Verse: For God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8
Topic: What's so great about Christianity anyway?
Personal Piece: Guys I want to share a very special story with you today. Some of you reading this may have heard it before but maybe never quite like this. I shared this story recently with a coworker of mine and it really challenged his view of the Bible and I hope it will do the same to you. I have been a Christian for over 20 years now and I know better than most how monotonous and even boring the Bible can become if we're not careful. I hope that through this blog I can make the Bible come alive for you. Below you will find an incredible story that I hope will ignite your imagination and curiosity. It's a story of intrigue and war. Power and love. It is the story of the ultimate battle between good and evil and it's 100% true. It's my story, but it's also yours and yet it goes far beyond me or you. It is a story that transcends time and space. It is the greatest story ever told...and yet many believe it is only a fairy tale.
Thought of the Week: Our story begins over 6000 years ago before man, beast or even plant resided on the earth. There was no water, no land, no sun, moon or stars. There was only blackness and out of that blackness came a powerful voice. The voice of Yahweh (God). He commanded there to be light, with a few simple words he spoke into existence planets, trees and animals, with his breath he formed dust into humanity. And everything was perfect. Humanity
didn’t know death or pain of any kind just complete joy and peace. These first humans, Adam and Eve, literally walked with Yahweh and
talked with him face to face. They were
holy and pure and therefore they had no reason to fear him. And because Yahweh loved humanity and didn’t
want a world of loyal robots, he gave them (and therefore us) freewill, the choice to choose whether
or not to trust him.
Everything was
going perfect until war broke out in Heaven.
One of Yahweh’s highest ranking angels decided he wanted to steal the
heavenly throne. He along with 1/3 of
the angels turned on Yahweh and in turn were cast down to the earth that Yahweh
had just created. So it was that
Lucifer, Satan, the snake, the viper, The Great Deceiver (whatever you want to
call him) along with his army of angel-turned-demons made their appearance on
the earth. Lucifer slipped into the
garden and did what he does best – he lied.
He convinced both Adam and Eve that God was holding out on them. He told them that God didn’t want them to eat
the fruit because he wanted a monopoly on knowledge. So they ate and their eyes were opened, they
had knowledge and with that knowledge the choice to pick between the darkness
and the light.
But there was another
tree in the garden with fruit which would allow those who ate of it to live
forever. And Yahweh in his mercy
determined to spare humanity of an eternally cursed existence and so he kicked
Adam and Eve out of his beautiful and peaceful garden. So ends the prologue of history.
For the next 6000 years Yahweh guided
humanity along the path they should go.
He gave them rules to help them to navigate the dark world they had found
themselves in. Lucifer and his army made
their home on the earth and Yahweh allowed it.
By the very rules that Yahweh had set he could not just destroy Lucifer
or force the people he had created to follow him. He gave them rules, a law that they had to
follow that would restore them to holiness. He knew that their sin automatically
sentenced them to eternal death in hell.
The law required them to sacrifice pure sheep and goats so that the
blood might cover over the sin and protect them from Lucifer. See Yahweh and Lucifer knew that blood is life and therefore of utmost importance. But the blood of sheep and
goats was not permanent, every time someone sinned another sheep had to die to make
up for it.
But Yahweh wasn’t done yet, he wasn’t satisfied with the
temporary blood, he wanted his people to return to Eden and find peace and
eternal life. Finally, the pieces were
set and it was time for him to make his move.
So in the most baffling phenomenon in all creation he himself decided to
become a flesh and blood human and be physically born on the earth. He came in the form of a baby named Yeshua
better known by his Greek name – Jesus.
Jesus lived on the earth for 33 years, experiencing life just like the
rest of creation. He was both fully God
and fully human. He had to face the same
temptations and struggles as his creation.
And then he had to face the darkness of death head on. But because he had never once sinned, never
once given into the darkness, his blood was the purest of all blood. Strong enough to replace the blood of sheep
and goats. He died, and then he defeated
death, laughed in its face and came back.
And the whole world trembled. He
walked the earth for 40 more days and commissioned his friends and followers to
spread the good news to all the world and then he returned to his throne in
heaven. No longer would humanity have to
sacrifice animals to cover their mistakes because the Creator himself had come
down and given of his own blood that any who spiritually drank of it would be
able to truly live on this earth and one day would live in eternal perfection
with him once again.
Here's where we come in: For the past 2000 years Lucifer has been doing everything he
can to convince people that he still has the advantage. But he knows that Yahweh will win and that
just the name of Jesus is stronger than anything else in this world. But he’s going to do everything in his power
to take as many with him as he can.
Because it’s still a choice.
Humanity still has a free will and the darkness has seeped so deeply
into the human soul that most would rather cling to it then break the
curse of sin.
Now it’s your choice. This is your story and only you can choose how it will end. Will you take your place in His-Story or will you become just another forgotten face in history. I know in real-life terms it’s a lot harder said than
done. You may lose everything; it may
require you to face your fears when all your so-called friends turn their backs
on you. It may require you to be rid of
the things that have brought you temporary pleasure for the one that brings you
eternal life. I won’t lie to you it’s
not easy, the darkness is still rampant and Lucifer likes to hit God's children twice as hard as those already in his control. He
hates to lose and he’ll try to make you regret following Jesus every chance he gets, but I promise
you it’s worth it. Because Jesus is
worth it. Love, joy, peace, LIFE! That’s what Jesus has to offer. I don’t want you to make a decision believing
that this is a promise of ease, this world is still at war and choosing to
follow Jesus will require you to actually pick up your spiritual sword and
fight. But despite the pain I know that
there is something greater, I know that my side wins, I know Jesus is stronger
than anything of this world.
Digging Deeper: This story is a recap of the entire Bible so it should serve as a strong launching point for further exploration into both the Bible and the Christian faith.
For the story of creation and the fall of Adam and Eve check out Genesis chapters 1-3
For more about the battle between Yahweh and Lucifer check out Revelation chapter 12
For more about the rules and regulations Yahweh set for his people check out the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
For more about Jesus and his life and teachings check out the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John
For any other questions please feel free to leave a comment with your questions and I will do my best to answer your questions and/or provide resources for your own search.
Challenge: If you have not made a commitment to make Jesus the Lord of your life then I challenge you to do so now. Take some time to do a little research, ask some questions but don't put it off. Ask yourself what is stopping you from believing that this story is true and then ask God to address those fears or concerns. He will because he loves you and wants nothing more than for you to choose him.
If you are already a Christian then I challenge you to share this story with someone who has never heard it. Sometimes it can be difficult in this world to remember that the spiritual world really exists. If we truly take hole of this story as truth and stop treating it as a fairy tale our lives can be changed. Whether you share the good news of Jesus using my story, or whether you have your own way of sharing, my challenge to you is that you tell someone about Jesus this week.
