Why believe? The reality is that everyone has a foundation of beliefs that they live by. Even if you do not believe in God that is in itself a belief. My hope would be to convince you of the existence of God which we discover through the Bible and His desire for your life.
The truth is that God has already revealed Himself to you through the universe which He has created. The Bible verifies this reality when it records, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." (Ps. 19:1) Where did all of this which we can see around us come from? Where did you come from? Many have developed theories concerning such issues and have certain evidences that they use to support such ideas but in the end they are only theories. The Bible is clear that "in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1) While I can't show you conclusive proof of this, such things as the way our universe works and the complexity of that which exists does seem to point to intelligent designer which the Bible claims is God.
Even though such things are obvious the Bible also speaks of the stubbornness of men to accept such a reality. Such people "suppress the truth" and "they exchanged the truth about God for a lie". (Rom. 1:18, 25) Why? We are determined to live our lives the way that we want to live them.
The existence of a Creator does present one with a mystery. What did he create us for? What is the purpose for our existence? God's people in the past were told that they were to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Dt. 6:5) Jesus would refer back to this as the greatest commandment and the second is like it in that we are to 'love your neighbor as yourself". (Mt. 22:37-39) One of the greatest Kings of Israel would write, "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind." (Ecc. 12:13) Other verses speak of our need to glorify God which means to bring him honor and praise. (Rom. 15:6; Mt. 5:16; 1 Peter 2:12) Our lives are meant to bring God glory, honor and praise. This is the motivation for much of what Jesus did while here upon this earth. (Jn. 17:1; Jn. 13:31)
There is an issue though that we must recognize as we consider our situation before God. God is holy which means He is distinct and different from all that He has made. We have been made in the image of God and part of bringing Him glory is that we demonstrate some of the same characteristics that are found in Him. The problem is that we don't always portray a good image of Him by the way we live. We have rebelled against our Creator and each us has done what is evil in His sight. This is what the Bible refers to as sin. Because of sin we are no longer in a right relationship with God, in fact we are described as "enemies" because of this issue and destined to eternal punishment. To make matters worse this is not a problem we can overcome on our own. This is where Jesus comes into this picture.
Jesus represents the coming of God into this world in the form of man to not only reveal Himself to us but ultimately to deliver us from the consequences of our own sins. By living a sinless life He is able to give up his life voluntarily on behalf of another which He did for us when He allowed Himself to be crucified on a cross. Even though He died, He rose again just as He had said He would and showed Himself to His followers to verify these things. After His resurrection He ascended into the heavens where He is seated at the right hand of the Father until the time comes for Him to return here to bring His people to the place He has prepared for them. When will that be? No one knows. We do know that it will be a time that will catch many by surprise and unprepared.
There is much more that could be said about all of this, but my hope is that you may consider some of these things and begin a journey of discovery for yourself. I cannot make you believe, but it is something that comes through an encounter with God through His word and the workings of the Holy Spirit on one who is open to His promptings. If you have any questions concerning these issues I would love to begin a discussion with you. You can reach me (Keith) at bolivarchristian@windstream.net. "everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" - Rom. 10:13
The truth is that God has already revealed Himself to you through the universe which He has created. The Bible verifies this reality when it records, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." (Ps. 19:1) Where did all of this which we can see around us come from? Where did you come from? Many have developed theories concerning such issues and have certain evidences that they use to support such ideas but in the end they are only theories. The Bible is clear that "in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1) While I can't show you conclusive proof of this, such things as the way our universe works and the complexity of that which exists does seem to point to intelligent designer which the Bible claims is God.
Even though such things are obvious the Bible also speaks of the stubbornness of men to accept such a reality. Such people "suppress the truth" and "they exchanged the truth about God for a lie". (Rom. 1:18, 25) Why? We are determined to live our lives the way that we want to live them.
The existence of a Creator does present one with a mystery. What did he create us for? What is the purpose for our existence? God's people in the past were told that they were to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Dt. 6:5) Jesus would refer back to this as the greatest commandment and the second is like it in that we are to 'love your neighbor as yourself". (Mt. 22:37-39) One of the greatest Kings of Israel would write, "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind." (Ecc. 12:13) Other verses speak of our need to glorify God which means to bring him honor and praise. (Rom. 15:6; Mt. 5:16; 1 Peter 2:12) Our lives are meant to bring God glory, honor and praise. This is the motivation for much of what Jesus did while here upon this earth. (Jn. 17:1; Jn. 13:31)
There is an issue though that we must recognize as we consider our situation before God. God is holy which means He is distinct and different from all that He has made. We have been made in the image of God and part of bringing Him glory is that we demonstrate some of the same characteristics that are found in Him. The problem is that we don't always portray a good image of Him by the way we live. We have rebelled against our Creator and each us has done what is evil in His sight. This is what the Bible refers to as sin. Because of sin we are no longer in a right relationship with God, in fact we are described as "enemies" because of this issue and destined to eternal punishment. To make matters worse this is not a problem we can overcome on our own. This is where Jesus comes into this picture.
Jesus represents the coming of God into this world in the form of man to not only reveal Himself to us but ultimately to deliver us from the consequences of our own sins. By living a sinless life He is able to give up his life voluntarily on behalf of another which He did for us when He allowed Himself to be crucified on a cross. Even though He died, He rose again just as He had said He would and showed Himself to His followers to verify these things. After His resurrection He ascended into the heavens where He is seated at the right hand of the Father until the time comes for Him to return here to bring His people to the place He has prepared for them. When will that be? No one knows. We do know that it will be a time that will catch many by surprise and unprepared.
There is much more that could be said about all of this, but my hope is that you may consider some of these things and begin a journey of discovery for yourself. I cannot make you believe, but it is something that comes through an encounter with God through His word and the workings of the Holy Spirit on one who is open to His promptings. If you have any questions concerning these issues I would love to begin a discussion with you. You can reach me (Keith) at bolivarchristian@windstream.net. "everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" - Rom. 10:13