Welcome to Gleaning & Gatherings, a Bible Blog that examines Scripture, explores theological concepts and applies biblical principles to everyday life. So glad you’re here! I’m Rebecca and this is my first blog, so please bear with me… I’m learning.
I was raised in the church, but I didn’t really understand Christian faith until my late twenties. Somewhere around the age of twelve I distinctly remember asking the question, “How do you know Christianity is true?” This was a perfectly legitimate question, but the answer I received… “because the Bible says so” was sadly and grossly inadequate. At the time, I didn’t understand enough to identify circular reasoning, but I did know this response failed to answer my question. That single event sent in motion years of disbelief.
Over a decade later on just an average, ordinary day, I was driving down a Houston highway. I don’t even remember where I was going, but completely out-of-the-blue I audibly heard the Holy Spirit tell me quietly yet firmly, “It’s time for you to come home.” Instantly and without doubt I recognized the speaker deep within my soul. This sparked a diligent search for the answer to my original question… and I found it… or rather, God found me and then lead me to the answer.
Since then, I have walked faithfully (by no means perfectly) with Christ and continue to seek his wisdom and answers to life’s numerous difficulties. Sometimes life can be oppressively overwhelming, and the answers so desperately needed seem nowhere to be found. Nothing has helped me more than the principles set forth in the precepts of God. I’m not talking about surface, religious dogma. I’m talking about truth, God’s words to mankind and the absolute truth contained within them.
I still have many, many questions and suspect I always will. But God has revealed himself and provided enough answers for man to develop a reasonable faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. It is my goal with this blog to honor God and to comfort people by sharing some of the gleanings gathered along my personal journey that have helped me. It is my hope that by passing on what has been so generously shared with me through the teachings of others, peace and comfort will be offered to more souls. So welcome to the site! Hope you visit often.
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“May the LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face to shine on you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift his countenance on you, And give you peace” (Num 6:24-26, NASB[1]).
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[1]Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages are in the New American Standard Bible(Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishing, 1995).