Tag: Jesus

Real, Lasting Change

 

Ayann Hirsi Ali has become a Christian. Ali grew up Muslim, became an atheist, and has just recently given her life to Jesus. Ali is a scholar at the Hoover Institute. About her conversion to Christianity she has said atheism does not have the intellectual capabilities of fighting what she calls a civilizational war. You can read all about Ali’s Christian conversion from the Unherd podcast, linked in this Truth in Two.

When I think of Ali’s conversion to Christianity, I immediately think of the Ethiopian court official in Acts 8. The Bible says he had come to Jerusalem to worship at Pentecost. Here is an African gentile who is interested in a statement from the prophet Isaiah, “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter.” Inquiring of whom this statement was made, the apostle Philip “told him the good news about Jesus.”

Ali’s conversion and the Ethiopian’s conversion both remind me of another African Christian. Confronted by a hostile crowd proposing Christianity is a “white man’s religion,” the African student responded, “Christianity was in Africa before it was in Europe.” I have also included the Instagram reel of the African student’s statement in this Truth in Two.

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Celsus was a harsh critic of Christian message in the second century. Being a man of high Roman status, he looked down on Christianity as an appeal to the common person. Celsus made these claims, [quote] “Let no cultured, wise or sensible person draw near [to Christ], only those who are ignorant or foolish, let […]

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Jesus Makes “Nobodies,” Somebodies

 

Nativity Of Jesus (Romolo Tavani/Shutterstock)

The status of being a college professor, of having earned a PhD, has always been a great temptation to me. To ascend to a certain level of intellectual ability is the problem of me thinking, “I’ve arrived.” I live in a world where academic degrees are esteemed, and publications are expected. And I will repeat, I am tempted by the esteem of the status, being a university professor brings.

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Working on a university campus I am most tempted to believe “experts.” In higher education, expert theories and theorists abound. Professors tend to present themselves as authorities as to what is acceptable, or not. Specialists in their fields of study may consider themselves to have reached the pinnacle of academic prowess. However, when I read […]

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Students in my classes, to their credit, write about change that they would like to see. Inspired by their youthful zeal to transform their world, I offer my own, biblical vision of change. The Hebraic-Christian community must demonstrate to any culture, its counter-cultural approach to living. “Doing good” according to Titus (3:1, 8, 14), is […]

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Resurrection, No Doubt!

 

I vividly remember the example he gave. The professor began a timeline of resurrection events by walking from the front to the back of the auditorium and then out the door to make his point.

Gary Habermas came to the campus of IUPUI in the spring of 2018. Habermas is considered the authority on the historical veracity, the space-time truthfulness of the resurrection. Habermas’ numerous books, peer-reviewed journal articles, and lectures are the standards by which, doubters must measure their questioning, of Jesus’ physically rising from the dead.

What was the point Habermas was making by walking out the door? Habermas contends that the resurrection accounts were written not decades later, not years later, not months later, not even days later, but the accounts of Jesus rising from the dead were being written within hours of the event. What is so unique about Habermas’ approach to the historical resurrection of Jesus, is that he only allows himself the criteria his critics allow to be true. His approach has revolutionized both the apologetic field and all of religious studies. You can find a like to Gary’s approach at the end of this Truth in Two.

The Lord’s Day: The Order of Battle

 

It is easy for intelligent and engaged citizens to have been caught up in the apparent spirit of the age. I even had an aged, beloved family member who, after a lifetime of dismissing any information coming from a politician, suddenly citing the Republican “Morning” Joe Scarborough (her phrasing, not mine) as a source of truth and wisdom.  While he repeated the most ludicrous talking points.

The only source of information worse than a politician is a retired politician who has sold his reputation for a media gig. In her defense, she was suffering a long illness and television was her only reliable distraction. A retired friend from church was in a similar state, but she recognized she was torturing herself. She watched the media all day, becoming more and more anxious and angry as she did so.

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There is a common thought, which is that Christians, Jews and Muslims all worship the same God: We may have significant disagreements in some areas, but we all worship the same God.  In fact, our church was visited by an American Christian missionary living in a European nation and ministering the Gospel to Muslim refugees […]

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Definitions of Jesus

 

I once had a student challenge me about Jesus. She said, “I don’t believe you. I don’t believe what you say about there being so many different views of Jesus.” I had, in my classes, only mentioned three. “Good!” I responded, “I’m glad you don’t believe me!” She smiled. She had heard me say that phrase many times before. “Would you like an extra credit assignment that will replace any test grade you want?” Every student’s attention was piqued now, all wishing they had come up with their classmate’s objection. “Sure!” she was completely pleased with the positive academic turn of events.

“OK,” I began, “Here’s my challenge. Go to downtown Ann Arbor, the home of the University of Michigan. Stand on the street corner with a clipboard and ask passersby one question, ‘Who do you think Jesus is?’ In one hour, I will bet you that you will obtain at least 25 different views of Jesus.” Her eyes brightened. I could see the wheels turning in her mind. Only one hour? Substitute that time for a test grade? Prove the teacher wrong? Win, win, win.

It was a Friday. She went to Ann Arbor on Saturday. She was back in class on Monday. I did not make any comment. But she did. “Could I tell the class about what I discovered?” Students were still envious about the whole grade thing. “Sure! What did you find out?” The young woman brought out a sheet of paper where she had collected responses from U of M students. “To be honest,” she began, “I didn’t spend the whole hour.” There was a quiet murmur in the room, disappointment that perhaps their classmate had not fulfilled her end of the bargain. “I didn’t have to,” she continued, “Because in 45 minutes I had recorded 25 different views of Jesus. I figured that was enough.”

Victory through Sacrifice

 

Clint Eastwood is an iconic Hollywood actor and director. When I reviewed one of Clint’s most popular films, Gran Torino, I said, “We need to learn that getting justice may only be won by giving ourselves.” In short, true victory is achieved through sacrifice.

Eastwood’s symbolic gesture of a cross-like pose at the end of Gran Torino has been used repeatedly since Jesus sacrificed Himself on the Cross for human sin. The importance of the cross is more than a symbol to be worn around a person’s neck. Jesus’ death was a finished work. We remember Jesus dying on the cross because that is where He defeated both sin and death.

My favorite passage of Scripture about the cross comes from Colossians 2:14-15. It reads, “God cancelled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside by nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them at the cross.

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When I was a boy my sister and I had to find our Easter eggs and Easter baskets. I hated every minute of that tradition. My sister, loved it. To this day, a look of glee comes over her face as she contemplates finding hidden treasure. You, your family, your friends could have an Easter […]

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American Born Chinese is the story of a boy, Gene Luen Yang, trying to make sense of his new American surroundings within the history of his Chinese heritage. Yang uses a bedtime story to overcome his fears about fitting in with another culture. American Born Chinese is a classic tale of adjusting to a new […]

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Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

 

We do it once a year. Decorations go up. Trees are sold. Families gather. Schools close. Carols are sung. Gifts are given. Christmas is a season that sparks great joy. Each person, each group may celebrate the season for different reasons, but our Hebraic-Christian view of Christmas looks in two directions.

Initially, we look back at all the First Testament prophets who looked ahead. Hundreds of prophecies anticipating a prophet, a priest, a king, a messiah, a savior, were all fulfilled at Jesus’ birth. Additionally, we look ahead with the First and Second Testament prophets and apostles to the promise of a renovated world; a world where suffering and sin will cease, a world where Jesus rules eternally.

Both the history and the hope of Jesus’ first and second arrivals is well summarized by Charles Wesley’s hymn “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.” I believe the hymn expresses our earnest hope based on the facts of history: the surety of Jesus and His soon return.

“…Today You Will Be with Me in Paradise.”

 

You know how sometimes Scripture just seems to jump out at you, or you notice something you hadn’t before? Well, I had one of those moments Friday. My pastor has a daily devotional podcast, and for the Good Friday episode this year, he opted to simply read the story of Jesus’ sacrifice for us from the Bible. When he was reading from Matthew, one verse in particular struck me (I’ve also included the preceding verses for context):

Then two criminals were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. Those who passed by were yelling insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him and said, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God rescue him now — if he takes pleasure in him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with him taunted him.

For a Flickering Moment

 

Jesus riding a donkey in Jerusalem

It was Sunday and He rode an unbroken colt in procession through the gates of Jerusalem, heir to the Davidic line and the doer of signs and wonders prophesied to mark the Anointed One, the Messiah, of the Lord who would free the children of Israel. Sweet hosannas were sung by the crowds and palm branches were gathered and waved in celebration as Jesus passed. In this brief moment, it appeared that Heaven and Earth were reconciled and the enemies of Israel would be routed, heralding a golden age like none before it. David had also ridden a donkey, signifying to his people that he came to work, not on a horse that would signify a conqueror.

Of course, the optics were deceptive. I won’t share any spoilers, but that mundane golden age thing did not shape up to the expectations of Judah. For today, Jesus is the triumphant Messiah come to free His people and they celebrate. For a flickering moment.

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The old man leaned on his staff and placed his other hand on the walls of the building lining the the street. He walked alone, slowly and with purpose. His hip may be wasting away, but at least he could still see well enough in the dark to navigate this unfamiliar place. He could still […]

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I’m ashamed to admit that two nights ago I watched George Seaton’s A Miracle on 34th Street for the first time. I didn’t know what I had been missing out on all these years. If you haven’t seen it, go to your local video store or streaming service as soon as you can. The movie was about […]

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Quote of the Day: Jesus and the Adulteress

 

It is an essential story of Jesus’ ministry. From John 8:

“3Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,
4they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.
5“Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.d But what do You say?”
6This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.
7So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”
8And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
11She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
12Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
– NKJV

There Will Be No Beauty Left

 

No churches with their glowing stained glass windows, no murals, no paintings of Christ with the children, no depictions of Mary being touched by God—all these will disappear if Shaun King has his way. He told his 1.1 million followers that all images of a white Jesus and his ‘European’ mother should be destroyed. White Jesus is a symbol of ‘white supremacy,’ and has been used over the centuries to oppress anyone not white.

How many of his followers will take his pronouncement and follow through with destroying churches, statues of Jesus and Mary, paintings, etc.? Should armed guards be stationed 24/7 to protect “The Last Supper?” What about the statue of Mary and Jesus, “The Pieta?” Wasn’t there an attempt years ago to damage that? How many paintings and murals with a white Jesus also show people of other races? In many of those, Jesus is seated among the people. Would an oppressor feel comfortable enough to sit with those he is supposedly oppressing?