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Posts Tagged ‘Jesus blog’

FROM SLAVES TO DIVINE PARTNERS

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 8, 2025| 3 Comments »

Oh, boy. There is a lot to unpack in this atheist meme, so if you’re wondering if the viewpoint expressed here has any accuracy, stick around. It’ll be worth your while.

  • Followers of Jesus of Nazareth — who many people believe is the Son of God — have come to understand who He is and who they are. In response to that, people like me have made conscious decisions to make Jesus our Lord, our Saviour and our best friend.
    Nowhere is slavery involved in any way, shape or form.
    My pastor friend, Ross Carkner, explains it so well: “A slave is someone who is forced to obey another … Christians are people who of their own volition surrender their will in favour of following … specifically following Jesus.”
        • As followers of Jesus, God works in and through us to bring physical and spiritual aid to a world that even the most optimistic person must admit isn’t doing very well.
          Are we doing a good job as junior partners in God’s work? Quite often, NO. And that certainly applies to me. Jesus followers often misrepresent God. We often let our selfish and petty insecurities get in the way of what He’s doing . But in the end, that doesn’t matter.
          “God’s plan for us [and the world] never changes, so there is no plan B,” writes pastor Chris Norland. In fact, God can and often does use our failures to further His work.
            • So what does this mean for the charge that God wishing evil or harm to others and being malicious? If point number two isn’t convincing, let’s go back to Ross: “There is no one in all of history who has, with any real and lasting credibility, ever made a case for the historical Jesus being malevolent.”
              Ah, but wait, you say: the meme doesn’t even mention Jesus! Ross’s response: “Since the existence of Jesus was expressly understood as God in the flesh …. to refer to God as malevolent is not only a misreading of the Bible, it is reflecting our own brokenness as we deal with the enormous challenges of living in this hurting world.”
              In other words, the meme’s creator is blaming his/her own failures, and the failures of this struggling world, on God. Where’s the credible evidence to support this claim? There simply isn’t any. NONE.

            As you digest all this, consider these truths: no matter who you are or what you’ve done or not done, God LOVES YOU. God offers YOU the gift of His Son. If you accept that gift — Jesus’s life, sacrificial death and resurrection — then Jesus comes into your world and starts the life-long process of making you the person God created you to be.

            Just as important, ALL the bad things you’ve done and the good things you’ve failed to do will be wiped out. God will see only His Son’s perfection. And when this life ends, you’ll spend eternity in the presence of your maker. Sound good? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.



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            WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE?

            Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 11, 2025| 3 Comments »

            The title of this album, recorded almost 50 years ago by actor/singer David Soul (famous for co-starring in TV’s Starsky & Hutch) has always stuck with me. At the time, I recall a particularly unpleasant reviewer declaring that after being forced to hear the album, it now had an audience of none. 😦

            From my perspective as a retired 60-something, almost all of us spend our lives playing to audiences. During my working life, I played for an audience of co-workers and supervisors. These days, I play for an audience of my wife, stepkids and grandchildren.

            Audiences watch, listen and ultimately (whether they know it or not) judge the “performer”. And for performers, the key to success is knowing their audience and providing what they want. In my life, that includes dealing with the garbage/recycling/compost for my wife and picking up our grandchildren from school.

            In the spiritual realm — and I assume you’re open to spirituality — there’s much, much more to this idea. In that world, all of us play to an audience of exactly one. (And no nasty music reviewer can change that).

            That audience is the master of time, space and the universe. And the creator of you & me. Unlike our human audiences, we can’t hide anything from God.

            “Because His knowledge is infinite and perfect, He never has to figure anything out,” says Canadian pastor Henry Shore. “He’s never surprised, confused or shocked. God knows everything there is to know about you and me.”

            Kinda unnerving, isn’t it?

            This isn’t just Henry’s opinion. An ancient writer and prophet noted “I’m an open book to You [God]; even from a distance, You know what I’m thinking. You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence.”

            So how do we deal with this audience? To start with, understand that your creator loves YOU. No matter what you’ve done or not done, no matter what kind of success or failure you’ve experienced, no matter what anyone thinks of you (including mean-spirited music reviewers). NOTHING changes God’s love for YOU.

            This explains why that same ancient writer/prophet could state, “This is too much, too wonderful — I can’t take it all in!”

            All this is wonderful, but it’s important to understand this: the wrong things we do and right things we fail to do put a barrier between us and our loving creator. Consider these words that Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is God’s Son) said to anyone willing to listen: “you must be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”

            Oh boy. This makes the barrier I mentioned seem impossible to breach. And it is, on our own. But Jesus–His extraordinary life and teachings, His death and resurrection–is God’s gift to ANYONE willing to accept it. If you accept it, if you declare Jesus Lord, Saviour and your best friend, God no longer sees your “sins”. He only sees His Son’s perfection. So when this life ends, you’ll be welcomed to spend eternity in His presence.

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

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            CON MAN? SAVIOUR? LUNATIC?

            Posted in It's Not About 'Religion', tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 14, 2024| 2 Comments »

            Oh boy. Where to start?

            If you’re reading this, I assume you’re open to spirituality and have probably not considered Jesus of Nazareth – who many people believe is the Son of God – to be any sort of con man. Apparently, the creator of this atheist meme believes these American megachurch pastors to be less than honourable.

            Just for fun, I asked Google if Jesus is a con man. The responses are all over the place, but I particularly like this one from American entrepreneur Robert Kimmons:

            If Jesus was a con man, he was a pretty terrible one.
            He lived a life of poverty, didn’t get much sex (and maybe didn’t get any at all), and died an ignominious death.
            Sure, his teaching created a belief system that has dominated the world for over a millennium, but what con man would be willing to give his life to accomplish that?
            As a con man, Jesus was an unmitigated failure.

            This has the ring of truth to me. Consider just a few challenging things that Jesus told anyone willing to listen:

            • If a man looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, he has already committed that sin with her in his mind.
            • Don’t fight back against someone who wants to do harm to you. If they hit you on the right cheek, let them hit the other cheek too.
            • You have heard people say, “Love the people who are your friends. But hate those who want to hurt you.” What I tell you is this: love the people who want to hurt you. If people want to cause you pain, pray for them.

            Would a con man ever make these (and many more) difficult statements? Unless he wanted to drive away his potential victims, then certainly not.

            At times, Jesus makes it hard to follow Him. That’s because He’s not interested in “fans”. He’s interested in committed disciples who will be His ambassadors in a world that even the most optimistic of us will admit isn’t doing very well.

            Jesus ambassadors have opened hospitals and universities, risked their lives by treating African ebola patients and Syrian war victims, and started vital charities like Samaritan’s Purse, World Vision and LifeWater.

            While I’m a long, LONG way from being a poster child for Jesus ambassadors, He has empowered me to write more than 200 blogs like this one to tell YOU about Him and how your life can be enriched – starting right now – by declaring Jesus to be your lord, saviour and best friend.

            When you do that, God no longer sees all the wrong things you’ve done and the right things you’ve failed to do. He only sees His Son’s perfection. As a result, when this life ends, you’ll spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven – a place with no suffering, no loss and no death.

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

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            FROM CHILDREN TO FAMILY MEMBERS

            Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 18, 2024| 1 Comment »

            British comedian and atheist Jimmy Carr asks a good question and, since you might be asking the same thing, I appreciate the opportunity to answer, .

            First of all, as a follower of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God), I believe God created every person who ever was, is and will be. So yes, we are His children.

            But there’s a difference between being His children and being in His family. And we are definitely NOT all in His family. You might ask, quite, rightly, why not?? Because it’s not an automatic thing. We’ve all separated ourselves from God’s family because of the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do.

            In other words, we’ve put ourselves ahead of our creator. We’ve either declared He doesn’t exist, or we’ve forgotten about Him or we’ve made the shallow, ultimately meaningless priorities of this world our main focus.

            The results of this error are sadly obvious: broken families, addictions, crime, human trafficking and so much more. Jesus followers like me are not immune to this error; sometimes, I forget about God and mess up quite spectacularly. Just ask my very forgiving wife.

            So what’s the solution? How can we be adopted into God’s family? The answer is simple: follow Jesus. Read the four original-source biographies of His physical life on Earth (they’re simply called the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, named after their reputed authors). Investigate the claims Jesus makes about Himself and His Father.

            Once you do that, my hope and prayer is you’ll come to understand who God is, who you are and who Jesus is. Then, as you apologize for all the wrong things you’ve done and the right things you’ve failed to do, and pledge to make Jesus your priority, God will welcome you into His family. And that will change your life NOW and for all eternity.

            One of Jesus’s earliest and most influential followers, a missionary named Paul, put it this way: “You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone.”

            Got questions? Things you don’t understand? Then keep searching. Or, email me (frankdmking@gmail.com) and I’ll do my imperfect best to help.

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            FORGIVENESS AND THE SON OF SAM

            Posted in In The News, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 13, 2013| 15 Comments »

            DavidBerkowitzIf you’re over 40, you might get a chill as I resurrect a shadowy name from the 1970s: Son of Sam.

            This was the nickname David Berkowitz gave himself as he terrorized New York City, killing six people and wounding seven in 1976-77. In prison since then, he claimed during his trial that he was under the influence of a demon who possessed his neighbour’s dog.

            Berkowitz was in the news not too long ago, responding to a 2011 Fox News reporter’s inquiry to reveal he would no longer seek parole because his faith has already made him free.

            “I am not saying this jokingly,” he wrote. “Jesus Christ [who many people believe is the Son of God] has already forgiven and pardoned me, and I believe this. He has given me a whole new life, which I do not deserve. I am forever grateful for such forgiveness.”

            Before you begin protesting, Berkowitz has expressed remorse for his crimes, dating back to 2007 when he issued an apology on his website. He expressed remorse again in his Fox News letter, writing “I have deep regret and sorrow over my past criminal actions.”

            But that’s not the point of this essay. The point is more controversial. Has the Son of Sam been forgiven by Jesus? Has he been given “a whole new life”?

            The answer, if Berkowitz is sincere, is YES. If he came to believe that Jesus died to pay for his crimes, and as a result asked for the forgiveness Jesus made available to every person on this planet, then YES. If he’s committed himself to following Jesus, then YES.

            Isn’t this outrageous? That’s the scandal of God’s grace (unmerited favour) through Jesus. It isn’t just available to you and I for those times we exceeded the speed limit or lied to our supervisors or paid for some service under the table. It’s available for everything. For everyone, including the Son of Sam.

            Our culture may not consider this a good thing. But it is. In fact, I regard this grace as one of the things that most separates following Jesus from other faiths. And it is based on a complete lack of what some cultures call a “caste” system that ranks people’s value.

            When Paul, one of the earliest Jesus followers, wrote in a letter that “all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory,” he didn’t include a footnote that singled out some people or groups as having sinned more (or less). That statement is the great equalizer for all humanity. See? No caste system.

            So, if you’re carrying around something that pesters you like a persistent backache, do what David Berkowitz has done: place your trust in Jesus, ask for forgiveness with complete sincerity, then receive it. And believe it, because that forgiveness is as real and enduring as death, taxes, and annoying reality TV shows.

            Even if you’re not burdened with guilt, give some consideration to this  faith that goes beyond our wavering ability to forgive. It provides permanent grace, an extraordinary gift to a broken world.

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

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