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Becoming a Christian Case Maker (Part 2)

"... whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; by which book is meant God's predestination of men to eternal life, or his decree of election; why this is called the "book of life" (Revelations 17:8b KJV)
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One very outstanding and undeniably unique aspect of Jesus’ life is that literally hundreds of detailed predictions and prophecies were made by ancient prophets and seers, many centuries before He was born, including specific details regarding His birth, life, and death.

In the Old Testament, over 300 such predictions about the “Messiah” or “Savior” can be found. The discovery of hundreds of ancient Old Testament manuscripts by archaeologists during this century has proven without a doubt that these prophecies were indeed written before this man called Jesus was born.

In 750 B.C., for example, the prophet Isaiah made the astounding prediction that:

“The Lord Himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel.”3

Seven and a half centuries later, a young virgin girl in Israel named Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel, who announced to her that she would bear a son who would be called Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” The books of the Bible which were written after Jesus came to Earth, the New Testament, tell us that, “Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, seeing I have not lain with any man?’ And the angel answered, ‘The Spirit of God shall come upon you, and the power of the Almighty shall overshadow you! Therefore that Holy One which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God.’”4

So even the very beginning of His life on Earth—His conception and birth—were not only unique, but miraculous! In fact, the Bible tells us that the news of her pregnancy was so shocking to the young man to whom she was engaged to be married, Joseph, that when he learned about it he promptly decided to break off the engagement and call off the wedding.—Until the angel of the Lord appeared to him also, and instructed him to stay with her and rear and protect the very special child that she was carrying.

A full 800 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Micah foretold the exact village where the Messiah would be born:

“You, Bethlehem, though you are small among the clans of Judah, yet out of you shall He come forth unto Me who is to be ruler over Israel; whose goings forth have been of old, from days of eternity.”5

Although His earthly parents lived in the town of Nazareth, 100 miles to the north of Bethlehem, a decree from Rome demanded that all families return to their ancestral homes to register for a worldwide census. The decree came just as Mary’s child was due to be born. Thus God used a Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, to help bring about the fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy. Joseph and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem, and upon their arrival, Mary went into labor, and as the Gospels inform us, “Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,”6 just as the prophet Micah predicted.

Another outstanding prophecy regarding the circumstances surrounding the Messiah’s death was made by Israel’s King David around the year 1000 B.C., or over 10 centuries before Jesus was born. In his prophecy, David gave details of a cruel and agonizing death which he himself never suffered:

“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, it has melted within me ... Like a pack of dogs, they have surrounded me; a company of evildoers has encircled me. They have pierced my hands and my feet. They divide my clothing among them and cast lots for my garment.”7

1 NIV.
2 NIV.
3 Isaiah 7:14.
4 Luke 1:26–35.
5 Micah 5:2.
6 Matthew 2:1.
7 Psalm 22:14–18.

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Becoming a Christian Case Maker (Part 1)

A compilation Oct 06, 2015

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.—John the Apostle, 1 John 1:1–31

Following the evidence

If Christians could be trained to provide solid evidence for what they believe and good answers to unbelievers’ questions and objections, then the perception of Christians would slowly change. Christians would be seen as thoughtful people to be taken seriously rather than as emotional fanatics or buffoons. The gospel would be a real alternative for people to embrace.—William Lane Craig

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If you want to be a good Christian Case Maker (or you simply want to examine the case for Christianity for the first time), you’ll need to understand the power of cumulative cases. The Christian worldview is established in a collective manner: the reliability of the eyewitness Gospel accounts is built on more than one line of evidence. In fact, eyewitnesses are established based on four separate categories of evidence, expressed with four important questions: Were the eyewitnesses really present to see what they said they saw? Can their statements be corroborated or verified in some way? Have the eyewitnesses been honest and accurate over time? Do the eyewitnesses possess a bias or ulterior motive disqualifying them?

These questions must be considered collectively. In addition to this, the case for each category is also made cumulatively. The issue of corroboration, for example, is established on the basis of several unrelated lines of evidence, including archaeology, ancient Jewish writings, ancient non-Christian Greek writings, geographic internal evidence, linguistic internal evidence, correct use of proper nouns, and the unintentional eyewitness support.… The Christian worldview is also established cumulatively.

If we can learn to communicate the strength of collective cases such as these, we’ll become better Christian Case Makers. If you’re examining the case for Christianity for the first time, don’t stop at the “tree-line.” Go deep. Look at everything. Assemble and assess the cumulative case.—J. Warner Wallace

*

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.—1 Corinthians 15:3–82

Who is Jesus?

To the unprejudiced historian, the historical facts regarding Jesus are as definite and evident as those of Julius Caesar. Not only do we find an accurate portrait of Him in the documents of the New Testament, but dozens of ancient non-Biblical manuscripts confirm that Jesus was a genuine historical figure who lived in Palestine in the early part of the first century.

Concerning the testimony of the many ancient secular accounts of Jesus, the Encyclopedia Britannica stated:

“These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was disputed for the first time—and on inadequate grounds—by several authors during the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th centuries.”

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The Reality of Greatness

By Maria Fontaine Feb 13, 2016

Someone I was communicating with mentioned the “greats” of Christianity. Although I’ve used this term—I think we all have—and I greatly admire those who the Lord has placed in the public eye to be examples, I felt the Lord wanted to give me some further understanding of how He looks at greatness.

Those like Amy Carmichael, Adoniram Judson, Mother Teresa and many others who we’ve heard and read about did great things and gave their lives in sacrificial love. I’m not minimizing that at all. However, the Lord pointed something out to me through one of those simple but profound little questions that open a whole new perspective.

He said:

“Mother Teresa was a wonderful example of determination, faith, and overcoming, but what about those other women who worked right alongside her all those years in the slums and garbage dumps of India but never received public acclaim or recognition? Were they any less great?

“Or what about any other child of My kingdom who has put their whole heart into following Me, giving unselfishly because My Spirit motivated them to do so? No matter how big or small their contribution looks to others, if they are doing their best to lay down their lives daily for Me, are these not great also? They are in My eyes.

“Many times in this life, those who are giving everything may not be lauded or recognized for their love and dedication. Few people may realize what they’ve sacrificed for Me. Many may see them as insignificant or small.”

It’s natural to want to compare one thing to another, one person to another. That’s how our minds often work. We tend to consider those who the Lord has called to stand in the spotlight as greater than the rest. However, the Lord in His wisdom sets some up as role models, not because they are better or have accomplished more than others, but to remind us that “He that would be greatest among you must be the servant of all.”1

It’s not the admiration of others that makes a person great. It’s their close connection to Jesus that inspires a sacrificial love for others, as they follow His example. That greatness is something that every sincere, wholehearted child of God—whether known or unknown—can be living in his or her own way by doing what Jesus has asked them to do.

As it says in 1 Peter 5:6: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.” As we let Jesus guide our lives, humbling ourselves before Him by accepting and putting our hearts into doing what He shows us is most important, we become great in His eyes. Like children who emulate and learn from their parents, because they trust in their love for them, Jesus asks us to trust in His love for us and emulate the example He set for us of sacrificial love. Placing our lives in His hands is humbling, but it’s the surest way to find the glory that only God can give us.

I will close this little article with some wisdom from the Word:

And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”—Matthew 18:2–4 ESV

He who is least among you all is the one who is great.—Luke 9:48 ESV

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”—Isaiah 57:15 ESV

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.—Luke 18:14 ESV

1 Matthew 23:11.

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42 Kilometers of Life

Written by John Kelly Saturday, 01 August 2015

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.1

I started walking away from what I knew God was calling me to a few months ago. I think I just grew tired of striving.

Come to think of it, I didn’t walk away so much as stop walking. In any race, to stop is to fall behind. I asked myself subconsciously why I had ever chosen to run in the first place. I forgot the thrill of the chase, and all I could think of was how hot the asphalt was.

All I did was stop to catch my breath, and now the pack is gone, far into the distance. It feels like I am so far behind. But I feel a force beside me. It is the voice of my Trainer, ever close, urging me on in spite of my weak character. Why does He still care? Can’t He tell that I’m a loser and a quitter? Not only that, but I made empty promises to Him and others—the other runners, sponsors, fans, friends, family, as well as to myself.

He tells me that none of that matters; all He is asking me to do is to forget the past, the grueling last few kilometers, and get up and run again. I tell Him I can’t do it; I can’t finish this race. Here I am maybe 15 or 20 kilometers in, and I’m already sitting down! What makes Him think I can do it?

He tells me that He will give me the strength. He gives me a cup of cool water to drink. It tastes wonderful, and I realize that I had stopped drinking this refreshing water. I had figured I didn’t have time.

He tells me that He will set the pace to ensure I make it to the end. “But,” I argue, “I won’t win if I don’t push harder.”

He reminds me that I am running for more than a trophy. I’m not running to beat the other runners. I’m running for a cause—to carry my flag over the line. I didn’t start this race to give up.

The cup is empty now, my thirst is quenched, and it’s time to get back on the road. I’m aware of the time I’ve lost by sitting under the tree, but a part of me is still screaming to sit back down. It’s a full five degrees hotter on the road! But is that enough to keep me down? I was born to run!I tell myself. But I still can’t bring myself to start. I can’t let Him down! I try to convince myself, but still the shade holds me fast.

That’s when I hear it, carried on the gentle wind that swirls all around me! From just around the next bend, they beckon me—those champions from races past. No, not the vacationers sipping cocktails just behind the fence; these voices are much higher up in the bleachers, in seats reserved for those who have gone before, who deserve the honor and recognition accorded to those who have paid the price and run the race to the finish line already.

They are calling me—no, they are yelling my name. “Run with the wind!” they tell me.

Now’s the time! My heart races but I hesitate yet again. Will I make it?“Yes,” my Trainer promises, “Because I am here with you, and I will guide you all the way. Don’t focus on the effort; focus on the goal. And most of all, don’t get down on yourself, because in the end, what matters is to not quit.”

The first step is the hardest, as always, but somehow I manage. I believe this is what He meant by “running with endurance.” Each step somehow feels lighter than the last, now that I’ve started running again. I think I can do this. No, I think wecan do this together.

1. Hebrews 12:1,2 NLT

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Written in Heaven

A compilation Feb 09, 2016

The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.—Revelation 3:51

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The wonderful thing about the Christian message is that because salvation is a gift of God, it is possible for us to know that our name is written in the book. On one occasion, Jesus spoke to a group of his disciples on their return from a mission:

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”—Luke 10:17–202

Jesus saw the danger of them placing their confidence (rejoicing) in the abilities he had given them, so he told them that their confidence should not be in what they could do, but rather in the knowledge that their names were written in heaven.

And how could they know that? Only by trusting in Jesus’ word. Here, once more, is the crucial issue. We humans have a tendency to put our trust in anything other than God: our deeds, our merits, or even our spiritual gifts, as in this case. Like Abraham, we have to learn to trust what God says. Everything will ultimately depend on it—including our quality of life and works. God is deeply interested in our works, but the secret of being able to do them does not lie in those works themselves but in placing our trust in God. I repeat, salvation is from God—it is his gift apart from any merit we have. And God has given us the wonderful capacity and freedom to receive the gift of salvation by faith.—John Lennox

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“Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” What does Jesus mean by that? The concept or image of people’s names being written in heaven, written in a book of life—this is not unique to this passage in Luke. It’s all over the Bible. Let’s look at a few examples.

In Exodus 32, Moses intercedes for the people of Israel, asking the Lord to forgive their sin, and then adding, “But if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” In Psalm 69, the psalmist talks about the righteous being enrolled in “the book of the living.” In Daniel 12, there is the prophecy that God’s people would be delivered, that is, “everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.” Then in the New Testament, in Philippians 4, Paul mentions the names of several individuals who have worked with him in the cause of the gospel—Euodia, Syntyche, Clement—“whose names,” Paul adds, “are in the book of life.”

Finally, when we come to Revelation, we see this “book of life” and “names written in heaven” business all over the place. In Revelation 3, Jesus’ promise to the Christian who overcomes is that “I will never blot his name out of the book of life.”… In chapter 20, at the final judgment, anyone whose name is “not found written in the book of life” is thrown into the lake of fire. To be sure, it will be a fearful thing if your name is not written in that book.

“The Lamb’s book of life.” “Names written in heaven.” This is where our great joy is to be found. In Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” This is not something that you did. This is something God did. He did this for you, by his grace, as a gift.
—Charles Henrickson

1 ESV.
2 ESV.
3 Luke 10:20 KJV.
4 Philippians 4:3 KJV.

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What Faith Knows

Written by Maria Fontaine 01 September 2015

When I look at some of the men and women in the Bible, at a quick glance they seem to be so confident, so certain of everything. Next to such seemingly unwavering faith, we can start to feel a little unsure of our own faith.

Perhaps that’s because we’re seeing the miracles they experienced through the perspective of hindsight. But try to put yourself in their shoes. Consider how impossible the situation must have seemed for them at the time when they couldn’t see the outcome.

For example, look at the three Hebrew men who were about to be thrown into the fiery furnace for not bowing down and worshipping the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.1 It might look like they were glowing with confidence in front of the head of the largest empire of their day, certain that nothing could happen to them in that fiery furnace. But could it be that they also battled fear and the uncertainty of what would happen?

It’s true that their friend Daniel held a great deal of power and influence, and he might have been able to stand up for them and rescue them from their fate, but he is not mentioned in regard to this event and may have been away on a trip to another part of the empire. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were on their own, standing up for what they knew was right; and there they were before a king who saw himself as God, surrounded by the king’s jealous counselors who may have seen these Hebrews as a threat to their power. Those angry counselors had probably been instrumental in whipping up the king’s fury against the three Hebrew men.

Despite the bold declaration of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that they would trust in God no matter what happened, they were human and prone to the same fears that any one of us facing such a horrifying fate would experience.

Faith isn’t the absence of fear; faith is what overcomes fear. My guess is that they dreaded what was about to happen with everything in them, but they still knew what they had to do. Their faith didn’t seem to be based on any assumption that their bodies would miraculously be impervious to the heat and fire. At least, that’s not what their words in the Bible indicate.

They said, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”2

We know that God will ultimately make things right in the next life, but that knowledge doesn’t lessen the struggles of possibly facing very painful experiences or death. At this moment in time, it’s not the next life that we have to deal with, it’s the present.

You may feel afraid of what you’re facing. You may not see anything you can do to fix the situation you’re in. But God’s intervention in your life isn’t based on your self-confidence. It’s based on your belief in Him and your trust in His unlimited power, goodness, and love. You don’t have to believe that what you want to happen will always happen. You just have to believe that God can bring about what is best in His time and His way, because you trust Him.

Faith knows what is most important to know: God will never leave you nor forsake you.3

None of us knows what lies ahead. We often can’t know if that setback we’re facing or the things we’re suffering will be gone in a minute or a month, or if they will last a lifetime. Our faith can’t be built on expected results that make sense to us. What faith knows is that Jesus will not leave us comfortless; He’ll be there walking with us through the fire, as He was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

1. See Daniel chapter 3.
2. Daniel 3:17–18 NIV
3. See Deuteronomy 31:6.

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God’s “Perfecting” Gifts (Part 1)

By Philip Martin Feb 03, 2016

Today I had an interesting thought. As I was having my devotions, I read a portion of Streams in the Desert by an old saint of God, Maltbie Davenport Babcock, about this verse in James 1: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”1 What I read triggered something inside me telling me to look deeper.

The first thing that caught my attention as something worth deeper examination was when Babcock shared the idea that “every good gift of God is a ‘perfecting’ gift.” That word “perfecting” was intriguing. I read on, “…as well as a gift without defect, a gift which is complete in all respects, a gift which is sound and one which is flawless.”

“Every good gift and every perfecting gift is from above.” In the past when reading this verse I tended to think that every good gift and every perfect gift were the same, or through simple deduction that good equals perfect. Therefore I was inclined to think when things went “good” that it was from God and when things went “bad,” those things must not have been from God. I was failing to see these perfect gifts as perfecting gifts.

However, now I started to look at God’s perfecting gifts through the microscopic lenses of Romans 8:28: “All things work together for good.” And John 15:2: “Every branch that bears fruit, he purges.” And Hebrews 12:6: “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” The light came on, and to paraphrase Paul, “Before, my natural man could not receive the things of the Spirit of God, because they seemed foolishness to me; nor could I understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”2 I felt I was starting to get “the mind of Christ” on the matter and see it as He does.

So what are these perfecting gifts from God supposed to do for us or to us? Paul said, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”3 What is this eternal weight of glory He wants in us?

Babcock explains:

“Character is worth all it costs, and since God is ceaselessly, changelessly bent upon building character, the denial or trial that helps to bring it to pass is as much a tool of His invariable purpose as the gift that makes you laugh with joy.

“Circumstances do not make character. The noblest character can emerge from the worst surroundings, and moral failures come out of the best. Just where you are, take the things of life as tools, and use them for God’s glory so you will help the kingdom come, and the Master will use the things of life in cutting and polishing you so that there shall someday be seen in you a soul conformed to His likeness.”

Through these “perfecting gifts” God is changing us, changing our character to be “conformed to the image of His Son,” and as Paul also said in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” God wants our characters to be reflections of His Son’s character. All the chiseling, sanding, rubbing, polishing, purifying, molding, breaking, making, and remaking is for one purpose and one purpose alone. It is so that when people look at us they will see in us a reflective image of His Son.

J. R. Miller put it this way:

“The word ‘character’ in its origin is suggestive. It is from a root which signifies to scratch, to engrave, to cut into furrows. Then it comes to mean that which is engraved or cut on anything. In life, therefore, it is that which experiences cut or furrow in the soul.

1 James 1:17 KJV.
2 1 Corinthians 2:14.
3 2 Corinthians 4:17.

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God's "Perfecting" Gifts - Final

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1 KJV

… Its life is like a piece of white paper, with nothing yet written upon it; or it is like a smooth marble tablet, on which, as yet, the sculptor has cut nothing; or the canvas, waiting for the painter’s colors. Character is formed as the years go on. It is the writing, the song, the story, put upon the paper. It is the engraving, the sculpturing, which the marble receives under the chisel. It is the picture which the artist paints on the canvas. Final character is what a man is when he has lived through all his earthly years. In the Christian it is the lines of the likeness of Christ limned,4 sometimes furrowed and scarred, upon his soul by the divine Spirit through the means of grace and the experiences of his own life.”

Now on to the second part of James 1:17: “… and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” Babcock wrote:

“The word ‘variableness’ is parallax, and that means a difference due to a change in the point of view. ‘But that is what I mean,’ you exclaim. ‘God has changed toward me. See how He treated me once; see my happy young days, my glorious buds and blossoms, and now see my luxuriance cut away, my exuberance gone; my branches bleeding from His knife.’ But God has never changed His view of us nor what He thinks of us. It’s still the same as when He spoke them over 2500 years ago through Jeremiah, ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.’”5

Then, as if to put a rope around this thought of God’s perfecting gifts working together for our good, Babcock goes on to say:

“Dear heart, every gift of God is a perfecting gift. The plow and the harrow and the pruning-knife are as much His gifts as the sun and the rain. Grapes are better than mere luxuriant leaves and a tangle of twines. For that is all they would be without the pruning step.

“The heart may cry out in the darkness, ‘God’s gifts have been anything but good and perfect to me! He has instead robbed me of health and hopes and loved ones. Faith is a mockery, and providence a fool’s dream.’ Dear sufferer, look again at the text. ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of Lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.’ Are these not wonderful words!

“The shadow on your life came not from His turning, but from yours. God has never changed His mind of love toward you, and never a shadow falls because He turned His face away. Every good gift and every perfecting gift is from above. Someday the gold will be thankful for the crucible, the steel for the furnace of pain, the purple clusters for the knife that cuts.”6

In closing I’ll end with a passage from David in the Psalms which means a lot more to me today than it ever did before:

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.
—Psalm 138:87

4 limn: 1. To describe or depict by painting or drawing. 2. To suffuse or highlight with light or color; illuminate.
5 Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV.
6 From Maltbie Davenport Babcock’s “Thoughts for Every Day Living” in Streams in the Desert.
7 NKJV.

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Strawberry Fields Forever - Final

I longed for a “somewhere” and a sense of community rather than the heaven of “nothingness” that some creeds promised. So even though I found a measure of peace by living a semi-hermit’s life, I realized that the peace I found in nature was only temporary, and it would soon fade when I returned to the city. I needed to find a more lasting peace when I was confronted by the harsh realities of everyday life—a peace that was not dependent on external circumstances, someone or something that could still the tempestuous waves of life. I had gone to church occasionally and was a nominal believer, but did not have much of a heartfelt understanding of what Christianity was all about or how it applied to me.

It was then that my sister told me about Jesus. Not the traditions or the rituals, but the man. I discovered that Jesus was much more. He was the man who lived the perfect “simple life,” going everywhere doing good. He not only talked about love, but gave His life for it and rose again three days after His death, giving us eternal life in the bargain. In my mind, in the context of that time, He was the perfect “flower child” without the bummers of drugs and all the other hang-ups I had experienced. I received Him into my heart, and a seed was sown that grew and grew as I watered it with His Word, prayer, and sharing my faith with others.

A few months later while on vacation in Canada, I waded into a lake and cut my feet on the sharp rocks in the shallows. As I lay on the shore trying to nurse my wounds, I looked up at the turquoise sky. Being on the verge of a life-changing decision, I wondered if this incident had some significance for me, so I instinctively asked the Lord to speak to me about what had happened.

It came not in audible words, but via what the Bible calls “the still small voice” to the heart.1 It said, “Jump in all the way, or stay on the shore. But if you wade in, you’ll get cut.” I knew this meant that I was to go ahead and make my decision with boldness, doing what I knew to be right and not worrying about the consequences. As the saying goes, “Make sure that you are right, and then go ahead.”

I took the jump and decided to devote my life to the Lord’s service in many ways and in many lands. And here I am some 40 years later, glad I did. Proverbs says, "The Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.”2 He has certainly done that in my life many times.

It was in Jesus that I found the peace of mind that I was looking for. Not in running away from the world, but being in the world yet not fully of the world. Sure, we sometimes need quiet and to get away from it all—even Jesus had to leave the multitude to get alone and talk with His Father. How much more do we need to have peace and quiet for our souls? But we shouldn’t forget that there is a world waiting in need of that peace that we have received from Him—the peace that passes all understanding.3

Looking back on my crossroads decision, I can say that I have no regrets. Jesus is the truth and the way to life. He has led me to green pastures beside still, clear mountain waters.4

1 1 Kings 19:12.
2 Proverbs 3:26 NKJV.
3 Philippians 4:7: And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
4 Psalm 23:2.

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Strawberry Fields Forever (Part 1)

By Curtis Peter van Gorder Jan 20, 2016

It is said that our life hinges on four main decisions that lead us to become what we are: what career we choose, who we marry, what friends we make, and what we believe in. I would say that what we believe in is the most important of the four, as that will largely determine what happens with the other three.

Each one of us likely has a story of some pivotal moment that helped shape our belief system. These experiences are part of what is known as our testimony. Our life story speaks volumes. It tells the listener that if it happened to us, then it just might work for them. You can read how Paul told his story in Acts chapter 22. Perhaps your story is still in the making. Here is mine:

I was nineteen when I decided to spend the summer on my family’s abandoned farm out in the middle of the Pennsylvania wilderness in America. It could hardly be called a farm anymore. Only the shells of a few buildings remained. Forty years earlier it had been a bustling farm for my father and his family of seven rowdy brothers and sisters, but a tractor that was strip mining in the area ran over a fuel line that ignited, reducing the house to ashes. No one bothered rebuilding the house, and the surrounding property reverted back to its natural wild state. Away from everything and everybody, it was the perfect distraction-free place to chart my path for my future. Nineteen is a pivotal age and a time many make important crossroads-type decisions—and so it was with me.

My dog and I lived for six weeks in complete simplicity. Taking long walks through the forest, swimming in the river, meditating, and writing poetry. I lived on wild strawberries, granola, and soybeans. I nicknamed this place my “Strawberry Fields Forever” after the popular Beatles’ song that romanticized an idyllic eternal world that I hoped to find in this natural simplicity.

My life previously had been anything but simple, and I longed for some peace of mind. My girlfriend had gotten pregnant. I had asked her to marry me, but it didn’t work out. The child was given up for adoption. (Just as a footnote, I have since met my son, and he told me that he is thankful for the gift of life. I am thankful that he has done well as a successful financial adviser and has a happy home life.) To know that I had brought a child into the world was truly sobering, to say the least.

At the time I sought to express myself by writing in the “stream of consciousness” style, and my photography was equally as confusing. Just to show you how confusing it was: some friends and I had put together an exhibition of our “art,” which we had dubbed “Weirdism” in the hopes of starting a new art movement. It was short-lived, though, as we found our exhibition in the trash the next morning. The janitor had mistaken it for garbage.

At this time in my life, I was taking LSD and marijuana occasionally and it was messing my head up badly, giving me a very distorted sense of reality. All of this was happening against the background of the turbulent ‘70s, with the Vietnam War, race riots, the civil rights struggle, and a nation of searching youth all thrown into the mix. I longed to find a simple life to reconnect with nature and try to find my spiritual roots.

I thought perhaps I could find it in Zen archery. I was in awe of the great masters that I had read about, who could shoot an arrow and hit the bull’s eye, then with the second arrow split the first arrow in half. I tried and tried to hit the bull’s eye, but I spent most of my time searching for the arrows. It would take me a few lifetimes to master this art, I figured. Now I knew why they had pictured the masters with long beards and bald heads—it took them that long to learn to shoot straight. But I was in a hurry to find enlightenment.

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Liberating Our Perspectives - Final

Love much. There is no waste in freely giving;
More blessed is it, even, than to receive.
He who loves much, alone finds life worth living;
Love on, through doubt and darkness; and believe
There is nothing which Love may not achieve.–Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Sometimes what seems like something bad, something unjust or unfair could be His way of warning us of some even greater trouble that we’re heading for. Recognizing the potential for trouble can often help us avoid something far worse. Picture your computer sending you warnings by shutting down, causing you to lose work because something is wrong with your hard drive. If this happened, would you assume that the computer or the programs running it were just getting back at you by not saving your files or making you suffer loss? Or would you realize that there must be something positive that can be gleaned from what’s happening; namely you realize that your hard drive may be starting to fail and you need to buy a new hard drive before you risk losing everything.

The losses hurt, but that doesn’t mean the intent is to cause you harm or punishment. The upside of those troublesome setbacks is to help you in some way. That new hard drive will hold lots more data, run more efficiently, and make your tasks easier in the future.

That’s what our sometimes debilitating struggles can do for us. They can help us look at what is most important. They can spur us on to do more than we ever dreamed possible. Often, feeling the hopelessness of the circumstances, the frustration with the way things are, the impossibility of carrying on business as usual, helps us realize the need to get in deeper, more solid, unbreakable communication with Jesus.

And just as Jesus’ love for us was manifested in using His suffering to help us, so His love in us can be used to help others. We’re each a work in progress, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use each small step we take as a tool to help others. Even as we are progressing toward spiritual victories, our faith can provide us with so much to offer in counsel, answers, and hope for others who are struggling with monumental upsets or times of severe discouragement and a loss of vision. As we learn more about the freedom, joy, mercy and compassion that Jesus makes available to us, we come to understand His nature more clearly and how to emulate Him in our own lives, today and for eternity.

Director's Corner TFI

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Liberating Our Perspectives (Part 1)

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (KJV)

by Maria Fontaine August 22, 2015

Do you ever look at the tests, struggles, and impossible situations you find yourself in and wonder if it might be the result of something you did wrong? Perhaps you’re in the midst of sickness and feel that God is chastising you because you haven’t lived up to your spiritual commitments? Or perhaps you see the struggles you’re facing as a sign of weak faith?

Looking at what happens in your life from this perspective comes from the assumption that God is upset or angry over your mistakes, shortcomings, and sins.

I’m sure He wants us to learn to do better, but if you see God’s hand in your life as one of anger and judgment, please ask yourself if that is consistent with Jesus’ love and example. Think about all He has given you and done for you. He’s not in the business of making you pay for what He’s already paid for. He’s in the business of using everything that comes into your life to help bring out the good, the beauty, and the qualities He created you with.

Remember that Jesus loved you before you loved Him.1 If His goal was to punish you for your weaknesses, failings, and sins, that would seem to contradict all that He has done for you. Why then would He have come to earth to die for you and to take all your sins on Himself? He knows all the blunders and sins that every one of us is guilty of. He knew that you and I would make mistakes and even sometimes intentionally disregard His counsel.

Yet, He loves us enough to see us with all our flaws and still go to such lengths to rescue us. Why would His purpose be to make us suffer retribution for what He has already forgiven us for?

I believe that Jesus is interested in maximizing our strengths and blessings. He’s like our CEO in the kingdom of heaven. What kind of CEO would be more concerned with rendering consequences and judgment than maximizing potential? Any good CEO will be focused on empowering those in his company to do their best. I believe that’s what our Lord’s goal is as well. He’s providing you with every opportunity to do your best for His “Heavenly Kingdom.com.”

So if these things that happen are not His retribution on us for being less than perfect, there has to be another purpose in what we face, which lines up with who He is and all that He’s done for us.

This earthly existence will sometimes bring struggles, times of loneliness, discouragement, sorrow, suffering, frustration, and lack of vision. Sometimes we’ll face intense hopelessness, confusion, or weariness in well-doing. But we always have the freedom to choose to turn to Jesus or not. And when we do, even the most terrible circumstances can bring us into a deeper, richer, greater understanding and relationship with Him.

It doesn’t matter how problems come, Jesus can take these setbacks and troubles and use them for His good purposes. Those of us who love Him can trust that in His time He will bring a greater good of some kind into our lives from them.

He turns what would be hell without Him into the heavenly blessings of deeper faith, stronger determination, and an abiding love for Jesus that makes it possible to face the future and accomplish our calling. We can walk with Him through anything, because the path He’s leading us along leads to an eternity in His presence, in the light of His glory and love, and the truly great and unimaginably wonderful rewards He has promised. (See 1 Peter 4.) (Continued)

1 1 John 4:19.

Director's Corner TFI

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This is a list of Keys707's Blogs. Click here for Keys707's Blog List

Keys707 Blog (464)

Becoming a Christian Case Maker (Part 2)

Becoming a Christian Case Maker (Part 1)

The Reality of Greatness

42 Kilometers of Life

Written in Heaven

What Faith Knows

God’s “Perfecting” Gifts (Part 1)

God's "Perfecting" Gifts - Final

Strawberry Fields Forever - Final

Strawberry Fields Forever (Part 1)

Liberating Our Perspectives - Final

Liberating Our Perspectives (Part 1)

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