Why read ‘The Reason for God’?

I am just coming to the end of reading The Reason for God by Tim Keller. With just one chapter to go I can say already that it is a book I would recommend to anyone and this is why:

If you are a skeptic, agnostic, atheist or in any way negative towards the Christian faith then this book attacks all of the major topics that I’m sure you would have questions about. The first half of the book seeks to answer some of those big questions and statements such as ‘how could a good God allow suffering’ and ‘science has disproved christianity‘. Having looked at these kind of questions and arguments the second half of the book is then to show you why you should believe Christianity. For this reason I would endorse this to any non-christian.

But if you are a Christian then I would recommend this book just as much. I think there are lots of big questions that Christians have about their faith that they are often scared to ask and try to brush under the carpet – this is a great book for looking at some of them and seeing the answers for them. My main reason for recommendation though would have to be how this has encouraged my walk with Jesus. A little snippet fresh from the chapter about the resurrection:

‘Sometimes people approach me and say, ‘I really struggle with this aspect of Christian teaching. I like this part of Christian belief, but I don’t think I can accept that part.’ I usually respond: ‘If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all He said; if He didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what He said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like His teaching but whether or not He rose from the dead.’ This is how the first hearers felt who heard reports of the resurrection. They knew that if it was true it meant we can’t live our lives any way we want. It also meant we don’t have to be afraid of anything, not roman swords, not cancer, nothing. If Jesus rose from the dead, it changes everything.’

The rest of the chapter brilliantly and heart-warmingly shows why.

Whoever you are and whatever your stance to the Christian faith I wholly recommend this book.

Calvin on Preaching

Here’s a statement made by John Calvin that is as relevant to Pastors and Preachers today as it was when he said it:

‘Let the pastors boldly dare all things by the word of God… Let them constrain all the power, glory, and excellence of the world to give place to and to obey the divine majesty of this word. Let them enjoin everyone by it, from the highest to the lowest. Let them edify the body of Christ. Let them devastate Satan’s reign. Let them pasture the sheep, kill the wolves, instruct and exhort the rebellious. Let them bind and loose thunder and lightning, if necessary, but let them do all according to the word of God.’

– Taken from John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God by John Piper

The Genius of C.S. Lewis

I think that recently I have come to appreciate far more the genius that God gave C.S. Lewis. Having been an atheist for such a long period in his life he met Jesus and had his life completely turned on its head.

At the moment I am reading Mere Christianity, one of his all time classics and it is just jam packed with goodness.

Here is one thing that I thought especially great when he was talking about finding satisfaction:

The reason why it (anything other than God) can never succeed is this: God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.

What an amazing thought! Out of all the things I look to give me satisfaction nothing can fulfil me fully because it is not God. One day it surely will be this way though when we are satisfied in Him forever!

I urge you, if you havent before, read works by C.S. Lewis.

The Lost Symbol

Ever since The Da Vinci Code was released all of Dan Brown’s new releases seem to have been met with good anticipation and lots of high expectation! I have to say that his newest book, The Lost Symbol, did not disappoint!

I just finished reading it yesterday and thought it was brilliant. Dan Brown is a very skilled writer and he manages to keep you in suspense the whole way through the book with so many different twists constantly happening. I love watching films and when I read this book, similarly with his others, I found it is almost as though I am watching them in my head as I picture everything that is going on.

Naturally, the books always create a bit of a stir because of what they say mainly about religion. In this book Brown actually tries to reconcile the two and show how science actually points towards religion, but of course there are some controversial statements and misinterpretations of the bible that are made but I wont post about them, rather about a great statement made about the reality of death.

When one of the characters, I wont mention who, feels that they soon may die, they say the following:

‘[The Character] strained to comprehend that these would be [their] final moments of life. Soon [they] would cease to exist… everything [they] were… or had been… or would ever be… was ending… In this moment, [The Character] realized [their] true insignificance in the universe. It was as lonely and humbling a feeling as [they] had ever experienced.’

Doesnt this seem to capture brilliantly some of the reality that we are not the be-all-and-end all in the universe. Actually there is One who is far above us, who is awesomely Holy and the only eternal God. I guess near death experiences or things of a similar nature really can give a harsh awakening to the reality of death, and the eternal things that await.

Copyright Dan Brown 2009 – extract taken from The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Life…

So I realised that I havent really been blogging much at all recently, I have found that things have been so busy that I havent really had the time.

Work still continues much the same, although I am now just doing 4 days a week as on Thursdays I am doing the South Downs Ministry Training Course which is run by the Sussex Gospel Partnership which has been really great so far. We do a bible overview in the morning followed by an exposition and then have practical groups looking at how to lead bible studies etc. New Testament Greek in the afternoon is a challenge though!

It seems strange that it is already the middle of October! In two months it will be Christmas again!

One thing I have been trying to drill in recently is that it is totally by grace that I am saved, I can do absolutely nothing to contribute to my salvation. In his book, You Can Change, Tim Chester says that thinking we can offer something to our salvation is like saying ‘Jesus, I know you said on the cross it is finished but I dont quite think so yet so I am just going to try and do some good things to finish the job.’ I saw more of how insulting to God it is when I try and earn His love.

The love of God is totally undeserved and totally free and will be sufficient for this life and for the eternity that is to follow, I need to remember this every single day as this is the only solid ground on which to build my life.

Wisdom for Suffering

I think often that when you hear things from personal experience or you sing songs about the greatness of God it can often arouse a real passion within you about the nature of God.

I feel this with John Piper’s book Job. His aim is just to try and show people what Job’s vision of God was all throughout the time he went through his horrible trials which left him with nothing but breath in his body, and three miserable comforters who only confounded his misery and tried to condemn.

Here are a few of the phrases Piper uses that I think not only apply to Job but to any suffering. These are very wise sayings.

When God creates a humble hush,

And makes Leviathan His brush,

It wont be long before the rod

Becomes the tender kiss of God.

What we have lost God will restore-

That and Himself, forevermore.

When He is finished with His art,

The silent worship of our Heart.

Beware the thought that all is vain.

In time, God’s wisdom will be plain.