Study 6: My mates and the Bible 

I remember once being really stressed out and on the edge of being part of a trip of young people (20’s) going to Brazil. I wasn’t sure if I should go, I was working as a labourer for a builder friend, I didn’t feel like a fully paid up member of the God squad at all, to be honest my life was far from it at times. I felt really rubbish as a Christian and a fraud, and I remember going to the Bible for help and some sort of guidance. I picked it up and jabbed my finger into a page randomly and started reading my new-found guidance. It was something about certain death, so I shut the Bible and tried again. Got this verse: 

‘Let your light shine among men, that they will see your good works and praise your Father in heaven.’ Matthew 5:16

Now, this isn’t a great way to work with the Bible but on this occasion, I really felt God speak through this verse into my heart with something like this; 'just be yourself, a follow of Jesus, be real, and leave the rest to me.’ 

I liked that, so that’s what I have always tried to do. I asked a few mates if they had a certain verse of section of the Bible that impacted them too, here is what they said:

Dave:

'Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow.' Proverbs 3:6 (CEV)

“The verse I was reading was always a powerful verse to me, but at my wedding we used it and it really helped in my life. It is easy to forget about God until things goes wrong, but this verse has helped me direct my life and keep trusting in Him.”

Michael:

'Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.' Romans 12:2 (CEV)

“I found this verse at a time when I was going off the rails and struggling, when I read it, it recalibrated my life. It is so easy to be swayed by the focus in this world of material things and values, it is a daily pressure, but this verse has really helped me focus on the things of God in my life.”