I am faced with a very great reality. i've always thought that God was real, but not until now do i realize the magnitude, nor have i realized the priority of existence. I believe that God is real because i have good reason to believe that the bible is true history, and the bible is the story of humanity and God's intention, and intervention with us. I believe that when God first made us we were good, and in relationship with him as he intended, but we broke the ability for that relationship to exist because we sinned, and perfection (God) and imperfection (us) cannot coexist together in the same place. i also believe that Jesus, who was with God from the start, came to this earth in human form to forever forgive us from that sin so that we and God could once again be in relationship with one another. there is no way in my mind that all this is a creation of the human imagination, we are not by nature forgiving, gracious, or loving people (if we were these attributes would come easy to us).
the bible is true history.
i've lived here in israel for nearly a year, and have traveled throughout it interviewing archaeologists, jewish rabbi's, dna scientists, epigrapher's etc., and have seen for myself the people, places and remnants left from the stories described in the bible. here in israel, one is not at a loss of evidence for the people, places, and events described in the bible, but rather you can't even begin to scratch the surface. nearly the only thing we don't have with us today is the actual events in the bible, because an event is specific to a moment in time. but the people, and the places are here. the jews are still a people and they are still operating under the old testament covenant, longing for their temple so they can make sacrifices to God to atone for their sin. and the places (jerusalem, bethlehem, the sea of galilee, gath, ziklag, beth shan, ashkelon, lechish, gezer, shechem, and jericho, just to name very very few) are all still here as well. all of this, not to mention the prophesies that are being fulfilled before our very eyes (the jews returning to the land of israel for instance), speaks very loudly of the historical reality of the bible.
the story of the bible has incredible personal implications.
the basic story of the bible is that God made us to be in relationship with Him, but we then sinned and made it impossible for that relationship to continue because God, in his perfection, cannot coexist with us because of our imperfection. like dirty water and clean water cannot be in the same bottle. but God, because of His love for us, His creation, sacrificed himself to forgive us of our imperfection, to purify us so we can again be in relationship with Him like he had intended from the start. this story is all about God and his relationship to us, if we are to take seriously what the bible is saying about God's intentions toward us, than we would realize who we are. as cs lewis put it, "We are not merely imperfect creatures that need improvement: we are rebels that need lay down their arms". God is calling us to receive the forgiveness that he paid for, so what are we hanging onto that is greater than that?
Jesus is the greatest evidence we have of God and His love for us.
any scholar who is looking at the evidence will tell you that no sane person denies the existence of Jesus. the story of Jesus is written in the new testament books of the bible, mathew, mark, luke, and john. and because of the written understanding of jewish life in israel in the first century, and many other textual criticisms, there is good reason to believe that the gospels are the honest eye witness accounts of real events regarding Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, from the personal perspective of the people closest to Jesus. (ask me about this if you want to know more, there is way too much evidence for the reliability of the gospels to write here) so considering the fact that the gospels are true historical eye witnesses, then the evidence for Jesus' life, death and resurrection can be only best explained by the fact that he really lived, he was really crucified, and he really rose from the dead. and if he really rose from the dead, then he is really who he said he was and he was really here to do what he said he was here to do. God in human form, sacrificing himself to purify us so we could again be in relationship with Him.
there is so much i didn't write here. but if all this is true, and i believe there are mountains of undeniable evidence to conclude that it is, then that has very real implications for you and i personally. you and i are sinful people. and if God is the reason that the world and we as people exist within it, than this world is all about God's purposes, not ours. and His purposes are made clear in the bible, to love and be loved by us.
we are not by nature forgiving, gracious, or loving people. being selfish is a lot easier for us than being selfless. but Jesus calls us away from our old lives of selfishness because he can call us away, because he has made a way for us to be forgiven and purified in order to again be in relationship with Him. and my question is this: if God created you because he loves you and wants to be with you, and you broke the ability for that relationship to exist, (and don't deserve that relationship) because you sinned, and despite your sin God sacrificed himself to get you back, why would you not want to be in a relationship with Him? if that is the nature of God, to be so completely loving that while we were sinners, He died for us, then why are we so resistant? is there any question that our own sins are damaging to us? is there any wonder what will happen to us because of our sin? if God is all good, and our sin separated us from God, and separation from God is all bad, otherwise known as hell, than as sinful people we default to hell. if this is all true than what is so valuable about sin to us that we would rather hang on to it and stay separated from the all loving God, who made us to love us from the start? a time will come when we will die, and when we are dead we will no longer have the chance to accept forgiveness. so what's the wait? we could die any day.
the bible says that God wants to be with you, and He is always pursuing you, so if you want to be with Him, than lose your life and follow Christ. He is always listening so tell Him that you know you've done wrong, and you believe in Jesus, that he has made a way to purify you from that wrong, and that you want to be in relationship with Him. i don't want you to believe that it's easy to follow Jesus, it's not. it's far more difficult to take on the commands of always forgiving and always loving and being gracious and merciful than it is to be selfish. but is it in our best interest? more so than anything ever has been or will be. Jesus says that those who try to save their life will lose it, but those who lose their life will gain it. if you hold onto your life, selfishness, sin ect. than you stay separated from God, but if you give up your life and accept forgiveness than you can be in relationship with God, eternally.
i don't know if this is all very clear, but my intention is to be refining it as time goes on. if you have any questions about any of this than please ask me, i can't say i'll have an answer but i'll sure seek to find one. or if you have objections, or think i am wrong, than i'd like to talk with you as well.
i work with some guys here in israel and we capture the evidence on camera and make videos so you can see it all for yourself. our site is www.sourceflix.com.
love,
nathan william lundquist
the bible is true history.
i've lived here in israel for nearly a year, and have traveled throughout it interviewing archaeologists, jewish rabbi's, dna scientists, epigrapher's etc., and have seen for myself the people, places and remnants left from the stories described in the bible. here in israel, one is not at a loss of evidence for the people, places, and events described in the bible, but rather you can't even begin to scratch the surface. nearly the only thing we don't have with us today is the actual events in the bible, because an event is specific to a moment in time. but the people, and the places are here. the jews are still a people and they are still operating under the old testament covenant, longing for their temple so they can make sacrifices to God to atone for their sin. and the places (jerusalem, bethlehem, the sea of galilee, gath, ziklag, beth shan, ashkelon, lechish, gezer, shechem, and jericho, just to name very very few) are all still here as well. all of this, not to mention the prophesies that are being fulfilled before our very eyes (the jews returning to the land of israel for instance), speaks very loudly of the historical reality of the bible.
the story of the bible has incredible personal implications.
the basic story of the bible is that God made us to be in relationship with Him, but we then sinned and made it impossible for that relationship to continue because God, in his perfection, cannot coexist with us because of our imperfection. like dirty water and clean water cannot be in the same bottle. but God, because of His love for us, His creation, sacrificed himself to forgive us of our imperfection, to purify us so we can again be in relationship with Him like he had intended from the start. this story is all about God and his relationship to us, if we are to take seriously what the bible is saying about God's intentions toward us, than we would realize who we are. as cs lewis put it, "We are not merely imperfect creatures that need improvement: we are rebels that need lay down their arms". God is calling us to receive the forgiveness that he paid for, so what are we hanging onto that is greater than that?
Jesus is the greatest evidence we have of God and His love for us.
any scholar who is looking at the evidence will tell you that no sane person denies the existence of Jesus. the story of Jesus is written in the new testament books of the bible, mathew, mark, luke, and john. and because of the written understanding of jewish life in israel in the first century, and many other textual criticisms, there is good reason to believe that the gospels are the honest eye witness accounts of real events regarding Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, from the personal perspective of the people closest to Jesus. (ask me about this if you want to know more, there is way too much evidence for the reliability of the gospels to write here) so considering the fact that the gospels are true historical eye witnesses, then the evidence for Jesus' life, death and resurrection can be only best explained by the fact that he really lived, he was really crucified, and he really rose from the dead. and if he really rose from the dead, then he is really who he said he was and he was really here to do what he said he was here to do. God in human form, sacrificing himself to purify us so we could again be in relationship with Him.
there is so much i didn't write here. but if all this is true, and i believe there are mountains of undeniable evidence to conclude that it is, then that has very real implications for you and i personally. you and i are sinful people. and if God is the reason that the world and we as people exist within it, than this world is all about God's purposes, not ours. and His purposes are made clear in the bible, to love and be loved by us.
we are not by nature forgiving, gracious, or loving people. being selfish is a lot easier for us than being selfless. but Jesus calls us away from our old lives of selfishness because he can call us away, because he has made a way for us to be forgiven and purified in order to again be in relationship with Him. and my question is this: if God created you because he loves you and wants to be with you, and you broke the ability for that relationship to exist, (and don't deserve that relationship) because you sinned, and despite your sin God sacrificed himself to get you back, why would you not want to be in a relationship with Him? if that is the nature of God, to be so completely loving that while we were sinners, He died for us, then why are we so resistant? is there any question that our own sins are damaging to us? is there any wonder what will happen to us because of our sin? if God is all good, and our sin separated us from God, and separation from God is all bad, otherwise known as hell, than as sinful people we default to hell. if this is all true than what is so valuable about sin to us that we would rather hang on to it and stay separated from the all loving God, who made us to love us from the start? a time will come when we will die, and when we are dead we will no longer have the chance to accept forgiveness. so what's the wait? we could die any day.
the bible says that God wants to be with you, and He is always pursuing you, so if you want to be with Him, than lose your life and follow Christ. He is always listening so tell Him that you know you've done wrong, and you believe in Jesus, that he has made a way to purify you from that wrong, and that you want to be in relationship with Him. i don't want you to believe that it's easy to follow Jesus, it's not. it's far more difficult to take on the commands of always forgiving and always loving and being gracious and merciful than it is to be selfish. but is it in our best interest? more so than anything ever has been or will be. Jesus says that those who try to save their life will lose it, but those who lose their life will gain it. if you hold onto your life, selfishness, sin ect. than you stay separated from God, but if you give up your life and accept forgiveness than you can be in relationship with God, eternally.
i don't know if this is all very clear, but my intention is to be refining it as time goes on. if you have any questions about any of this than please ask me, i can't say i'll have an answer but i'll sure seek to find one. or if you have objections, or think i am wrong, than i'd like to talk with you as well.
i work with some guys here in israel and we capture the evidence on camera and make videos so you can see it all for yourself. our site is www.sourceflix.com.
love,
nathan william lundquist
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