Hello my name is Glenn Pierce, I was blessed as a child to be exposed to the word of God in Sunday school. I realize now I was given a gift in those church classes to be included in a circle of prayer with other students and adults. I knew God cared and I knew he would be listening to our prayers and even work in some way to help me. At an early age I saw a difference between those who had the compassionate hand of God upon their hearts and knew He loved them and those who didn’t. Later I realized this seemed to be determined by whether the person knew the holiness of God, as He announces Himself in His word, or if the person was focused on some other carnal thoughts. As I grew and life became more complicated some spiritual warfare began. There was one specific time when I was filled with guilt and I sought out help from my mother who pointed me to the scriptures, specifically 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” That truth and others from God’s Holy Bible combined with the prayers she uttered for my life were the balm that helped this wounded child of God overcome guilt and partake in God’s amazing grace as I began adulthood.
As I look back and reflect on those years I can recall the joy of Christian service my mother and others had as they volunteered their talents to and for and among Christians at church. The joy that came from volunteering was seen in my mother who gave herself to the music ministry. I think it was her volunteer service that helped keep her going at the end of her life. I saw the joy of the Lord in my Sunday school teachers also as they gave their lives to we children. God’s words in his Bible led all of these volunteers to an understanding of His compassion and his glory and his love. His word combined with His Holy Spirit and the encouragement of other saints stimulated them into being joyful, caring, and loving toward others.
I became a volunteer Sunday school teacher of children for time, and as I was preparing the lessons God spoke to my heart. I marveled that the sections of the Bible we were studying should not only be made available exclusively to children; the lessons were applicable to adults as well. I continued to grow in understanding the value of God’s truths. Eventually there became a time in my life when I had asked God that I be able to share “the rivers of living waters” that would be flowing out of my heart. I had read in John 7:38 where Jesus said this would be the case in the life of believers. I had seen comfort come from within some individuals and God knew His grace, His guidance, His helpful truths could come through me and be shared and passed along to others through me as I looked to Him. Coinciding with the prayer God worked through and in the understanding I had acquired from experience. I had found through experience it is good to help and love others. I found oftentimes in day to day living people are grateful for the help and love we render to them. God had been showing me it is better to give than to receive. One of the greatest ways one person can help another person is to give themselves as a friend to another. In this world of ours we can not always be physically with another person, but we can assist them remotely by showing them the source of all love. Finding God’s love comes as we read the encouraging, guiding, revelatory words of God as found in the Holy Bible. The service we render to those coming to us accomplishes a measure of loving friendship toward our neighbor. We are able to go beyond the church walls in this ministry, yet use the fellowship we garnish within those walls to encourage us and motivate us to continue.
When I was young there were times in the years before computers, when I had read the Bible on my own and had wished someone would explain the scriptures to me personally. I could quote a few Bible verses that I was told to memorize, but I was puzzled, thinking thoughts as, “how did those verses fit in with these other words I was reading in God’s word?” I knew God’s Holy Bible was full of important truths, because I had been told that, but the meaning of many of the words and sentences and events in the Bible seemed to be a mystery as a read them. So, having no one to help me, and possibly because no one else in the family was a Bible scholar whom I could turn to, and possibly because I was embarrassed to reveal that I was interested in learning about God’s words, I gave up on understanding the meaning of many scriptures in God’s word.
Later as I attended church, and made a definitive step in making Christ my Lord and savior I attended Bible studies. I grew in my understanding of God’s word by spending time in communication and discussion with other Christians. The meaning of the word of God was opened to me. I know there is no one who can read God’s word and completely understand it by reading on their own; we all need help. We need God’s help and He has provided other Christians to provide that service. God has made us into a community of believers and we want to help each other know Him better. This is done by the loving help of accurate Bible teachers. I realize globally there isn’t always a Bible- believing Christian church nearby where people can attend and they will be turning to the web to find answers,
I have realized from my experience of being a student of various subjects that truths need to be explained clearly. As a Christian knowing the value of God’s word I know this is especially true of the words found in the Holy Bible. God wants us to be well-centered and accurately understanding His word so we can appropriately apply His transforming words to our lives as He has intended.
There was a time, ten years ago, when God had revealed to me many of these insights and I began to wonder if I shouldn’t be at work in helping others know God’s word too. I searched on the web to see if there were some Christian websites with that goal in mind. I found Gotquestions and am very pleased that God has raised up such a ministry for the good of us all.
As a volunteer working with Gotquestions there are times when I feel a connection between myself and the person who is asking the question I have been assigned. They often ask very good questions that deserve well thought out answers. The best responses come directly from God’s word because these come from God and can be trusted. Oftentimes I think as an inquirer can see that their question and the answer to it ultimately points to God they can find, with my input, the answer can lead them into a greater exaltation of Christ in their life! I am a person who understands the value of thankfulness and worship as an important feature in my personal desire to live for God, I realize this is common to all Christians. An accompanying quest, and desire I have is to enable other people’s worship of God. It is a noble calling given to us- that of helping to facilitate and enable the worship of God in another individual! We Gotquestions participants know this in large part God does through His living words as our faith is kindled through the reading and hearing and proper understanding of His words.
It is a true gift and honor to me to be able to interact with serious seekers and readers of the Bible. God’s word is active and accomplishes much good and man does not eat by bread alone. I find the response development work I am engaged in to be invigorating, challenging at times, and always a blessing. It is a marvel to me that God’s word can be transforming another individual, and He can use me as an instrument in that process just as He has used others to accomplish that end in my own life. To God be the glory!
May God bless us all
Sincerely and in Christ
Glenn Pierce
