And one of my favorite organizations of all time is The Gideons, an absolutely astounding group dedicated to getting the word of God in the hands of every human being. 

Which is a not-very-elegant segue into my reason for posting this morning -- I just stumbled across one of my favorite quotes of all time, an absolutely astounding summary of the significance of the Bible, long used by The Gideons. Feast your heart upon this, Christians!

“The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. 

"Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christians’ charter. 

"Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and hell disclosed. The Lord Jesus Christ is its grand object, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. Let it fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened in the judgment, and remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the highest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.” 

One used to find Gideons Bibles in every hotel room, but I'm sad to report that this is no longer the case. Knowing how eagerly our local Gideons reps respond every time I ask them to bring Bibles to the nursing home -- and how pro-active they are if I don't call for a while -- I doubt that it's the organization's fault. Is it possible that cowardly hotel chains have had too many complaints from atheist organizations? ​

Adapted from a post published 10/21/13 

Know someone with intellectual objections to Christianity? As a committed feminist atheist, I had been amassing them for decades. But then, as my mother faced eternity, I was forced to face the truth. This memoir traces the journey that took me from atheism to rock-solid faith. Could it do the same for your beloved unbeliever? ​You be the judge. ​

​​More than 300 years ago, French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal identified the human spirit’s main problem. He called it the “infinite abyss,” and said it can be filled “only by God himself."
 
Pascal was right: life doesn’t work apart from God. It’s not supposed to. He created us for Himself, after all. If we are not walking with Him day in, day out, we are missing our very reason for being.  
 
Until we realize this, our lives can be empty -- or miserable.
 
We may hide it well, even from ourselves, by worshipping idols of our own making.
 
For some of us, that means working long hours, trying to prove our worth through the praises of employers or clients or through steadily growing bank accounts.
 
Others may drown their troubles in alcohol or drugs, or obsess over relationships, especially those involving romantic love.  
 
Then there are those who live for entertainment. That might mean a non-stop merry-go-round of theater, ballet, symphony, films, and literature. It might mean parties galore, or dinner with different friends every night, or Ph.D.-level study of professional or college sports (or both). It might mean traveling to increasingly exotic locales, or reveling in nature, music, art or pets.
 
And don’t forget those who are consumed with health or gastronomy. They may interrogate everything that passes the lips, or shop and cook artfully and extravagantly. (Was the apostle Paul including such folks when he wrote of those whose “god is their belly” in Philippians 3:19?)
 
I’ve only scratched the surface, of course. Turn this way and you’ll see people indulging in frenzies of kitchen remodeling or housecleaning; that way, and you’ll find jam-packed clothes closets larger than most living rooms or gardens filled with small fortunes in exotic plants or kids playing endless video games. 
 
Anything to fill the void.
 
And still, nothing on this earth really satisfies. Nothing comes close to freeing us from Pascal’s “infinite abyss.”
 
I know whereof I write, having pursued some of these idols myself in the decades before Jesus Christ transformed my heart and my life.
 
The good news is that He’s willing to transform anyone's. We need only seek God; He has promised that, if we do, we will find Him.
 
“And you will seek Me and find Me,” He said through His prophet Jeremiah (29:13), “when you search for Me with all your heart.”
 
When we do this, we can kiss our idols goodbye.
 
Are you ready to find Him? There's no better place to start than the Bible. 

​Not long ago, I received a starchy email from someone whose God is all love and nothing else. She refused to believe that He’d ever judge anyone for “just being human,” and she accused me of blasphemy for implying that He would.
 
“He understands why we do the things we do,” she wrote. That much is true. But then she added, “He is love. That means He loves everyone and we are all going to heaven.”
 
I replied with the truth: Of course He is love, I said. But He is also perfectly holy, just, merciful, omniscient, and omnipotent; He is the way, the truth and the life; He is the good shepherd; He is the resurrection and the life; He is infinitely more than even a million words could convey.

Was she convinced? Beats me -- I haven't heard back from her.
 
So what difference does it make if she wants to limit her understanding of Him to a single word?
 
Just this: In the Bible, God has told us all we need to know about Himself. Yet many people – including this woman, apparently – are singularly disinterested in Him.
 
What does that say about her love for Him? And what impact will it have on her for all eternity?
 
Fact is, the Bible tells us repeatedly what's required of us: We must repent of what the Lord says is sin, and trust in Him to have paid the penalty for that sin on the cross.

Is that really asking so much? Apparently so, for some people. 
 
I wonder what will happen to this woman if she continues to reject this truth, and instead clings to her “God is nothing more than love” theology?
 
When she stands before Him in judgment, will He say “Well done, good and faithful servant”? (Matthew 25:21)
 
Or will she hear “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness”? (Matthew 7:23)
 
If the latter, will she argue with Him? Will she say, as she said to me, “I’ve been a good person, I never hurt anyone”? Or will she finally be forced to acknowledge that our good works are not what gets us into heaven, and that His standards are higher than our own?
 
I’m glad I’m not the judge. After all, the Lord knows our hearts better than we do; it could be that hers is more submitted to Him than anyone else’s, and that she’s merely the blameless victim of some faulty instruction. 
 
But her email really made me think about how important it is that we seek and trust the real Jesus – not some idol that we have created in our own imaginations, or that some self-proclaimed prophet has imagined for us.
 
He’s the only One who can save us. Why take a chance on trusting in anyone, or anything, else?