So how did God show up?

I read this this morning, a lot of people doubt who God is and how it all began. Let’s start with the verse in Luke,
“And He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’” – Luke 8:25

Do you ever have doubts about God?

Most people do. Let me share with you what has caused me the most doubt through the years–the first four words of the Bible: “In the beginning God.” For, I wonder, how could God always exist? Where did He come from? What did He do before creation?

But “In the beginning God” also enriches my faith. For the Bible also says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God and the Word became flesh.” The Word is Jesus Christ and because of Jesus’ life, I can see what God is like. Because of His death I can see and experience His love. Because the evidence of His resurrection is overwhelming, I can believe in God’s power to do anything.

If Jesus rose from the dead, I can live with the questions I can’t understand about God–like Him always existing–because He is God and I’m not. We all have doubts about God, but Jesus is the reason I can believe in God.

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Forgive Who?

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” – Matthew 6:14

In the spring of 1981, both Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II were shot and seriously wounded in assassination attempts. Even though each struggled to survive, both the President and the Pope made it a priority to forgive the very people who tried to kill them.

Ronald Reagan said, “I realized I couldn’t ask for God’s help while at the same time I felt hatred for the mixed up young man who had shot me. Isn’t that the meaning of the lost sheep? We’re all God’s children and therefore, equally beloved by Him. I began to pray for his soul and that he would find his way back into the fold.” And we also remember those amazing pictures of Pope John Paul II, seeking out the man who tried to kill him and there in his prison cell – sitting face to face – forgiving him.

Now these are not normal responses when someone tries to kill you! Where did these great men learn such actions? They learned it from Jesus! And not only did they learn it from Jesus, but also they were empowered by the Holy Spirit to be able to forgive. This ability and motivation to forgive under those circumstances could only come from one source – the One who said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they do.”

If Jesus can provide these leaders with the ability to forgive their assassins, don’t you think He can give you the power to forgive those who have offended you?

The Lost Words

“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” – Deuteronomy 4:2

The Gnostic gospels received widespread attention after they were referred to in the novel and movie, The Da Vinci Code. These works triggered great interest and thrust the Gnostic writings into pop culture. This has caused a lot of conflict and confusion as people wonder why these “lost gospels” were not included within our Bible.

Let’s look at the answer to that. The gospels in the Bible were all written within twenty to sixty years after of the life of Jesus – soon enough so that the actual witnesses to Jesus’ words and deeds were available as a primary source. The Gnostics, however, were written in the second century, long after Jesus’ contemporaries had died. To give credibility to their stories, the Gnostics falsely attached the names of people who had long been dead, such as Thomas, Mary, and Phillip. So, not only was The Gospel of Thomas not written by Thomas, it wasn’t even written by someone who had ever met Thomas!

Also, here’s something I find interesting. The Gnostics are sometimes referred to as the “secret gospels.” (Now there is an oxymoron!) If God is going to inspire a gospel, He most certainly isn’t going to allow it to be kept secret! Also, because most were discovered in 1945, they have been called the “lost gospels.” Again, why would God inspire something only to allow it to be lost? Think about it.

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie.

Read this this morning and the last statement hit me in the right place. Very good thought. Let me know what you think.

“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised.” – Romans 1:25

Several years ago, the local school board required high school science textbooks to have a sticker attached. This sticker said simply, “This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.”

Notice that there was nothing in the sticker that advocated a belief in God. Neither did it even mention Creationism. It simply advised the students to ask questions and form their beliefs based on what they conclude from the evidence. This was really all about good education, about considering different theories with an open mind, which is a part of learning, to be able to consider different outlooks about life. Despite this, the federal courts demanded that these simple stickers be removed from all textbooks.

Education is about the free flow of ideas. When you have a theory as controversial as evolution then certainly part of a good education is considering diverse views. In addition, the scientific method itself demands skepticism and examination. Good science requires that theories stand up to probing questions. Why do evolutionists fear similar questioning? What do they have to fear? Truth has no fear. Is there really any difference with the Nazi book burners and how some scientists, educators, and government officials respond to alternative theories concerning evolution? The mindset is the same.

Open-minded people don’t fear the truth – they seek it. And when they truly seek Truth, they find God.

Turn the other cheek

Amazing love read this before I went on stage tonight. Found somebody today.

“Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.” – Luke 6:22

Have you ever felt rejected because of your faith? Has anyone ever avoided you, left you out of the clique, or even rejected you outright just because you are a Christian? No, that’s not paranoia; this happens to every dedicated Christian at one time or another. Jesus wants you to know that when you are rejected by others or shown hostility for your beliefs, you are not the one being rejected. People are hostile at Jesus, not you. They are rejecting Jesus, not you. Never forget that.

And that is where we need to follow the example of Jesus most of all. When you are rejected due to your devotion to Christ, you need to respond just as Jesus did when He was rejected on the cross. He said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.”

In your devotion to Christ, if you are rejected, face hostility, or even persecuted, you need to forgive as Christ forgave on the cross. Because if you want to see something that is unique about Christianity over every other religion, you look at Jesus in His Spirit on that cross, of forgiving those who have rejected Him. Are you willing to follow Jesus when it means these kinds of costs? Are you really?

The Stats & the church. Where do you come in?

I read this, this morning and thought wow this is great. Reminds me more and more of how we are the church. Enjoy.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the fullest.” – John 10:10

How are you at statistical analysis? If you are like me, you may not be very good. But I have a copy of the results of a survey done by LifeWay Research. They polled 1402 unchurched adults (defined as people not going to church in the last six months) and found some interesting responses. What conclusions do you draw from these responses?

71% think believing in Jesus makes a positive difference in a person’s life.
72% believe that God actually exists.
72% say the church is full of hypocrites.
78% say, I would be willing to listen to somebody tell me about Christianity.
79% say Christianity today is more about organized religion than about loving people.
86% say I believe I can have a good relationship with God without belonging to a church.

Arthur Farnsley, administrator of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion interprets it this way, “Is there a workshop for churches in being less annoying, less hypocritical?”

Key thought: If Jesus is so attractive to the majority of the unchurched, how can the church become more and more like Jesus?

Hint = It begins with you and me.

Its a battle out there.

“Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, Paul said to them, ‘My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.’” – Acts 28:17

When publicizing a mission conference at our church, there were some missionaries whose last names we couldn’t print or even mention the location where they were serving. This is because if it had became known that they were missionaries, they could be expelled from the country, imprisoned, or even killed.

Paul was keenly aware of the dangers of sharing Christ, and we cannot forget that our missionaries still face very real persecution – a fact that has hit close to home over the past few years. In 2002, several of our medical missionaries who had dedicated their lives in service to the people of Yemen were brutally murdered by a pack of Islamic terrorists right in the hospital where they worked. And there was the case of Graham Staines, a missionary to India. He ran a leper clinic, caring for the most outcast of Indian society, yet he was martyred for his faith, killed along with his two young sons. And there are many similar stories that are taking place right now, today, as you are reading this devotion.

No, persecution of Christian missionaries didn’t end with the lions in Rome. It continues today, throughout the world, led by a legion of groups that hate the Lord and all who spread His word. We need to pray for our missionaries, support their mission, and honor their incredible courage.