As the story goes, in 1946 two Bedouins were watching their sheep near the cliffs of Qumran. One of the sheep wandered off into a cave. The Bedouin hear the sheep in a cave and began throwing rocks into the cave to draw the sheep out. He heard smashing sound of something being broken and went in to investigate. Inside the cave he found a broken vessel and some leather (parchment). Not being able to read and not knowing what else to do, the Bedouins took the leather to a shoe shop to make some sandals. The person making the shoes was somewhat of a historian type and recognized the writing. He bought the leather from the Bedouins along with all the other contents of the seven vessels found in the cave. He took the "scrolls" to a local Christian Syriac church and they identified the writing and the scripture. One of the books found was 70 feet long and contained the entire book of Isaiah. The contents of four of the vessels was sold to the Syriac Bishop for $150. Meanwhile the others were sold and eventually brought a price of $250,000. Since the 1950s the ecavations at Qumran have identified 900 copies of the Old Testament books dating over 2000 years old. The oldest found copies, up to that point, were merely 1000 years old. This was such a significant find both in the Jewish and the Christian Community.
The key point to me? The content of the Old Testament has survived for over 2000 years with very little change. Doesn't that point to the authenticity of its message? AND since so many of these passages predict the coming Messiah, JESUS, can't we also use this wonderful SCIENTIFIC evidence to support the historical accuracy of God coming down to us and saving us from our sins? The power of the words of the Holy Scriptures endures the passing of time. The power of those words, speaks to our hearts, our bodies, and our minds. If we allow it to do its work, it will change us and the world around us.
As I grow older and older and spend more and more time in the word of God, I am more aware of its power in my life. This power is beyond any need for scientific evidence. The writings in Gospels and the rest of the New Testament have a similar background as these Old Testament, ancient, writings. They point to what really happened and not things of legend. We don't need any scientific evidence to tell us what happened. We have an eyewitness account from people that were there. They saw the miracles. They saw Jesus and they lived with him. The GOOD NEWS, even two thousand years after Jesus walked this earth, I, too, have seen the awesome power of God in my life. No one can take that away from me.
I pray that my life will reflect the words printed in our Scriptures. I pray the power of these words will direct me closer to Jesus and the life he would have me lead. I pray I will have opportunities to continue to share what Jesus has done for me through this wonderful book. It is not the power of this book that is amazing, it is the power of the God of the universe, his son, and the Spirit that transforms me every day.
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