Showing posts with label Jesus Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus Christ. Show all posts

Thursday, 15 October 2015

Where's the Proof That God Exists?

I know it's rude to answer a question with a question. Even so, what do people who ask this question mean by proof? According to the Bible, God has shown himself through nature, divine revelation, and in the person of Jesus Christ.

In creation, we can see his purpose and foreknowledge. Though we live in a fallen world where nature is red in tooth and claw, the wonders of his created works declare that they didn't happen by chance and random processes. For example, Monarch butterflies metamorphose from almost blind caterpillars to graceful flyers with excellent eyesight. They travel thousands of miles to winter in Mexico, all without aid of GPs or compass. This is just one of many examples I could cite.

I've blogged before about prophecy and how the prophets spoke of events which came to pass years or centuries later. We've continually seen just how far off human-inspired predictions have been so those fulfillment's of ancient prophecies can only be from a divine source.

God also visited humanity via Jesus Christ. Since his appearance in the dark clouds and fire on the mountain frightened the crap out of the Israelites when Moses led them out of Egypt, he became a human being who people could touch and relate to. By the way, the folks who gave Christ the most grief were the Pharisees, not common sinners. Those experts in the scriptures should have recognized all the fulfilled prophecies of the Messiah in the person of Jesus, yet they couldn't let go of their stamped ideas of what he would be like. Therefore, they framed him and had the Romans put him to death. When Christ rose again, the Pharisees bribed the tomb guards to say they fell asleep and the disciples stole his body.

My point here is that whatever proof people demand, they most likely won't accept the evidence already provided by God.

I once had stamped ideas about God before he freed me from them. How I Was Razed is a testimony of how the Lord providentially led me to freedom. Contact me for details about purchasing this wondrous story of God's providential grace.

Tuesday, 4 November 2014

BEWARE OF FAME

Wishing to be famous is something many people do. They fantasize about writing that great novel or singing that song that would guarantee them life-long popularity. The truth is that fame doesn't guarantee an easy life.

The suicide of Robin Williams this year is a graphic example of the price of fame. He had everything to live for, or so an outsider would think. His name was well known because of his comedy TV and movie appearances. From the outside, he seemed like a zany and loveable character. The fact that he murdered himself shows that something was dreadfully wrong inside him and he thought death would ease the pain.

Another thing fame doesn't guarantee is true friendships. Many people follow famous folks for what they can get from them. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the sixth chapter of Saint John's gospel. Christ had thousands of followers. He could have easily started a revolution and kicked the Romans out of Israel. But that wasn't his mission. He came to live a perfect life to fulfill the law, die on a cross to pay for the sins of people who truly follow him, and rise again on the third day. When Jesus taught doctrines too hard for the masses to accept, all but his close disciples left him.

Fame seems like the rock that the mythical character Sysyphus had to push up the side of the hill. If that boulder gets over the top, it rolls easily down the other side. I've noticed that there's a tipping point for this rock of fame but we can't see it until it happens. The Beatles played in bars and clubs for eight years before they became internationally famous. Most artists work all their lives and never break through the wall of anonymity. Saddest of all, many people quit long before they could have become famous.

I often feel frustrated about my lack of book sales. Worse yet, I'm guilty of envying the platforms of health-and-wealth preachers who sell millions of blasphemous paperbacks. Then I remind myself that we all must give an account of our actions during this life on the day of judgement. I'd rather have a few sales of my memoirs which tell the truth than millions of books propagating false information about the heavenly Father.

I wrote about how badly I was led astray buy a false teacher and how I learned the truth in How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. You can find it on Amazon, Powell's Books, and Barnes & Noble.