I have nearly left out one great character and mind builder that is high on my list, but is certainly not last on the priority list. That's why I will devote a whole chapter to that subject. I think reading is like exploring a story or saga that someone has taken the time to build. Some books are meant just for you. They speak to your heart and teach you things you didn't know. Some of the books I have read that have made an impact on my life are as follows:

    The Bible is the greatest book ever written and the number of Bibles in print proves that.

    The laws of our land were patterned after the Ten Commandments. Judges were established by God to decide the everyday problems between people. There are dietary rules, cleanliness standards, marriage advice, and child-rearing guides, just to name a few things you can read in the Bible.

    About 40 different writers who lived over a period of about 1500 years wrote the Bible. Many of these writers had no opportunity to collaborate with each other and yet, there are no contradictions in their writings! Did you know that there are over 300 prophecies that were fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus? That's just one of the things I've learned from consistent reading. Here is just some of the things that the writer Josh McDowell placed in his book, "Evidence that Demands a Verdict":

• Prophecy - a virgin will be with child and bear a son
  Fulfillment - Mary was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit



• Prophecy - He would be a descendant of Abraham
  Fulfillment - The Genealogy of Jesus, son of David, Abraham



• Prophecy - Be born in Bethlehem
  Fulfillment - Born in Bethlehem, of Judea



• Prophecy - Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him
  Fulfillment - He was baptized . . . a dove descended on Him



• Prophecy - Preceded by a messenger
  Fulfillment - John the Baptist came preaching



• Prophecy - Ministry of Miracles
  Fulfillment - The blind see, the lame walk, sins are forgiven



• Prophecy - Stumbling stone to the Jews
  Fulfillment - The stone the builders rejected



• Prophecy - He would not be abandoned to Sheol
  Fulfillment - He was neither abandoned nor suffered decay



• Prophecy - Betrayed by a friend, who ate His bread
  Fulfillment - Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him



• Prophecy - Betrayed for 30 pieces of silver
  Fulfillment - They gave Him 30 pieces of silver



• Prophecy - Strike the shepherd that the sheep will scatter
  Fulfillment - And they all left Him and fled



• Prophecy - Numbered with transgressors
  Fulfillment - Crucified with thieves, one on either side



• Prophecy - Dividing garments, casting lots
  Fulfillment - Let us cast lots for His tunic



• Prophesy - My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me
  Fulfillment - Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani



• Prophecy - Bones not broken
  Fulfillment - He was already dead, they did not break His bones



• Prophecy - Yet with rich men in His tomb
  Fulfillment - A rich man, of Artimathea, placed Him in his tomb

    In closing this book I wish to thanks all the teachers and ministers in my life that have affected my beliefs. I certainly appreciate all the people who have posted Web pages with an abundance of information on this subject. There are too many authors on the World Wide Web to name them all, but ministers and laymen alike can rest assured that they will be given their appropriate reward for their work. I have saved the last thank you for the most important one in the writing of this book and that is The Holy Spirit. I feel as though I have been led to write this down and distribute it out of a conscience effort to help my fellow man align his thinking with the one and only true God. I do not write from a standpoint of anger but rather from a position of love and concern. That may not be revealed to all that read this. It may also seem as though I am anti-Catholic. It's the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, not the parishioners nor the average priest that saddens me. Many may be led astray if they aren't diligent in their studies, but the leaders are contrary to God when they are self-serving and deny or twist the truth. They will pay the price when the King of Kings returns is all His glory. Then every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

    I will be there, not because I have done anything special but because He has washed me as clean as snow.

Come, Lord Jesus.

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