Examine the Evidence - What do you have to lose?

"Daw-gone-it, who took my cell phone charger?!! I always put it by the phone in the kitchen."

"I don't know honey. I haven't seen it", my wife says with a slight roll of her eyes.

"Well, I wish people wouldn't touch things that don't belong to them!"

I then spend an hour interrogating my wife and children as to the whereabouts of my cell phone charger because I believed with all of my heart that I left it in its usual spot. Frustrated, I gave up prideful and angry. A couple days later I was in the basement and my eye caught site of a black cord leading up to the top of the bistro table. Oh yeah (blushing) I plugged it in there when Ivor and I met last week. My bad. Pride, the mother of all sins!

I know that many of you who are reading today are believers but I also know that many are not. I'm going to ask those of you who are skeptical regarding the existence of God, the inspiration of the Bible, the resurrection of Jesus, and many other Christian beliefs to set aside your pride for a moment and open yourselves to the slim possibility that you might be wrong, that maybe you didn't actually leave the cell phone charger in the kitchen like you thought you did. What do you have to lose? Jesus said, "Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it." Luke 17:33 Could it be possible that giving up isn't really giving up at all? Hmmmm?

I'm a scientist. I have a Bachelors of Science degree in biology with a chemistry minor, I have two doctoral degrees and a partridge in a pear tree. Sorry, that last part just came out so easily I didn't have the heart to delete it. So how in the world could a guy like me believe in an eternal God, in the Genesis creation story, in Jonah being swallowed by a big fish, in the virgin birth of Jesus, and in the resurrection? The honest answer is that I came in the back door. God humbled me, allowed me to be broken, and then when I had nowhere else to go he opened my eyes and I experienced him. OK, that doesn't settle well with many of you but the next part might. When I came to believe I then had to reconcile what I knew to be true in my heart with what I thought to be true in my head. I had to examine the evidence!

I'm going to ask you to do the same. If you don't believe, are you doing so because of a lack of evidence or because you have never really examined the evidence? Have you really looked critically at the possibility of "life" coming from non-living chemicals, the spontaneous, random formation of the genetic code and it's ability to reproduce itself (had to from the beginning or it never would have gone past day one). Have you looked at the complexity of the human eye (not just the one but the two in perfect position and function to allow for depth perception). Have you seen the birth of a baby, a butterfly emerge from a cocoon, a queen bee guarded by drones, or the structure of lamanin (the stuff that holds us together)? Have you examined the sixty-six books of the Bible written by more than forty men over the period of nearly 1600 years or just written it off as rubbish? Have you looked at the life of Jesus and the lives of his followers both before Jesus' death and after? Here is a little appetizer: All of the Apostles except John were martyred for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. After Jesus' crucifixion they were hiding from the authorities but the day after they saw him ascend to heaven they hit the streets without fear. Would they have willingly given their lives (Peter crucified upside down) if they knew that what they were sharing was a lie? Doubtful.

Are you ready for the challenge? It's risky because if, in the end, you come to believe then you suddenly become accountable to the God who made you. If, in the end, you are right in your doubts then your life is random, you have no more value than a flea or an lump of coal, and death is the final word.

Here is the challenge:

1) Even if you aren't sure God exists, ask him in the quiet of your own mind to reveal himself to you and to open your spiritual eyes. You have to want to know truth or it will just be words. I know it might seem futile but give it a whirl.

2) Follow me over then next two weeks as I look at the Bible and it's accuracy, fulfilled prophecy, and power to change lives. I will also shed some light on the religion of Evolution which requires more faith than the religion of God.

3) Take a real hard look at life (yours and all of the life around you) and reevaluate your world view. Let the chips fall where they may. Science is following the evidence to its logical end.

I can tell you that my pride, my desire to be my own god, my desire not to be held accountable for my sins, and my desire to pursue pleasure was the stone wall that stood between me and my eventual faith in God. It wasn't really my science but my heart.

Over the next couple weeks I will introduce you to neurosurgeons, astrophysicists, and other learned people who realized that the more they came to see the remarkable complexity of life and of the universe the more they believed in the One who created it.

For those of you who are already believers I hope that this will further strengthen your faith as well as help you in your commission to make disciples. The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."

You've also probably noticed that this site has undergone some recent changes. We hope you like the new look. If you get this blog via email subscription take a second and visit the blog page. We also have two audio podcasts on our main site "i61project.org". Come and visit. The podcasts as well as some of Ivor's music is available in the "media" section.

Peace,

David

Vice - Does it Have You in its Grip

When I was a kid I used to love using my dad's tools. I loved to build things. I had very grandiose plans, like the time I was building a functional, talking robot out of a tape recorder and a refrigerator box or the super computer with real, flashing lights or the hovercraft I tried to construct from an old vacuum cleaner. I probably needed serious counseling but that's the topic of another post.

Anyway, there were two tools that I found particularly manly because they seemingly gave me superhuman strength; the bench vice and the vice grips. I could squeeze a piece of wood between the metal jaws and nothing known to man could pull it out. A scrawny ten year old kid had the strength of superman. Both tools contain the same main word "vice". I'd like for a second to share a few meanings of the word "vice".

1) Noun - Various devices, usually having two jaws that may be brought together or separated by means of a screw, used to hold an object firmly in its grip.

2) Verb - to hold, press, or squeeze

3) Noun - an immoral or evil practice or habit

I don't know which meaning came to the English language first but I find it interesting that someone chose to give those practices and habits that are evil or destructive, the same name as the devices that hold, squeeze, press and grab onto things. But, we know from experience that whoever did this knew what they were talking about!

Most of us (even those of you who don't yet believe in God as the moral law giver) would agree that there are things which are clearly evil or wrong: murder, rape, stealing, torture (OK, at least people can agree on three of the four). But some things are MUCH less clear both in society and in the scriptures. I was asked by someone to address these things and I think it was a very good idea.

I want to address two topics because I have been asked about them in particular: gambling and drinking (alcohol that is).

I could write a book on this but I will try to give the Readers Digest version here. I'd like to share two things from scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:23, "Everything is permissible" - but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible" - but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. And from Proverbs 21:2, "All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart."

There aren't any particular verses condemning gambling but I think Paul would put it in the category of "not everything is beneficial". God has made each of us differently and each of us has different strengths and weaknesses. Some of us could buy a lottery ticket once a year and go on our merry way. Others may be caught in gambling like a piece of soft wood trapped between the jaws of a table vice. I don't think that the act of gambling is, in and of itself, wrong but there are two things that might make it wrong. Motive. God tests the heart and if the motive is to gain wealth without work or without earning it fairly, then the motive is impure. Proverbs 13:11 says "Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished; but he that gathers by labor shall increase." The second issue is how it affects others. Is it hurting someone else? Your wife, your kids, your friends? Look, if you're spending your paycheck at the casino and borrowing money from your home equity line of credit to pay the bills then you're hurting yourself and your family. I think Paul would go so far to ask, "Is there any real, honest reason to gamble?" Answer, "Probably not." I think when we're honest with ourselves and with God, the Holy Spirit uses our conscience to let us know what honors God and what harms us and others. Look if you've played the slots, played bingo, or spun the wheel at your CHURCH festival I don't think you need to feel bad or run to confession but examine your heart because God does. Maybe though, the $5 could have bought someone a meal they couldn't afford. Hmmm. Yeah, maybe. (I guess that goes for the latte I have next to me as well. My bad.)

OK, on to alcohol. I won't get long winded here but there are many scriptures that point out the potential destructive nature of "too much wine" but wine isn't itself evil. Jesus turned water into wine and used wine as the symbol of his blood but it's fairly obvious that for some, drinking is a huge stumbling block. I'll ask the same questions I did with gambling, "What is your motive and how is it affecting you and those around you?" Are you held in its jaws and can't get loose? Look, all things considered, if you never drink you'll never have to worry but If you have a glass of Merlot with your T-bone and can go a week or a month without another then I think it is not a sin or a vice. I know many people will disagree with me but the Jews condemned the Gentiles for eating this, drinking that, and touching this and that. It's not the stuff that is the problem. It's our heart. Examine your heart. Listen to those around you. If your spouse or your friends have shared concern over a particular vice then I would recommend you LISTEN. Likely they see something that might be hurting you.

Lastly,, I want to say that there are many Christians who use the "Law" as a hammer and have become self-righteous. They have done what the Pharisees (religious leaders at the time of Jesus) did. They point out other's faults and fail to see their own. Jesus reprimanded them with this statement, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye." Let's first go to the mirror and look at our own planks and ask God to help us pluck them from our own eyes first. And, if you care about someone who may be held in the jaws of sin or the vice grip of addiction, love them first, pray for them second, and get them help from someone who knows the ultimate healer of the heart, Jesus Christ.

Remember this, "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." He showed us grace, we should do the same.

In Christ,

David