In Jim Wallace’s latest effort – God’s Crime Scene – we find the case for God’s existence being built upon the available evidence. Using the same techniques of crime scene investigation learned over a life time of police work, Jim expands upon his earlier work, Cold Case Christianity by turning his attention to the timeless questions of life, origins, morals, and why it matters that we have intellectually satisfying answers to these questions and more.
Hasn’t science already proven that the idea of a creator God is wishful thinking? After over 2,000 years what evidence can possibly be marshaled to make the case that the gospel writer’s accounts are trustworthy? Doesn’t atheism provide the best explanation for what we understand about life today?
For the first 35 years of his life Jim Wallace was a devout atheist. He found the claims of Jesus Christ and those of the gospel writers to be somewhat spurious. How could something that happened 2,000 years ago have any verifiable proof? Christianity in Jim’s mind was very much like his cold cases, puzzling and mostly dead ends.
But then one day Jim’s perspective was challenged and he began to consider the claims of Jesus Christ and the gospel writers in a different light.
In this episode of SER Jim Wallace discusses his faith journey, his realization that the evidence for the claims of Jesus Christ contained in the gospels is well beyond a reasonable doubt, and his new book, “God’s Crime Scene.”
Listen to this episode by clicking here.
Most people would answer this question in the negative. Of course they are not living that way. But if you want to know if you are living an offended life, then pay close attention to how you react to the mention of certain people’s names or what you think and how you act when you are in their presence.
Author John Bevere in his book “The Bait of Satan,” explains that people can live an offended life without even knowing it because they are so focused on the hurt done to them.
Offense that is harbored and allowed to have free rein produces varying degrees of anger, outrage, jealousy, resentment, strife, bitterness, hatred, and envy. These emotions in turn produce division, separation, broken relationships, betrayal, and even a cooling of faith and love.
Clearly, the devil utilizes the bait of offense to destroy us and other people. So what must we know and do?
First we must realize that we have a choice whether to pick up the bait of offense. I have a dear friend who many years ago made this statement that has stuck with me for decades. He said, “I’m not smart enough to be offended.” In his own humorous way, he was saying, “I love you and will not let words or actions come between us.” The Bible says that love covers a multitude of sin.
The point is this – we have a choice whether or not we will become offended or whether or not we will forgive. Remember friends, forgiveness has nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not the one receiving forgiveness deserves it. What it all boils down to ultimately is this – do you want to remain free of the rotten results of harboring an offense?
Then secondly, we must determine to forgive those who have hurt us. I am convinced that a big reason love among Christians is growing cold is because people refuse to forgive. They believe they are justified in their feelings. Perhaps they have never been told that Christians must forgive. Perhaps they don’t understand that their holding onto hurt has frozen them in time, effectively making them a prisoner of the one they believe has hurt them.
Friends, God’s way for His children is that we live in peace with one another. You cannot do that when you are living an offended life.
I recommend you pick up a copy of John Bevere’s book, “The Bait of Satan,” and begin reading and praying for your own deliverance from this heinous trap of our enemy.
When you do you will experience a transforming moment in your life.
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her. Ephesians 5:22, 25
“Love makes the world go round” is a cute adage that is simple in its message but deficient in explaining exactly how that works. Love is as the poet says a “mysterious thing” and something that is both fleeting and enduring. Love has the capacity to satisfy the soul like a gourmet meal or it can starve the one who receives only crumbs.
Let me cut to the chase here folks. How would you describe your relationship with your spouse? Would you give it a thumb up or a thumb down? I don’t mean is everything going great right now because truth is, almost every marriage has a few pot holes every now and then. What I am asking is this – is your marriage on solid footing? Is the foundation of your spousal relationship solid?
If you cannot say “yes it is,” then let me encourage you today to begin the process of evaluating why. The decision to begin to build a solid foundation for your marriage may be an individual one, but to make it happen takes team work.
Taking the necessary steps to construct, restore, or repair a damaged marriage must begin with determining to love your spouse even though they may be behaving in an unloving way. Let me issue a caveat here – I am not suggesting that you should accept abusive behavior in the name of love, and that includes physical, verbal, or emotional abuse. But I am suggesting that you live the truth that love is not primarily an emotion. It is a decision in the biblical sense. So determine to honor your covenant vows to love your spouse through the thick and thin of life.
Next, determine to be honest and transparent with your spouse. This will require a generous amount of trust. Some information will be hard to share and the fear of being judged can be a tremendous weight. Press on anyway. If not initially, your spouse will in time see that your love for him/her outweighs the hurt, because the goal in being honest with one another is to begin to build accountability, which ultimately leads to trust.
When trust is an integral part of the marriage relationship then you are able to overcome those things that previously were stumbling blocks. In effect you are being equipped to demonstrate love in the biblical sense. Friends, your spouse deserves the best you can give not the left over crumbs.
That is a transforming truth.
Here are some of the many sites I visited this week and the articles I read. What have you been reading lately? Share that in the “Leave a Comment” section above.
Dan Doriani serves Covenant Seminary as Professor of Theology. He writes “How Preachers Read the Bible For Themselves” posted on The Gospel Coalition.
Mike Leake posts something similar to my “Mike’s Mix” on his blog Borrowed Light entitled Today in Blogworld.
Facts & Trends addresses some strategies to minister to college age adults in “8 Ways to Keep College Students in Your Church.”
Chad Hall posts “4 Kinds of Fake Faith” on the Transformed blog. A good reminder to evaluate ourselves constantly in light of the Scriptures.
I recently completed a five-part series about the necessity of men praying for their wives as a part of my Transforming Moments spots for radio, so this article by Logan Merrick caught my eye – “Men Do We Really Love Our Wives?”
Enjoy your weekend friends!
“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5 NASB
*As always, references in my blog do not constitute full and unqualified endorsement of everything you might find on another blog site. Be Bereans folks. Acts 17:11