Viewing entries tagged
testimony
The Fyre Festival, the Tinder Swindler, and Anna Delvey, the Sinfluencer of Soho, have all put the spotlight on people’s capacity to perpetrate fraud and lie if it’s to their advantage. Could that be how Christianity’s claims of miracles and a Messiah were first spread? Did Jesus and His disciples set up a Ponzi scheme and lie their way to religious prominence? There was a time when I would have thought so, but Watergate convinced me otherwise.
When our dryer broke down last summer, I was faced with one of those buying decisions that I wanted to get right. I looked at ads, studied manufacturer’s websites, and read some comparison guides. But I knew that as detailed as those were, they were all written by people who were paid to explain a point of view. And so I didn’t feel my research was complete until I read the consumer reviews of my top contenders. What did people love? What did they find annoying? What surprised them? Reviews can help you find a trusted book, a better plumber, and avoid a restaurant with terrible service. The only thing better than an online review is a personal one. When someone you trust tells you about their experience with a great product or a fabulous service, it can help overcome a lot of doubts. The same is true when we tell others about our experience in meeting Jesus. In fact, the Bible says that we should leave Him lots of reviews. Let me explain.
Sometimes, our attempts to share our faith are little more than spamming the gospel. We go with the cheapest, most impersonal way to get the good news out. But gospel spam isn’t much more effective than the other spam that we receive. It’s quickly identified and sent to the trash. How can you be more than a gospel spammer?
Seeing tragedy in his childhood challenged his views about life. Facing tragedy as an adult challenged the values that he lived for. And addressing tragedy in his life has given him the satisfaction that his heart longed for. Let me share three things I learned about tragedy from Sujo John’s life.
One of the biggest challenges of the Christian life is the struggle to believe. If we really believed that God answers prayer, then we'd pray more. If we really believed that God wants what's best for us, then we'd be more obedient. And if we really believed that God's Word changes us, then we'd be more faithful in reading it. One of the ways that God seems to grow our faith is through amazing demonstrations of His power. By showing us that cataclysmic change is possible, He encourages us to keep pursuing incremental change in our lives. This week God encouraged me through the incredible transformation of a Japanese murderer, named Tokichi Ishii.
One of my summer projects is a review of first year Greek in preparation for a second year Greek course I need to take in the fall. The problem with the ‘review’ is that the first time I studied Greek was close to twenty years ago and so it pretty much feels like I’m starting from scratch. The textbook I’m using was written by John Gresham Machen, the founder of Westminster Seminary, and originally published in 1923. Reading about Machen’s life recently, I was moved by the profound impact that his mother had on him, and the crucial parenting principles she embodies.
On March 6, Jerry Bridges passed away from heart failure. His writings have made a deep impact on my life. I first read his oldest and most famous book, The Pursuit of Holiness, as a new believer in university. It was a book that awakened me to the full force of what the Bible taught about sin and seeking holiness.
For the final week of Black History Month, I wanted to introduce to you a man who was saved out of Islam and is now, among many other things, helping the church to share the Good News of the Gospel with Muslims. Thabiti Anyabwile grew up in North Carolina in the middle of the Bible belt but his family only attended church on special occasions. He never felt any strong desire for spiritual things until he was arrested in high school and had a wake-up call. He figured that church might be the place to go to get some sense knocked into you when you got in trouble, but when he went, he never ended up hearing the Good News.
Most people, myself included, see the world and small changes that might be made to better it. And we look on the surface at the issues that are nearest at hand. A true visionary, though, is someone who sees foundational problems and is able to envision and pursue profound solutions, regardless of their scale or the challenges they pose. Nigeria’s Byang Kato was a true Christian visionary.
