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'?"
Monday, July 30, 2007
Just Walk Across the Room
Borrowed my first book from Jon Ma after I started the online library thingi. It's called "Just Walk Across the Room" by Bill Hybels. Pastor Bill explained how one can stay faithful in spreading the Gospel of peace and salvation. I'm just one-quarter through the book and has already cried a few times!
This is typical of Bill Hybel's books.
Another of his book worth reading is "Courageous Leadership". Be prepared to cry too! It equips anyone who knows that God has prepared him to impact the world for Christ as a leader.
One little secret that I discovered (a little late) is that the best way to grow is to let older, wiser people mentor us. And good books do just that!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
OSIM Triathalon (right spelling?)
Saw these crazy guys this morning at East Coast beach this morning. Took a video of them rushing into the sea. If it was me, I'll be in hospital (or dead) by now.
Is Rachel there?
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Now is the time!
On Monday I bought a CD/DVD called "Now is the time" by Christian rock band Delirious?, and it came with 3 devotional cards written by their guitarist Stu G. Here's the message on one of these cards, based on their song "Now is the time"...
The winds are blowing through again,So we must follow.A people daring to believeWe can change tomorrow,And be the miracle of light,And we won't give up the fight.Now is the time for us to shine,Shine with the face of Christ divine.No compromise, for all heaven cries,Now is the time.The river's running through again, rejuvenating,For everything You touch You change,And we've all been changing.We're a city shining on a hill,Tell this world You're shining still,Tell this world You always will.Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, King of lights.Jesus, Jesus, raise a church that's shining brightI want to follow but what does it mean,To live in this world and keep everything clean.Nothing I own here is ever my own,When I live in the mercy and blessing You've shown.I lay down my rights; see the world through Your eyes,And fight for the hungry who pay for our lives,I want to have You in all of my world.So Jesus consume me, flow through me, cos now is the time...If our last album "World Service" had a theme of grace, then our latest offering, "The Mission Bell", has a theme of mission. In other words, once we experience the grace of God in the life and person of Jesus for ourselves, how can we do anything different than to "Go into all the world and preach the good news to every creature" (Mark 16:15)?We see in Ephesians 4:11-12 that we're not all evangelists and preachers. But we are called to reflect the Kingdom of God in our day-to-day lives. To be a flavour, a reflection... Salt and light in our neighbourhoods and beyond (Matt 5:13-16).So what does it mean to "shine with the face of Christ divine"? In Exodus 33:27-35 we read about how Moses' face shone whenever he talked face to face with God. He wore a veil over his face so the people didn't see when it was fading.In 2 Corinthians 3:4-18 the apostle Paul recounts the story and says that when we turn to Jesus He takes the veil away and we are being changed from glory to glory!"Lifting the Veil 7-8 The Government of Death, its constitution chiseled on stone tablets, had a dazzling inaugural. Moses' face as he delivered the tablets was so bright that day (even though it would fade soon enough) that the people of Israel could no more look right at him than stare into the sun. How much more dazzling, then, the Government of Living Spirit?
9-11 If the Government of Condemnation was impressive, how about this Government of Affirmation? Bright as that old government was, it would look downright dull alongside this new one. If that makeshift arrangement impressed us, how much more this brightly shining government installed for eternity? 12-15 With that kind of hope to excite us, nothing holds us back. Unlike Moses, we have nothing to hide. Everything is out in the open with us. He wore a veil so the children of Israel wouldn't notice that the glory was fading away—and they didn't notice. They didn't notice it then and they don't notice it now, don't notice that there's nothing left behind that veil. Even today when the proclamations of that old, bankrupt government are read out, they can't see through it. Only Christ can get rid of the veil so they can see for themselves that there's nothing there. 16-18 Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him." (The Message)One thing I get from these scriptures is that our faces will not shine and reflect Jesus if we do not spend time with Him. Moses met with God and his face shone. The New Testament tells us that our faces will shine with the brightness of His face because there is nothing between us and God.The presence of God is something we should seek and earnestly desire. We can do nothing without Him! But with Him we can do amazing things! (Philippians 4:13)I believe like the song says that we can "dare to believe that we can change tomorrow". There are so many people out there, not too far from us that are living desperate lives. Are we prepared to have shining faces and "dirty hands"? Loneliness, poverty, injustice, debt, greed, and abuse... these are all the things that God has something to say about through us, and you know what? There is a great cloud of witnesses in heaven cheering us on, to go run the race and make a difference (Heb 12:1-2).Remember: Now is the time for us to shine, shine with the face of Christ divine. No compromise, for all heaven cries, "Now is the time".
Sunday, July 22, 2007
What is the Westminster Confession of Faith?
For those of you who listened to today's sermon, hope you are ministered. I am!
The speaker referred to the "Westminster Confession of Faith" in his sermon. I'll like to take this opportunity to do some "helpful informing" with regard to this document.
In our Presbyterian Church of Singapore's constitution, it was stated that "the church acknowledges the Apostles Creed and the
Westminster Confession of Faith as worthily expressing the fundamental and traditional faith commonly held by the church."
What is the Westminster Confession of Faith?
In 1643, the English Parliament called upon "learned, godly and judicious Divines", to meet at Westminster Abbey in order to provide advice on issues of worship, doctrine, government and discipline of the Church of England. Their meetings, over a period of five years, produced a set of doctrinal statements now known as the Westminster Confession of Faith. The Presbyterian Church in Singapore, together with many other reformed churches in the world, use it as our standards of doctrine, subordinate to the Bible.
You may read the whole document online:
http://www.reformed.org/documents/westminster_conf_of_faith.htmlThe section on predestination is laid out in chapter 3. Read in particular in section 8 how this doctrine is to be handled with "
prudence and care" and that this teaching is meant to produce in believers "
praise, reverence, admiration of God, humility, diligence and abundant consolation"!
And that was what happened to me when Eld Yong brought to us the teaching on predestination.Thank You God for choosing me even before the foundation of this earth!
PS: The picture is that of John Calvin who is inconsequential to the content of my post. Ha ha. Just thot a handsome face will attract you to this post!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Join "kpckias" Yahoo Group to share good books!
See the "Yahoo Groups" button on the left column?
Click on it to join "kpckias" yahoo group and get to share good Christian books among kias!
Grow like a champion !
To access the library, click on Our Shared Library on the left column.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Worship
Do we really know what is true worship? We have been talking about this for quite long already, so I felt that a summarised version should be put up here, where everyone can see. :)
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Question: "What is true worship?"
Answer: True worship is God-centered worship. People tend to get caught up in where they should worship, what music they should sing in worship, and how the worship looks to other people. Focusing on these things completely misses the point. Jesus tells us that true worshipers will worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). This means we worship from the heart and the way God calls us to. Worship can include praying, reading God's Word with an open heart, singing, participating in communion, and serving others. It is not limited to one act, but is done properly when the heart and attitude of the person is in the right place.The first thing we should know is that worship and praise is reserved only for God. Only he is worthy; not any of his servants (Rev 19:10). We are not to worship saints, prophets, statues, angels, any other false gods, or even Mary, mother of Jesus. We also should not be worshiping for the expectation of something in return, such as a miraculous healing. Worship is done for God, and God's pleasure alone. Worship can be public praise to God (Ps 22:22, 35:18), in a congregational setting, where we can proclaim through music and praise our adoration and thankfulness for him and what he has done for us. True worship is felt inwardly, then comes out through our actions. "Going through the motions" out of obligation is unpleasing to God, and is done completely in vain. He can see through all the hypocrisy, and he hates this. He demonstrates this in Amos 5:21-24 as he talks about coming judgment. An example is the story of Cain and Abel, the first sons of Adam and Eve. They both brought gift offerings to the Lord, but he was only pleased with Abel's. Cain brought the gift out of obligation; Abel brought his finest lambs from his flock. He brought out of faith and admiration for God.True worship is not confined to singing in church, or open praise (although these things are both good and we are told to do them in the Bible), but it is the acknowledgment of God and all his power and glory in the things we do. To do this, we must know God, we can not be ignorant of him (Acts 17:23). Worship is to glorify and exalt God; to show our loyalty and admiration to our Father.
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Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Bukit Timah is fun
Went to Bukit Timah Nature Park one morning and it was fun!
Walking up the bridge
One long slide...
One long slide (the other way)...
Somebody don't like to swing
LE EN Flying Fox
Zheng Ling Flying Fox
guys, please pray for both zhikai and chun wai.
chun wai's running a fever in camp, and zhikai ain't in the pink of health, still having cough, and still recovering.
Monday, July 09, 2007
A Miracle
Date: 6 July 2007 (Friday)
Time: 11.50+pm
This is how the story goes. Something was wrong with me on Thursday night, and I was just exhausted. For some weird reason, by 9pm I felt as though I was about to collapse already. Anyway, I was really tired on Friday too, cos my Fridays are long days. With CBSI and all.
So I got home exhausted, at about 11pm. And I couldn't sleep because I had 465077953101589 things to do for Saturday. So there I was, frustrated, exhausted, and stressed out. I was dying to sleep but I couldn't, and every minute I was just feeling worse and worse. Really, it's horrible when you feel like dying but can't. Something like that la.
So just when I was feeling so horrible, an sms came in. An sms from one of the kias, and this is what it said:
"Hope this verse will encourage you. Psalm 46:1 'God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.' Trust in Him always and remember that God is always there :)"Dated - 21 Jan 2007And all I could do was be amazed at how God works. For some weird reason that message came in again, almost 7 months later. For some weird reason it wasn't any other message, but it was a verse of encouragement from Psalm. For some weird reason God chose to show that He really is an ever-present help in times of trouble, and all I can do is thank Him :)
Friday, July 06, 2007
Live Up To Our Promises
Revival begins with revived people. Let's learn to live up to our promises to God.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Quakers... & others
Throughout the 2000 years of Christianity on planet earth, people were fascinated and drawn to Jesus Christ. And people came to experience the truth of the Bible in various ways. We know the Holy Spirit is a creative spirit. And therefore we can encounter God in so many ways. Some people experience God through prayer. Some through work. Some through suffering. Others through hymns and songs. It seems like we'll always fail whenever we want to contain the Holy Spirit's ministry with the methods we are comfortable with. The Holy Spirit will always devise His own ways to minister to people (but of course never contradicting His own words, which is the Bible!)
When George Fox tried to explain how one can encounter Jesus, the church and society in His time must have felt threatened because he can potentially create disequilibrium in the church and society. People would definitely try to discredit him first - instead of listening to the merits of his viewpoint first. As a result, he and followers of his ideas were ostracised.
Today, we run into the same problem of labelling "cults" before we give them a fair hearing because we were threatened by their "strange ideas". Nonetheless if we are not confident with Scriptures ourselves, we should not spend too much time listening to "strange ideas" - like the Quakers! Instead, we strengthen our command of Scripture before attempting to tackle them. The reason is simple. Scripture will give us a standard to discern what is good and what is lousy about the Quaker's stand.
I have scanned a short article on the coming about of the "Quakers" from a relatively unbiased book. Any interested party can obtain from me via email.
I had a great laugh over these 2 photos....
Monday, July 02, 2007
1st July 2007 (Our own Independence Day)
Heart beating
Eyes shining
Face lifted
Soul raptured
--Anon.
Youth Sunday...
Cult or what??
Came across a website with both really good and yet subtly strange ideas. I'm sure we'd agree with a lot of the points this guy makes, but some of the other points seem to go against what we've been taught all this while, so I was wondering if pastor can take a look at it. This is the first time I've heard/read of the group called the Quakers, started by George Fox. And they appear to have the wrong idea about what mainstream Christian denominations are teaching. Hmm.
http://www.hallvworthington.com/whyjesus.htmlhttp://www.hallvworthington.com/George_Fox_Selections/foxtithing.htmlhttp://www.hallvworthington.com/grace.html
Revival begins with revived people. Let's learn to live up to our promises to God.
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.
