First, I suggest reading Fridays.
This was borrowed from - http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/homeword/
This devotional was written by Jim Burns
I and the Father are one. John 10:30
On a recent airplane trip a woman saw me reading the Bible. She was curious and asked me pointblank if I really believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. I replied that I indeed believed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Then she asked, "Isn't it difficult for you to intellectually believe such a preposterous statement as Jesus being God's only Son?"
My reply went something like this: "In the Bible Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of God. Since Jesus claimed equality with God, that leaves me with only three options. He was either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord who He claimed to be." Well, she didn't like any of those options. She said she believed Him to be "a great teacher of faith in God, but not equal to God." But I replied, "He didn't leave that option open for us. He said He was equal with God. He either lied about that statement, and was deceitful, or He actually believed He was God but was crazy, or else He really was God. There are no other options." I'm not sure we got a convert that day, but she was doing some serious thinking.
I like what C.S. Lewis writes about this subject: "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse."
Then Lewis adds, "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."*
GOING DEEPER:
1. John 10:30 states that Jesus and the Father are one. Do you find this statement difficult to believe? Why or why not?
2. Today are you living as if Jesus is the Lord of your life?
FURTHER READING :
J ohn 17:21-23
* C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Mac Millan, 1960), p. 56.
7 comments:
I wish I could find a daily devo on apologetics for us to go through. That would be so worth while. I know when I am confronted with these situations, I am not as versed at responding as I should be. I can not imagine going in to some of the science meetings I have to present at and defend mt position as poorly prepared as I would be to defend my own faith. Gotta change that one fast.
cas
Often have been faced with the question about Jesus. Reading this makes me think that I probably did not go about answering the question from the right standpoint. No other option...either you believe or not believe.
LT
TRM,
Clark, I do agree to a certain point. It's a balance between "faith" and be prepared to defend our faith. The great confidence that we have is that the Spirit will use our efforts no matter how we defend our faith. God promises in Isaiah that his word will not return to him without accomplishing it's purpose. I'm praying that we step out and act on what we do know.
I actually use this one a lot "liar, lunatic or god"...have found key though is to do in a loving and questioning type way that be confrontational which has probably resulted in my doing more damage than good sometimes....
I would have to say I do fall short of the goal as far as apologetics go. I find myself just below the line of fire in my academic scientific setting. I have never had to defend my faith per se, but have had to defend some of the actions of others.
What I struggle with the most is that I have two completely separated believers, neither of whom I am remotely close to. One is a seventh-day adventist who is very awkward, young and prejudice, but happens to hide many of his faults both intentionally and unintentionally behind his "religion". The other is a guy who has found a church where he is a fervent born-again Christian, and does not speak with people of the Catholic disposition. As I said, I don't really have to defend my faith, but I find others criticizing/confused/irritiated by these "men of faith". I definitely defend Christ and point out where the actions of these guys differ from the central tenets/ideas of Christ and the church, but it seems as though the damage is already done.
Father, keep your eye on me and my brethren and help us to defend both our faith and each other.
crb
i am definitely not prepared to clearly and concisely present the argument of why Jesus is Lord. I liked reading this about "liar, lunatic, or Lord" and thinking about how he couldnt be the first two given what he did and said.
i can understand how someone may get caught up in an intellectual debate and question Jesus as Lord. but using that same intellectual process against the concept of Liar or Lunatic leaves you with an outcome of He must be Lord.
I was able to give testimony to someone from HR, who was aware of some stressful situations I had gone through. He was complimentary and asked how I was able to handle it.
It was a great segway for me into how my faith was what made a difference. I was a bit anxious, but told him what I thought. His response was positive. I was surprised, but praise the lord that he can get glory in our world.
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