Sold my soul

I am reading a very interesting book,"I Sold My Soul On Ebay", it is written by an atheist gentleman, Hemant Mehta who put himself up for auction on ebay. The winning bidder could then have the opportunity to have Hemant attend church for one hour/$10 bid in the auction. In other words if the top bidder won for $500, Hemant would then have to attend churches of the winners choice for 50 hours.

Hemant spent his hours visiting evangelical churches and then shared how he viewed what was happening in many churches from his experience. It is a fascinating book. It is not an assault on Christianity, it makes us think of how we do church and how we reach out to those who do not share the same belief system as us.

Hemant makes a comment in the book that I have been thinking about. He is sitting in a service listening to a pastor talk about Thomas. The pastor talks about Thomas demanding proof from Jesus that he was alive. Jesus then shows Thomas the proof when He meets Thomas the next week. Now here is what Hemant says: "I had the impression that people looked down on Thomas for doubting Jesus. And yet, here he was asking for the same thing I was looking for:evidence. Thomas saw his evidence standing right in front of him. I kept thinking IF JESUS DID THAT TO ME NOW, I'M SURE I'D CHANGE MY MIND TOO."

People are looking for evidence. I am looking for evidence in things too. I was taught in school that Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue in 1492, or something like that. But how do they know it happened. Were my teachers there? It didn't look like any of my teachers were almost 500 years old. Yet there are documents that show this actually happened.

Go with me to Luke 1:1-4. Luke the good doctor writes an account for us in a letter sent to another man Theophilus. Luke says, "I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you." I choose to trust the word of someone who really investigated all the things about Jesus and His ministry. I choose to believe that a doctor, a trusted professional who only wants to share truth would not lie. I believe that the real Jesus is knowable.

So for me it is simple. Just like I choose to trust that Columbus did sail to North America in 1492, I choose to believe that the real Jesus will be revealed to me through the writings of the Word of God and specifically through the words penned in Luke.

I hope that together we can dig deeper into the Word of God and begin to know on a deeper level, "The Real Jesus"

Jesus on the radio

I enjoy listening to the radio. Especially when I am driving in my car. My preference is to listen to talk radio and listen to what other people have to say about certain topics. Today one of the topics discussed was ... "how long should a drunk driver who kills someone while driving impaired go to jail for?" There were certainly many opinions expressed, though I never called in to express my opinion.

I certainly do have opinions about things, many things. But what are my opinions based on? Opinions typically are based on personal experience.

My opinion of Jesus is based on a few things but two specifically. One is my experience and two is His Word. The amazing part is His Word and my experience are linked because of Jesus.

But what if I never had met and spent time with this real Jesus. My opinion of Him would only be based on my experience or listening to the experiences of others. I know that the late night talk shows take shots at Jesus and Christianity whenever they can. They along with many others mock Jesus because they do not know Him. They would think differently if they knew Jesus and not just about Him.

If you look with me to Luke 1:5-7 we read about Zechariah and Elizabeth. They were two devout people who followed the commands of God. They were righteous in God's eyes. They were not perfect but God saw them as righteous. God sees us differently than we see ourselves. God looks to our hearts and knows what is in our heart.

He knew the heart of this couple and that Zechariah and Elizabeth were old and that she was unable to have children. I am sure many days went by, many years went by with unanswered prayer. God knew that!!! I am sure God heard the many nights when Elizabeth cried her self to sleep. God heard!!! Their experience could have told them to give up and stop praying, but they also linked their lives with His Word.

We need to remember this. When we have prayer that seems to go unanswered, do not give up!!!!

It would be easier to listen to the popular opinion or the tabloids or the loud voices who say "There is no God", or mock Him, especially when our experience has been difficult.

But there is a God, a real God who does care. He does forgive. He does love.

Which voice are we listening to? God's voice, or popular opinion????

The real Jesus

Lately I have been doing a lot of thinking. I know that can be a good thing or a bad thing if we are focusing on positive or negative things. But this time it is good!!!

I hear many people, whether it be on television or the radio, listening to peoples conversations, or reading books that talk about this person, Jesus. I often have to shake me head in amazement and wonder, are you talking about the same Jesus that I know? Because many times it sure doesn't seem like they are.

Recently on a local radio station a "pastor/minister", I use that term loosely here, was asked the question: Who is Jesus? Seemed like a fair question to ask a person in ministry, but her response sent a cold chill through me. Her response was this: Jesus is not who we make him out to be. He was not some supernatural healer, he was not some great miracle worker. He was just a peasant boy who people made up great stories about and tried to make him into some person he is not. He is not anyone special, only what people have made him out to be.

I may not have the quote word for word but that was certainly the message she was sharing. My thought was how can you be a person who shepherds people and not tell them the truth about who Jesus is? I was greatly offended by her rhetoric.

A wonderful song is being played on the airways these days by an amazingly talented and God focused group called "Downhere". They have a song called "The Real Jesus". As I have listened to the words over and over it inspires me to really search out and share with others who "the real Jesus" is. So if you would like to join me as I pen this study over the next few weeks, please do.

I will be doing a study based on the book of Luke found in God's Word and interweaving the truth and questions generated by the Downhere song. I would love to have your feedback as well.

I know the real Jesus. He is my strength, He is my joy, He is my peace, He is my healer. He is my Lord and Savior!!!

Here is a link to the song and you can find it on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EwPcL1AXxE