Wouldn’t it be great to have a simple and common-sense way to absolutely know that the Bible is true and trustworthy!  

Let’s start by making a fun comparison of the Bible with one of the greatest authors in all of history, Mark Twain, the creator of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Another famous author,Garrison Keillor, wrote about Mark Twain saying, “Even after he had retired from the lecture circuit, the old man liked to dress up in a fresh white suit.  He’d take a Sunday morning stroll up Fifth Avenue just as churches were letting out to see heads turn and hear his name murmured as the crowds stood awe-struck while he tipped his silk hat to the ladies.”

Funny how Mark Twain loved to be recognized, so much so, that he went out of his way, just to grab another moment in the limelight.  Likewise, in our modern world, people go to great lengths to post online pictures and stories of themselves – all in the effort to make themselves look good.  Without a doubt, people throughout history, have always wanted to stand out and show others the very best side of themselves.  

With all this in mind, why would the Bible ever tell us so many sad, tragic and disappointing stories about its heroes – unless these stories were absolutely true.  For example, who would ever want to admit even one of these embarrassing or disappointing events:  

In the same way, why would God choose to allow his only son to be born as a fragile child in a backwater village of an occupied country, to an unwed young teenage mother during such a turbulent time in history? Who could ever even conceive of such a story unless it was the truth?

As we continue this line of questioning we could also ask: Why would people willingly suffer through persecution, exile, torture and death for believing in the resurrection of Jesus unless it was the truth?  Unless his resurrection changed their lives?  Unless the resurrection of Jesus gave them hope– more than anything in this life?

Now look at this ancient book – the Bible – in light of our modern, fast paced and high techworld, and you’ll see that the good news of Jesus is still able to restore marriages, still able to open up hearts to others, still able to open wallets of generosity, still continues to motivate and inspire people to be their very best, and still continues to give people hope.

And amazingly, unlike the heroic, look at me, bigger than life portrayals of so many biographies, the Bible shows us that God does not call super–heroes to carry out his plans, but broken people just like you and me.