April 4, 2009

Where is God in pain?

Noted Auschwitz survivor, Elie Wiesel, recounted an experience he had while a prisoner in the notorious death camp.

Wiesel, along with the rest of the camp, were forced to watch the execution of a fellow Jewish prisoner. They watched as the prisoner hung on the gallows, refusing to die, struggling and kicking in the throes of death. In hopeless desperation, an onlooker was heard to say, "Where is God? where is He?"

At that moment, Wiesel recounts, a voice within him spoke to his heart, saying, "Right there on the gallows; where else?"

- Sourced from 'Jesus Among Other Gods' by Ravi Zacharias

Napoleon on the Divinity of Jesus

Below is a staggering statement by Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) on the divinity of Jesus:

"Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded Him empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him…

I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man: none else is like Him; Jesus Christ was more than man… I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me… but to do this it was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lighted up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts…

Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space. Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him.

This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man’s creative powers. Time, the greatest destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit on its range. This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ."

April 2, 2009

empire



Sarah and I are taking on the leadership of Empire Youth in Kings. We're so excited about working with our teenagers during the next huge season of Kings, which kicks off on April 17th with the launch of Kings One.

Artie Shepherd and his wife Alana led Empire Youth & Young Adults brilliantly over the past 18 months. Thanks to their work, Sarah and I have the privilege of taking on a strong, passionate youth ministry with a gun leadership team who are sharp, switched on and ready to do anything!

I am convinced that teenagers are not the church of tomorrow, they are the church of today. The Bible illustrates constantly that God goes looking for young people when He wants to change a nation, and our prayer is that he would look no further than the teenagers of Kings.

Exciting times ahead!

Believe & Behave

Just doing final preparation for tonight's lecture at Kings Leadership College on Ephesians. Chapters 1-3 of Ephesians deal with theology; chapters 4-6 deal with conduct. In a sense, Paul spends three chapters declaring what he believes about Jesus, then the next three chapters on the implications of this on the way we behave.

One commentator of Ephesians summed it up succinctly:

"As with other epistles of Paul’s, Christian theology is followed by Christian conduct. All conduct is built upon theology, and all theology is incomplete and underdeveloped without conduct."

Will be a great night!