bible – Page 2 – Believers Armed and Dangerous

Unshakable Faith

Daniel 3:15-18 (ESV) ¹⁵Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. ¹⁸But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

While I was reading this this morning, I thought “What is it about the faith of Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) that they were willing to stand against the king with such boldness? Maybe these:

These three had seen their God working in their own lives. Their friend and compatriot, Daniel, had answered an impossible call. God, their God before Whom they stood, had not only given Daniel the impossible task not only to interpret the dream of the king, but to tell the king what the dream was in the first place. The king had kept the details of the dream to himself to test the wisemen of the land. None could say what the dream was. They recognized this when they said “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. ¹¹The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” (Daniel 2:10b-11) But they didn’t know the God of Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego.

God gave the interpretation of the dream to Daniel, and Daniel was placed high in the king’s government. Because of this, the three young men knew their God was true and powerful. The experience they had witnessed assured this.

They also knew because that God dwelt within them. What else could have emboldened these three men to stand before Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the great empire of Babylon and say in modern terms, “Either through our dying in the fiery furnace or by God’s joining us and protecting us, our God will still deliver us from you O king.”

You have to admit that was pretty gutsy. But as believers we know the God of the interpretation of dreams, the God of the impossible. He lives here inside of us. He loves us and supports us in all we do for Him. We have the witness of His indwelling to rely on as well as the witness of His work in the world and in our lives.

Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego knew God’s will in the matter. They had been told not to bow down before idols. The second of the Ten Commandments had something to say about this:

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:4-6)

Why is this important?

Theirs was an “even though” sort of faith. Even though Nebuchadnezzar could kill them, they would still be delivered into the arms of the God who loved them dearly. If we’re seeking the boldness of Daniel’s three friends, boldness to even stand before the king and defy him, we need to be sure in our hearts and minds of at least three things: 1. Ours is the God of the impossible. 2. The God of the impossible lives in us and will be with us in our bold stance, and 3. We are following His Word in command or promise. If we have these three, there will be a Fourth: Daniel 3:24-25 (NKJV) ²⁴Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”

They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”

²⁵“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

Condemnation

John 3:16-21 (ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. ²⁰For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. ²¹But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

We’ve had a lot of darkness in our country lately. On August 22^nd, a man stabbed a young Ukrainian woman to death on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina. On August 27^th, a shooter killed two young children and wounded 17 others (mostly children) during Mass at a Catholic school in Minneapolis. On September 10^th, two high school students were shot near Denver, Colorado and at the same time, Christian speaker and political commentator, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed at a university in Orem, Utah.

These events and others like them have become much too common. They make us angry, hungry for justice for the perpetrators. We seek to condemn them, but Jesus said the condemnation has already been made. What He wishes for these people, and for all people, is for them to come to know Him personally.

Jesus did not come to condemn, so how are we qualified to do so? If Jesus came to save but not to condemn, shouldn’t we follow His example? The Great Commission says to go and make disciples not to go and condemn others. According to the passage quoted above, that has already taken place.

In the above passage, Jesus had divided all people into two categories: the lost and the saved. The lost don’t believe in the name of the Son of God. The saved do. The lost do evil works, the saved to works pleasing to God. So, what do you suppose that looks like, doing works that are pleasing to God?

On January 8, 1956 five missionaries were killed by the Huaorani (Auca) Indians of Ecuador. The missionaries had guns and even fired them in the air to scare off their attackers but refused to shoot these natives because they felt it was better that they die themselves and join Jesus in heaven than to kill the non-believing tribal warriors intent on ending their lives. The warriors didn’t know Jesus and would be condemned to eternal punishment.

Three years after the massacre of the missionaries, others including the wife of Jim Elliot, one of the missionaries killed, brought the gospel to the Aucas, and their mission was explained.

“Thus, the Huaorani realized that the visitors were indeed their friends, willing to die for them if necessary. When in subsequent months they heard the message that the Son of God had come down from heaven to reconcile men with God, and to die in order to bring about that reconciliation, they recognized that the message of the missionaries was the basis of what they had seen enacted in the lives of the missionaries. They believed the Gospel preached because they had seen the Gospel lived.” (DAVID YONKE, Toledo Blade)

Why is this important?

Our job as Christians isn’t to condemn others. They are already condemned if they don’t know Jesus. Our job is to share the gospel with those who haven’t taken advantage of it whether it’s the kindly 84 year old lady who lives down the street, an angry man who has taken the life of a young Ukranian woman, or those who have celebrated the murder of a man who held differing views from theirs. Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world. He came to save the world, and these people are among those for whom Christ died.

Let’s pray for Decarlos Brown Jr. who stabbed 23 year old Iryna Zarutska to death, for Robin Westman who shot all those beautiful children at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis killing two, for 16 year old Desmond Holly who shot up Evergreen High School in Colorado wounding two, and for Tyler Robinson who ended the life of Charlie Kirk at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. We need to pray for all of these people, and we even need to pray for those celebrating these terrible events. No matter how differently we view the world, they are still people Christ died for.

Is Christianity Reasonable?

Mark 12:28-30 (ESV) ²⁹Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

Christianity is a unique religion in several ways. For one, it presents a loving God Who has reached out to His creation with grace and unconditional love while other faiths teach one must earn their way to God through good deeds. The one aspect of Christianity I would like to address today is Christianity is reasonable. It makes truth claims that can be checked – it can be tested.

In the passage in Mark’s gospel quoted above, Jesus tells us in the greatest commandment to use our mind, and in the Greek this means with our intellect. We don’t see this command in other religions, only in Christianity.

So, what are some of the claims Christianity makes that can be checked? Let me answer this with a true story of a man named Dr. Hugh Ross. Dr. Ross is an astrophysicist who studied the universe intently and came to the conclusion it couldn’t have arisen through chance. It was too orderly. It showed too many signs of design. So, Dr. Ross realized there must be a God who created it. This being must have been greater than the universe He created, intelligent enough to have created it, powerful enough to have created it, and so on.

Dr. Ross then thought a God who is this intelligent and personal may well have tried to communicate with His creation. This communication probably wouldn’t have been a one-time thing since that communication might be distorted or lost over time. No, this God would have most likely have communicated in some sort of writings which could be preserved over centuries and read by His creation. So, Dr. Ross began to read original source documents from the major religions.

He was very disappointed through most of his research as the writings of most major religions didn’t match what Dr. Ross knew of God’s creation. He was disappointed, that is, until he began to read the Bible. In the Bible Dr. Ross saw the creation story which matched the story he saw in the universe itself. The creation order matched what must have taken place for the universe to make sense. Dr. Ross became a Christian because he used his mind to check out what God has said. As a result, he began Reasons To Believe, an apologetics ministry.

The other day, I was in a large group of Christian men and made the statement “I find Christianity to be extremely logical and rational.” I was very surprised to find the room went silent.

Now, I’m no Hugh Ross by any stretch, but I find ideas like “There is only one God who exists in three persons” to be very logical. For a loving God to love, there must be at least two persons so one could love the other. Otherwise God’s loving nature could not be fulfilled. To make His love perfectly complete, though, requires the love of two for another like parents for their children. The love between two who are in love is wonderful but is not really complete until they can love someone together.

I find the idea of an infinite God taking on finite human form to save mankind to be very logical. What better mediator between God and man than Someone who shares the essence of each – has a foot in both camps, so to speak?

God’s justice is consistent and logical as well. God is absolutely just as we saw in a recent blog. His justice is consistent. His standard that blood must be shed to pay for sin does not change through the thousands of years from Adam and Eve to the present day. He sent His Son to save us and not to condemn us. He did this by shedding the blood of the perfect man. Logically, if we are held responsible for the sin of Adam as our perfect representative, then the sacrifice of another perfect representative but without sin was necessary to put things right. And this is where our logical consistent God really shines: there is no requirement for accepting this sacrifice and be cleansed. There is no creed to memorize, no test to pass, no personal payment that must be made. All that is needed is to ask Jesus to apply His blood to your sins.

Why is this important?

We as Christians should never wonder if our faith is rational. Have you ever wondered why there are no books on Hindu apologetics or Buddhist apologetics? It’s because those two religions no not present themselves as reasonable. How about Islam? Have you ever wondered why there are so few Muslim apologists? It’s because their arguments cannot stand the test of logic. Islam is inconsistent. Their god can change his mind, send the devout to hell, reward evil. Inconsistency cannot be defended logically. Philosopher Rene Descartes said we can tell truth from a lie by looking for consistency. Truth is consistent, falsehood is not.

Our faith is not a blind faith. Christians write books like Reasonable Faith, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Cold Case Christianity and hundreds of others showing the truth of the claims of Christianity. We need only look.

Christian Looking

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV) I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The early church took verses like these very seriously. For a few years after Christ’s resurrection, the church was fairly small. We were mostly unnoticed by the world and were usually mistaken for Jews since the early Christians were mostly Jewish and the whole movement started in Judea. We were trying to figure out how this whole Christianity thing worked. Was it just a sect of Judaism? How did the Gentiles fit then? Was it a whole new religion? How did this Messiah idea fit, then and why were the Jewish Scriptures so important? How were Christians different from everyone else?

Well, the early church became dedicated to follow the words of Scripture and display evidence of the Spirit within for all to see. Once Emperor Nero came on the scene, this was pretty easy. The Christians were the ones being killed in the arena, many of them proudly and willingly.

It wasn’t until 313 and the Edict of Milan that Christianity was legal in all of the Roman Empire and the persecutions all but ended.

Before this, Christians didn’t have a lot of trouble standing out. We refused to worship Roman gods and emperors. This alone was enough to be sentenced to death. It wasn’t so much the Romans saw us as against Roman gods so much as antisocial. They were a very social society. Romans like to have parties, attend plays, worship together. Since their parties were usually immoral gatherings, the plays were often obscene, and the worship of other gods was blaspheme for Christians, we stayed away from social gatherings.

The Romans heard instead that we gathered with our own fellow Christians in secret love feasts. We married those we called brother and sister. We spoke of eating the body and blood of Christ. Is it any wonder the non-believers saw us as an incestuous bunch who married our family members and were even cannibalistic? As a result, the love feasts were thought to be orgies. There was even a widespread belief we ate babies. Yes, the Romans had low moral standards, but this sort of behavior was even below them.

When Rome burned (July 18, 64), Nero pointed to us to take the heat (pun intended) off of himself. We were an odd bunch anyway. We were the perfect scapegoat.

So, the Romans started to persecute us. This made us easy to spot. We were the ones being fed to wild animals, burned on stakes to light Nero’s garden parties, and sliced up by gladiators.

It was after the persecutions ended in 313 it became more difficult to stand out. The Emperor claimed to be a Christian. It was legal now, so even the elite claimed Christ. The rank and file Christian found it more difficult to stand out, though, so they looked for new ways to let people know they were believers. Jesus said there would be no marriage or giving of marriage in heaven, so some became celibate to identify with heaven. Some went into the desert alone as hermits to spend time growing in Christ with no distractions. One of the earliest of these was Anthony the Hermit who heard a sermon on the Jesus’ words that touched his heart:

Matt. 19:21 (ESV) Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Anthony sold all he had and slipped away to a cave in the desert to seek Christ through fasting and prayer. Soon people who admired his faith would seek advice, inspiration, and healing from him. They would bring food, and that’s how Anthony lived until his death.

Why is this important?

When I look at the things Christians over the centuries gave up to be identified with Christ and how little I give to do the same, I’m ashamed. I catch myself wondering if it would be “appropriate” to wear a Christian tee shirt somewhere, or I hesitate before bowing my head at a restaurant before I eat. Maybe I should think more about those who gave up their lives or their chance at families, or their human comforts just to be identified as Christians. What am I afraid of?

I live in a country where Christianity is much more acceptable than it was for most of these people. Why is it so hard for me to do such petty displays when people gladly gave their lives before thousands in the Roman Arena. Yes, it’s the Spirit within us what needs to be on display, but maybe we should be more obvious in our faith. Maybe the baptismal description of “an outward display of an inward change” shouldn’t just be about baptism.

God is Just

1 John 1:9 (ESV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Our pastor has been teaching through 1 John the past few weeks, and though I’ve read and recited 1 John 1:9 for the nearly 50 years I’ve been a Christian, the word just really hit me during his exposition. What struck me is God didn’t save us only because He loves us:

John 3:16 (ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Nor was it only because God is merciful that He saved us:

Titus 3:5 (ESV) he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit

Putting His love and mercy aside for a moment, think of this: God was still justified in saving us. So when Satan comes to accuse the brethren (Job 1; Rev. 12:10), he can’t accuse God of being a loving old softie. God – the Judge of the universe – has a just, a legal, reason for forgiving us of our sins: the sacrifice of His Son. The penalty has been suffered in full for our transgressions.

This thought led me to some questions I have long had in Romans 8:1-2 (NASB) There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

What are these two laws mentioned in verse 2? Well, I think the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is in verse 1 and elsewhere in Scipture, that Christ has released us from the penalty of sin. And this relates directly to 1 John 1:9. God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins because there is a law requiring this: Romans 8:1 and in other places.

So, what is the law of sin and death? I used to think this was the Mosaic law, but I think now that it goes farther back all the way to the Garden when God basically said to Adam and Eve: “If you sin, you die.” This death, of course, is spiritual death: separation of fellowship with God.

Because these are God’s laws they are absolutes, they cannot and will not change. They are the same throughout the universe because God is infinite and infinitely consistent.

These are not laws as we often think of them. They are not civil or criminal laws. These are laws in the sense of how things work.

There are laws of logic for instance. The first law is the Law of Non-Contradiction states that A cannot be non-A at the same time, in the same way, and under the same conditions. In other words, an object cannot be an apple and not be an apple at the same time, in the same way, and under the same conditions. Now this seems obvious to most of us. It’s like the Vulcan proverb Spok quotes in Star Trek 4: “Nothing unreal exists.” Of course it’s true. There can be no argument against it. It’s important, though, to know there is certainty in the universe, absolutes, things that only sound true but things that must be true or reality itself would crumble.

God’s laws of sin and death and of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus are just as certain as the Law of Non-Contradiction and Spok’s Vulcan proverb if not even more certain since they originate with the God who is the standard of truth and justice.

Why is this important?

God doesn’t just love us, He’s not just a God of mercy. He has good reason to forgive us of our sins. He is justified beyond all question to forgive us of our sins. We only need to confess our sin, and we’re forgiven. This is more certain than the law of gravity. So, when we approach God to confess our sins, we’re not just asking for His love or His mercy, we can ask for justice, and He will apply the sacred sacrifice, the righteousness requirements of the law (Rom. 8:4) to our plea and judge us holy.

Another 10 Questions Christians Can’t Answer?

A while back, I said once in a while I’d offer some answers to the questions atheists say Christians can’t answer. Here is the second installment of that quest.

Why will God allow people to be born with defects?

The “Why questions” are often difficult ones since we are asked to read God’s infinite mind with our finite minds. I think this one, though, is fairly clear: we have sin in the world. Suffering is a result of the fall, of our own poor choices, sometimes it just has a specific purpose. It can cause us to grow in Christ, for instance:

James 1:2-3 (ESV) ²Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, ³for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

John 9:1-5 (ESV) As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Why can’t dead sinners’ sins be forgiven?

I suppose for the same reasons dead murders can’t confess. God’s requirement for salvation is to give our lives over to Jesus. If we aren’t alive to do so, it seems clear we can’t ask forgiveness. Death is separation. The dead sinner is not just separated from his body but also from God due to his sin. If he can’t connect with God, he can’t ask for forgiveness.

Is God a tyrant for wanting everyone to worship Him alone?

No. If He is the only God, and people are worshiping things or myths which are not the true God, it is only right to want them to act in line with the truth especially since the benefit is so great. Are teachers tyrants for insisting 2 + 2 = 4? Of course not. Same reason.

Since God knows and sees all, why did he deceive Eve?

I’m not sure why the questioner thinks God deceived Eve unless it is when He said she would die if she ate the forbidden fruit. Death means “separation” in the Bible. Eating the fruit was sinful. Sin separates us from God. Eve didn’t die physically but died spiritually at that moment. Restoration was available through sacrifice and repentance, though.

Since God is merciful, why can’t we all go to heaven?

Because God is also just. It would be unjust for God to save those who spit on or even just ignored His Son and never repented. We are accountable for our actions while here on earth. This is also true when He forgives us of our sins: He must act justly. The blood of Jesus makes it possible for Him to do this:

1 John 1:9 (ESV) ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If doing evil for evil is wrong, should God be punishing us for our sins?

This is another question I’m not clear about what is meant. Maybe they think God’s punishment is sinful. God cannot sin since He is holy and He is the standard of righteousness. Loving punishment is meant for correction or rehabilitation, good things.

If God loves only those who love him, does that make him a sinner?

There is no human being God does not love. The premise of the question is flawed.

Why do daily atrocities exist?

Daily atrocities exist because man has the free choice to do as he wishes. We can choose to follow God, to align with God’s nature, or we can choose to do ungodly acts: atrocities.

How did Noah get all the various species of living organisms into the ark?

Interesting question. First, the animals were not separated into species but into kinds. A kind is a category of animals that can interbreed. So, two of the horse kind, two of the dog kind, two of the rabbit kind (not for long, probably), etc. were all that would be needed. Also they don’t need to be adult animals. Fish or other water wildlife wouldn’t need to be on the ark. The ark was pretty big: at least a football field and a half long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall. That’s at least a million and a half cubic feet (169,000 cubic yards). It could hold a lot of creatures. According to Creation Ministries International, John Woodmorappe’s book, Noah’s Ark: a Feasibility Study, says there would only need to be about 8000 kinds on the ark: 16,000 since two of each were needed plus those needed for sacrifice.

Why does the Bible give the earth only about 6000 years while scientific research has found objects to be millions of years older?

The Bible doesn’t say the earth is about 6,000 years old: another false premise. Some men say the Bible says that. By the way, it is also men who says the earth is older. Even within the church this is a controversial topic.

These questions were taken from this site

God’s Plain People

God’s Plain People

1 Cor. 1:26-31 (ESV) ²⁶For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ³¹so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Abraham Lincoln once said “God must have loved the plain people; He made so many of them.” I think he had something there. According to Paul’s quote above, the church is made up of plain regular people.

I’m sorry there has been such a long gap since my last posting. As some of you are aware I had a heart attack June 28th. As a result, I learned heart attacks mess with you mentally as well as physically. For about a week, I couldn’t read and had the attention span of a hyperactive squirrel.. Now that all that has settled down, I’m going to pick up where I left off on my blog.

A lot of Christians, I find, feel like they are the smallest cog in God’s “great machine” called the “Church.” They feel like they can do nothing of consequence, that their life compared to say, Billy Graham, is insignificant. That simply isn’t true. Look again at the list of Christians Paul describes in the opening passage. We are common, plain people. Yet, when we add God to the mix, extraordinary things happen. Let me share something I think I stole from Greg Laurie’s website:

Ed Kimball was a Sunday School teacher, who in 1858 led a young Boston shoe clerk in his Sunday School class to give his life to Christ. The clerk, Dwight L. Moody, became an evangelist and the founder of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago which still stands today (moody.edu).

1876, D. L. Moody brought to Christ a student named J. Wilbur Chapman after an evangelistic meeting.

Several years later, Chapman, engaged in YMCA work, employed a former baseball player, Billy Sunday, to do evangelistic work. Mr. Sunday spoke to 80 to 100 million people before his death in 1935. In 1934, Sunday held a revival in Charlotte, N.C.

A group of local men were so enthusiastic afterward that revival they planned another evangelistic campaign, bringing Mordecai Ham to town to preach. During Hamm’s revival November 1, 1934, a young man named Billy Graham heard the Gospel and yielded his life to Christ.

Billy Graham is estimated to have spoken to 215 million people in person and 2.2 billion people through radio and television.

All this because God used a plain local church Sunday School teacher to share the gospel with a shoe clerk.

Why is this important?

We all have our part to play in God’s plan. It could be that God has something great, evangelizing millions like Rev. Graham did, or it may simply be He wants us to share the gospel with a simple shoe clerk, and He’ll do the rest.

Never think God doesn’t use plain common people to do exciting uncommon things. We are exactly who He uses.

A Lazarus Apologetic

When most of us think of Christian Apologetics, we might think of a man standing before a crowd or an individual sharing the truths and defenses of the Christian faith. We seldom look at a passage of Scripture and see the writer giving obvious evidence for the truth of a particular situation. These apologetics in Scripture do exist, though, and one is in John chapter 11: the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.

First we have statements by John, Jesus, Martha and Mary – Lazarus’ sisters – that Lazarus was indeed dead:

Vs. 14: ¹⁴So then [Jesus] told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,

Vs. 21: ²¹“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Vs. 32: ³²When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Vs. 44:⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

So, we can be sure Lazarus was dead. Also, the people there saw him die and his sisters were eyewitnesses as well.

Could this be a trick? Well, Jesus alone as the center figure in the drama at the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary had the idea Lazarus would rise from the dead. He alone called for Lazarus using the power only God could provide, the reanimation of the dead. Satan is not interested in raising people from the dead and does not have power to do so if he were.

Now Lazarus was alive. The people who saw him die were there to see him alive. He had been in the tomb for four days (vs 39). This would eliminate the chance of a trick since four days without water would certainly result in one’s death from thirst.

Jesus was outside of town, not even nearby when Lazarus was put in the tomb (vs. 30), another proof of no tricks. The sisters of Lazarus saw him both dead and alive and could testify to the facts. Of course Jesus saw him alive as well. Many who were there believed in Jesus because they saw Lazarus alive.

Even those who were eyewitnesses but didn’t believe Jesus was the Son of God took the story to the chief priests and Pharisees (vs.47). And even they didn’t doubt that Lazarus was now alive since they plotted to kill him as well as Jesus (vss 12:9-10). The Pharisees couldn’t afford to have Lazarus, a living testimony to God’s power through His Son, walking around for all the world to see. They would lose their jobs (11:48).

Why is this important?

I think this is important for a couple of reasons. First, Jesus had been accused of working the devil’s work and that He was not from God (Luke 11:14-15). But raising someone from the dead is God’s work, not Satan’s.

Secondly, I think Jesus was still trying to completely convince His disciples He was God, and there was no limit to His power. They needed to understand He could even raise Himself from the dead.

Like us, His disciples believed God could do some things, but they thought raising someone from the dead was too much to ask even though they had seen Him raise Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8:54) and the son of the widow at Nain (Luke 7:15).

You and I see God do something in our lives that we doubted He could or would do. We’re limited creatures. I remember a fairly famous pastor say once he had seen God heal many he had prayed for, but he didn’t have the faith to pray for a missing limb to be restored. He believed God could do it, but didn’t have the faith to ask God to do it. He had never seen God do it.

Our understanding of God is so limited do to His vastness and our smallness. I’m not sure we will ever overcome it this side of heaven. Like the event with Lazarus, though, God has given us times in our lives when we have seen Him work, and those experiences increase our faith in praying for miraculous acts of God. If we remember the times God has pulled our irons out of the fire, our faith grows so we’ll be more ready to believe next time.

God proved His power at the raising of Lazarus. After that event, the faith of Martha and Mary and certainly Lazarus was increased. They had seen God act and began to see His limitless power.

Does Jesus Really Change Lives?

Luke 19:1-10 (ESV) [Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through. ²And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. ⁴So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. ⁵And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” ⁶So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. ⁷And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” ⁹And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

I’ve been reading this for the past couple of weeks in preparation for a devotional I gave today. A few things hit me about Zacchaeus. The first, was that Zacchaeus “received him joyfully.” Zacchaeus was almost certainly a crook. Tax collectors made most of their money by overcharging the people. Zacchaeus was both the chief tax collector and rich. This would imply he had not only overcharged the people but also those tax collectors under his authority. In addition, he was a pretty shrewd investor as he was able not to just return the money he had gotten through defrauding the people but four times that amount and to give half his wealth to the poor.

Jesus brought a drastic change in this man. As I thought about this, I looked through Scripture to see how many times the word changed appears concerning a person Jesus had effected. There are none. However there are a couple of verses which say when we are in Christ, we are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15)

This week I spent some time with a couple of friends of mine from California. The three of us saw the Grand Canyon one day and sat around drinking coffee the following morning and talked, laughed, and wept for four hours straight about how God had worked in our lives, how He had brought us to Him, and how He had used us to work in the lives of others. It was clear the three of us were not the people we were before we found Christ. We weren’t even close.

In our twenties, we were three young men trying to figure out the world around us. Our lives certainly were not where we were very usable. God hadn’t even reached a couple of us, but when He did, when He entered our lives and began the recreation, we saw fruit. We saw lives and situations around us change. God had made some major adjustments in those lives. We were now new creatures in Christ.

The three of us were very different in so many ways: a carpenter, a mortgage broker, and a photographer. We now lived in different places from one another, our family situations were different as were our interests, but we were brothers in Christ, friends due to our common purpose, common service, and common Lord. God had recreated us to make us interlock like three puzzle pieces.

Why is this important?

Through this time together, I realized this recreation had taken decades and was still going on. God took seven days to create the universe. We could expect it would take time to recreate us into the people He wanted us to be – especially with the material He had to work with. Along that path, He used what He had already created to touch the lives of many. It was a glorious morning of fellowship.

We all are being recreated. Some of us are like Zacchaeus, and recreation comes fast and easy. Others are recreated slowly, methodically, to achieve what God wants to accomplish in us. So, if you’re feeling your recreation is taking time, maybe God us using this time to teach you things. I don’t think we will ever be fully recreated until be stand before God. We can just keep our minds on the finish line and enjoy the journey.

Jesus doesn’t merely change lives, He recreates us for new life in Him.

Eph. 2:10 (ESV) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ways of Praise

Psalm 7:17 (ESV) I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Praise seems like such a simple thing. We praise God for Who He is, for the things He has done both in our lives and in the lives of others through all of history, for the fact He even desires to be active in our lives. But, there is so much more God is and does that is praiseworthy.

There are times God works in our lives, touches our souls, heals a friend, when we can’t express our praise in simple words. Even the psalmist expresses these times:

Psalm 106:1-2 (ESV) Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise?

Sometimes we are so overwhelmed by God’s grace in our lives, by His care and concern for our well-being, that we have no ability to praise Him for even His presence in the situation let alone for His resolution. Sometimes a simple thanks just isn’t enough after your daughter comes through open heart surgery or you’re told you son might lose the use of his hand due to a dog bite, and God steps in. We’re at a loss for words in situations like that. A simple “thank you” doesn’t come close to expressing our praise. When these times occur, we can ask for help in how we praise God, and God’s Spirit will praise Him for us with appropriate praise that is beyond our capabilities:

Rom. 8:26-27 (ESV) Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

We have all seen times when we have been in God’s overwhelming presence and have no idea how to praise Him, no expression is enough, yet God lets us know He is pleased to simply be there in that connection with us. His love for us is so apparent. Sometimes, this happens during or just after we have repented and confessed our sins. We’ve returned to Him as prodigal sons, and like the father in that parable, He holds us close, joyful our relationship has been restored:

Luke 15:20 (ESV) And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

What can be more praiseworthy in our lives than the embrace of God? What can cause us to adore Him more than that? The supreme Being of the universe wishes to draw close to us. He promises this:

James 4:8a (ESV) Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Why is this important?

Ps. 7:17 (NASB) I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Like so many things in our Christian walk, praise is something we cannot do well alone. It requires God’s help for us to even approach the level of praise worthy of our God. Fortunately, God receives the praises however we offer them. The position of our hearts, the obedience to His commands, and our dedication to His Word keeps our relationship with Him rich:

Psalm 119:7-8 (ESV) I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!

The praise God is worthy to receive is a level of praise we cannot offer on our own. God Himself, through His Spirit, guides us and even intercedes for us in our praises. That guidance says, like prayer, our praises are never to cease:

Psalm 34:1 (ESV) I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Let’s walk the walk, look to His Word for direction, then follow that direction. Those are forms of praise in themselves.