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Posts Tagged ‘atheism’

WHO’S THE GOD OF YOUR LIFE?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 29, 2016| 1 Comment »

false godsWhen I found this meme on an atheist internet community, it caused me to ponder the exact command.

(FYI, it’s written by an ancient Hebrew historian, and an easier-to-read version puts it like this: “You must not worship any other gods except me.”)

So, is God admitting He’s not the only god floating around the universe? That’s certainly an easy conclusion to make and it’s obviously the route taken by the creator of this meme.

Let me be quite truthful: thousands of years ago, many people did, indeed, worship other “gods”. Or more accurately, they worshiped what they thought were gods.

Chief among those rival “gods”, mentioned in ancient documents, are Baal, Ashtoreth and Molech.

You’ve probably never heard these names before and the reason is simple: they turned out to be nothing but figments of people’s imagination — and often created to allow “followers” to do ghastly things, such as sacrifice children. Consider this: if Baal, Ashtoreth and Molech were “gods”, wouldn’t they still be around today?

All that said, the commandment certainly has application today because there are plenty of modern “gods” vying for our attention. Here’s a brief list:

Power: just watch what people will do to become prime ministers, presidents, premiers, governors, mayors and CEOs. How many lies are they willing to tell? How many promises will they make to financiers and lobby groups?

Wealth: I Googled “how to become rich” and found 22 (yes, TWENTY-TWO) pages of links. I think that’s enough to call wealth a “god”.

Sex: according to a 2013 Huffington Post article, pornography websites get more visitors each month than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter combined. Wikipedia lists 22 U.S. politicians who were forced to resign because of a sex scandal. And that’s just between 2000 and 2015. Yes, I can confidently write that sex is a “god” to many, many people.

Fame: Think about the endless number of TV reality shows in North America. Many of them, like The Bachelor, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Hoarders, don’t showcase anyone with talent for anything other than achieving fame on those TV shows. Yep, definitely a “god”.

Do any of these gods have a place in your life? Do they have a place in mine? Probably. I try to be aware of how I use my time, my brain and my emotions, but I’m brought up in the same culture as you. And like it or not, that culture insists that the meaning of life is found in power, wealth, sex and fame.

One way I’ve found to keep these false gods from dominating my life is to stay focused on just one god: the creator and master of time, space and the universe.

That creator:

  • knows who I am;
  • wants to have a living, breathing relationship with me (not just in this life; for all eternity) and;
  • sent His Son, Jesus of Nazareth, to this planet to make that happen.

Following Jesus has made a tremendous, positive difference in my life. He can make a tremendous, positive difference in your life, too.

Interested in knowing more? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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BLUDGEONED INTO CONFORMITY

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 17, 2016| 25 Comments »

bludgeoning-9-16Maybe you read this graphic (supplied by an Internet atheism community) and thought “Ya, whoever this Lovecraft dude was, he has a point.”

Okay, then. I have no problem writing that sadly, some parents do try to “bludgeon” their young into artificial conformity. And it saddens me because those children will likely abandon faith rather than embrace it (you can read a few examples here: http://wp.me/p2wzRb-Y).

But consider this FACT: as children from a family of faith venture out into our culture, their worldview will be severely tested by a tsunami of ideas and trends that are absolutely opposed to everything they believe.

That tsunami of non-faith philosophies and lifestyles inevitably serves the exact purpose of H.P. Lovecraft — an American horror fiction writer who wavered between atheism and agnosticism — and others who are opposed to faith.

That tsunami serves to bludgeon people into conformity with a world that acts as if there is no creator and no absolute truth.

Resisting the tsunami is challenging at the best of times. Followers of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God) agree with the ideas advanced by ancient original-source documents:

  • God is the real, eternal creator of the universe, this planet and everyone on it.
  • God created the gift of freewill and stands by it, no matter how often we humans spit on it.
  • God is a personal god who is involved in the lives of everyone who permits Him to live in them through his Holy Spirit.
  • God is perfect and that’s his standard for every human being.
  • God knows humanity can’t even agree on a definition of perfection, much less adhere to  it.
  • God offers Jesus as a gift to everyone who is willing to accept Him — His life, His words, His sacrificial death (to make up for all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to to) and His glorious resurrection.

At least some of these basic tenets are rejected by most of humanity. Perhaps you’re one of them. But are you at least open-minded enough to realize that what H.P. Lovecraft considered an “unbending quest for truth” is usually quite subjective?

A remarkably telling three-word sentence in one of the original-source documents of Jesus’ physical life on earth speaks volumes: “What is truth?” asked the political leader of Jesus, who had been arrested on the authority of religious leaders who opposed Him.

Jesus didn’t answer the question. Can you, with absolute objectivity? Without my faith in Jesus, I know I couldn’t.

So from your perspective, do you know there’s nothing behind all we see and experience? Do you know that morality is entire subjective? Do you know that when you die, ALL that you are will become NOTHING more than rancid worm food?

If you don’t know all this for sure, then perhaps you’re open minded enough to consider that maybe there is a creator. And maybe He does have a divine Son who died to make up for all the wrongs YOU’VE done and all the rights YOU’VE failed to do. And hey, if you’ve come this far, perhaps you’ll even consider that by trusting in this Son and following Him, you’ll have a permanent place with Him in Heaven.

What do you think? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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THE NORTH KOREA QUESTION

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 10, 2016| 6 Comments »

northkoreaquestion-9-16Our culture discourages thinking about what happens when this life ends, but maybe you’re one of those people with the courage to ponder the notion.

If there is a Heaven, is it like the numbing, monotonous ordeal described by militant atheist Christopher Hitchens? Is it, as Christianity Today magazine postulated: “an uninspiring place, a subject of clichés and the butt of jokes”?

There’s a lot of stuff on the internet about Heaven, and it’s not just the Heaven of my faith (I follow Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is God’s Son). Here are just two descriptions:

Wikipedia:
Heaven is often described as a “higher place”, the holiest place, a paradise, in contrast to Hell or the underworld or the “low places”, and universally or conditionally accessible by earthly beings according to various standards of divinity, goodness, piety, faith or other virtues or right beliefs or simply the will of God.

BibleInfo.com:
Heaven is a real place where the people of God will live one day. In fact, Heaven is where God and the angels live. In Heaven, those saved by God will have new bodies without the curse of sin.

Perhaps some people — maybe even YOU — believe Heaven resembles Christopher Hitchens’ nightmare. But who made him an expert on the subject?

Let me make it quite clear: beyond the illuminating BibleInfo.com explanation, an exact description of Heaven is hard to find. Note the words of Christianity Today writer John Koessler: “If Heaven is only a distant gallery from which the departed observe affairs as they unfold on earth, then it is a dull place indeed.”

Koessler’s words appear to apply to Hitchens. So is there something better? YES.

1.  It’s a place of reunion for all people who pass God’s test for entry.

2.  It’s a place of reconciliation, where people who opposed each other on earth leave behind all that (no matter how serious or grievous) in exchange for peace — with themselves and everyone else.

3.  It’s a place of perfection — perfect minds, bodies and spirits. Whatever tortures us in this life will become utterly irrelevant in Heaven.

4.  It’s a place of surprises — those who go there will likely be shocked by who else is there and NOT there.

All this may still seem, well, inexact, but consider John Koessler’s conclusion: “If ‘our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us’ [from an ancient Jesus follower], then neither are our present joys or pleasures.”

In other words, when it come to Heaven, expect far, FAR more glory than anything our limited minds can imagine. (And anything that could ever exist in North Korea.)

So, what about this “test for entry” I mentioned? It’s quite simple: are you PERFECT? Jesus of Nazareth, says that’s what you need to qualify. But since none of us are, how can anyone get in?

The answer is to that question easy, even if you don’t like it: trust in and follow Jesus.

For people who trust in and follow Him, Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross to make up for ALL the wrong things they did and ALL the right things they failed to do. When Jesus followers are finished with this life and stand before God, He sees NONE of our sins. He only sees His Son’s perfection.

Does this make sense? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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GIVING IT SOME THOUGHT

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 23, 2016| 2 Comments »

Hitler freewillMaybe you’ve seen this quote in social media. And, like the person who created this graphic, maybe you also think it’s silly.

But before you instantly agree and move on, give this graphic some thought. In fact, give it more thought than the person who created it.

The point is not whether God created good and bad people. The point is He created people with absolute freewill. In other words, people like YOU and me.

Did God know how Adolf Hitler would turn out? Quite possibly; followers of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is God’s Son) believe God exists outside of space and time (even as He created them) so we can speculate that he was aware of the choices people would make.

So does that mean He suddenly changes His mind and stops someone like Osama Bin Laden from being born? I’m sure some folks would say yes.

If you’re one of them, this sudden denial of freewill is a slippery slope. If you believe God is perfect — a position held by serious Jesus followers — and stands in rightful judgement of his creations’ choices, then where do the limits on freewill end?

Should God also stop YOU from driving because He knows that one day, you’re going to hurt someone in an accident?

Should God have forced eternal singlehood on singer Kenny Rogers, actress Joan Collins, director James Cameron and TV host Larry King? Each was married at least five times; think of all the emotional pain and (possibly) financial hardship caused by all those divorces.

What about AK-47 machine gun inventer Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov? Wikipedia says Kalashnikov emphasized the weapon was for defensive purposes only and severely regretted the deaths it caused. But so what? Why not hold Kalashnikov and, by extension, God responsible for the actions of people Kalashnikov never even met?

Singer Amy Winehouse (1983-2011). There’s someone whose death we can certainly stick on God, right? After all, He should have denied her the right to ever touch a drop of alcohol, since it was a major factor in her death.

Casinos. Now there’s a good one. How dare God allow even one to be constructed, since gambling has contributed to freewill-loving people going bankrupt, to marriages and families breaking up, and to careers being destroyed.

Now let’s consider another element of freewill: The freedom to accept or reject the idea of a loving, perfect creator who has every right to judge you and me on all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do.

If you accept the idea, then how about the notion that this perfect creator wants His creations to spend eternity with Him — wants it so much that He sent His equally perfect Son to live among us and be put to death to pay for the sins of everyone who believes in His Son?

One of those believing people could be YOU, if you accept the gift of Jesus. What do you think? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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WHAT IS WASTED?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 21, 2016| 2 Comments »

Aiden-WastedSpaceDoncha just love how arrogant we human beings can be sometimes?

That’s the first thought that went through my head when I saw this graphic in an atheist internet community. The quote is from an American author, blogger (we have something in common!) and atheist activist.

Think about his statement for a minute. Then think about all the things humanity DOESN’T know. Like what is consciousness? How do we store and access memories? Does life exist anywhere else in the universe? Why are moths attracted to light? Who is responsible for creating hip-hop? (OK, that last one might show my bias.)

This little list is just the start. Spend some time researching on the Internet and you’ll find a universe of articles delving into the myriad of other things we humans simply don’t know or understand.

So ye gotta give Hemant Mehta for his audacious ego. I mean, who is he — or anyone else, for that matter — to declare that if humanity is God’s special creation, then the universe is full of a “lot of wasted space?” How would Mehta credibly define “wasted space” in the universe?

I do believe humans are God’s special creation. To our limited knowledge, no other creature has anywhere near our level of self-awareness. Or awareness of a world beyond our own. Or awareness that something, or someone, must have created it all.

To me, all these “awarenesses” are a gift from the creator and master of time, space and the universe. The One who decided there would be air to breathe, music to hear and way, WAY too much reality TV. (OK, God didn’t decide that last one. “Reality” television is a cunning and diabolical Hollywood initiative.)

As God’s special creation, most of us have a clear knowledge of right and wrong. It’s called the Moral Law and without a creator, it simply wouldn’t exist.

Most of us also know we’re a long, LONG way from anything resembling “perfect”. Indeed, humanity can’t even agree on what is perfection.

From my faith perspective — I follow Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is God’s Son — I’m relieved that I don’t have to address that idea. Jesus followers like me know that perfection is established by our creator. And it’s utterly out of our reach, no matter what we do or how hard we try. It’s like hoping a certain U.S. business mogul and politician will develop class and empathy. Not gonna happen.

Those of us who follow Jesus are blessed in that we don’t have to be perfect to satisfy our creator. Oh, we still have to strive for it. But even as we fall short (it’s called “sin”), God offers all of humanity a gift — the life, teachings, sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus.

God wants perfection. That’s a fact. And when we accept the gift of Jesus, when we make Him our Lord and Saviour, God doesn’t see the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do. He sees only the perfection of His Son. Then he welcomes us to spend eternity with Him.

Sound appealing? Yes or no, post your comments below and let’s have a conversation.

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THE MIRACLE OF ELEGANCE

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 14, 2016| 2 Comments »

Elegance Richard Dawkins If you’re not sure there’s a god, but you’re open to spirituality, then give this graphic (kindly supplied by an atheist internet community) a moment of thought.

Am I crazy? Or do you also think the message seems….contradictory? I mean, how can ANYTHING be elegant if it’s just random?

Toss a handful of potato chips on the ground. According to Richard Dawkins – one of the world’s best known and most provocative atheists – the scrambled, disorganized puzzle you see is somehow elegant. And all on its own.

I was extraordinarily blessed to visit the west coast of Canada’s Vancouver Island recently. As I walked along the glorious beaches, I came across a sand dollar. You can see one of the photos I made of it just below.

Now Wikipedia describes this exquisite creation as “a species of extremely flattened, burrowing sea urchins belonging to the order Clypeasteroida”.

But look at that unfathomably artistic pattern. Wikipedia’s clinical explanation says “The petal-like pattern in sand dollars consists of five paired rows of pores. The pores are perforations in the endoskeleton through which podia for gas exchange project from the body.”

SandDollarLook at that sand dollar pattern again. Did it really have to be organized like this? Centuries ago, only the most Rembrandt-like artist could have come anywhere close to conjuring up this design out of nowhere.

Today, the rest of us couldn’t do as well with a Spyrograph (the geometric drawing toy). And yet, there are people in our world who will insist, to their dying breath, that this is utterly random.

Bringing up unfathomable artistry leads me to the comments of Ross Carkner, my wise pastor friend to whom I showed the graphic that inspired this blog.

I immediately think of painting by Rembrandt or VanGogh … when I do, the statement in this graphic just seems to be so stupid! Their paintings had a master who gave them elegance.

Symphonies and operas that move people and touch deep parts of the soul have a passionate composer, gifted musicians and a talented conductor – they work together to give paper with ink blotches elegance.

Even a snow flake is not random. Its elegance is created by forces outside of itself – temperature and moisture. But Richard Dawkins wants to see no consistency in life … nature is random but humanity is somehow organized. Where did human beings get the compulsion to organize everything? Why do we not live out the random existence found in creation??? We don’t, because creation was organized, not random.

So what am I getting at? Not only is there a creator, there is a creator who regularly conjures up unique and fantastical creations. That includes me and YOU.

However, by living our lives as if we have no creator, we inevitably do wrong and fail to do right.

How can we fix this problem? On our own, we simply can’t. But God can. He offers us Jesus – His divine son whose life, sacrificial death and glorious resurrection makes up for all the wrongs of anyone who accepts the gift of Him.

Follow Jesus and He’ll change your life, for the better, for now and for all eternity. Interested? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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BETTER THAN HIS CREATIONS

Posted in In The News, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 16, 2016| 6 Comments »

Jeffrey DahmerWhen I saw this graphic, on an Internet atheism community, the first thing I did was check to confirm its message. And that message is true.

If your memory is foggy (or you weren’t born yet), here are the horrifying facts: between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer raped, murdered and dismembered 17 men and boys in the American state of Wisconsin.

Deemed sane enough to stand trial, Dahmer was convicted of 16 murders and received life sentences for each one.

While in a maximum security prison, Dahmer began reading the Bible and in May 1994, he was baptized.

Dahmer had weekly visits with his pastor until November of ’94, when he was murdered by another inmate.

So there are the dry facts, the “highlights” of which were used in this graphic to express disgust without having to include a single adjective or exclamation mark.

Do I understand how nauseating the point of this graphic is to most people? Absolutely. Looking beyond the emotion, do I believe the statements in the graphic? Absolutely. Indeed, this reality is among the most important reasons that I call myself a follower of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is God’s Son).

If you’re still with me and you believe in God, think about this: do you really want the creator and master of time, space and the universe to be consumed by the hatred, pettiness, hard-heartedness and lack of mercy to which we human beings so often cling?

I can tell you right now that I would not follow Jesus if His Father was no better than His creations. What would be the point? God would not deserve my love and worship.

So the truth of Jeffery’s Dahmer’s prison life shows me the depth of God’s love and concern for ALL of humanity. He wants everyone, including YOU, to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

But how could that be possible when we all fall short of God’s standard of perfection? Every one of us has done wrong and failed to do right — so often, in fact, that there’s no way we can ever explain them all away or make up for them. In other words, we’re doomed.

Granted, I’m pretty certain no one reading this blog has even considered committing anything like the vile acts that Jeffery Dahmer did. But like it or not, that’s NOT the point. We’re still busted.

But God doesn’t want us to be busted. He wants us to spend eternity with Him. So He sent Jesus to earth to teach us about God, to show us how to live and, finally, to die as punishment for all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do.

Believe in Jesus, commit yourself to following Him and when this life ends, God will see YOU just like he saw Jeffrey Dahmer: perfect, exactly like His Son. Without a single blemish. And He’ll welcome you into eternity with Him.

Interested? Yes or no, type your comments below and let’s have a conversation.

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THE WAY OF THE SWORD

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 19, 2016| 4 Comments »

Jesus sword Mathew 10:34The atheist who posted this graphic online might be disappointed to find out that when I saw it, I felt flushed with gladness.

I love opportunities to reveal the truth about what Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Divine Son of God) was – and is – all about.

The “verse” referred to here is from one of the original source documents of Jesus’ physical life on earth. Not only is it dead-on accurate, it’s NOT, as the atheist supposes a Christian declaring, out of context.

But exactly what is that context?

I get the feeling the atheist believes it means Jesus came to commit violence, start wars, fuel the fires of ugly tribalism – you know, all the unpleasant deeds carried out by certain charismatic leaders (read: Osama Bin Laden).

But anyone who knows anything about the original source documents of His life will admit that nowhere does Jesus start or participate in wars. Nowhere does He kill even one person and nowhere does He even injure anyone slightly.

That’s right, not even tripping anyone (and goodness knows, there were a lot of people who intensely disliked Jesus and probably deserved to be tripped). In fact, there isn’t a single word in the original source documents about Jesus even touching a sword.

There is, however, a scene where one of Jesus’ followers cuts off the ear of a Roman soldier who was part of a nighttime posse that came to arrest Jesus on false charges. What did Jesus do? He healed the guy’s ear.

OK, so the whole atheist premise of this graphic is false.

But here’s what’s true: deciding to follow Jesus often does NOT bring peace – not at first. And following Jesus often divides, just like a sword divides.

Here’s the simplest example: when I decided to follow Jesus in 2002, it divided me from my biological family – none of whom follow Jesus.

And at the time, I felt anything but peace because they didn’t (and still don’t) understand what I’ve done and why. In fact, they don’t really want to know, because our culture tells them to never think about anything related to faith.

Jesus knew – and knows – that His way is NOT the way of the world.  Lose your life to gain it? Love your enemies and pray for them? Follow Jesus and get eternal life in Heaven?

All these concepts are poison to our culture, which insists that:

  • Enemies should be hated and trampled
  • The key to life is gaining possessions, power and multiple sexual partners
  • Wondering what happens to us when we die is stupid.

But maybe you’re at the stage of life where the trophies our culture offers seem…empty. Pointless. If that’s the case, then the way of Jesus is worth a serious investigation. Even if it divides you from family and friends.

Interested? Then post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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BLIND FAITH & FAIRY TALES

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 12, 2016| 59 Comments »

Blind faith, Frank's Cottage, faithFar from being upset or offended, when I read this graphic (helpfully posted in an Internet atheist community), I immediately thought of some people I’ve met since 2002, when I decided to follow Jesus of Nazareth.

Those people exactly fit what this atheist declared. And it saddens me.

But notice I wrote “some”.  And as the ancient teeny bopper singers The Osmonds sang more than 40 years ago, “one bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch.”

In other words, to base one’s opinion on an entire faith based on the few people you’ve met is simply ludicrous and utterly without credibility. It would be like me reading news reports, then declaring that all Muslims are violent maniacs. See what I mean?

It’s important to keep this in mind: even if a person is raised by Jesus-following parents to have blind faith, that hardly means that person is simply going to go along with what they’ve been taught.

Consider my story: raised in a nominally spiritual home, my brothers and I were given the freedom (in our mid-teens) to decide for ourselves whether we would continue attending church. All of us promptly stopped and so did our parents.

Eventually, many years later and after much consideration and thought, I decided for myself to follow Jesus (who many people believe is the Son of God).  To this day, I’m the only Jesus follower in my biological family.

There are many more stories just like mine and many more that aren’t. Every story is unique, no matter what any critic of Jesus followers might declare.

Ponder these words of Ross Carkner, a wise pastor friend:

My life resembles much more a journey of discovery than it does a state of being. I am discovering who Jesus is for me in the life I live today – not my parents’ yesterday.

Like learning how to skate, it is not easy – it takes persistence and sometimes can be painful. My faith is a process of learning what the Bible says, seeking to put it into practice and appreciating what I encounter through it all.

The more I do all this, the more I can see that everyone puts their faith in something or someone. I have found a lot of personal satisfaction in putting my faith in Jesus.

So what do you want to put your faith into? A high-paying job with lots of cruise ship vacations? A trophy partner to look good at social events? Some kind of vague, superficial “just live a good life” philosophy?

Pick any of them and you’ll get the approval of our culture. Pick Jesus and you’ll get a whole lot more. You’ll get:

  • Strength to deal with life’s inevitable trials
  • A community that’s concerned about something much deeper than wine tasting or extreme sports
  • Moral clarity that so often seems lacking in our culture
  • An extraordinary ability to see every human being on this planet as being loved and cherished by God
  • A real, substantial hope – based on the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus – for something glorious and eternal when this life ends.

Sound interesting? Then post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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EXPLAINING DEATH AND SIN

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 20, 2016| 9 Comments »

2.16Great question, isn’t it? As soon as I saw this meme, I knew it touched on an important topic that many folks just don’t understand.

First of all, let’s get the facts straight. Nowhere in the original source documents about His life does it even hint that Jesus of Nazareth — whom many people believe is God’s divine Son — died to wipe out sin. Nowhere.

So why did He die? Let’s see what the ancient writers say about that:

Because we broke God’s laws, we owed a debt—a debt that listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us of that debt. He took it away and nailed it to the cross. (From a letter by one of Jesus’ earliest followers).

Another version of that same letter (written in ancient Greek) translates the excerpt like this: All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross.

In case one excerpt isn’t enough, check these out:

I [Paul, a missionary who told people throughout the Mediterranean about Jesus] told you the most important truths: that Jesus died for our sins, as the Scriptures [other ancient writings] say; that he was buried and was raised to life on the third day, as the Scriptures say.

Jesus had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Jesus we could be right with God.

Jesus redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse.

Now maybe you’re not convinced. Maybe you’re thinking “that’s just other people talking about Jesus. That’s not Jesus Himself”. So read this, from one of four original source documents about Jesus’ life:

Jesus took bread and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving. He broke the bread, gave it to [His apostles], and said, “This is my body, which is given up for you. Do this to remember me.”

Why would Jesus give up his body if it wasn’t for something truly epic, truly world-changing like wiping out the wrongs of everyone who believes in Him and follows Him?

In fact, Jesus was fulfilling a prophesy made hundreds of years before his physical life on Earth. Isaiah, a prophet, predicted the future when he wrote this:

He [Jesus] was being punished for what we did. He was crushed because of our guilt. He took the punishment we deserved, and this brought us peace. We were healed because of his pain.

So why is there still sinning? Because God gave us very imperfect creatures the gift of freewill and that means we use it to do wrong and fail to do right.

But as you can see from all the quotes above, there’s a solution: believe in Jesus – His life, ministry, death and resurrection. Become His follower. Then watch how He changes your life.

Interested? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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