I KNOW Jesus rose from the dead. Here's how I know...

"When Jesus was arrested and crucified, the disciples ran and hid. They feared for their lives. Their beloved Messiah was no deliverer after all, it seemed. No, their cherished dreams had been dashed into a thousand pieces as He died in agony on that cross. Then a few days later, something unanticipated happened, something so monumental that these same cowards became heroes overnight. They emerged BOLDLY in the public square, and under the nose of the same people in Jerusalem who had arrested and executed Jesus, they preached a risen Lord. They were given the command to cease and desist. They did not. They were thrown in jail and forbidden to speak in His name. But they choose to obey God rather than men. Later, they were flogged and beaten. Some were stoned and crucified. Others were beheaded. But nothing on earth had the power to keep them from preaching and teaching what they had seen and heard with their own eyes and ears. They were no more willing to die for a lie than you or I would be. That can mean only one thing to me."

-- Josh McDowell, Undaunted

Add to that my own personal conversion and my own encounters with God. To me, He is 100% certain. It's undeniable.

So, why don't all believe? Because, they don't want it to be true. They have a subset of data that meets what they wish to believe and have little to no intention of looking further. They have their own faith, and that faith is blind, dependent fully on subjective personal opinions and/or "experts" who have biases baked into their theories. Of course, they don't see this.

It takes humility and a willingness to follow the evidence wherever it leads us, regardless of what we want or feel.

I know my Redeemer lives. Logic and reason and history back that up, but it's rooted in my own story and experience, which began with a humble heart and a desire to seek Truth ... to seek Him.

Step out of the traffic and take a close look at your God

"Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything."
Psalm 46:10

We are distracted. We are overwhelmed by data and information. News channels offering their slant on current events, friends and coworkers around the water cooler spouting their opinions, TV shows, political figures, your own thoughts and perspectives... it's a veritable avalanche of information.

But does any of it have merit? Do our or anyone else's opinions really matter? 

When you're in the middle of a thick forest, it's hard to focus on anything but the trees, leaves, creatures and sounds around you. Very infrequently will we step outside of the forest or consider the perspective from above it. We will form our opinions by what is closest in proximity, matches most closely with what we want to believe is true. But our thoughts and opinions and perspectives, in essence, are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Step out of the traffic. Step out of the flurry and downpour of other people's opinions... of your own opinions... and look to the Creator for His perspective.

Because His is the only perspective that matters.

Which one are you?

There are six types of people:

1. Christ Followers. Those who know God's Truth in both their minds and hearts, and live out what they know regarding God's plan for them, and the redemptive gift that is Jesus.

2. Moderate "Christians". Those who know in their minds only, but do not know in their hearts, and subsequently do not live out what they know.

3. Mis-Understanders. Those who believe they know, but have been away from the word for so long that their understanding has been bastardized by this world, by culture, by popular opinion.

4. False-Understanders. Those who believe they know, but gained a false interpretation of what it's all about, and to this day believe that false version is what it's all about (e.g. works, controlling behavior, hate).

5. Rejectors. Those you know better, but have decided to reject it and live the life they believe they should live.  In their minds, they make a better god than God.

6. Not Yets. Those who just don't know yet. Even these people, though, have a glimmer of understanding of who He is, but have not been introduced to the full story.

Which one are you?

I find that if I'm away from the Word more than 48 hours, my mindset and perspective begins to shift. My mind begins to alter based on the input of this world. It's like a poison entering the system. The only remedy is a good dose of God's Truth through study of His word, which reminds me and returns me firmly to reality.

And this makes me think about those who believe they know, but have not been in the Word in months, years, decades ... ever. How poisoned are they? Answer: quite.

If I knew the sky was blue today, then spent a year in a culture that swore the sky was pink, I would begin to believe and/or fully believe that the sky was pink, if I did not return to truth to remind me that it is most definitely blue.  No matter how sincere the people of that culture would be that the sky was pink, the sky would still most definitely be blue. I don't believe for a moment that you are immune to this influence. Truth is truth, regardless of popular opinion.

Call to action:  Get back into the Word... consistently. Just like a New Year's resolution to get back in shape, take it slowly at first or you might burn out. If only a verse per day, followed by five minutes of contemplation, your mindset and your world will change. Make it the priority it should be. We owe God our first fruits... and that is the first fruits of our time, as well. Take the first 30 minutes of each day and dedicate them to God. You won't regret it.

My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body.
Proverbs 4:20-22

Turn your ear to wisdom

For 38 years of my life I was arrogant and ignorant. When I say this, I speak truth, however I realize it makes my unbelieving friends think I am talking about them. I'm not, however if they are feeling that, I think they should take heed. I wish I had so much earlier.

The Full Life is only in Him. I know this now. However before I I sought Him, and saw the actual Truth and full wisdom, I thought it was foolish. Silliness. A bunch of people with blind faith, following an imaginary God.

I saw a post yesterday from an unbelieving acquaintance that reflected the same arrogant ignorance I once had ... and it took everything in me not to respond with snarkiness and condescension. The truth is, he simply does not know yet. The appropriate phrase is arrogance ignorance, but saying that to him will not draw him toward Christ.  He is filled with pride, and that will only exacerbate that pride. He currently has a false understanding of the faith and of truth given to him by a poor upbringing in a church environment where he was not taught what it's really about. Since then he's been poisoned by our world that will tell him bastardized versions of what it's really about, which make it seem even sillier to him to even consider. The enemy grins as he holds him tightly in these lies.

I cannot save him. No matter how many witty comebacks and brilliant argument I make.  I do not have the power to save.

He must choose to seek the truth of God and His rock solid promises. My friend must humble himself and sincerely seek Him.

Only then will he actually find Jesus.  Not the version of Jesus he currently has in his head, but the REAL Jesus:  the son of God, God himself, the Word who was and is and is to come.  My Lord and Savior.

This morning I pray for my facebook friend, and others like him, that they will drop their arrogance and pride... that they'll drop their guard and fear that they'll be duped somehow... if only for a moment ... and REALLY seek to understand and know our Creator.  I ask this in the perfect name of Jesus. Amen.

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. 

Psalm 2:1-5

Just be a good person, right?

"I figure, if you just try to lead a good life and do more good things than bad things in general, you should be okay." -- Many People I Know

David was quoted in Psalm 101 saying, "I will be careful to lead a blameless life ..."  But who has ever led a blameless life?  David certainly didn't. 

Seriously, think about it. Who can say they haven't ever lied, even if it was only a "little white lie"? Who can say they've never gossiped or slandered someone or held a grudge or looked at someone lustfully?  Not even Mother Teresa can say that.  So where do you and I stand?

In our minds, it seems reasonable to think that God would weigh our good and bad, then let us in as long as we have a C average or greater.  But what leads us to believe that?  Seems like a nice thing to believe, but there is no objective reason to believe it at all. In fact, the only objective evidence we have is Scripture, which says something very different.

Scripture says that no one is without sin. Paul was so aware of this that he called himself the chief of sinners. Comparing him to a Hitler or Stalin or a Pol Pot, and you may want to argue with him on that. But what he was pointing out was his hyper-awareness of sin as God sees it. To God, sin is sin, even a little white lie is too much to be near God.

So now what? Should we just stop doing good things, knowing that we have no chance at all?  Perhaps.  I mean, if there was no other hope, perhaps. But there is another, better option for us ... one that God provided for us out of His unending grace and His infinite love for us.

"For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son ..." to die for us and for our sins. You see, Jesus is the only human in all of human history to live a blameless, sinless, perfect life.  His death on the cross was to wipe all of our sins away, past and future. This is why he said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." He was not being arrogant. He was stating the Truth:  that we, by ourselves and by our actions, aren't enough to be near God and to spend eternity with Him in heaven.  We need to be saved from the repercussions and the slavery of our sins.

Can someone be a good person without believing in God? The answer to that is yes.  But there is absolutely no objective reason for them to be good, and however they define "good" is, frankly, a reflection of the Christian value system. Someone who is being "good", is simply acting like a true Christian (emphasis on the word true there).  Conversely, someone claiming to be a Christian, but then continuing to sin without shame, needs to check their heart as to whether they truly are a Christian.  Christianity is a heart change that results in a behavioral change, not the other way around.

God isn't looking for good works: clean and pretty on the outside, but gross and rotting on the inside. God is looking for a heart change. And that heart change, and nothing else, will result in good fruit. That HEART change will result in a trust and hope in God and his commandments and his promises. A heart change makes a person realize that God's commandments are nothing more then a good father showing his beloved children the way to live life as he designed it. And that is the best, most freeand fulfilling way to live it.

So it burdens me, and saddens me to convey the truth, that a person who is "good" without Jesus is nothing more than an actor.  And that being good most of the time if not virtually all the time is simply not enough.

We need Jesus. NEED Him.

Please seek Him. I beg you. I do not want anyone to be away from God, nor does God himself want to lose any of His creations. But He does love us enough to give us free will, to choose to love Him or reject Him.  This is the only way a relationship can work, where buy both choose to love one another.

It's up to you.  And you do not have plenty of time on this. Please be urgent.

Much love, and God bless.

Your Occupation is Not Your Purpose

Some people define themselves by their occupation, as though that's what ultimately matters in this life.

I'm a full time mom!  I'm a tough lawyer. I'm the best sales guy in the division. 

But these things we do all day to support the family don't define us.  They aren't our real PURPOSE.

Here's the Truth:
Your occupation is not your purpose. Your occupation is your mission field. Your purpose is to be like Jesus in that mission field.

And this is your mission, if you choose to accept it.

God is Compassionate AND True

Compassion without Truth is unloving.
Truth without Compassion is cruel.

As love and justice are equally infinite traits of God, so are compassion and truth equally infinite in God ... and should be equal in us. 

God's truth has felt hurtful to me at times because it was stopping me from, or condemning me for, doing something He commands us NOT to do.  But in retrospect, it was loving and compassionate of Him to tell me NO.  In other cases, it was not clear in retrospect.   But that's okay.  His ways are above mine. As it should be.  And I trust Him, as my perfect heavenly Father, to know better than me.