Defending The Faith – Sometimes The Best Answer is a Question

” A question that allows the questioner to think through their own logic is a good question.”

To Run The Race – Forget the Past – Live In Each Moment

I was listening to an interview on the radio about a woman who had a tumor removed from her brain and the affect it had on her life.

Her name is Diane Van Deren and she is,“One of the world’s best ultra-runners (as in races of 50 miles or more)”, according to the NPR journalist who reported about her amazing ability to overcome, “mental barriers.”

Her seizures stopped after having a kiwi sized tumor removed and all seemed normal. Then a while later she had an idea,“why not enter a fifty mile marathon?”

It seems she loved to run but she had never done anything like this before. She won the race.Then she entered the Canadian ,”Death Race”, a 78 mile race through the Yukon wilderness. The temperature was 48 degrees below the first day.

Her running shoes froze, yet she took second place because only 2 runners finished the race.

Then she placed in a 100 mile race through drastic changes in elevation and placed in that race as well.

By that time her family members and acquaintances had notice a pattern of short-term memory loss.

And it all started to make sense her.

She forgets the past and presses toward the mark.

She forgets how far she has gone and how tired she should be.

She has little sense of the amount of time that has lapsed and that does not weigh on her like so many of us, so waiting and anxiety are minimized I suppose.

She lives in the here-and-now every moment she runs.

I don’t know if Diane Van Deren is a Christian, but she is living proof of something that sounds like the same advice from God’s word that the Apostle Paul shared with us !

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13,14)

And I would like to say that I have a personal application in this.

The Mid-life Crisis – that’s where you realize that you don’t have enough time to make your dreams that you have put on hold into reality.

Living in the here-and-now means that if you are reading this you still have the here-and-now.

So start working on a smaller version of your dream now. Maybe you can make you dream into reality.

How about Marriage or any relationship?– remember the movie,“The Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind”?

The couple had a lot of bad memories erased from their minds by a scientific process,(that only exists in the movies),and they were able to love each other totally without the bad memories to hold them back.

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead“.

Help me readers. The first application came from me,(mid-life crisis).

Do you see any helpful applications to share here?

Please do.

I know we could all use this in our lives and most importantly, as we, ” press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Read the full article about Diane Van Deren – Click the link below.

http://www.coreperformance.com/daily/mindset/how-to-make-the-miles-go-faster.html?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS

We were all blind to the truth at one time.

We need to follow Christ’s example. He asked them.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

Mark 10:51

“Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.”

 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

^” Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”:

Matthew 20:32-34

Chief of the least

‘Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes.’ Proverbs 26:4-5

(Note: Hebrew terms of “fool” and “foolish” describe a person who does not believe in God and is ignorant of wisdom based on God’s moral standard.)

Some modern critics assume the ancients were flat-out stupid. Case in point, after a brief glance at Proverbs 26:4-5 an objection may be raised along the lines of: “Look! An obvious contradiction in the very next verse! The Bible cannot be trusted…” And so a superficial argument has been framed.

But the ancients were not stupid.

The author of Proverbs actually intended to pair these seemingly contradictory verses together. And what these verses propose is not a logical contradiction, but a dilemma for the reader. It is a proposal of two choices. Proverbs 26:4-5 reveals two wise and…

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Christ – The Power and Wisdom From God

1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1:19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 1:20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 1:21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 1:22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 1:24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 1:26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1:28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 1:29 so that no one may boast before him. 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 1:31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (NIV)

The Truth Filter For A Postmodern World – God Takes Everything Into Account

 

Here is a way to test if your worldview or religion qualifies as the one valid religion from the one and only God.

If Christians are right about  the way to know the One and Only God , then that makes the One God our creator.

If God is our creator then He would also have given us a singular detailed instruction book about how to Know him.

To not do so would be negligently sinful, and God is perfectly Holy and without sin.

God did give us an instruction book that details the way for us to know Him.

Its called the Bible.

The Bible is about the one and only way to the one and only God.

The Bible details the epic story of God and His relationship to mankind, as creator, sustainer, redeemer and God.

I say this because we are being told that truth is relative and each of us should look within ourselves to discover our own truth, or that there are many ways to God.

Many also believe that Christianity has  failed as religion, even contribiting to the ongoing violence of the world.

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Any truly honest Christian will tell you that regardless of the institution, as often is the case ,power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Even in Christendom.

Though Christ did no violence, many have falsely done violence in His name.

But Jesus called us to love our enemies.

Mankind is at best a muddled reflection of who Christ is.

We just don’t love as well as Jesus.

So the blame for the misconception that Christianity has failed  is clearly not Christianity, but those who claim Christ but do not love God with all their heart, soul, mind , and strength.

Christ’s example on the cross of what it means to love God with all your heart, soul, mind , and strength demands His followers love as He did.

Some do, many try, most do not, love as Christ did.

But that does not make Christianity a failure, it only means many fail at true Christianity.

God is all knowing, all powerful, and loves mankind whom He created in His image.

We were created to bring Him glory.

When sin separated us from our perfect Creator, death and suffering came into being.

I have attempted to compile a list of good and contrasting bad scenarios of life as we know it  and of which an all knowing God who is love is doubtlessly aware of.

The following are many of the contrasting attributes of our world .

Consider all of these in terms  of desirable or undesirable outcomes.

Good and Evil

Heat and Cold

Light and Darkness

Belief and Doubt

Love and Hate

Peace and Conflict

Hope and Despair

Humility and Pride

Generosity and Greed

Truth and Falsehood

Innocence and Guilt

Rejoicing and Shame

Fulfillment and Emptiness

Contentment and Longing

Acceptance and Rejection

Life and Death

Joy and Anguish

Positive and Negative

Presence and Absence

Order and Chaos

Note that each of us is hard wired to know right from wrong and we will all agree which of these scenarios is desirable and which is not.

Now consider this question;

If an all-powerful, all-knowing , all present, perfect and Holy Righteous God  who is love exists, would He overlook anything listed here?

He would not.

Nothing would be beyond His ability if He is all-powerful.

Nothing would be overlooked if He is all-knowing.

Nothing would be left out because He was not there.

Nothing would be omitted  and compromise His love for us because He is Love and is Holy and perfect.

These are the attributes of the God of the Bible.

God is good.

“God alone is good,” luke 18:19

God warms the heart and soul.

“They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32

God is the Light of the World.

“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:5

God calls us to belief.

“If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Mark 9:23

God is love.

“neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:39

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1John 4:8

God promotes peace.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

God gives hope.

“but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”Isaiah 40:31

God in Christ Jesus modeled the greatest humility ever known when God came down to us and became one of us.

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus ; Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,  he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! “

God Is Full of Gracious Generosity .

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! “(1John 3:1 a)

God Showed Us Truth Through Jesus Christ.

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” ( John 14:6)

God offered His Son for our sins though He was innocent and we are guilty.

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,” ( 1Peter 3:18)

God through Christ Promises Rejoicing.

“So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” ( John 16:22)

God Through Christ Brings Fulfillment.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)

God Through Christ Gives Contentment .

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

God In Christ Makes Us Accepted.

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:7

God offers life in Christ.

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:28

God gives us joy.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” John 15:11

God Makes Positive Things happen.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

God comforts us with His presence.

“You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.” Acts 2:28

God has promised to brings Order to everything.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

God has left us His word His word, The Bible.

He has preserved the Bible as the Ancient Dead Sea Scrolls have proven.

He loves you and has shown that fully in Christ.

Look no further. He is real, his word is truth.

The One God has made One Way.

And that is all we need.

His Name is Jesus Christ.

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 9-13

Creator God – Reflected in His Work

Monument Valley Arizona – “The Right and Left Mittens”- Random Chance ? or Devine Design?

When I think of the universal sense of right and wrong, and that there exists a moral law, I say within myself,

there must be a moral law giver who is a righteous and just creator!

When I look at the mountains with all their majesty , I say within myself,
there must be a majestic creator!

When I observe nature and I am filled with awe by the colors in fields of flowers , forests of green, and skies of blue, I say within myself,
there must exist a beautiful creator !

When I look into the vast night sky and see the stars and think of the universe and its infinite reach, I say within myself,
We must have an infinite creator !

Anytime I hear of a great scientific discovery that fills me with wonder at all that exists I say within myself,
We must have a wonderful creator !

When I see the power of nature’s forces and think of the forces that made all that is, I think to myself,
We must have a powerful creator !

When I observe the order and harmony of themes in scientific realty, I think within my self,
We must have a creator !

And then I know why it is written,
“The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.”