August 19
The remarkable conversion of British thinker C.S. Lewis is described in his own words: “To find their way, atheists must make sense out of a random first cause, denounce as immoral all moral denunciation, express meaningfully all meaninglessness, and find security in hopelessness.…You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet.…In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed:...
Read MoreAugust 18
How can people in this century take the idea of the virgin birth seriously? Interestingly, the most detail regarding the birth of Christ is given by a medical doctor, in the Lord’s biography by Luke. Often people argue that first century peasants believed in the miracles because they didn’t understand the scientific explanations behind events. But Luke begins his Gospel with the story of Zacharias, who, when told his wife was expecting, didn’t believe the angel, because he understood how babies are born, and that his wife was too old to have a child. The virgin birth was clearly prophesied...
Read MoreAugust 17
“There are two things I like that Islam teaches,” I told a group of upset young Muslims. Upset because I had told them about some Muslims I knew who had found true peace in Christ. “Islam teaches that God is God the Just, and God the Merciful. But when you stand before Him at last, will He be just or merciful?” “Both,” they responded. “That’s a quick answer, but it can’t be right. Justice means God receives full payment for every sin you have committed. Mercy means He has found a way not to charge you. Both can’t be true.” They chased their tails for a while until I interjected with the...
Read MoreAugust 16
Hinduism, the indigenous religion of India, has 900 million adherents worldwide. Although there are many subdivisions, they generally believe in One Supreme Reality (Brahman) who is manifested in many gods and goddesses. They believe that humans are in bondage to ignorance and illusion, but are able to escape. The purpose is to gain release from rebirth, or at least a better rebirth and continue by reincarnation until enlightenment is gained. They practice yoga, meditation, worship (puja), devotion to a god or goddess, and pilgrimage to holy cities. India has had the gospel since the first...
Read MoreAugust 15
“She out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood” (Mk 12:44). A woman told me she had lost half her oil fortune in the recent economic downturn. “Can you tell me how to get it back?” she asked. “No, but I can tell you how to keep the other half.” “How?” “By giving it away for the Lord.” The principle is clear; we only get to keep what we give away for Him. Big-time farming is expensive. If we think the advancement of the work of God in this world will be done for free, we only need to read the history of the early church, and the sacrificial giving involved, to...
Read MoreAugust 14
The Psalms are often used as Messianic proofs in the preaching of our Lord and His disciples. Christ said to His own, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Lk 24:44). Risto Santala (The Messiah in the OT, p. 108) writes: “The New Testament borrows 224 separate passages from 103 different psalms, and, with the same passages appearing in different places, this gives a total of 280 psalm quotations in the NT.” Approximately 50 of these deal with the sufferings, death, burial, resurrection, ascension of Christ, and the spreading...
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