At first glance, this statement may have some power; but when put face to face against the Christian worldview and a few minutes of clear thinking it falls very very short.

Religions of Grandeur

Most of the world’s religions teach very similar things, with their primary differences being only the self-proclaimed prophet whose words they each follow. The common thread that ties them all together is the instruction to “have faith and be good,” but most notably is the fact that none of them takes the words of Jesus as seriously as he meant them to be taken.

At some point all religions have to, in some way, adopt Jesus into their belief system. As such a significant historical figure, no one can leave him out to dry, so instead of ignoring him, they adapt him by starting off with the premise that the Bible has been corrupted. From there, Mormons say Jesus was the half-brother of the devil, Jehovah’s Witnesses say he was an angel who was made into a man, Muslims say he was just a prophet and New Agers say he was a man who was in tune with the divine consciousness.

Since many scholars believe that there is no sufficient reason to doubt the authenticity of the Bible, and since it seems that as time goes on, more and more evidence surfaces that gives us increasing reason to believe its words, perhaps we should look more intently at what Jesus actually said about himself. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”¹

The God of History

It is when applied to Christianity, that I believe this claim falls apart quickly. Put very briefly, we read in the Old Testament of how sin entered God’s creation, which forever changed everything (Gen 3). But because of God’s love for us, he promised he would send a rescuer (Messiah) to pay the debt that our acts of treason have earned (Isa 7:14; 53:5). But here’s the hitch; these promises are interweaved within a historical narrative of events involving real people, nations, wars, places and landmarks, where this God undeniably affected the proceedings.

But now for the icing on the cake. This long promised messiah actually came down, claiming to be God (John 5:18) and the long awaited savior (Luk 4:17-21; Jhn 4:25-26). Not only did he make these claims, but he backed them up with demonstrations of power that only God could perform; such as healing sickness, disease and blindness, counseling people about things in their life that only they could know, raising people from the dead (Luk 7:22; Matt 9:35) and ultimately resurrecting himself after he was executed for claiming to be God (Mk 16:6-7).

What separates Christianity from all other religions, is the teaching that we can never earn our way to salvation; much like doing good deeds could never make a man guilty of murder innocent of his crime. Rather, Jesus taught us that it is by faith in him alone (Jhn 3:16; 14:6), and his sacrifice on the cross that we would be made clean once again. The Bible then goes on to tell us, that this faith would result in good works, not done out of obligation, but done out of joy, worship and response to what Christ has done for us (Gal 5:22-24; Jas 2:18).

Removing The Paint

All other religions are based off of a single individual’s experiences in private. These people never performed miracles, never genuinely prophesied and never left us with much more than manipulation or mutilation as reasons to follow them. However, the things we read about concerning Jesus always happened in public view. He performed countless miracles, prophesied often and left us with little reason to doubt his words and actions.

When I look at other faiths, it is understandable how people could believe that religion is just man’s thoughts and opinions painted on God’s face. But the way I see it, is that throughout his life, Jesus painted a self portrait of who he is and always has been… God.

The Church

If a church focuses too much on those immediately around them, they are charged with neglecting the starving in Africa. If they pay too much attention to the starving in Africa, they are guilty of not helping those immediately around them.

If a church has a building that’s too fancy, they must be money hungry. If their church meets in a living room, they must be doing something wrong.

If a church uses projectors to display worship lyrics and Bible verses, they are lavish and trendy. If they don’t use projectors, they are outdated and stingy.

If a church has a rock band for a worship team, they are just for show. If they only have a pipe organ, they are just for old people.

If a church calls sinners to repentance, they are being judgmental. If they fail to address sin, they are being spineless.

The Christian

If a Christian is wealthy, their faith is only a show. If a Christian is poor, their faith is only a crutch.

If a Christian has a savings account, they’re selfish. If they give it all away, they’re foolish.

If a Christian drinks alcohol, they’re being rebellious. If they don’t drink alcohol, they’re being uptight.

If a Christian can defend their faith, they take it too seriously. If they can’t defend it, they don’t take it seriously enough.

If a Christian isn’t Jesus, they are criticized. If they are Jesus, they are crucified.

The Conclusion

I cannot help but think that even if every Christian were picture perfect, the world would still hate us because it first hated Christ (John 15:18).

While we should definitely be more clear in the reasons why we take positions against particular issues, when thought out, they actually stem from the very things we take positions for! Though some of the verses that I mention below relate to spiritual conditions and disciplines, they should without a doubt transform how we see, treat, minister to and pray for the world around us.

What We Stand For

When we say that we love, worship and serve Jesus, there are a number of things that the world around us should see that we undoubtedly stand for. Flowing from our positive positions in each area, there is a list of issues that we, by necessity, oppose.

We Stand For Life

Therefore we stand against things that harm it; such as homelessness (Isa 58:7), abortion, rape, murder, homosexuality and pedophilia (Gal 5:19-21). As a result we defend the rights of the unborn and unloved while encouraging lifestyles that reflect the way God made us to be. (Jhn 10:10; 15:13)

We Stand For Freedom

Therefore we stand against oppression, slavery and human trafficking (Isa 58:6). As a result we work towards setting captives free and protecting the helpless because it reflects the work of Christ on the cross, when he set us free from our lives of sin (Gal 5:1). (Gal 5:13; 1Pet 2:16)

We Stand For Family

Therefore we stand against broken homes (1 Cor 7:10-11), deadbeat dads (Pro 22:6; Eph 6:4), negligent mothers and rebellious children (Exo 20:12). As a result we counsel families in need and seek to reconcile marriages in order to restore families to their God honoring status. (Gen 2:24)

We Stand For Reason

Therefore we stand against the one-sidedness of contemporary science and the thought that belief in God is simply intellectual laziness. As a result we encourage fair and reasoned discussion of our beliefs with those inside and outside the faith, so that we can advance respect and understanding on all sides as we seek to draw each to Christ (1Pet 3:15). (Isa 1:18; Acts 17:17)

We Stand For Justice

Therefore we stand against criminals, tyrants and terrorists while seeking to bring them to justice. As a result our intent is to rescue those who have no hero to save them, so that by doing so we can show the world what Christ did for us when he came down to us as a man named Jesus. (Amo 5:24; Mic 6:8)

We Stand For The Bible

Therefore we stand against the false teachings of books like the Koran, Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, Doctrine & Covenant, Upanishads, The Watchtower and any others that preach a message contrary to the Bible (Gal 1:8). As a result we share the message that the Bible instructs us to spread in love and respect of the people we encounter (1Pet 3:15), doing our best to meet them where they are (1Cor 9:22). (2Tim 3:16)

We Stand For God

Therefore we stand against the doctrines of Atheism, godless evolution and magic that tells us that from nothing the universe came into existence. As a result we tell others about the holy God who made us in his image (Gen 1:26) and from whom we have fallen far away from (Rom 3:23), but who wants for nothing more than his creation to return to him (1Tim 2:2-4). (Gen 1:1)

We Stand For Jesus

Therefore we stand against Satan (Jas 4:7), sin (Rom 6:12), demons (1Cor 10:20-21) and death (Rom 6:23). As a result we share the words that Jesus spoke, the things that Jesus did and the sacrifice that Jesus made. He did all these for us because he loves us (Eph 5:2). (Jhn 1:1)

We Stand For The Resurrection

Therefore we stand against false religions like Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Scientology and Paganism (Gal 1:8) that teach that Jesus was less than who he said and showed himself to be. As a result we preach the truth of Jesus’ deity (Jhn 1:1, 14) and that salvation comes through no other means, than faith alone in Christ alone (Eph 2:8). (1Cor 15:3-5)

We Stand For The Gospel

Therefore we stand against works righteousness, earned salvation (Eph 2:8-9), universalism (Jhn 14:6), pantheism (Gen 1:1; Isa 44:6) and panentheism (Isa 64:8). As a result we instruct others that we can not earn our place in God’s presence, but that we rightly deserve the hell that he has set aside for Satan and his demons (Matt 25:41); but there is hope and assurance in Jesus, who came to do what we never could. (1Tim 1:8)

What Do You Stand For?

Because the Christian stands for so much, we are never without work. While culture, religion, the church, media, society, entertainment, government and education press issues down on us from every side, not a single one of us has the need to say, “I have nothing to do.”

Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against a much more powerful enemy (Satan – Eph 6:12), who himself has a much more powerful enemy (Jesus – Heb 2:14), who himself is our friend, ally and savior. We stand for all these things because he first stood for us, even back when we were on the same side as his enemy. Choose today, not only what you will stand for, but also who you will stand for; yourself or the one who rescued you?

Back in my younger days, before kids, marriage, rock bands and high school I went to a small church in Riverside, CA. Every Sunday, before the pastor began his sermon, he would instruct us all to hold up our Bible’s and repeat the following:

This is the Word of God. It is alive and active, sharper than any two edged sword (Heb 4:12). The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of God abides forever (Isa 40:8). It is a lamp to my feet. And a light to my path (Psa 119:105). It is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). I believe everything it says. I am who it says I am. I have what it says I have. And I can do what it say’s I can do.

To this day, that declaration stays with me and I am thankful for the foundation that it has helped to establish in my mind. As a result and over the years, I have developed what I believe to be a solid set of useful study tips that I do my best to put to use as I read my Bible.

Make Your Mark

When you read your Bible, underline it, circle things, write in the margins, and turn down page corners. The more you use it, the more valuable it becomes. I know there are some people who choose not to mark up their BIble; and that is completely acceptable! For me however, making marks allows me to keep track of what I’ve read and helps me locate certain verses easier. But a couple years ago I also added a new method in how I mark my pages.

While I still underline things like crazy, I developed a set of symbols that help separate and categorize verses that I read. I add these marks in the margins of the page, next to the line where the statement is underlined. The symbols are really quite simple and easy to put to memory.

• Hollow Circle – Prophecy, details about Jesus’ return
• Filled Circle – Fulfilled Prophecy
• Upward Facing Triangle – Command we are to obey
• Downward Facing Triangle – Promise from God
• Hollow Square – Comments on predestination and election
• Cross – Significant statement concerning Jesus
• Star – Things concerning Salvation
• Two Intersecting Circles – Counsel for families and marriages
• House – Instructions and guidance for the Church
• Capitol S - Statement regarding Satan, demons, oppression, etc
• Capitol G - Descriptions of God’s attributes and nature, the Trinity, etc

These are the items and topics I have chosen to isolate, but please take them and feel free to let me know if you add any of your own (I may want to use them as well)!

Using Your Bible’s Blank Pages

Every Bible I have ever owned has always had a set of blank pages in the back that never saw the light of day. So recently I came up with an ingenious idea; use them!

To help for when I come across adherents of religious groups that twist scripture as much as I drink coffee, I decided to start cataloging points to raise in discussion. Since I am very aware of arguments and positions that different religions hold, I decided to dedicate one page to each view and as I come across verses that could be used in response to that view, I write them in the back with a little note describing the point.

For example, I have a page for Jehovah’s Witnesses where I can record verses that affirm Jesus’ deity, his physical resurrection and the personhood of the Holy Spirit. Additionally, I have a page for Mormons where there are verses that identify God as one, Satan as a created being and Jesus as God in flesh. Lastly, there is a page that covers general claims like salvation by faith alone in Christ alone, the Trinity and so on.

This way, as long as I have my Bible nearby, I have a resource for responding to the common claims made by those who try to persuade me to believe false Gospels.

Take It Or Leave It, But Study God’s Word

How you carry out your personal Bible study is ultimately up to you. The only wrong way to do it, is to not do it at all.

Feel free to take what is written here, share it, modify it and let me know what you do that is different, so that I could possibly apply it to how I study and mark up my Bible.

My goal is to provide a simple but reasonable answer to the question, “Why… why can’t you Christians just accept Evolution and let us eat your souls, err… burn your Bibles, err… be your friends?” While I can’t answer this question for everyone or go into too much depth scientifically, I can offer my personal reasons why I think this theory gives reason for doubt on various issues.

The Options For Christians On Creation

Currently there are multiple options that the Christian has in what he or she chooses to believe about creation and Evolution, but there are three theories which are most common with all others being closely related. First, there are Christians who hold to Theistic Evolution such as the researchers at BioLogos, but there are also Young Earth Creationists who flat out reject any notion of “Design by Chance” like those at Answers in Genesis. Towards the end of the 20th century, a third option joined the discussion in what appears to be a hybrid of the two positions known as Intelligent Design, spearheaded by the Discovery Institute.

Though these three theories do not agree with each other on various items they are all intellectually engaged in the discussion on how we got here and are worth hearing. Each theory in one way or another agrees with Genesis 1:1 which says, “In the beginning, God…” but what they believe about the following details of creation, is vastly different.

Where Doubt Leaks In For Evolution

Contrary to popular belief, Darwinian Evolution is not a fact. I believe there are a number of significant complications with Darwin’s theory that make it difficult and downright unreasonable for me to accept as the fact that some are making it out to be.

1. Lack Of Explanation – Proponents of Darwin’s theory are notorious for telling us that things like Microtubules and Motor Proteins evolved into Cilium over a span of millions of years. However no one has explained how Evolution (Which despises change) allowed for phases of development, which rendered the changing molecules useless (And therefore not fit to survive) during the time it took to form into a new combination.
2. Irreducible Complexity – Things like Bacterial Flagellum, the Human Eye, Reproducing Cells, Antibodies and our own Blood Clotting System are all examples of things which are irreducibly complex. Which means they are highly advanced machines or systems, where if you were to remove just one element, the entire mechanism or environment breaks down or fails. How do such complex organisms develop in perfect working order by unconscious natural selection, which is synonymous with random chance?
3. DNA Information – Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is the instruction manual for each of us. It consists of a four character alphabet, which if printed out would consume nearly 4,425,000 pages of information that keeps you yourself and not someone or something else. With such an intricate instruction manual that has yet to be explained under natural circumstances, it seems highly reasonable to think this massive book had an author.
4. Lack of Fossils – Darwin himself said that his theory hinged upon the discovery of fossilized evidence that was not available during his time. However, today the evidence still only consists of embarrassing fragments and devastating gaps that do not provide sufficient evidence to support his theory.
5. Cambrian Explosion – Around 530 million years ago, an explosion of complex life forms popped into being during a ten million year period known as the Cambrian Explosion. Seemingly out of nowhere, we see advanced multicellular creatures come into being and begin to thrive. This transition in the fossil record troubled Darwin in his day and still lacks a good response to this day.

Where I Stand

In the end, what it comes down to is examining the evidence we currently have. Then, based on the answers it can provide to the questions that are raised, we should modify our stances accordingly. The danger comes in when we refuse to even consider an alternative view, that could contain helpful information which would move us towards a more complete and accurate theory. In the end, our goal should not be to win arguments but to arrive at the truth.

Personally as a Christian, I am not convinced by Darwin’s theory of Evolution because it doesn’t answer important questions sufficiently. Proponents simply tell us what happened without explaining how; and while the finger can equally be pointed at Christians for the always trendy “God of the Gaps” accusation, I believe our theory holds significantly more plausibility within its claims when the facts are taken into consideration.

Based off all the evidence we do have, it is more reasonable to accept that life was created intentionally by a personal mind who is unfathomably powerful and exists outside of time and space. The precise methods this person has taken to get from Big Bang to Big Ben are unknowable in their entirety, but since the Bible has been shown to be more historically reliable than scientific theory, my trust rests in its pages.

As a final note, if the Bible were to be somehow proven false or Darwinian Evolution somehow proven true, one is not immediately obligated to abandon belief in God or the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Since there is overwhelming evidence for them both via extra-Biblical sources, we would only be forced to rethink our position on things like Evolution; our Christian faith however would be able to continue on with full confidence and steam.

When critics of belief in God and Christianity say they will not believe it until it can be proven true, they are doing two things. One, they are demanding something that cannot be done. Two, they are demanding something that they demand of nearly nothing else, including their own worldview

In reality there are many things that we cannot prove with absolute, one-hundred percent, certainty. We cannot prove that the results of scientific experiments are not faulty, that our car will start in the morning, that dinner will taste good or that our spouse loves us. However we are not without sufficient reason to believe and have faith in these things.

How We Determine Beliefs

Nearly everything we believe is the result of probability which is affected by evidence, testimony and experience. But in all these things we can never reach a complete, one-hundred percent certainty, though we can surely get close to that in many situations.

Putting God or Christianity into the mix, at what point is one personally obligated to believe them to be true? Quite simply, as soon as one believes their claims to be more reasonable and probable than any and all rival theories or explanations.

To put it in the form of percentages, so long as someone is convinced that something is at least 50% likely, then they ought to believe and live as though it is so.

While some may quickly call this vain wishing or hoping, the truth is that the gap between all probability and proof is faith, which Merriam-Webster defines as “Something that is believed with strong conviction.” Since proof is reserved for matters of mathematics and logic, we all hold a majority of our beliefs on matters of faith; even ones that relate to science.

Additionally, even though I may believe one thing, that doesn’t mean I have heard all the questions or accusations against it. While someone may bring a new argument or evidence against my view, I am not forced to abandon my position, even though my confidence may falter a little due to new doubts. That is why we think critically through the argument, analyze the evidence and if necessary do more research.

Regarding God

In regards to the question of whether or not God exists, we only have two options. Either a maximally great and powerful being exists who created space, time, energy and matter or a maximally great being does not exist and everything is the result of random chance.

Upon examining the alternatives to belief in God, I believe that positions such as Naturalism (The view that everything is the result of natural properties and causes), and Humanism (The view that value, worth and goodness comes from ourselves) are insufficient at answering the important questions that we ask about the origins of the universe, life, ethics, reason, value, goodness and morality.

Leaving out hot topic issues like the age of the universe, the role of adaptation and evolution; then given all the sound philosophical arguments for the existence of God; I firmly believe with a near absolute certainty that God exists. Some of these arguments are the Moral Argument, the Kalam Cosmological Argument, the Fine Tuning Argument and the Teleological Argument.

Regarding Christianity

People often wonder how we arrive at Christianity being the only way when there are so many religions in the world. The simple response is to consider what these other world views believe about Jesus, then run it through the filter of what we know.

Every other religion outside of Christianity is forced to do three things. First, they must discredit the Bible and label it as unreliable because of its claims. Second, they must then lessen Jesus to a mere prophet or good person, instead of the title the Bible gives him, God. Third, they must raise up another prophet and convince people that his words have more authority than the Bible.

However, many problems arise with this process. First, recent prophets such as Joseph Smith, Charles Taze Russel and Muhammad are riddled with numerous contradictions and faults in what they say. Second, the manuscript evidence we have strongly suggests that what we read in the Bible today is what the authors wrote in the first century AD, to a degree of 99.5% accuracy. Third, the story of Jesus recorded in the Bible holds the most explanatory scope, power and plausibility. It explains how he performed all the miracles, it tells us why the body of Jesus was missing three days after his crucifixion, it informs us how the disciples were transformed from fearful men to bold proclaimers of the Gospel, and it makes sense of the rapid spread of Christianity even after its savior was unexpectedly murdered.

Christianity is a Reasonable Faith

It is easy to develop doubts for why we believe what we believe when the current trend in our culture is to put down and demonize anyone who believes in God, questions Darwinian evolution, or holds the Bible as a guiding standard for how we are to live our life. But based on evidence and reason I firmly believe we have a stronger foundation than any other view; be it religious or secular. In the end, belief in God, Christianity and the Gospel are the most reasonable positions I have yet heard.

Photo Courtesy of an_untrained_eye

A Quick Review of 2011

I started out 2011 with a bang by quitting my stable job of almost five years to take a 30% pay cut in order to go work for a non-profit whose work was focused in Gulu, Uganda. I was excited about this opportunity as I would be doing full-time design work with the potential to write curriculum for a Bible college the organization had built in Africa. A young husband and wife who have now become some of my best friends took us in and let us live with them for the duration of my employment.

Two days into my new position I found out my wife was pregnant with number two. Two months into my new position, I was laid off, due to poor financial decisions made by leadership overseas.

But I didn’t panic. I started praying and thinking of what God may be trying to guide us towards. Since my wife and I had been feeling for some time that we should leave CA, we started praying about that. When Jamie’s cousins offered to let us move in with them in Ohio till we got situated, we focused our prayers on that opportunity. After about seven or eight clear indications that this is what God wanted us to do, we packed up our things and headed out.

Since arriving in Ohio, I have taken a full time job as a website designer/developer and gotten involved in a great church that has warmly welcomed a strange family from a far off land. We finally got into our own place about two months before my wife gave birth to our second daughter and quite honestly, things have quite simply been chaos since then; which in part has contributed to my lack of writing and research.

Anything Else?

Since my second daughter’s birth, I have stressed a lot about finances, spent some time on my knees in prayer begging God to help make ends meet. This has lead to a series of about four different business ideas that I spent quite a lot of time on, doing research only to realize that it wasn’t what I really something I was passionate about.

Additionally I read a few books and many blog posts about discovering what I would like to do, and to be quite honest, in every list I laid out and every chart I completed, three things stood out that I love doing. Studying theology, teaching people and improving marriages. Without the ability to do these three things, I really feel like my unique and common giftings would go to waste.

The Future of ProTheist

That being said; after everything was said and done, I realized that ProTheist is what I am passionate about and honestly, it is what I feel is the best use of my abilities. Starting this week I am going to start establishing a business plan for ProTheist and put together a schedule of things to accomplish for the site. In addition, I am going to start working on the long list of over fifty articles that I want to write and see if I can start teaching some classes or speaking at events to cover some of the things that are written here.

So while my site ratings have plummeted and interest in the site has decreased over the last few months, ProTheist is here to stay and, Lord willing, will become a much greater resource as time goes on.

However, many who have heard the word fail to understand what the Gospel is and its importance to them in this life and the next. Some over-simplify the Gospel by defining it solely as the “Life, Death and Resurrection of Christ” where others over-complicate it by adding to it things that are not necessary to disclose or even come to agreement on.

What I would like to do in this article, is simply explain the Gospel by separating it into four chronological sections.

The Gospel in Four Parts

In it’s simplest form it is the message which teaches us about God who inserted himself into human history as the man Jesus. More to the point, it is the story of his life, death, and resurrection which alone can save us from what we deserve, by offering us what we can never earn.

Creation

Long ago, everything that we see came into existence by the hands of the one and only creator (Isa 45:5) who has always existed outside of time (2Pet 3:8) and space (John 4:24) as three distinct persons known as the Father (Phi 1:2), Son (Jhn 1:1, 14) and Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4). We call this creator God.

In the Bible, which we have strong reason to believe contains the very words of God given to us, we learn that God made everything we see and when he was done it was considered very good (Gen 1:31). While there is often debate over how literally we should take the language of the Bible’s creation account in Genesis 1, the one thing that is clear is that whenever the universe was created, it was God who did it.

The last object of God’s original creation was a man (Gen 2:7) we know of as Adam and from him God made a woman (Gen 2:21-22) named Eve. He placed both of them in a garden made for them called Eden (Gen 2:8) and gave them two commands, multiply (Gen 1:28) and do not eat the fruit of a particular tree (Gen 2:16-17).

Everything went well, for awhile.

Rebellion

Sometime after creation, while Adam and Eve were in the garden, we are told that the serpent, who is later revealed to be the a fallen angel named Satan, came to the woman and began to misquote God (Gen 3:1) in an attempt to persuade her into thinking that she could become like God by simply eating the fruit of the tree which God forbade them to eat from (Gen 3:4-5). Sadly, the serpent was able to deceive Eve into eating the fruit, some of which she then gave to her husband, Adam (Gen 3:6).

Immediately their eyes were opened and they felt the need to cover their nakedness (Gen 3:7) and hide from God whose steps they then heard in the garden (Gen 3:8).

When God called out to the man (Gen 3:9), Adam responded (Gen 3:10) and quickly informed his creator that a command had been broken (Gen 3:11). As a result of what is often called the first act of cosmic treason, many things changed: Most notably death entered the world (Gen 3:19), but also the ground was cursed which increased man’s labor for food (Gen 3:17-18), women’s birth pains were multiplied and a struggle for power and position in the marriage relationship began (Gen 3:16).

Because of Adam’s disobedience, which is also called sin (Rom 5:12-13), all of creation has been effected and separated from a right standing and relationship with God (Rom 3:23). But because of the love that God has for his creation (Jhn 3:16), he promised that one day he would come to make an offer that no one in their right mind would ever want to refuse (Gen 3:15).

Rescue

Over the span of thousands of years, hundreds of prophecies were written about the events that would come to pass when God declared war on the Devil and initiated a rescue plan to save those who would accept what he had been preparing to offer the world.

Then at just the right time in history, a virgin (Luk 1:34) from a small town in Israel miraculously conceived (Luk 1:31) and gave birth to a baby boy in the town of Bethlehem (Luk 2:4-7). This boy grew up instructing the intellects (Luk 2:46-47) of his time and living in perfect obedience to his heavenly Father. At the age of thirty, he was baptized (Luk 3:21-22) and entered into a three year ministry where he gave healing to the sick, sight to the blind, humility to the proud and life to the dead.

Ultimately, he was executed on a cross (Luk 23:33) for claiming to be God (Jhn 5:18), by people who refused to hear his teaching and acknowledge the proofs that he gave to back up his claims.

But in an undeniable act of God, showing his triumph over Satan, sin and death, this small town man was resurrected from the grave on the third day, showed himself to hundreds of people and then returned to the place he came from (1Cor 15:3-7), which is the right hand of God the Father (Heb 10:12).

The man’s name is Jesus who is God in the form of man (Jhn 1:1, 14), the second person of the Trinity whom we know of as the Son. What he did through his life, death and resurrection was take the punishment we deserve for the treason we committed so that we could spend eternity with the one who created us. We receive what Jesus did for us much like we receive any other kind of gift (Rom 6:23); by putting our heart felt trust in the knowledge that it is truly ours to receive because of Jesus and what he has done for us (Eph 2:8-9).

Upon putting our faith in Jesus, all our sins are forgiven and we are returned to a right standing with God the Father (Rom 5:1), which is an event known as Justification. Additionally God’s Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us (Acts 13:52) to start the next process.

Renewal

The Bible tells us that for those who put their faith in Jesus, God will begin a process of making all things new (Rev 21:5). We read of a new Heaven and a new Earth (Rev 21:1-2) where there will be no more sin, no more death, no more pain and no more separation between mankind and God (Rev 21:3-4).

Within the one who has put their faith in Jesus, a new work is started called Sanctification which means “set apart.” Here both the believer and the Holy Spirit begin to work together to produce a more Christ like character (Phi 2:12-13) over time. The result of this will be things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).

Receive

It is important to know that faith is only as good as who you put it in. The false definitions of Jesus by groups such as the Mormons (Jesus is the half-brother of the devil), Jehovah’s Witnesses (Jesus is an angel who was made into a man), Muslims (Jesus was just a prophet), and New Agers (Jesus was a man who was in tune with the divine consciousness) cannot save you from your sins. Only faith in Jesus as he is described in the Bible – the original record – can save you from the consequence of your wrongful actions (Jhn 14:6).

If you want to put your faith in Jesus then there is no greater time than right now! To help, I encourage you to pray the following prayer, not because it is the words that grants you salvation, but because it aids you in understanding the decision you are making and is a verbal declaration of what is already true in your heart and mind.

Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that I have sinned against you. I am in no way perfect and therefore cannot please you as a result of my own efforts. What I deserve is judgment for my sins and not rewards for my attempts to be good.

Jesus, I ask you to forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me and make me right before your eyes. I accept and trust in what you have done for me on the cross. I receive you as Lord of my life and the savior of my soul. Save me Jesus. Amen.

If you agree with the statements in the above prayer and firmly believe what it says, welcome to the family of God! Please contact us to let us know about your decision to follow Christ in response to the Gospel and to let us know if we can answer any questions you may have.

Without appealing to fallacious argumentation or stating feelings as grounds for objective fact, I plan to explain what some of these arguments for God’s existence are. Though at times they may get a little heady, they are proper and I have yet to hear opponents properly defeat them in debate.

To any reading these articles that may not be believer’s in God, please do understand that I do my best to present these arguments properly and respectfully and without condescension of other views. However, do keep in mind that I am not a specialist in any one of these arguments but if you would like, I would love to point you towards more scholarly resources regarding any one of these articles or work through some dialogue with you via email. But for now, sit back, relax and be open to the idea that God exists.

Since becoming a father of my own children, I feel that the lessons from my heavenly Father never seem to cease. Today I want to talk about a single moment that opened my eyes a little more to how I believe God views us.

A Father, a Daughter and a Table

My daughter was probably between six and eight months old. Strong enough to where she was able to pull herself up onto her feet while holding onto a small coffee table, but not much more.

I had just gotten home from work and was sitting on the floor with her while talking to my wife who was sitting on the couch. My daughter was just kind of fumbling around, taking notice of things that were lying around and not much else.

Not out of the ordinary, she grabbed onto the ledge of the coffee table, pulled herself up onto her feet and continued to play with whatever she could get her hands on (Which wasn’t much). She then made a few ‘shimmies’ to the left in an attempt to reach for something else, but in the process lost her balance and proceeded to speed face first towards the floor.

Sitting there, watching all this transpire, I noticed the slip in her step and the proceeding fall. Without much thought or effort I simply reached out, grabbed her body and adjusted her fall so that instead of landing on her face, she landed on her bottom.

With just that little action, she was saved from a bit of pain and we were saved from needing to comfort a crying daughter. As she hit the ground, she simply leaned over and continued her play routine of grabbing whatever she could to play with, totally unaware of what her father just saved her from.

The Father in our Stumbles

In that moment I realized two things. First, my daughter didn’t acknowledge what I had just done for her, because my action was so subtle she didn’t even notice it. Second, I rarely acknowledge what God does for me, because his actions are often so subtle I don’t even notice them.

God the Father loves us so much, and John 3:16 should give us no reason to ever doubt that. But do we even begin to realize the small things he does to protect us, save us or perhaps teach us a lesson?

We tend to only focus on the negatives events in life, such as:

• If only you had left one minute sooner, you wouldn’t have gotten into a car accident.
• If only you’d been born in to a different family, you’d be better off.
• If only you’d married your high school sweetheart, you would be happily married.

While we canot prove every event where God intervenes in our lives, I firmly believe that there have been many things that he has saved us from. Things like:

• If you had not been delayed two minutes by a faulty microwave, you would’ve been in a fatal accident.
• If you were born into a different family, you would have been born in an impoverished nation where you would likely starve to death.
• If you had married your high school sweetheart, you would be a miserable alcoholic whose spouse constantly cheated on you behind your back.

God is sovereign, meaning he is in control. While sometimes his interventions within his creation are plainly seen, I believe that most of the time they are hidden.

Perhaps in our prayers, while we are thanking the Father for all the obvious things he does in our lives, we should also say a heartfelt thanks for all the things we leave unnoticed or unacknowledged.