My Favorite Bible Story

First off I wanted to thank my friends who shared their favorite Bible stories with me in the comment section of a previous post. Not a single person had the same favorite. One of the things that stuck out to me was that each story had something in common: God uses unlikely people and circumstances to accomplish his will. Over and over again, you see this play out.

Mary was a young, unwed girl who found herself pregnant with God's son. Luke 1:26-38

Abigail was a wife who made amends for her husbands actions behind her husband's back and saved her family from destruction at the hand of David. I Samuel 25

David volunteered to fight the giant, Goliath, while the entire Israelite army cowered at the idea of this task. He was just a teenager with no combat skills, yet he chose to face Goliath without armor; relying on a sling shot and his faith in God. I Samuel 17

Saul was a zealous man who persecuted early Christians – even vowing to wipe out the new Christian church. After his conversion to following Christ, he changed his name to Paul and became instrumental in spreading the Gospel of Christ. Acts 9:1-31

Ruth was a Moabite who chose to stay with her mother-in-law, Naomi, after the death of her husband. Custom of the time would have permitted her to return to her own family. Ruth's dedication to Naomi and Naomi's God results in Ruth becoming part of the lineage of Christ. The Book of Ruth

Esther was a Jew, from the tribe of Benjamin, who finds herself married to King Xerxes of Persia. Through the course of the story, Esther must appear before the king and request that her people be saved. In appearing before the king, she risks her own life as well as the lives of her people. The Book of Esther

In all of these stories, we see that God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. And he does this over and over.

I have spent the last several days contemplating my favorite story from the Bible. I grew up reading the Bible and my favorite story has varied throughout my life depending on what is going on with me. Right now I would have to say that my favorite story is when the Lord appears to Elijah. First comes a mighty wind, then an earthquake, followed by a fire. But God does not appear as any of these things. Instead, he appears to Elijah as a gentle whisper. I Kings 19:11-13

Again we see that God does not appear in expected ways.

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The winner for the book, A Story of God and All of Us, chosen at random is: Wanda

Thank you for sharing your favorite Bible stories with me! 

Thank you to The History Channel for inviting me to participate in this giveaway.

The miniseries, The Bible, will continue to air on Sundays at 8/7C.