I can’t bring you to the place where you understand what it truly means to surrender. I can’t make you have faith. I can’t give you that. That is found in the relationship you have with God and God alone. But Today pretty girl I will not leave you open-handed. We are talking about the number one thing you need to do right now to start your journey towards finding faith above.  

Mathew 7:16 Thus by the fruit you will recognize them. 

Last week I talked to you about my faith journey. It’s eclectic, to say the least. I invite you to take a listen back at episode one if you want to listen to my full faith journey. But I told you all about a dream I had when I was about 17 and wrestling with my faith. I spent years praying to God, asking Him to help me know if the church I attended with my father was true. I always felt as though God did not hear me. That He had turned His face from me as the Bible often puts it. But I had this dream about Jesus. I went to the grocery store and everyone was excited because Jesus was there. He was in the fruit section, but I could find Him. I couldn’t recognize Him. I did not know Him. I really did not know what this meant. It was weird and confusing. I remember being sad. 

Again, Mathew 7:16. You see, if I had been reading the Word of God, I would have realized He was trying to answer me. But, I didn’t know Him, and I took for granted the one, most important way He can fully communicate with us- the bible. 

Okay- all you gals that grew up in the church as I did, or if you didn’t and want to read some crazy revelation of how God was talking to me, I want you to take a break real quick from listening and grab a bible. Even better, I want you to download the youversion bible app right now. I’m not going anywhere…..

 I want you to take a look at Mathew 7:7-  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. This is the King James version so you will recognize it. If you grew up in the church, you know this verse. 

Now scroll down to Mathew 7:15. Read that whole paragraph. Do me a favor and toggle it over to the NIV or NLT translation so you can understand it a bit better. If you are out and about, write down Mathew 7:15, so you can go back and read it. Remember, my question to God was, “Is this church true? Not who Jesus is but is this church true. You read Mathew 7:15 and see if He answered me in the fruit section in the grocery store.  

I’m not trying to prove anything crazy here. This is just my experience. And to be honest, I had no idea what that dream meant. 

You see, I didn’t read Mathew 7:15. I didn’t read any of the bible. If I had been reading the bible, I would have known Jesus. I would have understood the answer to my prayers. I would have understood why our savior was in the fruit section. It seems so silly, but it took me years to understand this. 

So why do I tell you this dream, these verses, these answers to my prayers? Because you are here to find faith. 

What is the number one thing you must do to find faith? 

You have to get to know Jesus! And man is he awesome!

14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

16But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Romans 10:14-17NIV

Let’s look again at that last verse- faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

The number one way to find faith is to get to know Jesus. The number one way to get to know Jesus is to learn the Word about Him. 

Pretty Girl, that is the bible. The number one thing you can do to know Jesus today is to read the bible. 

I understand there may be a few hiccups here. For example, you might be saying, “ugh! The bible is boring. I get lost. I fall asleep. I don’t want to read it.” Or, you might be saying, “but isn’t the bible totally untrustworthy? Hasn’t it been translated a million times and in a million ways?” 

Okay, I am not a bible scholar. I am not a theologian who has dedicated years to biblical study. As embarrassing as it is, I am the mom who told her kids the bible is like a game of telephone, and it’s just stories. Mind you, I had never read it when I said this. Not really, anyway. Passages here and there in the where for art though you-ith, go-ith with me-ith translation. I had never poured my heart into reading it and really listening to and understanding it. 

I am an enneagram five so I love details and I love learning. I am going to spare you all the crazy facts about why the bible is honestly the biggest literary narrative to ever impact this world, how it was preserved like no other book in history and why it is absolutely a document that can be trusted with full conviction. What I am going to say is through my extensive enneagram five deep dives I can say with full certainty the fact that you are able to freely hold that book in your hand is nothing short of a miracle. I’m also going to say you need to check out the show notes and watch a couple of the videos I link to. There are people way smarter than I that have dedicated their lives to studying the bible, its origins, authenticity, and impact on the lives it beholds. Okay I can’t help it, just one geeky fact- Did you know all modern translations are derived by teams of experts from preserved ancient manuscripts that spend years making sure every word is translated to best convey a word for word translation and essence of what the author intended. It is remarkable. And it means that you can have faith in reading the NIV, NLT, ESV, and more modern translati0ons because they come from the ancient text. It is not a game of telephone. They go to the closest to the original source. The oldest sources know. They don’t translate from one to the next. In fact, If you want to learn ancient Hebrew or Greek, you can go read it untranslated in its original form yourself. Crazy, huh!? Again, I will link to some videos that might just blow your mind on how cool the bible history is. 

Now let’s go back to that other issue you may be having pretty girl. It’s boring. Well, if you have been reading it all in a dialect we don’t speak in, I can see that. And if you start in a book like Leviticus, it may be a bit cumbersome. 

Let me tell you a little story. 

The bible is like the ocean. 

You have been hanging out on the shore. You see the ocean. You know it’s there, but you have yet to dip your toes in. 

Maybe you decide to wade in. Maybe just swim the surface. And you can stay here just reading the verses, not seeing everything underneath. 

Then maybe you decide to put on some goggles. You can see so much more. Then you decide too go scuba diving. 

But the ocean even allows you to take a submarine down below. 

You see, every verse of the the bible is like the ocean. Even Leviticus gets requoted throughout with so much implication in every verse. Every verse has a story and incredible meaning behind it like an ancient puzzle. You just have to decide how far down you want to dive. 

It is the greatest literary narrative ever. 

This is my challenge for you if you chose to accept it. Today, I want you to get to know Jesus. 

The first thing you are going to do is download the youversion bible app. You can read hard copy also, but I want you to find a version that you can understand. If you can’t understand it it does you no good. I personally have the NIV, NLT and ESV as well as the good ‘ol KJV in hard copy, but I also like to use the app to help me get the verse. 

The second thing is I want you to start in a book that speaks to you about Jesus, gives you His words, and allows you to hold them. My suggestion would be Mathew or even John. It is not boring. For me, it is empowering, humbling, moving, and life-changing. Really read it.  Spend some time here. One day, you’ll read Leviticus and it will make more sense. But today, allow yourself to know Jesus. 

And the last thing is, I want you not to be afraid to seek the counsel of experts. Theologians and scholars can give you peace about the bible. So again, I’m linking a few things in the notes to check out. One of my all-time favorites to learn from is self-proclaimed bible nerd Tim Mackie of The Bible Project. 

I want to leave you with this today, dear beautiful girl; there may be a lot of hurdles you have to jump to push aside any old belief baggage you may be holding onto while dredging this walk toward your faith. Pretty girl, you are not alone. You are here in the company of others who understand you have been on a journey. I want to encourage you and raise you up. And I also want you to know that Jesus is patiently waiting for you to know Him and make Him known. 

20We wait in hope for the Lord;

he is our help and our shield.

21In him our hearts rejoice,

for we trust in his holy name.

22May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,

even as we put our hope in you.

Psalms 33:20-22. 

Again, you are not alone.

Think of this podcast as a love letter to you pretty girl all about my faith journey with the hope upon hopes that it speaks to you as God told me it would. Is it possible to have community after leaving the church? What can other women do for you that you cant do alone? 

Are you feeling alone on this journey? Let’s fix that in the next podcast! Join me next time on Finding Faith Above. And go check out the resources in the show notes!!