I often talk to people who reject Christianity.

When I ask them why, I get a long list of objections. They don’t approve of what a church did, what a pastor did, what an individual Christian did……….of what God did or didn’t do………or even worse…….of what he is doing right now in their lives.

Their objection usually includes some version of this complaint:

“I refuse to accept a God who would allow_________!”

The things that they disprove of are legitimate. A lot of things happen out there that cause us pain……..and some of them come from Christians. There are a lot of Christians out there who just don’t do it well. There are a lot of Christians out there who are quite simply………toxic.

A Christian should radiate love.

A Christian should be NICE!

But let’s face it, we often aren’t.

There are a few Christians who are never nice. And ALL Christians are not nice occasionally. Some of the things I have said to the tools in my woodshop simply cannot be repeated in polite company.

Christianity is terribly important…….. considering the eternal implications. So……the question of its validity is a terribly important question. It is a question that each of us should take very seriously because the consequences of getting it wrong could be catastrophic. This one question is potentially the most important question that you will deal with in your lifetime. And a great many of us have never seriously investigated it.

Have you seriously considered the most important question of your life?

The first problem is that you must ask the right question. And most of us don’t ask the right question. And that is the heart of this post.

We typically ask ourselves, “Do I approve of what God…..or some Christian somewhere……..did or didn’t do……..or is doing?”. Does the practical application of Christianity in this world agree with what I believe………what I want? The trouble is that this is not the correct question.

The correct question is this:

“DID JESUS DIE AND COME BACK TO LIFE?”

I think that we can all agree that human resurrection is simply impossible. And that is the entire point. If the resurrection occurred, then Jesus is not simply human…….he is divine…….he is God. And if he is God, then what he said……what he is still saying……..is not negotiable. It is not subject to your approval…….or mine.

What God did…..what he is doing in your life……what he is doing in the world is not subject to your approval.

To put it simply…….if Jesus rose from the dead, then he is God
……….and his teaching……..eternity, paradise, hell, love God, love your neighbor is unassailable. The fact that you object to what he said, or did, or is doing…….or to what some current Christian said or did, or is doing………is irrelevant. It is irrelevant because he is God……and you aren’t.

And we desperately want to be in charge. We desperately want to be God. Even though the evidence in our world clearly shows that we aren’t up to the task.

So, take some time today. Seriously investigate the most important question that you will ever ask:

“Did Jesus die and then rise from the dead?”

Don’t reject this idea because it is “impossible”………that is the entire point.

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!

Luke, NIV

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Jesus,NIV

“Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Jesus,NIV

Life stinks.

Fair warning:

The first half of this post is not going to make you feel good. You need to commit to reading it all………or just change channels and load up a you tube video of puppies.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks in my family……no need to go into details.

It seems as though the rough patch is not limited to my family. It’s been a rough decade for us all………and I can prove it:

In spite of what the right says, we have poisoned the planet with greenhouse gases, plastic, and other waste. In spite of what the left tells us…….there is no cure.

We legally kill 3000 children every day.

Gun violence permeates our cities.

By the time Covid-19 is finished nearly a million Americans will have died from a disease that was probably created by man.

We are in a continual state of war.

Social Security, Medicare, and the entire federal government is teetering on the brink of insolvency.

Drugs and overdose related deaths are rampant.

Violent crime is at a multi-year high.

Clean water sources in the major food production regions of America are threatened.

Today, refugees are fleeing bad governments. Soon they will be fleeing water and food shortages. American will not be immune to this next wave of “climate and resource refugees”.

I could go on……… I’m sure you can add to the list.

The only conclusion that I can draw is that we have failed as a society, as a culture, and as a species. There is a line from the Matrix. An alien speaking to a human says, “you don’t inhabit this planet……you infest it.”

There is no reason to believe that things are going to get better.

If this depresses you, I’m not surprised. If this was the end of the story…….. I’d be depressed too.

But, I’m not depressed.

Why?

Because, my death…..your death……..even the death of this planet is not the end.

Based on the testimony of the apostles and hundreds of witnesses. Jesus was crucified. He was dead as a doornail. Then he came back to life. That can only mean one thing. It means he was not simply a man. He was God. That means that we must take what he said….what he taught……seriously.

He taught us to love him……..he taught us to love each other…….he taught us that for those who acknowledge him, that life continues after we die…………and it gets much better.

All of this because of the gift of his grace…….his unearned favor.

So I am not depressed. In fact, I’m joyful. I will enjoy the time I have left in this dying world, but even more so. I am looking forward to the life I will have after my death…….in a world where death does not exist……in a world where death has no meaning.

And more than anything else………I want you to be there too.

If you are interested in learning more, my church is beginning a series………it is pretty much First Church of Christ 101. Here is a link to the first talk in the series……..a talk about grace which is a cornerstone of Christianity. It will take about 30 minutes of your time…….a small investment.

https://firstchurch.me/media/925684-3895413-13549108/fc-worship-online-10-24-21

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Jesus speaking to a criminal who acknowledged him, NIV

‘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, NIV

“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—

Paul, NIV

You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that
I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 

Jesus, NIV

Last week I got some bad news.

I have prostate cancer.

Conventional teaching says that there was no disease in Eden……that disease came along with Adam and Eve’s sin…….that disease is, directly or indirectly, the work of Satan.

We generally don’t attribute disease to God.

But, there can be no question that God tolerates disease. This week I am going to upset a lot of you……..by raising the possibility that God created a disease………specifically prostate cancer.

Bear with me.

The first people on earth, Adam’s children, grandchildren, etc. lived a long time……hundreds of years. Methuselah is the poster child for this longevity……969 years. Many others lived almost as long.

Prostate cancer is a lethal disease of old men. 80% of 80 year old men have it. The number is likely much higher for 100 year old men. Prostate cancer could not have existed in the era of Methuselah. It is inconsistent with that kind of longevity.

What happened?

I’m not sure why, but in Genesis 6:3, God decided that we would only live 120 years…….and it’s been downhill ever since.

Fast forward a few centuries and nearly all men 80 years and older have prostate cancer. In summary, a lethal disease that could not have existed in the era of Methuselah is ubiquitous among old men today. And our decreased longevity reflects it.

It is quite plausible that God created prostate cancer as a tool to limit our longevity…….to achieve his goal of 120 year lives. And, if God created prostate cancer, could he have created other diseases as well…….perhaps breast cancer……..heart disease?

By now you may be ready to post a red hot rebuttal. But, the reason for this post really has very little to do with prostate cancer…….or any other diseases for that matter.

We have a tendency to ascribe everything that we like in this world to God…….and everything that we don’t like to Satan. The corollary is that, in our minds, we don’t allow God to do anything that causes us pain. Instead, we blame it on Satan……or Adam……or the other guy’s free will. Because, if something causes us pain, it must be evil…….and if it’s evil, it must come from Satan……or Adam………or the other guy………anybody but God. In other words……….God wouldn’t dare do anything that I don’t like! I won’t allow it!

In a way we indirectly censor God. We erase anything that we don’t like from God’s CV.

This is precisely why we like the New Testament so much better than the Old Testament.

This mindset puts us in charge of God’s history……and we love being in charge.

But, this is backwards…….God is in charge of our history………both the good……..and at least some of the bad.

Please don’t get me wrong here. God tolerates all of the bad things that befall us. But, he does not cause them all.

And here is the key point.

God loves us. He loves us when he tolerates our misfortunes……and he loves us on those occasions when he orchestrates them. In all of this God promises us a good future……because he loves us.

And here is the hard part.

We need to trust God and his promise.

This is easy when you get the big promotion…….the new car…….when your child is born. It is much much harder when your child dies…..when your wife gets cancer……..when you get old……..when you get prostate cancer.

I believe that God values our love. I also believe that our loving God and trusting in his love is far more valuable to him in our times of pain……when disaster strikes…….because it is so much harder for us to do. Trust, in the face of disaster, is much rarer than in the good times. That makes it more valuable…….to God.

So…….disaster strikes……..and we cry out….WHY????

And he whispers……..trust me……I love you.

And then he waits to see how we handle the disaster.

Father, please strengthen me…….so that I can trust you and love you…….in the good times…….but even more so………. in the storm. Amen

I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the Lord, do all these things.

God, NIV

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.

Paul, NIV

‘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.”

John, NIV

Evil

We encounter it every day…….all day…….. everywhere. And yet we don’t talk about it very much. We rarely call it by its name. The only time we mention it in passing is when someone we don’t like does something we don’t like. It has become one of the taboos of our modern society. No matter what the other guy is doing…….no matter what you are doing…….you never look them in the eye and say, “that is wrong…….that is evil”.

You never tell yourself, “that was wrong……that was evil”.

Evil, is arguably one of the two most important forces in our world. Good would be the other.

We talk a lot about good……and the people who do it. This makes us feel hopeful. But I think it’s time we looked under the rock and studied evil for a bit.

Evil comes in three flavors. Evil in the people around us. Evil in ourselves. And, ultimately, evil that exists independent of mankind. As you can see evil permeates every aspect of life.

I could have a field day discussing the evil in the people around me. It would be a lot of fun. But there are plenty of people in the various media platforms that have that base pretty well covered. Besides, the evil in my fellow man is highly resistant to my efforts to defeat it. So……I don’t spend a lot of effort on things that I cannot change.

I could delve into the evil that lives inside of me……and you too. But, I think I’ll put that off for another day.

Today, the topic is the evil that exists independent of mankind.

We live in a physical world, limited by space and time. But there is also another realm that exists alongside the physical world. It is governed by an entirely different set of rules…….space and time are not nearly so important there. We know relatively little about this other realm. It is largely hidden from us. It is occupied by beings who are not physical. These beings are spiritual. They are not constrained by space and time. Because of this, we can’t see or measure them. Because they don’t operate by the “rules” of our physical world many of us deny them or ignore them. That doesn’t make them any less real. Yahweh……..God……is one of them…….but there are others.

This spiritual realm can be divided into good and evil. We talk a lot about God because he runs the good part of the spiritual realm. He loves us and wants us to succeed. His ultimate goal for you and for me is relationship……a relationship based on love…….very much like a parent-child relationship. His goal for us is joy. Sometimes God does send pain into our lives. But pain isn’t his ultimate goal. The pain that God sometimes sends is a side effect…..a necessary intermediate step in his plan for our well being…….for our long term joy. Sort of like a flue shot.

But what about the others……..the spiritual beings on the evil side……… demons…….evil spirits. We don’t like to talk about them. Many of us deny their very existence. People will make fun of you if you bring them up. You are considered immature, naive, if you believe in the “Boogeyman”. But, these evil spiritual beings are real……and there are many of them. They may be independent operators or they may be organized. They operate beneath the surface in our world…..all day……every day.

The key feature of these evil spiritual beings is this:

Just like God……..they have a plan…….a long term goal.

And the plan is simple……..they want you in pain. They can do this by sending pain directly into your life as they did with Job. But, it seems to be far more entertaining for them if they can set it up so that you cause the pain yourself. As with God, they can send you joy. But, the joy that they send is a temporary side effect on the path to their ultimate goal for you……pain. Any cigarette smoker can tell you that they really enjoy that first cigarette in the morning. But, the long term result is pain.

Joy and pain……. Good and evil……health and illness.

You cannot deny their existence though you can ignore them……for a little while.

So…..how do you deal with them……in concrete terms?

You have to choose……you have to decide what side of the joy/pain spectrum you want to live on.

As you go about your life……in every thing you do, even the tiny seemingly inconsequential things………you can either create long term joy…..or long term pain………for yourself…….and for others. And that is how you decide whether you want to operate on the good side or the evil side of the cosmos.

So……..try to grow joy in every thing that you do. If you mess up, take a deep breath, relax, and start all over.

Know this.

The surest path to joy is to grow your relationship with the ultimate source of joy……God…….Abba…….. Father.

And that includes trusting him and accepting the temporary painful side effects that sometimes come our way.

This is the best description of evil and pain that I have ever run across. It is in “The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis. It is a letter from an old demon counselling an apprentice demon whose job is to lead a man…….. his client……. to hell.

“You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy (God). It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards will do the trick.

Indeed, the safest road to hell is the gradual one — the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

C.S. Lewis

I am an American.

If you had to digest the idea of America down to a single word………it would probably be “freedom”.

We are………”the land of the free”. Freedom is what makes us different………it is what makes us special…..and we are special, despite what the talking heads and many of our leaders tell us………freedom defines us.

But what is freedom?

There is an interesting relationship between freedom and rules.

It turns out that these ideas are not opposites.

The absence of rules is not freedom. The absence of rules………is anarchy.

These ideas are not the same.

The presence of rules is not freedom. The 625 rules of the old testament law did not lead to freedom……you can make a good argument that they led to slavery. Far too many Christians……and secular humanists for that matter…….think that rules are what Christianity is all about. Do this…….and don’t even think about doing that!

Freedom, however is much more subtle than that.

Freedom is the product of being who we were created to be……..of doing the job that we were created to do……of existing in the relationships that we were created for……..and that requires us to seek out our place……..our purpose…….our identity. Some do it well……they get very close………others struggle through an entire lifetime in a pigeon hole that just never seems “right”. They try so hard to create their own identity. And they usually find one………typically, an identity that aligns with their appetites. Then they spend a lifetime pursuing appetites that just don’t satisfy. And there’s the rub. It turns out that we do not get to choose our identity…….our place……. our purpose. It has already been chosen for us.

We do not get to choose our identity. It has already been chosen for us.

It seems odd that we become free, fulfilled, even satisfied by following a path that was defined by someone else…….but it is true. You are not going to create a new unique identity. You are not going to become a unique snowflake…….and neither am I. Ultimately, we are both going to follow some entity. So…….whom do you decide to follow?

The “who” of this decision will determine the success of your life. You will be influenced by many ideas. The burning question is this: when push comes to shove…….when two ideas are in conflict…….to whom do you turn as the final arbiter.

Who is your ultimate guide?

There are countless organizations screaming at you every day…….trying to herd you into their flock……. progressives, conservatives, secular humanists, atheists, and …….yes……Christians. No matter how confident you are in your choice of identities……..you are following someone and his or her ideas.

You can probably name the person/entity that you follow……….try it.

If you believe in Darwinism…….then I have no answer for you. You are a biochemical accident. There is no overarching truth. The only hard rule is that you must broadcast your DNA as widely as possible. Make your way as best you can. Do as you please……….and so will the other guy. But, understand that Darwinism…….the absence of an overarching, absolute………truth puts society and you on the anarchy end of the spectrum…….and the last year or so sure looks that way.

If you believe in rules……..things are not much better. Our government will gladly provide you with plenty of rules. Follow as many of them as you can…….and hope that the other guy does too. But understand that rules put society on the slavery end of the spectrum.

Where is the answer………where is the key to living a successful life…..where is the truth?

I believe in a creator…….. God, who loves me, cares for me, and wants my life to succeed……no matter how wonderful today looks……..no matter how black today looks. He has a long range plan for my well being.

He gives me the credo that will lead to a successful life.

Love God……Love my neighbor.

Yeah….. Yeah….you say……I’ve heard this all before.

But, imagine a world where everyone followed this credo……..can you honestly say that it wouldn’t work…….can you honestly say that your plan……or (fill in the blank)’s plan is better.

I think that God……..the creator………my creator……Abba……..is on to something. And I am trying hard to follow his plan for me…….even when it is in conflict with my appetites. And every now and then, I have a whole day when I actually pull it off.

And guess what?…………it works.

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Paul. NIV

Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father .” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

Paul, NIV

“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus NIV

You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Paul. NIV

“For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus, NIV