In this, my latest Bible Cartoon illustration, I made the centurions' face large in the scene so that the viewer could easily see his expression - but does it show surprise, awe, confusion, fear, or what?
Remember that this man was the first person after Jesus died to make any recorded confession of his reaction to the event. The Roman centurion (a man in charge of 100 Roman soldiers) was a trusted military man, trusted that is, by Rome, Caesar & the empire; trusted to support the empire’s goals & ambitions.

Rome was a polytheistic culture at this time, meaning that the average Roman believed in many gods. Isn’t it interesting that this pagan, military man, this Roman centurion, who didn’t know Jesus from Adam (!) seems to have been mightily moved by what he saw: the unusual death of a man who claimed to be the Son of God. There must have been something particular & noteworthy about how Jesus died which lead this man to make the confession, “Surely this was the Son of God!”

One thing Jesus’ life, death (& later resurrection & ascension) shows is that everyone was suddenly able to “get it”. Suddenly anyone & everyone could make the same confession - “Oh, OK, now I get it... Jesus, you really are the Son of God!!!” Just like the Roman centurion did. He may or may not have realised the true importance of what he was saying, but the fact is he was the first ever person to utter that truth after Jesus died.

In the same way we also can now look at the historical fact of Jesus’ death on the cross & make the connection: at last I see, you really are king Jesus, God amongst us.

We “give birth” to what we “see” in our imaginations

There is quite a strange sounding story in Genesis, chapter 30, which contains a spiritual truth:
Genesis 30:37-43 (NLT)

‘Then Jacob took some fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of bark, making white streaks on them. Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated. And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. Jacob separated those lambs from Laban’s flock. And at mating time he turned the flock to face Laban’s animals that were streaked or black. This is how he built his own flock instead of increasing Laban’s.
Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of them. Then they would mate in front of the branches. But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s. As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, male and female servants, and many camels and donkeys.’

A geneticist would tell you that sheep & goat’s don’t produce offspring of a particular colour & nature (streaked, speckled, and spotted) simply because their parents see some peeled branches! However, in this instance they did. The “how’s?”, “why’s” & the “wherefores” are incidental.
So what’s the point of the story? Well, one thing we can take from it is this: the sheep & goats produced offspring BASED ON WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT; literally, what was before them. Is there a lesson in this for us?

For us, I wonder if the same is true: that which we allow to reside in our minds (in our imaginations) is what comes to pass in our lives. There are lots of instances of this happening, here is just one example: many of us can think of someone we know who seems to have experienced a string of unfortunate events centred around conflict & negative outcomes with other people. Such people seem to have more than their “fair” share of conflicts & “run ins” with the people they come into contact with. They can readily reel off a whole string of events that have happened to them where they have conflicted with other people: people from all walks of life. We might even say that people who can recount such vivid tales of woe have a “victim mentality”, in that they almost expect bad things to befall them, rather than maintaining a more balanced, positive outlook on life.

Now I’m not suggesting that such people deliberately manufacture their own misfortunes, nor that we can always conclude that such people “bring it all on themselves”. Nor am I saying that these bad things haven’;t happened at all. It isn’t just in the victim’s mind, I’m sure these are real events. I am just suggesting that such people may be concentrating their memory, & recalling MORE of the negative events that have happened to them than the positive ones which have also happened to them. To be sure, we all encounter both positive & negative events in our lives: good things & bad things happen to us all. I think we probably encounter a fairly even spread of incidents & “happenings” through the course of our lives.

The difference between someone with a negative outlook, & someone else with a more balanced, or even more positive outlook, is this: the former spend more of their “memory time” recalling the “bad” events that have occurred than the “good” ones.

Conclusion & interpretation of the events that befall us.
Very general assertion: Good & bad events happen to us all. We probably have a fairly equal spread of both through out our lives.

So the real question is: what do we CONCLUDE about such events? What do we take away from such events? What conclusion do we come to regarding what has happened to us? This is not so much an impartial, factual recall of the events, but more a subtle biasing & personal INTERPRETATION of the events.

Also, our personal bias (be that generally positive or negative in regard to what happens to us) PREDISPOSES us to view the facts of an event in our lives as being largely “good” or “bad”. We may even largely “play down”, or totally disregard the positive events, in favour of interpreting events with a negative, destructive-to-us “spin”.

Two people may have the same event occur in their lives, but draw VERY DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS about what has happened (& what that “means” to them) afterwards. A person with a more positive outlook, even when a “bad” thing happens to them, will somehow manage to draw out a positive result & conclusion from the incident. Whereas the more negative thinker will invariably draw a damaging, scarring, negative conclusion from the SAME incident.

My question is this: if we elect to concentrate our attention on “bad” events (those incidents of conflict which we have lived through) & we readily recall those incidents (they are uppermost in our memories), what will that turn us into, in the end? If we most readily recall conflict & other incidents when we view ourselves as having been down-trodden, victims of circumstance, helpless to effect a positive outcome, etc, then surely we will begin to develop a fatalism; a general tendency to expect similar (or worse) events in our own future, won’t we?

On the other hand, if we can maintain (or effect) a more positive outlook on our lives, then the reverse will come into being: if we deliberately maintain a more positive conclusion about the events of our lives, surely we will begin to condition our minds to look for the positive, rather than looking for the negative interpretation of the events of our lives.

My concern is this: if we concentrate our recall/memory almost exclusively on negative events (rather than positive), what will that do to our OUTLOOK ON LIFE? We might think it will have no effect at all, that events will unfold in our future anyway, totally regardless of our outlook. And perhaps they will: we will indeed encounter both positive/happy & negative/conflict events in our own future...
... But what if our outlook DOES effect our future?...
And even if it doesn’t, when you think about it, don’t we have to ask ourselves, do I really WANT to concentrate my memory, & recollection on the negative events of my life... how will that make me FEEL today, after the event? Aren’t i worth more than that largely negative bias? Surely we can conclude that concentrating our memory/recall on all the negative events of our lives will only make us feel MORE low, MORE depressed, MORE negative. DO WE REALLY WANT THAT FOR OURSELVES?

Surely we can see that recalling the more positive events of our lives helps us to remain more positive, optimistic & happy, doesn’t it? Don’t we want to be those things?

Again, I’m not saying we take this to some absolute Nth degree, where we “blind” ourselves to anything negative at all! I’m simply suggesting that we DELIBERATELY foster an attitude of BALANCED THINKING, where we choose to interpret events in a more positive light (LOOKING FOR THE SILVER LINING IN THE CLOUD) & recalling at least as many happy, positive events as negative ones. That way we will maintain amore even keel in our attitudes & expectations of life.
The Bible has  few verses along these lines:

Galatians 6:7b (NLT), ‘ ...You will always harvest what you plant.’ We recall this verse as ‘You reap what you sow.’

Hosea 8:7a (NLT) , “They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind....”

Then there is the story in Numbers 13 of the 12 spies who were sent by Moses into the promised land. They spend 40 days looking at the land & assessing it, then they return to the wandering nation of the Hebrew people & report their findings. They all report how good the land is, how full of abundance & fertile soil, but 10 of them said that the Hebrew people can not possibly take the land, whilst only 2 (Caleb & Joshua) say that they can. Remember, the 12 men have ALL seen EXACTLY the same thing, but they draw VERY different conclusions from each other. The 10 men say (in Numbers 13:33 (ANIV)) “We saw the Nephilim there [giants]. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." Notice their INTERPRETATION: that the people living in the promised land must have looked at these 10 men as being very small; like grasshoppers.
The truth is, these men DIDN’T actually know what the Canaanites thought; they simply allowed their own negative interpretations & wild (negative) imaginings to inform them.

That’s the incredibly POWERFUL & DANGEROUS nature of allowing your imagination to inform us of “facts” which aren’t facts at all. Therefore, what we THINK is vitally important. What we allow into our minds & imaginations “colours” our views, & if we are in the habit of spinning a negative interpretation on the events & things we have seen, then we can only expect trouble a negative attitude in ourselves, which is likely to take us on a wholly different, & negative track when it comes to our deeds.

What are we to do about our negative attitudes - can anything be done?
Can we deliberately RECONDITION OUR THINKING, so that we start to look for more positive lessons & interpretations to the events that befall us?

Romans 12:2 (ANIV), ‘Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind...’

This verse tells us how to effect a more positive outlook: we need to RENEW OUR MINDS. Our outlook will be transformed (from largely negative to more positive) by the renewing of our minds. It can take a lot of effort to deliberately recondition/transform your mind, but it’s worth it, especially if you can see that your own negative bias has costed you a lot in terms of your own life’s happiness, peace & contentment.

How do we renew our minds?
It comes back to what we DELIBERATELY CHOOSE TO DWELL ON. That which you focus your attention on; fix & hold in your imagination more often than not; THAT is what determines your whole outlook.

We all know people who seem to have more “bad luck” than anyone else. Could it be that they allow their minds to dwell on past “defeats”, errors, mistakes, & other misfortunes, & by REPEATEDLY REPLAYING those negative events, they begin to condition themselves to EXPECT similar outcomes in their own future? Whereas, those people who quite deliberately condition their own minds to interpret the incidents & events that befall them positively, & try to draw out the more positive “lesson” or conclusion, will invariable maintain & build a more positive outlook on those events of their lives.

For the Christian, renewing your mind is best achieved by reading the Bible. That is the source of THE TRUTH which we need. As Freedom in Christ [1] explains, ‘Find out what is already true; choose to believe it whether it feels true or not; and your Christian life will be transformed.’ It goes on to explain that if we chase after our feelings about truth, rather than the truth regardless of what we feel about it, we can end up on a roller-coaster ride of up-&-down emotions. So 1) discovering what is true (in the Bible) & 2) deliberately choosing to believe in that truth, regardless of what we feel about it, will lead to the renewing of our minds. Let’s face it, if we are suffering from negative interpretations up to this point in our lives, then we haven’t exactly been thinking things that benefit us so far, have we?!... Time for a change of thinking!”

Back to Jacob’s flocks...
Remember that story at the beginning of this blog, about the sheep & goats produced offspring BASED ON WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT; literally, what was before them? I hope that now we can see that the same is true for us: what we DWELL ON, most of the time, is what we “give birth to” in our lives. If we CHOOSE to dwell on negative events & matters then surely it should come as no surprise that what we “give birth to” in our lives is also going to be largely negative. On the other hand, if we CHOOSE to dwell on positive interpretations of our live’s events then what we will “give birth to” in our future is also going to be largely positive.

At the end of the day you have to decide what you want for yourself. Do you want to change your outlook & have a sunnier, more positive disposition? If so, the Bible can help; God is MORE than willing to help too!
I pray you will find that more positive outlook.

[1]
Freedom in Christ (FIC) is a course of discipleship which I highly recommend. It helps us to overcome often life-long habits of thinking which have kept us from achieving our best; our potential. Many people who have been through the course report significant & astonishing positive change in their lives.
The quote above is from page 81 of the FIC Leader’s Guide.

Our faces are NEVER covered with shame - Psalms 34:5

Psalms 34:4-7 (ANIV)
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.

Verse 5 is fantastic, especially for those of us who all too readily accept the enemies’ accusations that we somehow do not measure up to the perfection we THINK is expected of us. Our society “demands” that we are this or that; that we perform flawlessly; that we measure up & juggle all the balls well & with a smile plastered on our faces at all times! But really it is the quiet whispered accusations of the enemy of our souls who keeps laying expectations upon our overloaded backs until we creak under the strain.

His goal is not to perfect us, but to break us.

Of course we “hear” his accusations in the first person; “I should do better”, “I didn’t do that very well”, “I should shape up & be more like, x,y,z”. But accusations “heard” in our imaginations in the first person are from Satan.

We HAVE to resist his insidious accusations... But how do we do that?

God’s word is powerful to the pulling down of strongholds. We must rely on what the Word of God says, not the whispered, poisonous warped words of the enemy, which are designed to knock us down & keep us down... sometimes with our own absent-minded consent.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (ANIV) says, ‘We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.’
I rather like the Message version of that scripture which reads, ‘We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.’

‘powerful God-tools’ = The Bible; the Word of God, which speaks the truth to us at all time. Rely on what we KNOW God has said, through the Bible, not on our own thoughts which are so variable, wavering & subject to outside influence.

‘...for smashing warped philosophies’, that’s a GREAT way of describing the evil, soul-destoying accusations of Satan!

Psalms 34:5 reminds us (& boy, do we need daily reminders!!!) ‘Those who look to him [God] for help WILL be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.’ That verse reminds us that DESPITE all the fears, insecurities & ideas that we don’t measure up; that we’re not good enough, the FACT is, that Jesus MAKES us sinless, such that we do not have to accept the enemies accusations any more.

We need to learn to disregard ANY thought that accuses us; disregard ANY thought that says we don’t measure up; disregard ANY thought that says we don’t perform well enough. Any “voice” that says these things to you is not “for” you, but against you.

God loves you...
don’t gloss over that 3 word sentence without REALLY dwelling on it & realising the truth of it. If God loves you, then He ISN’T going to accuse you. God has paid far too high a price (in the death of Jesus) to accuse you & “put you down”. That’s not what God is about AT ALL. Any & all performance anxiety you face never comes from God, it is an accusation from the enemy of our souls. After all, Jesus described his yoke as easy & his burden as light, right? (see Matthew 11:30)
The FACT is, the death & resurrection of Jesus the Christ is MORE THAN ENOUGH sacrifice to remove ANY & ALL sin from our souls. The work of Jesus REMOVES any claim Satan has over us any more. The cross of Jesus IS ENOUGH to save us.

So don’t listen to that small inner “voice” that accuses you. The Holy Spirit DOESN’T accuse, He CONVICTS. There is a BIG, fundamental difference between accusation & conviction.
We need to learn the difference, then we ‘ll correctly identify the source of the “voice”, every time.
If anyone (outside or inside) accuses you, then they are not speaking God’s Word in love... so disregard at once!
Keep your shield of faith up at all times.

Psalms 34:5 reminds us, ‘Those who look to him [God] for help WILL be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.’ That means that never, ever will God accuse us, & therefore, never EVER do we have to accept shame. We ARE free of all shame - that is our on-going condition, even if we don’t feel like that is true. Just because we don’t feel it, that doesn’t change the fact that, through Jesus, we ARE free of all condemnation, accusation & shame.
So don’t accept that thought-accusation - kick it into touch! It isn’t from God, so you don’t have to accept it.

Remember: the shield of faith is there for your defence: use it.

The tiny/huge step: needing faith like a child

I have just been reading about the life of Thomas Aquinas, sent to me as an article regularly by BibleGateway (BibleGateway@e.biblegateway.com). He wrote extensively & compiled his Summa Theologica, which was the most comprehensive treatise on theology ever written (at that time, in the late 13th Century.)

What grabbed my attention was the assertion that Aquinas proved the existence of God with his "Five Ways", a sequence of logical thought progression... I was intrigued by that, so I looked up the "Five Ways" on Google; it proved to be an interesting read.
(source: http://web.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/web%20publishing/aquinasfiveways_argumentanalysis.htm). 

Then I noticed 4 articles down the list on Google an atheist article entitled, “Refuting the five ways of Aquinas” (Source: http://patas.co/articles/opinion/refuting-the-five-ways-of-aquinas/)

Although the arguments against Aquinas seem not very well constructed (a bit like this sentence!) I took the point that for every logical argument FOR God’s existence, there is an equal logical argument AGAINST God’s existence.

I think there will always be arguments for & against the existence of God. We quote from astronomy, cosmology, evolution, logical reason, quantum physics, etc, etc, & use these mental frameworks to bolster our own beliefs; to uphold the positions we have already adopted, either in support of our assertion that God exists, or, using exactly the same evidence (!) in support of our assertion that God does not exist!

For me, the only logical conclusion is that logical argument is INCAPABLE of proving God’s existence in either direction. It seems to me that logical reasoning & logical rationalism is a “tool” incapable of actually shedding any light on the subject of God’s existence or non-existence. As I have explained in other blogs, I believe that we human beings are bound into a temporal, physical cosmos, with physical cause & effect, & therefore can not use observable data from within that cosmos to assert anything about a being who may or may not dwell outside that cosmos.

We can tie ourselves up in knots by trying to find evidence either for or against the existence of God. The pursuit of either seems to be never-ending, & there appears to be no single piece of irrefutable evidence either way. As a Christian I am left to wonder if perhaps that is exactly what God intended!

”For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.”
Jesus the Christ shed some light on the whole subject of how to approach (the kingdom of) God, in Luke 18:15-17 (NLT), which says, ‘15 One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him. 16 Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 17 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” ‘
Jesus himself says that we need to approach the kingdom of God as a child. And that unless we do, we will not enter it.
What does that mean?
I think he was saying that our adult thinking, which seems to always require evidence & proof before we are prepared to enter into something, is simply UNABLE to help us to enter the kingdom of God. I don’t think Jesus was saying it is wrong to have a questioning mind. Questions are good! I don’t think Jesus was saying that critical thinking doesn’t have some value in certain situations. As anyone who has children, or works with children will know, children ask a LOT of questions! Would Jesus have been cross with the many questions he would have been asked by children (& adults alike) - No, I think not. The Bible doesn’t show Jesus ever getting angry with anyone who had genuine questions for him.

Atheists & the search
I’m not trying to “bash” atheists in my blog writings. All of our questions from ANY viewpoint or stance, are really our attempts to try to uncover the truth, to discover what is REAL & what is RELIABLE. So an atheists’ questions are as important & invaluable in uncovering the truth about the universe as anyone elses. An atheist is a person who has simply not found enough compelling evidence to switch from not believing in God to the reverse position. If that is you, then simply be happy in your current assertions. But please, do make sure you have weighed up all the alternative positions. Please don’t let someone else’s thoughts bias your own thinking: examine the arguments for yourself. Find your own position, don’t just adopt someone else’s.

That said, I pray to my God that you will find that the atheist position is not really the “end game position” but is, in fact, the “starting position”... obviously we are all atheists before we believe in God! I hope you will come to see that what you are looking for (THE answer) is not found in unbelief at all. I pray that you will find the lasting peace, security & hope we all want. We just have to be honest in our own hearts & minds, about that search. But, of course, I believe you will only really find that answer & position, in Jesus the Christ. I can’t help but pray to my God, that you will find the lasting peace, lasting hope & eternal meaning that we all seek.

The limited scope of logic & reason
When it comes to the kingdom of God (& therefore God & His existence) I do believe that Jesus was asserting that logic & reason was incapable of catapulting us from unbelief into belief. I think Jesus was alluding to the position that any amount of logical thinking, reasoning, & the adult’s need for proof before agreement & adoption of an alternative lifestyle, would be UTTERLY incapable of taking us from unbelief in God to belief in God. I think that is why it is impossible to “prove”, either way, using logical & reason, that God either exists or does not.

What then is required?
Two quotes from Bible commentaries are useful here, please note, I have put the key words (as I perceive them!) in upper case letters, to draw your attention to them:

‘In these words Jesus was stating that a person must come to Him in HUMILITY in order to enter the kingdom. Children come with EXPECTATION and EXCITEMENT. They come realizing that they are NOT SUFFICIENT in themselves. They DEPEND totally on others. If these same attitudes are not present in adults, they can never enter into the kingdom.’
(Source: The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.)

‘Jesus explained that little children have the kind of faith and trust needed to enter the Kingdom of God. Anyone of any age who exhibits their kind of faith and trust is PROMISED access to Jesus and to the Kingdom. Children represent the essence of discipleship, coming to Jesus in humility and receiving his blessing as a GIFT. Unless we can completely TRUST in God, we will never get into the Kingdom of God.’
(Source: Life Application New Testament Commentary.)

There are some great points about the attitude we need to have, if we want to enter into the kingdom of God. And it seems to depend on attitude more than anything else.

Taking these points, it seems we need HUMILITY in order to enter the kingdom of God. Pride & arrogance will not get us there. Pride is exhibited in believing that we can do it ourselves. Self-help books are, by definition, reliant on me: my efforts to improve myself; my efforts to “fix” myself. Jesus explains that we simply are not able to work our way back to a perfect, unsoiled, spotless condition.

Romans 3:23 (NLT) states, ‘For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.’
No matter how hard we try, WE can not undo our wrong-doing. Of course, an atheist may not believe in their own wrong-doing. But if we are truly honest with ourselves, we can all look back on a less-than-perfect past performance in our own lives. No matter how small the error, we have all done wrong.

In the commentary quote above, the words NOT SUFFICIENT & DEPEND (or dependent) stand out: because the wise person realises that they are simply not able to repair their own damaged lives, no matter how hard they try. We try to fix ourselves with bigger & better jobs, cars, houses, & other “stuff”, but none of it brings real, lasting contentment. To the atheist: simple denial of your condition does not change it, however hard you try to think yourself into a better state of being. It is very frustrating, I know, but the truth is we are incapable of fixing ourselves, & the only person who can repair our damaged, broken lives is the person you don’t want to believe in: Jesus the Christ. That is the truth. And I simply want to point you in that direction, because Jesus loves you, no matter what you may have done in your past. It is love that wins us back to Jesus from the atheistic starting position we all begin with.

EXPECTATION and EXCITEMENT, these are two very notable characteristics of children!
And I think Jesus wants us (adults) to have the same child-like expectancy & excitement when we want to encounter God. In truth, I think we all have needs & from the believers side of the fence, I can tell you that all our needs can be met & are met, when we chose to believe in Jesus the Christ. Atheists have needs, just like everyone else, but unlike a Christian, those needs can not be met if you “growl” & “bite” the loving hand of Jesus which is constantly extended to you, & in which all your deepest needs are met.

The kingdom of God is PROMISED & is a GIFT, freely given to anyone & everyone who wants it.
TRUST is required: the simple, uncomplicated trust of a child.

It is not a problem to God that we have tons of questions, He welcomes our questions. Indeed, our curiosity & questioning minds have carried us forward into technical advances & devising new break-throughs which benefit us all. God knows, questions are useful tools for us!

But... if our questions stand in the way of us believing in God, or getting to know God, then just how useful are those questions? As adults, we often say that we will only believe in God & Jesus if He proves Himself to us; if He appears to us: thereby asserting that “seeing is believing.” But it isn’t! We see yet still we refuse to believe. The same evidence put forward by an atheist to assert that God does not exist (quoting from the sciences, logical thoughts, micro-biology, etc) can be used by a Christian to assert the exact opposite: that because of that evidence God does exist!

Coming back to the two articles I read at the beginning of this blog, it seems to me that we can always find supporting arguments for our positions. It isn’t hard to find them. But in the end we have to ask ourselves what we REALLY want?...
Do we want to shake off the worries & concerns of our own past performance?
Do we want to exceed our own experiences?
Do we want to be content?
Do we want to be truly confident?
Do we want to be excited by the future instead of fearing or dreading it?

Lifting up  my eyes
I don’t know about you, but I have found that all the reasoning, logic, rational thought, sciences, etc that I have studied have not brought that result. However, I can report that when I focus my attention on the love & nature of Jesus the Christ, then contentment comes my way.

When I lift my eyes up from my problems & look to Jesus, then those problems shrink to their real size, & my Saviour, & his kingdom become more “real” than the problems. That is not denial of my situation: the problems do exist! It’s just that God can & does go to work on them with me, & together, we will solve each & every one of them.

I’m living proof that God can “speak” to anyone, & bring them into his kingdom. I am the lowest & the least likely of people to have become a Christian, yet here I am! Talk about having doubts - that’s me! Talk about trying to hang on to science, astronomy, philosophy, any other comforting mental cushion - that’s me! But none of that man-made stuff has ever really, truly brought me comfort, peace, confidence or excitement about my past, present & future.

But Jesus the Christ, in his infinite patience, kindness & love, is coaxing me onwards, ever more gradually forwards, into His kingdom. He is SO patient with my doubting, uncertain, quivering-like-a-jelly faith! He is so patient when I run away from anything I don’t like the look of! He is so kind & loving & encouraging. God “jumps for joy” at my least, tiny, hesitant step of faith, like the proud Father in heaven He really is!

If God is like that to me, then He can be just like that & more so, to you.

What do we truly believe?
In the end I believe we all face the BIG question: what do I truly believe. I have come to realise that belief is a choice, rather than a response to any evidence that we might put forward. I hope I’ve shown that all so-called evidence can be viewed in either way: as “proof” for, or against the existence of God. In the end, what is required is a step of faith: if you want to believe in Jesus, then it is only a matter of asserting that you choose to believe in Him.

For me, on the “having already decided to believe in Jesus” side of the fence, I can report that everything changes, & improves, once you do make that choice. Yes, your problems remain, but there is peace, contentment, & power to overcome, which we did not have before that decision.
I think Jesus showed intense & searing wisdom when He said, ‘For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.’ That statement effectively strips away all the logical arguments, all the adult “Show-me-proof-before-I’ll-belive” attitudes.

For me, Jesus & the Bible are both Real & Reliable.
All that is really required is simply a desire to believe. God answers our deepest, most endearing, most urgent questions... but only if we choose to approach Him in a child’s humility & with a child’s faith. Will you put your faith in this amazing Saviour Jesus the Christ?


Additional information:
Here’s an interesting article I just found focussing on what it might mean to have Faith like a little child. It’s well worth a read.
“What did Jesus mean by ‘Faith like a little child’? Dawkins on curiosity.”
http://sntjohnny.com/front/what-did-jesus-mean-by-faith-like-a-little-child-dawkins-on-curiosity/365.html