On Campus in Jacksonville: UNF

Yesterday, Friday November 22, was the very last day of our travels for the semester. Early this morning, we all parted ways and flew or drove home. These past twelve weeks have been an incredible time of growth, learning, and desiring God more deeply in my life. I have had so many experiences that I wish I could share more in depth, but time has not permitted me this. If you would like to hear more, you can email or comment-or talk to me in person-and I'd be glad to share more! 

On campus at the University of North Florida last week, we all had several good conversations with students. Tom even had the opportunity to pray with several junior high students who were on campus for an event one of the days. 

Later on in the afternoon of the second day on campus, I had the opportunity to experience something we'd been talking about as a team earlier that day: On making the point of our lives, our actions, and our conversations on campus about loving others. 1 Corinthians 13 has often been called the 'love chapter' of the Bible, oftentimes used in weddings to illustrate the sacrificial type of love that needs to be demonstrated by both spouses in order to love as Christ did.

This love ought to be even more than a sacrificial love between husband and wife; it ought to be a reminder to every person who seeks to live like Christ. As a team, we read and discussed the meaning of this chapter and ways that we can more effectively love others in a way that communicates Christ's love to whomever we come across.

Megan, Duncan and I stood around the table discussing concepts of great doctrinal import. The foot traffic had slowed down quite a bit, but the last class break of the afternoon finally let out; a girl stopped to read the banners and I asked her what she thought.

"Hi, hope you're enjoying the---" I was abruptly interrupted by her.

"---I don't like them." she said, with a slight shake of her head. Upon my further inquiry as to what she didn't like, she responded with much profanity. "I hate Christianity-and I hate what it means and what it stands for. I think it's full of lies and liars. It's just a bunch of myths and fables." She turned and abruptly walked away. I uttered a silent prayer that she would come to find God personally someday.

Five minutes later, I happened to glance over to the opposite side of the banners, and there was the girl who had cursed me out earlier, intently reading! Without fail, something draws many people back to read the banners more thoroughly or ask more questions. No matter how angry they are, I've seen countless times where they come back after reacting in profuse anger-just to listen quietly for hours. Something is drawing them back. If all this is truly just a lie,or a relative truth, then why not just walk away and ignore it? That is the question. 

Now, I have had people on campus respond to me in anger before. But, I'm human (surprise!) and I really didn't want to get yelled at again. So, I carefully avoided the path this girl took around the banners, and for the next five minutes she read. I found myself on the other side of the banners as more students stopped by to read, and I welcomed a few students to read, telling them to let me know if they had any questions. Looking up, I noticed the girl standing up on the sidewalk, still gazing with intrigue at the banners.

Suddenly, without warning, I found myself moving closer to her and my lips uttered, "Can I ask you a question?" "Sure," she said, her eyes carefully avoiding mine upon realizing who had spoken to her. "If you hate Christianity so much, what do you find so interesting about the banners?" 

To be honest, I do not even remember what her response was. Perhaps she did not give one, but she did immediately jump to her belief that the Bible is inaccurate and full of myths and fables that mirror the religions of other cultures besides the Bible.

"For example, the Chinese culture has a story about Noah, same as the Bible does."

I was tempted to share the amazing fact that this discovery is itself evidence for the Bible, but I didn't. Instead, I just listened. Asked what religious back ground she had growing up in. She calls herself pagan now, explaining that it has a lot to do with earth worship, "Without getting into the whole peace symbols and flowers." I asked if she had ever thought about what if she is wrong in this belief. Her response is that she doesn't want to believe something just out of fear that she might be wrong.

Blakely claimed that what we had up on the banners about Creation was completely false because there is so much evidence for evolution. I quietly explained how evolutionists and creationists are looking at the same bit of scientific data, but through two different lenses. She didn't really have a response, so we moved on to another topic.

Throughout our discussion, Blakely's voice shook with nervousness-it didn't sound angry this time; I figured if it had been anger she would have thrown some more profanity into it, and she didn't. I have one theory about that. It might be right, and it might be wrong. But I think it was because she had no idea how to respond to me loving her. My conversation with her did not win her to Christ. She did not bend down and repent and ask Jesus into her heart. But God won from my conversation with her. Because I loved her. And I listened to her. I was able to explain points with a very laid-back attitude, never demanding anything or interrupting to tell her that she was wrong. And I think that was all I could do.

There is almost always a reason caused by pain in life that people choose to reject and deny God, and I still believe that. Blakely had a much less nervous, much quieter personality when we ended our conversation. A friend of hers came up and started talking to her, and I stood quietly by. When he apologized for interrupting us, she replied, "That's okay-we were just chit-chatting," and looked at me hesitatingly for a second. When he left, she was the one who continued the conversation.

One statement Blakely made was that she saw no evidence for God. To my question of what type of evidence would there be to convince her, the response was a typical one: if God came down and stood right in front of her and spoke to her, she would believe. 

Now, I could have responded by telling her that Jesus had done that. Because He had. But she had already heard that. She had already heard that Jesus loved her. She had already been called a dirty rotten little sinner. 

"I don't even care when people tell me I'm going to hell-I've had people tell me that," she admitted, flipping her hair out of her eyes that were keenly focused on the ground. I could have been mistaken, but I thought I saw her shoulders cower a little. Was she expecting me to give her yet another reminder that she was going to hell, I wonder? 

Blakely just needed someone to love her. I could tell from her eyes that barely met mine for our whole conversation that she was starving for it. God moved me-physically and in my heart-to show her love by engaging in conversation. Oh Father, speak to Blakely's heart. I pray she finds you. This need for love is felt by so many people in the world today. A callous covers a tender part of the skin to protect it from pain when the skin is ripped off. The human heart, as well, quickly learns to develop rough spots and callouses when pain is experienced in life as a mechanism to escape the suffering on a daily basis. Sometimes, loving another person can be the first step to gently approaching a sensitive issue and allowing that person to open up, be vulnerable, and accept that love.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 1 Cor. 13:1-3

Fun in Jacksonville

Saturday morning, Megan's family made plans to take us to see some sights around the area. After breakfast at  a local diner, we visited St. Augustine. This is the oldest settlement in the United States, and it was a cool place to explore and learn about. After a good hour or more there, we went to grab some pictures in front of a cross at a Mission a few miles down the road. Finally, the best moment of my day arrived, the moment I'd been waiting for: We went to the beach! Now, I've seen the ocean once before in my life: when I was three years old, and all I remember about the event is that a seagull stole my cookie right out of my hand and I was as angry as a three year old could possibly be about it. Nothing about the waves? Nope. Nothing about God's amazing creation. 

Well, I stuck around to let Joann, Megan's mom who is an amateur (i.e., really good) photographer, get some really cool pics of us. And then I was off. Running down to the water as fast as I could, as excited as a little kid.  At first, I just let the sea foam churl over my feet. And then my ankles. Well, it couldn't hurt to let my knees get wet-and then I shrieked when a bigger wave of cold water came up to my waist. I stood and marveled at this creation of God's that I was experiencing. And then, it happened. A bigger wave caught me and swept me off my feet back up to shore. I laughed, choked, and spit the water out of my mouth-and then started body surfing. I mean, I was already completely soaked-what did I have to lose?! 

Megan's family, in the midst of taking their family pictures, gave furtive glances in my direction when they realized I was allowing myself to be completely engulfed in the water. We were planning to eat at a seaside restaurant in a bit, and I hadn't brought any change of clothes! I had no cares in the world as I allowed the white-crested waves to sweep me back to shore over and over again. "All your waves and billows have engulfed me," says the Psalmist. Now, I know what it feels like to be completely engulfed in the billows. You. Are. Completely. Engulfed. 

To be completely honest, I could have stayed there all night. I was in awe of this amazing body of water stretching out in front me, marveling at the fact that it spanned hundreds of miles away from me and contained billions of sources of life. God, You are so amazing. I don't even have words. 

I heard shouting, but by this time my contacts had blurred and I could barely make out anything that wasn't about two feet from my face. After a second, Duncan came racing towards me to say that we were about to head to dinner. I dried off and changed the best I could-which consisted of wrapping myself in towels during dinner. Thankfully, we ate outside, so it didn't matter too much that I was covered in sand as well. After cavorting in the waves, I consumed a shrimp-loaded plate with a ready appetite.

Megan's parents are both incredibly funny and love to joke. I'd enjoyed being with them for the day and hearing their perspectives on different things. However, I was hardly prepared for what came next. 

After we had paid our bill, Duncan left the table for a moment and Megan's dignified mother who I'd met less than 24 hours ago got the ingenious idea to run off and hide before he came back. I nearly wet my nearly-dry shorts as I bent over double, laughing hysterically as Joanne leaped over a fence to hide behind, urging us all to follow her. All seven of us ungracefully leaped over after her, landing with thuds in the sand below. All the other diners at the restaurant gave us all very disconcerting looks as we disappeared over the fence, peeking through the lattices to check for Duncan. "Here he comes! Here he comes! everybody quiet!!!"

A second later, Duncan went running past us on the way to the beach. the instant he was clear from view, we all burst out laughing again. In the deepening dusk of the evening, we could just barely make out a shape trotting down the path to the beach. Mr. Anderson turned the light on his phone and started walking down the path after the retreating figure. As I followed, he muttered that he was afraid that Duncan would jump out behind to scare him and would make him scream like a little girl. I laughed. Haha, right. That won't happen. 

We traipsed further down to the ocean and stood still for a few minutes. In the distance, the waves crashing against the shore was the only sound we could hear. A figure appeared a short ways off, apparently picking up shells on the beach. Why would Duncan be picking up shells on the beach, was my first thought, but my contacts were still blurry from the ocean water earlier and I couldn't make out who it was. A second later, I turned and glanced over my shoulder-only to utter a shriek at the top of my lungs. Duncan was shooting towards me, only six feet away before I saw him, and all I had time to do was jump out of his way as he leapt past me. My scream of terror died away, but there was still a scream ringing in my ears and echoing off the sand dunes nearby. That's right. Mr. Anderson hadn't been joking about Duncan making him scream. I fell over laughing as he started chasing Duncan, then picked myself up to help Mr. Anderson carry out some righteous indignation upon Duncan. This story has now become a highlight of our tails about Jacksonville. We headed home for the night to our temporary resting place of Megan's home, ready for a long night of sound sleep. 

University of South Carolina: Bonus Campus!

We wrapped up our week at UNC-Raleigh on Wednesday, Nov. 6 and Tom flew home for the rest of the week while the four of us interns all prepared to travel to Jacksonville that night. Pastor Burke Wilson got a wonderful idea: why don't we go to the University of South Carolina and set up for a day or two instead? A few phone calls later, and the plans were ready for the oven. The next morning we found ourselves bidding goodbye to our hosts and driving four hours south, setting up the banners in the absence of our fearless leader, Tom the Preacher.

God blessed our two days there on campus so much! Our host, Pastor Robbie McAllister, and Ray Vaughn met us on campus to help us find where to go and set up. Once the banners had been erected in a straight path along the sidewalk, we stood back and waited for a bite. After about thirty minutes of students walking past and hardly taking notice of the giant display that shared the sidewalk they treaded upon, one skeptical student stopped and began asking questions. His tone mocking, this young man's eyes barely left the ground to meet David's as my fellow intern engaged him in conversation. From this discussion, a crowd of at least 30 gathered for the rest of the afternoon, allowing David an excellent and engaging audience for preaching. There were several Christians who jumped in to share their thoughts as well, and David expertly guided the conversation back to the gospel truth of redemption and the need for repentance whenever a wayward theological point was harped upon.

Friday, the next day, we pulled up to unload and found a few Christians from the night before, Hampton and Miles, waiting for us. This day was slower than it had been yesterday, but we were still able to have quite a few good conversations throughout the morning and afternoon. Upon packing up the displays in the van, we settled in for our four-hour drive to Jacksonville, where Megan is from. We would spend a fun and relaxing weekend with her family as we waited to set up on the campus of University of North Florida on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, November 12-14. More on our exciting shin-digs of the weekend coming up next! Don't go away-we'll be right back ;)

UNC-Raleigh: The Unwelcome Truth

Our last day on campus at UNC-Charlotte got rained out, so we headed for UNC-Raleigh, in the midst of much rain and darkness, where we would be set up the following Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, November 4-6. Upon arriving, we engaged in some incredibly competitive games of pingpong at Pastor Burke's house, got hooked up each with our different hosts, participated in the friday night prayer meeting, and toured the incredibly grand, very modern, robotically-run library which is the only one of it's kind in the world. We didn't do too much over the weekend, although Sat. night did involve a game of 4-on-4 frisbee with an overly sized light-up frisbee. Sunday afternoon saw us out on the frisbee field again, this time with more people as we engaged in the excited and exhilarating sport of racing a plastic disc from one end of the field to another. 

Monday morning saw us eagerly driving to campus with our precious cargo of truth-filled banners. After setting up in the Brickyard, I began looking for anyone to engage in conversation. I talked to Emily, who declared, 

          "I'm a Christian, BUT I believe in science." "Cool!" I told her. "So do I." (Translation: science for Emily meant evolution. Science for me meant creation). I began planting a few pebbles in her shoe of thought concerning evolution. Based off of her answers to my questions, I do not think she had genuinely ever considered these ideas before.
"What was the reason God created us?" I asked. 

"For us to love Him, and Him to love us," she replied. 

"I agree," I told her. "Now, I'm just curious as to why God would have waited billions of years for us to evolve in order to love us/be loved by us?" I also raised the question of original sin: Where did it come from? Because if evolution is true, then it has always been there. Even though Emily couldn't stay long and our conversation was brief, I was glad to have been able to talk with her and give her some things to think about. The more I learn and study, the more I'm excited to talk to people about science, creation and evolution. The reason? Because it makes total sense coming from the side of the Bible! The majority of the world accepts evolution as infallible, even with the incredible lack of evidence. As Mr. Short pointed out at dinner, evolution is the foundation of the majority's beliefs. If you disprove evolution, you are taking the legs of believe right out from under people, and they have no basis on which to stand. It is not fun watching someone fumble around for an answer, pulling whatever sounds good out of their behind. Instead, I want to be gently and humbly point out the errors in their arguments and help them come to an understanding of the Genesis account for creation through sharing the facts and evidences for such a belief. Emily took an Inspired Evidence book and said she was interested in looking into this more deeply. Lord, may you be glorified in her as she realizes who you are as the Creator of the universe, as well as her Savior!

One conversation I had with a student named MJ, a Muslim, involved whether or not atheists can go to heaven. Now, I know what you are thinking. Atheists don't even believe in God, let alone a heaven or hell. What would compel them to want to go there? Aptly put, my friend. Aptly put. MJ was confident in her role as a good Muslim who did everything she was able to do in following the teachings of Islam, and explained that the reason why she felt sure she would go to heaven some day is because she had been good enough. When I asked how she could know she had been good enough, she countered that everyone has different things they do that they feel are good enough, so surely God will see that we all tried our hardest. When I asked about Hitler's belief that he was helping bring good to the world by eradicating over six million people, she emphatically maintained that this was not the same concept. 

MJ continued to contradict herself about atheists going to heaven-"the ones who are good enough should be able to get in." She then waved her arms in the air and conceded that she did not know one atheist-and she admitted to knowing several-who was good enough. "No, they're all bad atheists that I know!" She laughed. MJ's own standard of righteousness repudiated itself. Indeed, I asked her why God would let an atheist into heaven if he or she denies that such a place exists-if God is all loving and all knowing, shouldn't he rather send them to another place, since allowing them into the place (heaven) which they've chosen to deny exists would be like punishing them by proving it's reality? MJ thought this was an interesting take on the whole perspective, and it was difficult for her to admit the truth in my statement, realizing that this meant that there was a moral standard. As we parted ways, I encouraged her to look more into the person of Jesus. She found it interesting when I told her that the Bible that Muslims believe is flawed, is in fact very wrong if Jesus is not who He said He was-the pure and spotless Son of God. 

1 Corinthians 15:14, 15, 17 And if Christ has not raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 

What Does the Fox (Err, Hummingbird) Say?

Well, I'll suggest one thing I don't think the hummingbird would say. I don't think it would say that it came about by a random series of mutations over the course of millions of years. This past week, I've talked to many students who were able to talk to me with 100% more ease than a hummingbird could have conversed with. And those students all declared that we have evolved from a single cell over a course of billions of years. The more I discuss creation and evolution with students, the more I realize that it is, indeed, an incredibly important subject to consider because evolution strips value away from the creation and robs God of glory. Here are a few examples of conversations I've had with students recently. The responses they've given encompass the answers to evolution that most students give.

Last week, we traveled to Blacksburg, Virginia. We stayed with a wonderful family, Tony and Desiree Pierson, and their children. We spent three days at Virginia Tech, where many wonderful conversations happened between us and students, as well as the members of the church on campus there; Thursday morning we awoke early and departed for Charlotte, North Carolina, where we set up at UNCC. While there were students who came out just to argue, there was a resounding number who came by to read the banners and express how excited they were to see Tom and us with the banners on their campus. 

Early in the afternoon, I caught sight of a girl to my left who was reading the banners with a deeply interested look on her face. "Well, I guess you could say I'm an atheist-that's what I've started telling people, just because it's the easiest thing to say," Brittany explained when I asked her thoughts on what the banners said. Our conversation lasted for nearly the next hour, and right before leaving she admitted to me that she'd had a friend waiting to meet up with her while we'd been talking. For some reason, she'd felt compelled to keep that friend waiting as we discussed aspects of the Bible, why we can trust it, who Jesus is, and why 'religion' is not the answer. 

Brittany had grown up in a Christian home, she told me, but after coming to college and learning more about her major, Biology, she decided that science answers questions a lot better than religion does. I raised a few questions to her concerning the proof for evolution. I shared an amazing detail involving the hummingbird that I'd just read about in Amazing Evidence, and how it flies backwards by means of a rotator shoulder blade. When I asked for her take on the fact that no fossil record shows evolution causing the rotator shoulder to develop, she paused. "Well, you can't just take the fact that there is no proof for that one example," she finally responded. "We have a lot of other records that show evolution-like which ones? Well, I can't really think of any right now..." her voice trailed off. Her responses were the same to a few more examples I shared with her. Now, I am not sharing this to prove that I won an argument against evolution. I share it to point out that most students who accept evolution do not understand that it is simply one way of interpreting science, and that many do not understand that evolution oftentimes tries to add to the facts of data in order to keep the idea of an Intelligent Designer out of the picture. 

I shared a lot of my personal story with Brittany, giving example after example of how I arrived at the conclusion that what the Bible has to say about God and His existence as well as the gift of Jesus Christ was real, even after what I'd experienced and seen in others who called themselves Christians but who were not living according to the Bible. We talked about how religion has done a lot of good in the world, but how it has also committed a lot of evil. I explained how anyone doing evil in the name of Jesus Christ was twisting the meaning of the Bible for their own advantage. "Having a relationship with the God of the universe is so much more than going to church and following a set of rules," I explained. "It is experiencing the Creator of the Universe, and discovering how much He loves you at a personal level." Brittany listened intently to what I had to share, and she even ended up taking-and promising to read-a copy of Inspired Evidence, which she had initially said she did not want. Lord, use the seeds of truth that I planted. Use the seeds of truth that I sowed, and cause her to think about You more deeply than she ever has before. 

My next conversation involved a student, Eric, who claimed to be a Christian. Strangely enough, he easily argued for the side of not only evolutionary thinking, but also the invalidity of the Bible, as well as for the side of atheism! By the end of our conversation, I had a much firmer grasp of what he meant when he said, "I go back and forth on being a Christian based on a couple things I'm not sure about." It turned out that he was unsure of a lot of things. Here is how our conversation started. 

After coming back from getting a bite to eat in the afternoon, I found a group of about eight students standing in a group in front of a banner, non of whom I recognized and all appearing to be deeply involved in discussion. Not wanting to miss anything, I approached the circle to hear Eric slowly and carefully explaining principles of evolution and why everyone in the world ought to believe in it and accept it as truth. I jumped in and asked if I could join. They widened the circle for me, and as soon as I could without being rude, I began raising questions. I again brought up the amazing architecture of the hummingbird: I pointed out that there is no fossil record for this shoulder having evolved; no evidence exists of an 'in between' rotator shoulder before it became fully functioning. His response? Eric began explaining how polydactyly works: a random mutation causes a 6th finger or toe to grow where there ought not to be one. "Somewhere along the lines, a random mutation just caused a hummingbird to pop out a weird bone in it's neck that made it able to fly backwards." Eric concluded.

Unfortunately for this answer, mutations need new information in order for the majority of them to benefit. According to Answers in Genesis book 2, "Virtually all observed mutations are in the category of loss of information. This is different from loss or gain of function. Some mutations can cause an organism to lose genetic information and yet gain some type of function. This is rare but has happened. These types of mutations have a beneficial outcome" (Bodie Hodge, 75). 

Now, I am NOT a scienc-y person. There is a reason I did not major in biology. There is a reason why I majored in English. However, I do understand certain aspects of science. And I was not buying Eric's explanation of the hummingbird's strange problem with polydactyly causing a perfect rotator shoulder to sprout out of nowhere, and somehow to cause the rest of the hummingbird's offspring to inherit this exact mutation in such an incredibly perfect way. Eric had declared himself to be a Christian who 'goes back and forth on certain issues.' Turns out, he goes back and forth on just about every issue. As I probed further, we got deeper into the discussion of God and evolution. Since Eric called himself a Christian, I asked, "If God created the world using evolution, why would He have waited billions of years before human beings evolved adequately enough to be in relation with him?" Eric stared off in to the distance for a few seconds. "Well, God works in mysterious ways! Right? Isn't that something people say?" Ah, my friend, He does. God does indeed. 

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as his counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding? Isaiah 40:12-14

Journal Entry: Hebrews 11

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Scripture: Verse 13: All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.

Observation: These are the heroes of the Bible. These heroes are the ones who died not yet having seen on earth the fulfillment of their hope. Why? How could they leave their lives on earth happily when they had not yet seen the fulfillment of what they'd spent their lives seeking based off of what God had promised? Because they knew that God's plan was bigger than what they could see at the present time. They understood that even if things were not deeply understandable, God had a higher purpose in what He was working out. And that was the confidence they had when they died not yet having seen the fulfillment of God's promises.

Application: When I cannot see the fulfillment of God's promises, and it seems like destruction is lying in wait outside my door; when the tears would be swallowed up inside me and my soul goes numb; the promises of God still exist, and He will never fail. Perhaps I will die someday without seeing the growth or development of seed I've spent my entire life sowing. It will still have been worth it, because there is more to God's plan than what is seen now.

It is easy to say this now, at a time in my life where I am blessed to see the fruit of my labors and watch prayers be answered before my very eyes. However, I would humbly hope that I can still say this with full confidence if ever I am physically  or otherwise suffering. That my eyes would be on the promises not yet fulfilled, but spoken of in God's word, as happening in the future.

Prayer: Father, thank you for this thing called faith that I do not fully understand. Thank you that I can have full assurance in something I have not even seen yet. Thank you that You are working out my salvation and that someday I will be with you in heaven. This is what is promised! The heroes of the Old Testament recorded in Hebrews 11 yielded their lives over to You, and worked tirelessly for You while they were on earth, because they knew that someday their efforts would be worth it. That "someday" would not be known to others until hundreds, in some cases thousands, of years after they had died. Dear Father, thank you that your plan is still perfect even when I do not fully understand it. In your precious Son's holy name, amen.

Just a Good Man? Or God in Man?

We had planned to go to IUPUI this week in Indianapolis, but with bad weather in the forecast, Tom decided to take advantage of one of the last warm days in Columbus to set up on the Oval again. It was a sunny, blustery day in the mid 60's. What a wonderful day! We all had some really awesome conversations. 

At one point, I told a girl who had just begun reading the banners to let me know if she had any questions. Acknowledging me, she continued reading the banners, then found me where I'd retreated a bit to the side. Beginning with questions wondering how we can combine the Old and New Testaments, she told me that she is Jewish. We sat and talked for at least an hour, discussing sacrifices for sins, and the fact that the New Testament says that the law in the Old Testament is no longer valid based off of the final, perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. 

Michal (Michelle) reminded me that as a Jew, she does not believe that Jesus is God. I discussed with her how the evidence points to Jesus either being a liar, a lunatic, or who He said He is. Evidence of this is seen when Jesus said, "Worship only God." If he was not God, then he could not have been a good man because he allowed himself to be worshipped (Luke 4:8) so, he was either lying about who he claimed to be, which wouldn't have made him a good prophet, or he was crazy. Or, he is who he said he was-the Lord God. 

One of Michal's questions about Jesus was, "Why would God have created another god?" Since the Jewish people do not believe Jesus is God, it was difficult for her to grasp the concept of God having more than one entity since one of the Ten Commandments says, "You shall have no other gods besides Me" (Exodus 20:3). I shared the analogy of Bill Gates living in the slums as a homeless man for a week-he's denying who he is, in order to experience another level of society. He is still Bill Gates; the fact that he still has the billions of dollars that he does, does not change the fact that he has altered his circumstances for that week. In much the same way, Jesus is God in the form of man coming down to spend 33 years on earth, experiencing the same things we experience without giving in to sin. He denied His rights to be honored and respected on earth in order to demonstrate His intimate love for us. He died on a cross that had once been a tree that He had created. This sacrifice is the most personal of all demonstrations of anyone that we have recorded in history. 

Michal asked if I believed that everyone has to accept Jesus in order to be forgiven by God and go to heaven. She was somewhat taken aback when I shared that the Bible says that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-that everyone must accept Jesus in order for the Father to forgive sins and allow us into heaven. We discussed how there has always been a mediator between man and God. In the Old Testament, that was always a prophet, and someone specifically chosen and anointed by God himself-such as Moses or Abraham. Never is there a part in the Old Testament where common man could communicate directly to God without first going thruogh the priest, who performed the ceremonial cleansing that God's law demanded. I shared with her how Jesus was the fulfillment of the law, not an entirely NEW law; Jesus, as a Jew, followed the ceremonial, civil, and moral laws from the Old Testament. However, he made a way for common man to communicate directly to God THROUGH him. One illustration of this is by the curtain in the temple being torn in half at the time of his death on the cross; (Matthew 27:51). God was essentially saying that Jesus is the final Mediator between God and man; that belief in sinless Jesus' death and resurrection created a line of communication directly to God as had never existed before. The curtain no longer separates us from the Holy of Holies, the inner chambers of the temple, when we seek God through Jesus Christ. 

At one point, Michal stated how God could have obliterated all of humanity if He had wanted to. Not only this, but if Jesus had been God, He should have been able to keep himself from being murdered on the cross. 

"So, why didn't he if he was God?" She asked.

 

"Well, the Bible says that Jesus could have called for thousands of angels to rescue him if he wanted them to" (Matt. 26:53). 

"Why didn't he?" 

"The reason he didn't? Well, it's because he loved us more than he loved himself. His love held him there, and allowed him to endure the terrible suffering that he did. His power never left him-he gave it up temporarily, refused to use what was his, in order for a greater purpose to be fulfilled-the ability of mankind to be saved through his death on the cross, if they will yield themselves over to him." 

Jesus allows both Jews and Gentiles to believe in Him and be saved, as evidenced in Romans 3:21-24 when it says, "But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (NIV).  

Another concept we discussed involved goodness. Michal shared that Jews do not believe that everyone has to be Jewish in order to be saved, like Bible-believing Christians believe that only those who accept Jesus will be saved. She believes that Muslims, Jews, and Christians (e.g., any religion) can be saved if they practice goodness to the best of their ability inside of their religion.

The Bible's response to this widely accepted belief about goodness is that God's standard of goodness never changes. He is holy and just, and demands recompence for sins. He provided Jesus as the means; Jesus is the only means because He was perfect, and we are not. The New Testament book of Hebrews tells how it is impossible for ceremonial practices to take away sin: 

"The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming-not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Hebrews 10:1-4 NIV).

There are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled in the New Testament. Psalm 22:16-18 says, "Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garments" (NIV). This portion of scripture was written hundreds of years before crucifixion was invented. 

Jeremiah 23:5,6 says, "'The days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'When I will raise up for David (OR, up from David's line) a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord our Righteous Savior'" (NIV). 

I could continue listing more of these astounding prophecies, but a simple Google search will easily get you a list of the many verses in the Old Testament with prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. Even if you are secure in your belief of who Jesus is, I would encourage anyone to spend even a short time in study over this area. It is flabbergasting to consider the fact that Jesus fulfilled so many of these Old Testament statements 700, 800, and 1000 years after they were written. 

Michal and I could have talked all day, but she had to leave. We exchanged information, and hopefully we will be able to continue our discussion in the future.  

Let me close with a verse from my quiet time yesterday. I journaled about Hebrews 10:8-10.  

 "First he said, 'sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire. Nor were you pleased with them'-though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, 'Here am I, I have come to do your will.' He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Vs. 18: "And where these, (sins and lawless acts) have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary." 

Journal Entry: Luke 23

This journal entry is entitled "The Humble Thief's Heart."

Scripture: Luke 23.
Key verses: 39-43. "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: 'Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!' But the other criminal rebuked him. 'Don't you fear God,' he said, 'Since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong" (NIV).

Observation: 'This man has done no wrong!' Oh criminal, thief, hung to die, gasping for one breath of oxygen! No greater truth have you ever spoken. The agony of human suffering you are experiencing at the moment of this utterance cannot have compared with the joy and freedom you felt upon the full realization that the Man on the cross next to you was truly the Savior of the world. While you and He shared the same human anguish on the cross, He was experiencing more than you ever would: He had the weight of the sin of mankind; He carried your sin. While you were destined to die in your sin, He was destined to carry it for you. While you suffered a just punishment for your evil acts on earth, He suffered as an innocent Man.

Application: Notice the difference between the hearts of these two men hanging between Jesus. One calloused, hating, and mocking the King Jesus as he died naked on a cross. The other, seeing life and death in front of him, realizing his soul's imminent need for deliverance. He looked past his overwhelmingly wretched situation on the cross to acknowledge that he was about to die and stand in judgement for his sins. And so, humbly, he asked the King to save him from an eternity from hell. Can you imagine! What better timing? What a unique salvation story this thief has to share for the rest of eternity in heaven. "I accepted Christ when I was hanging next to Him on a cross." And I guarantee that his name is not "Thief" now.

Prayer: Father, the difference between these two thieve's hearts still represent so many responses to the gospel today. Many people respond by mocking, scoffing and insulting the messenger as well as the message of Your gospel. And yet, many still respond to the simple yet vast love of God and humbly admit they are need of a Savior. Continue to use me to bring the message of Your love to others. Father, I ask you to increase my fear of You so that I do not fear the insults of those who do not know You.

"Fear of God makes heroes, fear of men makes cowards." -Sergeant Alvin C. York

A Short Post about Journaling

When we began traveling as a team in the beginning of September, Tom shared with us how he had begun the new practice of journaling this summer.

"I don't know why no one ever taught me how to journal before-they must have thought, 'he's Tom Short-of course he knows how to journal,'" Tom mused.

The system Tom taught us, which the five of us have been practicing daily, is called the "SOAP Method." Essentially, you need five things to begin:

A Bible reading plan, a Bible, a notebook, a pen, and a planner.

1) Plan out what you are going to read; typically, 1-3 chapters is a good place to start.

2) It is essential to bring your Bible along as well. If you are just beginning to read the Bible for yourself, find a translation that is easy to read and understand. I recommend the NIV, ESV, or NLT. Tom also says not to bring along an electronic Bible, because it is very easy just to copy and paste verses that way, and when instead you take the time to physically write down the scripture and your thoughts about it, you are forced to slow down and process things more deeply.

3) Get a nice journal that you will enjoy writing in-and 4) a nice pen as well. You can find both for fairly cheap.

5) The planner is to write down anything that comes to mind when you are journaling that you need to remember later. When you write it down, you won't have to worry about remembering it at the end of your quiet time and can remain undistracted to focus on what you're journaling about.

S: Scripture. Write down what passage you are reading, and write a verse or two down that stuck out to you. These verses will be what you will focus on in the journal entry.

O: Observation. What do you see happening in these verses? Write these thoughts down.

A: Application. What is something you can apply to your heart and/or to your life based off of the scripture?

P: Prayer. Write down a short prayer to God based off of what you read. Tom says that since most prayers are spontaneous, oftentimes it can seem strange to write prayers down. Once you begin doing it, however, it will seem more natural. Personally, in the past it was always difficult for me to write down prayers, but since I started the SOAP method, I've found it has become easier.

So, that's that! My next post will include an example of journaling with the SOAP method.

The Ohio State

It has been a great week on OH State campus!!! Anyone interested in hearing more details about it can email me, but here is just a little bit of a sneak peak: 

It was a tremendously beautiful fall day on Monday, October 14. With temps in the mid 70's, the sun bright and shining, and the oval freshly mowed, the green grass and blue sky blended creatively with the trees changing color. 

We were set up by 11:30am, and a steady crowd of about 40 stuck around for most of the nearly 7 hours we had the banners on display. Tom didn't start preaching for a while, as he instead talked to students who were reading the banners. It was early in the afternoon that I started talking to Tim, a student who approached the table where Megan and I were standing. As we started chatting a bit, Tim shared how he was an agnostic and had been raised by parents who were atheists.

Our conversation lasted for nearly the next two hours, and I enjoyed it immensely. 

One part of our talk included Tim asking me to be 99% sure of God's existence- couldn't I leave a 1% chance that God does not exist, since he was leaving a 1% chance that God does exist? My response to that, was that even the demons believe-and they are certainly not in agreement with God; so, one way to put it would be to say that I was 99% sure that God existed BEFORE I prayed to accept Jesus; my 100% came when I placed my faith in Him for salvation. the 100% also came about and was birthed by my actions that were produced as a result of my faith. 

True faith without actions is not true faith. I want it to be clear that the existence of God does not change based off of the percentage of belief I place in His existence; He is real even if tomorrow I decide not to believe in Him anymore. Tim compared the concept of God's existence being related to a campaign manager being confident that his candidate will win, while at the same time there being just as much of a chance as the other candidate winning. While I understood what Tim was implying by this, I had to say that I considered it to be a poor analogy because God's existence isn't based on whether we choose He exists or not. God has already "won." His existence isn't going to suddenly not be true anymore by the atheist winning the majority vote. Let's not vote on whether God exists or not. 

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:9-11 NIV

West Virginia University: The High Cost of Sin

Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away...Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains, because they rebelled against God's commands and despised the plans of the Most High. So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help...Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. Psalm 107:4-17. 

These verses I've taken from this Psalm speak about the affliction of those who rebel against God. It isn't pretty. Nor would I find many people on the street today who would willingly accept a wasteland or prisoner-like lifestyle. West Virginia University exhibited several people who, sadly, are experiencing a wasteland type of life, and in their rebellion claim to be incredibly happy.

In the Old Testament, the book of Ezekiel tells of how the aforementioned prophet was called by God: 

He said: Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says.'  And whether they listen or fail to listen-for they are a rebellious people-they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious (Ezekiel 2:3-7NIV). 

I have one question. 

Why?

Why did God send prophets to wicked and rebellious people. He knew they only wanted their own ways, and that they had full knowledge of the sin they were committing. Why then did He send prophets as His messengers to suffer at the hands of the ridiculing and mocking rebels? 

I have never seen such immaturity within a short amount of time as was displayed on Thursday. Two students, a guy and a girl, snuck up behind Tom and began ripping the pictures he uses to illustrate certain points. After that, I expected them to stay away out of embarrassment that they'd destroyed someone else's property. I was wrong. Both returned unapologetically, and, with roving eyes, sought a means to destroy more. An atheist student who had been listening respectfully to Tom hurried to stand between the angry student and Tom's pictures. Refusing to budge, he did not allow Angry Student to reach for the pictures. After a few seconds, Angry Student gave up and walked away. 

Another girl with dark eyes and long dark hair came slowly walking up to Tom, her eyes fixed on his face, staring in silence. Sticking her tongue out, she waggled her fingers by her ears. Then, when he turned to face another student, she took a giant bunny hop to land right in front of him again. This behavior continued for a while, when she left and soon returned with a piece of paper. She proceeded to hold the paper, which said "you're wrong" on it, in front of Tom for at least an hour while he preached. The next day she was back, this time with a guitar. it didn't even appear that she could play it but she sat and strummed it in front of Tom, at times strumming louder if he happened to say something that she particularly didn't like. I don't even know this girl's name, but my heart broke for her as she finally left for good, carrying her guitar, on the second day. Her face betrayed intense hatred for the message of the gospel, and her entire countenance was wrought with hatred for it. As glad as I was to see her leave and stop trying to distract people from hearing the message of the Bible from Tom, I found tears in my eyes as I watched her walk away in the drizzling rain that had begun to fall. I don't even know this girl's name, but Jesus does. And He loves her with the same love He loves me with. He died on the cross for her in the same way He died for me. And it breaks His heart that she refuses to acknowledge Him as Lord. Even as I rejoiced to see her leave, I found myself uttering a prayer that she would find salvation and hope and peace and love through Jesus Christ. 

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 NIV

And there is the answer to the question I asked earlier: Why does God even care for the rebellious? Because He is patient. Because He created us in His image, and he does not wish for anyone to perish and suffer. Because God loves the people He created. Because God is love itself. 

A lesbian student loudly and proudly proclaimed her homosexuality, at the same time also claiming to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. She declared that the Biblical laws against homosexuality did not apply in today's culture because she had been born with an attraction towards females and it was not something she could help. Sadly, this is a very twisted view on Scripture. When we repent of our sin and come to Christ, He accepts us as we are-in the filth of sin and disgrace we are covered in, and He loves us. But He does not leave us where we are. He cleans our hearts. He changes our desires to be like His-a desire for holiness. And so, this is why Paul tells the church in Corinth what he does: 

"Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" 1 Cor. 6:9-11 NIV (Emphasis added). 

Jesus requires us to change. It is all a part of a process of becoming holy, which is called sanctification. He does not leave us in the sin we were in. Otherwise, what need do we have of Him? Sure, there is always the hope of heaven-but if someone has prayed for salvation only to avoid the horror of hell, they do not understand the whole goal of salvation. God does not simply write your name down upon salvation, and then forget about you until you die. No, indeed. The step of asking Him to forgive your sins and accepting Jesus into your heart and life opens up a whole new life in which to walk. You start to desire to please God above pleasing yourself. You understand how sin in your life is not compatible with Jesus in your life. The choices you make now are different than the choices you used to make. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-25 NIV

Purdue: Continued

The following days on campus at Purdue involved some scattered rain showers, which had us scrambling to hide books and papers from the torrential deluge of water from the skies.  We waited inside until the worst had passed, which was only 10 or 15 minutes long. Since it continued sprinkling, I walked the 15 minutes to the van to retrieve the umbrella. The entire walk, I got wetter and wetter from the huge drops of sprinkles. As soon as I reached the van, what should happen but the sprinkles stopped and the sun popped out for the rest of the day! Oh fall weather in the Midwest, how I love thee.

The next morning, I drove to campus and jumped out of the van only to be greeted by a sight I was not expecting: the entire bottom half of the side of the van from front to back was bright yellow with dried road paint. We unloaded quickly, and Tom Biang went with me to find the possible areas of road where we might have picked up our unwelcome addition on the van. When we found it, it was clear that there were no signs warning of wet paint on the road. We went back to Tom's house, grabbed a few scrub brushes, dish scrapers, and soapy water, and proceeded to scrub nearly every speck of paint off: out of the wheel wells, off the windows, and even the thickest parts that had dried. A little elbow grease, a lot of belabored breathing, and a garden hose resulted in the van sparkling silver once again, albeit one of the tires still shone bright yellow (It has since faded slightly).

At the end of our week in Purdue, we traveled 20 minutes east to a camp where we would have our annual fall college conference. Several people from my church in Dubuque, including my sister and two of my brothers came. It was wonderful to see them again! Among other things over the weekend, a few of us, who were either very wise or very foolish, played frisbee in a torrential downpour of a thunderstorm. I forgot that my phone was in my pocket, and upon discovery it appeared that it would never be revived again;  however, old faithful finally revived again and has only been a little groggy since that experience. We spent some quality time on the slip 'n slides as well. Waiting at the bottom of the hill was a pool of muddy rainwater which sprayed our entire faces upon impact, coating us in layers  of grime. I dare say that it was a well-spent afternoon by all.

Now, on to more serious things...

Tom taught on several things that stuck out to me over the weekend. One thought: The most important question one can ever ask in life; "Who is Jesus to me?" Not only is this most important question you can ever ask, but also it is the most important question that you can answer in your lifetime. The person of Jesus Christ has been proven in historical records to have existed. Eyewitness accounts give us proof about what He said, and who He claimed to be, while on earth.

"Who do you say that I am?" Jesus asked his disciples. Matthew 16:16 tells us, "Simon Peter answered, 'you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.'" Jesus' response to this answer?

"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven" (Matt. 16:17, NIV)

What, then, are we going to do with the truth of Jesus Christ being God, if indeed we have reached this conclusion? Tom pointed out one of the first things to know when you're running a race: Winners know where the finish line is. We are not running aimlessly; we are not fighting like a boxer thoughtlessly beating the air (Paraphrased; 1 Cor. 9:26).

In this race, it is important to know firstly who we are as a redeemed child of God. Tom shared with us Romans 8:28 as well as Ephesians 2:1-10, paying special attention to the last verse: "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Tom pointed out that in the Greek, the word 'handiwork' is 'poema.' We are God's poem, His artwork; we are His trophy. You say, 'Wow. I'm not much to look at. I'm a failure. I sin everyday and don't ever see myself overcoming these temptations constantly invading my life. God must look at me and regret that He saved me. My representation of Him sucks. I only read the Bible for five minutes every day, when everyone else I know reads for 30 minutes.'

Tom pointed out something that is crucial to understand: Many people, upon accepting Christ, begin to feel very discouraged because of their failures to follow the commandments of scripture. They can even feel as if they were better people BEFORE they came to Christ. However, did you read your Bible before you were saved? Probably not. That fact alone, regardless of the time spent on it, means that you are being changed to become like Christ. The more of a habit you make it, the easier it will be!

Tom's talk went further into explaining the way we are changed when we are saved. The devil's strategy flips 100% when we accept Christ. Before, he tried to convince you that you're a good enough person that you don't need any help saving yourself. After you realize your need for Christ, and ask forgiveness of your sins, the devil tries to convince you that you're the worst of all sinners so that you don't live in the grace and joy of God's forgiveness! he's such a bozo. No matter whether you are living up to your own standards of what you think a Christian ought to be, the most important thing to do is surrender your life to the Lord and allow Him to work in your heart. When you cannot see Him working in your life, don't stop trusting that He is continuing to transform you into an image of Himself.

Something that encourages me more than anything is that someday, the devil will not have power to speak lies to us anymore!!!

Revelation 12:10, 11 says, Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death" (NIV).

This is our hope; the assurance we have in God that what we experience here on earth will one day be worth it; to know that we will one day be with Jesus, that all sin and evil and sorrow, every painful tear-it will be done away with! What gladness, what joy must spring from our souls when we realize this truth!

Purdue: Boiling up Controversy

Tuesday, October 1 was our first day on campus at Purdue University. It was great to see many of my friends from the church there who I have gotten to know over the years from summer leadership trainings and church conferences we've attended together. Because the area on campus where Tom always preached in the past was already reserved by a different group that week, we set up shop in front of what turned out to be the biology building. Incidentally, our displays for day 1 are about creation/evolution and attract many science majors who have questions about proof for a God through science. This day was no different, and by the afternoon a crowd had gathered around Tom as he preached and shared what the Bible has to say about an Intelligent Creator. One of the banners discusses the similarities between Hitler's Holocaust and the genocide of aborted babies taking place now in the U.S.

One student, who I'll call John, insisted that as long as 'the fetus' stays in the mother's body, the mother can decide whatever she wants to do with 'it;' that it is a part of her own body, and not a human until it leaves the mother's body. The fact that a baby inside it's mothers womb has it's own heartbeat by the time the mother typically even realizes she is pregnant, did not make John budge. The fact that the baby has it's own unique DNA, separate from the mother's, did not stop him from arguing that the fetus does not become a person with the right to life until after it had been born into the world. Sadly, John's view is predominantly wide-held on college campuses all over the US as well as around the world. This belief being so widespread does not stop it from being wrong. Exodus 20:13 still says, "Do not murder." This is a moral law that does not ever change, regardless of the whims of a society at any given time. Murder is evil. Murder is a sin, and those who commit it will be punished by a God who demands justice. Unfortunately, many people, young and old, are in for a rude awakening not far off in the future. Either God is dead, or He is very much alive.

Omaha to Ohio: Travels Through Time

Friday, September 27, 2013: After a fun night of hanging out with our roommates, who took us to a friend's apartment in the International student dorms, eating real Chinese food (100% with chopsticks! How proud of me I am) drinking Austrian coffee, and myself staying up until 1am reading The Book Thief, we departed bright and early at 6:30am. We drove from Omaha to Ohio, which ended up being a total of 16 hours on the road, including the infrequent stops we made.

Duncan and I switched off driving, but it wasn't until the latter part of the drive that something terribly abnormal began which would last the entire rest of the trip. We'd stopped at a McDonald's somewhere in the middle of the vast state of Indiana for a much-needed break, and when we were once again in the van and driving, I accelerated in order to merge onto the highway again. The van responded by shaking like a massage chair out of control, rattling harder and harder as the speed climbed. I would go on to describe the next four hours, how my nerves slowly wore down to nothing, how my bones felt the shaking long after the van had come to a standstill; however, I must turn over the reins to my fellow intern, Sir Duncan Ferguson, who so poignantly describes the dilemma:

(Copy and paste the below link to be taken to his blog)

http://tdferg3654.blogspot.com/2013/10/what-to-do-in-purdue.html

Omaha and The Reality of God

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

A simple sentence. A sentence explaining how the world, the universe, every constellation and distant moon came into existence. A sentence declaring the greatness of God. A sentence that reveals humanity to it's very core. In every human being, there is a desire to know God. Romans 1 declares that God has revealed Himself to us through creation, and therefore we have no excuse for rejecting Him. Romans 2: the conscience. And finally, Romans 3: Christ Himself, God in human form, laying down His life for the scum of the earth, the dirt-bags, the liars, the cheats, and fornicators. For humanity. Individuals. Hearts that did not yet exist, but God had a dream about each and every one. A dream of connecting with each heart that he would create in perfect unity, of a love so pure it shone brighter than the sun. A dream of creating males and females and giving them a beautiful world to live in, unlike any other, a world of perfection where they would walk hand in hand with their Maker. And so, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

The looks of hatred and derision would do more than kill if they could. They would shred into finest minced pieces the pages of the Bible and the message it carries. The looks of sickened disgust would bury the Creation Story six feet under and leave an unmarked grave to be trodden upon by a socialist society. And finally, the raging anger buried deep inside would mince the person of Jesus Christ into absolute chard until He was nothing more than ash to be scattered by the wind.  But oh, wait. They already have. I speak not of government officials nor any powers of command who make eloquent speeches for the masses. I speak of the common individual that you or I pass on the street every day.

In today's world, the average Joe has no clue who the person of Jesus Christ is. Sure, they have heard of Him in Sunday school and can recount the stories of Jonah and the Whale, Noah and the Ark. But most have not had an intimate, deep encounter with the savior of the universe for which Christ died in the first place. I have been traveling with Tom and Team for four weeks now. We have gone to five different campuses: IA state, Colorado State, University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Omaha. In all of my discussions with students on campus in this past month, I have come to understand some things about the basics viewpoints of someone who has not accepted Jesus as their savior: first off, they hold strongly to the theory of evolution. This is because most have been taught this way of belief since kindergarten, and simply dropping the entire theory behind their reason for existence in one day isn't going to happen. Secondly, most people enjoy sinning. In their pride, they lay claim to the fame of being a good person. This is their hope of getting into heaven, for those who believe in an afterlife. Another big reason for why people have not accepted Jesus is because they have adopted for themselves a 'cafeteria' religion, a term borrowed from Tom Short: "A little bit of that…some of that…ugh! Not that!...um, a whole lot of that!...and a little bit of that!" Cafeteria religion leaves no room for Jesus being needed to remove sins. This is because when you get enough of it, you've built yourself a pillar into the sky. That is, hopefully a pillar reaching all the way to heaven based on how well your mind constructs it based off of your own desires and how you rate certain sins.

Unfortunately, most young people are floating around campuses (ok, not literally...but I like the imagery) all over America who don't have a clue what they believe in. Laying claim to Atheism, Agnosticism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Non-denominationalism, and Roman Catholicism, these individuals have created pathways to heaven that only exist in their own creative minds. Unfortunately, most have never read the Bible. Many claim to have had it forced upon them growing up. Even more unfortunate is the large number of people who had the bible forced upon them in the same meaning that they were forced to eat their vegetables or brush their teeth. Interestingly enough, I've never met an adult who claims they've decided never to brush their teeth again as an adult because they were forced to brush them as a child.

On Thursday, on campus in Omaha, an incredibly angry student lashed out at Tom. "The bible commands us to be respectful of all religions!" He shrieked, practically spitting in the faces of all standing around him. Jumping into the small open space that still existed between Tom and at least 40 people listening in, Jose began spewing profanity as he claimed to be a Roman Catholic Christian who knew what he was talking about. Tom gave no response, waiting for him to calm down. Jose continued listing reasons "from the Bible," he claimed, for why everyone on earth should be respectful of everyone else's religious beliefs. Tom only interjected once to object calmly, "No, it doesn't say that." "YES, IT DOES!!!" Jose was seething by this point. I was waiting for foam to start dripping, but all of a sudden I think he must have started loosing his voice because he began coughing and backed into the crowd again. Happening to be standing right next to him, I tapped his shoulder and quietly asked the same question Tom had asked him a few seconds earlier: "Where is the reference for the verse you're talking about?"

 "I'm not sure, but I know it's in there!"

"Really? Because I've never read it in my bible," as I explained what version I read and how it was similar to the Catholic bible.

"Well, I know I've read it in there. I know it's in there. I think it's one of the Ten Commandments!"

"Oh really? Which one?" I asked, doing everything to hold a smile back. "Are you sure you're not thinking of 'You shall have no other gods before Me,' or maybe 'Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain?'

"uh, I don't know!..." Jose paused as a confused look came over his face.

"You should look up the ten commandments, because 'respecting all religions' has never been one of them," I told him in a serious tone. A few minutes later, he left the circle.

Not five minutes later, a fiery, dynamic young lady, Ashley, was passing by and pushed herself into the center of the circle surrounding Tom. Without taking time to figure out what he was talking about, she immediately began accusing him of being narrow minded and refusing to accept every single life style as acceptable before God. As she grew more and more adamant in what she was saying, Tom as well as a few others in the crowd calmly encouraged her to calm down. This only enraged her more as she raised her voice and declared, "I am NOT BEING EMOTIONAL!!! I've been like this since I was five years old, and it's the way God made me!!!" this lasted for at least an hour. No matter whether Ashley received answers to her questions or not, she continued to barrage Tom.

By the end, the crowd was in an uproar. Some were discussing things as groups of two or three individuals, but Ashley was still screaming; the atheist club members, complete with their signs of Bible verses taken out of context and brochures declaring they did not need fixing by God because they were not broken, continued interjecting themselves into every sentence Tom tried to speak. Tom invited those in the crowd who loved Jesus to come over closer to the banners, where we all held hands and formed a large circle of about twenty people. The rest of the crowd stood on the outside, a few standing just outside our circle and quietly listening with looks on their faces that mixed between 'awe' and 'confusion.' Members of the atheist group began reciting another Bible verse taken out of the context, chanting loudly and waving more signs in the air. Tom declared, "We're going to sing, and then pray. Now when we start, you need to realize that they are going to be doing everything they can to drown us out and silence us. They might be yelling right in our ears. Don't let that stop you! We're on the Lord's team!" With other encouraging Battle-speech worthy words, Tom led us in 'Amazing Grace' and 'Praise God,' and then closed in prayer. 

Experiencing this for myself made it more evident how grossly perverted humanity is to the idea of repenting before an All-mighty God and asking salvation. Admitting you cannot accomplish something on your own is not what students go to college to practice doing. Those are typically called "drop-outs." I am praying for continued love and further understanding of people's hearts so that I can become more effective at sharing the gospel. Ultimately, I can read and become learned on many different topics which will help to advance the gospel, but it is still only God who moves the heart. He is ultimately in charge of nudging that empty hole in every human's heart that desires its Creator. Ultimately, God is in charge whether people like it or not. And that is because, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.