Jonathan's Perspective on Forgiveness

The definition of forgiveness could be: A glorious thing that has been given to us through Jesus that cannot stop with us.

I'm going to get straight to the point.  It is very natural to want to hold onto a grudge.  From personal experience I know it is all too easy to stay mad at a person, rehearsing what they did to you over and over again in your mind.  We somehow think that we are getting back at them by doing this, but we are only hurting ourselves.

Along with this practical reason to forgive, a parable told by Jesus gives a v powerful message regarding the vital importance of forgiveness at it relates to out relationship with God .

Pay attention to the character who we can compare to God and the one we can compare to ourselves.

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him.  Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 

At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’  The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.   He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 

His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ 

But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.  When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. 

Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’" (Matthew 18:23‭-‬33)‬‬

Let's break the parable down.  The master is God and the ungrateful servant is someone walking in unforgiveness. The tragedy of the story is that this servant was so filled with pride that he failed to realize the need for him to show mercy as his master had.  The sum of ten thousand bags of gold is representative of the overwhelming weight of our sin that we could never hope to compensate for.  The far lesser amount of the silver coins is indicative of a slight or wrongdoing committed against someone.

The main point of the parable is that we, as Christians cannot in our right minds go around holding grudges against people in view of how completely God has forgiven us.  Our Father in heaven detests sin, and yet has chosen to lavish undeserved grace on us.

Furthermore, God expects us to show the same kind of mercy he has shown us, even when something far greater than a slight or betrayal has been committed against us.  How might we do this?  In our power?  No.  Only with God's help.

I know of no better example of what God can help us to forgive than the story behind Matthew West's song titled Forgiveness.  It was part of an album where every song was based on true stories submitted to Matthew by listeners.  The story behind each song was powerful and covered with God's fingerprints, but the one that really blew me away was the inspiration behind Forgiveness.

It is the story of a woman named Renee and a young man called Eric.  Renee had four children, two of them twins.  One of the twins named Rachael was driving home from the beach with her best friend one day when her car was struck by a drunk driver.  That drunk driver was Eric, only 24 years old at the time.  Rachael and her friend did not survive and Renee's life was never the same.

After coping with this horrific loss through her Christian faith and church family, Renee felt strongly led to go around to churches to speak about the dangers of drunk driving.  She did this for 8 years or so before the Lord put something else on her heart.  God told her, "You still have not forgiven Eric."  It would be very easy to say, "Why would God ever expect her to do that?"  When you read the incredible end of the story, you will know exactly why.

After wrestling with this for a time, Renee decided to let go of her bitterness and allow God to help her forgive Eric.  So, in an amazing act of trust in God she reached out to Eric in prison.  Then, in a meeting that could only have been God-ordained, Renee visited Eric in prison and said, "I forgive you."  This short sentence had a profound impact on Eric.  He would later say, "I couldn't even forgive myself, and she forgave me."  In experiencing Renee's astounding act of forgiveness, Eric could see the kind of love Jesus offered him.  He accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior, forever transforming his eternal destiny.

Eventually all of Renee's family members would express their own forgiveness.  Tears would stream down Eric's face every time.  But the story does not stop there.  Renee approached a judge to have Eric's sentence of 22 years in prison reduced!  Yes,  you read that right.  Stunned by the request, the Judge nonetheless agreed and Eric's sentence was cut in half.  He was released in November of 2012.  Soon after, he appeared at a series of Matthew West concerts alongside Renee, one of which I had the privilege to attend.  I wil never forget that night.

Since then, Eric has joined Renee many times in her presentations about drunk driving, adding the beauty of an incredible story of forgiveness to an already moving call to avoid driving under the influence.  All of this made possible by an act of forgiveness.

Now, not all of us will be called to forgive something so substantial, but this true story should remind us that God offers forgiveness to everyone, no matter how sinful they are.  I am thankful for this fact.

Let us remember that before we knew Christ we were all in the same position: in danger of judgment from God.  In reality, no sinner is really that different in the eyes of God.  In view of that, we should all be able to say, as Paul did, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I am the worst of them all."
(1 Timothy 1:15 NLT)

We as Christians are all called to be like Christ.  With His help, each and every one of us have the power to display a depth of forgiveness that Jesus himself demonstrated on the Cross.  Even when he was being executed unjustly by evil men, he said, "Forgive them, Father.  They do not know what they are doing."

So let us run unhindered by any grudges or bitterness in our hearts, ready to vibrantly display the love that God through Jesus has shown us!

Jonathan's Perspective on Perseverance

Perseverance is one of those words that can be framed.  You know, beneath a picture of a climber ascending a mountain along with an inspiring quote.  But, at least for me, seeing that has served to remind me how difficult it is to persevere.  Living with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy is no walk in the park and lately it has felt like an endurance race up the side of a mountain.

I need more than an inspiring quote to keep on living and not give up.  I need the strength and comfort found in the verses of the Bible.  Thanks to a reading plan on the YouVersion Bible App, which I highly recommend, I read Hebrews chapter 10, and boy is that chock full of encouragement to persevere!  It's not often I'll spend a post solely in one chaper, but this time it's a must.

The first part of the chapter concerns the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice for us and provides the foundation for the encouraging words of this chapter.

Let's begin with verses 11-14.  "Day after day every [Hebrew] priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest [Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy."

Let us remember that before Christ came, the priest would have to kill a healthy, unblemished animal and shed it's blood to atone for a person's sins.  This was always going to be a temporary fix and it's greatest value was that it gave a preview to what Jesus would do for us on the Cross.  The amazing thing about His perfect sacrifice was that once was enough!  The meaning of Him being seated next to God is that his task of providing a means of atonement for the sins of mankind is complete.  And someday soon He will completely destroy sin and death, perfecting the bodies and souls of believers before ushering them into his glorious, eternal Kingdom.

However, believers will receive that amazingly awesome reward only IF they persevere.  Yes, you heard me right.  "Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." (Hebrews 10:35‭-‬36) Only runners that finish a race receive a prize, right?  What you find two verses later presents an even more striking edict to persevere.  "My righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”  I certainly want to be pleasing to God, don't you?!

Earlier in the chapter, God provides us with the fuel to power us through any weighty challenge that tempts us to abandon our faith.  This is a great danger and the Bible gives us just what we need to avoid it.

"Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus ... and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."
(Hebrews 10:19‭, ‬21‭-‬23)

There's quite of lot of encouragement there!  Let's unpack the rich spiritual truths within.

First, this passage is saying that we can have confidence to be able to enter into the very presence of God because of one thing and one thing only.  Is it our own good works?   Certainly not!  The blood of Jesus, which he shed willingly, purifies us from all sin so that we can have a loving
relationship with a God who detests sin.  This is amazing to me no matter how many times I think about it.  Such undeserved grace!

Not only that, but we have a Jesus acting as our High Priest, interceding for us before the throne of God the Father.  Knowing this, we should let God's love wash away our guilty conscience.  If the Word of God says we shouldn't hold onto shame over our past sins, then let's abandon it!  But remember the end goal of God is to completely purify our hearts, so we should focus on living a holy life and not falling back into sin.

So, as the passage says, let us charge ahead, knowing that God will be faithful to fulfill every promise He has ever made.  And He has made some awesome promises, like giving us an opportunity to one day live a joyful and eternal life with Him in a place more beautiful than anyone can imagine!  Anything this corrupted world offers looks utterly worthless in the light of this future.

Although challenges and trials may come, nothing should deter us from walking the path of this life with boldness, knowing our Lord and Savior is behind us every step of the way.  I know Jesus will help me climb every mountain and pass through every valley that stands between me and Heaven.

"Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57)  What could ever stop us now?

Jonathan's Perspective on Worship

Worship is something that should be integral in the life of a believer.  It is a gift and a privilege to be able to worship God, to have discovered how wonderful He truly is.  So many people are blind to the reality of God and the love He has shown to all of mankind through sending Jesus to bear the penalty for our sins.  But through the grace of God we have been brought into the fold and can worship God in the “splendor of His Holiness” as Psalms 96:9 describes.    

I think it is important to know the meaning of that phrase.  I believe it has a lot to do with the condition of our souls.  Before our souls have been cleansed through the blood of Jesus we are unable to enter His presence.  God detests sin and those whose hearts are infected by it and so cannot abide us in His presence.  And being separated from God is a terrible place to be because He is the source of all light and goodness in the universe.  

But praise be to the Lord for His grace, for He has called us to Himself through the passionate pursuit of our souls.  He has revealed to us the power of His Son Jesus to grant us a type of relationship with Him we have always needed: an intimate, loving one.  Now, we can enter into the very presence of God and discover all His wonders.  We can now sing that “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him” (Psalms 28:7).

This joy will never fade away.  It is based in our salvation which is eternally secure in Christ Jesus.  With that knowledge we too can agree with what is written in Psalms 13:5: “I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.”

There are so many great Christian worship songs that beautifully express the boundless joy we can experience when we remind ourselves how great our God is.  We should worship not only on Sundays but throughout the week.  If you have not made a habit of it yet, put forth effort to listen to Christian music everyday, whether its through an iPod, the CD player in your car, or even on the radio.  We deny ourselves much if we neglect this wellspring of joy that God has provided us to help us through the rigors of this life.

David sums it up best:
“I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.  I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High … LORD, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death, that I may declare your praises in the gates of Daughter Zion, and there rejoice in your salvation” (Psalms 9:1-2, 13-14).  We have been rescued from the gates of spiritual death and given eternal life!  Praise be to God!

However, true worship goes much further than singing.  It involves not only words but action.   As the Apostle Paul so eloquently stated, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1).  Later in the New Testament, James reiterates that point when he writes “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).  Worship should lead us to give concerted effort to ensure we are not being polluted by all the worldly passions and pursuits that can so easily steer us in the wrong direction.  The only way to effectively keep ourselves on the straight and narrow is to make a decision at the start of every day to surrender ourselves fully to God.

When we do this, we open ourselves up to be used by God to accomplish great things in this world.  In Titus 3:14 it says that “people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives.”  There is a no more wasteful life than one spent occupied only with selfish desires.  When we look to the needs of others, we can be productive in our service to God and have a meaningful impact on those around us.  It can all start from a simple place of being kind and hospitable to others.  Learning to do this with a friendly attitude is of the utmost importance.  “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9).

One verse later, Peter adds to this by saying that “each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms.”  We all have talents and abilities we have being blessed with by God and He expects us to use them to benefit those we come into contact with.  Being generous with our time is a fantastic place to begin.  Maybe someone you know needs help with a particular task you are skilled in doing.  Don't hesitate to offer your help.  Additionally, be on the lookout for worthy causes that you can donate to, showing God that you are a good steward of the monetary resources He has blessed you with.

Through every sacrifice you make, remember that “God is not unjust.  He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so” (Hebrews 6:10 HCSB).  Along with assisting fellow Christians, it is absolutely imperative that we share the love of Christ while we provide for the needs of unbelievers.  Souls in danger of being eternally separated from God are all around us! Our Lord showers us with an abundance of blessings with the express purpose that we use it in the pursuit of a harvest of souls.  Let us not be found wanting when it comes to using what we have to bring others to Christ.

So remember that true heartfelt worship will inevitably cause us to move our hands and feet and improve the lives of people God has placed in our paths.  I leave you with this instruction: “Learn to do right; seek justice.  Defend the oppressed.  Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:17).



(All verses are taken from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise specified.)

Jonathan's Perspective on Patience

Patience: “A virtue sorely lacking in our world today” would be a fitting definition in the dictionary.  The very nature of our society today makes it very difficult to be patient.  We have appointments and places to get to everyday and traffic to deal with in between.  The speed of the internet and the design of social media create a desire in us to get what we want and fast!  The dark side to all of this is a tendency for impatience to rear its ugly head at a moment's notice, only serving to stress us out and causing our behavior to be a nuisance to others.  There are too many other negative things happening in our world today for us to ignore this detrimental sin.

But for us to truly want to tackle the challenge of becoming more patient, we must understand how important patience really is.  I believe that patience is one the most important fruits of the Spirit, second only to love.  The reason: Life itself contains many periods of waiting.  When a child goes through the lengthy process of education, they must wait as they are taught necessary rules and knowledge before they can venture out into the big, wide world.  Workers in all fields must labor at their jobs until they gain the experience and expertise to be promoted.  And I must wait as the Lord accomplishes my physical healing in His timing.

As much as we want to wish it away, we must wait for good things to happen.  I know that as a Christian, God uses this difficult process of waiting to sanctify us.  Sanctification is the sometimes uncomfortable way in which God endeavors to remove imperfections in our behavior.  From past experience, I know that God is good and has our best interests at heart.  And since that is true, I know the end result of sanctification will be a great blessing to us.  Furthermore, this process will be a lot easier if we are patient.

But what is the biblical basis for all of this?  Well, it begins in the book of Psalms, a large book of Hebrew poetry written mainly by King David.  Psalms 33:4-5 says, “For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.  The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.”

God is the Righteous One, full of truth and justice.  He will never treat the human race unfairly. Plus, the fact that He came to the Earth in lowly, human form to die on a cross for our sins proves that He is not only just but also more than willing to extend undeserved grace to us all.  This gives us hope in all circumstances that God will work things out in the end, just as Jeremiah did even as Israel was being destroyed.  “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:  Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’  The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:21‭-‬26).‬‬‬

And during every step of our journey through life as Christians, God guides us, strengthens us, and blesses us.   Psalms 119:105 tells us, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”  This oft-quoted verse reminds us that God’s Word, the Bible, contains all the knowledge and wisdom we need to live a holy life.  Twenty chapters later, we find an even greater promise.  “You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!” (Psalms 139:5‭-‬6 NLT).
‬‬‬
You might say, “That's all well and good, but if God is so trustworthy, why wouldn't he choose an easier road by which to sanctify us.”  That thought, which I've had many times myself, brings up a necessary point that God described to the prophet Isaiah long ago.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).  Hard to swallow, isn't it?  We can never truly know why God has led us down the bumpy road we're on, but the fact is that this is the only path there is.  The sooner we come to grips with that fact, the better.

It is vital to remember the words Jesus Himself once said.  “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).  Jesus never said he wouldn't lead us through hard times; in fact, at another time, He said that we would have troubles in world.  But in pursuit of the ETERNAL life He wants to give us, temporary problems pale in comparison.

All the while, Jesus instructs us to not worry, a skill that is necessary to learn if we are to be patient.  “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.  Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?’” (Luke 12:22‭-‬25).  Worry and impatience are inextricably linked together.  If we worry, we can easily become impatient.  If one becomes impatient, worry is not far behind.  We must combat our tendency to worry if we want to become patient people.‬‬‬

The answer as to how to do that is simple.  It all starts with prayer.  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6‭-‬7).  If we remember to present our requests to God in prayer right when we are tempted to worry, we give ourselves a mighty advantage in our daily battle against impatience.  God is on our side and is always ready to give us just what we need to weather the storms of this life, whether large or small.
‬‬‬
Whenever a challenge presents itself in our lives and we are tempted to think, “How am I ever going to get through this?” we can look to Jesus for the right response.  “‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered" (Mark 11:22).  God will make everything right in the end, and we will be a lot less stressed if we are patient while He accomplishes his perfect and pleasing will.  Knowing this, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1‭b-‬2).  Jesus overcame the pain of the cross and is ready to give us the power to overcome the difficulties in our lives if we will just trust Him.  So, as much as possible, let us learn to relinquish our desire to control every single area of our lives and let God handle things.  Although no easy task, this choice to give God control will develop in us the deep-rooted ability to be patient.  ‬‬‬

Every time we learn to trust God in a new area of our lives, we take one more step toward being able to make a declaration that all true believers long to make.  "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).

So the next time you are stuck in traffic, turn on some Christian music and remember God is in control.  When you get sick or face health issues, rest in the knowledge that God is with you.  And the next time a major challenge confronts you, hold fast to the assurance that God is working everything for your good.

All verses are taken from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise specified. 

Jonathan's Perspective on the Reality of God

Recently, I've been going through a lot of health challenges that really tested my faith in God.  But God is helping me through by staying with me through my doubts and also by providing some wise counsel from one of the pastors at my church, Sammie Brooks.  He encouraged me to write out the reasons for my faith and I am endeavoring to do just that.

If I were to talk with anyone about why I believe in God, I would have to start with the evidence in nature.  The Earth is wonderfully made, situated the perfect distance from the sun traveling at thousands of miles per hour in a precise orbit.  All the animals on the Earth are complex creations, designed with specialized body structure and organs that could not have evolved slowly over millions of years.  On the underside of a tiny insect called the leafhopper nymph are microscopic structures that look very much like gears, containing “teeth” that range in height from just 15 to 30 millionths of a meter.  

These gears mesh together to keep the nymph’s rear legs synchronized for an impressively powerful leap.  For something so complex to be found in a living creature disproves evolutionary theory that suggests that slow change over time accounts for the huge amount of diversity in the animal kingdom.  The legs and the gears that connect them would have had to evolve at exactly the same time, a possibility that is simply too far-fetched to believe.

Even more complex is the nervous system of the human body. "The individual neuron is only a small component in the interconnected circuitry of the nervous system.  Information scientist Dr. Werner Gitt said, ‘If it were possible to describe [the nervous system] as a circuit diagram, [with each neuron] represented by a single pinhead, such a circuit diagram would require an area of several square kilometers … [it would be] several hundred times more complex than the entire global telephone network.’” (1)

And even the daily occurrence of a sunset reveals a beauty that could only have come from a loving God.

The reason I say this with such confidence is that there are the powerful examples of how God has proved his existence and love for humanity in the past.  He inspired faithful men in Israel to write books of prophecies, which archaeology has proven were written long before the time of Christ.   

So, let us explore just a few of the wealth of Messianic prophecies. The details of what the Messiah would be called is a good place to start.

Psalm 2:7:  “I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:  ‘He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.’”

Psalm 2:11-12:  “Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.  Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.  Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.”

Gabriel's announcement to Mary in Luke 1 makes it abundantly clear that Jesus would be the “Son” that David wrote about in Psalm 2 and many others. “‘You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end’” (Luke 1:31-33).

More significantly, two seemingly conflicting prophecies about Jesus' birth both come to pass.

Hosea 11:1 says, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2).

I'm sure Jewish people who lived before the birth of Jesus thought: “How can the Messiah be born in Bethlehem, come out of Egypt and somehow be called a Nazarene?”

From our knowledge now, we know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem before Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Egypt to flee the wrath of King Herod, events described in Matthew 2.  In the final section of that chapter, an angel of the Lord told Joseph that was now safe to return to Israel.  Joseph returned to Israel and settled in the town of Nazareth, which was why Jesus was called a Nazarene.  God definitely brought all the details together in an exciting and complex way. 

Even more eye-catching prophecies and their fulfillment surround Jesus' death and resurrection from the dead.  For me, the wondrous nature of these prophecies begins in the facts of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples.

Zechariah 11:12-13 contains a prophecy that seems ambiguous at first:  “I told them, ‘If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.’ So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.  And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’—the handsome price at which they valued me!  So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.”

This was amazingly fulfilled when Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver and the following details in Matthew 27 provide an obvious connection to the passage in Zechariah.  "When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.  ‘I have sinned,’ he said, ‘for I have betrayed innocent blood.’  ‘What is that to us?’ they replied. ‘That’s your responsibility.’  So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.  The chief priests picked up the coins and said, ‘It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.’  So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners” (Matthew 27:3‭-‬7).

The chief priests ended up purchasing a potter's field!  What are the odds of that?!  This was obviously no coincidence; God was orchestrating things to prove his reality.

The most important prophecy, however, has to be the one found in Isaiah 53:10-11:  “Yet it was the Lord ’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.  After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”

These two verses provide hope for all of mankind. If we are honest with ourselves, we all can admit that we have sinned against God. Even a cursory reading of the Ten Commandments makes it obvious that we have broken God's Law and fall far short of his glory.  We need our sins to be forgiven and cleansed to have a relationship with God and to experience his blessings rather than his wrath.  And we have evidence that Jesus indeed rose from the dead, a glorious event that gives witness to the fact that he accomplished the mission God sent Him to do, redeeming everyone who trusts in Him.  

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord” (John 20: 19-20).

Can you imagine the depth of joy the disciples felt?!  I can certainly relate.  The hope I have in this life emanates from the fact that Jesus is alive!

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

Jesus then charged his disciples and those who came after them with the task of spreading the message around the world that all those who trust in Him would be saved.

‬‬‬‬

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20).

If you look at the past 2,000 years of history you will find many examples that Jesus had indeed been with his followers, inspiring acts of astounding faith displayed by brave men and women alike. Although some claiming to be Christians have let their sinful nature get in the way of the spread of the Gospel, countless true believers have braved danger, torture, and even death to remain faithful to God and their mission to bear witness for Christ across the world.  Even today, as persecution of Christians has risen dramatically over the last 100 years, stories of amazing bravery and commitment to the Gospel are becoming as plentiful as wildflowers in a meadow.  

Richard Wurmbrand endured years of torture in a Communist prison for his Christian faith, yet never abandoned his faith in Jesus.  After his release, he went on to found an organization that would eventually be called Voice of the Martyrs, a truly incredible organizations that comes to the aid of persecuted Christians all over the world.   God used something that would destroy most men to shape Richard into a man who could change the world.

Even more counter-intuitive is the growth of the number of Christians in countries where governments try to violently suppress Christianity.  In Nigeria, China, and even the hellish land of North Korea, the Christian church continues to survive and, in some cases, even thrive.  Something so miraculous could only happen if Someone supernatural was at work.  Isn't this proof enough that Jesus is who He said He is:  the Savior of the World?

And so recounting all of these things has reinvigorated my faith.  If you are a believer then I hope reading this has strengthened your faith, but if not, I pray my words would awake a desire in you to discover the amazingly loving God that I know.

References

1. www.answersingenesis.org

All verses are taken from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise specified.