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The Bible with a Heart
August 26, 2015
What does a book do for you? When I read, I enter a different world,
where problems are solved at the end of the book,
where an average, every-day person met with unsurmountable obstacles, yet still comes out okay,
where mistakes, no matter how bad, can be fixed,
where hope still reigns,
where good can be found,
where strength brings victory.
That’s why I like the Bible.
good wins,
hope is found,
strength comes,
answers are there.
When I go to the Bible, I found my direction. I see people, just like me, who have problems, make stupid mistakes, yet still hang onto God’s strength with the hope—and promise of a good ending.
The Bible made me want to be an author, because in its pages, I find answers to life’s problems. But more than that, I met the Author of the Bible Who gives purpose for what I share.
When you read the Bible, do you see the people as real people? Or do you rush for the principle that will help you through the day?
Rushing for the principle won’t allow you to find the gem. The principle lies beneath the feelings of the people.
David cried to his Lord for mercy. Without feeling David’s sin, his desire for forgiveness, his longing for his heart to be right—can you see the Lord’s mercy?
Mary, the mother of Jesus, pondered all these things in her heart. Can you experience the wonderment of the water turned to wine at the Wedding of Cana? Do you sense the pain of a son grown up, destined to die for her?
Lot lost his family to the world. He left his future sons-in-law behind in a city destined to be destroyed because they did not heed his warnings. He left his wife, not even knowing that she turned to salt, because he was told not to look back? Feeling remorse from choices that did not meet God’s standards, he knew it when he made them, but he wanted what the world offered. It cost too much.
The Bible speaks of heart issues: forgiveness, confession, trust. It exposes your hidden pain to bring you healing. It shows your need to make you complete. It gives you dreams, and makes them come true.
How does it do this?
When you read the Bible,
You meet the God Who made your need so that He could complete it.
You feel the God Who felt your pain so He could bring healing.
You find wishes, you didn’t even know you had, and rest in the God Who makes them possible.
You find the heart of the Bible by meeting the Author.
You find He is sufficient.
You can depend upon Him.
You can rest in Him.
You can know Him.
He is enough.
Do you read the Bible? Do you feel the Bible with your heart? Can you hear its Author calling you to know Him?
The Bible is a story about real people, with hurts, needs, dreams. But it’s also about the God Who made and loves those people and wants them to know Him.
That’s why I wrote my book Until My Name Is Known.
To help you meet the people of the Bible, and the Author Who makes it all possible.
Read it with your heart.
Read it to know the Author.
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I write about what matters...to you---
women, wives and moms---
about your family, faith and future.
I write about what's hard, what helps and what heals.
I show you how it's done. And not done.
I hold your hand as you find what matters to the Savior.
And let go of those things that mattered to you, but not to Him.
I write about what matters...to Him.
Sonya Contreras
Reading
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Using Stories To Teach Lessons
Reading Chair Worth Using
What Do You Read When You Need Refueled?
Worth Reading
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The Home Library: A Source of Peace, Calm and Security
My Utmost for His Highest
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The Bible with a Heart
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What Is a Good Book?
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What Is Fiction Good for?
The Case for Good Taste in Children's Books
What Should Fiction Do?
What Does a 5-Star Book Mean?
Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover
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Writing Articles
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The Face that Shows
Do You Believe in Yourself?
The Publishing Process
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Faith
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The Need for Meaning Even in Pain
Reminders of What's Important
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Consider the Robin
One Life Who Made a Difference
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What's Your Hurry?
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Are You Salty?
Are You Condemned?
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Need Focus?
Going through Trouble?
Immanuel—God with Us
Looking for a Relationship?
When God Says, "No!"
What Do You Do with Left-Overs?
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Those Aha Moments
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Singing His Praise
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Do You Know How to Pray?
Looking for God in Every Moment
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Tell the Senate: Mothers Aren't Birthing People
Is Your Life Complicated?
How Do We Fight Evil?
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
Giving Up or Taking Away
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The Final Move
Be Careful What You Wish For!
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I Choose Joy
What Have You Learned from Your Hardship?
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The Danger of "Aloneness"
My Colors
Are You a Whiner?
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God Speaks to the Heart of the King
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Are You Deceived?
Are You Essential?
Are You Safe?
Are You Tired of the Same Old Thing?
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Have You Seen God's Majesty?
Do You Feel Judged?
If You Only Had One More Day To Live
Are You Understood?
Do You Long for the Word of God?
Slow Down and Smell the Dead Leaves
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Our Heritage Is Bought by Blood
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Are You Depressed?
I Did It My Way
Finding the Simple Life with Meaning
The Simple Life
Do You Have the Right Words?
Did Your Dream Die?
On the Other Side of the Fence
Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence
Confessions of a Desperate Mom
Saving for Tomorrow
A Wedding Remembered
Who Will Stand in the Gap?
Are You a Protector or a Ruler?
Who Are You?
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Are You a Watchman?
Where Do You Find Meaning?
The Lamb of God as Told by a Scribe
What Love Is This?
Remember: The Symbols of Passover Explained
Tea and Rest
Do You Have Peace?
What Makes a Marriage Work?
When Life Is Awful
Are You Strong Enough?
Rules
Seasons
Be Faithful through Suffering
Do You Know the Word?
Wake Up! Strengthen What Remains
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Is Jezebel in Your Midst?
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What in the World Is Happening?
It's Not My Story
How Would Your Faith Compare?
Are You Sinking?
Are You a Rule Follower?
Useful for Him
An Intimate Moment with Mary
The Worldview that Makes the
Underclass
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What Does It Take To Know the
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See the Story in the Stars
Do the Scriptures Burn You?
Being in His Presence
Contentment: It's Not for the Timid
How Secure Are You?
How Do You Respond To Stupid People?
The Earthworm Is My Hero
Heart Issues or Issues of the Heart
Things Aren't Always What They Seem
More faith articles are found here:
under the Table of Contents. Also available in book form.
Or here:
under the Table of Contents. Also available in book form.
Articles on Suffering can be found here,
under Table of Contents. Also available in book form.
Special Days
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Aug 12, 2017 The Heavens Declare the Glory of God
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Memorial Day-A Day To Remember
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First Thanksgiving Day
Proclamation
Christmas: Stories behind the Songs
Christmas: Stories behind the Songs, part 2
Author of Biblical fiction, married to my best friend, and challenged by eight sons’ growing pains as I write about what matters.
Really good article, really makes me think of how I read the Bible. I'll try to be more aware of that from now on. Thanks so much!