Does God exist? The following offers honest, straight-forward reasons to believe in God...
By Marilyn Adamson
Just once wouldn't you love for someone to simply show you the evidence for God's existence? No arm-twisting. No statements of, "You just have to believe." Well, here is an attempt to offer some of the reasons which suggest that God exists.
But first consider this. If a person opposes even the possibility of there being a God, then any evidence can be rationalised or explained away. It is like if someone refuses to believe that people have walked on the moon, then no amount of information is going to change their thinking. Photographs of astronauts walking on the moon, interviews with the astronauts, moon rocks...all the evidence would be worthless, because the person has already concluded that people cannot go to the moon.
When it comes to the possibility of God's existence, the Bible says that there are people who have seen sufficient evidence, but they have suppressed the truth about God. On the other hand, for those who want to know God if he is there, he says, "You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you." Before you look at the facts surrounding God's existence, ask yourself, If God does exist, would I want to know him? Here then, are some reasons to consider...
1. Does God exist? The complexity of our planet points to a deliberate Designer who not only created our universe, but sustains it today.
2. Does God exist? The human brain's complexity shows a higher intelligence behind it.
3. Does God exist? "Chance" or "natural causes" are insufficient explanations.
4. Does God exist? To state with certainty that there is no God, a person has to ignore the passion of an enormously vast number of people who are convinced that there is a God.
5. Does God exist? We know God exists because he pursues us. He is constantly initiating and seeking for us to come to him.
6. Does God exist? Unlike any other revelation of God, Jesus Christ is the clearest, most specific picture of God pursuing us.
to be continued and elaborated on at http://everystudent.com/sg/features/isthere.html...
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Who is Jesus? A quick summary on the life of Jesus Christ - and reasons to believe in him...
By Paul E. Little
It is impossible for us to know conclusively whether God exists and what He is like unless He takes the initiative and reveals Himself. We must know what He is like and His attitude toward us. Suppose we knew He existed, but that He was like Adolf Hitler--capricious, vicious, prejudiced, and cruel. What a horrible realisation that would be!
We must scan the horizon of history to see if there is any clue to God's revelation. There is one clear clue. In an obscure village in Palestine, almost 2,000 years ago, a Child was born in a stable. Today the entire world is still celebrating the birth of Jesus.
He lived in obscurity until He was thirty, and then began a public ministry that lasted three years. It was destined to change the course of history. He was a kindly person and we're told that "the common people heard Him gladly." And, "He taught as One who had authority, and not as their teachers of the Law" (Matthew 7:29).
It soon became apparent, however, that He was making shocking and startling statements about Himself. He began to identify Himself as far more than a remarkable teacher or prophet. He began to say clearly that He was God. ...
Jesus Christ - the Son of God?
As we face the claims of Christ, there are only four possibilities. He was either a liar, a lunatic, a legend, or the Truth. If we say He is not the Truth, we are automatically affirming one of the other three alternatives, whether we realise it or not.
(1) One possibility is that Jesus lied when He said He was God--that He knew He was not God, but deliberately deceived His hearers to lend authority to His teaching. Few, if any, seriously hold this position. Even those who deny His deity affirm that He was a great moral teacher. They fail to realise those two statements are a contradiction. Jesus could hardly be a great moral teacher if, on the most crucial point of His teaching--His identity--He was a deliberate liar.
(2) A kinder, though no less shocking possibility, is that He was sincere but self-deceived. We have a name for a person today who thinks he is God. That name is lunatic, and it certainly would apply to Christ if He were deceived on this all-important issue. But as we look at the life of Christ, we see no evidence of the abnormality and imbalance we find in a deranged person. Rather, we find the greatest composure under pressure.
(3) The third alternative is that all of the talk about His claiming to be God is a legend--that what actually happened was that His enthusiastic followers, in the third and fourth centuries, put words into His mouth He would have been shocked to hear. Were He to return, He would immediately repudiate them.
The legend theory has been significantly refuted by many discoveries of modern archaeology. These have conclusively shown that the four biographies of Christ were written within the lifetime of contemporaries of Christ. Some time ago Dr. William F. Albright, world-famous archaeologist now retired from Johns Hopkins University, said that there was no reason to believe that any of the Gospels were written later than A.D. 70. For a mere legend about Christ, in the form of the Gospel, to have gained the circulation and to have had the impact it had, without one shred of basis in fact, is incredible.
For this to have happened would be as fantastic as for someone in our own time to write a biography of the late John F. Kennedy and in it say he claimed to be God, to forgive people's sins, and to have risen from the dead. Such a story is so wild it would never get off the ground because there are still too many people around who knew Kennedy. The legend theory does not hold water in the light of the early date of the Gospel manuscripts.
(4) The only other alternative is that Jesus spoke the truth. From one point of view, however, claims don't mean much. Talk is cheap. Anyone can make claims. ...
Evidence from the Life of Jesus
First, His moral character coincided with His claims.
Second, Christ demonstrated a power over natural forces which could belong only to God, the Maker of these forces.
Third, Jesus demonstrated the Creator's power over sickness and disease.
Fourth, Jesus' supreme credential to authenticate His claim to deity was His resurrection from the dead.
Was Jesus' Resurrection Just a Story?
find out more at http://everystudent.com/sg/features/faith.html...
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More questions and answers.
Why is there so much suffering?
If God is good why does he allow so much suffering?
Why
Why do people get cancer? Why is there tragedy and death?
Is God a Good Director?
Is God directing this world very well? Questions to consider...
What Will Heaven Be Like?
Is it all just strumming harps and sitting on clouds?
Reincarnation, Karma & Life after Death
The problems of reincarnation and the law of karma.
Life after Death
How good do you have to be to get to heaven?
Why do I need God to be happy?
"I have found happiness in my life. Why do I need to derive a sense of purpose and happiness from the concept of a 'divine being'?"
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Truth in a Fast-food World
Something I've learned while studying the first secion of Psalms 119, in my mentoring with Christian (Psalms 119: 9 - 16). Hope it'd be of use to all! =)
Author: Charles Colson, Men's Devotional Bible (NIV) from Zondervan Publishing House
We take our stand not on the shifting sands of secular relativism but on the holy and inerrant Word of God. Decisions in the world are made on the basis of expedience and changing sociological factors. But the Word is unchanging, immutable and without it we Christians have nothing.
Taking our stand on Biblical truth can be our only defence against culture's penchant to reduce all issues to simplistic suppositions and glib answers. We impatiently expect to get solutions to the most profound ambiguities of life the same way we drive up to the fast-food counter: one double burger, chocolate shake, and an order of fries. We are faddists. Just look at the rash of new diets and instant physical-conditioning courses that week after week dominate our bestseller lists.
The problem is, that "easy-answer" mentality is invading the Christian church: we want scorecards by which we can instantly rate our politicians, new catchy acronyms for salvation, time-saving techniques for discipleship. But formulas don't convert people; slick slogans and cute phrases are no substitutes for hard spiritual truth.
In our well-intentioned effort to reach unsaved masses, we often make the gospel message itself sound easy, unthreathening, a painless answer to all life's ills. We potray a loving God who forgives all and asks nothing in return. Now, that may tickle the ears of this pleasure-seeking generation, but it is nothing less than heresy.
We must challenge presuppositions - not only of society as a whole but of the evangelical subculture as well. The gospel of Jesus Christ must be the bad news of the conviction of sin before it can be the Good News of redemption. The truth is revealed in God's Holy Word; life can be lived only in the absolute and disciplined submission to its authority.Wow. Okay. I suppose in our KPC context, we too can sometimes have this "fast-food" mentality when it comes to grow. Sometimes, we judge the success of our "efforts by the number of friends we manage to bring for events, by how fantastic our worship sounds like, or by how many people we manage to share the gospel to.
Sad to say, the euphoria pertaining to these "successes" is but temporary, once the hype dies down, once the fun ceases and games end, and when we see our youths dropping out one by one. Why is this happening?
There is no instant formula for spiritual or numerical growth for the Youth Ministry. Happening worship and exciting programmes help to attract people initially, but have limited effect. As our youths grow up into adulthood, such activities will have less and less appeal. (Too childish for many of them, I mean you can't expect 19 year olds to play hide and seek in church right?) If they find some place else that offers a better deal in the adrenaline factore, then off they go. If they find that they are not growing spiritually, then it'll be another church or totally dropping out of the faith altogether.
What then makes people stay? I'd say, the solid spiritual food from the Word of God. At the end of the day, youths and young adults alike are looking for something deeper - something beyond the usual rahh-rahh of teambuilding games and food eating sessions. A consistent and deeper study of the Bible is what can meet their needs, more than anything else the world has to offer. Not just normal Faith Factor discussions, but studying the Bible by itself or with the use of guides during mentoring sessions or for example, CBSI.
So why do we need to crack our heads so much when it comes to planning? Haha.
"How can a young man (
or woman!) keep his way pure? By living according to Your Word" - Psalms 119:1 (NIV) =)
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Synod Youth Games 2007
And the title of Most Valuable Player for the Synod Youth Games 2007 from Katong Presbyterian Church goes to...
=)
Nahh, but seriously, a big thank you to all who participated in this year's Synod Youth Games. We may not have won big, but it was the bonding and interaction and fun that counted! They include: (sorry I can't list everyone's names down!)
1) The 13-18 year old captains' ball team, led by Sean Eng!
2) The 13-18 year old soccer team, led by Samuel Coming Soon!
3) The 19-25 year old captains' ball team, led by Marianne Lee. This team came in overall third! (special mention goes to Shawn Quek from PLH, who did a bit of free lancing! =)
4) The crews manning the Mamak Stall, led by Cyril Lim!
5) Pastor Kuo Yung, for helping to ferry the Mamak crew members and snacks and drinks!
6) True Way Presbyterian Church for organising the games!
7) Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary and Secondary Schools for allowing us to play on their compounds!
8) GOD! For giving us the good weather and for making this combined event possible!
Stay tuned for the upcoming Synod Youth Camp in December! Till then! =)
Friday, May 18, 2007
Encouraged
Once again, Romans has encouraged me. Every lesson amazes me you know, and every lesson just leaves me in awe of all that God did, is doing, and is gonna do.
This time, while doing the lesson, I was tearing because I was just so moved by all that God has done for me, despite me being totally unworthy of it. I was just so encouraged by His love and grace, extreme, unending mercy.
It's a huge thing for someone to die for a righteous man, but God showed His love, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Isn't that just amazing?
Another thing in Romans I read,
that we hope for what we do not see. For who hopes for what is already there? So we hope for what we do not have, and we wait for it patiently. Amazing.
And despite my sins, I was predestined
by God, called to His throne, justified, and glorified. God glorified me. And still is glorifying me. Why should I glorify myself?
It's just amazing, the things we read in the Bible. You can't find it anywhere else on earth. All glory to the Risen King =)
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Balance
Most of your exams should be over by now yes?
YAY. Time to put those books aside and play for a while huh.
I'm sure you wouldn't have that many regrets, or live in fear of getting back your test papers right? If you had studied hard and put in your 101%, and let's not forget the 147 tuition sessions and about 595 extra lessons you had per week in the run up to the exams.
Okay, I'm exaggerating a little. Well, I guess most youths go through this phase in school. I did. Only that I didn't have 147 tuition sessions. Just two, all before my A Level days. Most youths in KPC also have no problem gearing up for the exams. Yes, we may get a little distracted during group study sessions (ah-hah), but I presume they stay up into the wee hours of the morning to make up for lost time?
In fact, I believe our problem may be the fact that we're studying too much. I hear gasps of disbelief. Yes, so much so that sometimes, it comes at the expense with our walk with God. Let me explain.
There's nothing wrong to study hard and get good results. In fact, it's our duty to do well as a student. It is our foremost responsibility and yes, a form of worship that not only honours our parents, but also pleases and glorifies God. Through our results, we can be a good Christian example to our friends too. By attributing our success and showing the world who we really work for, we can bring the gospel message to our classmates in the flesh - through tangible results.
On the other hand, we are also called to worship God and serve Him through the church, and to love and serve one another. This form of service materialises itself through active Youth participation in ushering, worship, planning fellowship events, mentoring, biblestudy etc etc, just to name a few.
Herein lies the clash of priorities. Many of us tend to swing to the extremes - when the going gets tough and when push comes to shove, our service in church is the first to be given up in our relentless quest for good results.
It sad really, to see how stressed some of us can become, as a result of parental, societal and even self-induced pressure to perform. There’re Sec 3s and JC1s mugging as if they were taking their O and A levels! Times have changed, that's for sure. The workload's been increasing all the time and the number of subjects students have to read these days are just crazy.
It's a delicate balance really. That's why we need God's help all the more. We need to earnestly pray for His wisdom in setting our priorities right, in juggling between studies and service, in discerning what kind of service we can afford the time and effort in, in plucking up the courage to decide when enough is enough (both in terms of academics and in church involvement). We need to pray for proper time management - to spend sufficient time studying and set time aside for personal quiet time with God and serving in church, and if need be, to sacrifice some of our leisure time in order to achieve the two objectives. Most of us are no Superman or Superwoman, and something's just got to give. We also need to honour our parents, who are naturally concerned that our studies do not suffer because of church involvement. But if we do it right, we can put their minds at ease and thus they’d be more willing to let us participate actively in church while studying at the same time.
Not easy huh. And I speak from personal experience. During my O level days, I was supposedly "serving" God in the old Youth Ministry (hah what a paradox), and was so "involved" that my results actually suffered. Of course there were other factors that played their part, like me not serving for the right motive, but my point here is that we do not serve at the expense of our results, and neither should we study so hard that we neglect God.
To all group leaders, mentors and committee members who are still studying, continue to work hard and do your best in school, be it for studies or CCA. But at the same time, let's not forget the One we're really doing this for. It's not for personal glory. Let's also not forget our obligations to love and serve one another through our service in church.
At the end of the day, it all boils down to the question of who God really is in our lives. If we put God first and all in everything we do, the rest of our commitments, be they academic or otherwise, will fall into place. Let's continue to do that shall we? And let's continue to encourage one another in our daily worship and service to God. =)
Friday, May 11, 2007
miss uuuu
miss u load guys. i realized its really difficult to stay close to God when ur away from Godly influences (besides my parents of whom i dun see much of these days either).
i've been feeling rather spiritually dry and i think FF kinda has this reviving feeling for me. though honestly, sometimes when i come, i find it a challenge. coz i feel tempted to skip and go out and shop and what-not. but everytime i skipp FF (for valid reasons of coz! was at a talk last week=p), i feel quite dry.
like now.
and i'll be flying away on sat morn so i wun see u guys for another week.=) though i'm not very actively involved, hence will not be missed much (not being pessimistic only realistic!=p), i will miss u guys dearly.
hope to date a few of u to go out and catch up and pray soon coz i really need fellowship. take care guys and continue to growgrowgrow. update me when i'm back!=)
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
The time has come
If only a group of young people (preferably in KPC, Singapore, hehe) would set their lives on being the difference in this world, on throwing themselves completely to God and letting Him have everything. If only we would get into a revolution of love (yeah like the I-heart revolution! really been a bit into hillsong united and stuff lately) and we'd live by the lyrics of this song
The time has comeTo stand for all we believe inSo I for one am gonna give my praise to YouToday today it's all or nothingAll the way, the praise goes out to YouYeah all the praise goes out to YouToday today I live for one thingTo give You praise in everything I doYeah all the praise goes out to YouAll we are is YoursAnd all we're living for is all You areIs all that You are LordIf only the children of God would rise up and be as extreme and fanatical as the terrorists we read about all the time.. except that we'd be extreme about loving and giving instead of violence and killing.
Is it too much to want to change the world? Because somehow that's what I want to do.
Open the skies, flood the earth with Your lightThis is love to break a world indifferentAs we lift up our eyes, fill our hearts with Your fireIn a world the same we'll be the different, the difference
Friday, May 04, 2007
New Banner!
We'll be using this picture for the new banner!
(It's kind of unfair that all our girls are so pretty and guys so handsome)
Click on the picture to see the faces big-big!
*btw, LTA just came to retrieve the street sign, sigh*
Le En is Home!
Thanks for the prayers and concerns over sms, some want to visit but I refused because his germs might find you. You could see he is just as crazy in the hospital.
=)
We'll be using this picture for the new banner!
God is perfect, we are sinful, so there is a great gap between us. We may try to feel better through work, relationships, sport or religion. But all our attempts fail, because we have ignored the real problem - turning our back on God.
Jesus took the consequences of our self-centredness by giving up his life on the cross. He proved he had broken sin's destructive power by rising from the dead. Jesus offers us freedom from guilt and a bridge back to God.
