InterSections
inform - encourage - unite
INTERVIEWS
What is the importance of Scripture to you?
How has the Bible changed your life?
Martyn Wolstenholme, The Point Church, QLD
How has the Bible changed my life? Wow! I am a selfish person. I believe that Scripture has influenced me to look out for others more and try to help and serve. (John 13:15) Jesus spent his whole life on earth doing that. What a great example to follow! (1 Peter 2:21) I stumble and fall, but my wonderful Lord always picks me up. I was baptized 54 years ago in Brazil, and examples of living for Christ have really influenced me since. Won’t you be an example too?
Clifford Snell, The Point Church, QLD
'For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south.' (Psalm 75:6)
I was fortunate to be born in a Christian family and had God-fearing parents. However, they always reminded me that while we are a family serving God with a single will and goal, I needed to have my own personal relationship with God.
I entered the corporate world, and in particular the IT industry, at a very young age, and have been blessed to grow in that same industry – but there were many opportunities to take a U-turn from my faith, and attribute all the success and opportunities to my own efforts, talent, creativity, and handwork. This feeling of a self-made career was the common string, and there were many people who operated on their own merits. But very early on in life, the scripture verse above was taught to me, and at every level of success I was taken back to this scripture verse.
In perspective, while there is an element of one putting in the effort, taking hold of every opportunity – it is God who has given us life and the ability to fulfill the purpose he created for in this world.
Finally, that verse above mentions every direction, east, west and south – it does not mention north. As it is very clear, all our blessing come from God above. Let’s us fix our eyes and hearts on God above.
Brett Christensen, South East Church of Christ, VIC
I went ‘looking for a more scriptural church’, and God brought me to a group which was determined to be totally scriptural – a lot more so than I had in mind. Their commitment to look closely and carefully at biblical texts was extraordinary, but refreshing and enlivening, taking passages like 2 Peter 1:3 seriously. I had wrong ideas about lots of things, religious and otherwise. Some were fairly easy to change, but others…well, God’s still working on (and in) me. Scripture has guided my decisions about marriage, parenting, work, use of time and resources, all for the better.
