As the Deer…: Discovering the Life-Changing Power of God’s Word

By Karla R. Shumate

God's Word has the answers for today's struggles...relationship problems, addictions, physical ailments, depression and anxiety, even questions and worries that plague us. As the Deer... dives into the Bible and shows the truths God put there for us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 4, 2024
• ISBN: 9798385022298

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Copyright © 2024 Karla R. Shumate.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

ISBN: 979-8-3850-2211-3 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-2212-0 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-2229-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024906237

WestBow Press rev. date:  03/28/2024

Contents

Introduction

1   What Is the Bible?

2   Lessons We Learn from the Old Testament

3   The Bible Shows Us the Nature of God

4   The Gospels Show Us Jesus

5   The New Testament Teaches Us about the Church

6   The New Testament Teaches Invaluable Life Lessons

7   Strategies for Studying the Bible

8   Time with God

Conclusion

Introduction

I have always loved Psalm 42:1 (ESV), which says, As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you, which is the version I use throughout the rest of this book. It says, As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.

I have always thought it was a beautiful verse, but it was not until I deepened my spiritual walk that I began to understand what it really means.

In this verse, the deer pants, or longs, for the water because it is life to the deer; it cannot live without the sweet, pure water. Likewise, God’s Word gives us life. In fact, we cannot have life (in heaven) without it. The more I began to study God’s Word, really study it, the more I wanted to study it. I panted for Him. I could not wait to spend time with my Lord. He sustains me. He rejuvenates me. He is addictive. This verse developed a new meaning for me. I still love this verse for its poetic beauty, but now I see what the psalmist really meant. He created a beautiful picture for me of how I should feel about God’s Word and His words to me. My Bible study has never been the same.

I pray this book will help you dive deeper into the Word and help you feel a closeness to God that you have never felt before. Your walk with the Lord is a personal one. He sent His son to die for you. God was not ever about numbers. God has always wanted followers who would give Him their whole hearts and who would take up their cross and follow Him.

Satan will always try to keep us from God’s Word through busyness and distraction, causing us to doubt its importance. We mustn’t allow him to do that. God’s message is as pertinent to us today as it was to people a thousand years ago. It contains instructions for life and assurance of our eternity.

One

What Is the Bible?

When I was a little girl, I lived next door to my grandmother Bessie. I was adopted by my grandparents, so technically, Bessie was my great-grandmother, but that is a long story that I will expound on later. I grew up as an only child and spent a lot of time at my grandmother’s house. We lived on a dirt road on a farm in a small town in Texas. My parents did not go to church, but my grandmother did. She never learned to drive, so after Granddaddy died, she rode the bus to church. I not only went to church with her, but through the hours I spent with her each week, I saw her life.

One of the earliest memories of Grandmother was her reading the Bible to me. Her Bible was a large book with soft black leather. It was frayed and worn from many years of use. It must have had gold lettering, but it had long worn off and the lower right corner permanently turned up where it had been opened day after day, year after year. Despite its age and condition, she would lovingly take it from the table beside her rocking chair and with her arthritic, wrinkled hands, carefully open it and begin reading. I don’t recall how much I understood, but I learned a valuable lesson nonetheless. What I did learn was that the Word of God was precious to my grandmother.

She read it every morning before breakfast and at night before she went to bed. She would often quote it as well. Her life was centered on God. In fact, I remember her using the phrase if the Lord wills over and over in her daily dealings and planning. She knew the power of God and His Word. She knew God Almighty was reigning in heaven as well as in her heart.

My grandmother was in a nursing home by the time I turned twelve and died at the age of eighty-seven when I was fourteen, but she left an impression that will remain with me for as long as I live. I feel like a big part of God’s plan for the last decade of her life was to teach an inquisitive young girl about the Lord. She was the example I needed to start on the path to becoming the Christian I am today. She loved the Word of God, and she lived the Word of God. Today, I treasure my memory of her, and I treasure the book she shared with me so long ago.

My goal for writing this book is twofold. First, I want to answer some who, what, why, and how questions to encourage those who read these words. Second, I want to leave a legacy for my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren like my grandmother did for me. I want them to know how much the Bible means to me, and I want to share the truths that the Word holds. Join me as we discuss what the Bible is, who we find in its pages, why we should read it, and how we can dive into its truths and grow in our relationship with our amazing God and Father.

Why Is the Bible Here?

What is so compelling about this book written so long ago? In a world so full of evil and so full of people who supposedly don’t believe in God, why is the Bible still the top-selling book of all time? The Bible has been translated into more than 1,200 different languages. People have tried to destroy the Bible, and countries have even tried banning the Bible and making it illegal, yet according to the writer James Chapman in his list of most-read books, 3.9 billion Bibles have been sold over the last fifty years alone (www.insider.com, 2016). This does not even include the digital versions so many people now have on their phones and iPads.

The answer is simple: it is God’s Word, and He has made it available for His creation. Matthew 24:35 says, Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. God has declared it so. Isaiah 40:8 says, The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Bibles will never be eliminated.

How Can We Trust the Bible?

You may ask how we can trust the Bible to be true. There are many people out there who just believe it is a collection of stories like many other ancient books. I would like to answer some common questions and share with you many facts that might help validate the Bible and show it is truly God-breathed.

Fact 1: There is unity throughout the Bible, unlike any other religious book. The Bible was written by about forty different men over a 1,500-year span. Obviously, most of these men did not know each other, and they were also very diverse. David was a shepherd. Luke was a physician. Solomon was a king. Matthew was a tax collector. Peter was a fisherman. Yet no writer contradicted another. Despite the span of time and so many writers, the unity is clear.

Fact 2: The Bible has a common theme from the first book to the last—redemption. In Genesis, humans disobeyed God, separating themselves from God, and consequently found themselves needing to be redeemed. The entire Old Testament shows God’s people sinning and needing forgiveness. That redemption was realized in the Gospels with Jesus. He came and died in sinful humankind’s place to provide that needed redemption. The theme follows through all the way to Revelation. That could only be done through a divine author, God.

Fact 3: There are around 800 prophecies in the Old Testament, 333 pertaining specifically to Jesus. Those, often called messianic prophecies, all came true. In fact, all 800 came to fruition. There is no possible way 800 prophecies were fulfilled coincidentally.

In Micah 5:2, it is predicted that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem hundreds of years before the birth actually happened. Details about the crucifixion were prophesied long before Jesus even came to earth.

Ezekiel 26:3–21 states,

Therefore, thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. And they will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock. She will be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken … Also her daughters on the mainland will be slain by the sword … I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon … He will slay your daughters on the mainland by the sword; and he will make siege walls against you … Also, they will make a spoil of your riches … and throw your stones and your timbers and your debris into the water … And I will make you a bare rock; you will be a place for the spreading of nets. You will be built no more.

According to this prophecy, bad things were going to happen to Tyre. We know this was prophesied around 590–570 BC. Tyre was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, so many would believe it was unlikely to be true. Tyre was in a great location for trade, and its position and outer walls made it a strong city. To see how accurate this prophecy was, we only have to search history books. According to the ancient historian Herodotus, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, laid siege on Tyre from 585 to 572 BC and was able to destroy and take the mainland city. In 333 BC, Alexander the Great demanded that Tyre allow him to occupy the island city. He completely destroyed the mainland city and dumped all its debris into the ocean. By doing such, he was able to build a two-hundred-foot wide bridge of debris from the mainland to the island city and marched his army over and conquered them. That bridge was predicted almost 250 years before it was built. Today, Tyre is down to bare rock again as prophesied. Only after around AD 600 did Tyre become a haven for spreading nets. There is no way Ezekiel could have predicted everything in such detail so many years before it happened. It was not a lucky guess; it was God directing the prophecy.

Fact 4: We need to consider the fact that biblical records are subjected to the same tests that are used for any ancient documents. The external test is where historical