Lets Talk About Character

What is character? How does character apply to God?

Character is basically a large compilation of all different traits that make up the being or personality of a noun.

So in Philippians 2:6-11 Paul talks a little about how awesome God's character actually is. It's simple, to the point, it's powerful.

"Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross! (which was considered to be a sign of being cursed during that time period) Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Look at God's character. Marvel in it. Meditate on it. Then embrace it. He made himself a man, perfect, upright and true, and then died a sinner's (cursed sinner at that) death for us. He didn't just die, he TOOK ON death itself so that we might spend eternity with Him. How hard is it to accept the love of the almighty God? It should be the only decision you ever make without a seconds thought.

Now, don't get me wrong...It took me years, but oh how amazing those years would have been with Him by my side. So now we must live every day as if He were standing right next to us, walking, guiding, and talking to us so that we can do the will of the Father.

A friend once told me to look at all of your decisions like this, "If Jesus were standing next to you while you were deciding whether to do something or not...Would you still do it? Because if the answer is no, or even has the possibility of no, you probably shouldn't do it."

Possibility Vs. Plausibilty: End all Faith Defense

Possible is defined on dictionary.com as "1: That may or can be, exist, happen, be done, be used etc. 2: That may be true or may be the case, as something concerning which one has no knowledge to the contrary."
Plausible is defined on dictionary.com as "having an appearance of truth or reason; seemingly worthy of approval or acceptance; credible; believable."

Here's the end all defense of your faith. Nothing more need be said as long as you live. You completely place the decision, evidence, and reality of the situation on them.

In the realm of our human reality exists the term "possibility" which was defined above (the state of being possible). The truth of our world is ANYTHING, yes anything, any human asserts no matter how absurd is immediately granted the status of "possible". This is not an arguable statement; it's a fact. Everything any man suggests is possible, however, that doesn't make it true, simply possible. Yes, even Zeus living on top of Mt. Olympus was/is indeed "possible", but is it plausible? Is it seemingly worthy of acceptance? Some say yes, others no, but the fact remains it is still possible.

So any atheist must then consider the fact that Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. are possible, period. No matter what any of them or myself say, it's possible one is right simply on the merits of the fact that their opinion exists. Either atheists are right and nothing happens when we die, or they are wrong and something from some other religion happens, period. Someone WILL BE right. When philosophers claim that truth is relative, all philosophies have value, this is the true meaning of the statement they make, regardless of what is suggest of the phrase. This is the only form of relative truth or equivalent "value" that can be assigned to all philosophies. Unfortunately, all are possible, but not all are true. They can't be, and here's why.

The fact is all philosophies are not equivalent, and can not be due to extreme variations is their beliefs or VALUES. They are impossible to be valued the same because their VALUES are completely opposite. The opinion of equal relevance is simply a shield attempting to hide from the truth of the situation. Things can not be equivalent in terms of value if their values aren't the same. That's pretty self-explanatory if you ask me. So when philosophers say all things have equal value or merit...It's only true from one perspective, and the least important of them at that, possibility. Every philosophy book needs to be written and establish this philosophical truth: Possibility is the only relative truth in our reality, however, that's not the end all result of philosophy. You have to dig deeper, and that's when the "truth is relative" theory falls apart at the seams. All are possible, but not all are right, valued, true. They can't be because they clearly contradict each other.

The next step after proving the concept of possibility is then asking the key question: Why don't you want to believe in a religion?

This is completely valid, and don't let them convince you otherwise. There is a reason they don't want to believe in something no matter how insignificant it may be. The reason atheists don't want to believe in a religion is because they then have consequences, period. If they acknowledge a religion they are then punished for their actions according to whichever religion ends up being true, however, the problem with this theory is: all religions are possible, and they therefore MAY BE held accountable for their actions. Their desire for an opposite truth doesn't change the reality of possibility or truth. If we're right, regardless of what they wanted, we're right.

Next for someone who believes in a religion but not Christianity the question for them is: Why don't you want to believe in Christianity? There is a reason they don't want to whether it be they think it's wrong, they don't want to be disowned by their family, etc. but there IS a reason. The beauty of this is that our ability to question them about their religion is totally validated through science and historical evidence as well. We may not have PROVED our beliefs, but we have more evidence than any other religion, outside of atheism simply because their evidence isn't placed in any stock therefore they can use everything we have they just don't acknowledge what it actually points to. We don't need to defend ourselves, we have the greatest attack of all, bone crushing evidence completely and utterly in our favor. I'm not talking about some minor little piece here, little piece there; we have ULTIMATE evidence. More than any historical document of all time times 10 or something. Over 15000 valid documents backing up the New Testament compared to 643 (the next closest) for Homer's lliad. The burden of proof isn't on us, it's on them, period.

Here's the second question: What harm would come from believing in Christianity? At the very least, what bad would possibly come from following the God of the Bible?

See this is the truth: Regardless of what any atheist will say, the only "negative" thing that comes from following the Word of God is they can't keep living in their life of sin. That's it. If they were to follow the Christian faith, they would be an ultra effective force on this earth for good AND they would have an eternal security blanket backed by more evidence and real people testimonies than any other religion on earth in Jesus Christ. Only good can come from turning to the faith in God. However, they can't go on sinning which they don't like. So then the ball is in their court. You've proved to them that, like it or not, your argument (Christianity) IS possible, and not only that, it's the most plausible viewpoint in all of our existence. It covers all of its bases and benefits the world more than any other and insures your eternal security also. What's not to like? No more sinning for 60 years, purposely anyway; what a bummer.

Now here's the trick. They WILL, without a doubt, pull one of any number of things to try and trip you up with theology and philosophy, and this would be the only one I recommend addressing. "Well, if God exists then why free will? He damns people to hell with it." Then in the infinite wisdom God has given us through His word we say, "I have supplied you with all the information you would ever need to take advantage of your free will. Your acknowledgment of the concept of free will is the perfect and complete demonstration of your free will." It's flawless. They may not like it, and they will throw more philosophical, elegant, fancy language at you, but you hold the truth. They will know it too. You hold the truth from the Word of God, and you have just dropped it in their lap; now it's up to them.Luckily, you have already addressed their philosophical arguments they are about to throw at you with the philosophical fact of possibility. They then have been equipped with all the tools to utilize their free will. Should they decided to capitalize on it, share the Gospel. If not they have completely exercised their free will, and you have succeeded in planting a seed by the living waters of Christ. They have defined, before you, God, and themselves, the very definition of free will, and don't hesitate to let them know this. God brought His existence into the realm of possibility, made it plausible by supporting it better than any other piece of literature in all of existence, and then gave us the right to choose it or ignore what's right in front of us. If that's not free will...I don't know what is.

The last thing I want to say is if they start talking about how you are shoving your religion down their throat say, "Trust me...If you believed you were going where I believed you were...You'd be trying to save yourself too. I think this shows how much I truly care about you. I'm willing to take time out of my day to do what I believe to be right for your benefit, not mine." It's important that they realize that you are doing this not to "shove it down their throats" but because you now the severity of the punishment if they are wrong and you are right. Demonstrate your love through the truth. Jesus said that we should "tell the truth, but season it with love." Always speak truth, but seasoned graciously with love.

I hope this helps you stand even more firm in your faith.

Officials Swear in on the Bible

Today I was watching "Law Abiding Citizen" when I realized something interesting. In the movie Jamie Fox gets sworn in as the new District Attorney, and as this process begins, the mayor tells him to go get the Bible off the shelf. He then proceeds to make an oath to do this and that, work for justice, etc. My question is: If this country is not founded on Christian beliefs, if there is a separation of church and state, why the oath on the Bible? This country is not just jogging away from its beginnings, it is fleeing from them as fast as its giant, nuclear, God persecuting legs can take them. Why do even movies recognize this fact, but us, the American people, do not? This gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't believe how messed up and uprooted this country has become...We're so out of touch with our roots that even Hollywood knows them better than the average "intellectual". That's sad...Hollywood getting something right when its countries leaders can't. That's the definition of sad. When Hollywood is on track more so than our leaders our country is in some serious trouble.

Why do those put into positions of authority have to swear on the Bible, but we as the American public deny our identity so passionately? This is discouraging and encouraging to me at the same time. It upsets me because that's how lost we really are, but it encourages me because it lets me know how badly the world truly needs to hear its message again. When our Nation collapses, where is the first place people flock to? God and Prayer. Always, and every time. We should live as though our nation is falling apart at the seems every day because without God, it is.

So lets get back to our roots America because a Godless nation is a broken nation. The closer we get to abolishing God from our country, the further down the whole we sink. It's time to recognize it, and beg Him for forgiveness so we can be dug out.

Try and Imagine

I want you to think of the most bizarre, up-side-down, backwards, "inconceivable" world of fantasy you can come up with. Okay, now...How much of it is still a concept fully functioning under the same basic laws and functions of our current state, simply exaggerated? When we realize that our minds are only able to grasp things inside of our own limitations we realize we can only exaggerate the concepts of our reality. We can only fantasize, however, the God that we all talk about is something so beyond our comprehension unless He were to make Himself known to someone in the past there would be no way for us to theorize about Him because of our limited capabilities. God, someone who operates completely and utterly outside of our physical realm, is so beyond our minds' ability, is so beyond our minds' ability that unless someone had a concrete experience with Him, not only would it be unlikely, it would actually be impossible. Humans could not create concepts as utterly confounding and preposterous as God if no one had ever experienced God for themselves. He is even beyond an exaggeration of our existence, the concept of God is the EPITOME of it.

The definition of epitome according to dictionary.com is "a person or thing that is typical of or possesses to a high degree the features of a whole class: He is the epitome of goodness." Synonyms are : embodiment, exemplification, model, typification, quintessence. He is so beyond an exaggeration which is all we are capable of doing as humans that we are cognitively incapable of inventing something so irrational. Someone HAD to have experienced Him or been created with the knowledge that He existed right from the get go. There are only two options. God is the epitome of our existence which is beyond our comprehension, and as you see our minds can only function in the governing realms that we are exposed to and never beyond those. We are forced to limit a concept so immense and great as God, to our mere mortal and limited capacity. Even God had the perfect words to describe Himself, for as humans we can't describe Him eloquently. He said to Moses, "Say, 'I Am has sent you." What more perfectly simplistic way to word the epitome of our existence as "I Am". "I Am who I Am." "Before Moses and Elijah, I Am." Not was, not will be, not currently am...Always was, forever will be, currently am. It's an all time encompassing statement. Forever and for always in both time directions "I Am". That is God, beyond our imagination, beyond our words, beyond everything we are. He is nothing more, yet everything more, than "I Am".

The Test of Life

Today I was listening to the Bob Dutko show while he was arguing with a man named Dave Neimi (or something) who is the President of the American Humanist Society. They got into a huge debate about God and all of the exceedingly exciting conversations that build from such debates. This is when the perfect example dawned on me.

Okay, regardless of what they believe or others believe, what truth is, what lies are...According to our beliefs, and the beliefs of almost all other religions, there is something after life. Call it eternity, call it heaven, call it nothing...Call it whatever you would like. Okay, no LIVING human being has proof, and therefore doesn't KNOW, for certain, whether there is something beyond our lives; whether there will be eternity or heaven, we don't actually have PROOF of. However, I want you to look at it this way. The fact of the matter is, beliefs DO exist. Like it or not, there are people that have beliefs in eternity, right from wrong, punishment, etc. So if these beliefs exist we have to come to the understanding that, regardless of possibility, all of these beliefs have been granted, even in the smallest degree, possibility. So now that these beliefs have been presented you sit back and say, "Okay, these have now been granted the characteristics of possibility, whether I like it or not, they are now possible. So now, which one, if any, is the most likely or is backed up the most effectively by what we have proven and know to be true." This is the unfortunate reality of everything. I don't care what any of you think. The fact is, even the ancient beliefs in Zeus, Hercules, Hera, etc. are POSSIBLE, but how PLAUSIBLE are they? I will not say, "They are not possible," unless I find that another belief to be true. All religions are possible due to them having been brought into existence, however, which is the most likely to be true. From here comes my comparison.

In high school, each and every person who went through it had a teacher who said these words: "Even if you don't know the answer, put something down. It's better to try and get it wrong than it is to leave it blank." Okay, now this needs to be addressed. According to my beliefs there is no partial credit, there is a "right" answer and a "wrong" answer, but I think it's easy to understand what I'm getting at. The fact of the matter is, like it or not (a phrase I use because I don't care what you like...I care about what is true and beneficial for you to hear), because there have been beliefs brought into the spectrum of our reality we now are obligated to look at them once we become aware of them to put them to our limited, human tests.

First off, I think we can all agree that tests are a relatively decent form of judging what you have learned, experienced, etc. otherwise I doubt almost all schools in the world would issue them. So if we can agree that tests are a form of judging what we think we know against what is actually known then we are making progress. There are "right" and "wrong" answers to tests. We know this because, as we all have found out, in school if you put the wrong answer down...You get it wrong. If you leave it blank, you get it wrong. They don't say, "Oh you don't know...That's okay. I gave it to you because I can't punish you for not even trying. Even though I spent the past several weeks showing, proving, demonstrating, and teaching you this information, I'm not going to hold you accountable for it because you don't care enough to try or pay attention." Pretty basic concept. We have all experienced this.

Okay so here's the point. Life is a test. We live, we believe what we do matters, and when we die, we go into it not knowing, for certain, what it will yield. However, regardless of our lack of understanding or knowledge, there will be a test when we die. What will happen, where will we go, what will come? You don't know, others don't know, even I don't KNOW, but we all go into this journey with faith. I have faith I'm right, atheists have faith they're right (even though they deny it), and everyone else goes into this new found experience with faith. Here's the question: When you die...Do you want to turn in your test with a blank line, or do you want to study up, figure out which is the best answer by process of elimination, and then write it down? Those are your only options, I don't care what you say, assert, etc. You will face this test, no matter what we would like to assert, we will face the test, but how do you want to enter? Prepared with the Armor and blood of Christ covering you in the sight of the Almighty, or Naked with nothing except your blank line covering your soul. Those are your two options. Pick one, and run with it, but choose wisely.

You Can't Start a Fire...

According to Bruce Springstein in his song "Dancing in the Dark" he states, "You can't start a fire. You can't start a fire without a spark." Even Bruce Springstein knows that the universe can't start without a spark...I think this may be a self-sufficient statement in and of itself. If even a musician knows the science behind the universe shouldn't scientists know it too?

I think Bruce had it right. You can't start a fire without a spark, and God is the spark. The spark of His words.

God is the Relative Force Holding us Together

This time I'm gonna try and introduce a little bit of science. I want to talk a bit about the "Strong Force".

Basically there is a force, stronger than the force of Gravity, Electromagnetic, and Nuclear forces called "The Strong Nuclear Force". Somehow this force manages to override the forces of electromagnetism, or the positive particles repel positive particles and negative repel negative particles, through what Yukawa called, "mesons". Another man named John A. Gowan, in agreement with Yukawa's initial design of the process refers to these mesons as "virtual". Virtual basically means "there but not really". There is evidence of it, but we haven't been able to actually observe it. I have two things to state about this...One: Why do people accept invisible concepts like this, but not of God? Answer: Consequences. Two: This Force which is only explainable by "virtual" mesons, is the strongest force in our universe overriding electromagnetism, gravity, and the nuclear force. This invisible force holds us together. If we can believe that a "virtual" force that we can't observe and only theorize about exists, why do we have so much trouble believing in God?

The reason people don't want to believe in God is due to consequences...They don't want to believe what they do has consequences, but unfortunately, that doesn't change the reality of it all. Regardless of whether they like it or not, consequences do exist. Lucky for us, we are covered in Christ's blood. God's grace reigns eternal over all of us. What a blessing. The God of the universe not only holds us together so that we don't just fall apart, but He gives us enough grace to allow us to reign with Him over the world and worship Him for all of His glory. That's a blessing.

Here is an interesting definition of relativity that I found on dictionary.com

Relativity - A state of dependence in which the existence or significance of one entity is solely dependent on that of another

The perfect definition of our lives in relation to God. We are solely and completely dependent on God.