People keep talking about how bad 2020 was, but what does God say about that? Maybe he said something like: I WAS THERE WITH YOU ALL ALONG, YOU JUST HAD TO OPEN YOUR EYES!!! I USED THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DRAW NEARER TO YOU AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!
Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. (James 4:8 NLT)
As a start to the new year, the Bible Journal team will be sharing thoughts as to why we believe what we believe. I am praying in this very moment that what is shared here reaches the hearts, minds and souls of our readers for the sake of eternity.
Background
There was always the fear of death; not necessarily the act of dying but the question: What will happen to me when I die?
I grew up attending church and Sunday school regularly and had even made confessions of faith verbally and was voluntarily baptized. Those were outward actions but the life I was living made me look more like a fan of Jesus (at best) than a follower.
Tired of living on the fence, I decided it was time to truly challenge the topic once and for all. Is there a God? Was Jesus who he said he was? Why should I care about any of this? Is there such thing as eternity?
Who was Jesus: God, madman, or liar? We must all choose.
These words captivated me many years ago and still do to this day. Only one of these three things can be true.
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. (CS Lewis, Mere Christianity)
Foundation
The biography of Jesus found in The Gospels provides evidence of eye witness accounts of the life, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. From a firm research perspective (significantly based on reading “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel) I believe that the New Testament is an authentic document. There is legitimate evidence of the man Jesus of Nazareth and in his life he made claims as to who he was. He was a real person.
I also believe that there is no other book in the world where more people try to dispute what it says. I believe we (yes we) want to dispute it mainly because of our selfish nature. We don’t want to be told that sin is wrong or even that there is such a thing as sin.
Something happened.
There is significant evidence of early martyrdom and it continues still today around the world.
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. (John 15:18)
All but one of the twelve disciples are believed to have died as a martyr for Christ. After 50 AD, Christianity actually became illegal, punishable by death.
What did the early believers and proclaimers of the resurrection know and believe that they would never deny, even to the point of being burned alive, crucified, or sawed in half? There are a multitude of things I’d renounce (even great things) if I were threatened to be sawed in half. Why didn’t they renounce their religion? What would be in it for them to keep propagating something they believed was a lie?
Prophecy, an innocent man.
Isaiah 53 is a beacon, a summary of Christianity written ~700 years before Jesus. The more I read this chapter the more I see Jesus (as Isaiah talks about an innocent man being put to death). In the trial of Jesus, he was found innocent (Luke 23:13-16) yet put to death. This man who had served and healed many became the object of hate.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah 53:9)
Seeking
Seeking the real, authentic Jesus translates into a growth in faith. God promises it.
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
This verse is something that brings me to faith because the more I seek Him, the more I find Him in all things. Whether in relationships, nature, work, prayer, hearing songs of praise, reading scripture, or sensing him walking alongside me especially when I am at my worst.
Peace in a storm
Fifteen years ago on this very day (1/1/2006), my wife Amy and I found out she was pregnant. We began telling people the great news three months later when suddenly we thought she had a miscarriage. May I never hear her scream for help like that again. Blood everywhere, and other facts too gory to share in this moment. To our astonishment at the hospital we heard a heartbeat, but our worries were nowhere near over. That night we arrived home late, and with the little faith I had, I prayed. The moments before going to sleep that night were the most surreal in my entire life, even to this day: Never before had I gone so quickly from such deep sorrow and fear to such great peace which is difficult to explain.
There was almost the sound of a whisper, “Things are going to be ok“. It hit me like a wave, like being under water for too long then taking that first deep breath. While the medical condition remained, anxiety and fear had been replaced with peace, and I have no other explanation apart from this being a true miracle.
Those are just a few of the reasons I believe. How about you?
Today’s chapter is Psalm 1 which can be a great beginning to 2021 and great hope if we choose to turn from sin and meditate on the Lord.