Adam White

Don’t you find that Christians make being a Christian more complicated than it is meant to be?

You don’t become a Christian by coming to church every Sunday without fail.

You don’t become a Christian by praying a “special prayer”.

The gospel can be summed up in one sentence. And it is in the most famous sentence in the entire bible…

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

But what does this verse mean to us? It can be broken down into four easy to remember words:

“For God so LOVED the world” – Firstly God loved us. Before we did anything and even though we don’t deserve it He loved us unconditionally. No matter how far we wander from him and no matter how much we ignore him he loves us more than can be understood.

“That he GAVE his one and only Son” – In fact, he loved us so much that he gave us the thing that was most precious to him: His son. To restore the gulf that was between us and God he gave up his only son, he sent him into human history to live, suffer and die for nothing that he did wrong but for everything we ever did wrong.

“That whoever BELIEVES in him” – And all we have to do is believe. No special prayer. No clever ritual. Just believe. Put aside the issues we have created against God. Lay down our pride and our self-importance. Just believe that Jesus was who he said he was and that he died for us.

“Shall not perish but HAVE eternal life” – Then for that tiny step of faith we get to live forever in a place of absolute joy where all the negatives of this world are but a distant memory: Heaven.

Simple!

Then why do so many of us resist? Why do so many of us choose to ignore this simple invitation?

Each of us have our reasons (I did). I just hope and pray that your reasons are worth the risk you are taking. What if you ignore God’s invitation your entire life and then you miss the opportunity?

Have a chat to God tonight. Find a bible in your loft and dust it off. Look into this amazing invitation before it is too late.

It’s a decision I made even though it went against my better judgement but I don’t regret that decision for a second.

This was based on a message from Nothpoint Ministries‘ Go Fish! sermon series.

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“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” – John 3:14-15

Whenever I had read this verse in the past I had always glossed over the fact that Jesus compares himself to a snake. The snake in the bible is most famously used to portray Satan in the garden of Eden. This does not make the snake a good animal to compare yourself to.

So why does Jesus compare himself to a snake in this scripture?

First let’s understand which snake he is referring to:

“They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.” – Numbers 21:4-9

This is the snake Jesus is referring to and as soon as I read this passage my heart lept. This snake that Moses put on a pole was put there so that all who look upon it will be healed. Sound familiar?

Everytime Jesus talks about being “lifted up” he is referring to his death and resurrection (see also John 8:28 and John 12:32). So what he is alluding to is when Jesus is crucifed and dies for us, anyone who believes in him and “sees” him for who he truely is will be saved. Just like those that look at the snake will be healed.

I find parallels in the bible like this absolutely amazing. It always increases my faith when I see Jesus alluding to old testament passages which actually talk all about him. It’s amazing that if you read the old testament in light of Jesus it is revealed to say so much more. God is amazing!

This post was based on a talk by John Piper. To listen/read the whole talk visit desiringgod.com

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I thought I would start this series with a question about Jesus. This bloke that supposedly lived (and died) 2000 years ago, did he actually exist or is he just aanother character in this book called the Bible?

When I was an athiest I thought that the Bible was a fictional book full of myths and fables and this Jesus that everyone keeps going on about was just a character in one of the stories. So it came as quiet a surprise to me when I later discovered that actually no serious historian actually doubts that he was a real man that was crucified by Pilate 2000 years ago!

So what is the evidence for this? First off there is the Jewish historian Josephus. This man was a Godly man but not a follower of Christ. However, in one of his most famous passages from The Antiquities (A.D. 93) he describes Jesus as “a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man” who was crucified and who “on the third day he appeared [to those who loved him] restored to life”. To be fair, the authenticity of some of the more supernatural references in this passage are disputed by scholars but nobody doubts that the man Josephus was writing about was Jesus.

In A.D. 115, Tacitus (the most important Roman historian of the first century) wrote about how emperor Nero had persecuted the Christians as a scapegoat. Tacitus had referred to them as followers of the Christ who had “suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurator, Pontius Pilatus”. So while this passage does not refer to Jesus by name, it does refer to a man who was crucified by Pontius Pilate, from whom a the religious movement of “Christians” was borne.

On top of these there are also references to Jesus by Pliny the Younger and Suetonius, two more Roman historians.

The fact that authors and historians that were outside of Christianity confirm that Jesus was a real man that did exist and was crucified like the Bible says was really important to me. It meant that the option of him being a totally made up character was no longer an option and what that left me was to decide who he was instead.

If you want to know more why not read these Wikipedia articles: Josephus on Jesus and Tacitus on Jesus. Or if you would rather read a book written by a respected author I highly recommend The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.

Or if you would rather have the opportunity to discuss this with people why not find a local Alpha Course to go on where you can debate your issues with real people who probably have the exact same questions as you!

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I’ve been playing with the idea of launching a new series of posts for a while based on some of the questions I have had surrounding God and Christianity. It struck me what better time to kick it off than Easter, the day that Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus about 200 years ago.

I need to put in a disclaimer before I start this series though: I am not a theologian, I have not been to Bible college and I am not a great reader. However, I do tend to be naturally sceptical and if there is something I have trouble with I will do as much investigation as I feel necessary to come up with a suitable answer.

This means that everything I write in this series is solely my opinion so if anybody wants to question of criticize anything I write please be my guest; that’s what the comments are for!

Also, if anybody has a question of their own that they find is a real sticking point with them believing Christianity or is something you ignore in you walk with God as you just can’t get your head around it please ask it and I will attempt to share my opinion (and hopefully others will share theirs!)

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I stumbled across this article the other day. Basically, a man who kept getting fed up by his over-evangelistic work colleague decided to trip him up with a soul-searching dilemma. This dilemma pretty much comes down to the following question:

If given the opportunity, being present at the crucifixion and knowing what you know now, would you save [Jesus] from murder? If you knew you could succeed and assuming you love him as much as you claim, would you retrieve him from torture and death, or would you watch him suffer and expire in order to win your so-called salvation? Which is essentially a selfish act.

In the article the Christian walked away frustrated and baffled and the athiest had won a personal victory.

It got me wondering what I would say if asked the same question.

First off let’s deal with the practical issue of being able to save His life (and scupper God’s plans to save us all). If Jesus was who He said He was then He knew about everything that was goinf to happen to Him; from Judas’ betrayal to dying a painful death on a cross. If this is true then He would also know that I would go back in time to try and save Him.

If I was to succeed in saving His life then this was part of God’s plan and I was just playing my part, otherwise something would stop me in order for the events to play out exactly as God had planned.

However, this is not the purpose of the question the athiest is asking. He is trying to find out if a Christian would do “the right thing” and save Jesus if we could or if we would let Him die to save ourselves.

My answer to this question would be this: I would walk up to Jesus and ask Him if He wants me to save Him. As my Lord and King I would respect His answer and follow it. If He said yes then it is part of God’s plan and I am doing my part. If He said no (which is what I am certain He would have said) then I would watch Him make the ultimate sacrifice and bow at His feet in thanks.

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There is no doubting that Michael Bay is the unquestioned master of the dumb summer blockbuster. No-one can make a film as loud, stupid and entertaining as Michael Bay can. But his greatest achievement is not the over-ambitious Pearl Harbor, or the slick and cool Bad Boys or even the loud and disappointing Transformers. It was the loud, cool and ambitious Armageddon.

I love Armageddon. I think it is a great film. It is non-stop, action filled and most important of all: Lots of fun!!

It came at a time when Bruce Willis was reaching his peak (it was the year after Fifth Element and the year before The Sixth Sense) and starred a host of up and coming talent like Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler and Owen Wilson alongside the more established names of Billy Bob Thornton and Will Patton. It tore up the big screen with it’s loud explosions, cool characters and witty banter.

What surprised me the most when I was watching it (again) were the special effects or, more accurately, that I didn’t notice them. Even when I watch films that are only few years old I can’t help but notice how special effects have come on a long way and how dated they look but with Armageddon that thought didn’t occur to me. From the meteors hitting Earth to the scenes in space, the special effects just worked beautifully. They didn’t try anything too spectacular and just kept it simple but effective.

[Spolier Alert] So, I have to mention it: Was Bruce Willis’ character Harry meant to be a Jesus metaphor? The way he sacrificed his life not just for his friends and family but for all mankind; it does kind of point to what Jesus did on the cross. The big difference was that Harry’s sacrifice saved the physical world and allowed people to keep on living. What Jesus did was all about what happens after we die: He enabled us to live forever with God in heaven.

If you are looking for a light hearted, fun and enjoyable action film with lots of explosions and funny characters I highly recommend this film. If you are a sci-fi fan like me too then even better

[8/10]

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It is best to start my testimony with some history: I was not born a Christian. I did not attend church growing up and by the time I was a teenager I had come to the conclusion that religion was a dying fad and that science had virtually killed it. I was confident in evolution, the big bang and all the answers that modern science had provided. To me the stories in the bible were just that; stories. Jesus was just a man who was made up and written about in a book.

So how did all this change? You can read the history of where I came from on my About Me page but in summary, when I moved to Swindon as a student to work I met some Christians who were not at all what I expected. In my mind Christians sit in pews in a cold church and sing hymns like on Songs of Praise. Suddenly I was confronted with normal people who were funny, enjoyed life and weren’t at all odd. They just loved God and attended church every Sunday.

I still resisted though. The fact that I met some people that were normal didn’t change my mind about religion. But I went through some tough times at the end of my working year that got me asking questions. So, when I went back to university and found out that one of my best friends there was actually a Christian too I was very surprised! She invited me on something called an Alpha course that her church was going to be running and I thought “Why not?” I went on it and by the end I thought all my questions had been answered, I asked God for forgiveness and I considered myself a Christian. I got myself a bible and started to pray. The peace that came with this decision was quite remarkable but I still didn’t go to church or really change my ways very much.

Fast forward about a year and I was living in Swindon again and I still wasn’t attending church but my housemate Phil was. He started to run a football game on a Saturday and he would invite various people from his church along and through that I got to know a variety of new Christians.

When it was time for Phil to get baptised I thought I would attend and check it out. I made the decision there and then that no matter how weird it was I would continue to go back week after week. It wasn’t what I was expecting at all. The church was in a renevated warehouse, there were comfy chairs, not pews and the music was modern and kinda cool and not hymny at all!

I still struggled though. I came from a history of science and fact and this “blind faith” that I was working with didn’t suit me at all. It got to the point where I stopped attending church as I was finding it too confusing. Thankfully God was looking out for me and He put an idea in the minds of two people who are now very good friends of mine to invite me over for dinner to get to know me better. I ended up going round to see them every week for months. I would ask them lots of questions about God and religion and sometimes I would get frustrated and other times I must have frustrated them so much. I tried to trip them up and I think I had it in my mind that if I could convince them that they were wrong then I would have my answer. Thankfully I was never successful!

All these discussions were great and really helped but there were just some questions that couldn’t be answered or I wasn’t content with the answers I was given. I needed to know some facts. I am a scientist and I need to know solid facts about this story I was meant to be believing. There were far more than I was expecting to find: Jesus wasn’t just some character in a tale. He actually existed! Also the bible is considered a more reliable document than the writings of Plato and Homer!

So with these new facts at my disposal I was able to come to God and church with a fresh mind and renewed confidence. And the more I trusted in God the more He has blessed me and helped me along. I got baptised in 2007 and despite the occasional hiccup I’m moving on leaps and bounds with God all the time.

It wasn’t easy for me to be a Christian. My head was trying to stop me at every opportunity but in the end it was the facts that convinced me to trust in God with everything. I’m still a work in progress and I think I always will be but I now know I can trust God with everything. I just have to remember to walk in that and continue to grow under His direction.

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Google invite special guest speakers along to their campus occasionally to talk about anything and everything for about an hour. Recently an American pastor/author called Tim Keller went and spoke about his new book The Reasons for God. Apparently he managed to get the biggest audience Google have had for a talk and listening to it I can see why.

I highly recommend that you go and watch it at The Resurgance. It is about an hour long and you can probably skip the questions and answers session at the end as that wasn’t quite so good (a bunch of geeky Google employees try and trip him up).

My favourite bit is when he likenened God to Shakespeare. Here is my paraphrased version of what he said:

Expecting God to give us proof of His existence is like Hamlet looking for proof of Shakepeare’s existence in his play. Unless Shakespeare wrote some kind of proof into the play it won’t be there.

God did more than just write proof into His play though. He wrote Himself into it: Jesus!

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Lindsay has posted an interesting bible study on our needs and God’s riches on her website.

I think it is amazing how God seems to talk to us about something from so many places at the same time. My church preached on Sunday about God vs Gold and then last night I happened to listen to a couple of Northpoint sermons on money. And then today I read this bible study by my friend Lindsay saying almost the same thing again!

The challenge I feel God is setting for me is to re-evaluate what I am doing with my riches. God has given me all that I need and has blessed me with much more. But what should I do with the more? Should I be saving it for a rainy day like the rich man in Luke 12:13? According to Jesus no. We have this view that when God blesses us with extra it is for us when in fact it is for us to give to others.

The best explanation I have heard is to give first to God, then save and use the rest to live on. I feel challenged at the moment to work out what I need to live on and use the rest more wisely (i.e. no more DVDs that I don’t watch or books I never read) but to save some and use the rest for the glory of God. I also feel like I need to look at all the things I already have and work out how I can best leverage them for God (this could mean giving things away or maybe using them for a better purpose than gathering dust in my garage/loft).

When Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount he clearly says we should store up riches in heaven and not on earth (Matthew 6:19). Am I being a good steward of things here on earth? I think I could do better as I am storing up too many things for myself.

A Spirit-led rethink is needed I think!

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My friend Lindsay has just posted a very interesting bible study on hell based on Ezekiel 18:32. She was talking about who goes to hell and why but it got me thinking about what is hell?

I have always wondered about hell. My biblical knowledge isn’t exactly extensive but I don’t recall it ever being mentioned in the old testament anywhere. Nor heaven for that matter although this could be implied with the various people who got taken up to be with God.

With the coming of Jesus a new covenant was established and the “modern” ideas of heaven and hell were formed. Does this mean they didn’t exist before then? I don’t think so. So either there has always been a hell and God happily sent all his followers there without warning or hell is not exactly what we think it is.

I’m sure there are some passages in Revelation that explain that hell is a fiery and unpleasant place (understatement) but lets have a wander into theory for a second… I’ve always considered the fact that maybe hell is just the absence of God. Maybe hell is what I used to think of as death when I was an atheist: nothing. An eternity of darkness and nothingness without God.

This makes the whole resurrection thing make more sense in my head as Jesus coming back to life to live at God’s side doesn’t mean anything if you have to die to be in heaven. If death is death and you can only get to heaven by being alive again through resurrection then it makes more sense to me. In order to get to a fiery place called hell would mean having to be resurrected as well surely?

Now I’m sure I am very wrong in all of this and that there are lots of biblical verses to tell me as much. I think I need to go away and do a bit more research to learn more!

However the important thing is not what hell is, it is that there is one. If this is the case then it makes sense to me to find out what I need to do to not go there! I believe that this is a fairly simple job and can be done by just believing that Jesus was the son of God and that he died in order to forgive my sins and give me a clean slate before God.

if you are anything like me though then you’ll want to know as much as possible before you start believing something. Especially something with such a negative image like it has today!

I advise everyone who is not already a Christian to do a little bit of research on what could be the most important decision in your life. If what happened 2000 years ago on a cross was for real (and I have come to the conclusion it was based on lots of compelling historical evidence) you owe it yourselves to discard whatever preconceptions you have about religion and try and find out a little more.

One way to do this is through books but the easier way is through an Alpha course. This is a 13 week course that goes through the basics of Christianity. I went on it when I was still an atheist and it is a great course as they don’t preach at you and try and convert you. They let you be as stubborn and negative as you want. They are only interested in giving everyone a chance to make up their own mind.

My church is running a course at the end of September. More details will be coming soon but in the meantime if you are in the Swindon area and interested in finding out more let them know. I’ll put up another post in the near future as the details become available.

For those of you not in the Swindon area then don’t worry as there are Alpha courses running all over the country. Have a look at http://uk.alpha.org/findacourse to find your nearest event.

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