Josh McDowell's Blog, page 7

Overcoming Hurdles: I Know God is Real

Friends! We’ve reached the final post in this blog series based on Josh’s best-selling apologetics classic: More Than a Carpenter! Our goal in these 17 posts has been to definitively answer “Who is Jesus?” This week we’re sharing with you how Josh made the leap from diehard skeptic to sold-out believer. 

In Josh’s case, the journey took time. The historical evidence he’d studied for months in libraries across Europe had convinced Josh of the facts supporting the truth of Jesus being the Son of God. Yet Josh still “felt a strong reluctance to make the plunge” of asking Jesus to be his Savior.

Read on to learn the personal hurdles Josh had to get past to fully believe in God’s love and power. Perhaps Josh’s struggle is the struggle YOU are experiencing in your own heart and mind today.

More Than a Carpenter blog #whoisjesus

Josh’s Hurdles to Trusting

“I had to admit,” says Josh, “that Jesus Christ must be exactly who He claimed to be. I could plainly see that Christianity was not a myth, not a fantasy of wishful dreamers, not a hoax played on the simple-minded, but rock-solid truth. My mind was telling me that Christianity was true, but my will was resisting it with all the energy it could muster.”

Yet two hurdles held Josh back: The first was pleasure. Becoming a Christian meant having no more fun … right? “I did not want any party pooper spoiling my fun,” Josh admits. “I couldn’t think of any faster way to ruin my good times.” Typical thinking for a college kid. But many people have the mistaken idea that choosing Jesus will remove — rather than add — joy to their life. That life becomes one big “Do Not!”

The second obstacle was Josh’ pride. If Josh chose a relationship with Jesus, he’d have to admit that the Christians on campus who had dared him to disprove God were, well, right. Having egg on his face galled Josh. “Every time I got around those enthusiastic Christians,” he admits, “the inner conflict would boil over.” Letting go of ego can feel incredibly painful. Especially when you pride yourself on your intellectualism, as Josh did.

Josh had believed that Christianity was fake — and Christians dimwits for believing in it — and now he was faced with deciding whether to become one of them. Another hurdle!

“I had always tried to be open-minded, but not so open-minded that my brains would fall out,” quips Josh. Yet in his research of Christ, Josh had to admit that he’d found “the most solid reality” he had yet to experience. So on December 19, 1959, at 8:30 p.m., Josh finally invited Jesus to become his friend and Savior.

Indisputable Personal Proof

His prayer wasn’t a “bolt of lightning” moment, admits Josh. “After I prayed, nothing happened. I mean nothing. And I still haven’t sprouted wings and a halo.” But Josh did slowly begin to notice changes within himself. One of the biggest changes was relief from his constant restlessness. Before he accepted Christ, Josh says that he always had to be occupied; that he was always bouncing off the walls. But he began to feel a mental peace that helped to settle him.

And he felt better able to handle stress and conflict. Josh had previously “walked around ticked off with people, things, and issues,” his insecurities causing him to view most people as threats. “I used to blow my stack if anyone just looked at me cross-eyed,” Josh admits. “My temper was such a part of me that I didn’t consciously seek to change it. But one day I encountered a crisis that should have set me off, only to find that I stayed calm and collected.” His no longer felt goaded to angrily lash out. 

Another amazing change was God’s removal of Josh’s deep-seated hatred toward his father, the town drunk. “My high school friends had made jokes about my dad’s drinking,” shares Josh. “They didn’t think it bothered me because I fell in with the joking and laughed with them. I was laughing on the outside, but let me tell you, I was crying on the inside.”

“About five months after I made that decision for Christ, a love from God entered my life so powerfully that it took that hatred, turned it upside down, and emptied it out. I was able to look my father squarely in the eyes and say, ‘Dad, I love you.’ And I really meant it.”

One day Josh’s father looked at Josh, totally blowing Josh’s mind as he said, “Son, if God can do in my life what I’ve seen Him do in yours, then I want to give Him the opportunity. I want to trust Him as my Savior and Lord.” Unlike Josh’s steady metamorphosis, his dad was instantly changed. “It’s as if God reached down and flipped on the light switch,” says Josh. “Never before or since have I seen such a dramatic change.” His supernatural 180 influenced many in his small town to give their lives to Jesus, too.

The second person that Josh was able to forgive was Wayne, the hired help who had sexually molested Josh for 6+ years. The unwanted abuse started when Josh was just six years old. “I wanted Wayne to burn in hell and I was willing to escort him there,” admits Josh. “The memories of the abuse scarred me.” But after accepting Christ, Josh was able to release his hatred.

“It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. I could never have done it on my own, he says. “If you have a similar story, be assured that you don’t have to face your demons alone, either. Your past can be overcome with God’s help.”

People can mock and ridicule Christianity — as Josh himself once did — but it’s powerful and it’s real. Christianity isn’t a religion. It’s not an ethical idea. And it’s not a psychological phenomenon. It’s a person, Jesus Christ. 

Don’t let trusting in God’s love and goodness be a hurdle for you. Jesus wants to change your heart, heal your wounds, and renew your life. You just need to grant Him access.

Jesus is continually trying to get your attention and draw you to Himself. Your present isn’t a hurdle to Him. Your past isn’t a hurdle to Him. There is nothing you can do to remove His love and grace for you. This may sound impossible to you, but it’s one aspect of Christianity that you initially have to take on faith. Then, as you daily grow in your relationships with Jesus, He will continually prove it!

“Perhaps the prayer I prayed will help you,” adds Josh. “Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. Forgive me and cleanse me. At this very moment I trust you as Savior and Lord. Make me the type of person you created me to be. In Christ’s name. Amen.”

In this series we’ve focused on showing you that the claims of Christ stand firm as solid historical facts, confirmed by the evidence of history, prophecy, and reason. Understanding the facts will give you a solid, dependable foundation to stand on as you experience Christ for yourself!

Jesus: He’s More Than a Carpenter!

> FREE download: Read the first chapter of Josh’s bestseller, More Than a Carpenter. You can buy the book here.

> Watch how More Than a Carpenter changed one reader’s life AND set off a chain reaction that introduced many others to Jesus. That’s how the truth of God’s love is shared: person to person!

> Want to learn more about starting YOUR personal relationship with Jesus? Click here.

The post Overcoming Hurdles: I Know God is Real appeared first on Josh.org.

Why is Jesus the Only Way?

Jesus is our focus in this blog series based on Josh’s best-selling apologetics classic: More Than a Carpenter. Why does learning about who Jesus is matter? Because this exploratory journey helps us to definitively answer “Who am I? … “Why am I here?” and “What’s the point of life?” 

Why is Jesus the only way to understand ourselves and the meaning of life? Read on!

More Than a Carpenter blog #whoisjesus

Jesus: The Only Way?

In our world of seemingly unlimited choice and personal preference, it can be really hard to believe there is ONE way to the truth. “Why is Jesus the only way?” many ask, when Buddha and numerous other options seem just as plausible. “I don’t need a Savior,” they’re quick to add. “I’m a good person.”

Perhaps … but don’t people think they get to define “good” for themselves? Society actively encourages us to find our own “truth,” right? Even as it pushes aside an “s” word that really can’t be swept under the rug: our SIN, and its consequences.

Let’s look a bit at the elephant in the room. “How,” ask some, “can a supposedly loving God send me or anyone else to hell? Isn’t that the exact opposite of loving?”

Josh McDowell’s reply is this: “How can a holy, just, and righteous God allow a sinful person in His presence? He is not only a God of love but also a God who is righteous, just and holy. He can’t tolerate sin in His heaven any more than you could tolerate a filthy, foul-smelling, diseased dog living in your home. This misunderstanding about the basic nature of God is the cause of many theological and ethical problems.”

So, Jesus came and died for you, me, and everyone else, giving us unfiltered access to a personal relationship with God. That’s why Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the LIFE.” Part of our relationship with God includes living with Him in eternity.

So the truth, no matter how we slice and dice it: God doesn’t send anyone to hell; people choose it for themselves when they reject Jesus as Savior. “But,” many assert, “that’s not fair!”

What parent hasn’t heard their child utter the same words? But fair to whom? The willful child, whose perception is limited and entirely self-focused? Or the parent, who sees the bigger picture and knows what is good for the child?

Look, we’re all born self-absorbed and selfish. “Well,” suggest some, “that’s God’s fault, if He created us.”

Actually, we can’t lay any blame on God. Because God has graciously given us FREE WILL to make our own choices. So, ultimately, the choices we make are on us, not Him.

Jesus: The Ultimate Sacrifice

God wants us so much, though, that He came to us in human form — through Jesus — to redeem us. In His choosing to be sacrificed on the cross, Jesus met God’s holy and just requirements so that we don’t have to. In removing our “contamination” (circling back to the “filthy, foul-smelling, diseased dog” metaphor), we can stand “clean” in God’s presence.

If you’re not yet grasping just how HUGE a deal this is, keep pondering it. Allow the magnitude of Jesus’ selfless act to settle deep into your mind and heart. Jesus wasn’t just a “great teacher” or “healer.” He sacrificed Himself on YOUR behalf.

“But if Jesus really was God,” you might be thinking, “He didn’t really die. That would have been impossible. So His ‘sacrifice’ isn’t as monumental as you’re trying to make it out to be.”

Ah. Yes, I can see the logic in how you got there. But remember that Jesus was also fully human. So He felt every sting of the whips as they ripped apart his skin and muscles. And He felt the pain of every jagged breath as He labored for hours on the cross. Jesus symbolically died for you. But He also literally died for you — to prove the depth of God’s love. (Who do you love so much that YOU would endure this torture?)

A man stood before the judge, awaiting the judge’s verdict. “I find you guilty as charged,” announced the judge, “and order you to pay a fine of $1000 or ten days in jail.” Then he did an amazing thing. He stood up, took off his robe, stepped down from the bench, and paid the man’s fine. Why? The judge was the man’s father. He loved his son, yet he was a just judge. Because he loved his son, he couldn’t let his son off, but he willingly paid his fine. This story illustrates what God has done for us through Jesus.

Like this judge, when God looks at us, in spite of His tremendous love for us, He has to bring the gavel down and say death because He is a righteous God. And yet, because He also is a loving God, He came down from His heavenly throne and put on human skin, to pay the price for our redemption.

It’s at this point that you might ask, “Well, why can’t God just forgive me without requiring any payment?”

The answer is that where there is forgiveness, there is payment. If you total someone’s car, and they forgive you, there is still the cost of replacing the vehicle. If someone insults you in front of others, and later you graciously say, “I forgive you,” who has shouldered the price of the insult witnessed by others? You have.

This is what God has done for us: He has said, “I forgive you.” But then paid the price for His forgiveness. It’s not a payment that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius, nor any other religious or ethical leader can ever offer. And you can’t pay the price by being a “good person.” The ONLY way is through Jesus. Will you accept His love and grace today?

Jesus: He’s More Than a Carpenter!

> FREE download: Read the first chapter of Josh’s bestseller, More Than a Carpenter. You can buy the book here.

> Watch how More Than a Carpenter changed one reader’s life AND set off a chain reaction that introduced many others to Jesus. That’s how the truth of God’s love is shared: person to person!

> Want to learn more about starting YOUR personal relationship with Jesus? Click here.

The post Why is Jesus the Only Way? appeared first on Josh.org.

Jesus Fit Himself Into Prophecy?

Jesus! He’s our focus in this blog series based on Josh’s best-selling apologetics classic: More Than a Carpenter. In this post let’s look at whether prophecy helps us to identify the identity of the Savior.

Is Jesus really who He claimed to be — the Son of God and the Jews’ long-awaited Messiah? 

Of all the men ever born, Jesus is the only one to fulfill all Old Testament prophecy about the coming Messiah’s birth, death, and resurrection. Let’s look more at that astounding fact!

More Than a Carpenter blog #whoisjesus

Prophecy Reveals the Messiah

Jesus repeatedly pointed to Old Testament prophecy to substantiate His claims about Himself. What events had to precede and coincide with Jesus’ arrival? Let’s look at just a handful.

Let’s start with Genesis 3:15: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” Only Jesus could possibly fulfill this prophecy. Because He’s the only person in history who did not come from the seed of a man. Jesus, as the “seed” of a woman (Christ’s virgin birth), came to us to destroy the works of Satan (bruise his head) and redeem us unto Himself. Hallelujah!

Genesis 9 and 10 helps us to see what prophecy had to say about Jesus’ bloodline. Let’s go all the way back to Noah, who courageously built the ark when God told him about the upcoming flood. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. All nations of the world can be traced back to these three men. Through prophecy, God let it be known that the Messiah would come through the lineage of Shem.

Then God got even more specific. He told Abraham that the Messiah would be one of his descendants. Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. God chose the lineage of Jacob. His 12 sons fathered the 12 tribes of Israel. God then singled out the tribe of Judah, choosing the lineage of Jesse, who had eight sons, one of whom was David. Interesting note: David, regarded as Israel’s greatest king, is the most person in the Old Testament. Only Jesus is mentioned more frequently than David in the entire Bible.

So, in terms of lineage, prophecy stated that the Messiah must be born of the seed of a woman, the line of Shem, the race of the Jews, the line of Isaac, the line of Jacob, the tribe of Judah, the family of Jesse, and the house of David. Then God eliminated all but one city in the world, Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), as the location of Jesus’ birth. God even defined the time of Jesus’ arrival: during a period in which the Jewish Temple is still standing. This is of great significance when we realize that the Temple was destroyed in AD 70 and has not since been rebuilt.

A prophecy dating from 1012 BC predicts that the Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced and that He would be crucified (Psalm 22:6-18, Zechariah 12:10, Galatians 3:13). Don’t miss this fact: The description of Jesus’ death was written 800 years before the Romans used crucifixion as a method of execution. Other Scriptures provide prophetic details on the place, time, and manner of Jesus’ birth, people’s reactions, and His betrayal.

The Old Testament, written over a period of a 1000 years, contains more than 300 references to Christ, recorded hundreds of years before His birth. 

The authors of the book Science Speaks ran calculations to analyze the probability of a single person being able to fulfill all Old Testament Messianic prophecy. By analyzing just eight prophecies, they found that the chance of any man fulfilling all eight is 1 in 10 to the 17th power. That’s one in 100,000,000,000,000,000. Mind blown! In fulfilling these eight prophecies alone, Jesus gives us proof that God inspired the Old Testament writings.

Some skeptics assert that Jesus was able to fulfill all prophecy by simply taking careful, deliberate action. In other words, Jesus checked off a list, much like you and I might check off our to-do list. Interesting idea — but we’d have to admit that many of the details of Jesus’ birth and death were entirely beyond human control.

Jesus could not have controlled the details of His birth, nor manipulated the details of His betrayal or crucifixion. Jesus was able to fulfill all Old Testament prophecies ONLY because He’s the Son of God.

God gave us so much prophetic information so that we can clearly see that Jesus is the Messiah. That’s how much God wants us to know Jesus. Will you trust in Him today? He’s trustworthy!

Jesus: He’s More Than a Carpenter!

> FREE download: Read the first chapter of Josh’s bestseller, More Than a Carpenter. You can buy the book here.

> Watch how More Than a Carpenter changed one reader’s life AND set off a chain reaction that introduced many others to Jesus. That’s how the truth of God’s love is shared: person to person!

> Want to learn more about starting YOUR personal relationship with Jesus? Click here.

The post Jesus Fit Himself Into Prophecy? appeared first on Josh.org.

Christianity: Philosophy or History?

Jesus! He’s our focus in this blog series based on Josh’s best-selling apologetics classic: More Than a Carpenter. His resurrection takes the question, “Is Christianity valid?” out of the realm of philosophy and makes it a question of history. Why? Because there is sufficient evidence to warrant our belief in the resurrection as a real event in history.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ either happened or it didn’t. L et’s look at what just a small bit of history research shows us, so you can make an educated decision on answering this question for yourself!

More Than a Carpenter blog #whoisjesus

Jesus’ Death and Burial

After Jesus was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate, He was stripped of His clothing and whipped, per Roman custom, before His crucifixion. Eusebius, a third-century historian, provides us with descriptive details of just how much damage flogging did to a victim: “The sufferer’s veins were laid bare, and the very muscles, sinews, and bowels of the victim were open to exposure.” Flogging was no slap on the hand. It served, in part, to quicken the death of those about to be crucified. The Romans weren’t messing around.

Given the brutality of the whipping, as well as the confirmation of Jesus’ death by Roman soldiers before His body was removed from the cross, scholars are certain that Jesus was dead. Therefore, we can disregard any theories put forth by skeptics that suggest He merely fainted. Rome had no reason to allow Jesus to live. Crucifixion served one purpose: a humiliating, excruciating death of those whom Rome considered criminals. History confirms this.

Have you seen movies depicting the torture and crucifixion of Jesus? One, The Passion of the Christ, showcases the horrific events in detail. Do you think Jesus deserved this barbaric treatment? What’s your reaction as you watch His suffering on your behalf?

To meet Jewish burial customs, Jesus’ body was quickly prepared for burial and placed in a solid rock tomb. A large stone, weighing approximately two tons, was then rolled against the entrance with the help of levers, sealing it closed (Matthew 27:60). Roman guards were then stationed outside the entrance, to ensure that Jesus’ disciples didn’t steal His body. Three days later, when the tomb was discovered open and empty, the Roman guards abandoned their post, terrified. This was a huge deal. Byzantine Roman emperor Justinian, in his Digest 49:16, lists 18 offenses for which a Roman guard could be put to death — including falling asleep or leaving one’s post.

The Empty Tomb

Is it possible that Jesus’ disciples stole His body? If you think it’s a possibility, please explain how you think they got past the highly trained and weaponized Roman guards. Or, if you believe, as some skeptics assert, that Jesus escaped from the tomb on His own, because He wasn’t really dead when placed there, please explain how He would have had the strength to remove the heavy stone sealing the tomb, given the condition of His body. We have to remember that the beatings and whipping would have shredded His flesh and done considerable damage to what lay beneath. His blood loss would have been significant. He would have been in shock. And His hands and feet would have been rendered useless, from the long metal stakes driven through them to hold Him to the cross.

The difficulties in belief of the resurrection may be great, but the problems inherent in disbelief are even greater. The Roman seal on the tomb was broken, which would have meant crucifixion upside down for whoever broke it. The massive stone was not just partially rolled back, but looked as if it had been picked up and carried away. And the guards abandoned their post — punishable by their own deaths.

Skeptic theories — from the Wrong-Tomb Theory, to the Stolen-Body Theory, to the Moved-Body Theory — attempt to come up with plausible explanations, but they all fail, as they ignore fact. The Jewish leaders were unable to squelch rumors of Jesus being alive because they couldn’t produce His body. They continued to reject the truth of the resurrection. But just because we ignore an event doesn’t remove it as being factual history.

History Confirmed by Evidence

The Jewish leaders show us, clearly, how blind we can be to the truth when we refuse to see. Though they fabricated a story to dispute the resurrection, they — and those who saw and interacted with Jesus after He rose — knew they were lying. German theologian Paul Althaus reminds us that the claim of the resurrection “could not have been maintained in Jerusalem for a single day, for a single hour, if the emptiness of the tomb had not been established as a fact for all concerned.” All the Jewish authorities had to do was produce Jesus’ dead body — but they couldn’t. Because He was alive!

While a professor at Harvard, Simon Greenleaf, one of the greatest legal minds America has produced, wrote a volume in which he examined the legal value of the apostles’ testimony to the resurrection of Jesus. He observed that it is impossible that the apostles “could have persisted in affirming the truths they narrated, had not Jesus actually risen from the dead, and had they not known this fact as certainly as they knew any other fact.”

The cowering disciples, who hid when Jesus was arrested and stayed in hiding even after His crucifixion, were emboldened by seeing the Risen Jesus. The early Church grew and spread because these believers were now thoroughly convinced that Jesus was God! And all but one of the disciples died a martyr’s death for this assertion.

Don’t shrug off the resurrection as no big deal OR impossible. Jesus had accomplished what He repeatedly told His disciples He would do: die and resurrect, to reconcile us with God when we accept Jesus as Lord. Jesus willingly served as our proxy, so that we could stand forgiven before God. 

It’s not only the past that speaks to the resurrection power of Jesus. It’s the present. Every committed Christ-follower today can testify to the power of the risen Christ in their own lives. They live with the gift of forgiveness (1 Corinthians 15:3), and the daily indwelling of God’s power, as He helps them journey through life (Galatians 5:22-23).

As Josh had to do, after his own attempt to discredit Christianity failed, we have to be willing to surrender our personal biases to be able to see the truth staring us in the face. Josh once thought Christians were really dumb for believing in God and Jesus. But when convinced of the resurrection, by facts, He surrendered to Jesus to remain “intellectually honest.” Where are you in accepting Jesus as legit?

The resurrection matters because it changes everything. For you. For me. For all eternity.

Jesus: He’s More Than a Carpenter!

> FREE download: Read the first chapter of Josh’s bestseller, More Than a Carpenter. You can buy the book here.

> Watch how More Than a Carpenter changed one reader’s life AND set off a chain reaction that introduced many others to Jesus. That’s how the truth of God’s love is shared: person to person!

> Want to learn more about starting YOUR personal relationship with Jesus? Click here.

The post Christianity: Philosophy or History? appeared first on Josh.org.

Strength in Weakness

Life is hard. But our hardships can lead us to recognize God’s strength in our weakness.

Maybe you’re going through a rough patch. Or maybe you’re dealing with an ongoing physical or mental disability. Personally, I struggle with autism, which makes sensory processing difficult. It can cause me to feel anxious, overwhelmed, or distracted. Even by small things. Sometimes, everything feels hard to handle.

When we’re struggling, we might find ourselves asking, “Why must I put up with this? Why doesn’t God fix things and make it easier?” In our struggle, let’s remember that God often uses our weakness to display His strength.

It’s not about us. It’s about Him.

Power in Weakness

The apostle Paul, the world’s most famous evangelist, writes in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 that “a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.” Not once, but THREE times Paul prayed that God would remove this hindrance. God didn’t.

Instead, God replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”

God didn’t allow Paul to be afflicted out of spite. Rather, He needed Paul to remain humble, reliant on His power. We can compare this to a father disciplining his child, a theme the Bible uses often. God knows that we can be spiritually ignorant; sometimes we need a reminder of where to place our focus and draw our strength.

When we become prideful, it’s easy to make poor decisions, take credit, and grow selfish. God wants us to rely on His wisdom and His authority. Human thinking can often get shaky, but God remains our solid foundation (1 Corinthians 1:20). Paul’s life demonstrates God’s transformative power.

Strength in Surrender

I don’t know about you, but I found the mentality of “power in weakness” confusing to grasp at first. Why would God want to use weakness to showcase His might? Why not just start by using someone qualified and strong?

Again, it’s not about us, it’s about Him.

When we see someone strong and muscular lift a really heavy weight, are we surprised by his or her ability? Not really; we expect feats of strength from those with bulging muscles. But when we see a fearful person (Gideon) lead a 300-person army to victory, a shepherd (David) become king, or a pariah (Moses) return from exile to free God’s people, we’re astounded at what the fearful, the insignificant, and the outcast can do through God’s power.

This is how God works: He shows us that it’s not our appearance, ability, or status that matters, but our faith in His power. We all can overcome and accomplish mighty feats when we surrender to God instead of relying on self.

That’s why Paul writes that he boasts not in himself, but in what God has accomplished through him. If God appeared to you in a vision, like He did Paul, leaving you blind until He sent someone to lay hands on you to restore your sight, you’d fully recognize God’s power, too.

This encounter helps us to understand Paul’s words when he writes, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 

God provides our opportunities, our needed abilities, and the experiences we need to get us there. Take this article, for example: Without God placing me in the right spot, at the right time, with the right support system, I likely wouldn’t be writing this, my third guest post for the Josh McDowell Ministry. God gets the glory for this blessing.

We all struggle with things that might make us feel weak or make life feel difficult. But God wants us to trust Him, so that we can endure and overcome. He wants to show us what He can accomplish through us. Because it’s not about us. It’s about Him.

NEXT STEPS

> Interested in knowing God personally? Get started here.
> Need prayer? Contact us. We would love to pray for you, to help share your burden!
> We invite you to read Josh’s book, More Than a Carpenter. Jesus died. He rose. He lives. He empowers us to live for Him!

GUEST BLOGGER CLAYTON THOMAS CARTER, A STUDENT IN PLANO, TEXAS, IS PASSIONATE ABOUT ENCOURAGING THE KNOWLEDGE OF A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW. HE ENJOYS PLAYING TRUMPET AND SERVING AT HIS CHURCH.

The post Strength in Weakness appeared first on Josh.org.

Enemies Refute? | Gospels Reliable? Video 10

My name is Matthew. I’m a speaker and author with Josh McDowell Ministry. After you watch this video, feel free to leave a comment here or via my social channels, listed below. I’d love to hear from you and be a small part of your wrestling with these important questions about Jesus. I also invite you to subscribe to my channel! 

Enemies Refute Gospels? | Are the Gospels Reliable?

Welcome, everyone, to our final video in this series on the historical reliability of the Gospels. We’ve covered a lot in the previous nine videos, but there’s one last question I want us to explore: Do the enemies of Christianity claim that the gospels contain false information? 

Obviously, those opposed to Christianity deny that Jesus rose from the dead, as claimed by the Gospel writers. No surprise there. But there are other details that these critics admit are true. Let’s look at just three examples that substantiate historical facts about Jesus.

One: The Roman historian Tacitus, born about 20 years after the death of Jesus, recorded that the Roman emperor Nero framed Christians as starting a deadly fire that was likely Nero’s own doing.

Tacitus wrote: “Therefore, to squelch the rumor, Nero created scapegoats and subjected to the most refined tortures those whom the common people called ‘Christians,’ hated for their abominable crimes. Their name comes from Christ, who, during the reign of Tiberius, had been executed by the procurator Pontius Pilate. Suppressed for the moment, the deadly superstition broke out again, not only in Judea, the land which originated this evil, but also in the city of Rome, where all sorts of horrendous and shameful practices from every part of the world converse and are fervently cultivated.”

It’s obvious that Tacitus was not friendly towards Christianity. But notice the details he confirms: that Jesus existed and was called Christ, that He lived during the reign of Tiberius, and that He was executed under Pilate. The Christian movement ended after Jesus was killed, but suddenly started up again and spread rapidly. 

Two: The Jewish Talmud accuses Jesus of leading the Jews astray via sorcery. This implies that the Jews believed Jesus actually did supernatural things.

Granted, the Talmud was written roughly 500 years after the time of Jesus, but its writings preserve the oral communication of the Jews passed down through history. So it likely reflects an argument that the Jews made many years earlier. The Bible books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us that the Jews accused Jesus of performing miracles from demonic power, rather than power from God. The writings of Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived in the first century, also recorded that Jesus was a doer of startling deeds. Clearly, these sources confirm that Jesus evidenced supernatural powers.

Three: The final detail I want to show you comes from Matthew 28:11-15. In this Bible passage, Jesus had just resurrected. Matthew tells us how the Roman guards responded.

“While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.”

Why do you suppose Matthew writes this? Likely because the Roman guards were spreading this lie.  Matthew’s details served to help people know the truth. Don’t miss this critical point: If the guards were claiming that the disciples had stolen Jesus’ body, it meant that Rome was admitting that the tomb was empty — and they didn’t know how it happened. 

I hope by now that you recognize that there are plenty of historical facts that substantiate the trustworthiness of the four Gospels, and that we can confidently place our trust in Jesus. “Gospel,” by the way, means “good news.” The resurrection story of Jesus, the central message of Christianity, is definitely good news!

Our sin once separated us from God, but Jesus changed that! Jesus lived among us, selflessly died a horrific death on the cross as payment for our sins, and resurrected to show His supernatural power. You and I are fully reconciled to God, both now and forever, when we choose to  trust in the saving power of Jesus. Will you consider inviting Jesus to be Lord of your life today? 

Thank you for journeying through this series with me. I love sharing this information in person. Consider inviting me to speak at your church or youth event! Click on my Josh McDowell Ministry Speakers Page link below. 

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Matthew is a Christian writer and speaker with a passion for the church to be united, strengthened, and unleashed to spread the good news of Jesus to every corner of the world. With a focus on apologetics and spiritual growth, Matthew offers a fresh voice. Matthew holds an M.Div from Talbot School of Theology.

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Apostle Paul: Beacon of God’s Power

Jesus! He’s our focus in this blog series based on Josh McDowell’s best-selling apologetics classic: More Than a Carpenter. 

In this post let’s look at one of the most influential conversion stories in the Bible: that of Saul of Tarsus. A bitter enemy of the early Church, Saul was personally leading the charge to destroy it. But then Jesus stalled Saul, via a blinding vision, to show him the goal he should be chasing.

Why is Saul’s dramatic conversion so important? Because it’s the pivotal moment that led Saul (Hebrew), later referred to as Paul (Greek), to become the hugely influential spokesman of the Jesus Movement. It’s mind-blowing who God can choose to use, right?!

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Saul/Paul: The Before

Saul, like his father, was a Roman citizen. He was well educated, under the strict doctrines of the Pharisees, in Tarsus, a city known and praised for its Stoic philosophers and culture. Possessing great command of the Greek language, Saul displayed superb dialectic skill. At the tender age of 14, he was sent to study under Gamaliel, one of the great rabbis of the time, to learn to adhere to and preserve strict Judaism.

It was this devotion to Jewish law that later triggered Saul’s adamant opposition and hostility to the Christian faith, due to the importance he attached to the law as a way of salvation.

Saul sought to decimate the early Church by putting followers of Jesus in chains and taking them to Jerusalem to face trial. But on the day he approached the city of Damascus, carrying letters addressed to the Damascus synagogues asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way, Jesus stopped him by appearing to him in a vision.

A bright light from heaven suddenly shone down and Saul fell to the ground. A voice cried, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” cried Saul, trembling in fear.

“I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Saul’s companions, who also heard the voice, quickly realized that Saul could no longer see. So they led him into Damascus, where he sat in his blindness for three days. Then God sent Ananias, a believer, to lay his hands on Saul’s eyes to restore his sight (Acts 9).

Ananias had heard of Saul’s reputation and mission. He was scared to put himself in the same room as Saul, but he obeyed when the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.”

“Brother Saul,” said Ananias, as he placed his hands on Saul’s eyes, “the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” The Bible says that instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see. Saul got up, nourished himself, and got baptized.

Why did Saul’s conversion have to be so dramatic? God had His reasons, but likely because Saul needed to be dramatically convinced of Jesus’ resurrection power. And recognizing that he’d been personally hand-picked for a mission would have had a HUGE impact. One thing we do know: The experience overturns every area of Saul’s life, including where he places his allegiance. 

Saul/Paul: The After

After this encounter, Saul/Paul is transformed in three dramatic ways:

First: His CHARACTER is radically transformed.

The Encyclopedia Britannica describes Paul before his conversion as an intolerant, bitter, persecuting, religious bigot, who was proud and temperamental. The “after” adjectives describe Paul as patient, kind, enduring, and self-sacrificing. Wow!

Second: His RELATIONSHIP with the followers of Jesus is transformed.

The Christians no longer need to fear Paul, as his focus has changed from destroying the Church to helping to grow its members. Paul now encourages them to stay strong in their faith!

Third: His MESSAGE is transformed.

He still loves his Jewish heritage, but Paul has changed from bitter antagonist to determined protagonist of the Christian faith. The Book of Acts tells us that Paul immediately began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”

Don’t miss this: In acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah, Paul’s message is now in direct conflict with the Pharisees’ messianic ideas. Paul now teaches that Jesus’ death on the cross was not a cursing by God, but rather God reconciling the world to Himself through Jesus. That Christ’s death wasn’t a failure, but a great victory, completed by the Resurrection.

Can you imagine the shock waves that swept through the Jewish leadership? And in Paul’s own family?

Fourth: His MISSION is transformed.

As a Jew and a Pharisee, Saul had despised Gentiles, viewing them as inferior to God’s people. But now here he is wholeheartedly serving them, as God’s self-appointed missionary. The Jewish zealot is now an on-fire evangelist to non-Jews!

For the rest of his life, Paul will repeatedly claim that Christ, alone, fueled this transformation in his life. Paul even endured a martyr’s death for his commitment to Christ. Can you say, “Sold out”?

As Paul’s ministry teaches us, Jesus came for the Jew and Gentile alike. Which means that Jesus came and died for YOU! Will you accept Him as your Lord and Savior? 

Jesus: He’s More Than a Carpenter!

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Gospels Historically Confirmed? | Gospels Reliable? Video 9

My name is Matthew. I’m a speaker and author with Josh McDowell Ministry. After you watch this video, feel free to leave a comment here or via my social channels, listed below. I’d love to hear from you and be a small part of your wrestling with these important questions about Jesus. I also invite you to subscribe to my channel! 

Gospels Historically Confirmed? | Are the Gospels Reliable?

We are on video 9 in my series on the historical reliability of the Gospels. In this video, let’s ask how the Gospels compare with other, outside information. Do the gospels mention people, places, and events that can be confirmed by known history? 

Quite a lot of research has been done comparing the Gospels to other known history. For example, the first three chapters of Luke mention 11 historical leaders whose names are confirmed by sources outside the Gospels. This shouldn’t surprise us, given Luke’s track record of providing accurate details. Historian Colin Hemer has chronicled 84 confirmed details in the last 16 chapters of Acts, also written by Luke. As Matthew and Mark contain many of the same details found in Luke, we can say, by comparison, that they, too, are historically accurate.

New Testament scholar Craig Blomberg did a similar test on the book of John to see how it aligns with known history. Some confirmed details include the use of stone water jars, the location of Jacob’s well, the hostility between Jews and Samaritans, the topography of Western Galilee, the location and description of the five colonnades at the pool of Bethesda, the location of the pool of Siloam, the distance from Bethany to Jerusalem, first-century burial practices, Caiaphas as the high priest, and many others. Scholars Norman Geisler and Frank Turek found at least 30 people mentioned in the New Testament who are confirmed by archeology or ancient writings. Their search was not exhaustive. 

Some critics suggest that Pilate and Herod, two Roman leaders, are proof that the Gospel details aren’t correct.

Pilate, they say, as portrayed in the Gospels, seems to be somewhat of a pushover when the Jews pressured him to crucify Jesus. Critics point out that Pilate wasn’t particularly interested in pleasing the Jewish leadership. But the Gospels provide a good explanation for why Pilate would have been hesitant with Jesus: He found no crime deserving of punishment. We have to remember that the cross was reserved for the worst kinds of criminals. Pilate eventually gave way to the agitated crowd’s demands, worried that the Jesus situation would negatively impact his relationship with Caesar.

They also assert that the story of Herod’s massive slaughter of male children, as described in Matthew 2:16, never happened. Certainly an event of this size would be recorded in other historical sources, they say, but it’s not. The Zondervan Bible Background commentary provides this important insight: “Only 123 men returned to Bethlehem from the Babylonian deportation (Ezra 2:21), and it appears not to have grown beyond a small village of perhaps a thousand people at the birth of Jesus. Herod’s forces killed all the infant boys under the age of two years, which would calculate to between ten to thirty boys. Although this number of infant boys massacred would be a huge loss for the village of Bethlehem, it is not an incident that stands out significantly when seen in the light of other horrific events in Herod’s infamous career, and historians would have easily bypassed it.”

We must acknowledge that just because an event is not mentioned outside the Gospels, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Also consider this factor: at that time, information was primarily transferred through word of mouth. Even if people wanted to write something down, many of them were illiterate or lacked the appropriate materials. And those materials would likely have disintegrated after a few hundred years, unless the information was continually recopied onto new materials. The only reason we have any ancient historical writings today is because copies were intentionally made to preserve them. 

All in all, we have plenty to show that the Gospels corroborate well with other known historical details recorded by reliable sources outside the Gospels.

In our next (and final) video, let’s look at a very important question: What did the enemies of Christianity have to say about the Gospels? Do they admit some details were true? Do they sidestep the problems? If the Gospels contain any historical inaccuracies, you would expect the enemies of Christianity to be all over it. See you then!

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Matthew is a Christian writer and speaker with a passion for the church to be united, strengthened, and unleashed to spread the good news of Jesus to every corner of the world. With a focus on apologetics and spiritual growth, Matthew offers a fresh voice. Matthew holds an M.Div from Talbot School of Theology.

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Can We Escape Our Worry?

Worry and anxiety are common feelings. You might be feeling anxious about something right now as you read this. Personally, I can feel anxious if I get overwhelmed by my responsibilities, my worries about what others think of me, or my fears that I’m not good enough. 

It can certainly feel as if the entire world is resting on my shoulders. (As the earth has a circumference of nearly 25,000 miles and a population of nearly 8,000,000,000, that’s a lot of pressure!)

When we get anxious, it’s easy to get self-absorbed. It’s easy to allow our fears and insecurities to dominate our minds. But we don’t have to feel this way. We can look up. God reminds us in His Word to NOT worry about anything, but to put our trust in His loving care for us.

We Are to Release Our Worry

The Bible contains many passages about dealing with worry and anxiety. In His teaching known as the “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus spoke on the subject. We are to NOT be anxious about our needs, but to trust that God will provide. In our moments of need, God often gives others the opportunity to share their blessings and His love with us. 

 Jesus asks, “Can any of you add one moment to his lifespan by worrying?” He asks this to make a point. Our worry often impedes our ability to accomplish our goals and live well. 

Lately, I have stressed about getting all my work done with school, chores, and earning my driver’s license. It’s been a lot. But I realized that if I continue to focus on worry, I won’t have the energy to actually do what I need to get done. So when I start to feel anxious, I like to think on Philippians 4:7, which promises: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” 

Worry exhausts us. But reading the Bible refreshes us with God’s supernatural power. Prayer does, too. Prayer really relaxes me. As I tell God my worries, He reminds me that I can trust Him. God is our good, good Father. Even when our circumstances feel like they’re leading to crisis, we can release our worry by trusting that God is working things out for us, as the Bible promises.

Biblical Example: Trust Over Worry

One of my favorite Bible stories is in the book of Judges. God chose an Israelite by the name of Gideon to free the Israelites from their oppressive enemies. In the book of Judges, we learn what the Israelites were enduring:

Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites were forced to prepare shelters to hide themselves in mountain clefts, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and others invaded their land to ravage it. They ruined the Israelites’ crops and killed their livestock. Season after season their enemies so impoverished them, that Israel cried out to the Lord for help.

Gideon was just a regular guy, so it probably freaked him out when the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” The angel then told Gideon what God wanted him to do: lead the Israelites in battle. Not surprisingly, Gideon didn’t want the job. He instantly dove into fear and anxiety mode. His knees probably started knocking bad!

“How can I save Israel?” he asked (whimpered?). “My family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family.” Yeah, Gideon, God knows what He’s working with. He likes to show us just how powerful WE can be when we tap into HIS power!

God encouraged Gideon to “be courageous” and “trust in the Lord.” I feel assured in my endeavors when people encourage me. Clearly, God’s encouragement helped Gideon. Though still frightened by his situation, Gideon chose to trust God and lead Israel into battle. But first God whittled Gideon’s army down to only 300 men, just to make it clear that the victory was due to God’s might, not Israel’s. 

Most of our worry is created by our thinking we have to face life on our own, under our own power. We sometimes don’t want to tell people our fears or needs because it makes us feel too vulnerable. I’m sure Gideon felt REALLY vulnerable at stepping into that surprise leadership role. But look what he gained for himself and Israel by not letting his fear and worry stop him!

Gideon worried. You and I worry. It is a human response, but not an unbeatable one. Let us “take every thought captive,” as the Bible tells us, and hand our fears and anxiety and doubts over to God. God delights in our faith, and in showing Himself faithful!

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Gospels Contradict? | Gospels Reliable? Video 8

My name is Matthew. I’m a speaker and author with Josh McDowell Ministry. After you watch this video, feel free to leave a comment here or via my social channels, listed below. I’d love to hear from you and be a small part of your wrestling with these important questions about Jesus. I also invite you to subscribe to my channel! 

Gospel Contradict in Details? | Are the Gospels Reliable?

Welcome to video eight in our series of the historical reliability of the Gospels. So far I’ve spoken generally about why we can trust the Gospels. In this video let’s ask: “Are the details in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John consistent with one another?” 

From the perspective that all Bible text is true, there should be no major contradictions between the four Gospels. Skeptics assert that the four Gospels can’t be trusted, however, because when compared there are inconsistencies. Some examples they cite:

~ The family tree of Jesus differs in Matthew and Luke: Some names are missing, other names are added. 

~ Each Gospel records different people at Jesus’ empty tomb.

~ When Jesus is tempted by Satan three times, Matthew and Luke arrange the temptations in different orders.

~ When Jesus gives His famous sermon, Matthew tells us that it takes place on a mountain. But Luke records that it occurs “on a level place.”

~ Matthew writes that a Roman centurion asks Jesus to heal his paralyzed servant. But Luke notes that two elders approach Jesus to make the plea on the centurion’s behalf. 

Okay, there are some differences. But from a historical perspective, we should be willing to accept that a document can still be trustworthy, even if some inconsistencies are present. Remember: inconsistencies don’t necessarily translate to being contradictions.

Think of it this way: If four survivors were to describe their experience of being on the Titanic the night that she hit an iceberg and began to sink, we’d see inconsistencies in their personal stories. They might not get every detail right. And they’d miss some details. Each person would focus on the details they want us to know. Yet from their individual testimonies, we gain a more complete picture of all that happened. The same is true if you were in a car accident. You, the driver who hit you, and the onsite witnesses would each tell a different version of what happened. But taken together, you’d be able to piece together the full picture.

To judge the four Gospels as being untrustworthy because they don’t match, detail for detail, is not a strong argument.

Four Important Points 

As we consider these and other differences in the Gospel versions, let’s keep these points in mind:

First: Differences don’t necessarily equate to contradictions.
None of the four Gospel writers claim to be providing a complete list of who visited Jesus’ empty tomb. They simply chose to focus on different people as they share the Good News that Jesus resurrected, as He said He would.  

Second: These writers weren’t so concerned about chronology.
Each writer chose how to present the information they thought important to include. Perhaps they had theological lessons in mind as they assembled their material.

Third: Some contradictions are not hard to harmonize, if you take the time to think about them.
Matthew describes Jesus giving his sermon on a mountain. Luke says it occurred on a flat location. Perhaps because it was a flat area on a mountain. In studying the Greek wording between the books of Matthew and Luke, New Testament scholar D.A. Carson concluded that Matthew’s “mountain” probably means “hill country” and Luke’s “plain” commonly refers to a plateau in a mountainous region. There’s no contradiction here.

Fourth: As Carson shows us, sometimes contradictions are easily explained as we dig deeper into research.
Specific to whether the Roman centurion showed up in person 0r sent others to make his request, New Testament scholar Leon Morris noted, “It is better to see Matthew as abbreviating the story and leaving out details inessential to his purpose. What a man does through agents he may be said to do himself. So Matthew simply gives the gist of the centurion’s communication to Jesus, whereas Luke in greater detail gives the actual sequence of events.” We can apply this to the details shared about Jesus’ family tree, as well.

The Gospel writers were not modern day journalists. If we read the Gospels with the standard of their intent, we are able to see that the apparent inconsistencies can be reasonably resolved. Too, the differences in the Gospels serve to give each book credibility as being a unique perspective.

If all four Gospels conveyed the exact same details, we wouldn’t have four accounts. We’d have one account told four times. The Gospels are different enough to show us that they are independent sources, but similar enough to show us that the inconsistencies aren’t contradictions. We can have a high degree of trust in them.

In my next video, let’s look at the Gospels in light of what scholarly research tells us about the people, places, and events in which they are situated. See you then!

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Matthew is a Christian writer and speaker with a passion for the church to be united, strengthened, and unleashed to spread the good news of Jesus to every corner of the world. With a focus on apologetics and spiritual growth, Matthew offers a fresh voice. Matthew holds an M.Div from Talbot School of Theology.

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