It’s coming up to that time of year where I stand in front of my church and overshare about my own struggles: “I have been going to a Bible study for the last forty years because without it I would be insane.” Those who know me well nod their heads.
When I was twenty-five, the Lord picked me up, turned me around, and set my feet on his solid ground. I had a long seven-year odyssey away from faith and family and had made many spectacularly bad choices. I had my reasons (not especially good ones). But when my husband Angelo and I became Christians within weeks of each other, we were filled with joy at the new life we had been given. For the first time we knew we were forgiven, our future was in heaven, and we had a purpose for our lives. We assumed our problems were over—because up to this point they were all self-generated!
But of course, we soon found out that we were in for the fight of our lives. Our hearts were still wayward, our world was still messed up, and we had an enemy who wanted to destroy our faith. I knew I needed help. And I also knew that help could come from reading the Bible—those were the words God used to capture my heart. But once I read through the whole Bible, I didn’t know what to do next. And soon, I felt like I was right back where I was before I started following Jesus. Life was hard and, although I knew Jesus was my Savior, I didn’t know how to walk and talk with him.
Then a kindly older woman at our church noticed that all the young moms needed to learn how to meet Jesus and hear from him in his Word. So she started a women’s Bible study, we began with the gospel of John. I had two toddlers and my husband was a youth pastor. We were living with my parents and helping to care for my dad, who had a recent cancer diagnosis, as well as for my elderly grandmother and disabled aunt. Life was crazy, and that was the year I learned a lot about walking with Jesus.
The rhythm of Bible reading and answering questions that forced me to stop and think about who Jesus is, and what his Spirit was saying to me, began to sort out my troubled heart. God’s Word, read and studied with God’s people, steadied my life. I had a friend in Jesus, and I knew he was walking and talking with me. I remember thinking one night as I lay in bed that everything was going wrong—but I had Jesus. What a gift.
The last forty years have had many ups and downs. We had four children. Three now now have their own families and children. Our second oldest son is in heaven. My dad and mom are both in heaven as well. Angelo planted a church. I got a real job. We started a ministry in southern Africa. Through it all, Jesus has been with us every step of the way. And, through it all, my need for his Word to dwell richly in my life and heart has only grown.
When our son was dying of cancer and friends asked what they could do, I said, “Send me a Bible verse.” The year after he died, I had such a hard time doing anything—but the one thing I didn’t give up was going to Bible study. Being there was hard, and sharing and teaching was impossible; even so, I knew God’s Word would keep me sane and steady. And by God’s grace and through his Spirit, I was kept. May God’s Word also dwell in you richly as you also “keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” (Jude 21 NIV).
MARK: Life-Changing Power Through Jesus
What would you like to change about yourself and the world we live in? How would you go about making the change—and making it stick? In the Gospel of Mark, we learn that all real change comes from meeting Jesus. When he came near, everything changed. The sick were healed, wrongs were righted, sinners were saved, storms were stopped, and death was defeated. These stories from long ago still bring us the same hope today—forgiveness and new life forever. In their study of Mark, Angelo and Barbara Juliani introduce readers to Jesus in a way that will leave them amazed, just like his first followers were when they met him.
