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Um Life audio. Hi from the Salvation Army. You're listening to Words of Life. Yeah. These are the words, these are the words of life.
These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. Welcome back to Words of Life. We are so excited for you to hear this new series that we're beginning today. We're being joined by a panel of believers who are going to be discussing what intentional deep Bible study has meant in their life and their walk with God. As 2025 comes to a close, we are praying that this series will be an encouragement to you to make 2026 a year that you have an even deeper relationship with the Word of God.
Throughout this series, in every episode's show notes, we'll have links to all types of resources to help you get started if you're not sure where to begin. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation, who I so praise Him for He is who helps and salvation. Welcome back to Words of Life. I am so excited to share with our listeners today a panel of some of our closest friends. I'm Bernie Dake.
And to my left is a very dear friend. Introduce yourself to our listeners. My name is Melody Davis. I'm a wife, a mom, a grandmother, and I am a minister in the Salvation Army. And who's that sitting next to you?
I am Chris Hoffer, and I'm a member of our production team here at Soundcast. Grateful to be here. And then across from Chris, we've got. Caleb Louden. I'm a lifelong salvationist.
And work in publications with the Salvation Army at our national headquarters. And last but certainly not least. I'm Claudia Roseno. I am at the Salvation Army Training School in Atlanta, Georgia. And right now, I get to help others lead in their skills and grow in being worshipers of the Lord.
Right here. Hey, you're listening to the Salvation Army's Words of Life. We're gonna take a quick ad break and we'll be right back. This month on the Salvation Army's weekly podcast, Words of Life. Join a panel of believers as they share how Scripture has shaped their lives and deepened their walk with God.
We pray this series inspires you to make 2026 the year you dive into God's Word like never before. For me, the Bible has been God's presence around me, giving me strength when I didn't feel that I could have a future, have a path. The Bible has been God's presence right next to me. People refer to the Bible as God's love letter to us. God's Word is not just a book with a lot of stories, but it is our faith, it's our foundation, it's why we live the way we live.
It's a singular collection of texts that has made more of an impact on planet Earth than any other. Listen to Words of Life on your favorite podcast store or visit wordsoflife podcast.org. What we're doing today is talking about really how scripture is so important to a world that's looking for hope, and talking about why the Bible is important.
Well, the Bible, I think It's a singular collection of texts that has made More of an impact on planet Earth than any other. I mean, we think about some of the things that we take for granted, particularly in the U.S., but in many countries at large, things like human rights and liberties, or the abolition of slavery, or the dignity of women and children. There's so many ideals that we, whether we're Christian or not, hold as sacred and as vital to who we are. And we can. Trace the threads of all those things back to the Bible and the Bible's singular influence in human history.
there was not an argument for the abolition of slavery until the Bible. Women and children are treated as property by elite men across the ancient Mediterranean. and not seen as equal in status and worth. And then the Bible came along. There's so many things, again, that the most fervent atheist would take for granted and say it was a product of enlightenment, but really.
Is something that we can hold dear today because of the Bible. And so you just even just start there. This is amazing. For just that reason alone. And then you think about all the great works of literature and art and Music that have been made because of the Bible, or have been riffing on the Bible.
It's really the cornerstone of so much of our culture. And then We enter into the church and its significance for us. in the church and it's being really Our guidepost for how God has come in mercy in the person of Jesus Christ to save us. For me, the Bible has been the Word of God. God's presence around me, speaking to me, enlightening me, giving me strength when I didn't feel that I could have a future, have a path.
The Bible has been God's presence right next to me. I remember when I was a teenager, I didn't know where to go. I didn't feel accepted. I didn't feel like anybody cared for me. I was searching, and I remember talking to God and asking Him, Lord, speak to me.
And at that time in my life, it was just so clear that God was speaking to me through his word. His presence was there, that he cared, that no matter what anyone else did, he understood me. He walked with me. He had a purpose for me. What a privilege we have to have God speaking to us.
We pray that you're enjoying and being blessed by this conversation. Uh We're going to take one more ad break and we'll be right back. This month on the Salvation Army's weekly podcast, Words of Life. Join a panel of believers as they share how Scripture has shaped their lives and deepened their walk with God. We pray this series inspires you to make 2026 the year you dive into God's Word like never before.
For me, the Bible has been God's presence around me, giving me strength when I didn't feel that I could have a future, have a path. The Bible has been God's presence right next to me. People refer to the Bible as God's love letter to us. God's Word is not just a book with a lot of stories, but it is our faith. It's our foundation.
It's why we live the way we live. It's a singular collection of texts that has made more of an impact on planet Earth than any other. Listen to Words of Life on your favorite podcast store or visit wordsoflife podcast.org. People refer to the Bible as God's love letter to us. When you need it and you turn to it, that's when it really just reveals itself in such an incredible way.
What do you think, Melody? The Bible is the foundation of my faith. My faith is built on God's word. God's word is truth. It is the light that guides my path.
And it is also the legacy that has been lived out in front of me through my parents. In scripture, we are called to remember. The Bible is a reminder to me because there are many times where it says from generation to generation. And I think about my parents who not only taught. My siblings and Their grandchildren, they didn't only teach us God's word, encourage us to read God's word, but they lived it out in front of us.
And that was what made the biggest difference. I just wanted to give that to my children as well, and to my grandchildren. I want them to see that God's Word is not just a book with a lot of stories and words, but it is our faith. It's our foundation. It's why we live the way we live.
I don't ever want to forget that. Amen.
Okay, Chris. What do you think? For me. The Bible for much of my life has been the most popular book in my household that I had never actually read. And that's not to say that I didn't grow up in a wonderful Christian household.
I am certainly blessed to have been given such an incredible foundation of faith through my parents. But in terms of really spending time in the Word, I think as we'll continue to unpack in this discussion, there is a difference when you really truly engage with the Bible fully. Recently, for me, the Bible has become this way to really hear God in a tangible way, and so, yeah, that's what the Bible does. has become to me. Following God, loving Jesus has always been a part of my life.
It's something that I knew. But it's also something we have to find for ourselves. It can't be just because my parents. Loved God, loved His Word. It was lived out in front of me, but I had to make that choice.
And so it was always part of my life, but I would say In the last couple years, I started reading the Bible differently. I can honestly say there were times maybe I was reading God's Word because I felt like it was what I was supposed to do and I needed to do. But I've found so much joy in reading God's Word. Whatever circumstance I find myself in, there is something in God's Word that will encourage me, that will give me strength and will give me hope. There is always times in our life where we may feel like we don't have anyone to turn to or we're at the end.
And I promise you, if you go to God and seek Him in His Word, He will meet you. you where you are and you will find what you are looking for. My parents became Christians when I was about a teenager, and so the Bible was not always read in my home. When they became Christians, we had to read through the Bible as a badge in the youth group that I was in. And while I didn't understand so much of it, and I read it through in Spanish, and so it was even more mysterious, and I did not understand it.
that act though Began a discipline of being in God's word every single day. Fast forward to many years later, I am in God's word. I have the discipline of being in it every day, though there were other pieces of literature that excited me so much more.
So I asked the Lord, give me excitement. Give me a desire Make these scriptures more than just a checkoff list because that's what I was doing. God is so amazing that He hears us and says, Yes, I will change your heart. I will change your desires. And he did.
He made it much more alive. He made it such a need in my heart, not just my mind, but a need in my heart. Isn't God soca that he meets us? And when I say, Lord, change my heart, change my desires, I want your word to speak to me deeper and clearer, change my passions. And God loves us so much that he does.
Amen.
I was blessed like everyone at this table to grow up in a Christian home.
So the Bible always was a prominent part of my life. As a kid I was pretty interested in the church and in theology and At least as I could understand it. in those formative years. When I first started college, I had a nineteen ninety five Red Pontiac Grand Prix. My friends, I affectionately call it the Red Dragon.
Loved that car. It didn't love me as much as I loved it because it gave out on me about two years into college, and so I didn't finish university with it. And so I ended up needing to take the bus to get to the University of South Florida. And it was about an hour or so commute. getting there and then another hour back.
So I had all this time now to just sit on the bus and do something with. and started to take my Salvation New Testament with me and just read the Bible. And I remember that. being a time of my affection. Particularly deepening, then, for the word.
And just time and time again, even though I've grown up with the Bible and in church. Being surprised by it. surprise by The beauty and the wonder and the power of the Word of God and just how powerfully it speaks to every Aspect of life and to my experience of life, then from college I was called into ministry. And felt led to go to seminary, and seminary really supercharged that passion for the Bible for me. I think when you start to.
get uh acquainted with that at any level. you find yourself by the lead of the Holy Spirit. Just really drawn to continue to pursue reading it more deeply and spending more time in the word. because it's an inexhaustible source. of enrichment and of deepening and of grace.
As I look around this table, everybody here is really important to me. They showed up in my life at different seasons. I'll start with Claudia. who came to Brazil when my parents and our family were there. serving with the Salvation Army.
And so she saw me when I was Really young. And then Caleb was my first friend when I was fresh off the boat in America. Then to my right is my mother-in-law, and then Our host, Bernie, has been a mentor kind of since I came to America up until now.
So as I look at everybody at this table, they're just very special to me. And I think that is because of the relationship that we have, but then also just time that we have shared together. As I reflect on how my relationship to Scripture has evolved and where it is now, I think what has made the difference is I have yearned for that time with God. approaching scripture as just an opportunity to be in relationship with God. which for me is the through line, the whole point.
of the Bible, of the story of creation. That's for me, is what has made it come alive. The Salvation Army's mission, doing the most good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. Visit SalvationArmyUSA.org to offer your support.
You can subscribe to Words of Life on your favorite podcast store or visit SalvationArmysoundcast.org. Join us next time for the Salvation Army's Words of Life. These are the words, these are the words of life. These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. Thanks so much for listening to Words of Life.
We want to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the show. Visit lifeaudio.com, where you'll find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network. They have shows about prayer, Bible studying, parenting, and more. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time.
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