John 5
"...the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me." John 5:36
There is a peculiar secular tradition we have here in Canada that happens every spring. Nearly every year around Easter, Maclean’s magazine produces an article that investigates the legitimacy of Christ. How can we know that He’s really the way to God, heaven and all of that?
It comes as little surprise that Christ faced similar objections among His contemporaries. At this point in His ministry, many among the established Jewish leadership are bent on killing him. As He addresses His critics, Jesus brings to mind three things that bear witness about His authenticity.
1. The testimony of John the baptizer
2. The things He did (largely miracles)
3. The Father Himself
Out of these three, I believe in the eyes of the world, the testimony of the God of the universe is the one we would find to be the least credible. I doubt we’d give much credit to some dude living in the wilderness eating bugs and wearing camel skins either. Yet the miracles, whether we believe them to be real or not, certainly would demand our attention.
As we read through The Bible, it’s important to recognize that the words that John (the gospel writer) speaks to us, were spoken about events that were verifiable OR deniable in his day. John was writing about events that happened in his own lifetime, so there would have been others who had lived through these events who could quickly put down his claims. We have before us, whether we like it or not – The most enduring story and testimony of antiquity.
Now that we are 5 chapters into the book of John, we’ve read as Jesus has turned water into wine, healed a young man who was deathly ill, as well as an invalid. It could be tempting to think that had we been alive in His day and able to see these events for ourselves that it would have been easier to believe in Him than it is now 2,000 years after the fact. It is both sad and refreshing to know that objecting to Christ was just as much the norm then as it is now.
These same three witnesses are at work in the world today giving witness to who Jesus is; The Father Himself, The works of Christ and people like John the baptizer. I don’t eat locusts or wear camel’s hair, but I’m one of the many who are doing what they can to tell others about Jesus, and I’ve come to terms with the reality that my testimony is just as easy to deny in my day, as John’s was in his. Likewise, The Father Himself maintains His word about His Son.
As for His work in the world today, there isn’t space to tell you half of what I’ve seen Him do, although I’ve written a book in an attempt to give it a decent shot. I will concede, His works are harder to locate and recognize, because He’s not walking around earth in a human body. He’s no longer limited by location, but at work throughout the world. Look long enough, and you’ll see, if you really want to see. If you do see, what makes you think you’d believe?
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Friday, January 6, 2017
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Why Are You Here?
John 4:1-30
"God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:24
Fitness centers love the start of a new year. Season after season, it proves to be a time when people looking to lose weight or get in shape buy memberships with great intentions. By the end of January, most of the new comers fall away.
I've never had the inclination to join a gym, so I'll have to make my best guess as to what happens in the mind of someone who does. I often wonder if many people join for a time, but living an active lifestyle really wasn't what they were seeking in the first place. They signed on for some other reason, be it to lose a few pounds or to better their overall health. Their motives were elsewhere besides the activity itself.
As Jesus speaks with this Samaritan woman, she begins talking about the Jews worshipping in Jerusalem and how her people worship on some mountain. Jesus almost seems to cut her off. It would seem that to her, worship had much to do with trivial things such as place. In response, Jesus' words are a kind of correction.
He speaks of worshipping in spirit and truth. Worship is a word we often use to describe expressing our love and adoration for God. He didn't elaborate for us, but I surmise that what he is saying means something like this, "I care less about where you worship, but more about why you're there." This is bigger than 'going to church', but let's run with it shall we?
Although I detest the language of it, 'going to church' seems to be the default phrase we use and place we go when we want to connect with God. I believe it fair to say that some churches are better than others, but God is more concerned about the spirit and truth we live by than the address we arrive at. He places very little value whether we meet with Him at this mountain, or in that city, and much value on what's really going on in our hearts.
As for the spirit, we looked last chapter at how we are to be born again if we are to even see the kingdom of heaven. His spirit wants to be at home in us, expressing an authentic love for Him.
As for truth, He wants us to worship Him in sincerity. Just as people are often found to exercise not because they want the activity, but rather to lose weight; so too we can offer a form of quasi worship when we're really after something else.
Our motives are often decent, just as losing weight is a decent objective. The church can be a place we turn when our life is falling apart. (And if your world is in peril, I hope you do find comfort among us). It can be a place we head in order to feel better about a guilty conscience. The message of forgiveness we find there can sound like good news, even when we really don't want to be changed. The church offers a community of support for those who show up. These are good things. Could we agree on that?
Some of you have had people in your life, not because they were interested in you, but for what they thought they could get from you. God will not be used. You're 5 days into this journey. I trust for you, that you're here in truth. You're here for the right reasons, and something within you really is interested in walking with Christ. My prayer is that this would outlast your gym membership.
For you and I – This blog is our meeting place at the moment. Are we here for Christ, or for something else?
"God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:24
Fitness centers love the start of a new year. Season after season, it proves to be a time when people looking to lose weight or get in shape buy memberships with great intentions. By the end of January, most of the new comers fall away.
I've never had the inclination to join a gym, so I'll have to make my best guess as to what happens in the mind of someone who does. I often wonder if many people join for a time, but living an active lifestyle really wasn't what they were seeking in the first place. They signed on for some other reason, be it to lose a few pounds or to better their overall health. Their motives were elsewhere besides the activity itself.
As Jesus speaks with this Samaritan woman, she begins talking about the Jews worshipping in Jerusalem and how her people worship on some mountain. Jesus almost seems to cut her off. It would seem that to her, worship had much to do with trivial things such as place. In response, Jesus' words are a kind of correction.
He speaks of worshipping in spirit and truth. Worship is a word we often use to describe expressing our love and adoration for God. He didn't elaborate for us, but I surmise that what he is saying means something like this, "I care less about where you worship, but more about why you're there." This is bigger than 'going to church', but let's run with it shall we?
Although I detest the language of it, 'going to church' seems to be the default phrase we use and place we go when we want to connect with God. I believe it fair to say that some churches are better than others, but God is more concerned about the spirit and truth we live by than the address we arrive at. He places very little value whether we meet with Him at this mountain, or in that city, and much value on what's really going on in our hearts.
As for the spirit, we looked last chapter at how we are to be born again if we are to even see the kingdom of heaven. His spirit wants to be at home in us, expressing an authentic love for Him.
As for truth, He wants us to worship Him in sincerity. Just as people are often found to exercise not because they want the activity, but rather to lose weight; so too we can offer a form of quasi worship when we're really after something else.
Our motives are often decent, just as losing weight is a decent objective. The church can be a place we turn when our life is falling apart. (And if your world is in peril, I hope you do find comfort among us). It can be a place we head in order to feel better about a guilty conscience. The message of forgiveness we find there can sound like good news, even when we really don't want to be changed. The church offers a community of support for those who show up. These are good things. Could we agree on that?
Some of you have had people in your life, not because they were interested in you, but for what they thought they could get from you. God will not be used. You're 5 days into this journey. I trust for you, that you're here in truth. You're here for the right reasons, and something within you really is interested in walking with Christ. My prayer is that this would outlast your gym membership.
For you and I – This blog is our meeting place at the moment. Are we here for Christ, or for something else?
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
It Has To Be You
John 4:31-54
“It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” John 4:42
This is pretty much the way it works. People, believing in Jesus for themselves.
I was reading an article last week about a man who was “born Christian”. I never really understand what that is supposed to mean. I know it’s possible for Christians to have children. I know that it is possible to be born into a family where both parents believe in Jesus. I know that Christian parents generally do what they can to teach their children about God and stuff. Being “born Christian”, that is weird.
Among the many foundational things about being a Christ-ian, personal belief is one of the nonnegotiables. Following Jesus isn’t a subject to be taught and memorized. He isn’t inherited through genetics by some kind of faith gene. You actually have to believe, for yourself, in Him.
The kind of faith we see here among the townspeople is much more than intellectual assent. I believe Adolf Hitler was a person. I do not however believe in him. Believing in this Biblical sense comes to a place where the believer knows Him to be real enough to have a relationship with. Having that, we recognize His work in the world today. Belief carries with it a level of trust, whereby we actually act on His word.
Believing does not have to do with subscribing to an ancient form of philosophy or ideology. From the outside looking in, I do understand how it can appear that way. We do seem to have a different attitude towards things like the sanctity of life, human sexuality and getting drunk on the weekend. Even these come, not from memorizing a moral code of conduct. We read our Bible and find that it is not an irrelevant book, but it speaks quite clearly about the real matters of life in the here and now. Genuine belief spills over from the mind, affecting the lives we live. It does so because of its legitimacy. Real faith affects our actions. Anything else is a fraud.
As I speak of Christians, many of you identify yourselves among the ‘we’. Others of you see them as the ‘they’. I’m writing primarily to those of you who consider them to be the ‘they’. Becoming one of them is often considered to be a negative thing. A good friend of mine was married to a woman who became a Christian, and when she told him his response was kind of cute, “That’s great dear. They got ya!”
Maybe you know people like this Samaritan woman and they want to tell you about Jesus. It can be annoying, I know. Yet be encouraged. This isn’t a thing that can be forced on you. Nobody can make you be one of us. If you don’t want to talk about it, just tell the person you don’t want to talk about it. If they are a decent human being, they’ll respect that.
But you’re here, reading about Jesus for yourself in the book of John. Forget me. Forget the woman. What do you think of Jesus? What do you see in Him?
“It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” John 4:42
This is pretty much the way it works. People, believing in Jesus for themselves.
I was reading an article last week about a man who was “born Christian”. I never really understand what that is supposed to mean. I know it’s possible for Christians to have children. I know that it is possible to be born into a family where both parents believe in Jesus. I know that Christian parents generally do what they can to teach their children about God and stuff. Being “born Christian”, that is weird.
Among the many foundational things about being a Christ-ian, personal belief is one of the nonnegotiables. Following Jesus isn’t a subject to be taught and memorized. He isn’t inherited through genetics by some kind of faith gene. You actually have to believe, for yourself, in Him.
The kind of faith we see here among the townspeople is much more than intellectual assent. I believe Adolf Hitler was a person. I do not however believe in him. Believing in this Biblical sense comes to a place where the believer knows Him to be real enough to have a relationship with. Having that, we recognize His work in the world today. Belief carries with it a level of trust, whereby we actually act on His word.
Believing does not have to do with subscribing to an ancient form of philosophy or ideology. From the outside looking in, I do understand how it can appear that way. We do seem to have a different attitude towards things like the sanctity of life, human sexuality and getting drunk on the weekend. Even these come, not from memorizing a moral code of conduct. We read our Bible and find that it is not an irrelevant book, but it speaks quite clearly about the real matters of life in the here and now. Genuine belief spills over from the mind, affecting the lives we live. It does so because of its legitimacy. Real faith affects our actions. Anything else is a fraud.
As I speak of Christians, many of you identify yourselves among the ‘we’. Others of you see them as the ‘they’. I’m writing primarily to those of you who consider them to be the ‘they’. Becoming one of them is often considered to be a negative thing. A good friend of mine was married to a woman who became a Christian, and when she told him his response was kind of cute, “That’s great dear. They got ya!”
Maybe you know people like this Samaritan woman and they want to tell you about Jesus. It can be annoying, I know. Yet be encouraged. This isn’t a thing that can be forced on you. Nobody can make you be one of us. If you don’t want to talk about it, just tell the person you don’t want to talk about it. If they are a decent human being, they’ll respect that.
But you’re here, reading about Jesus for yourself in the book of John. Forget me. Forget the woman. What do you think of Jesus? What do you see in Him?
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Another Life to Live
John 3
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:4
Conversations with Jesus don’t seem to flow like we would normally expect. If a man were to tell me, “Kev, I can tell you are a teacher from God, because no one can do the things you do.”, I’d respond much differently than Jesus. I’d probably say, “Thanks man. Thanks a lot!” After hearing these very words form Nicodemus, Jesus unexpectedly retorts, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” I’m still not sure how this was a response to the man. What I do recognize, is that the same odd form of communication exists today between the people of the world, and the people of Christ. It looks like this;
“I can’t help it. I was born this way.”
However tactfully the Christian may or may not respond, what they might be thinking in their mind is, “Oh dear. If you really were born this way, if you really haven’t been born again, that’s too bad.” Being born whatever way is supposed to be some kind of defence for a person of the world. A follower of Christ sees it as a death sentence. Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. The "cannot" seems quite definite.
We have been raised in a world that told us we are basically animals. I believe the typical narrative tells us that we came from apes. Is that true? Are we little more than monkeys? Whether we like it or not, we are stuck with and obligated to obey whatever instincts we are born with. We rarely even pause long enough to consider the possibility that the way we are, might not actually be okay.
Jesus doesn’t present us with a new ideology. He hasn’t come up with a new philosophy for living. His words for Nicodemus are not that there is a better way to live - There is another life to live.
No one is born a Christian. The family of God is a thing that we need to be reborn into. Nobody really knows the intricate mechanics of how it happens. What we know, is that it does happen for those who believe in Jesus. You’ve noticed it haven’t you? Christians just think differently. You try to argue with them, but they just don’t get it. They simply aren’t the same creature. That’s the point.
To an extent, the world is probably right. Without Christ, we really are like animals. Would it ever truly be a compliment for me to say, “Yes – You really were born that way”? Without even thinking, we are compelled to do whatever our instincts tell us to do. Many people are fine with that, and even defend the worldview. I wonder though if some of us are tired, or maybe even find it a bit insulting. Is it possible that you’ve loved the darkness more than you’ve loved the light? Does it sound like good news to hear that you were made for more?
None of us fully understand what this reborn life looks like, and that’s okay. For now, I hope that you have either found it, or something about it appeals to you.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:4
Conversations with Jesus don’t seem to flow like we would normally expect. If a man were to tell me, “Kev, I can tell you are a teacher from God, because no one can do the things you do.”, I’d respond much differently than Jesus. I’d probably say, “Thanks man. Thanks a lot!” After hearing these very words form Nicodemus, Jesus unexpectedly retorts, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” I’m still not sure how this was a response to the man. What I do recognize, is that the same odd form of communication exists today between the people of the world, and the people of Christ. It looks like this;
“I can’t help it. I was born this way.”
However tactfully the Christian may or may not respond, what they might be thinking in their mind is, “Oh dear. If you really were born this way, if you really haven’t been born again, that’s too bad.” Being born whatever way is supposed to be some kind of defence for a person of the world. A follower of Christ sees it as a death sentence. Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. The "cannot" seems quite definite.
We have been raised in a world that told us we are basically animals. I believe the typical narrative tells us that we came from apes. Is that true? Are we little more than monkeys? Whether we like it or not, we are stuck with and obligated to obey whatever instincts we are born with. We rarely even pause long enough to consider the possibility that the way we are, might not actually be okay.
Jesus doesn’t present us with a new ideology. He hasn’t come up with a new philosophy for living. His words for Nicodemus are not that there is a better way to live - There is another life to live.
No one is born a Christian. The family of God is a thing that we need to be reborn into. Nobody really knows the intricate mechanics of how it happens. What we know, is that it does happen for those who believe in Jesus. You’ve noticed it haven’t you? Christians just think differently. You try to argue with them, but they just don’t get it. They simply aren’t the same creature. That’s the point.
To an extent, the world is probably right. Without Christ, we really are like animals. Would it ever truly be a compliment for me to say, “Yes – You really were born that way”? Without even thinking, we are compelled to do whatever our instincts tell us to do. Many people are fine with that, and even defend the worldview. I wonder though if some of us are tired, or maybe even find it a bit insulting. Is it possible that you’ve loved the darkness more than you’ve loved the light? Does it sound like good news to hear that you were made for more?
None of us fully understand what this reborn life looks like, and that’s okay. For now, I hope that you have either found it, or something about it appeals to you.
Monday, January 2, 2017
Jesus to the Hypocrites - "OUT!"
John 2
“And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple...” John 2:15
If you’ve ever been disheartened to look at the church and think, “There are so many hypocrites in church,...”, then you’ll like this Jesus. The temple of His day wasn’t the Church as we know it now. It was a place to worship God for sure, but worship itself was different. They hadn’t received Christ as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, so they were still buying animals and sacrificing them, as a symbol of their desire to be made right with God.
In time, there were people who soon figured out they could profit from this. So they brought the market to the temple. They had found a way to profit from the failings and sorrows of others. Christ was not cool with that, and He still isn’t fine with it today.
The temple was to be, as the church is today, where honest sinners could come to be reconciled to the God of the universe. It was not to be a feeding ground for predators. You’ve seen that haven’t you? Unless you live in a cave, you have heard of people in the church taking advantage of others. You have heard of leaders sexually exploiting the people entrusted into their care. You’ve heard of swindlers siphoning off cash from the treasury. You’ve heard of others who convince the people of the church to buy into their fraudulent investment schemes. The church should be a place with open doors, but it also needs to be a safe place, and part of that infers that the wolves don’t really belong. These examples might be among the very sort that Jesus would have driven out with a whip.
The church isn’t for perfect people. It is in fact a place for people who really have done wrong, who earnestly want to be made right. Does that describe you? I was in conversation last week with a guy who likes to sleep with multiple women. He told me he thought that if he walked into church that he might spontaneously combust or something. The church may or may not be a place for such a guy. If he wanted to go to church to look for his next bed partner, there would be something horribly wrong with that. If the day comes when he really wants to walk with Christ, there is a place for him. He seemed like a pretty authentic guy, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him walk in some day, and I don’t believe he’d be there to be a wolf.
There is a place to make money. The temple just was not that place. Christ was not speaking against commercial agriculture. If getting rich is what you’re really after, then I would encourage you to seek out a qualified financial advisor. Or if you really want to pursue sin, pursue it somewhere else other than among His people. If you’re tired of the filth of life and want to walk with God, there’s room for you. Some call that good news. Others might judge you as being one of the many hypocrites and that has to be okay. They aren’t your judge anyway. Only God really knows your heart.
I hope to see you some day.
“And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple...” John 2:15
If you’ve ever been disheartened to look at the church and think, “There are so many hypocrites in church,...”, then you’ll like this Jesus. The temple of His day wasn’t the Church as we know it now. It was a place to worship God for sure, but worship itself was different. They hadn’t received Christ as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, so they were still buying animals and sacrificing them, as a symbol of their desire to be made right with God.
In time, there were people who soon figured out they could profit from this. So they brought the market to the temple. They had found a way to profit from the failings and sorrows of others. Christ was not cool with that, and He still isn’t fine with it today.
The temple was to be, as the church is today, where honest sinners could come to be reconciled to the God of the universe. It was not to be a feeding ground for predators. You’ve seen that haven’t you? Unless you live in a cave, you have heard of people in the church taking advantage of others. You have heard of leaders sexually exploiting the people entrusted into their care. You’ve heard of swindlers siphoning off cash from the treasury. You’ve heard of others who convince the people of the church to buy into their fraudulent investment schemes. The church should be a place with open doors, but it also needs to be a safe place, and part of that infers that the wolves don’t really belong. These examples might be among the very sort that Jesus would have driven out with a whip.
The church isn’t for perfect people. It is in fact a place for people who really have done wrong, who earnestly want to be made right. Does that describe you? I was in conversation last week with a guy who likes to sleep with multiple women. He told me he thought that if he walked into church that he might spontaneously combust or something. The church may or may not be a place for such a guy. If he wanted to go to church to look for his next bed partner, there would be something horribly wrong with that. If the day comes when he really wants to walk with Christ, there is a place for him. He seemed like a pretty authentic guy, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him walk in some day, and I don’t believe he’d be there to be a wolf.
There is a place to make money. The temple just was not that place. Christ was not speaking against commercial agriculture. If getting rich is what you’re really after, then I would encourage you to seek out a qualified financial advisor. Or if you really want to pursue sin, pursue it somewhere else other than among His people. If you’re tired of the filth of life and want to walk with God, there’s room for you. Some call that good news. Others might judge you as being one of the many hypocrites and that has to be okay. They aren’t your judge anyway. Only God really knows your heart.
I hope to see you some day.
What Jesus Does
John 1:29-51
“The next day, John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
If we’re going to take the time to consider Jesus, then I think it wise to understand early on what He’s really all about. I meet people who tell me, “I tried this Christianity thing, but I never really got to the place where it felt like it should.” Others experiment with Jesus hoping He’ll fix something wrong with their life, their relationships, mental health or finances.
There are sufficient stories where God has healed broken relationships, restored finances and helped drive away the mental demons in order to keep the dream alive. Still, many others walk away if or when they realize they still have problems, even after going to church for a while and reading the Bible. It is here that John declares for us what Jesus was sent to do, and it is this – To take away the sin of the world.
Sin isn’t a complicated church word. Sin is disobedience, or rebellion against the very God who created the universe. It is at the core of what is truly wrong in the world. John’s declaration of who Jesus is appears rather odd in a way. If you know what God calls sin or take the time to look into what He wants for humanity, and then take the time to look at the world we live in, you’ll notice that the sin is still here abundantly. If you’ve made such observations, I hope you might come to the conclusion that we are living in and looking at a world that really doesn’t want what Christ came to do. I gave up trying to change the world a long time ago. I hope it matters that I hold much more hope for you.
Yes. It would be absolutely beautiful if sin was abandoned in this world, and I still have such fantasies. Even if we could take away one sin, a sin like murder, just think about how much more lovely life could be for us all. Add to that human trafficking, and theft.
You might be of the mind that doesn’t think sin should be such a big deal. I would propose to you that it is the very moth that eats away at the very fabric of life. Consider if you will simply sin’s affect on relationships. Sins like lying, jealousy and slander destroy relationships every day. It’s not an ancient concept, but a very real and destructive work in us and in the world now.
Our wounds in life often find their root in some form of sin, and it’s rather odd, because God often gets the blame. If God is so great and powerful, then why is there so much pain in the world? I would present to you two things: 1. God is not a dictatorial tyrant. If tyranny is your flavour, then Jesus really isn’t for you. When we say that Christ came to take away the sin of the world, He didn’t come to do so by forcing our hand. 2. God has not wronged you. He didn’t run away with your husband or wife. He didn’t get drunk, get behind the wheel and kill anybody. He’s against those sorts of things.
Maybe you just want a happy life, spending more time on a sandy beach in the Caribbean somewhere. Jesus didn’t come to help us get wealthy or necessarily even to get our life on track. He came to take away sin. If something about that speaks to you, then let’s keep pressing on together. Shall we?
“The next day, John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
If we’re going to take the time to consider Jesus, then I think it wise to understand early on what He’s really all about. I meet people who tell me, “I tried this Christianity thing, but I never really got to the place where it felt like it should.” Others experiment with Jesus hoping He’ll fix something wrong with their life, their relationships, mental health or finances.
There are sufficient stories where God has healed broken relationships, restored finances and helped drive away the mental demons in order to keep the dream alive. Still, many others walk away if or when they realize they still have problems, even after going to church for a while and reading the Bible. It is here that John declares for us what Jesus was sent to do, and it is this – To take away the sin of the world.
Sin isn’t a complicated church word. Sin is disobedience, or rebellion against the very God who created the universe. It is at the core of what is truly wrong in the world. John’s declaration of who Jesus is appears rather odd in a way. If you know what God calls sin or take the time to look into what He wants for humanity, and then take the time to look at the world we live in, you’ll notice that the sin is still here abundantly. If you’ve made such observations, I hope you might come to the conclusion that we are living in and looking at a world that really doesn’t want what Christ came to do. I gave up trying to change the world a long time ago. I hope it matters that I hold much more hope for you.
Yes. It would be absolutely beautiful if sin was abandoned in this world, and I still have such fantasies. Even if we could take away one sin, a sin like murder, just think about how much more lovely life could be for us all. Add to that human trafficking, and theft.
You might be of the mind that doesn’t think sin should be such a big deal. I would propose to you that it is the very moth that eats away at the very fabric of life. Consider if you will simply sin’s affect on relationships. Sins like lying, jealousy and slander destroy relationships every day. It’s not an ancient concept, but a very real and destructive work in us and in the world now.
Our wounds in life often find their root in some form of sin, and it’s rather odd, because God often gets the blame. If God is so great and powerful, then why is there so much pain in the world? I would present to you two things: 1. God is not a dictatorial tyrant. If tyranny is your flavour, then Jesus really isn’t for you. When we say that Christ came to take away the sin of the world, He didn’t come to do so by forcing our hand. 2. God has not wronged you. He didn’t run away with your husband or wife. He didn’t get drunk, get behind the wheel and kill anybody. He’s against those sorts of things.
Maybe you just want a happy life, spending more time on a sandy beach in the Caribbean somewhere. Jesus didn’t come to help us get wealthy or necessarily even to get our life on track. He came to take away sin. If something about that speaks to you, then let’s keep pressing on together. Shall we?
Sunday, January 1, 2017
In The Beginning
John 1:1-28
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was in God”
This might be an odd way to start off, but I’m going to begin by possibly challenging everything you’ve been taught. It might be wiser to warm up to you first, but if you’re going to check out on this journey, why waste time?
We’ve been taught all along in school that billions of years ago, the universe began all on its own. Non-living matter spontaneously gave rise to life in a cosmic big bang. It took a lot of time of course, but that is in fact the story we are given. The Bible teaches something drastically different. We read here in the first part of John, that in the beginning, God already existed and that He spoke the universe into existence.
I know I’ve lost some of you, and Christians are often tagged as if they don’t believe in science, but nothing could be further from the truth. We love science. We carry iPhones and buy data plans. We go to the doctor and usually take whatever chemicals they prescribe. What you will find, is that we sometimes draw different conclusions than what is generally held by the established scientific community.
And here we are. We don’t believe that life came from non-life, not because we are morons, rather because we trust our senses. We have never observed otherwise. So I’m not asking to join our ranks at the moment, but simply that you would consider something you haven’t been fed in public school or post secondary. We don’t believe the universe was a self starter, and it is often science itself that reinforces our convictions.
I encourage you to look into the research being done by an organization called CERN, especially the work being done on what is referred to as a hadron collider. Essentially, scientists are trying to recreate a miniature ‘big bang’. What we notice quickly, is that this system is also not a self starter. The system requires input from outside itself. Specifically, it requires a massive amount of financial support, not to mention a great deal of human resources. So as believers, we see very little conflict between science and what we see in The Bible. In fact, it reinforces our faith.
It seems so glaringly obvious to many of us. For this reason, you may have found us to be immoveable when you get into a discussion about it. Maybe you are ready to jump ship and join the Christian ranks. Regardless of how you receive this, thank you for listening and giving Christ a chance. If nothing else, maybe now you have a better understanding of why these Christians hold on to their ideas about creation so strongly. It’s because we really do like science. We simply come to different conclusions on occasion.
PS uni – means single, or one
Verse can mean a sentence, part of a poem or song.
Could the universe have been a single spoken statement? Like, someone spoke it into existence?
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was in God”
This might be an odd way to start off, but I’m going to begin by possibly challenging everything you’ve been taught. It might be wiser to warm up to you first, but if you’re going to check out on this journey, why waste time?
We’ve been taught all along in school that billions of years ago, the universe began all on its own. Non-living matter spontaneously gave rise to life in a cosmic big bang. It took a lot of time of course, but that is in fact the story we are given. The Bible teaches something drastically different. We read here in the first part of John, that in the beginning, God already existed and that He spoke the universe into existence.
I know I’ve lost some of you, and Christians are often tagged as if they don’t believe in science, but nothing could be further from the truth. We love science. We carry iPhones and buy data plans. We go to the doctor and usually take whatever chemicals they prescribe. What you will find, is that we sometimes draw different conclusions than what is generally held by the established scientific community.
And here we are. We don’t believe that life came from non-life, not because we are morons, rather because we trust our senses. We have never observed otherwise. So I’m not asking to join our ranks at the moment, but simply that you would consider something you haven’t been fed in public school or post secondary. We don’t believe the universe was a self starter, and it is often science itself that reinforces our convictions.
I encourage you to look into the research being done by an organization called CERN, especially the work being done on what is referred to as a hadron collider. Essentially, scientists are trying to recreate a miniature ‘big bang’. What we notice quickly, is that this system is also not a self starter. The system requires input from outside itself. Specifically, it requires a massive amount of financial support, not to mention a great deal of human resources. So as believers, we see very little conflict between science and what we see in The Bible. In fact, it reinforces our faith.
It seems so glaringly obvious to many of us. For this reason, you may have found us to be immoveable when you get into a discussion about it. Maybe you are ready to jump ship and join the Christian ranks. Regardless of how you receive this, thank you for listening and giving Christ a chance. If nothing else, maybe now you have a better understanding of why these Christians hold on to their ideas about creation so strongly. It’s because we really do like science. We simply come to different conclusions on occasion.
PS uni – means single, or one
Verse can mean a sentence, part of a poem or song.
Could the universe have been a single spoken statement? Like, someone spoke it into existence?
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