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The Tale of Two Thieves

Two thieves were executed with Jesus, a metaphor for your death and mine. They felt themselves alone and abandoned, and they were. And yet, they were not. For we, too, were there, symbolically represented by the two men. And their moment with Jesus speaks to a question we must each answer: what will you do with Jesus Christ?

First, you have the self-serving, petulant, angry thief. He is guilty, but unrepentant, and something about Jesus triggers his mouth; he turns on Jesus with inexplicable rage. Mark tells us he “hurled insults at him.” There is no sympathy here. “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” He surely knows Jesus is innocent, but all he wants is to be released from the consequences of his wretched, ungodly life.

And then you have the other man, well aware he was there by his own hand. He was a thief, and he knew it. “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.” He had lived as he pleased, sacrificed his integrity to subsidize his pleasures, and now there would be hell to pay.

Except that this man had the foresight to look to Jesus, even in the final moments of his life. He was not a follower of Jesus; he had no claim to Jesus’ favor. If he had the opportunity in his earlier life to meet Jesus, he had ignored Him; self-will and freedom to do as he pleased allowed no place for God. He was a self-made man; and he self-destructed. Sin is an awesome taskmaster and for him, it was almost too late to recover.

Almost! He may have been a thief, but he learned from his mistakes. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He admitted to his sin, he turned to Jesus for forgiveness, and he was promised, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” He had lived a wretched life, he had defrauded others, he had embarrassed his family, he left a legacy no one wanted to follow. He had, however, met the Master, and that changed everything.

It is the tale of two thieves, but it’s also the story of your life and mine.

There are those of you who have lived your life in the fast lane. But you’ve won the respect of your peers and have every reason to be proud of your record. God, however, has had no place in your thinking, and you seem to have done well without Him. It isn’t that you don’t believe in God; He simply has not been an active force in your life.

And then there are those of us who have acknowledged our sin and turned to Jesus for forgiveness. We were honest enough to recognize we all deserve “death by crucifixion.” But a merciful God gave us a chance to welcome Jesus as the Lord of our lives, and we took Him up on the offer. And although still far from perfect, we are making progress, and now live in anticipation of the day God calls us home. Paradise awaits!

Which brings us to the most important question you will ever face. It is not, “Have you lived a good life? Have you been respectable and responsible?” If so, you are to be admired, but that is still not the question. THE question is, “What have you done with Jesus Christ?”

You want to talk about it? Hit me up at [email protected]

WHEN A SKEPTIC ENCOUNTERS GOD

In The Case for Christ, author Lee Strobel, journalist for the Chicago Tribune, and thoroughly convinced the Christian faith was bogus, tells this amazing story.

“For much of my life I was a skeptic. In fact, I considered myself an atheist. To me, there was far too much evidence that God was merely a product of wishful thinking. … As for Jesus, … [I was convinced] He was a revolutionary, a sage, an iconoclastic Jew – but God? No, that thought had never occurred [even] to Him. … I had read just enough philosophy and history to find support for my skepticism. … I had a strong motivation … a self-serving and immoral lifestyle that I would be compelled to abandon if I were ever to change my views and become a follower of Jesus. … There was enough proof for me to rest easy with the conclusion that the divinity of Jesus was nothing more than the fanciful invention of superstitious people. [And then Strobel’s life took a dramatic change of direction].

“It wasn’t a phone call from an informant that prompted me to reexamine the case for Christ. It was my wife. Leslie stunned me in the autumn of 1979 by announcing that she had become a Christian. I had married one Leslie – the fun Leslie … now I feared she was going to turn into some sort of sexually repressed prude. … Instead I was pleasantly surprised – even fascinated – by the fundamental changes in her character, her integrity, and her personal confidence. Eventually I wanted to get to the bottom of what was prompting these subtle but significant shifts in my wife’s attitudes, so I launched an all-out investigation into the facts surrounding the case for Christianity.” [Consistent with his training as a journalist, Lee Strobel launched a two-year odyssey, interviewing carefully selected experts who could help him clarify every question he had concerning the Christian faith.]

“By November 8, 1981, my legend thesis, to which I had so doggedly clung for so many years, had been thoroughly dismantled. … The atheism I had embraced for so long buckled under the weight of historical truth. It was a stunning and radical outcome, certainly not what I had anticipated. … So on November 8, 1981, I talked with God in a heartfelt and unedited prayer, admitting and turning from my wrongdoing, and receiving the gift of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus. … There were no lightning bolts, no audible replies, no tingly sensations. … Over time as I endeavored to follow Jesus’ teachings and open myself to his transforming power, my priorities, my values, and my character were (and continue to be) gradually changed” (The Case for Christ, pages 13, 14, 266, 268).

What can I say? The miracle of conversion is the most life-transforming experience any of us have ever had. Different from adopting a new set of principles or “turning over a new leaf,” the peace of mind and a new purpose for living that took place when we invited Jesus Christ to be our Lord made this the most fulfilling experience of our lives. Skeptics notwithstanding, this is real!

For more thoughts like these, follow me at indefenseoftruth.net.

IF THERE IS NO GOD

He was a young man with a future. As the only man left in the family, he was fortunate to have a dedicated mother who took in washing to put her ambitious son through Seminary. She was hoping for a priest; what she got was a monster.

Tiflis Orthodox Seminary was no place for a young Joseph Stalin. Impressed by the writings of Karl Marx, he gave up on God to pursue a career dedicated to social change and personal power. He failed to make the priesthood, but as a self-serving insurrectionist, he was a smashing success.

After Lenin died in 1924, Stalin set out to destroy the old party leadership, executing potential rivals, and assuming the position as leader of the Soviet Union. When he died in 1953, he left an unenviable legacy of thousands executed to perpetuate his hold on power. He will go down in infamy as the man responsible for the death of perhaps more people than any other in history, ranging from a low of three million to as many as sixty million people. Hard-drinking and a life-time of heavy smoking no doubt contributed to his death from a hemorrhagic stroke.

At some point in the process, Stalin had to face up to life’s most important choice: what will you do with God? It is a choice every one of us must make, and our decision will determine the purpose and outcome of our life.

To begin with, if there is no God, there is no coherent meaning to life. Without God, you lose the sacred essence of human existence. What meaning do you attach to life? How do you find a definitive purpose for your presence on earth? Your existence is an accident, your journey through life survival of the fittest, and your death a meaningless end to it all.

And if there is no God, there is no moral law. Without an objective standard of right and wrong, morality is whatever you choose it to be. Your drives, your interests, and your station in life determine what and who you will be; you become a god unto yourself.

And if there is no God, there is no heaven and no hell, no life after death. This life is as good as it gets; this is the only heaven you will ever know. Your dreams and drives end at the grave; there is no tomorrow. Did your life count? Did your sacrifices, your failures, and your accomplishments mean anything?

And if there is no God, there is no hope for ultimate justice. For Joseph Stalin or Mother Teresa, it’s all the same. For each, there would be no reward and no justice … if there is no God.

But Jesus proves there is a God, and that changes everything.

The strength of our faith is determined by its object. Some have chosen to believe in the Buddha; others in Joseph Smith or the Prophet Muhammad. I have chosen to believe in Jesus Christ.

The Apostle John said, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.” He would like to give meaning to your existence, purpose to your journey, and peace of mind that comes from knowing that, in the end, eternal life awaits. It all begins with Jesus Christ and what you do with Him is going to make all the difference in your world.

The End of a Dream

Cole Porter, the author of such great classics as, “I Get a Kick out of You,” “Night and Day,” and “Don’t Fence Me In,” was a genuine American success story. After publishing his first song at age 10, Cole Porter wrote dozens of hits, popularized by such luminaries as Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. Significantly, however, he also wrote “Anything Goes,” a song that reflected his personal philosophy of life.

In his book, Is This The End?, Dr. David Jeremiah writes: “His fans did not realize that his love songs were written for his boyfriends, that his marriage was a sham, or that his earnings financed an endless series of “anything goes” parties. … Porter enjoyed popular acclaim, deep pockets, and four beautiful homes, each well-staffed and kept in perpetual readiness for his visits. … Porter lived as he sang – “anything goes.” But after being injured in an equestrian accident, he never regained his health or happiness. He became reclusive and spent his last years depressed, diseased, drinking, and drugging. … ‘He was very alone at the end,’ said a friend. ‘He really didn’t have anything or anyone he was close to’” (pages 4, 5).

Cole Porter enjoyed everything life has to offer. He enjoyed fame, wealth, unbridled freedom, and the respect of a grateful public. He soon discovered, however, that life without God is no cakewalk. It often goes well for a time, and yes, there are many who live life to the fullest through to their dying days. Grant the point. But God has given us a host of directives, not to limit our happiness, but to enable us to make intelligent choices. God is no kill-joy. He knows, however, that, given unbridled freedom, we are prone to go to extremes, sometimes to our own destruction. The principles we find in Scripture are guides God has given us to keep our passions in check and our focus on what is true and proper.

Our founding fathers, well steeped in the principles Christians hold dear, wrote in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among them are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Absolutely true … and I suspicion God Himself would agree!

With that in view, however, note that the New Testament is careful to highlight this qualifier: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

You and I are the products of our opportunities, our choices, and, yes, the degree to which we take seriously the principles God has given us. He invites us to a life of intelligent cooperation, and what we decide changes everything.

IN THE BEGINNING … GOD

The Bible begins with this significant statement. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Genesis 1:1-3)

If God did, indeed, create the heavens and the earth, why did He create it formless and empty rather than in the perfect order it would be after His six creation days? Could anything brought into being by the Sovereign God be less than perfect? What happened?

If we postulate that the earth was Satan’s domain, it is conceivable that when Satan decided, in the words of the Prophet Isaiah, to “raise my throne above the stars of God; I will make myself like the Most High,” the earth was plunged into the chaos referred to in Gen.1:2. I will grant that I am speculating, for except for Satan’s rebellion, the Scriptures tell us little of what happened before creation. But a hint is given us on the occasion of Jesus’ first encounter with the devil shortly after His baptism.

At that time, “the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said ‘if you will bow down and worship me’” (Matthew 4:8-9). It is telling that Jesus refused the offer but did not question the devil’s authority. Accordingly, many of us believe that when Satan rebelled, it was then that the world, as the devil’s domain, became “formless and empty and darkness was over the surface of the deep.”

But the magnificent creation God planned for us would still come into being. When the time was right, God intervened. He brought order out of the chaos, recreated this beautiful world, and placed two beings, created in His image, in a marvelous “garden” to oversee it all. From that day forward, a trend was established: that which hell destroyed God would, sooner or later, bring back to its original purpose.

I am, in the words of Scripture, “a new creation.” Despite the threat hell has used to impact my stability and destroy my faith, there is light at the end of my tunnel. My mistakes and weaknesses notwithstanding, God has been good to me. He has given me hope that a new day is coming. Not only was God active in the building of His creation, but He has also taken a broken life like mine, “formless and empty” indeed, and of it brought something worthy of His creative power.

The day before His crucifixion Jesus told His disciples, “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John. 16:22). With Jesus’ death, Satan thought he had won the day. Little did he know that, as in the beginning, there was a new day coming in which out of the chaos would come a brilliant, marvelous light, that would never be extinguished … His name was Jesus!

For more thoughts like these, follow me at indefenseoftruth.net.

Redemption of a Rebel: The Franklin Graham Story

We hear much of Franklin Graham, known widely as chairman of Samaritan’s Purse, and a major figure in the recovery operation at nearly every national disaster, but what is amazing is that Graham’s international stature almost never came to be.

With Billy Graham away from home much of the time, Franklin’s childhood antics degenerated into teenage rebellion. He wanted to “have fun,” to live his life in the fast lane, and he did so with gusto. Whether sharing a beer with his girlfriends, piloting a plane or riding his motorcycle, Graham was out to have a good time.

Things finally came to a head in a meeting he had with his father during a trip to Switzerland. Billy Graham pulled no punches. “I want you to know that your mother and I sense there is a struggle for the soul of your life, and you will have to make a choice.” Not too long after that conversation, in a hotel room in Jerusalem, Graham surrendered his life to Jesus Christ. Not only did it change the course of his life, but it set in motion a series of events that have impacted millions around the world.

Dr. Bob Pierce, the founder of Samaritan’s Purse, later invited Graham to join him in a six-week tour of Asia. It was a trip that was to have far-reaching consequences, for it was on tour that Graham decided this was to be his life’s calling. He became chairman of Samaritan’s Purse in 1979 following Dr. Pierce’s death, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Franklin Graham’s story is evidence again that life without God, which seems so attractive at first, will eventually be empty and unrewarding.

Even as I write, Fox News is telling of the tragic death of Ashley Mattingly, a 33-year-old former Playboy Playmate. According to family members, she took her own life. Like Ernest Hemingway, Abbie Hoffman, and Robin Williams, Ashley was just one among many who have discovered that life without God, even for those who seem to enjoy the best the world has to offer, is nothing like they had hoped.

A man can ignore his conscience and live his life in the fast lane but, eventually, he discovers that irrefutable law of life: we all “reap what we sow.” And there are no exceptions. We are all the product of our past, conditioned by the choices we have made. Within just a few years, we are all going to pass into eternity. And no one will ask you, “How well did you live.” The question will be, “What did you do with Jesus Christ?”

“And how can I know the truth in all of this?” you may ask. There are too many voices, too many religious alternatives, too many who claim to have a corner on reality.” This is especially confusing if someone you respect has taken an alternative view. I understand your dilemma and, therefore, invite you to check it out for yourself. Read your Bible; the answers are there.

God, I can assure you, wants to do something special in your life. If you will approach Him with an open heart, you, too, can discover what Franklin Graham found that red-letter day in Jerusalem: the best life has to offer begins with Jesus Christ.