subject: Why I'm So Sure [print this page] What is real and what is not? This is the question by which we measure the passage of a child from the world of imagination to the accepted realities of adulthood; by which we measure who is sane and who is not. But there is a place where the line becomes blurred; where none can agree on where the line even exists. That place is the world of faith. Is there a God or isn't there? And which God is He? Was a healing a miracle or a coincidence? And what about me; do I follow the risen Son of the living God or have I allowed myself to be deceived by a legend?
Millions are devoted to Islam and many fanatically believe in its founder Mohammad. Millions devote their entire lives to the teachings of Buddha and millions more believe in no god at all. The teachers of my faith say they are all of them wrong or deceived or worst. How can they be so sure? How can I be so sure?
I believe that the founder of my faith, Jesus, was born to a virgin. I believe a special heavenly body appeared to announce His birth and that that same heavenly body moved across the sky and then stopped over His birthplace. I believe that when He was twelve He out-taught and out-debated the most learned and wise men of His time. When He became a man He commanded the weather, healed the blind and lame, raised the dead and walked on water. When He was put to death by the Roman authorities, He himself rose from the dead and is alive to this day, over two thousand years later. How is it possible for me to believe all this and still remain on the "real" side of the line? Why am I not insane?
Only one set of circumstances could cause an overly-rational person like me to stand and defend the biography I mentioned above; that could cause me to say with certainty that I follow the truth. First, I must believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is the Son of God as recorded in the four Gospels. Second, I must believe that those Gospels that verify that fact through the testimony of His words and miracles are indeed history and not fiction. And third, I must be in the possession of some personal assurances to the veracity of those two beliefs. He isthey areI am.
For an in-depth analysis of my first two points, I refer you to "More Than a Carpenter" and "Evidence That Demands a Verdict" written by Josh McDowell. He was an intellectually minded non-believer who set out to prove once and for all that Christianity was based on a myth. However, after examining the facts he became a believer. I would also refer you to a book written by Lee Strobel called, "The Case for Christ". Lee was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune who was an atheist. After his wife became a Christian he decided to get to the bottom of this "Christian thing". He writes:
"I launched an all-out investigation into the facts surrounding the case for Christianity. Setting aside my self-interest and prejudices as best I could, I read books, interviewed experts, asked questions, analyzed history, explored archeology, studied ancient literature, and for the first time in my life picked apart the Bible verse by verse. I plunged into the case with more vigor than any story I had ever pursued. I applied the training I had received at Yale Law School as well as my experience as legal affairs editor of the Chicago Tribune. And over time the evidence of the world began to point to the unthinkable"
All three books are excellent sources for an intelligent examination of the claims of Christianity and the person of Jesus of Nazareth. However, for my purposes here, I'll explain my three points in a nutshell.
First, Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and proved it with His resurrection. If there was no resurrection then His enemies and detractors could have easily produced the body and that would have been the end of itthey couldn't. As for the theory that His disciples, not one of which ever saw even an hour of combat, somehow had the strength and courage to steal the body from under the noses of trained and heavily armed Roman soldiers and then claim He rose from the deadwell, I just don't have that much faith.
Second, every challenge to the veracity of the four Gospels has been made on the basis of science; it isn't possible, it's physically impossible; it defies the laws of nature, etc. However, the Gospels do not claim to be a science manual nor teach any scientific precepts. It is a historical document and therefore must be judged by historical criteria. They have passed every historical test. The earliest existing copies of the Bible are separated by fewer years from the original manuscripts and have more copies of those existing manuscripts than most ancient documents including the works of Socrates, Homer, the Roman historian Tacitus and the Jewish historian Josephus (all of whose works are widely accepted throughout the world). Once again, I refer you to the books I mentioned above for further details.
Now as to my final pointwhat are these assurances that I possess? They are threefold:
I've heard His voice
I've felt His presence
I've experienced Him acting on my behalf
I've Heard His Voice
What makes me so sure it's His voice and not delusion, conscience or my imagination? I test it by asking myself a number of questions. First, is the voice totally outside myself? In other words, are the words I am hearing something I haven't thought of before? Are they pointing me in a new and better direction? Are they a revelation to me? Second, do I hear them in my head or in my heart? Although others may have a different experience, I feel the voice of the Lord in my heart rather than actually hearing spoken words. Third, do the words encourage me toward a holier perspective and action? And finally, are they in concert with the Word of God? If it fails any of these tests it is not from Him.
Although I could attest to numerous times when I have heard His voice, one time in particular stands out. It was a time when I was pleading with God to speak a word into my life...any word. I just wanted to hear His voice and calm my doubts. I desperately needed the encouragement. One day I was at a prayer meeting. It was towards the end when I noticed a woman I had never seen before. Her head was bent, her hands tightly clasped and she looked on the verge of tears. As I watched her I heard a voice speak to my heart: "Go give her a hug and tell her it's from Me." At first, I wasn't sure of what I heard. I had this internal argument with myself: Was it from God or did I just have compassion for a woman who obviously was in distress? Even though I had mostly convinced myself that it must be my imagination and it couldn't have possibly come from God; when the meeting finished I decided to just go for it. I walked up to her and said, "I hope you don't think I'm crazy, but God wanted me to give you something." Then I hugged her. She was shocked for a moment and then she started crying. She told me that she had had an abortion months earlier. Guilt had consumed her every day since. In desperation she had come to this prayer meeting on an invitation from a friend. Feeling lost and alone, for the entire prayer meeting she had been pleading with God to speak to her and answer one simple question: "Do You still love me?" When she had given up hope of hearing I had walked over and hugged her. Such is the lavish nature of our prayer-answering God. In answering my prayer, He had answered hers and in the process, encouraged every person in that room.
I've Felt His Presence
I can truly say that I have felt His presence almost continually since I became a Christian. However, none was more powerful than the day I invited Him to move in. I was working at a lumber company as a kitchen cabinet and counter salesman when my boss sent me off to a workshop to learn how to maximize my sales. "Great," I thought. "Exactly what I could care less about." However, I was delightfully surprised by the presentation. When it was over I went over to thank the speaker and tell him how much I liked his presentation. Several other men were surrounding him so I stood outside their circle and waited. As I waited I slowly began to realize that they weren't talking about the workshop or anything to do with cabinets. I began to pick up bits and pieces of their conversation, "Wasn't that an awesome meeting last night...the speaker was so powerful...what did you think of the worship..." and other statements. I had no clue what they were talking about. I was slowly backing away when one of the men turned around and seeing me asked, "Are you born-again?" "Huh," I replied brilliantly. "Are you a Christian?" he asked. Just wanting to fit in to the conversation, I lied and answered, "Absolutely!" They began slapping me on the back and shaking my hand and saying things like, "It's a blessing to meet you, brother... Isn't God good...what a privilege it is to serve the King of the Universe...What freedom and joy there is in our Lord and Savior...and on and on it went for about ten minutes. I still didn't understand what they were talking about but I acted like I'd been a Christian all my life. Finally I made my escape and headed to my car. However, my head was reeling as I began the trip home. Suddenly, a longing began to grow in the pit of my stomach. It continued to grow until I felt like I would burst wide open. "Jesus," I asked, "I don't understand all the things they were saying about you. But if you're the reason for all their joy, then I want to know you." That's it... nothing fancy... no thee's or thou's, just a simple request. All of sudden something began to happen. It's difficult to describe. All I can say is that it felt like an intense love or a presence filling the car. It was in me and around me at the same time. I had never felt anything like this before. Warm waves of electricity were moving all around and through me. It was like each cell of my body was being individually massaged. Before I knew what was happening, I began to cry... but not in sadness. I was actually laughing and crying at the same time. My tears were flowing so heavily that I had to pull off the road. Then as quickly as they had started, they stopped. I wiped the last of them from my eyes and looked out at a world that was, for me, forever changed. The sky was a little bluer, the air a little crisper and the sun a little warmer on my face. I knew I was a different man. I have felt His presence many times since, but none as powerful as that day.
I've Experienced Him Acting on My Behalf
If I recounted every time Jesus has acted on my behalf, whether through miraculous intervention or answered prayer, I would be seriously testing the memory capacity of this computer. However, there are four times when I believe He directly intervened to save my life. The following testimony is one of those times.
One day I was working on a two-story salt-box home in a near-by town. I was working by myself and there was nobody home. I was at the top of a 32' ladder leaning against a house that was built on the edge of a rock cliff with a 40' drop. I was trying to put a nail in a shingle when the left foot of my ladder slipped off the blocks I had put under it to level the ladder. As the ladder slid down the "rake" of the roof, I quickly found myself above the roofline with nothing to grab but the ladder. I called out to Jesus but I knew it was over. I was heading for a 70' fall and there was nothing to stop me. Suddenly, just as the ladder was picking up speed, it stopped. It was at about a 30 to 35 degree angle, so shaking all over I gingerly made my way to the ground. When I regained control of my bodily functions I reset the ladder and went back up to see what saved my life. There was nothing; no nail sticking out, no protruding board or shinglenothing. The ladder had actually been picking up speed. It was at almost a 40 degree angle. And it just stopped?! What had just happened was impossible. Unless.
I have prayed to Him on behalf of myself and others and saw and experienced immediate healing. I have asked for His help in solving a problem and immediately I was given the solution. Now you may saw that those are just coincidences. Maybe, but how many coincidences in a row does it take before it becomes a God-instance? How many positive results does the scientist require for his experiment before he is satisfied he has proven his theory?
Now I know that none of this is absolute proof for many although it absolutely is for me. However, if you would like to test my theory for yourself; I encourage you to do just that. Even God said, "Taste me and see if I am not good." Sohere's what you do: Open your heart and mind to the possibility that I might be right. Then simply, but with humility, ask Jesus to show you if He's real or not. Don't stand there arrogantly with your arms crossed demanding proof from Him; like the sour-faced man who sits in the front row of a comedy club and dares the comedian, "Okaymake me laugh." Just ask and allow your heart to listen.
But be fore-warnedyou may end up on my side of the line. And if you do, it would be my pleasure to show you around.
