One of the things I have had to remind myself while building Scripturestead is that it is not my job to change someone’s heart.
That responsibility does not belong to me.
My job is to be faithful with the information, the tools, the Scripture, and the opportunities placed in front of me. My job is to help people find the Word of God, understand it more clearly, ask better questions, and have a place where they can search for truth.
Sometimes that means answering a difficult question. Sometimes it means pointing someone to a passage they have never really read before. Sometimes it means presenting historical context, research, evidence, or simply putting a Bible in front of someone in a way that makes them want to open it.
In other words, my job is to plant the seed.
I Cannot Force Faith
I can build websites. I can build an app. I can publish articles. I can create study tools, research resources, and educational material. I can spend hours trying to make Scripture easier to access and understand.
But I cannot make someone believe.
I cannot force someone to trust Christ. I cannot argue someone into a genuine relationship with Him. I cannot reach inside another person’s heart and change what only God can change.
And honestly, there is something freeing about admitting that.
It means success cannot simply be measured by whether every person agrees with me, responds the way I hope, or immediately changes their life after reading something on Scripturestead.
Faithfulness matters even when I do not get to see the outcome.
Planting and Watering
Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” — 1 Corinthians 3:6 KJV
That verse has become increasingly meaningful to me.
One person may plant the seed. Another may water it. Someone else may answer a question years later. A sermon, a conversation, a Bible verse, a difficult season, or an unexpected moment may become part of the process.
But God gives the increase.
Read 1 Corinthians 3 in the Scripturestead Bible.
Relationship Changes Everything
Christianity is not simply about collecting information about Jesus.
Information matters. Truth matters. Scripture matters. Understanding what we believe and why we believe it matters tremendously.
But the goal is not merely to know facts about Christ.
The goal is to know Him.
When a person begins to genuinely seek Christ, spend time in His Word, pray, trust Him, and walk with Him, something begins to happen that no website can manufacture.
The relationship becomes personal.
Conviction becomes personal. Grace becomes personal. Forgiveness becomes personal. The words of Scripture stop being distant information and begin confronting, comforting, teaching, and reshaping the heart.
That is work I cannot take credit for.
What Scripturestead Is Supposed to Do
I want Scripturestead to provide trustworthy information without watering down the truth.
I want someone who has never opened a Bible to feel like they can begin here. I want the lifelong believer to be able to dig deeper. I want the skeptic to be able to ask hard questions without being treated like an enemy. I want families, churches, students, and ordinary people to have tools that help them engage Scripture for themselves.
But Scripturestead cannot replace Christ.
It cannot replace prayer. It cannot replace repentance. It cannot replace the work of the Holy Spirit. And it certainly cannot manufacture a relationship with Jesus.
It can point.
It can teach.
It can explain.
It can plant.
The Result Is Not Mine to Control
I may never know how many seeds planted through Scripturestead take root.
Some may grow quickly. Some may sit beneath the surface for years. Some may be watered by someone I will never meet.
And that is okay.
My responsibility is not to control the result.
My responsibility is to remain faithful to the work God has placed in front of me, tell the truth as clearly as I can, and keep pointing people toward Jesus Christ.
If Scripturestead helps someone take one honest step toward opening the Bible, asking a question, seeking Christ, or beginning a real relationship with Him, then the seed has been planted.
What happens in the heart after that belongs to God.
-Brad Merchel
Founder, Scripturestead