It’s a cold, wintery Wednesday night and I’m sitting in my living room watching Paster Jack Hibb of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills on You Tube live with my Bible in hand and my notepad ready. I’m waiting in anticipation for what is to come and a word that may enlighten me. I wasn’t disappointed! The sermon was so good – “Theology & Me.” It was one of those that you don’t want to end. You can feel your heart and soul being filled up and a spirit around you. I even found myself on my knees giving myself to God a second time – renewing the decision I made back in 2011 of becoming a born-again Christian, all in the privacy of my own home.

One of the golden nuggets I took from this service was that the Holy Spirit unlocks the Bible. Imagine for a second the Bible tied with a rope where both ends are kept together by a lock.  A lock that you currently don’t have a key to. Then, Who has the key? Where is the key? Important questions I might add.

It wasn’t until the next morning when I went through my notes of the spoken scriptures of that night when the Holy Spirit reminded me of where I started and when I received my first Bible. I was 9 years old in 1970. A Bible I can honestly say I don’t remember reading or spending any time in. I’m sure at that time, and I know for years after, I thought the Bible was too big, had too many words, and was written in a way that I’ll ever understand. Are you with me on this?

As I continued to stare at my notes and gaze out the window, on a morning watching the sky prepare for rain, I realized how true Pastor Jack’s statement “the Holy Spirit Unlocks the Bible” really is. I couldn’t remember a time in my life where I didn’t believe there was a “God.” I went to Sunday school and was in the church choir. Doesn’t this prove I know God? Ha ha… It was there where I was given the Bible in 1970. And guess what? I still have this same Bible. It has never been stored away in a box shoved in the garage. It’s always been in a protected place somewhere in my home. Now, it’s on an open space in my home office never be hidden again.

Did I know God back then, know who He is? No! Not even close.

It was the Summer of 2011 when I became a born-again Christian on the steps of Cavalry Chapel in Long Beach, California, 41 years after I received my first Bible in 1970. On a side note, it’s never too late – Jesus is always waiting for us on the side lines! Now back to my story, the moment I said yes was the exact moment where my life would forever be changed. I just didn’t know it then. When you say Yes to Jesus, He sends the Holy Spirit to live on the inside of us. And that’s exactly what He did for me. Jesus was no longer on the side lines watching me continue to fall and try and try again on my own. He was waiting patiently for me to finally say Yes. He was so patient that He waited 41 years with his arms open wide. Who else would ever wait this long? The doors to the real purpose of my life were now opened.

The Holy Spirit then began to do what only He can do; to nudge me, ever so softly, to open the Bible and actually sit down and begin to read it. I felt such relief and comfort, and most of all Hope! The Bible was and continues to be the book of life filled with verses of comfort, forgiveness, salvation and redemption. As time has continued to move on, the Holy Spirit continues to guide me to the exact verses I need to see and He helps me to receive God’s Word in the exact way He knows I will accept and understand.

The answer to the questions above:
Who has the key? Where is the key?
Answer: JESUS!

 

Without Jesus sending the Holy Spirit to live inside me, I don’t believe for a second that I would have ever picked up a Bible and actually opened it to sit quietly and read the words. It’s these words that has continued to give me life and hope for today and tomorrow and I know these words will do the same for You!

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God.”
John 1:1

It’s God’s Word that gives us life, spiritual life, far beyond what the world can ever give.

“the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control . . .”
Galatians 5:22-23

The Holy Spirit receives all the praise and glory for me opening up the Bible and discovering who God is, who Jesus is, who the Holy Spirit is, and most of all, who I am in Christ Jesus. I give thanks forever and ever.

He will do the same for You! I promise.