Jesus died for us

 Jesus died for us.

John’s gospel reads,

"The next day John (the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29.

The apostle Paul writes,

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!  

For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  

Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation" Romans 5:6-11

Good Friday is tomorrow. The day we Christians believe Jesus Christ The One and Only Son of God died for our sins. A controversial belief in some circles. With people asking if this is entirely true. 

To which I respond that it this is not true, Jesus is either a very misguided individual or even a lunatic who died for nothing. 

C. S. Lewis makes this statement,

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. 

That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. 

He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell.

You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

Please think about it.

Decide for yourself

Decide for yourself

In the gospel of Luke we read,

"And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.” Luke 1:46-50.

From the above portion of scripture we can see that Mary was a woman of great faith or a delusional lunatic because she seen and conversed with an angel. Not only that she believed throughout her entire life Jesus was the Son of God, The Saviour of all who would believe in him.

Today is Christmas eve and the question all who read and hear about Jesus must decide for themselves is who is Jesus?

C.S. Lewis states,

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

Please think about it.

About God

About God
In the book of Genesis we read,

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." 

                                                                                      Genesis 1:1

Peter John Kreeft ph.d wrote,
"How is it possible that over ninety percent of all human beings who have ever lived usually in far more painful circumstances than we, could believe in God? 
The objective evidence, just looking at the balance of pleasure and suffering in the world, would not seem to justify believing in an absolutely good God. Yet this has been almost universally believed." Peter John Kreeft ph.d 
Christians around the world believe in a loving, caring God. Yet many live as someone has said “in unsafe naighbourhood’s” It is even said that one Christian dies for their faith every seven minutes somewhere in the world. While many more are thrown into jail for doing nothing more than worshipping God.
To my way of thinking if everything said about Jesus is not true then someone would have to be mad to believe in Him. Yet there are around three billion Christians in the world today. Many living under repressive governments and dictators. Having to meet in secret.
For me God exists and all the dictators and repressive governments in the world cannot change that. As C. S. Lewis put it,
“A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.” .S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain.
So my question is do you believe in God?

Seemingly Outlandish

Seemingly Outlandish
John’s Gospel records this conversation between Martha and Jesus,
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes Lord” she told Him, “I believe you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world,” John 11:25,26,27.
Matthew’s Gospel records this conversation between Jesus and his disciples,
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.”  Matthew 16:13-17.
John’s Gospel records this interaction between some people in the temple area in Solomon’s Colonnade.
“Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.  
“The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 
Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.  
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  
I and the Father are one.” 
Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
“We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” John 10 22-33. 
Here are just three incidents among many that Jesus makes the claim to be the Messiah. That he claims to be equal to God.
If you think about it such claims could be considered outlandish. They were certainly dangerous make. In the last incident I quoted the people were going to stone Jesus for claiming equality with God.
If you think about it, if such claims were not true why would the writers of the New Testament include them? It would injure their fledgling movement.
C. S. Lewis put it this way,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.
    He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. 
Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. 
You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Please think about it.

Lunatic or Saviour

Lunatic or Saviour?
John’s gospel records this interaction between Jesus and his disciples,
“Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  
If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  
Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.  
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.  John 14:5-11.
This if you think about it is quite the extraordinary statement. Jesus makes two statements that if not true makes him a lunatic. He states,
1. “I am the way the truth and the life. No one come to the Father except through me.”
2.  “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.”
What Jesus is saying is He is divine. He is God incarnate. The way to Heaven.
 C. S. Lewis said it best in his book Mere Christianity when he wrote,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
This is the choice the writers of the New Testament lay out before the whole world. Either Jesus is God incarnate, the Saviour of mankind, or he is not. The choice is yours.
Please think about it.