reading yn's blog before, hmmm, i wonder if there's more to this spiritual lethargy than meets the eye... before easter, i had similar lethargy, focusing on complaints and negative things, but today feeling mostly revitalised - reminded and refilled with the hope and assurance of salvation thru Jesus ;p truly, there is so much power and love poured out on us by God!!!
start of day was funny - went to city to meet with sal (thx for coming along, sal!!! ;p you always make my day!!! love u heaps!!!) - after that, my car wouldn't start!!! typical, it's happened b4... engine flooded... opened the bonnet, everything else seemed fine... was going to wait ages for racv to come along... thanx to God tho - this guy came along who was really helpful, opened up the filter cover, and told me to try again starting the car... so after a while jus pushing the starter motor, it started going, and we were able to make it to wcf on time!!! (well, 15 mins late, but jus missed a couple of songs only... so was ok!!!)
at wcf, saw quite a few friends whom i haven't seen for yonks (shaz, rene, mary, felicia, mel, james)... the message was really good, awesome presentation contrasting the claims of the "da vinci code" (book by dan brown) and the claims of Jesus ;p how well Jesus' resurrection and divinity are upheld by evidence and reason... - it remains one of the most well-established facts in history!!! - and thank God for that!!!
it's so sad sometimes tho - that such grandiose distortions of the truth are seen as fact, simply because of the claims made by one person that certain "facts" have been researched... the problem is that you can substantiate almost anything if you take certain bits of evidence and extrapolate on them, while ignoring other bits of evidence... - once a person gets led down one track, the more they want to believe it, or the more appeal a certain hypothesis has (whether because of sophistication, empowerment, simplicity, avoidance of the harsh truth, or any other reason)... once this begins, the evidence they review subsequently is seen in light of this desire to believe one way... - and the synthesis becomes simply a reinforcement of what they want to believe, while other evidence is conveniently ignored or repressed because it interferes with the neat case they have...
there was so much evidence ignored in the research apparently carried out by dan brown in the "da vinci code"... the evidence ignored was probably ignored because it promoted Jesus' deity and His resurrection from the dead... these were inconsistent with dan brown's hypothesis - so were dismissed... - but the evidence is overwhelming...
brief outline of today's message - reason tells us that Jesus' claim to deity was either a falsehood (knowingly so - a lie, or delusion - lunacy), or truth... - if a falsehood, if a lie, then why did Jesus die for a lie?!? why would so many others die for a lie?!? or if a delusion, then what of the rest of Jesus' character as it shines through the gospels that depict His life?!? Jesus was a remarkably awesome teacher, and not given to lunacy or delusion... and His followers were so firmly convinced of His claim also...
as for the resurrection - evidence points to many eyewitnesses to His crucifixion and resurrection... crucifixion was not a process of probable death, but certain death... - the depiction is one of slow asphyxiation as the sufferer struggles to breathe, a splinted diaphragm rendered ineffectual being supplanted by the tiring limb-driven efforts to expand and compress the battered thorax... this was preceded by an often fatal 39 lashes... see "the passion" and you'll have a good idea of what this means... - the resurrection was therefore hardly a hoax by a man who never died... but rather an amazing miracle, witnessed and testified to by over five hundred people, the first apostles and their contemporaries... furthermore, the transformed lives of those who believed points to the fact that they really did know Jesus was God, and that they weren't simply holding onto a lie... their knowledge of the truth was so certain that almost all the first apostles, and many of their successors, have suffered death for the truth...
this is jus the bare bones of what was said - and what can be learnt thru reading relevant and considered literature... a really good summary is "the case for Christ" by lee strobel... - would recommend it if you're interested to see this side of the story!!!
the pastor today concluded by exhorting those of us who believe to not simply believe, but be followers of Jesus... ;p for as God, He deserves our all... not only do we confess with our mouth, but we also believe in our heart - and we ought to live lives that reflect this belief!!! repentance is that often-ignored part of the gospel teaching!!! (and diet & exercise are the often-ignored part of easter egg eating!!!)
anywayz - i guess i'll leave u with this final passage... from the start of john's gospel, so that we may be reminded of the gravity of Jesus' life, death and resurrection... it so powerfully speaks for itself, who Jesus was - and what He makes possible... ;p God bless!!!
John 1:1-18
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” 16From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
1 comment:
Hey, excellent post, Dave! Your vocabulary is soo much superior to mine!! - you express it all so well and succintly.
(Funny random comment re easter eggs tho!... =p)
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