Thinking about God, Jesus and The Big Questions

I was considering what was the biggest problem that was getting in the way of people accepting being saved by Jesus. At first, I thought it was selfishness, but then realized that it couldn't be just that, because it's in our own self-interest to be saved!  Certainly there is an element of selfishly wanting to live life on our own terms which might not involve reading the Bible or praying. But still, there must be something other than selfishness - because even with selfishness alone, people would still realize that being saved is in their interests. Eventually, I realized the biggest problem getting in the way of being saved is actually hubris, which means pride. People who don't accept being saved by Jesus may have various reasons or motivations for that. Some might not believe Jesus existed and/or that He was not capable of saving people. Other people might believe they don't need to be saved because they think they're a "good person" - but the pitfall ...

I was thinking about light and darkness, and realized that darkness cannot extinguish light. Yet light can pierce darkness. In a way, this is an analogy for good and evil.  The light of God's word - the good news of Jesus - cannot be extinguished by darkness (i.e. by Satan or by anyone else). Sure, evil can oppress people, but it does not change the fact that once you have heard the good news, you've heard it. Once you accept the gift of eternal salvation, this light cannot be extinguished by darkness . By contrast, light can pierce darkness. A small amount of light is visible in pitch-black surroundings relatively easily. In the same way, the good news can still be spread even in oppressive times and places.  It's actually quite reassuring to realize that a light in the darkness cannot be put out by the fact of the darkness. In other words, light can change darkness but darkness cannot change light.   If you found this post interesting, you might also like these rel...

The expectations of society, of the local community, can be a very powerful force. People who do something different to the usual customs in the local area may experience prejudice, criticism and negativity from others around them.  In the case of a new Christian in areas where Christianity is not readily accepted, these new Christians are exposed to a very challenging set of circumstances. Some may have family members who no longer wish to have a relationship with them. Others may experience discrimination in the workplace, socially or in other parts of their lives. As extremely difficult as this is, it can be encouraging to remind ourselves that surely Noah (who was a Jew, the same as everyone else back then) had even more societal pressure. Why? He heard God's call for him to build an ark. His friends and neighbors must have thought he was crazy. And his ark was a very public thing. Even if he had desired to hide it from strangers and just let a few trusted people know about t...

Previously, I have talked about how we can catch a glimpse of God through the lenses of nature, music, knowledge, friendship, and more . I talked about how it's a little bit like in the Harry Potter books when Hermione seeks the basilisk through indirect means such as a mirror, so as not to stare at it face to face. Jesus, however, is not one of those other lenses. Jesus is instead a direct representation of God. This is made abundantly clear in this verse from the Bible where Philip asks Jesus to show him God the father. Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father ...

This is a review of the book " God on Mute " by Pete Greig. It is a non-fiction Christian about what happens when God meets your prayers with silence. What do you do? This book is of interest not only to Christians, but also to atheists struggling with the question of "If God is good, why do bad things happen?" (I have some information about that question here ). Interspersing theological research with his own personal experience with unanswered prayers for healing for his wife suffering a serious medical condition, Pete Greig does an amazing job answering one of the toughest questions of Christianity. Everyone can relate to this book and these difficult questions.  One thing I particularly loved about this book is that Pete Greig is not trying to assign blame to the situation. He explains first that some prayers God will not answer for reasons which might become clear upon inspection (e.g. 2 people are praying for opposite things - one for rain, the other for sunsh...

We are well equipped for detecting things in our 3 dimensions of space and 1 of time, but poorly equipped for detecting things in the spiritual dimension, even though the spiritual dimension is more real and solid than the physical one .  In other words, our God detection sensors are bad. In the book of Hebrews, the meaning of faith is clearly described for us: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. Hebrews 11: 1-3 In particular, the last part of it is what we need to remember: what is seen was made from things that are not visible. This means that what we so easily detect with our eyes (the physical dimension) is made from things which are not visible (the spiritual dimension). The spiritual dimension clearly exists, and came first before the physical di...

As the son of God, there were many things Jesus could have been doing at any one time. Yet he kept His focus on the ministry He was there to do. The temptation to get sidetracked would have been incredible, since He was around other people all the time who asked Him to do things.  He did always find time to help people on the way to what He was doing. But he never lost his focus of the main thing. Here is an example in the book of Mark: In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also, for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout all Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. Mark 1: 35-39 As you can see, His priority was to first pray, in solitude. He needed th...

I was reading the passage of Mary and Martha again. While I have talked before about it , an additional angle on it was revealed during the most recent reading. This is the Bible passage where Jesus visits Mary and Martha: Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’ Luke 10: 38-42 It is clear from the message that if we have a choice between ministering to Jesus or hearing what he has to say, we should pick hearing what he has to say (which I covered in...

Most of the book of Proverbs was thought to be written by King Solomon, who was the wisest man who ever was or will be. The rest of its authorship is thought to be from other Jewish people as the accumulated wisdom of the people.  This book is very valuable. Not only does it contain wisdom that is available to all of us today, but also, the more I read it the more I see it as perhaps the most subversive book of the Bible, which I have written about here .  Many people don't always avail themselves of this source of wisdom, even in instances when they are seeking wisdom from other sources (e.g. self-help books, financial savviness books, etc).  The book of Proverbs does not need to be the only book we read to gain wisdom, but it should certainly be one of them! For where else can we get the words of the wisest man who ever lived, in addition to the accumulated wisdom of others? There are several things which are repeated multiple times in Proverbs. Since they are repeate...

I'm in the middle of reading the New Testament, and in the past I had never bothered to consider word choice. But this time around, I posed the question: Why did Jesus use the phrasings that He used? To get His meaning across in anything He said, He could have chosen between different phrasings. Yet He phrased it a certain way.  Of course, we should be cautious how much importance we put into this. After all, the Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek. It was not written in English, so what I am reading in English is a translation. Inevitably, something winds up having to be approximated in a translation. Also, certain translations of the Bible are more focused on word for word while others are more focused on meaning for meaning.  If you are wondering about phrasing, then use a word for word translation (e.g. Good News Translation), since a meaning for meaning translation might wander further from the original words used. Nonetheless, it's still a fascinating exercise to ask w...

I have written before about the power of prayer and how it's in your interests to read the Bible and pray . This is because you get to know God better, and He is a marvelous counselor. You get better discernment in what to do in various life situations, big and small. In the past, I used to think that if I read the Bible and prayed, it would please God. It does please him, but you should be aware that it is YOU who receives the benefits of your Bible reading and your praying, not God. In other words, God is not improved by knowing you, but you are improved by knowing God. So even if you were being purely selfish, you'd still want to pray and read the Bible, because YOU get to reap the benefits of it (not God). If you found this post interesting, you might also like these related posts on this blog: If Jesus needed to pray, we have an even greater need to do it The power of prayer What happens to your prayers?

Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, counseled against knee-jerk reactions. Reacting without thinking is not a wise way to live. Here are his sayings on that: Do not be quick to anger, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools. Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. Ecclesiastes 7: 9-10  This reminds me to pray, think, and read the Bible when any issue crops up. I'm not good at it - I still get angry quickly when I know that is not the best way. But I am trying, at least. I realize that knee-jerk reactions are literally the enemy of wisdom, as Solomon said. Mental shortcuts like that remove the opportunity to seek God in the middle of this problem. I find it helps me to think "everything is more nuanced than you think it is at first glance", and we do need God's guidance for that. God is the fount of wisdom, so our number one priority should be to seek Him and His solutions, not to give a knee-jer...

Psalm 23 is a well-known psalm that is often quoted for giving comfort to those who are dying. Here it is: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. Psalm 23 This psalm was written by King David at the time when he was beset by many enemies. He did not write this to comfort him in case he died. Instead he wrote this psalm as a prayer for guidance during difficult military campaigns. In other words, this psalm is very much for the living, not the dying. It...

Do not underestimate prayer. Often, someone prays for something, sees no obvious result, and assumes nothing happened. This is far from the reality. Most often this is due to the person not being able to detect what had happened as a result of the prayer .  There are some other reasons nothing could happen, of course. Some of those other reasons are:  This was not the right time for the prayer to be answered - the prayer was in God's will but the timing is later, or The prayer was not consistent with what God wanted But assuming that none of these issues above are the case, often the problem is simply that the person cannot detect that the prayer has been answered .  This is because prayer creates direct movement (or action, or an effect - any of these is a decent approximation) in the spiritual dimension. But remember, the spiritual dimension is a dimension that we cannot detect easily. It is there and it is more real than our physical dimensions , but we have the misfor...

There are many references in the Bible showing that Jesus will come to Earth again. But this is not a second chance for us. He is not here to teach us and to conquer sin - he already completed that the first time around.  Even though those alive today were not here at the time he came to teach, we have all his teachings available to us! These are written in the Bible. So we have access to all of that. Do not make the mistake of thinking that when he comes again, it will be for another chance. That already happened the first time he came. When he comes next, it will be to gather those who are waiting for him. so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:28 This is why the end of days has not already happened - God is delaying in order to give us time to decide if we will follow Jesus. Indeed, Jesus himself told his disciples that the end of days would come...

If we have a difficult decision, we can ask God. But it is harder to discern His answers and His will if we haven't already put in the time to get to know Him. One of my favorite examples in the Bible of knowing God's will (and there are many examples there) is King David. King David was human and by no means perfect, none of us are, but he did seek to know God. He knew God well enough to know His will and His desires for some situations - but not others, as you will see if you read 2 Samuel 11 where David had Uriah killed, against God's wishes. In the situation where David knew God's will, Saul had tried to kill David many times. If David had the opportunity to kill Saul, no-one would have blamed him for doing so. Yet David knew that this was not God's will. Let's take a look: Then David set out and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within the encam...

When reading parts of the Bible, it feels like on some occasions God spoke very clearly. Sometimes we can feel discouraged that we don't hear Him so clearly today. As an aside, a huge part of this is that we are not listening, even if we think we are. To listen, we have to take the time to get to know God and to hear His voice, and how many of us do that?  But getting back to the title of this post, there are times in history where the Lord's word was rare and visions were not widely known, as shown in the Bible verse below. Does this resonate with you about the situation we see today? Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. 1 Samuel 3: 1 You may like to read the full verse in the Bible - this is where Samuel receives instruction from God. Yet at first neither he nor the priest Eli realize the voice is from God, because it was rare to hear from God in those days. We don't know precis...

Often in today's life, we have to decide which course of action to take, and during tricky situations it might feel like we are being torn in two different directions.  I'm not talking about the simpler case where one thing is good and the other is bad, and we need to withstand temptation to avoid going down the bad route.  No, instead I'm talking about being torn between two different things which are both good, but that are mutually exclusive (for example, that would require us to be in two different places at once). In this situation, it's even more frustrating to have that "caught in the middle" feeling because there isn't at first glance a strongly "correct" answer. When I was reading the Bible, I came across a clear occasion where Jesus had to discern between two opposing things also, which I'll illustrate below. Of course, since Jesus is the son of God, he has the advantage of perfect discernment, which we don't have. But we can fe...

The End of Days has been covered in quite a lot of detail in the Bible. It is clear that there will be economic suffering in addition to oppressive leadership . There will also be a lot of physical suffering . I heard what sounded like a voice coming from among the four living creatures, which said, "A kilo of wheat for a day's wages, and three kilos of barley for a day's wages.  But do not damage the olive trees and the vineyards!" Revelation 6:6 The Bible verse above indicates an extremely expensive price for food. Could this occur via a route of climate change and/or ecological disaster? The answer is yes it's possible, but alternative routes are also possible. The Bible spells out the results of the end of days, but not the exact route it will happen. So we cannot know for sure the exact path it will take. As I have mentioned before, the Bible tells us THAT something will happen, but not HOW or WHEN . An illustration of a prophecy coming to pass is durin...

A common misconception is that God has a massively long list of boxes we must tick. He does not. He would much rather we seek him and get to know him personally, through prayer and reading the Bible.  He does not want us to merely go through the motions of attending church, and so on, just to tick the boxes.  This is evident in several parts of the Bible. You can see this from the prophet Hosea, and later, from Jesus himself.  In the book of Hosea, God says: For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6: 6 It is clear from the above that God does not just want us to go through the motions, but rather he wants us to seek him and know him personally. Yet the ten commandments exist, and of course if we truly believe in God, then we truly believe in the ten commandments. So do these commandments then become a set of boxes that we need to tick? The answer is that all of the commandments stem from a love of God, as you...