Thoughts From Luke - Day 22

                                              Luke 5:33 - 6:11

They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”
³⁴ Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? ³⁵ But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”
³⁶ He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. ³⁸ No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. ³⁹ And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. ² Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
³ Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” ⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
⁶ On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. ⁷ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. ⁸ But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.
⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
¹⁰ He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. ¹¹ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

       Criticism. It is what happens when you fully decide to do God's will. Why? Because it makes those who are comfortable with a religion that is a part of their life just like work, family, entertainment, hobbies, etc, - uncomfortable. It makes them look bad. It makes them question their commitment so they, in their minds count the cost, find it too demanding, and they justify their commitment, or lack thereof, by criticizing the real thing. I once had a doctor warn a patient when he referred her to me that I was hyper - religious so be careful. I have had religious people criticize me for leaving my family and going on short term mission trips. I have had people pull me aside and counsel me about moderation. The interesting thing is that the criticism comes from religious people. The world expects Christians to be fully committed so they have no problems with you following the Lord whole heartedly. By the way, I haven't received any criticism lately much to my shame.

      The criticism actually started with the previous passage. The religious people criticized Jesus for hanging out with sinners. They said, "a true follower of God doesn't go to parties that have liquor, loose women, drunkenness, and the like" (or something like that) Now, one has to approach Jesus status to go to parties like this and not be tempted, but I do know people that could and if they did, I'm sure the rest of us would criticize them for being there and think less of them. Jesus would say, "Where else am I going to find such a high percentage of people who need me?"

      Then they criticized His freedom. He didn't follow all the religious rules that make you feel "Godly". Religion has a real comfort level in traditions and when these are violated, it makes people anxious because it exposes the absence of a relationship with God. I have heard of people leaving churches because the pastor wore a polo shirt or read from anything other than King James. I've heard people leave churches because of humor from the pulpit or the lack of quiet when people enter the sanctuary. I've heard complaints that the pastor doesn't have the congregation stand during Bible reading or he cancelled the Sunday evening service because it fell on Christmas day. "A Saturday night service is not the Lord's Day!" Our pastor talked about the church going through three stages of "m's" movement, machine, and monument. There starts a movement of the Holy Spirit and a church is born. Committees form, pastors get hired, and the church begins to operate as a machine. It could function without the Holy Spirit. Lastly it becomes a monument, an icon to past glories that gives people warm feelings but is dying off in reality. People getting moved by the Holy Spirit often ruffle the feathers of the machine and monument people because they want the old garment - the old wineskins.

      Lastly you get criticized for helping people. "You know that guy is just going to buy alcohol with that money." "Paying that bill isn't going to help - they will just need help again next month." "You are enabling that person." "Have you checked to see if he is being helped by another church, too"? "I know someone from our body who needs help before that person." All these criticisms can paralyze your helping hand. They could be true and certainly some good principles to consider and find ways to implement more effective benevolence, but they should never keep us from helping people.

      If you are being led by the Spirit and sold out for the Lord, religious people will criticize you. Embrace it because Jesus too experienced it. If you aren't experiencing criticism remember this, "A turtle that isn't moving forward is in no danger of getting his head chopped off."

      Lord, I confess that I am so comfortable in my life, that I am in no danger of ruffling feathers. Help me to follow You wholeheartedly and not worry about what others think. Amen

Thoughts From Luke - Day 21

                                               Luke 5:18-32
¹⁸ Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. ¹⁹ When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
²⁰ When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
²¹ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
²² Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ²⁵ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. ²⁶ Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
²⁷ After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
²⁹ Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

        As fishers of men, how are we practically to do that? How do we convey to people that their fundamental need in life is forgiveness of sins in a way that they will receive it? Luke gives us some different means to do this in this passage.

      First of all, bring people into the presence of Jesus. The guys in my Sunday School class just put on a 3G event which is God, Guns, and Grub where there is all kinds of opportunities to shoot targets and watch things blow up. They also put on a wild game supper that serves deer, bear, squirrel, possum, elk, and all kinds of gross things that has wildly popular. At both of these events the gospel is preached and guys that wouldn't normally come to church are brought into the presence of Christ. We also put on a corn maze/hay ride, upward basketball, Christmas and Easter programs, etc., for the express purpose of bringing people into the presence of Christ. The easiest way is just to invite people to church. Andy Stanley gives these three "not" clues - things are not going well, I'm not prepared for..., I'm not from around here. Listen for those and act on them.

       Secondly, Jesus just went up to Levi and said "follow me", and he did! We don't know any back story here like had Levi heard his preaching or seen His miracles? All we know is this appears to be a "cold" invitation. Jesus, by spending time with the Father, was aware of people who were primed for the gospel- but it is also possible that He said this to everyone and Levi was the only tax collector to respond. One thing we do know is that tax collectors were very unpopular and needed the grace, love and acceptance that Jesus had to offer. We need to look for those people around us and befriend them. We need to offer them Christ but also commit our time and love to them which is very tough in our very full schedules. Pray that God would help you love the unlovely and show you who that one is, in your path.

        Lastly, attend non Christian functions. This is another hard task for us. Most people love any activity with an open bar but Karen and I run from those even though there are two to three a year that we have opportunities to attend. Why? Because they aren't our scene. We feel awkward and we make other people feel awkward just by our presence. The fact of the matter is that Jesus didn't feel awkward at these nor did people feel tension with Him there. He saw these as a great opportunity to spend time with the non-religious crowd. I'm quick to say that there are really no unbelievers in my life to witness to, yet, it is probably my fault as the party scene stresses me out. I run from crowds where I am the odd ball. Jesus didn't. Pray for boldness to say yes to these invitations and then courage to not compromise your beliefs but winsomeness to have people enjoy your presence even though you don't fit in.

      Lord, help me to look for these opportunities to be a fisher of men in my sphere of influence. Amen

Thoughts From Luke - Day 20

                                           Luke 5:12-17

¹² While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
¹³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.
¹⁴ Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
¹⁵ Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
¹⁷ One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick.


       As a doctor, a passage like this speaks to me in ways that, I would guess, is different from how it speaks to other people. As I practice medicine and ask myself WWJD? if He were in my shoes or better yet WWJHMD (what would Jesus have Me do?) as a doctor, certain things come to mind from these verses.

       First, Jesus didn't demand worship/payment up front. He had the ability, He had the compassion, the man had the need and He fixed him. A sign at the front window saying "Payment is required at time of Service" or something to that effect, has no place in a Christian doctor's office. I saw a patient with cervical cancer in the ER this weekend and called the cancer specialist who will see her Monday. He gave me the number for her to call on Monday to confirm the appointment. I know what is going to happen. They are going to tell her that an initial appointment costs $250, she won't have the money, she won't go, she will end up in the ER again in worse condition. Christian doctors must treat patients first and "worry" about payment later. God provides the money in other ways as a doctor and I have never missed a payroll or not paid my bills because of this philosophy.

     Secondly, socialized medicine or government payment for medical care creates an "I deserve medical care" or a "medical care is my right" mentality. In this passage the man didn't have that mentality. He went to Jesus and asked humbly for a cure for his disease and appealed to Jesus' compassion. People, including me, deserve nothing in life but condemnation for our sins. That's it. Everything we get outside of that is grace and mercy and we get so much of that from God that we begin to feel that it is our right. In an ideal world, sick people should humbly come to get medical care and appeal to a doctor to have compassion on them, and the Christian doctor would give them treatment not because they deserve it but because the doctor owes it to them because of the grace and mercy that we have received from Christ and His command to go and do likewise. Unfortunately, the world is not full of doctors that ask WWJD? so socialized medicine is here. 

    Third, I can't start getting cocky and think what a great doctor I am when people are healed through my care. All glory must go to the Father who is the healer. He gives me the ability to cut a person open and take out a diseased organ but I can't heal that person up, that's up to God. Why did Jesus often get alone early and pray? Why do Christian doctors need an intimate quiet time alone with God? One of the reasons is so we stay humble and don't start believing our press. People are kind and grateful for their cures and will direct their praise to me. If I start accepting that praise, which my ego wants to, it is like plagiarism, taking credit for what someone else has done. It also steals the opportunity to lead a person into a relationship with the real One who healed them. Jesus told the man to go to the priests as a testimony to the power of God. A Christian doctor should always be concerned not only about the person's physical needs but also their spiritual needs. A time alone with God redirects our focus to the spiritual demands of the practice and opens the day with the power of God preceding us.

     The need to use medicine as a means to point people to Christ has kept me practicing independent of a salaried position by a third party. A third party hiring me to practice could tell me not to pray, not to witness, not to give free care, etc. and infringe on my ability to practice medicine as a Christian doctor should. I can never let that happen.

     Lord, thank you for leading me to medicine as a career. I get to be Jesus to people every day, showing compassion by treating their illnesses and pointing them to the Father. Help me not to lose sight of both of those! Amen

Thoughts From Luke - Day 19

                                     Luke 5:1-11

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. ² He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. ³ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
⁵ Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
⁶ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷ So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” ¹¹ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

        We saw in the previous blog that when Jesus spoke, His words were different than all other speakers because His words were authoritative. He wasn't giving opinions, pontificating, arguing, philosophizing - it was like He knew the truth because He created truth and He was letting people "in" on it. One thing I've missed in this passage before is that I have always jumped straight to the miracle and missed the fact that Jesus taught for the first 4 verses. The disciples weren't way out in the lake and He yelled to them. They hadn't fished all night and were ready to come in - they were already in. They were ready to go home to rest but stayed around to hear Jesus speak. After hearing Jesus speak with authority as He did, He told them to go back out fishing. I imagine everything was all put up, prepared for the next time out. The sails were probably all down. The deck would have been swabbed. The wind was probably "blowing from the North where wise fishermen don't go forth" or "from the East where the fish bite the least"- nevertheless, because after hearing Jesus speak, not telling things he learned but revealing things He knew, the disciples could do nothing but obey what He said, even though this was probably the last thing that they would have wanted to do.

    Then the miracle happened. Human reasoning - I'm tired, there are no fish out there, it's the wrong time of day, the wind is wrong - was overcome by the power of God. What was Simon's response? It was, "I am sinful and unworthy to be in your presence." I'm not sure that he comes up with that response without first hearing Christ's teachings. Maybe, I am in the presence of greatness, or I am nothing compared to You, or who is this guy-only God could pull off something like that. But to say that he is morally unfit to be in Christ's presence took some prior teaching on how one should behave morally, something like the sermon on the mount.

     What's my point? As we go out being fishers of men, we have two obstacles, Number one, human reasoning. People's minds have been blinded by the God of this age. They have objections such as human suffering, hell, hypocrites, science, religious atrocities throughout the ages, virgin birth, etc. Secondly, people have to be convinced of their need for a savior - they need to realize that they are sinful, not basically good people. How is this accomplished? In this account it is a dual approach. First it requires words. Meeting people's needs, serving them, basically the social gospel without words will inspire people, promote love for mankind, even stimulate pay it forward campaigns, but it cannot save them because it doesn't effect the ultimate need of the heart - separation from God by sin. Secondly it takes the power of God to awake a stone cold heart and perform the miracle of rebirth.

     That old statement of preach the gospel continually and if necessary use words just doesn't cut it. It is a two faceted approach. So keep speaking truth, meet people's needs and let God perform a miracle in their heart.

Thoughts From Luke - Day 18

                                  Luke 4:31 - 44
³¹ Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. ³² They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.
³³ In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, ³⁴ “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
³⁵ “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
³⁶ All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” ³⁷ And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
³⁸ Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. ³⁹ So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
⁴⁰ At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. ⁴¹ Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.
⁴² At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. ⁴³ But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” ⁴⁴ And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

         How would you like it if you boarded an airplane, sat uncomfortably in your seat, buckled your belt, and the captain came on the intercom and said, "Welcome to your flight to Los Angeles, LAX. We will try to get you there safely in 5 hours. We can't guarantee that, though because some planes crash, get hi-jacked, have emergency landings in rivers, disappear from the radar, or have to land in other cities due to weather. However we will do our best to get you there. Have a nice flight." Although what he said was true, that probably is not a pilot who you want to fly with!

        Jesus came on the scene and He was in charge. People recognized that His words had authority. In other words, He didn't say "I think so" - He knew so. What He said, was; what He said was truth, end of the matter. I recently heard a skeptic of Christianity say what bothers them about Christianity is that when it comes to matters of personal behavior or morality, Christians refer to their book written 2000 years ago and say, "end of discussion". Somehow, we need to be more tactful than that but the fact of the matter is that what Jesus said, goes, whether it agrees with our opinions or not. We are the ones that need to adjust to Him, not He to us. Why? Because He has authority - He is in charge.

      Jesus didn't say, "let me try". They brought demon possessed people to Him, sick people, diseased people, febrile people to Him, and He healed them all. It wasn't like the little train who said, "I think I can, I think I can..", He could because He is all powerful. Unlike us, who have to psyche ourselves up and think positive thoughts to attempt to accomplish something, Jesus just did it.

      Jesus didn't say, "OK, let's make a deal". The demon came out without injuring the man. It wasn't like "I'll come out but not without exerting a little bit of my will". The demons actually came out proclaiming the glory of Christ until He told them to stop. He didn't have to negotiate because He has all power in the natural realm and in the spiritual realm.

     Jesus didn't say, "I think I know what I'm supposed to do next", He knew. He was decisive because He and the Father are one. He is all knowing. We would think, "wow, look at all the people coming and the power of God being poured out. God is obviously putting His stamp of approval on this. We even have a home base set up with meals and everything." Jesus, without indecisiveness, said, "It's time to move on."

     This is who I put my faith in, this is who I trust with my life. I trust a God who gives me an authoritative word to stand on, His word is truth. I trust a God who is able to and will deliver me from every physical and spiritual attack I might experience and nothing can happen to me that He doesn't allow - there will be no accidents in my life. And I worship a God who knows the future and my future so why fret any life decisions or second guess if I am surrendered to His will. I can get on-board with Him at the controls and I can rest assured - and I have!

      Thank You Lord for being my sure foundation. You are my solid rock on which I stand. Amen

Apologetics - Week 8 - The resurrection

     Over the past weeks we have been addressing objections to the Christian faith such as science has shown the Bible to be inaccurate, Christianity's rules are restrictive and culturally repressive, Why does a good all-powerful God not stop suffering?, How could a loving God send people to Hell?, religion causes most of the problems in the world, and How can we claim that Jesus is the only way to Heaven? These are all great questions and hopefully we have addressed them adequately, but the truth is, we can't answer everything to the skeptic's satisfaction. Tim Keller says in his book Reason for God,
       "If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all He said; if He didn't rise from the dead, why worry about anything He said? This is how the first hearers felt who heard reports of the resurrection. They knew that if it was true they couldn't live their lives anyway they wanted to. It also meant they didn't need to fear anything, not Roman swords, not cancer, not anything. If Jesus rose from the dead it changes everything. Most people think that the burden of proof is on believers to prove that the resurrection happened. This is completely not the case. The resurrection puts the burden of proof on unbelievers to come up with a historically feasible explanation for the birth of the church. You have to come up with some other plausible account for how things began."

     Leo Tolstoy said," My question--that which at the age of fifty brought me to the verge of suicide--was the simplest of questions, lying in the soul of every man from the foolish child to the wisest elder: it was a question without an answer to which one cannot live, as I had found by experience. It was: "What will come of what I am doing today or shall do tomorrow? What will come of my whole life?"
Differently expressed, the question is: "Why should I live, why wish for anything, or do anything?" It can also be expressed thus: "Is there any meaning in my life that the inevitable death awaiting me does not destroy?"

      The apostle Paul agreed with Tolstoy but also gave him the answer in this quote in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19,
    " But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵ More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹ If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied."

      If Christ has not raised from the dead then this life is all there is. Tim Keller tells skeptics of the resurrection,
"Each year at Easter I get to preach on the Resurrection. In my sermon I
always say to my skeptical, secular friends that, even if they can’t
believe in the Resurrection, they should want it to be true. Most of
them care deeply about justice for the poor, alleviating hunger and
disease, and caring for the environment. Yet many of them believe that
the material world was caused by accident and that the world and
everything in it will eventually simply burn up in the death of the sun.
They find it discouraging so few people care about justice without
realizing their worldview undermines any motivation to make the
world a better place. Why sacrifice for the needs of others if in the end
nothing we do will make any difference? If the resurrection of Jesus
happened, however, that means there’s infinite hope and reason to
put ourselves out for the needs of the world."  

 I like to narrow the case down to five unexplainable resurrection factors that have to be dealt with and for ease of remembering, not necessarily in order of importance, I list them alphabetically. Let's start with;

 A. Apostles -

      When Jesus was arrested, we see them all fleeing in fear for their own lives and hid behind locked doors for fear of the Jewish leaders. (John 20:19) One even ran away naked when someone grabbed his cloak and they all went into hiding except for Peter (and probably John) who followed the Lord at a distance but when confronted swore on oath that they didn't even know Him.

      Mark 14:50-54,66-71
"Then everyone deserted him and fled.
⁵¹ A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, ⁵² he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.
⁵³ They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. ⁵⁴ Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.
⁶⁶ While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. ⁶⁷ When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.
“You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.
⁶⁸ But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.
⁶⁹ When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.” ⁷⁰ Again he denied it.
After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”
⁷¹ He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”

   What brought these men out of hiding preaching boldly to the masses this accusatory, damning message that we see below?

“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
²³ This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

³⁶ “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah. Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Acts 2:22,23, 36,39,40

      What made them so bold was the verses I left out of the previous passage, they saw Him raised from the dead and even saw Him ascending to Heaven.

^24 "But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. ³² God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. ³³ Exalted to the right hand of God..."

      Not only did these post-resurrection appearances make them speak boldly, but when told to recant at the cost of their lives, none of them did. History tells us that;

King Herod had James “put to death with the sword,” likely a reference to beheading. 
 Peter was crucified upside-down in Rome in fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy (John 21:18). 

Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.
John faced martyrdom when he was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic book of Revelation on Patmos. .
James, the brother of Jesus (not officially an apostle), was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. He was thrown from the southeast pinnacle of the temple (over a hundred feet down) when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a club. And what turned James from a skeptic biologic brother of Jesus to someone who would become a leader of the church and willing to die for Jesus? 1Cor. 15:7 says that the resurrected Christ appeared to him.
Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed in present-day Turkey and was martyred for his preaching in Armenia, being flayed to death by a whip.
 Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers, they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: “I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.” He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he died.
 Thomas was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church there.
 Matthias, the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.
Paul was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero in Rome in A.D. 67.

    Look at the following video from the late Charles Colson who was Nixon's right hand man during Watergate.

   He is basically saying that people will cave when it comes to their own neck on the line. These apostles wouldn't have died for a lie. No one does that. As Pascal put it, "I believe those witnesses who get their throats cut." These Apostles didn't get together and steal the body. These disciples didn't get together and say, "Hey, this ride isn't over yet. Let's tell everyone we saw Him alive. He rose from the dead, we will say..." No, that's crazy! They were terrified, despondent, and ready to hide and go back to their old lives of fishing, etc. Plus, they really weren't smart enough to pull off a scam of that magnitude and certainly they wouldn't have died for it. The only explanation is that they saw the risen Christ.

B. Bible
    1. Eyewitness accounts
      Now, I know that it is probably difficult for skeptics to accept point B when they don't believe the Bible is true. Hopefully though, I made the point in http://thoughtsfromtherightbrain.blogspot.com/2016/07/apologetics-week-6-science-has-shown.html when I discussed the archaeologic evidence that the Bible is at least reliable as a historical document and has the earliest and most manuscripts available by far of all ancient literature. Mark's testimony of Jesus being buried by Joseph of Arimethea has been dated within 7 years of Jesus' crucifixion. Paul in 1 Cor. 15:3-5 quotes an early church creed most likely given him on his visit to Jerusalem in 36AD.

"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve."

    Then Paul adds, "After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born."

These were the eyewitnesses of the resurrection, written down and recorded during a time and date where they could be questioned as to the document's truth. I often use this illustration on this point and at the risk of being redundant, here goes;
What if I wrote a book that Elvis didn't really die because I saw him in Pigeon Forge. I would probably be ridiculed severely because the coroner, pall bearers, his wife, his children would say, "That's not true - we saw his body. We saw him put in the ground and he isn't alive." Now if it was written 100 years from now when all the eyewitnesses are dead, I might have better success. You see, as these letters were circulated about the resurrection, if they weren't true this claim wouldn't have gotten off the ground.

       2. Criterion of embarrassment

  What does that mean? It means that generally, if you tell something that makes you look bad, then it is probably true. If I were to give a testimony to an officer that I saw a person at a certain place at 1204 and the officer said, "How do you know it was that time"? and I said "because as I was driving past that place and saw him, I was texting a friend and the text time is 1204", that story would be very believable. Why? Because to be texting and driving incriminates you - it puts you in a bad light. It must be true.We will all make up lies to defend our egos so if we tell something to put us in a bad light it is probably true. The Passion is full of these. Look at Peter denying Jesus. Look at the disciples hidden in a locked room after running away. Look at the women telling the disciples that "He is risen", and them not believing. Look at who buried Jesus, a despised Jewish sanhedrist rather than one of the followers.
    But most of all is that women are the witnesses to the resurrection in a day and age where they had such a place in society that they were not considered credible witnesses. Josephus states "Let not the testimony of women be admitted on account of the levity and boldness of their sex". Women occupied a low rung on the Jewish social ladder. Consider these Rabbinical texts; "Sooner let the words of the Law be burnt than delivered to a woman." "Happy is he whose Children are male; unhappy is he whose children are female." "Blessed are You Lord God ,ruler of the universe, who has not created me a woman. With this low view of women in this time period, the only explanation for making them the primary witnesses of the resurrection is because that is really how it happened.   All these point to the veracity of the text.

       3. Lack of embellishment

     When we look at the Gospel narratives we see a general everyday description of the events. If this was written many years later, as legends go, this would become a glorious, magnificent story as seen in the "Gospel of Peter" which describes Jesus' triumphant egress from the tomb as a gigantic figure whose head reaches above the clouds , supported by giant angels, followed by a talking cross, heralded by a voice from Heaven, and all witnessed by a Roman guard, the Jewish leaders, and a multitude of spectators. This is how real legends look. The Biblical count stands out in it's simplicity. Why? Because that's how it really happened.

     4. Lack of Collusion of the authors

    When you look at the gospel accounts they all have variations, even so much so that this becomes a point where skeptics argue that the Bible can't be trusted. The same argument used against the Bible is a very powerful argument for the truth of these texts. Each author, as he recorded it, told it in his own words and emphasized the facts that each thought were significant. Was it night or day? Were there two angels or one?
   When I went to court to testify on a malpractice case where both me and the hospital were being sued, I was told not to talk to the nurses involved because we might rehearse what we were going to testify. We might collaborate. The fact that our testimonies were a little different helped add to the credibility of what we were saying and helped to vindicate both of us in the end.
    The gospels hold up to scrutiny much better because they are different in details but similar on the crux of the matter.


C. Calendar

Did you know that B.C. means before Christ and A.D. means in the year of our Lord in Latin? The calendar used by most if not all of the world was rearranged on the basis of Jesus Christ. There have been a lot of famous people to die in history and a lot of people to get killed unjustly or for a noble cause. But only one shaped history so much that he affected time. What was different about him? How about the fact that he rose from the dead. No one else has ever done that. Every great and famous person that ever lived, died and stayed dead.

D. Dead Body

      Every murder or crime show has a dilemma, what do the perpetrators do with the body? In Fargo they used a wood chipper. In Breaking Bad they used acid in a bath tub. (not wise) We have a body dilemma in the killing of Jesus, too. Where did His body go?
     The myth circulating was that the disciples stole the body. How? There were armed guards stationed at the tomb with the royal stamp saying if you break this seal you die or if you soldiers fail your duty you die. As we have seen , the disciples were cowering in fear when Jesus was taken and there is no way they could have moved this huge stone without the guards hearing it. Also they wouldn't start a legend when all that was in it for them was poverty, hiding, and death.
      What about the Romans? If they took the body they would have just produced it to squelch this new religion which was a nuisance to them. There is no logical explanation for where the body went.
      The body was gone because it was resurrected. It was walking around appearing to hundreds of people, eating food, showing it's scars. These weren't hallucinations or dreams. You don't have common hallucinations. You don't say to someone, "wasn't that an amazing dream we both had"? When people take LSD or other hallucinogens, they don't have the same trip - they don't see the same things. Neither did 500 people all at once experience the same hallucination.
     Not only did people not hallucinate the risen Christ, there would be no reason to even consider a resurrection. No religious leader or political leader has ever been assassinated and the followers claimed that he came back to life. This was unprecedented and still is today. Also in this culture, bodily resurrection would be considered undesirable. The pervading view at this time was that the body was the evil part and the soul was the good part. To have a resurrection that would raise the body back to life would not even be considered.
     Maybe you think that people back then believed myths like that because they were naïve and not as informed as we are today. When we look at several accounts of the resurrection being told to people we see that this isn't true.

 Festus - ..." Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”
²⁴ At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.” Acts 26:23,24

Epicurian and Stoic Philosophers -..." He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”³² When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered. Acts 17:31,32

E. Empty Tomb

     The fact that Christianity grew from Jerusalem in and of itself is a testimony to the fact that the tomb itself was empty otherwise people could walk a few blocks away and say, "Nope, it's still full." In this day and age where distant travel was difficult, a legend could have been started in the Orient that Jesus rose from the dead because no one could have checked out the veracity of the claim, but to start a movement saying that Jesus rose from the dead in the same city it happened has to be true.

     Also, if you go to the holy lands you can visit his suspected tomb. Why "suspected"? Because the tomb wasn't the issue. Any famous person who dies, you can go visit their tomb and it becomes an icon. Why do people even question today if this was the right tomb or not? Because Jesus wasn't in there. Why enshrine a tomb that has no one in it. If you want to see Jesus, He is somewhere in the area walking around - don't go looking for Him in the tomb.


    The Journal of the American Medical Society concludes, "Clearly, the weight of  historical and medical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead before the wound to His side was inflicted and supports the traditional view that the spear, thrust between his right ribs, probably perforated not only the right lung, but also the pericardium and heart and thereby ensured his death. Accordingly, the interpretations based on the assumption that Jesus did not die on the cross appear to be at odds with modern medical knowledge." Now if that isn't attestation by a hostile witness, I don't know what is! Jesus died on the cross, was buried and rose on the third day, and the church exploded. Explain that away. Try as you might, you can't.

   As I said at the beginning, there are many objections to Christianity that I have tried, with the help of many authors much more informed than myself, to answer intelligently. If we can just keep pointing to , "but what happened on Easter?" it can be an effective means of evangelism as seen in this message by Andy Stanley. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E12aqMc2z6I


  

Thoughts From Luke - Day 17

                                        Luke 4:22-30

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
²³ Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
²⁴ “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. ²⁵ I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. ²⁶ Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. ²⁷ And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
²⁸ All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. ²⁹ They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. ³⁰ But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.


      Are you ever amazed at how quickly people turn on you? One minute they are your best friend and the next minute they are stabbing you in the back. My niece, this past year, invited her four very best friends to an indoor waterpark for her 11th birthday. Two months later, one of these girls, for unknown reasons became her worst enemy and has made her 5th grade experience so bad that the family has considered home schooling or changing schools. Another friend, who she was sledding with just last winter, has also become a nemesis and sends her home from school, crying. My wife is well aware of this, too, as two of her best friends teamed up against her because we didn't homeschool and they felt our kids were a bad influence on theirs. Paul experienced this in Lystra in Acts 14. He went from being a "god" in verse 13 to being stoned in verse 19.

      Jesus experienced people turning on Him throughout His ministry. In this passage we go from "all spoke well of Him" to throwing Him off a cliff in the matter of  7 verses. He had throngs following Him throughout the three years of His ministry but at the end they were yelling "crucify Him" and in the upper room we were left with 50 people. At the beginning of His ministry, when He turned the water to wine, here is what John records,
 "Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name²⁴ But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. ²⁵ He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person." John 2:23-25

Jesus knew what was in people - they are fickle. How did this help him, knowing this? Mainly it made Him live for an audience of one. If the father was pleased with Him, that was enough. Why do we spend so much energy trying to please and be admired by people when the first chance they get, they will slander or desert us. Secondly, I think it helped Him give grace to people. When His disciples all deserted Him, He didn't give up on them but sought them out and welcomed them back. It enabled Him to say "Father forgive them - they know not what they do". When people stab you in the back, don't give up on them, don't get revenge, don't hate on them - that ability to stab is in you also. Lastly, He knew who He was, He didn't need them to tell Him how wonderful He was. I look at all these 5 star athletes who believe their press and are so full of themselves thinking how wonderful they are. I think of me, being a doctor. I mentioned my law suit in the previous blog. I had received a card during her pregnancy from her, stating how wonderful I was. Six months later, she is hating me and suing me.

     Don't live for the approval of people, live for the approval of God. Give grace to people when they wrong you knowing that same ability to wrong people is inside you. And think soberly about yourself, you really aren't that great - fortunately God thinks you are and that's what matters!

  Lord, I confess my desire to live for people's approval and be decimated when I don't get it. Forgive me for that and help me live only for You. Amen

Thoughts From Luke - Day 16

                                       Luke 4:14-21

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. ¹⁵ He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
¹⁶ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
¹⁹     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

     When Jesus reads this passage from Isiah, it refers to Himself. Do you ever read portions of scripture that refer to you? You read it and you say, "2500 years ago that passage was put in there just for me".? Sometimes that could be a bad thing like in the case of Judas "Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me." Ps. 41:9 Sometimes it is a good thing as with the case of Matthias who replaced Judas, "...may another take his place of leadership." Ps. 109:8 or Cyrus who is literally named,  "who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’Isa. 44:28

     I have 2 of those passages. Since these daily thoughts are meant to be brief I will recount one.
          Psalm 35 (selected verses)
¹ Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me;
    fight against those who fight against me..
may those who plot my ruin
    be turned back in dismay.

⁷ Since they hid their net for me without cause
    and without cause dug a pit for me,

¹¹ Ruthless witnesses come forward;
    they question me on things I know nothing about.
¹² They repay me evil for good
    and leave me like one bereaved.
¹⁵ But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
    assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
    They slandered me without ceasing.
¹⁶ Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;
    they gnashed their teeth at me.
¹⁸ I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
    among the throngs I will praise you.
¹⁹ Do not let those gloat over me
    who are my enemies without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason
    maliciously wink the eye.
²⁰ They do not speak peaceably,
    but devise false accusations
²¹ They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha!
    With our own eyes we have seen it.”
²³ Awake, and rise to my defense!
    Contend for me, my God and Lord.
²⁴ Vindicate me in your righteousness, Lord my God;
    do not let them gloat over me.
²⁵ Do not let them think, “Aha, just what we wanted!”
    or say, “We have swallowed him up.”

²⁶ May all who gloat over my distress
    be put to shame and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me
    be clothed with shame and disgrace.
²⁷ May those who delight in my vindication
    shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, “The Lord be exalted,
    who delights in the well-being of his servant.”

²⁸ My tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
    your praises all day long.

I found this Psalm in the midst of a malpractice case against me where I was being sued over twins dying inside the mom at 32 weeks back in 1990. It was the worst thing to happen to me ever because, well frankly, I felt like people were accusing me of murder, being a bad doctor, not caring, etc. in front of a host of onlookers and not only that but I had to anticipate this week in my life for 2 years in coming. So there I sat, day after day ,with my wife, being accused of wrong doing when all I wanted to do was help this poor patient. I felt attacked, slandered, belittled, lied against by paid, ruthless, "expert" witnesses, and couldn't say a thing for a number of days. Finally my chance came to take the stand. I saw something amazing happen; these prosecutors became confused - they had a hard time framing questions. They would ask questions and my defense attorney kept objecting until finally the judge had to tell them how to ask the question. Then they would think they had me at times, it was like they were saying "Aha, we've got him now", but when the truth was told, they would have to pursue other areas. In the end I was vindicated in under 30 minutes deliberation and the prosecutors, one of whom was saved after this case, because he saw a difference in us and wondered what it was. So in the end God was glorified both in this man's life and in the church where I attended where I got to stand up and share the vindication of the Lord and this Psalm.

   How about you? Have you claimed a portion of God's word that was especially written about you? I hope you don't have to go through a bad experience like me to find it, but if you do, it is well worth it!

    Thank you Lord that your word is timeless and that You have included me in it. Amen