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Posts Tagged ‘Jesus relationship’

THE MYSTERIOUS ‘COME-TO-JESUS-MOMENT’

Posted in In The News, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 10, 2018| 2 Comments »

The Calgary Herald headline intrigued me from the moment I read it:

City council faces ‘Come-to-Jesus moment’
as shrinking value of downtown towers leaves huge tax gap

The headline writer seemed to assume that most readers would comprehend the expression. But I don’t think that’s true; I spent more than 25 years in print journalism and I’m not even sure I fully understand it. So I looked it up.

UrbanDictionary.com appears to have the most reasonable definition of ‘Come-to-Jesus moment’: “An epiphany in which one realizes the truth of a matter; a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something; coming clean and admitting failures.”

I like the last part of that definition because it links back to the original meaning of the phrase: people realizing they’re not living right and fixing the problem by becoming followers of Jesus of Nazareth.

Serious Jesus followers like me believe He is the divine Son of God and He is God’s gift to anyone willing to accept Him. Those who say yes to that gift find out Jesus has the power to change their lives.

Need evidence? Paul, an ancient opponent of Jesus followers, helped arrest and persecute people who followed Him. Then he had a spiritual encounter with Jesus; after that, Paul dedicating the rest of his life to starting churches and telling people how Jesus made him a new and better person.

Not all transformations are so radical and that might be comforting if you’re afraid of losing the essence of who you are. Sometimes, Jesus gradually tweaks personalities, strengths/weaknesses, likes/dislikes so people come closer to who God intended them to be. That’s what is happening to me and the process won’t end until I finish with this life.

Are you facing a ‘Come-to-Jesus moment’? The fact that you’re reading this blog suggests the answer might be yes. Keep in mind that no one on this planet is free of failures, disappointments, tragedies or mistakes. All of us have missed the mark on who God created us to be. Realizing this truth can be your ‘Come-to-Jesus moment’.

If you’re not in this situation, do you know someone who is? I suggest you send them a link to this blog; it might open the door to a spiritual conversation—and if you feel ill-equipped for such a conversation, please include my email address – fdking@hotmail.com. I’ll be happy to connect with them.

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WHEN FORGIVENESS IS POSSIBLE

Posted in In The News, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 15, 2018| 2 Comments »

The newspaper headline shouted, in capital letters, ‘I FORGIVE YOU’. The Calgary Sun article then detailed how a man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a 10-year-old homicide that could only be described as horrifying.

Sadly, during the trial the victim’s mother had to see photos of the badly injured, lifeless body and hear how her son was beaten to death.

Then it was her turn to speak and that’s when we understand the eye-popping headline. The mother, Linda Levesque, told the court she was still grieving over the brutal crime and all that her son suffered before dying.

Then Linda dropped this bomb: “Because of this powerful gift, I have come to forgive those who took our Daniel. I pray that this forgiveness will free your heart to know our Heavenly Father’s mercy, love and healing.”

What was the gift Linda spoke about? The Sun article only said it was her “faith”. I’m having no trouble reading between the lines and understanding it was her faith in Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God.

A Sun columnist, who covered the trial, pretty much confirmed it by referring to Linda’s “faith in God”. He went on to write “the fact she has been able to come to terms with such a devastating event and … forgive those responsible is truly remarkable.”

Yes, it’s remarkable. It’s also a sign of someone who understands what it means to follow Jesus. Linda knows that while she’s never taken a life, she (like you, me and the rest of humanity) is far from perfect.

According to the ancient prophets and writers, all the wrong things that people like you and me have done, and all the right things we’ve failed to do, will be exposed when this life ends and we stand before the perfect Creator of time, space and the universe.

We’ll have to somehow explain away all these sins; I can tell you right now that I would not do well in that situation. Would you?

The ancient prophets and Jesus followers wrote that God sought to maintain His perfect standards while still enabling people to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. The way He did that was to have His Son pay for all those wrong things by dying on a Roman Empire cross.

Three days later, God brought Jesus back to life to tell anyone who follows Jesus that their sins are gone, they’re as perfect as Jesus and we’ll see Him face-to-face when this life ends.

Linda Levesque must have understood this and recognized that since she’s been forgiven much, she needs to show the same level of forgiveness. And she did.

There are other instances of Jesus followers forgiving acts of sickening violence (Google “Amish-Pennsylvania shooting-forgiveness”; it’s an incredible story). Each example shows how following Jesus can free us from soul-destroying pain and bitterness, no matter how big or small the wrong that’s been done. Does this sound like something you want to get in on? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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ARE FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE ENEMIES?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 4, 2018| 20 Comments »

This meme, helpfully supplied by an atheist faith community, left me puzzled.

The viewpoint, from the creator of the animated TV shows Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show, sets up an adversarial relationship between faith and knowledge.

So let’s ask the question: are faith and knowledge compatible? Does one have to “win” over the other?

Consider the words from thoughtful people of faith:

Blogger Tom Gilson (ThinkingChristian.net) says “belief doesn’t arrive out of thin air, or wishful thinking, or fear, or hopefulness, or (especially) pretending. There is a strong knowledge connection there.”

The website BibleAsk.org goes even further, stating “There is no such thing as ‘blind’ faith. Genuine faith is built on facts presented to the mind. Faith and knowledge are never in contradiction. Knowledge always comes before faith, and where there is no knowledge there can be no faith. Without knowledge, it is impossible to have faith.”

The point here is that thoughtful followers of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God) have no interest in the either-or relationship between faith and knowledge advanced by Seth MacFarlane and others. And they’re backed up by the ancient writers and prophets. Chew on these examples:

  • Wise people want to learn more, so they listen closely to gain knowledge.
  • Intelligent people want more knowledge, but fools only want more nonsense.
  • Drinking from the beautiful chalice of knowledge is better than adorning oneself with gold and rare gems.

Most Jesus followers take these words seriously. In fact, some of those Jesus followers, like author and geneticist Francis S. Collins, are among the most knowledgeable in the world and they work to advance knowledge, not hinder it. You can read about just a few of these people here: https://wp.me/p2wzRb-3o.

So that’s the good news. You can accept God’s gift of His Son — whose sacrificial death and amazing resurrection makes up for all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do — and also advance the cause of knowledge. Both are utterly, beautifully compatible.

Interesting in knowing more about Jesus and how He can make you into the person God intends you to be? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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THE UNNICENESS OF RELIGION

Posted in It's Not About 'Religion', tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 30, 2018| 4 Comments »

The late, great Andy Rooney (a beloved commentator on TV’s 60 Minutes for more than 30 years) said many profound and witty things during his 92 years on this planet. The quote in this meme, helpfully supplied by an Atheist internet community, is definitely among his most compelling thoughts.

First off, as a follower of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is God’s Son), I’m 100 percent with Andy. We have centuries of history, much of it downright horrifying, to absolutely prove his point. More often than not, religious people are simply awful.

Here’s a brief list of what religion does:

  • It makes people judgmental
  • It creates a dangerous ‘us versus them’ mentality
  • It causes people to think that since they’re right, then everyone else is wrong and that leads to intolerance and persecution
  • It sparks vicious tribalism and if you want examples of how bad that is, think of the endless bombings in the Middle East or the 1990s genocidal ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and in Rwanda.

So who else opposes religion? How about Jesus? Some of His harshest words are saved for arrogant, judgemental, rule-obsessed religious leaders.

Furthermore, a case can be credibly advanced that part of Jesus’ mission was to get rid of religion altogether. In his book The End of Religion, pastor Bruxy Cavey says “I’m not suggesting that Jesus opposes all forms of organization, but that he opposes dependence on any one organization for our connection with God.”

In fact, Bruxy quotes Jesus (Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest.) to make the point that “Jesus is not pointing toward a different and better religion, but instead he invites us to himself as an alternative to the weary way of religion.”

Now this is an invitation that should be attractive to anyone interested in spirituality (and I assume that’s YOU, since you’re reading this blog). Skip religion and connect with Jesus!

So what happens when you do this? Consider Jesus to be God’s gift to every person on this planet, regardless of what they’ve done or not done, regardless of their social status, gender, or age.

Anyone who accepts that gift invites Jesus into their heart and mind to begin a life-long process of making them the kind of people that God wants them to be. And when this life is over, all the wrong things they’ve done and the right things they’ve failed to do will be irrelevant. All God will see is His Son’s perfection.

Call me crazy, but this sounds like a GREAT deal. Are you interested? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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THE TRUTH ABOUT ‘BELIEF SYSTEMS’

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 5, 2018| 9 Comments »

As soon as I saw this meme, found in a Facebook atheist group, my “spidey-sense” started tingling because it presents a golden opportunity to tell you the truth about “belief systems”.

First of all, every person on this planet has a belief system, including atheists. I’ve had hundreds of online interactions with atheist people. In almost every encounter, I’ve found:

  1. They believe there is nothing behind all we see and experience
.
  2. They believe humans have no soul, so when we die, all that we are becomes nothing more than rancid worm food (sorry to be so blunt, but it’s necessary).
  3. They believe all people of faith are deluded, lacking in intelligence and even dangerous.

So…do you honestly think (as the meme suggests) that your belief system has submerged you in mediocrity and distracted you from the real dangers of our existence?

Let me toss something else your way. Think about the often horrifying history of humanity. Think about our culture as it is today—the obsession with social media and celebrities, the belief that being “politically correct” will somehow make life better for everyone, the fixation on getting more money, more “toys” and more power.

Does all this make you even slightly confident that humanity can somehow save the world without any help?

You might be feeling a little down now, so let me reveal a belief system that’s shot through with hope for you and for humanity.

This belief system starts with the creator and master of time, space and the universe. He loves every person on this planet, including YOU, He knows you better than you know yourself and He wants to be involved in your life.

What do I base this on? Consider the words of Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is God’s Son:

All who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them. My Father and I will come to them and live with them.

From an ancient prophet:

You [God] know all about me. You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts from far away. You know where I go and where I lie down. You know everything I do.

So how can you let God get involved in your life? Accept the gift of His Son. When you do that, God no longer sees the wrong things you’ve done and the right things you’ve failed to do. He only sees His Son’s perfection. And then Jesus comes into your life and starts to make you more like Him. It’s a process that won’t end until you’re in Heaven with Jesus.

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

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THE AFTERLIFE PUZZLE

Posted in In The News, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 7, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Well, this seems confusing.

Canada’s National Post newspaper has published a new survey that might leave you scratching your head. Or maybe not.

The survey suggests millennials (people born between 1982 and 2002) are:

  • Vastly more likely to believe in an afterlife than older generations. Seventy percent of millennials have this belief, compared to 66 percent of generation Xers and less than 60 percent of people 70 and older.
  • Less likely than older folks to belief in God or a higher power. The percentage stands at 66 for millennials, compared to 80 for pre-baby boomers.

Perhaps this makes sense to you. If that’s the case, let me ask two questions: On what do you base your afterlife belief – the prevailing culture or a favourite TV show or Oprah Winfrey’s philosophies? And If you believe there is no creator, then how is it possible for an afterlife to exist?

This challenge is worth tackling because as the years go by, you’re probably going to place more and more of your trust in your afterlife beliefs. It make sense to base that trust on something solid and unchanging.

I believe there’s far more to our existence than 70 or 80 years of eating, sleeping, working, vacationing and going to the bathroom. I base this on something many people think is radical and even ridiculous: a living, breathing, eternal relationship with God, established through faith in Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is God’s Son.)

I didn’t get this belief from being raised by spiritual parents or by trusting in a bestselling author or a pop culture star. This belief came from an open-minded investigation of Jesus’s claims. I debated people from a variety of perspectives, read many books and thought deeply about all the viewpoints out there.

After that, I decided at age 42 to trust Jesus with this life and the life to come. I did that because, after my investigations, I believe that:

  1. God is perfect and that’s His standard for judging humanity.
  2. Through the bad things we’ve done and the good things we’ve failed to do, every person on this planet has fallen far short of God’s standard.
  3. Human history – and our own life stories – indicates we can’t achieve God’s standard on our own.
  4. Rather than condemn us all, God sent Jesus Christ to this earth to teach us how to live, then to pay the penalty for our “sins” through his sacrificial death and astounding resurrection three days later.

How do I know all this? A primary-source biography of Jesus says “God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.”

Could there be any better news than this? And for those who trust in Jesus, when this life is over, God won’t see any of your flaws. He’ll just see His Son’s perfection.

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

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WHAT KIND OF GOD CAN YOU RESPECT?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 17, 2018| 6 Comments »

Wow. There’s a lot of heavy stuff to digest here. So let me break it down as best as I can and hopefully help you see things very differently than the atheist who created and published this meme.

1.  As much as followers of Jesus of Nazareth may try, we can’t “save” anyone from spending eternity separated from the creator and master of time, space and the universe. Only God can do that, and thousands of years of history suggests that more often than not, He chooses to do that saving through very imperfect people like me.

2.  God has absolutely ZERO desire to “torture” anyone, even people that you and I may think deserve to be tortured. One of men trained by Jesus to tell people about God describes God’s character like this: God is being patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be lost. He wants everyone to change their ways and stop sinning.

In fact, God wants every person on this planet to be in Heaven with Him and Jesus, who many people believe is God’s Son. This can be infuriating to some people, because they want particularly nasty people to “burn in hell”.

I’m so thankful that God’s willingness to forgive everyone, for all the wrong things they’ve done and the right things they’ve failed to do, is so much broader than any forgiveness even the best of us humans can ever offer. (Here’s just one astonishing example of God’s unfathomable forgiveness: https://wp.me/p2wzRb-6K.)

3.  Who puts who into hell? Consider the person who created this meme. He or she seems to have pretty good basic knowledge of Jesus. Not only has this person rejected every part of Him, he or she has gone out of their way to make that rejection public.

The only possible conclusion from this is they’ve decided they want to spend eternity separated from their creator. So God will grant that wish, even as He’s patiently hoping they’ll change their minds (see the quote above.)

4.  After everything I’ve written, you shouldn’t be surprised to know that I can’t love, respect, worship or believe in the kind of god this atheist created, then rejected. So we’re absolutely in agreement on this.

I can confidently write that the creator of the universe has a gift for YOU. That gift is Jesus — His life and astonishing teachings, His horrible death on a Roman cross (to make up for the “sins” of everyone who believes in Him and follows Him) and His triumphant resurrection.

All you need to do is accept that gift, then watch as Jesus enters into your life and begins to change you for the better, all in preparation for spending eternity with Him. Interested? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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THIS LIFE AND THE LIFE TO COME

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 11, 2017| Leave a Comment »

When I read this meme, helpfully created by an atheist, I started thinking hard about my spiritual path and about what Twain (1835-1910), the great American author/humourist/entrepreneur, had to say.

What “great” things have I given up in this life? Just look at the depiction of Twain in this meme. Can anyone credibly tell me smoking is a great thing?

As for alcohol (see the drink in his hand?), there is nothing in the original source biographies of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is God’s Son) that forbids enjoying the occasional beer or glass of wine.

Casual sex? Um, hasn’t the spread of sexually transmitted diseases taught us this isn’t necessarily the great thing that our culture says it is?

Money? God doesn’t forbid providing a comfortable life for people and their families. What He does frown upon is loving money more than people, more than honesty, more than integrity and more than generosity. In fact, one of Jesus’s earliest followers wrote “Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble”.

Power? There are all kinds of Jesus followers in important positions who are not corrupted by power. Just one example is John Tyson, chairman of the U.S. food giant Tyson Foods. He has served with several significant non-profit organizations, including the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependance.

Now, about the “mediocre things of an imaginary (life)”. Twain believed there is nothing beyond the existence you are I are living now — in other words, when we die, all that we are becomes nothing more than rancid worm food (sorry to be this blunt, but it’s necessary). Give this some serious thought; do you have this hopeless belief?

Consider the brokenness of our world — wars, human trafficking, man-made famines and ethnic cleansing. As far as I’m concerned, all this happens because people have rejected their creator, rejected the idea of a life beyond this one, and therefore believe they should do anything and everything to grab all the power, money and prestige they can.

If you’re willing to contemplate this ugly reality, then you might start to realize there MUST be something better than our 70-plus years on planet Earth.

And if you do that, you might question Twain’s opinion that what comes after this life is “mediocre”.

So how can you get in on the promise of a glorious life to come? It’s simple: God offers you the gift of His Son — His life, sacrificial death (for all the wrong things you’ve done and all the right things you’ve failed to do) and glorious resurrection.

Accept the gift. Commit yourself to learning about Jesus and what it means to love Him and follow Him. When you do that, He’ll come into your life and start to prepare you for eternity by slowly making you the kind of person He knows you can be.

Interested? Yes or now, comment below and let’s have a conversation.

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THE REALITY OF BEING A PAWN

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 29, 2017| 1 Comment »

Dictionary.com has several definitions for “pawn”. The one that seems most relevant to this atheist graphic is “someone who is used or manipulated to further another person’s purposes”.

Based on all this, I’m quite happy to report that the graphic is gloriously CORRECT.

Before I explain why, let me make one thing clear: every person on this planet is a pawn. Including YOU.

We are pawns of political parties, special interest groups, Hollywood stars, loved ones, sports “heroes”, big business, social media and almost anything else you can name.

We are constantly on the receiving end of manipulation, even as we seek — often unconsciously — to manipulate others. In fact, I could be accused of attempting to manipulate you right now.

So how is the graphic that inspired this blog so thoroughly right? Because people like me, who believe Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, WANT to be a pawn.

We want to be used or manipulated to further God’s agenda in a world that even optimistic people must admit isn’t doing well. His agenda starts and ends with bringing all of humanity back to Him.

Right now, most of us have little or no connection to our creator because we follow the agenda of our culture: Earn more money. Get more power. Buy bigger flat-screen TVs. Obsess about the lives of celebrities. Botox our way to better looks. Pamper ourselves with luxurious vacations.

Notice the common denominator? All these agenda items are about me-me-me.

Now consider God’s agenda:

  • Love your enemies and pray for them (spoken by Jesus).
  • Do for others what you would have them do for you (more words from Jesus). Notice how active this is? Jesus is saying don’t just avoid doing wrong things to others, get out there and do good things.
  • Avoid judging others, because how you judge them is how God will judge you (also from Jesus).
  • Put others ahead of yourself, just as Jesus did when he was physically on earth (from one of the people Jesus trained to follow Him).
  • Show mercy to others and leave judgement to God (from Jesus’ brother)
  • Help those who are in need (also from Jesus’ brother).
  • Live with a sense of thankfulness (from one of the people Jesus trained to follow Him).

Notice the common denominator? These agenda items are about others. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I write that if all of us strived to live this way, our world would be a better place.

But how can we make this a priority when we so often do wrong and fail to do right? I have a radical, life-changing answer: accept the gift of Jesus, who is offered to EVERYONE.

Accept that Jesus died to wipe all your moral crimes off the books. Welcome Him into your heart and mind. Then watch as He starts changing your life — a project that can begin NOW and end when you finish life on this planet and then spend eternity in Heaven with Him.

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

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FROM SICKENING THOUGHT TO BEAUTIFUL TRUTH

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 1, 2017| 41 Comments »

When I first encountered this atheist graphic, I experienced a moment of heart sickness because there are Christians out there who actually think like this.

I see this kind of horrific mindset every time someone who claims to follow Jesus of Nazareth (whom many people believe is the divine Son of God) almost gleefully tells gay people or atheist people that they’re going to burn in hell.

it’s almost as if they think God WANTS some people to burn. Not only is that a sickening thought, it’s also wrong, wrong, wrong.

Here’s the truth, according to the original-source biographies of Jesus and writings by His earliest followers:

  • God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost, but have eternal life.
  • God is being patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be lost. He wants everyone to change their ways and stop sinning.
  • God wants everyone to be saved and to fully understand the truth.

Does any of this sound like God is holding a lighter, just itching to turn you into a screaming torch?

These ancient quotes point to an important bottom line: every person on this planet has done wrong and failed to do right. No exceptions. And this is serious business because according to Jesus, God is perfect and that’s His standard for judging all of humanity.

When this life is finished, one of his earliest followers wrote that every one of us will appear before God and have to somehow explain away all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do.

I guarantee you it’s not going to go well. But God offers a solution: Jesus. When Jesus was found guilty of ridiculous, trumped-up charges and crucified on a Roman cross, that death paid the penalty you and I would have to pay for our moral crimes. He took our punishment on His shoulders.

I call that an extraordinary, life-changing gift. And that gift is available to EVERYONE. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done (or not done). As author Philip Yancey put it so well in What’s So Amazing About Grace, “God gave up His own Son rather than give up on humanity”.

How can you get in on this gift? Just accept it. That’s all.

When you believe that Jesus took the penalty for your moral crimes and decide you want to follow Him, He’ll come into your heart and start a life-long process of making you the person God created you to be. And when this life ends and you stand before God, the only thing God will see is His Son’s perfection.

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

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