The ONE - Do you know Him?

The lines below are are an excerpt from one of Malcolm Muggeridge's writings in the early 1970's (1903-1990). Muggeridge was a British journalist who, later in life, became a relentless defender of the Christian faith. I was confronted with Muggeridge's words in a sermon on Colossians by Pastor Tullian Tchvidjian (http://tinyurl.com/4d5dau5). My soul was immediately stirred by the poetic nature of Muggeridge's thoughts on the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ in all things. I believe the substance of these words are worth re-visiting time and time again. Enjoy!

"We look back upon history, and what do we see? Empires rising and falling, revolutions and counterrevolutions, wealth accumulated and wealth disbursed. Shakespeare has written of the rise and fall of great ones, that ebb and flow with the moon.

I look back upon my own fellow countrymen (Great Britain), once upon a time dominating a quarter of the world, most of them convinced, in the words of what is still a popular song, that ‘the God who made them mighty, shall make them mightier yet.’

I’ve heard a crazed, cracked Austrian (Hitler) announce to the world the establishment of a Reich that would last a thousand years. I have seen an Italian clown (Mussolini) say he was going to stop and restart the calendar with his own ascension to power. I’ve heard a murderous Georgian brigand in the Kremlin (Stalin), acclaimed by the intellectual elite of the world as being wiser than Solomon, more humane than Marcus Aurelius, more enlightened than Ashoka.

I have seen America wealthier and, in terms of military weaponry, more powerful than the rest of the world put together–so that had the American people so desired, they could have outdone a Caesar, or an Alexander in the range and scale of their conquests.

All in one lifetime, all in one lifetime, all gone! Gone with the wind!

England, now part of a tiny island off the coast of Europe, threatened with dismemberment and even bankruptcy. Hitler and Mussolini dead, remembered only in infamy. Stalin a forbidden name in the regime he helped found and dominate for some three decades. America haunted by fears of running out of those precious fluids that keeps their motorways roaring, and the smog settling, with troubled memories of a disastrous campaign in Vietnam, and the victories of the Don Quixote’s of the media as they charged the windmills of Watergate.

All in one lifetime, all in one lifetime, all gone! Gone with the wind!

Behind the debris of these solemn supermen, and self-styled imperial diplomatists, there stands the gigantic figure of One: because of whom, by whom, in whom, and through whom alone, mankind may still have peace–the person of Jesus Christ.

I present him as the way, the truth, and the life. Do you know Him?"

Leave the Boat... It's Sinking

Luke 5:10b-11 – “Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.’ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”

Have you ever made plans that you were fully convinced you would follow through with but didn’t? I think most of us have. The funny thing about planning is that what we plan on in life is often subject to change.

Before Jesus began performing miraculous signs in the presence of the people, the three men named in Luke 5, Peter, James and John, probably weren’t second-guessing their life plans. For each of these men, fishing was a means of survival. It helped pay the bills and put food on the table for the families that depended on them. Despite all this, Luke asserts that each made a bold move after witnessing the unparalleled power and authority of Jesus… They “left everything and followed him.”  Consider the implications of leaving everything in your life for the purpose of following after another: imagine quitting college 3.5 years into your major, walking away from the job that puts gas in your car, or even worse! Putting down your cell phone and disconnecting all forms of social media in response to the realization that there is something far better awaiting you once you do. The point here is not for you to aimlessly go and do the latter but rather to put yourself in the shoes of the men who did and consider whether or not they were crazy or actually onto something. The text tells us that they gave up “everything” in order to be with Jesus. In the original language, the word ‘everything’ actually means… everything.

The implication is short and sweet: the disciples resolved to put everything on the line, including their life plans (which the fishing boats represent) in order to pursue something that was greater. Their obedience to God’s initial call led them to discover their highest purpose in life. The same is true for you and I. My personal ambitions prior to knowing Jesus looked very different than what they shaped into after I truly met Jesus. For instance, I always envisioned myself being a college basketball player that would go on to be a Physical Therapist; not a Psychology student that would go on to be in full-time ministry. You see, the script of my life was dramatically flipped once I began walking with God. The irony of such a course correction is that I now experience a deeper sense of fulfillment in life doing what I said I would never do in contrast to what I thought I would always do. True story, at the age of 11, my Dad said to me: “Jeremy, don’t be surprised if you end up in full-time ministry.” My response went something like this: “fat chance” (Sarcasm intended). Thankfully, I was wrong. The day I left the fishing boats that housed my own selfish ambitions was the same day my innermost passions were awakened. Not to mention I also met my beautiful wife, Victoria, because of it. This never would’ve happened had I chosen to accompany fishing boats. My heart breaks over the countless lives who have done just that and chosen their way over God's way. I am so deeply burdened over this because I can now see, coming out of trying to do it my own way, God's way is far better.

The example initiated by Jesus and obeyed by three simple fishermen changed my life and has the capacity to change yours. In order for it to do just that, an important question should be raised: what fishing boats do you need to leave behind? Maybe it’s an unhealthy relationship that is currently draining you of the joy you are entitled to when you are in Christ. It could even be a self-centered pursuit of money and power. Could jealousy have something to do with it? Maybe it’s a lingering feeling of bitterness towards the Father that walked out on you. Regardless of what the boats may be, they’ll end up sinking both you and the people you take with you in it one day. Therefore, I would unashamedly challenge you to leave your boats behind and walk with Jesus. You won’t have all the answers when you do, but you will experience something that is far better; assurance of who you are. A forgiven (Ephesians 1:7), accepted (II Corinthians 5:21), and loved (Romans 5:8) child of God (Ephesians 1:5). Those who are in Christ are entitled to purpose in life. If you feel as if you have none then maybe, just maybe, its because your still holding onto something God intended for you to let go of a long time ago.

Leave the boats behind and follow Jesus. And don’t be surprised if when you do, your nets begin to overflow with passion and purpose.

"3 Reasons Why Christianity is Not Dumb"

This may come as a shocker to some but the Bible is not incompatible with science. While it is true that God's word is not specifically about science, every time it does speak on issues related to biology, astrology, or geology its claims are 100% accurate.

As a Christian, I believe that the Bible is as an unparalleled source of truth that was revealed to man by virtue of divine inspiration. Granted, my reasoning for arriving at this conclusion is not to be equated with fideism (blind faith). I base much of this conviction off of... get ready for it... evidence.

I am currently walking through such evidence with a group of college students that I teach on a weekly basis. In our most recent gathering, I challenged the group to think about why they believe what they do. Literally. The discipline of critical thinking and active-decision making is a lost art in American culture. We tend to accept information as truth before processing whether or not it can be verified by evidence. Hear me on this; the Christian faith can be validated with reasonable evidence and can be defended in an intellectual manner.

Below are 3 evidences that uphold the relationship between science and scripture as well as the validity of the Christian worldview:

1. The Bible and earth's free suspension in space

Job 26:7 - "He spreads out the northern skies, over empty space, he suspends the earth over nothing."

The book of Job was composed during the patriarchal period around 1500 B.C. Some would argue that it was the first book of the Bible ever written. Either way, this marks a point in history when earth was believed to have been upheld by a large animal or giant. It's interesting to note that scientists didn't come to acknowledge the truth found in Job 26:7 until 1650 A.D. That's over 3000 years after the author of Job had penned this reality. Lucky guess, right? 

2. The Bible speaks of an invisible structure

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."

Scientists didn't discover invisible atoms until recent years. After which they concluded that what is seen is made from what is unseen. This phenomenon of the creation was spoken of in the Bible 2000 years earlier. Had the Bible not been compartmentalized as a fictitious literary work by many, maybe this would’ve dawned on the academy much sooner.

3. The Bible reveals that the earth is round

Isaiah 40:22a - "He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth."

Here's a Bible trivia question for you: When was the book of Isaiah written?

Here's a scientific trivia question for you: When did mankind discover and fully acknowledge the shape of the earth to be spherical rather than flat?

Answers: Isaiah was written between 760-680 B.C. - Aristotle suggested that the earth was round about 1000 years later and his claim was not fully verified until well over 2000 years later in 1492 (when Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue).

I'll have more reasons on why the Bible is neither pre-scientific nor intellectually primitive in my next post. God bless!