Blog Archives - The Apologetics Blog

God Has A Plan

6/30/2014

Jeremiah 29:11 "'For I know the plans I have for you'--this is the LORD's declaration--'plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'"

Isn't it comforting to know that God has a plan for us? Sometimes it seems as if life has thrown us a curveball, and we can't handle it ourselves. Sometimes, we don't know what is going to happen, or we just don't understand. I can imagine that those who read these words in Jeremiah's letter to the exiles were thinking just about the same thing.

Jeremiah wrote this letter to the Jewish exiles who had been deported to Babylon. In the rest of the letter, Jeremiah told them what they did not want to hear--that God's message to them was to get comfortable in Babylon, and to pray for its welfare. How would you feel if you were told to pray for the nation that just took everything you have ever known away from you?

When God told the Israelites to settle in Babylon, He also left them with the promise that He had a plan for them, and that it was for their prosperity, not for their destruction. He reminded them that, although things may have seemed bleak at that moment, things would not be this way forever, because His plan for His people is ultimately good.

Whenever we face a tough time in life, we can look back on God's message to the Israelites that He sent through Jeremiah's letter. We, as His people, can know that even in our darkest days, God has a plan that is ultimately for our benefit, not for our destruction. Isn't that comforting?

Faith That Is Reported In All The World

6/30/2014

Romans 1:8 "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith is being reported in all the world."

If being a Christian were a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict you in court? It's easy to jump to a quick "yes", but let's stop and think about this for a moment. Would someone else be able to tell, solely from our actions, that we are Christians? If our actions are not different than those of this world, then our answer must be "no".

Paul was thankful to God for the church in Rome, since its faith was being talked about. It was as if people around the known world were saying that, in the church at Rome, there were true followers of Jesus Christ. They stood out because of their faith.

What can we do to stand out in the world? To show the world that, although we are in it, we are not of it? There are several things we can do. In fact, we must do these things if we are to consider ourselves true followers of Christ.

First, we must seek to honor God with every decision that we make. This means that we must know what types of actions honor God. This is often very difficult to practice, especially when we don't entirely understand our situation. However, when we study God and His word, it becomes easier for us to honor Him, which leads me to the next item.

Second, we must seek to know God. We do this through studying and meditating on His word and through prayer. When we study His word, we must be willing to obey it. When we pray, we must mean what we say to God.

Third, we must seek to imitate the example of Christ. Christ was God in the flesh. Everything that Jesus did honored God. This being the case, we must imitate His example.

When we do these three things, we begin to stand out in the world. People begin to look at us in a different way. People begin to say that we must be Christians, because that is what our actions are showing.

Walking by Faith

6/28/2014

2 Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."

You can't always believe what you see. This is especially true when we talk about walking as Christians in an ungodly world. Every day we are tempted by what we see. If you don't believe me, simply take a look at the world around us and compare it with God's word. There is a world of difference, isn't there?

It is difficult to walk in this world as children of God, since God's kingdom stands in sharp contrast to this world. Those who do not know Christ do not know what it means to walk by faith, because they can walk by sight if they desire to stand for worldly things. We, as children of God, cannot walk by sight. We walk by faith.

Without faith, it is impossible for us, as children of God, to navigate life. We rely on God to guide us, because we realize that what we see in the world is deceitful. Without God, there is no telling where we would end up on the road of life. When it becomes difficult for us to trust God, we need to remember that what we see in the world is deceitful. We can only navigate life when we are guided by God.

Gazing

6/18/2014

Psalm 63:2 "So I gaze on You in the sanctuary to see Your strength and Your glory."

Have you ever stopped to look at the night sky? Have you ever gazed at the stars and marveled at the power of their Creator? I know that I have, and it is simply amazing. When we look out at the night sky and see this, we see the work of God's hand. But what do we do when we are done gazing at the works of His hand?

When David gazed in the sanctuary, he wrote a Psalm about it. He chose to praise God, since he had seen God's strength and His glory. What do we do when we look at the work of God's hand? Do we choose to go inside and forget about it by the next day? Or do we get down on our knees and thank God for the beauty of His creation? Or do we do something different? Whatever we do, we should remember the times that we have seen His work and give Him the glory for it.

Search For The LORD

6/18/2014

Psalm 105:4 "Search for the LORD and for His strength; seek His face always."

Are you having a difficult day today? How about yesterday? I know that you have had some difficult days in your life. You know, the days when you just can't seem to make yourself get up out of the bed because you are sure that something is going to go wrong that day? What about the days when nothing seems to go right, and there is nothing you can do to make it better? I have good news! God provides a solution.

The author of Psalm 105 understood something that it is important for us to reflect on. The author of this psalm understood that, in the midst of the most difficult times in our lives, we should look to God for strength. We don't need to reach for our horoscope, because God already knows what is going to happen in our lives. We don't need to reach for the newspaper, because God is sovereign. We don't need to go to our friends, because God is the best friend we could ever have. We don't need to go to psychologists, because God understands us better than they ever could. In reality, we simply need to seek the LORD when we are going through tough times in life

Next time you or I are faced with a difficult time in life, we need to turn to God and trust Him to take care of us. After all, there is no better person to whom we could turn than the One who created us!

Being "Singled Out"

6/16/2014

Romans 1:1 "Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and singled out for God's good news."

What do you think of when you think of the apostle Paul? Some think of a great leader in the early church. Others think of a great missionary who brought the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles. Still others think of Paul as a great defender of the faith who helped to keep order in the early church. However, there is something that we are missing if we think of him as merely a great leader, missionary, or defender of the faith. Let me explain.

Paul had a different way of thinking about himself. Paul did not think of himself in relation to what he did for the church, as many of us do. Rather, Paul thought of himself in terms of his relationship with God. Paul constantly reminds the readers of his epistles that he was "singled out" for God's good news. Paul did not define himself by how many churches he planted. Rather, it was his relationship with God, his being "singled out" to be a servant of Christ, that provided the basis by which he defined himself.

I wonder how different our lives would be if we chose to do the same thing. I wonder how different things would be if Christians would stop basing their identity on what they have done or not done, but rather would base it on our relationship with Christ.

If you are living in a relationship with Christ, God has pursued you with His grace. You have therefore been "singled out". God has a plan for you! He has a purpose for your life, and there is a reason that he has singled you out. He wants you to be an effective witness. This is difficult, if not impossible, if we do not draw our identity from our relationship with Him instead of from our status, position, or actions here. One of the benefits of being a Christian is that we can look to God. The world cannot do this. So, instead of looking to the world or to ourselves for our identity, let's turn to God and understand ourselves in relation to Him.

Testifying To Both Jews And Greeks

6/15/2014

Acts 20:21 "I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus."

Have you ever considered yourself part of a ministry? If so, who were you trying to reach? What was your target group? Did you receive the opportunity to share the Gospel with someone outside of that group? If so, did you?

These may seem like strange questions, but they are important ones to ask. Paul was on trial, and was testifying to the fact that he had preached the Gospel to "both Jews and Greeks". This holds special importance if we realize that Paul was sent as a missionary to the Gentiles, or those who were not Jewish.

Paul points out, however, that he did not just testify to the Greeks, who would fall under the category of Gentiles. Rather, Paul testified to Jews when the opportunity presented itself. We need to have a similar attitude whenever we spread the Gospel.

Whenever we spread the Word, we may have a particular audience in mind to which we wish to preach. However, if there is an opportunity to speak to someone outside of this audience about Jesus, we must take that opportunity. This means that if we wish to share the Gospel with the poor, we must be ready to share the same message with someone who is wealthy. If we wish to share the Gospel with one people group (Group A), we must be willing to share the same Gospel, the Gospel of Christ, with another people group (Group B). Everyone needs Jesus, and I may be the only one from whom this person hears the Gospel.

Seek God Daily

6/10/2014

Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the LORD while He may be found; call to Him while He is near."

Why do we place God at the top of our priority list when we feel that we need Him, but place Him second to something else whenever we feel that everything is alright? Why is it that we try to look at our own solutions before we consult Him? It has always seemed backwards to me, and I think that Isaiah would agree that this is not the way things are supposed to be.

Isaiah made it clear to those to whom he was prophesying that we should not delay in seeking God. It does not take a time of desperation for God's ears to be open to our prayers. It does not take a time of desperation for us to fall on our knees.

We should seek God daily, not when it is convenient for us or when we are in desperate need. Wouldn't it be better if, instead of waiting until a problem exists, we came to God before the problem exists? Wouldn't it be great if all of us lived out our faith daily? Wouldn't it be great if the prayers that God heard from us weren't just prayers to fix our own problems, but rather to help reach those who are in need of His saving grace? How much different would our lives, communities, and churches be if we came to God daily?

There is a catch to this. This scenario would be great, but you and I have to seek God. God has given us the grace to seek Him, we just have to choose to seek Him. If we don't get on our knees to pray each day, how can we tell others that this is the right thing to do? If we don't live out our faith daily, doesn't that make us hypocrites if we claim to be Christians? The choice is on us, not on our pastors, deacons, or elders. This, then, becomes the million dollar question: Are we going to live our lives for Christ, empowered by His Spirit, each and every day for the rest of our lives?

Judgment (If I Die Today)

6/10/2014

Hebrews 9:27 "And just as it is appointed for people to die once--and after this, judgment--"

It is something that we like to think about when we make good, moral, godly choices; yet it is something that we hate to think about when we make poor choices. It is something that is ultimately governed by God alone, yet many people believe, incorrectly, that they can govern it. It is the judgment that we will receive at the end of our lives.

The author of Hebrews reminds us that it is not only a few people will die and face judgment. Rather, all of us will die and everyone who dies will be judged by God. There are none who will escape.

When God pronounces judgment at the end of our lives, there are only two possible outcomes. We may either be told, "Well done, good and faithful servant," or "Depart from me, you who work lawlessness". There are no other options. The judgment is eternal.

If we were to die tomorrow, and if we knew that we would, how would we live differently with our last 24 hours? How would our relationship with God change? Would we treat our neighbors any differently? If so, how? Now, how are you going to live out the answers to these questions? After all, you never know if today really could be your last day.

Emphasis

6/2/2014

John 1:2 "He was with God in the beginning."

In the prologue to his Gospel, John the apostle makes it clear that Jesus is God Himself. Although he reveals some very profound theological truths in the prologue, these truths are practical, as well. They are not merely talk.

The Gospel here places emphasis on the relationship that God had with the logos, Jesus, in the beginning. The Gospel author has already mentioned this in the previous sentence of His Gospel. However, the author saw it as important that he emphasize this.

If John the apostle thought it important to emphasize God's relationship with Jesus from the very beginning, what emphasis should we be placing on our own relationship with God? If it was a very strong thing in Jesus's life, shouldn't it be in ours as well? Yes, it should be, and can be. If we give up our desires in order to imitate Christ, then we can start a personal relationship with God.