"If there is no tragedy at the back of human life, no gap between God and man, then the redemption of Jesus Christ is “much ado about nothing.”

I'm In Trouble

You see, the thing is, I dislike people. Not just some people. All people. I loathe and despise humanity. We are so unbelievably stupid it makes me want to scream.

So what's the problem?

Well, I'm a counsellor. I'm supposed to love people. To be honest, I am able to present micro bursts of genuine compassion. You know, 45 minutes, or an hour if the session runs a bit long. I do care about people who are experiencing relational pain. I do. But when they cling with tenacity to the very patterns of thinking and behaving that brought them to counselling in the first place – the very patterns that are destroying their lives – Arrrrrgh!

It's worse than that though.

You see, Jesus loves people. He loves us with an incomprehensible love. A love so far beyond what we can experience or display that it's impossible to even describe. And I'm supposed to be like Jesus. I WANT to be like Jesus. I want to love others like Jesus loves others.

And then I encounter Pastors who listen to heathens and Pagans who say that their sin is not sin and the Pastors think, “Well, maybe they're right. Maybe the Bible is wrong.” The Pastor's desire to receive the praise of men rather than the approval of God; the Pastor's desire to trade eternity in paradise for 80 years of nothing in comparison, well, the degree of stupidity present in humans (and I'm just as stupid as everyone else) makes me so very disappointed in who we are.

Do you see the problem here?

“Lord Jesus please help me to see people as you see people.”

Jesus Confronts Materialists

Atheists think that Biblical writers lack credibility simply because they lived a long time ago. This, as though “Truth” has a best-before-date, or that materialists and their philosophies haven't always been around as well.

As it is today, when Jesus walked the earth, materialists and those who thought like materialists came in many different forms.

Like atheists today, “The Pharisees objected, “All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to believe.”

Jesus replied, “You’re right that you only have My word. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don’t make judgements out of the NARROWNESS OF MY EXPERIENCE but in the largeness of the One who sent Me, the Creator, Father God. You are tied down to the mundane; I’m in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I’m living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. If you won’t believe I Am who I say I Am, you’re at a dead end in terms of learning.” John 8:14-18, 23,24.

The Bible ("written by bronze-age goat herders") has many, many verses whereby the authors record their dealing with those in their community who were materialists. These authors are trying to explain, both from evidence and from experience that there is much more to life than what meets the eye, or any of the other senses for that matter. 

For example:
Romans 1:1 . . . since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

Hebrews 11:3 - “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

2nd Corinthians 5:12 - “We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again . . . so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.”

2nd Corinthians 4:18 - “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

“Lust is the craving for salt of a man who is dying of thirst.”   

Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC

Undercover God

Have you ever seen the tv show, “Undercover Boss”?

Neither have I.

From what I gather from the previews however, the show has the CEO of a large company go to one of its branches and pose “undercover” as a new employee. S/he does this to find out what it's like to be an employee in h/her own company.

Creator God did the same thing.

“He came into the very world He created, but the world didn’t recognize Him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected Him.” John 1:10,11

In the tv show, the people who unknowingly train “their boss” for the job are of course shocked when they finally find out who s/he really His. 

We see the same thing with Jesus during His time on earth. 

In one example, Jesus is asking a Samaritan woman for a drink of water. They banter back and forth when Jesus says, “Ah girl, if you only knew Who you were talking to.”

Indeed.

Here she is talking to the Creator of the universe; the One who brought the laws of logic, mathematics and physics into the material world, the One who brought material, organic, sentient life from inanimate, inorganic matter.

“If you only knew Who you were talking to.”

“Never be afraid to trust the unknown future to a known and knowable God.”

Holocaust survivor, Corrie ten Boom

Once Is Not Enough

We seem to have an insatiable need for distractions; big, loud, intense. And when those are done we need bigger, louder and more intense distractions.

For those who live apart from Jesus, once is never enough. Without mood altering chemicals or physical thrills, life becomes too intense, too real. Something must be found to take the edge off. Eventually we burn out and settle for a deep, deep rut which we then label “Security / Stability.”

Happiness to the non Christian is something that comes from an external source. Lose the source and you lose the joy. Even for those who have an unlimited source of sensory distractions, once the satisfaction is gained, the gratification is forgotten.

That is simply not the case for those who are connected to Jesus in a healed and forgiven relationship. His ever-present Spirit imparts an enduring peace to our souls. A peace that is not dependent upon circumstance. Jesus' Spirit alone is a source of never ending peace.

I don't know how He works or what He does exactly. All I know is that with the presence of Jesus' Spirit, life takes on a newness, a brightness, an expectation of good that never disappoints. There is something profoundly satisfying when God chooses you for a friend. In fact in a mature relationship with Creator God, the verse, “Everything that is good, and everything that is perfect comes to us from the Creator of the universe, in whom their is no changing or shifting like shadows.” becomes a reality as sure and certain as tomorrow's rising sun.

I am blessed.

"The most valuable instruction in moral life never comes from people who consciously instruct us, for we are not taught morally as we are intellectually. The spiritual expert is not that way consciously because the very nature of spiritual instruction is that it is unconscious of itself; it is the life of a child, manifesting obedience, not ostentation. Jesus describes the spiritual expert in Matthew 18:4 - “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatness in the kingdom of heaven.” 

Christian Counselling

Do you want a counsellor who is a Christian?

Do you want counselling from a Christian perspective?

What is Christian counselling? I've seen almost 3,000 clients over the years. Most of them were people who've had zero interest in the teaching of Jesus, nor in what the Bible says about living a full and abundant life. All they want is to have their broken relationships restored.

Those who know Jesus as Lord and Saviour however, are longing for time with a counsellor who will help to not only bring reconciliation to their earthly relationship but also restore their sense of closeness to and worship of their Creator.

Secular counsellors can work with only secular people.

Christian counsellors can, just as Jesus did, work with all who are in need.

270 million worth of Cocaine

That's what was found on an airplane coming out of South America. And that's just a fraction of what the cartels are making.

Can't people see that we must legalize cocaine, and heroin, and meth. And don't forget about Ecstasy. Organized Crime makes a bunch off Ecstasy. And why should gangs make money off of prostitution and human trafficking and slavery? 

Legalize that crap and reap the benefits of taxation from it.

If we are to ever stand a chance of putting criminals out of business, we must decriminalize what criminals are doing.

Just think of all the schools and hospitals and roads and dams that could be built if the government took control of and taxed these harmless forms of seeking pleasure.

Who Needs Compassion?

When I ask people, “Who is it that we have compassion for?” the most common answer is, “The elderly, the sick, the handicapped.”

In other words we usually have compassion for those who are helpless. We have pity on them because they can't take care of themselves.

God has compassion on us for the very same reasons.

Because of sin's control over us, God sees us as pitiful and in need of compassion. Regardless of how great we humans see ourselves, Jesus sees us as “Sheep without a Shepherd.”

No matter the bluff and bluster and bravado that we display as we praise ourselves, in reality we are lost with no means of finding safe harbour on our own. We display our scientific achievements giving no pause to consider the fact that every ability that we possess is from God Himself.

Like sheep without a Shepherd, helpless and hopeless on our own, God has compassion on us. He came to earth not to condemn us, but to save us from ourselves.

What kind of person would pass up an offer like that?

Who You Gonna Believe?

“One of the mistakes that human beings make is believing that there is one way to God. There are many paths to what you call God.”

Oprah Winfrey

“I Am the Way, the Truth and The Life. No one comes to God except through Me.”

Jesus

The answer to the question, “Who was right, Oprah or Jesus?” is not in the same category of questions as, “What is the most pleasing thing in life?” or “How would you describe the perfect holiday?” If we're talking about a Creator God, then the answer to the question of His existence is of the same order as the answer to the question, What is 2 + 2? The answer will either be right or it will be wrong. Period!

. If God has revealed Himself to us, and Jesus said that He has, and

. If God has provided a path that is intended to lead us to Him, and again Jesus said that He has, and

. If our very salvation depends on us following the path that has been laid out for us by Creator God, and Jesus said that it does,

. Then other paths or alternate paths can only lead us away from Creator God, and not to Creator God.

We can’t logically, as many try to do, pick and choose from a combination of religions, or choose no religion, and then decide that our newly invented belief system is true, simply because we would like it to be true. If there is such as thing as truth, and Jesus said that He and His Word are the Truth, then:

You can’t have thousands of god’s (Hinduism) and only one God (Christianity). You can’t have Jesus as Lord (Christianity), and yourself as lord (New Age). 

You can’t have an eternal, personal, loving, just, merciful, patient God (Christianity) and eternal nothingness (Buddhism). 

You can’t have God as Creator, separate from His creation, yet intimately involved and active in His creation (Christianity) and god is the same as creation, uninvolved and passive (Native Religion / Pantheism). 

God cannot exist (Christianity), and not exist (atheism) at the same time.

A decision must be made, and according to Jesus there are eternal consequences to how we answer His question of “Who do you say that I Am?” Jesus may be many things to many people but one thing He isn’t. Jesus is not just ‘sort of important.’ What you do with Jesus is the most important decision that you will ever make.

So:

Are you going to believe what Jesus says about Himself and salvation, or

Are you going to believe what Oprah says about Jesus and salvation?

Either Jesus is correct or Oprah is correct. It can’t be both.

“Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming . . . it is not a question of God sending us to hell. In each of us there is something growing which will BE hell unless it is nipped in the bud.” 

C. S. Lewis. "The Great Divorce." 

The Church - God Bless Her

There are few things more frustrating, disappointing, infuriating than the Christian Church. There are few things more amazing, astounding and uplifting than the Christian Church.

I love this saying, “A Church that admitted only saints would be like a hospital that admitted only healthy people. It would be a lot easier to run, but it certainly wouldn’t serve the purpose for which it was created.”

So what is the Biblical concept of the Church? At its base, the Church is a gathering of the people of God. “I will be your God and you will be My people.”

Beyond that, the Church is described as being:

The Body of Christ - We are, in the true Church, one and all, believers in Jesus the Christ as He is revealed in the Bible. We are being made one in life and character with Jesus. Jesus is the head of this body.

The Bride of Christ - This image has deep, deep roots in the OT. Jesus referred to Himself as the bridegroom and because of our sin nature, we are, mostly, the unfaithful bride. God / Jesus has always identified Himself with unqualified love. His desire is toward us and He pursues us to what seems an unreasonable level. God is single minded in His devotion to His people with a degree of devotion to which we can only long to achieve. God’s love for us is so deep that He will not and cannot tolerate rivals for His affection.

The Building of God - We are God’s temple. We are the residence of His very Spirit. God dwells with His people. The image is of one who has pitched His tent among us. The Church of God is Spiritual - not material. Nevertheless, Jesus is described as the cornerstone without which life itself becomes twisted out of shape. 1^st Peter 2:5 describes the people of God as living stones in the temple of God.

The Family of God - As believers in Christ we are adopted into His family. To all of us, God is our Spiritual or Heavenly Father. Therefor the Church becomes the family of God. We are sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Surprised at Quebec?

People seem surprised at Quebec making a move to single out a group of people for government sponsored bigotry and discrimination.

The real surprise is that people are shocked at this move.

Unrestrained Nationalism and / or atheism turn to Fascism. It's just a fact of life.

And Quebec's Fascist longings have been brewing for decades. Whether the issue is language, or religion or the size of English signs, a desire for “Purity of Race / Culture” will always, always, always lead to this type of behaviour.

Leaders in Quebec know full well the base tendencies of human nature and it is this inherent evil to which the leaders make their appeal.

We Can't Give What We Don't Have

If I don't know what it's like to worship my Creator

I can't lead others to worship.

If I'm not aware of my deep need for forgiveness

I can't point others to their need for grace.

If I'm not aware that Jesus is my only source of joy

I can't draw others to centre themselves in Christ.

[I]n order for capitalism to work, in order for it to produce a good and a stable society, the traditional Christian virtues are essential.

Antonin Scalia quoting an American founding father. 

S/he's Saved! Whoopee!

It makes me sigh, as each year Christian camps come in to deliver their head count of saved souls. 

Of course the forgiveness of our sins is important. 

Of course the salvation of our souls is important. 

But group think and peer pressure aside, a sinners prayer hardly registers a blip on the big screen of becoming a disciple or follower of Jesus.

As Charles Spurgeon said, “I am weary of this public bragging, this counting of unhatched chickens, this exhibition of doubtful spoils. Lay aside such numbering of the people, such idle pretence of certifying in a half a minute that which will need the test of a lifetime to prove.”

“The Kids Are Alright"

“Studies are showing that many young people have few qualms about sharing intimate photos of themselves with their friends. In some cases, it’s simply part of a flirty relationship.”

One Study's author, Karen Albury said, “[a teenaged girl's] sexuality isn't just a jewel to be jealously guarded until they're married.”

Apparently this current generation has it all figured out.

The Studies are taking place as attempts are made to reduce the number of people charged with distributing pornography, when all they wanted to do was send naked pictures of themselves to a friend. It seems that sending porn that features yourself as the object is no big deal. Where it gets complicated is when the boyfriend, who the girl was in a “trusting relationship” with, sends the picture on the the rest of the world.

Can you imagine a guy doing that? It's like he just views his girlfriend as a sexual object. She on the other hand viewed herself as, well, who knows what? 

A Professor at Carlton University, Lara Karaian says, "the problem never lies with the person who expressed their sexuality digitally, the problem always lies with the person who forwarded the image without consent. But what often happens, in a culture rife with slut-shaming, is that the girl who created the image is blamed." (emphasis mine) 

"Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. John 3:19 

Alice Gauntley, a 19-year-old McGill University student, puts it, "We share lots of things about our lives online now, and we're trying to renegotiate where the boundaries are.”

What Ms. Gauntley and many people fail to realize is that every generation draws the line at some point. After dismissing the wisdom of their parents, one generation says, “Enough, no further. We've pushed the boundaries far enough.” The next generation however, sees their parent's stopping line and says, “Ah, this is the starting line. Where can we go from here?” 

And then they're surprised when emotional pain and relational wreckage occurs. 

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

When we ignore the guidelines of our Creator, boundaries are more like a mirage. When left to our own understanding and logic, safety is an apparition.

Nahum 1:7 - The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.

What a Coward!

I remember when it came time to leave one way of life in order to join a new way of life. The old group included copious amounts of drugs, guns and perversions of every type. 

The new group was more than willing to include those from my old group into it. My old group was WAY too paranoid to allow straight people to hang around.

I had to choose.

In fact, my wife, who had already become a Christian a year before said, “You’ve to choose, Rod. We can’t have a foot in both camps. I knew she was right. I knew that Jesus was right. 

I was willing to do a lot for my old friends. Going to hell for them was not going to be part of it.

Both groups offered friendship. The old group offered friendship if you were a clone.

Those who had become followers of Jesus recognized that all of us were as different as different could be. The only common denominator was that each and every one of us had been called by God, out of the world and into His Kingdom Family.

I was simply not willing to lose what God was offering to remain on good terms with those who hated God.

Sadly, it was a hard decision.

I was such a coward.

Hosea 12:6 - But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.

The Gift of Fear

Some people scoff at the idea of allowing fear of eternal damnation to cause you to ask Jesus for forgiveness.

Mm hmm.

How foolish to be afraid of spending eternity in hell.

What can you do? That's how atheists think.

Fear of imminent danger is a gift. Without it humans would not exist. Fear, when properly experienced gives us clarity of thought. Those who reject the normal impulse that comes with fear, an impulse to take corrective action, live in permanent danger of eternal separation of God.

What kind of people would ignore this gift?

It' Who We Are

Sure people have died horrible deaths in Syria. Sure another 100 thousand are likely to follow.

“So how does that affect me? If it doesn't affect me let'em die.”

It's who we are.

Why, Hitler could have kept frying Jews to this very day - if only he'd stayed within his own boarders. 

It's who we were. 

Even atheists rage against God for punishing the societies that were so evil it was the norm to offer their children as live burnt offerings to their gods. 

It's who they are.

The farther our society gets from Jesus, the less we care about the lives and well-being of others.

It's who we are. 

What is this Evil?

The presence of evil is actually the best manner of witnessing God’s goodness.

For the very survival of humans, God’s justice, mercy, grace, love and patience, MUST be clearly displayed to humans:

(a) So they will know that they should repent of their rebellion and

(b) To show them that they have a place to turn to for rescue from their rebellion.

Because of Evil:

- All humans will know God’s Justice because they know in their hearts that rebellion against God is wrong. Those who continue in their rebellion will die spiritually and eternally.

- All humans are born into a state of rebellion, it is only God’s Grace that will ensure that some humans get what they don’t deserve (life in eternal paradise) while God’s Mercy will ensure that those same humans don’t get what they do deserve (eternal separation from God).

- All humans will know God’s Patience because He persists in blessing those who continue in evil, until all those who are going to receive God’s merciful salvation have turned from their rebellion. Romans 9:22,23

- All humans will know God’s Love in that God, in the form of His Son Jesus, will forgive evil by taking His own punishment. He will suffer His own wrath for the horrible act of continued rebellion against Creator God. A Creator who is perfectly pure, holy, righteous, just, merciful, slow to anger, filled with great patience, filled with grace and abounding in Love.

God will rescue those who are not looking for Him, love those who hate Him, and make peace with those who are His enemies. 2nd Samuel 7:18; Isaiah 65:1; Romans 10:20

The rebellious cannot complain because they are in fact guilty of rebellion. Genesis 3:22; Psalm 14:3

The saved cannot boast because they have done nothing to deserve salvation. Romans 3:27,28

Only God possesses the Love and the Justice and the Power to restore to perfection what we have undone.

Rather than throwing away, that which is broken, God will one day restore to perfection, as part of His eternal plan the cosmos that He brought into existence at the command of His Word.

Because God is all loving, He WILL one day banish evil from His Creation.

Because God is all powerful, He CAN one day banish evil from His Creation.

Because God uses the evil that is present for the development of His people, He allows evil to temporarily exist.

Because of His enduring plan for righteousness, God CAN and WILL one day remove every trace of evil as well as those who love evil, from His Kingdom.

How To Know You Were Never Saved

I suppose you could just ask John Loftus or Bart Erhman, or soon enough, Rob Bell. Ask them what they were thinking as they read the Bible. Or, for example, ask John what event led to him leaving the ministry.

Or you could read 1^st and 2^nd John.

“So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practising the truth. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that His word has no place in our hearts. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.”

Or simply pay attention to the reality that is your life. For example:

Have you lost sight of the gospel in your personal life?

Do you sense a growing disconnect between your private and public life?

Is your day no longer driven by a sense of worship?

Do you feel misunderstood by Christians?

Do Christians seem to cringe at your thoughts, words and behaviours?

Do you find yourself looking for life in places where you once said it couldn't be found?

Are you saying to yourself that following Jesus is no longer a privilege and a joy but is now a burden?

Those who have a healed and forgiven relationship with Jesus will follow a steady road of progress, regardless of bumps and hurdles. Your relationship with God may be hot at times and cold at times but it will never be lukewarm. Those who simply had faith in faith will slowly but surely drift away.

As John said, “Those who leave us were never with us.”

Sad but true.

 “The divinity of Christ is the one question on which everything in the world depends.”

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Seeing Is Not Always Believing

Abraham got up and left his home, his family and everything familiar in order to follow a promise for which God had given no evidence that it would ever be fulfilled. Abraham is held out as an example of the behaviour / faith that God wants from all whom He has called to be part of His spiritual family.

Israel on the other hand, is held out as an example of behaviour / lack of faith that took place in the midst of overwhelming evidence that God was in their midst. 

During Jesus' ministry, physical proof that our Creator had 'pitched His tent among us' was also overwhelming. Yet the people demanding more proof.

Atheists say that if Jesus would only appear in front of them like He did with the disciples of His day, then they would believe. 

No they wouldn't. 

Atheists are naturalists. If Jesus suddenly appeared in front of them, they would come up with a naturalist explanation for what 'they thought they'd seen.'
Atheists aren't lying when they say they would believe. They simply don't understand who they are.

  

John Kerry Is A Liar?

Moderates! Not extremists but moderates are eager to take over power in Syria. All we have to do is bomb the crap out of Syria and moderates eager for democracy will take over. That's what John Kerry says.

Putin calls Kerry a liar.

That's not necessarily true.

Kerry may be that stupid.

Or he may really, really, really want to keep his job, so he just says what he's told to say and does what he's told to do – “Make a case for war.” Because it's worked so well in Iraq, and Afghanistan.

As I said in an earlier post; one that is a joke with all too much truth to it.

In the atavistic and imperious thinking of U.S. policy makers, if the U.S. wants other nations to know that it will kill people when its national interests are at stake, then the U.S. must kill people when its national interests are not at stake.

  

Pray And Then Give Up

Do you do that? Are your prayers just words spoken into the void? Or do you, like those in the Bible, have this unerring sense of God's reality?

The fact is, we worship the same God that revealed Himself to them; He does not change, He will not leave us and He will not give up on us. When we bring our needs before Him, Creator God longs to bless us. Here's an example.

All our children are special needs, but one son in particular is so much like – well – he's very much like Forrest Gump. He's kind and gentle and completely ignored because his intellectual handicap makes him too different to be accepted. This son, who is basically a five-year-old in the body of a thirteen-year-old is moving into “the high-school” this year.

New building. New class room. New everything.

I've had to confess to God that I was allowing my fears for his safety to dominate my thoughts. Rather than “cast all your anxieties upon Him because He cares about you,” I was carrying a load that was not meant for me.

Long story shorter, a week ago I gave this junk to God. Thanked Him for taking care of R. and sat back to see what would happen.

Nothing. At least nothing obvious.

Until this morning – first day of class – when another kid who is also new to the school, who is going to be in the same class as my son, and who is just as afraid of this day as is my son, phoned to ask if R. would ride to school with him.

And then, in an age when getting a Special Ed teacher requires a handicap so severe that s/he is doing little more than baby sitting, his Special Ed teacher emailed to say she would like to meet with us as soon as possible.

Pray and then give up? No, present your requests to God and then watch Him go to work.

Thank you Jesus – for your mercy, love and kindness.

An Atheist's Tale

“Is not this the great Babylon I have built, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”

Daniel 4:30

Shalom

Jesus often said, “The Kingdom of God is near.” That kingdom is what He came to bring – to us – so it shouldn't surprise that it was a favourite topic. 

And what did Jesus mean by God's kingdom?

Well, certainly peace was central to what He was talking about. 

Shalom. 

An all encompassing, overall state of well-being. Peace is at the core of what Jesus brings with His forgiveness and salvation. 

Peace with God. An intimate, healed and forgiven relationship with one's Creator.

God's kingdom means justice and love – on earth as it is in heaven – regardless of how other people choose to live. As the angel promised when Jesus was born:

"Shalom on earth to all who obey Him."

  

Hosea 11:1-4 - When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.

Even Dung Beatles

I can’t remember where it is, but there is some society, I’m guessing Africa, where people worship dung beetles.

Amazing isn’t it?

There is not a culture anywhere in the world, no matter how primitive or advanced whereby humans do not have a sense of awe in the face of the imbroglio unfolding before us. One that challenges and overwhelms our senses and intellect. 

Martin Luther stated that humans must have God or an idol. Even atheists who claim that God does not exist worship the very philosophy that makes that claim, while ignoring the science that refutes the “no God” hypothesis.

Be it a dung beetle, Creator God or yourself, you will worship something.

Joel 2:32- And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

Resist At All Cost

Only when we’ve reached the absolute end of ourselves, through illness or death or divorce or incarceration, only when those predestined to receive the gift of salvation have reached the end of themselves, only then is the existence of God received.

Those who have survived a heart attack usually begin to watch what they eat. They exercise more. They become – teachable.

Coming to the end of ourselves defeats the usual dilatory nature of humans that is found in this area of life, and in turn our helplessness makes us spiritually teachable. 

God's revelation about Himself to us is considered, and the possibility of salvation becomes real.

There comes a point when the gnawing insecurity that comes from a life without Jesus ceases to be helpful and simply grows other noxious troubles - insiderism, narcissism, phoniness, sniping - all of which degrade and obstruct the relationships that give life meaning.

Resistance is futile. Accepting the greatest love in the universe, accepting the forgiveness and freedom from real guilt that Jesus offers makes life brilliant and clear and peaceful.