If God is real, why won’t He show Himself?

Have you ever asked this question or had a co-worker do so: “If God is real, why doesn’t He show Himself?” Have you ever made this statement or had a co-worker say it, “I only believe what I can sense with my five senses.” And the big promise, ”If God would show Himself to me, I would believe!”

God did show Himself. He looked and listened all through history and heard every question, statement, and promise. He choose the right time for these appearances. The Bible is where most of these visits are recorded.

In the Old Testament God walked with Adam in the garden.
He appeared to Abraham as one of the three men. Genesis 18:6 about 2067 B.C.
He appeared to Joshua as the Commander of the Host of Heaven in Joshua 5:14 about 1406 B.C.
He appeared to the Three Hebrews, King Nebuchadnezzar and those around them as the Son of God in Daniel 3:25 about 585 B.C.believe
And there were more possible sightings under dispute. But you get the idea.

Then He made His grand appearance as Jesus Christ which is recorded in the New Testament. Some say Jesus never claimed to be God or the Son of God, but in John 10:22-33 and 14:9 Jesus made it plain who He was. There are other scriptures to back this up. You can look these up yourself.
The Bible tells of His purpose to reveal Himself and the Father God. And He promised to fill us with the Holy Spirit. He did this by offering Himself as a sin offering for the world, for all of us who desire to see Him. Now, the GOOD NEWS, He is coming back to show Himself again and to gather all those who saw and believed and to those who have believed without seeing. John 20:29

Now I know some of you are thinking,” Can we believe the Bible?” This is a discussion for another time. But if you are having trouble, the Bible states that evidence was put in nature so that no one will have an excuse, Romans 1:20. Now some are saying that science and evolution can explain nature. This also is for discussion for a later date.

But will you be assured before His return? What will you tell Him when He asks why you did not believe after He gave so much for you to know God? Will telling Him you still have questions be enough?

I encourage you to seek Him with your heart. Haven't you been in darkness along enough?
Search for yourselves and determine in your heart that you will believe if He reveals Himself to you. The Internet is wide open for study. I can point you in the way, let me know. Thank You.

This document is a companion resource to the podcast by the same name. You may reprint this article for ministry use only, as long as to keep the copyright information intact.
Copyright 2020 Marketplace Christian Resources and Wayne Brooks.

If Jesus Showed Up One Sunday Morning

One of my favorite songs and Artist is "My Jesus" by Todd Agnew. I was listening to it at work the other day and heard how he doubted that his church would accept Jesus if He came and it reminded me of people who say that most churches would not recognize Him if He showed up one Sunday morning. The song spoke of Jesus' ministry to the lost and hopeless and how we should do likewise. This is great stuff but I was troubled over the thought of not recognizing Jesus. My first thought was, "Why would anyone be involved in a Church they felt would not accept or recognize our Savior?" How is it possible for a Church to be in this condition? In the Bible there are more than a few types mention that picture the Church's relationship to Jesus.

        The first is the Shepherd and the flock. In John 10:27, Jesus is recorded as saying, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." How is it possible for a Church or Flock not to hear the voice of the Shepherd and to know Him"? Jesus says it is not possible. A Church dedicated to discipleship and following Jesus will know Him. They will know His Words, and know when He shows up, when He reveals His presence. If the Church you attend does not fit the Sheep mode, then you might find another flock.

The next type is Bride and Bridegroom. Surely the Bride will know her Bridegroom. The picture in scripture is of a bride who is waiting for her groom. But while she waits, the groom is preparing her for their eternal union. Also, Jesus states that He gave Himself for His Bride. He paid the dowry with His blood on the cross. It does not sound as if it is possible for the Bride to be unknown to the Groom. It sounds hard but we must decide if we are part of a Bride or a harlot. The difference is: a harlot is only able to be intimate physically for a price. A Bride is able to be intimate Body, Soul and Spirit and the Bride and Groom give all. 

The last, but not final type I see is the Church as the Body of Christ to continue His work on earth. Doesn't a person know his or her own body? As we bathe and clean it after a hard day’s work, don't we become familiar with all of it? The Spirit and Soul has an intimate relationship with the body. Likewise the Body of Christ knows intimately the person whom it belongs to. Do you still believe it is possible for a Church to not recognize Jesus if He was to reveal Himself? Of course I am not an expert on scripture or Church life and growth, but this all seems common sense to me. Let’s quit complaining about how bad our Churches are and get about the Master’s business. Hear the Shepherd’s voice and obey. Let the Bridegroom prepare you for His return. And lastly, offer ourselves to His service to reach the lost. In doing so you will recognize Him, He is living in you. Will I quit loving Todd Agnew’s song? Not likely! We all need help remembering who Christ died for and what we are to do about it.

(Note: Not many scripture references are given because I think you would get a lot more out of it if you researched them yourselves.)

https://youtu.be/Y5Svz6YFtkI 

Nonconforming Parts and the Church

When I got to work the other day, I found the QC guy and my trainer together talking over a tote of parts I had produced the day before. Then my eyes focused on a red tag that was attached to the tote. I thought, this is not good! The trainer approached me and informed me that they had found some nonconforming parts in my work. I would need to go through all the parts of this type that I had did the day before, more than a couple of hundred parts, which would be an all day job.

After finding out I had not held the test gauge correctly and misjudged the conformity to the specs of the drawings, I proceeded to check them all. To my joy there were a lot more good parts than bad, but the trainer and supervisor were not as joyed. One bad part found in a lot can cost labor and material if not found out quickly. I refrained from using the old adage, "there is never enough time to do things right but always enough time to do them over," because they were not in a good mood. The rework would take up valuable time. I completed the job with success and returned to my regular work with a greatly learned lesson.

Not only did I learn the proper way to judge conformity, but I saw a great lesson for the Church. It only takes one unfaithful church member to hurt the reputation of the church. How many times have I met someone and asked them where they attended church and judged the whole church by that person? And, how many times have I heard at the break table people say that they have seen church members at the bar they went to, so the Church must be full of hypocrites. This reminded me of a story that I try to tell people about this issue: There was a LA (Lower Alabama) pastor that was out visiting and came to a pig farm on the edge of town. Finding the farmer standing by a fence with a single pig enclosed, he struck up a conversation in which he asked the farmer why the pig was quarantined. The farmer explained that the pig was a runt, sickly, in bad shape and not worth much on the market. The pastor, getting reading to leave, asked the farmer if he would come and visit his church the next Sunday, in which the farmer replied that he would never visit his church because he had seen one of his members down at the local bar, getting drunk. The pastor said he understood and asked the farmer how much he wanted for the bad pig. In shock the farmer quoted him a price so low that the pastor had no problem coming up with the money from his billfold. After paying the farmer, he told him that he was going to take the pig into town and tell everyone what kind of pigs the farmer sells, in which the farmer exclaimed that it was unfair to judge all his pigs by that one, all the rest were healthy, fat and quite valuable. Then the farmer said that it would be unfair to judge his church by one member.

I love this story, but in truth, the farmer needed to take care of the pig and bring it up to the proper condition for market and the pastor needed to look after his drunken' sheep. Few church members really understand that how they act in public reflects on the church they attend, if not the Church in general. The teaching of living a holy life as a testimony to Christ has become badly down played. It is great to advertise a "come-as-you-are" attitude at church, but we need to add, "But leave different." And we need more lovingly presented messages on resisting the sin that so easily ensnares us, Hebrews 12:1.
Back in the early 1980s, we, as a church, were learning about what the Church was and how each of us affected the workings of the Church.

We were directed to a story in the Old Testament known as the "Sin of Achan", which is found in Joshua 6-8. Before the attack on Jericho, the people were told not to take the cursed things of Jericho but to destroy everything but the silver, gold, bronze and iron vessels that were set apart for use in the Lord's service and be placed in the "treasury of the Lord". But during the attack Achan stole items from the loot and hid them in his tent. So when the next battle came, God withheld His protection and a much smaller force at the town of Ai backed down the Hebrews and drove them back. Confused, Joshua asked the Lord why and the Lord revealed that there was Sin-in-the-Camp. On later investigation, by lot casting, Joshua found out it was Achan who had sinned and had to be dealt with. After this, the Lord's protection was restored and the Hebrews again attacked Ai and succeeded. This is an illustration from God's dealings with His people that one person's disobedience in the church can cause failure in that church's mission. A lot of churches start off with a trumpet blast and end with being ran off by a small group of enemies, because of sin.
The Apostle Paul likens the Church as being made up of many parts (or members, partakers), we the believers are those parts. When one or more of the parts are nonconforming to the benchmark part or drawings, the whole lot is affected. Romans 8:29 says, we are called to become conformed in the image of Christ and according to Romans 12:2, not to the world. We are to daily give up things in our lives to become more like Jesus who is Joshua's Captain, Commander, and Prince of the Host or Army of the Lord.

So I encourage us in the Church, let's not only live our lives as a testimony to Christ, but to set a godly example for the church we are members with. If you see someone not up to specs, don't verbally attack them, but keep them in constant prayer. If the Lord leads you to talk to them, do so, but be sure you do not make things worse. Maybe the Lord shows you someone’s faults so that you may befriend them and be an example or that person may be able to help you with your nonconformity. 

So, You Love Jesus But Don't Like the Church.

(For this article Church with an upper case C refers to the universal Church, the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ, church with a lower case c refers to the local church fellowship or community.)
I was listening to a podcast by Ger Jones of Vintage Church in L.A. and he talked about how he had heard people say that they loved Jesus but did not care for Church. He went on to say how wrong this thinking was. I too had heard people say this and at the time just thought it was one of those fad sayings of the contemporary Church. Although I knew it just did not sound right. When I heard Ger speak about it, it got me to thinking. Ger did a great job of teaching on the Church and I got a lot out of it. But I saw that it was just lunacy to think that we could love Jesus and not like His Church. The Church that Jesus called His Bride. (Rev. 19:7 and 21:9; Eph. 5:21-23)

I thought how I would feel if someone told me, "I love you but don't care much for your wife" or “Hey, let's have lunch but leave your wife at home." My wife and I are joined by Christ and cannot be separated by man. (Gen. 2:23-24) So is Christ and the Church, the Bride of Christ.

If you are one of these that say you love Jesus but could do without the Church, I urge you to consider the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, mentioned in the Bible. (Rev. 19:9) Do you really think you will make it being just a Jesus lover and not a lover of His Church?

Being in Christ, you are part of the Church. (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 10:17 and 12:12; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 4:4-6) It is your part to join with the Body of Christ and become the Bride without spot or wrinkle.

I have told many people through the years who have told me they could not find a church they could feel comfortable with and I told them that they did not need to stop looking until they had visited every church in their town. It is foolishness to think that Christ saved someone and did not place them in the Church as a whole.  (Acts 2:47; 5:14; 11:24)

A true lover of Jesus Christ can fit in with any part of the Bride that the Lord guides them to. He may put you somewhere you feel uncomfortable in, but you are needed. Seek the Lord and choose to love His Church. Fellowship with them, pray for them and give thanks for them.

One Christian’s Opinion on Same Sex Marriage

I was watching a TV drama the other day and on this episode the President character was addressing a conservative Talk-Show host. He addressed her stand on Homosexuals and when she attempted to quote Lev. 18:22 and 20:13 the president began quoting other verses in the Old Testament laws such as on a Father killing a disobedient son (Deu. 21:18-21) and others. Then he asked her how he should go about enforcing these laws. This discourse (which made the conservative look stupid) got me to thinking.
Either we must take the whole or none of the Bible as Scripture and inspired of God. But no Christian that is a true follower of Christ would condone taking a homosexual outback and stone them or even lynch. A Muslim would but not a Christian. Then I was reminded of my study of the book of Hebrews (in the New Testament). The start of the book speaks of the things that the early prophets spoke were good, but now the words of Jesus were better. We are taught that the O.T. contains the shadows of the N.T. What does this mean, you may say? The things in the O.T. are there to show the work of Christ in the N.T... The laws in the O.T. were designed to keep the Hebrews in a clean environment away from idol worshipers and their unclean practices in their cultures. For in this group of people God the Father was bringing the Son into the world for all. God worked to keep the line going until the time to reveal His Son, Jesus.
The fulfillment of Christ put aside the Old Testament laws for something greater and lasting. God no longer demands that man kill man for breaking laws.
Now, do we accept the homosexual lifestyle as OK? No, the New Testament shows how God still rejects the sin of homosexuality but does not demand death. Instead He turns the person over to the natural results of sin. Mister or Missus Christian, homosexuals are not the only ones who get turned over to this if they will not repent of the sin that brought a loving Savior to the Cross.
So how are we as Christians supposed to view the current issue of Same-Sex-Marriage? First we must understand that marriage as ordained by God as to be between a man and a woman. God has instituted this sacrament as a picture of the relationship between Jesus, the groom, and the Church, as the Bride. To pervert this institution of marriage is to pervert God’s plan for human kind. We should be able to see how the enemy of God, Satan, has been working to pervert the definition of family for his purpose of hiding truth from God’s people. The family unite, including adoption and foster care, is a Holy Picture of God’s harmony, care and love for His people. If followed, no one would be lonely, no one would be deserted, and no one would be betrayed.
What are we to do with the issue of homosexuals and SSM? I believe that rights should not be extended to someone just because of a sexual identity. We as a Church should love the homosexual, but reject the lifestyle of such. I cannot get over the feeling that all this is about making homosexuality respectable and gaining benefits for partners in jobs. If this was really about people being in love, why do they need a piece of paper to live in their love? Haven’t heterosexuals been saying this for decades? Why do the homosexuals want to make it Holy? Just like heterosexuals today, after living in a sexual relationship without marriage, getting married will not make it Holy.

I could go on with more issues about homosexuality, but will not. We as a Church must find a way to love the sinner, but hate the sin. (Ouch, sorry for the tired cliche). We must learn to love as Christ without the acceptance of any sin. We must understand, God is not a murder, even in the Old Testament, SIN is the killer and Christ came to destroy the effects of our sinful nature.

 I did not reference many scriptures because of length and that I would encourage you to explore for yourselves these issues.

What Are You Doing with God’s Grace?

Grace is an amazing word to know for living today. Looking into my Nave’s Topical Bible, I found many verses that use the word, but I would like to share a parable that illustrates its meaning. The word has evolved in today’s language to mean forgiveness, blessing, or just to give someone a break. We use the word in our Church name, “Grace Harvest Church” and before this we were called, “Grace Chapel”. So we have always liked the name, mainly because we were in such need of it. When I looked up the verses from my Topical Bible in the Amplified Version, the word was translated as, “state of favor”. So to be in God’s grace or to have grace is to be in a state of favor with God.  This is where I want to be. We men spend a lot of time trying to gain the favor of our Fathers, but in the end we realize that favor from our Heavenly Father is the only favor we need.

Now I would like to share a little story that the lord Jesus used to illustrate forgiveness to Peter and the Disciples. But it also illustrates Grace in a way that amazes me. In Matthew 18:23-35 we read,
 “23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, and ‘Pay me what you owe!' 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

Now the first thing I wish to point out is that the servant owed the money to the King. It was not taxes, it was money loaned to him from the King. The servant at one time had received some money from the king with an agreement to pay it back. What did this servant do with this money? The same thing that we may do with the gifts and talents Christ gives us I afraid. Anyway, back to the servant and king. The servant owed the money. The amount could be figured out to today’s value but let’s just say it was an amount that neither the servant nor his family could pay it off in their lifetime (interest on sin is high priced, I guess). The King’s answer is to sell him and his family as slaves to payback the debt. This may shock some but that was what happens in those days. If you could not pay your debts, you and your family where sold as slaves to pay it off. But it was just until you paid it off or until the year of Jubilee when all slaves where set free and all land was returned to the family that had it. So the servant had a way out, but he was going to have to work for it. We find ourselves in this condition, a slave to debt. How many of us work to pay for that new car? Or it seems we work just to pay for those kids we left behind just because we wanted to be free. When they servant saw the reality of his folly and fell to the ground and begged the king to give him time. The servant probably already had a scheme worked out to try and pay the debt, enough to appease the king. But the king surprised him with compassion, mercy and yes, grace. He forgave the servant debt. He placed the servant in a state of favor. Boy how the other servants must have looked on in awe at this servant that the King showed such favor to.
            The servant left the king feeling pretty good and went straight to another servant who owed him a little bit of money which was nowhere near the amount he had owed the king. He grabbed him and tried to get the money out of him. His answer was to sell the man as a slave to cover the debt. Sounds familiar? The king heard of this and brought the servant back and gave him a real talking to. He had lost the favor of the king. Now if only the servant had received the grace of the king and let it change his heart to become a compassionate servant just as the King was compassionate, things would have been different. He stomped on the grace given him by the king. When the king forgave him his debt, someone was going to have to pay the debt, it was owed. Who paid? The King did. The servant’s grace was very expensive but he had made it cheap. This brings up a phrase coined by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Cheap Grace”.

This brings us to the Grace or favor that the Lord has bestowed on us. It is free, but it is not cheap. Christ paid a heavy price for the Grace we have. Can you look up at the cross and see the price He paid. So many people come to Him and the Church to get what they need and not appreciate the price He paid. What does this do to Grace? It’s like standing at the cross and stepping on His spilt blood and pushing it into the mud. It’s like standing there and spitting on that blood. I did not share this when I preached this in Church, but it’s like so many are pissing at the foot of the cross and taking His clothes. How are we doing this you may ask? We do it by living our lives without giving Him all of ourselves. How grievous is this sin of cheapening the Grace of God, of stepping out of His free favor to live our lives outside his grace. When I get up in the morning and I can feel His drawing me to commune with Him in prayer and the word, but instead I choose to settle down to a movie and wash the grace He has given me. Let us look up to the Cross and accept this Grace He purchased for us, the favor of a King. As the song goes, “We owed a debt we could not pay, He paid a debt He did not owe, and Christ Jesus paid a debt, a debt we could not pay.” When the loving Lord has given us so much, we indeed deserve Hell if we reject His Grace.

Merchandising the Church

For some time now I have been sharing at Church the teachings of Jesus. What He taught directly and indirectly. I am doing this by tracing His steps through the Bible lands and teaching what He was saying or doing.

I start with Jesus in Jerusalem during the Passover:

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, t “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up. John 2:17

Jesus came to the temple and found a group offering their services of providing animals for sacrifice, for a price, and exchanging “heathen” money for temple coinage. It is assumed they are cheating the worshippers. But Jesus makes only one accusation. They were merchandising the House of God. They were making money off the worshippers for a profit. Now I’ll not mention what Keith Green calls Jesus Junk”. Which are items made for sale to Christians. Cheaply made trinkets with a fish or dove stamped on it. But I speaking of instead of allowing the Church to allow the Holy Spirit to draw worshippers, but Churches advertising services that they supply in order to draw other Christians away from their Churches or fellowships. Depending on a good marketing firm to gain attendance is a current popular trend. I see Jesus really having a problem with this. They are trusting worldly ways to grow a Church. Now I have seen some of these Churches gaining attendance and some even getting saved and baptized. I’m not going to judge them in this. I think the Lord will not turn people away when their hearts are in the right place, or until the Lord reveals the truth to them. Some are doing this because it is the only way they know.

Here in these verses, the Lord is showing how He feels about this practice. In case you did not know, this is the first of two times the Lord does this. The second time, the Jewish leaders put a price on His head. Maybe the Lord is allowing this in our Churches now and soon these worldly Christians reached by worldly ways will mature and become disciples in Christ. The Lord is patent, He had seen these people in the people many times before, but when it was time to change, He showed the way. Maybe He spoke against this practice when He was speaking to the teachers back when he was 12 and got left in Jerusalem by His parents. So carry on in the name of the Lord, but when the time comes to change Bride’s ways, it is time. Let’s get the same zeal for the House of God as Jesus had. When the Groom comes for the Bride, He wants her in a wedding gown, not a sales apron.

Reply to an Atheist wether Jesus was a Historical Figure

This post was written as a reply to an atheist that wanted me to prove that Jesus was a historical figure. I wanted to share it with you all.

I’ve finished reading Jim Walker’s paper, “Did the Historical Jesus Exist?” from nobeliefs.com/exist.htm. I looked up the references and persons quoted. I reviewed the paper in full. At first I thought you wrote the paper, and then it occurred to me that you did not. Which was not your fault, you never said you did. Just that you believed it. So it is sort of “You’re Bible”. Nowhere did Mr. Walker prove that Jesus never existed. You believe in hear-say evidence. Just as I do. The matter is ‘belief’. If I had realized that you were going by this hear-say, I would never had entered into this conversation with you and wasted so much time. The paper seems to be full of speculations. Like the persons could not have written the Gospels because the life span was only 30 years. If this was true then the Gospels would not have been accepted because of the stories of John the Baptist’s birth to an old couple. People took notice because she was past the age of giving birth not because she and Zeb were beyond the expected life span of a normal person. The story of Simeon the old man in the temple who was waiting for the birth of Christ is indeed possible. And Jesus telling Peter he would live to be an old man with John. How is that for speculation? The only truth between Walker’s and my argument is that the first century people believed them and most chose death instead of denial. And they believed when the truth of Jesus was well past the time of physical proof.

You wanted me to quote proof of His life. Here it is. I submit the names of the pagan and Christian historians listed as proof. It does not matter that they were later in history. I believe they are right and you believe they were wrong. The pagan historians had nothing to gain by speaking of Jesus. Pliny, Suetonius, Cornelius Tacitus (55 AD - 120AD Over 30 years old), Lucian of Samosata, Thallus, Phlegon, Mara Bar-Serapion and the Christian historians like Polycarp who was under the study of the Apostle Matthew. He later was instrumental in pointing out to other church leaders which text was of the disciples along with other leaders who sat under the teachings of other disciples. They in turn gave their lives instead of denying the truth just as their teachers. Knowledge, he gleaned from an eyewitness. You discount historians because they are not eyewitnesses of the events they report. Should we discount all of our other history books or believe the research the historians did. And if one historian was forced to choose death or deny what he has reported and he chose death. Wouldn’t you lean more in the direction of believing him? We should let the jury decide. The jury is in. More people that were aware of Him, even opposite religions and other atheists, believe He existed. Historians as a whole believe He existed.
And speaking of “Fakes, Frauds, and Fictions” Should I go into the Piltdown man and Nebraska Man being faked and one made up from the tooth of a pig. Come on guys.
You and Mr. Walker seem to lack enough knowledge of ancient customs of the time of the Bible or church history to interpret the Bible or Church historical events.
You all seem to push proof. Well, I agree that you cannot prove with archaeology. Although the oldest fragment of the book of Matthew was reported by the “The Times” of London in 1994 to have been found and proven to be written by a contemporary of Jesus. It was dated about 60 A.D. written in the Greek language of that day. Of course it cannot be proven that it is written by the Matthew, but it was written or copied by someone who could have known Jesus. Will we know for sure? No. Will you know for sure that he didn’t? No. So where does that leave us, by my faith that He did or your faith that He didn’t. It is—all faith.
Jesus left His disciples with an expectation that He would return to earth again. Therefore none of them felt a need to record on paper the events until later. We have history books dating, 100 and even 200 years old by people who did not experience what they wrote about but reported what others told them. Sort of what newspaper reporters do. We must choose to believe or not believe the reporter. If a person witnesses an event and waits 30 to 50 years to report it and then give his life before denying it, does that make his witness invalid? Like the fact that a person existed in history. I don’t think so.
I think your problem is how you perceive God or the lack of God.
Say you try to “will” yourself to believe just for a moment that God existed. You may see Him as an old man who creates a world and winds it up to let it run down and creates people with no purpose than to serve as a whipping post when they do badly. OR can you see a God that created a world for people that He loves. Saw how their sin was killing them, came down to live as a man and experience the pain of man, to offer Himself as a sacrifice for man to heal the gap in relationship between them. He had a free will also. He could have chosen not to die on the cross. He asked the Father if there was another way to fulfill the promise, but if not He would choose the Father’s will instead of His own. This is hard to understand by people who do not have Spiritual insight and revelation from God on how God can be a Father, Son and Spirit at the same time.
My point is that God is big enough to make sure the events of His life on earth could make it through time and in one piece. If He could not, then He wasn’t much of a God. I’m sure you will comment on this remark.
The church started small, governed by men locally in small groups. Jesus never intended for it to become some giant organization under the authority of one man that had the power over men’s life or death. Peter was not the first Pope. He had disagreements with Paul and it did not cost Paul his life. It was not until Constantine converted that this misguided church came into power. Jesus never said that a person could make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for forgiveness of sins, which lead to the Crusades. That was never part of God’s plan. He ordained no other works that a person could do to gain forgiveness of sins. All He asked was faith in Him.
Faith, which brings me back to the proof you wished to have. One of the main themes of the Bible is that God will only take faith in Him. Not in the works of men, not in man’s power and not in any evidence of archaeology. He will not allow it. It is faith or nothing.
Also the way you are trying to find proof is wrong. The Bible states, “That God is spirit and those who worship Him must do so in Spirit and in Truth.” God is not made of physical matter and any amateur scientist knows you cannot measure anything that is not matter. Can you prove emotions? Can you prove thought? Since you cannot physically prove these in science does that mean you have no feelings or you do not think?
Of course not, I can read the emotion when you write. And I can tell you think. Can you prove there is wind? You cannot measure it, taste it etc….. You believe in these three because you see the results of them. Also I believe in God/Jesus because I see the results of His work.
He created an atom that is held together by a force that science cannot explain. It is there. Look what happens when you split one. You can win a lottery every year for the rest of your life before an atom puts it’s self together and forms a living organism. Science and engineering says a bumble bee should not be able to fly. But it does.
The greatest evidence of Jesus’ existence is the tidal wave of change that occurred from His life. If He did not exist, who made up His name? Who persuaded people to give their lives as a testimony to His life? Where in history did anyone else have this influence? You speak of other gods and their similarities to Jesus. Who today believes in the Greek gods? God is so big that He could easily insert into other cultures, like the cannibals of New Guina, things that could be used by missionaries to teach about the true God when Jesus chose to reveal Himself to them. As written about in the book,” Eternity in Their Hearts”.
There is a saying, “You can tell a tree by the fruit it bears”. Through the influence of Jesus, all individuals received equal worth. Before Christ, children were deemed worthless until a certain age. It was a common practice to throw babies into the river or leave them for the beast in the woods if a child was not wanted. Not until Constantine did this change. Through the years many graves are filled by the killing of people deemed worthless or less evolved by atheist governments. Planned Parenthood was formed to do away with the black race through abortion. If you do not believe this read the journal of the founder.
Also before Christ the poor were discarded to the wayside to die on their own. Through the influence of Christ, people following His ideas reached out to the poor and lifted them up with dignity. Not in any natural or man-made disaster have I seen the “Atheist Relief Society” rise up to take care of the needy. If there is such an organization I do not know of, please enlighten me if there is such a thing. Also, During the U.S. depression, atheists and evolutionists believed poverty came through heredity, and had poor children, orphans and others put into institutions and forcibly sterilized. This turned out to be wrong and became part of the hidden history of America.
The one good thing that came from the dark ages is that the Bible was preserved for over a thousand years without being altered. When God chose to reveal Himself and the Bible became public, education became important to many. The influence of Christ brought about the rise of colleges and institutions of learning. You seem to enjoy bringing up the “flat earth” teaching and assigning it to only Christians. You must not know that everyone at that time believed in the theory and it was popular all over the world, except where they believed the earth sat on a giant turtles back and other beliefs. The Bible was tucked away from common people and left them to ignorance by the leadership of the perverted church at the time. Otherwise they would have read in Isa. 40:22, “God sits on His throne above the circle or sphere of the earth….” written 2500 years before the discovery of secular philosophers and believed. You seem to use this in the hope that we Christians look stupid and unlearned. How silly is it that the early evolutionist believed maggots on rotten meat proved “spontaneous generation”. We accepted the round earth when proven, but you all seem to stick to the SG myth although you have not been able to produce it in a lab for over a hundred years now. It is interesting that most of your major colleges in the world were started by Christians trying to improve the education of others. Then the atheists took them over and our U.S. education system is going down the tubes, while Christian home schoolers and students of Christian schools continue to score higher on SATs. More times than their secular counter parts. This is provable with just a little research.
So through history we have seen the fruits of the influence of Christ and the influence of atheism and those using religion for the gaining of power.
This Christian believes that no matter what proof we come up with, you all will not believe. But don’t trust me. Open your heart to believe for just a little bit to do a real search if Jesus is real. I agree with what Physicist Robert Morris Page says,” The test of a hypothesis involves the establishment of conditions consistent with the hypothesis to produce results predicted by the hypothesis on the assumption that the hypothesis is true.” In short you must believe in the hypothesis you are testing if only for the sake of the test to have a true answer to the hypothesis. You are like the black smith that did not believe that a ship made of iron would float. Surly, if iron would not float neither would a ship covered with it he argued. And to prove it he tossed a horseshoe into a barrow of water in front of the town folk and it sunk. Seeing the proof of brilliance he grinned pointing to the truth of his hypothesis. A little old lady tried to question his finding and was scorned as an ignorant old lady that does not have the ability to think of such things. She left them but returned with her iron kettle. Tossing it in, it floated. She believed the hypothesis therefore truth was seen.
We have seen what atheism will bring about in the world and we are aware that if they come to power in our county we may be looking at near elimination of Christians and others who do not believe as they do, the under evolved. It happened in other countries, why not the U.S. Although after the fall of Russia’s government there appeared a church that could not be crushed. In China, the Christian church is growing stronger than ever. Africa’s Christians although suffering murder, torture and bondage to slavery have hung to their faith. There must be more to Jesus than physical matter that can be tested in a test tube or found written on a rock.
If atheists come to power and the time comes for me to choose Christ or die you may use this at my trial:

·         I am John Dewayne, aka Wayne Brooks, son of Frank Brooks from Dothan, Al. USA.

·         I believe in Christ the Savior of Mankind and God.

·         I believe He came to earth to live among us and to give His life to redeem us from our sins and save us from the penalty of it.

·         I believe He rose from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion and ascended into Heaven where He waits for the time when He will return to defeat the Antichrist and bring all believers to Himself. Leaving all non-believers to spend eternity without the presence of God.

·         I believe the book known as the Holy Bible to be the record of all the needed information to believe in Christ and comes from God.
With this confession I swear to live and not deny.

Your 7 day challenge http://www.myspace.com/7_day_atheist_challenge and statements of Jesus not existing seems to me just an attempt to gather data for your book and a chance to impress your Jesus Seminar buddies. The shameful thing is that Christians are not answering your challenge because they are not afraid or they have no proof. It is because most of them do not care if you believe or not. Well my whole motivation for getting involved with you is to just share the love of Christ with you this last time. It hurts me to think of you spending eternity alone without God with the arguments in your book going through your head over and over again thinking you are right. I know you’ve heard this all before. But I wanted you to hear it from me. I respect your choice and please forgive me if I have offended you in anyway. I do get to be a real smartass sometimes. Thanks for the education you’ve provided me. You’ve strengthened my faith in ways your will never know.
The good news for us is that in the end we both will get what we want, I will get eternity with Christ and you will get eternity without Christ. We both win?
I end with this and bid you fair well.

Notice: If any of this is used in any book out of context and without permission, I will sue you and use all the money to print Bibles for missionaries overseas. If you wish to reprint any of it for your blog, just ask and let me know which part. As long as you print it all in context, no problem.
(c) Wayne Brooks 2007

Posted: Sunday, October 21, 2007