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Posts Tagged ‘Jesus Christ’

IS THIS GUY REAL?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 21, 2015| 7 Comments »

Jesus fake not realSo, did a guy from the ancient Middle East called Jesus actually exist? And did he do miraculous stuff and change the world forever?

If you’re unsure, you probably haven’t looked into it. So using nothing but ancient writings and original source documents on His life, let me advance the case for Jesus being real and doing the things that people like me believe He did.

Consider the life of Paul, a tent maker from the ancient Turkish city of Tarsus. Paul was a devout Jew who went out of his way to persecute Jesus followers, supported by religious leaders who felt threatened by Jesus and His followers.

But something extraordinary happened to Paul. While travelling to Syria to arrest Jesus followers, ancient documents record Paul having a dramatic, life-changing spiritual encounter with Jesus.

After that, Paul became a fervent Jesus follower and travelled around the Mediterranean region starting churches and mentoring others who believed Jesus was the Son of God.

Think about it: Paul went from being a staunch member of the Jewish religion and culture to someone spurned by his own tribe, a black sheep to be forever shunned. Why would he do that to follow just another person who claimed to be special?

Think about it: travelling around the Roman Empire 2,000 years ago was HUGELY risky. Indeed, in letters he wrote to church leaders, Paul mentions being in prison for his faith, getting whipped five times and beaten three times. He also survived a stoning and several shipwrecks.

Again I ask, why would anyone go through all that? Could anyone possibility be that delusional for more than half his life?  To me, the answer is plain: Paul wasn’t delusional. He was risking it all because he knew Jesus existed and he knew Jesus was – and still is – God’s gift to a sick and broken world.

Think about it: If Paul got rich from his work telling everyone he could about Jesus Christ, his letters – and all other ancient documents – certainly don’t record it. Did he get women? Again, no mention. Fame? He was probably well known among fellow Jesus followers, but to others he was everything from an annoyance to a serious threat. Thus the jail time (at least five years) and beatings. So, no riches, no women and only dangerous notoriety. Would you go through all this for someone who didn’t exist?

What about this resurrection thing? Serious Jesus followers believe the original source accounts of Jesus being put to death by Roman soldiers (on the urging of vindictive religious leaders) and coming back to life three days later.

False? Well, consider that in a letter to fellow Jesus followers, Paul writes “After that [His resurrection], Christ appeared to more than 500 other believers at the same time. Most of them are still living today, but some have died.”

In other words, Paul wrote that there were living witnesses to the resurrection. And as Tom Harper wrote in his book For Christ’s Sake, “Paul is saying those who do not believe him can go and find out for themselves.”

Think about it: was Paul just lying? Was this just more delusions? Paul put his credibility as a Jesus follower on the line with his statement. And there’s no reasonable justification to doubt him.

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

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A WINDOW FOR TRUTH

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 14, 2015| 23 Comments »

WindowForTruth 3.15Sometimes I’m bursting with appreciation for the graphics that atheist people post on the internet. They often present Heaven-sent opportunities to tell people what God and Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is His Son) are all about.

This is one of those glorious opportunities. Here we go:

1. God sends NO ONE to Hell. People send themselves to Hell through the wrong things they’ve done and through the right things they’ve failed to do.

That includes kicking God out of our lives and turning our backs on His gift of Jesus.

2. Even if you ignore my first point, who says God sends everyone to Hell for having an abortion? This graphic conveniently ignores the fact of forgiveness.

Why do I call it a fact? Because Jesus is quite clear about it. One of His earliest followers wrote “if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. We can trust God to do this. He always does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrong things we have done.”

Please note: this isn’t a scam we can pull on a dimwitted creator. This is serious business and I explain it in detail here: http://wp.me/p2wzRb-8n.

3. “Kills His only Son”. First of all, it was Roman authorities who did the killing. They were urged on by manipulative religious authorities who felt threatened by Jesus, His popularity and His disregard for their petty religious rules and regulations.

Secondly, God allowed Jesus to die because a significant part of Jesus’s mission — many people would declare it was the most important part — was to be a sacrifice that would make up for all the wrong things we’ve done and all the right things we’ve failed to do. Well, it would do that for everyone who accepts the gift of Jesus.

For the people who accept that gift, who declare Jesus to be their Lord, their Saviour and their best friend, God no longer sees our “sins”. He sees only the perfection of His Son.

Why was a death necessary? Because this “sinning” business is deadly stuff, far more lethal than most of us truly understand. And nothing we can do or say or think or pray can make up for all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do. All our efforts will always fall short. Always.

So God did the heavy lifting for us by offering the gift of His Son and His sacrifice. So carefully consider everything our culture tells you about life, about right and wrong, about how we should live and about what happens after this life ends. Does it make complete sense in light of a God that loves YOU, offers the gift of Jesus to YOU and wants YOU to spend eternity in Heaven with him?

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

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“WHAT ARE WE LIVING FOR?”

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 7, 2015| 24 Comments »

Freddie Mercury QueenThanks to the advice of a wise friend, I’ve been reading up about rock singer Freddie Mercury (1946-1991), the flamboyant, amazingly talented lead singer of Queen.

Even now, more than 30 years after his death from AIDS-related pneumonia, most of us can hum such classic Queen hits as We Are The Champions, Crazy Little Thing Called Love or Bohemian Rhapsody. Mercury wrote or co-wrote these and many other songs that are staples of classic rock radio.

By any measure of our culture, Mercury was an over-the-top, break-open-the-champagne success. Fame, wealth, peer recognition and adoring fans were all his.

So what can explain the lyrics in the Queen song The Show Must Go On? Several times, Mercury (who was by then quite ill) sings “What are we living for?”

In addition, during one of his last interviews, Mercury said:

  • “I don’t have any real friends. I don’t think I do. I discard them. People tell me they’re friends, but there we are. I don’t believe them.”
  • “You can be in a crowded area and still be the loneliest person, because you don’t really belong to anyone.”
  • “In fact, my kind of loneliness is the hardest to bear. Loneliness doesn’t mean being shut away in a room by yourself.”

Does this sound like a man who had it all? Despite the approval of our culture, despite the 18-room London mansion, the extraordinary voice and the legion of male and female lovers, Mercury showed me (and you) something important: these are not the stuff of contentment. Indeed, these are lies.

In his last days, did Mercury pursue something deeper and more eternally important? We’ll never know. But it’s not too late for you and me to do that.

Strip away what our culture says is vital (and what Mercury proved is NOT) and you’re left with something very, very controversial. You’re left with God, your creator.

I’ll be bold and declare that beyond friends, parents, relatives, spouses and children, the only relationship that is completely loving and completely permanent (so permanent that it continues beyond this life) is with God.

God created you. And He offers you the gift of Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is God’s Son.

Jesus teaches us how to live — to REALLY live — with such crazy notions as forgiving your enemies, turning the other cheek, loving your neighbour as much as you love yourself, not judging others unless you’re ready to be judged the same way, and doing for others what you want them to do for you.

Jesus did more than teach. He told his followers that for everyone who believes in Him, He would die on a cross to make up for the wrong things they’ve done and the right things they’ve failed to do. Then He did it. And original-source documents of His life on Earth say He came back to life.

Just by believing in Him and following Him, you can have Jesus wiping out all your failures, too. And you can have a richer and fuller life NOW. Interested? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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SINS, MISTAKES & SHORTCOMINGS

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 28, 2015| 5 Comments »

SinIt’s easy to make this call about a word that’s so loaded, isn’t it? In our culture “sin” has come to be associated of judgementalism, arrogance, hard-heartedness and “religious” people.

Some of those people, who lack full awareness of their own failures, think they’re doing good when they shame others for the wrong things those people might have done.

But does that mean the word “sin” should be tossed in garbage? The person who created the meme that inspired this blog might shout YES.

I suppose it’s easier to think everything is relative and there is no real “good” or “bad” that would necessitate a word like “sin”. Do you really think that’s so? Isn’t murder a sin? What about setting someone’s house on fire — can you think of a reason that would condone arson? Is there an excuse to justify printing and distributing counterfeit money?

Just like you, I haven’t done any of these things. But I examine my own life and see plenty of behaviours that qualify as sin:

  • I’m tired of the slow truck ahead of me, so I dangerously cut off another car in the passing lane to get around it.
  • I find pathetic excuses to stay on the computer when I should be helping my wife clean the house.
  • I allow ancient, petty squabbles with my relatives to stop me from connecting with them.

Maybe these aren’t “sins” to you. Our culture might come up with softer descriptions like “shortcomings” or “mistakes”. To me, a shortcoming is not being able to resist sugary snacks (I’m absolutely guilty). A mistake is misspelling a word in a Frank’s Cottage essay (often guilty). A sin is different and I hope the bullet-point examples above make that clear.

So what can I do about these sins and many others? Lord knows, I’ve tried and tried to change my ways. I’ll bet you’ve tried to fix your sins, too. And I’ll bet you’ve had as much success as me. Kinda sad, eh?

But there IS something real and substantial and meaningful that we can do. I’ve done it and it IS making a difference. Not as quickly as I (or my wife) would like, but the change is happening.

Prepare yourself for what this is, because it’s radical and controversial: believing there is a creator. A creator who knows YOU. A creator who cares about YOU. A creator who is involved in this world and wants to be involved in YOUR life.

Furthermore, this creator has a son, whom He offers to everyone (including YOU) as an extraordinary, life-changing gift. He is Jesus of Nazareth and God invites YOU to accept the gift of Him. When you do that, you’ll come to know that He died on a cross to make up for ALL the sins of EVERYONE who believes in Him and follows Him.

When this life is done and you come before God, He no longer sees your sins. He sees the sacrifice and the perfection of His son. Sound interesting? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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BRINGING THE WORLD INTO FOCUS

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 21, 2015| 8 Comments »

Fog of faith I bet some folks see the graphic that inspired this essay and vigorously nod in agreement.

So why is it that me, and so many others, found the world to be in a fog until we decided to follow Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God)?

For years, I accepted the worldview pushed by my family, friends, co-workers, the entertainment industry and the media.

But it all lacked…focus. People, including me, weren’t satisfied. Struggling to climb the ladder of career success. Struggling to afford monster flat-screen TVs, bigger houses and cruise ship vacations. Struggling to obey our culture’s directive to ignore a world that seemed bent on slow destruction. Struggling to constantly turn our thoughts away from the nagging question “What’s it all for?”.

When I decided to follow Jesus, the fog cleared and the truth of this world came into focus.

Struggling to get more money, more toys, more power and more sex is not the way to satisfaction. As a follower of Jesus, I’ve come to know that satisfaction comes through following His example and His teachings.

Check out these teachings from one of the four original-source biographies of Jesus’ physical life on earth:

  • You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly.
  • When you do something good, don’t do it in front of others so that they will see you. If you do that, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
  • You cannot serve God and money at the same time.
  • Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars.
  • Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
  • Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment.
  • Do for others what you would want them to do for you.

Yes, some of these teachings are hard. And trust me, you are going to fail at some of them, just like me. And that’s OK. Serious followers of Jesus know that His sacrificial death on a cross wipes away the failures of His followers, so that all God sees is the perfection of His son.

Furthermore, when you become a serious follower of Jesus, you welcome Him into your heart and your mind, where His strength, His perfection and His love for YOU start to transform your life. Right here, right now.

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

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THE MIND AND THE HEART

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 14, 2015| 3 Comments »

Religion pacifierJust for fun, I Googled “What does the human mind need?” There was no definitive answer. In fact, none of the dozens of links I saw even address the question.

So I tried “The human mind cries out for…”. Again, nothing.

So does the human mind cry out for facts and reason? Makes sense to me. I’m sure it cries out for more than that, but let’s stick with these two and move on to the bottom statement in this graphic (which I found on an atheist website).

I’m a man of faith, but I certainly want nothing to do with “religion” (here’s why: http://wp.me/p2wzRb-eu). So does having faith in God and Jesus of Nazareth — who many people believe is the son of God — act as a pacifier?

Sadly, the answer for some Jesus followers is yes. But for most, the answer is absolutely NO. We see the world for how it truly is — broken, in desperate need of help. And we do our best to help, by going on trips to aid people in developing nations, by financially supporting aid organizations like Samaritan’s Purse, by asking our political leaders to do the right thing.

In other words, we strive, in our horribly imperfect way, to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Why? because “God loved the world [and that means EVERYONE IN IT] so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life.” That’s from one of the four original-source biographies of Jesus’ physical life on earth. Serious Jesus followers believe this, so if God loves everyone, then followers of His Son should, too.

Let’s move on to the human heart. What does it need? I don’t think I’m off-base when I write that the hearts of most people need love, acceptance and a sense of purpose. Our hearts need forgiveness — for the wrong things we’ve done and for the right things we’ve failed to do. Our hearts need community — the sense that we’re not alone in whatever joy or misery we are experiencing.

Do hearts get these things from family and friends? Certainly. But friends drift away. Families become separated by emotions or geography and, inevitably, death. From power and money? Only for a relatively short time. Sex? Same thing. Boats, mansions, 100-inch TV screens, Vegas vacations and Ferraris? It won’t take long for most people to become bored of them.

So what’s left? Who can offer us absolutely unconditional love? Where can we get a sense of purpose that’s real and won’t change? How can we achieve a sense of community around something more important than wine-tasting, cruise ship vacations or extreme sports? And where can we get unconditional forgiveness?

I believe a relationship with Jesus is the answer to every one of those needs. God offers Jesus as a gift to you and me. When you accept that gift, with sincere seriousness, you open the door to God changing you, from the inside out. For the better. So you can join me in being an imperfect ambassador for Jesus in a broken world.

And when this life is over,  Jesus’ sacrificial death on a cross wipes away all the wrong things we’ve done and all the right things we’ve failed to do. So God sees you and me the way He sees Jesus: perfect in every way. And from there, we are welcome to spend eternity with Jesus.

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

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WHERE’S THE PLAN?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 7, 2015| 13 Comments »

Where's the plan? 2.15When I saw this graphic, posted on an atheist website, my immediate reaction was: I bet that’s how the world looks to a lot of people.

It’s hardly a stretch to write that planet Earth appears to be in permanent chaos. Wars, viruses, terrorism, rampant corruption, female and child slavery, broken marriages, child sexual abuse. I’m sure you can easily add to the list.

So where’s the plan? Is all this playing out according to some orderly arrangement? Really?

In a word, YES. Now stay with me while I explain.

People of faith like me believe God’s plan is not so much about events. It’s about people. It’s about a relationship with Him through Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is God’s divine Son.

That relationship has three key parts:

1. It can, and has, changed the world for the better. Consider these facts:

  • Jesus followers have started hospitals and universities (this blog sheds light on that topic: http://wp.me/p2wzRb-9O).
  • A Jesus follower, William Wilberforce, tirelessly led the decades-long fight to end slavery in Great Britain.
  • Jesus-following scientist Francis S. Collins played a leading role in mapping the human genome.
  • Members of a Jesus-following organization, the International Justice Mission, risk their lives to free female and child slaves in the developing world.

2. It can, and has, brought life-changing peace to lives torn apart by pain and misery. Two examples:

  • Second World War hero Louis Zamperini (subject of the Hollywood movie Unbroken) was an angry alcoholic tortured by regular nightmares of his time in a Japanese prison camp. Then he became a serious Jesus follower. The nightmares ended. The drinking stopped. And his troubled marriage was restored.
  • Beaten up and betrayed by his criminal friends, Michael “Bull” Roberts was at the end of his rope when he reached out to Jesus. Since then, he’s left behind a life of crime and sought to help others in his situation. (You can read a bit more of his story here: http://wp.me/p2wzRb-5g).

3. It’s based on free will. This might seem difficult for you to accept because free will includes our ability to do all the nasty stuff I mentioned in the second paragraph. You might protest that a loving God would not allow all those things to happen. But centuries of evidence shows that free will is an all-or-nothing proposition.

If the nasty things I mentioned were stopped, then so would your ability to ignore God and reject the gift He offers you: a changed life, now and for all eternity, through faith in Jesus.

It’s up to YOU to respond to the gift. It’s up to YOU to figure out whether you want to be part of God’s work to make this broken world a better place. It’s up to YOU to take hold of the life-changing peace He offers through Jesus.

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

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PROBE-ING FOR MEANING

Posted in Movies & TV, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 31, 2015| 2 Comments »

Star Trek: The Motion PictureEven me, who figures anything with the words “Star Trek” in the title MUST be good, has to admit that the first Star Trek movie was long, sloooow and generally underwhelming.

But when I sat down recently to watch 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture again for the first time in decades, I was struck by the plot and how it speaks to the human condition right now.

Admiral James T. Kirk busts himself down to captain in order to retake command of the Enterprise and help the United Federation of Planets fight off a truly gigantic threat.

The threat is called “V’Ger” and eventually Kirk and company find out it’s a 20th-century Earth space probe believed lost. But it wasn’t lost; an alien race figured out its mission — to gather information, then return to its creator — and massively upgraded it to complete the mission.

Over 300 years, the probe gathered so much information that it achieved consciousness. But returning to its creator? That was a problem. And without its creator, the probe “finds its existence empty and without purpose” (thank you, Wikipedia).

Perhaps this sounds entirely alien to you. But it hit home for me during a scene where Spock (the Enterprise’s science officer) tells Kirk, “V’Ger has knowledge that spans this universe, and yet, V’Ger is barren. It has no meaning, no hope, no answers. But it’s asking questions. Is this all that I am? Is there nothing more?”

This monologue strikes me as describing the condition of humanity. And the questions V’Ger asks probably occur to any thinking person who has achieved what our culture considers success (even if that success is “just” a middle-class life).

“It knows only that it needs,” Spock relates a little later. “But like so many of us, it does not know what.”

Is this you? It certainly was me. I had the middle-class success our culture sets up as nirvana — good career, satisfying relationships, disposable income with little debt. And yet it seemed superficial. Boring. Meaningless. I was a miniature V’Ger.

If you’ve found yourself sometimes occupying this mental and emotional space, then be bold. Ignore the relentless call of our world and investigate the questions.

That’s what I did. After much thinking, talking, reading and praying, I came to know there’s a Creator. Bigger than all humanity. Bigger than V’Ger. I came to know this Creator loves His creation — you, me and every other human being on this planet — but we had turned away from Him. So He offers us a gift, a way back to Him.

That gift is Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the perfect Son of God. Jesus sacrificed Himself to make up for all the wrong things we’ve done and all the right things we’ve failed to do. Because there’s no human way for us to do that on our own.

Furthermore, original-source biographies of Jesus’ physical life on earth tell us Jesus rose from the dead after three days, thereby destroying the permanence of death that we horribly imperfect humans brought on ourselves.

When you accept the gift of Jesus, all this is open to you. The need is satisfied. The questions are answered.

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

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THE COMFORTING LACK OF PROOF

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 24, 2015| 3 Comments »

ComfortingLackOfProof 1.15Are there people in this world who think the Bible proves God’s existence? The answer is almost certainly YES. I would beg to differ with them, and so would many thoughtful, wise people.

A majority of those who follow Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God) believe the Bible is strong evidence for God’s existence and for the life and work of Jesus. But proof? Well, here’s how Matt Slick on the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry website puts it:

Proof is for mathematics and logic. How do you “prove” there is a Great Being outside of our universe? Do we look for footprints in a riverbed? Do we examine evidence under a microscope and say, “Aha! There’s God!”? That would be the wrong approach. If God exists, He would be beyond our universe, non-material, and transcendent.

Now look around you at this planet, then consider the solar system in which it exists. And the Milky Way galaxy in which our solar system exists. And the universe that includes the Milky Way. Did all that simply pop out of nowhere for no particular reason? I don’t think so. Indeed, an ancient writer says “The heavens are telling the glory of God; they are a marvelous display of his craftsmanship.”

That’s still not proof for God’s existence, of course. And I firmly believe there NEVER will be definitive proof. And I’m fine with that. God has never provided proof; following Jesus is about a mixture of reason, evidence and faith.

That last noun is a dirty word to some people, like the atheist who posted the meme that inspired this blog. But ancient writers acknowledge the need for faith. One of them wrote, “Whoever comes to God must believe that He is real and that He rewards those who sincerely try to find Him.”

Why am I good with a lack of definitive proof? Because if such proof existed, the freedom to be an atheist — to believe there is no God and the future of this planet is all up to us horribly greedy, immature, violent and disloyal people — would be destroyed. (Though some folks don’t let facts alter their worldview – see flat-earthers.) And if the state of this broken world tells me anything, it’s that God prizes the gift of freewill. No matter how often we spit on it.

  • I’m given a choice of whether to believe that Jesus, and all the accomplishments that original-source biographies declare He did while physically on earth, is for real.
  • I’m given a choice on whether to accept that Jesus’ death on a Roman cross makes up for all the wrong things done by His followers and all the right things His followers fail to do.
  • I’m given a choice on whether to trust that by declaring Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, I’ll spend eternity with Him in the presence of the Creator of the universe.

One thing I already know: my life is better because I believe in God and follow His Son. Because of that belief, I’ve forgiven people that others have been unwilling to forgive. That belief has also had a profound, positive and life-changing influence on my career, who I married and how I think about this world and everyone in it.

Are there times when maybe you need a new and positive influence in your life? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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THE BIBLE’S ‘FAILURES’

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 17, 2015| 8 Comments »

Bible diversity intelligent happy tolerantAccording to this meme, found on an atheist website, I’m probably not “saved”.

Here I am, a follower of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the son of God) and yet:

  • I’m reasonably happy, however one would define that word and apply to our culture.
  • I’m intelligent enough to have graduated high school and earned a college journalism diploma & a university management development certificate.
  • I have yet to write a single word on this website, or during my 26 years in journalism, condemning diversity.
  • Mentally stable? There have been times when I was taking a mild anti-depressant, just like millions and millions of other people (it’s safe to write that some of them are atheists).

I guess following Jesus has failed to save other people like me, too. Churches all over the world are attended by black men and women, Asian men and women, African men and women, native North American men and women. And some of those people are gay and/or divorced and/or alcoholics and/or convicted criminals and/or mentally challenged.

Intelligence? Ooooo, lots of failures there, too. Among them are university professor and committed Catholic Brian Kobilka, an American Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry. There’s also Christian paleontologist Mary Higby Schweitzer and 2007 Nobel Prize Winner (for chemistry) Gerhard Ertl.

That’s just the beginning; Wikipedia lists more than 60 Jesus followers active in biomedical sciences, physics & astronomy, chemistry and engineering. Gee, I’d call that an EPIC failure on the part of Jesus. (Chances are, most of these folks are mentally stable, too.)

Beyond all this sarcasm, I hope it’s obvious to you that deciding to follow Jesus — His life and teachings, His sacrificial death (to make up for all the wrong things his followers have done and all the right things we’ve failed to do) and His resurrection — often helps people become happy, intelligent, tolerant of diversity and mentally stable.

Following Jesus helps us understand that God loves us, and everyone else on this planet, equally and beyond measure. That love comes not from what we’ve done or not done. It comes because that’s who God is.

Serious Jesus followers also understand that just as we have been forgiven much, we should turn around and forgive much in others.

There’s more: serious Jesus followers appreciate science because it helps us understand how God does stuff. Serious Jesus followers believe something that famed evangelist Billy Graham said: “It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict (people of their moral crimes), God’s job to judge and my job to love”.

Do we fall short of this? Absolutely. But most serious Jesus followers have it in our sights and strive after it daily. And doing that makes us better people.

Interested in striving with us? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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