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Posts Tagged ‘can I have a relationship with Jesus?’

WHAT DO YOU HOPE FOR?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 15, 2022| 9 Comments »

I think most of us can agree on the ideas advanced in this meme. The question in my mind focuses around hope.

It’s natural to “hope for the best” in all things. To hope our children will do well. To hope our parents live a few more years. To hope our finances survive the latest economic challenge. To hope that rap/hip-hop goes away (sorry, that’s just my hope ;-)).

But what about something bigger? Something beyond the 70 or 80 years we spent on this planet?

We live in a culture that constantly, subtly discourages us from pondering the BIG questions. Go shopping, get a tatoo, pursue another promotion, buy the newest smartphone. THAT, our culture insists, is what we should focus on.

Maybe you’ve done that for awhile. And maybe you’ve come to realize your soul is hungry for something more. Something deeper. (Perhaps that’s why you’re reading this blog).

I wanted something more, and that led me to Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God. I follow Him because He offers a precious HOPE to everyone – including YOU – regardless of who they are or what they’ve done (or not done).

  • Hope to be the person you were created to be
  • Hope for this world, which even the most optimist of us must admit isn’t doing very well
  • Hope for something beyond this life

How can one guy do all this? Consider these quotes from ancient writers:

  • He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts.
  • The Spirit God gave us does not make us afraid. His Spirit is a source of power and love and self-control.
  • The Sovereign Lord is my strength. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.

And these words, from one of Jesus’s earliest and most influential followers:

  • The Lord is true to His promises; He will hold you up and guard you against the evil one.
  • I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope.

There it is. HOPE.

So how can you get in on this? Simple. God offers Jesus as a gift to anyone willing to accept Him. All you need to do is say yes to Jesus. Declare, with honest sincerity, that He is your Lord, Saviour and best friend. Ask Him to forgive you for all the wrong things you’ve done and all the right things you’ve failed to do. Ask Him to give you the HOPE only He can provide.

When that happens, Jesus comes into your life and starts to make you who you were created to be. It’s a long process that won’t end until this life ends. When that happens, trusting in Jesus means that God will see you like He sees His Son: perfect in every way. And you’ll be welcomed into Heaven to spend eternity with Him.

Sound good? Yes or no, post your comment below and let’s have a conversation. 🙂

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PAYING OFF OUR SPIRITUAL CREDIT CARD

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 17, 2021| 6 Comments »

Most of us have grown so accustomed to living in a credit card world that we give it no more thought than breathing or going to the bathroom.

We use the card, a bill arrives every month and we either pay it off or pay the minimum and eventually deal with the interest charges.

This system exists in another world, too: the world of our behaviour. When I’m rude to another driver, engage in hurtful gossip or find shady ways to avoid paying taxes, that goes on my spiritual credit card. When I ignore the needs of people around me, stay silent in the face of injustices or fail to use my God-given gifts for good, that goes on my spiritual credit card.

You might notice that I’m writing about two elements of behaviour: the wrong things we do and the right things we fail to do.

As a follower of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God), I know both elements are equally important to my creator.

Do you pay attention to both? I often don’t and that’s something I need to pray about, asking God to open my eyes and heart to see and act on the opportunities He gives me to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a hurting world.

Returning to the spiritual credit card theme, I’ve built up quite a list of items, many of them things I’m not even aware of. So have you.

As with the credit card in your purse or wallet, all the wrong things we’ve done and all the right things we’ve failed to do must be paid for at some point. This is more important than you might think because Jesus tells everyone who’s willing to listen that “You must be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”

Jesus says this because when this life ends, perfection is the admission price to spending eternity with Him in Heaven. Nothing else will get you past the bouncer at the door.

So my question is: how will you pay off your spiritual credit card? I know that I can’t pay off my card and achieve perfection. It’s simply not possible. And I believe that’s the case for you, too.

Acknowledging this FACT means someone has to pay off our cards for us. And the only person who qualifies – the only person who is perfect – is Jesus.

When He was physically on earth, government and religious officials who were offended by His words and deeds arrested him on trumped-up charges and put Him to death. But their actions served an entirely different and life-changing purpose: His death paid all the credit card charges for everyone who believes in Him and follows Him.

Now, when God looks at Jesus followers, all He sees is His Son’s perfection. And that’s what the bouncer at the door to Heaven will see, too. But just as important, when you say yes to God’s gift of Jesus, you welcome Him into your life RIGHT NOW to help you become the person God created you to be.

Sound like a good deal? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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A DIVINE RELATIONSHIP IN A FINELY TUNED UNIVERSE

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 13, 2021| 4 Comments »

“Physics says you’re an impurity in an otherwise beautiful universe.”

That’s one of the headlines in a fascinating, challenging article, first published on the Slate online news site, that recently popped up in my internet feed.

Written by physics professor David Goldberg, the essay details four reasons why humanity shouldn’t exist in a universe he calls “almost absurdly finely tuned”.

One of the main reasons we shouldn’t exist, Goldberg claims, is “the laws of physics themselves seem to be working against us. Ours isn’t just a randomly hostile universe, it’s an actively hostile universe.”

And yet, we do exist. And while Goldberg makes only one indirect reference to God, I’m going to challenge you by writing that God is the reason I’m here writing this blog and you’re here reading it.

Goldberg believes that even miniscule changes in the makeup of the universe would have made life on earth impossible. “If the universe were only minutely denser than the one we inhabit, it would have collapsed before it began,” he writes.

Ironically, his position is almost identical to the case built by scientists and authors who follow Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God). Their point: this ‘actively hostile’ universe is fine-tuned by God in order to make life, as we know it, possible.

Why go to all that trouble? I believe it’s because our creator wants us here and that’s because He’s all about relationships. And every person on this planet can have that relationship.

You might shrug and wonder why anyone would bother. Briefly, here’s the reason: a relationship with God can make your life better now and when we depart what Shakespeare called “this mortal coil”.

Connecting with God can:

  • provide life-changing awareness that you are loved beyond all measure.
  • help you understand that all people are valuable, no matter who they are or what they’ve done (or not done).
  • strengthen you for the challenges ahead.
  • give you clarity on what’s right, what’s wrong – and the shifting tides of public opinion don’t change that.

Sadly, we very imperfect human beings have erected many barriers on the road to this relationship. Lack of faith, the wrongs things we’ve done, the right things we’ve failed to do, our stubborn insistence that we are our own gods — all these things and more build a wall between us and God.

But that hasn’t stopped God from doing all He can, while still maintaining His standards, to make a way for us. His Son Jesus is that way, made possible through His sacrificial death and game-changing resurrection.

Jesus clears away ALL barriers to a relationship with God — starting NOW and lasting for all eternity — for everyone who believes in Him, trusts in Him and follows Him.

If you say yes, with complete sincerity, to Jesus, then He’ll come into your life and start to make you the person God created you to be. That process won’t end until you go to Heaven to spend eternity with Him.

Interested? Yes or now, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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REPLACING RELIGION WITH RELATIONSHIP

Posted in It's Not About 'Religion', tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 13, 2021| 7 Comments »

Maybe you’ve read a statement like this atheist meme (a fake quote which the actor and former Saturday Night Live member never said), or someone has simply told it to you and you’ve nodded in agreement then went on with your life.

But does stating something so boldly make it true? I decided to do some research and soon discovered that it’s impossible to come up with a credible number of people “killed by religion”.

Here’s why: one website tackled the topic and concluded that in the history of this planet, more than 195 million people have been killed in the name of religion. That is a truly sobering, astonishing number.

Then I looked at what was included. The list includes:

  • the 1990s Rwandan genocide (800,000 deaths)
  • several hundred years of slave trading (14 million deaths)
  • AIDS in Africa (30 million deaths).

What’s wrong with including these tragedies? Well, the first was tribal warfare, the second was horrific economic racism and the third was deliberate government ignorance and prejudice against gay people.

Did religion play a role in any of them? Possibly, but it certainly wasn’t the major factor.

But let’s set that aside and look at the bigger picture. That picture makes it clear: religion is an overwhelming negative force. It makes people judgmental, it creates an “us versus them” mentality and, in the end, it encourages people to think anyone not in their religion is inferior.

The inevitable result is Islamic terrorism (150,000 deaths since 2000, according to this same website),  the Jewish Holocaust (six million deaths), the Spanish Inquisition (5,000 deaths) and more unspeakable horrors.

If you’ve visited Frank’s Cottage before, you might know where I’m going with this: leave behind the nightmare of religion and look instead to one man. Two thousand years ago, this man came to earth in physical form and, without a single act of violence against another person, He:

  1. physically and spiritually restored broken lives;
  2. proposed – and demonstrated – an entirely new way to live and love;
  3. sacrificed His life for the eternal good of everyone who follows Him, then;
  4. showed His ultimate power over death by coming back to life.

I’m talking about Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God. His mission – then AND now – is to replace religion with a life-transforming relationship with the creator of time, space and the universe.

That relationship, made possible through faith in Jesus, can bring hope, change and restoration to every person who decides to follow Him. Just as important, anyone on this planet can say yes to this relationship, no matter what they’ve done or not done. That includes YOU.

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

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