By GFI board member, Randy Stahmer
First, let me say that the previous blogs of GFI Board members (Mark (February) and Nancy (March)) are truthful and honest. The message to ‘Stand Firm’ and the message for ‘Easter’ evoke hope and inspiration in a fallen world. It occurs to me that most of our Global Faith audience that would read these inspiring messages are Christian and possess a saving faith in Jesus Christ. However, these days, it is also true that not all proclaimed ‘Christians’ actually read the truth of His Word or they do not attend a church where the actual truth is spoken. In the world today, much is made of the “love” of God rather than the “truth” of God. It is implied by the love of God, that people have license to carry out their lives as ‘they’ see fit. God is a God of love, so how can anything done in the name of “love” be wrong? This simply is errant and misguided thinking.
God is love (1 John 4). But the scriptures also tell us that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. A human cannot escape that word, sin. Every last one of us is a carrier of this virus called sin. There are no exceptions to this truth. As a follower of Jesus, I believe that there is but one antidote (i.e. serum) for this virus; that is the blood of Jesus Christ. It is imperative that those of us who believe in Jesus earnestly pray for eyes blinded by sin to be opened and hearts changed to repentance. At the outset of his ministry, Jesus tells us to repent for the Kingdom of God is near (Mt 4:17).
While it is true that the heart of sinful man desires to continue in their sin by human reason and rationalization; there are also those who would flatly question the existence of God. In order to come to faith one must accept that God does exist, historically, scientifically, factually, and spiritually. No man can alter the trajectory of his own life without first taking himself off of the throne and surrendering their life to the Almighty and Sovereign Creator. The first commandment is to have no other gods before me.
Lee Strobel is a famous (once atheist) Christian author who wrote an entire series of books (12 in all) spanning nearly 20 years (1998-2021) that provide evidence of Christ, Faith, Creator, Easter, Christmas, Miracles, Heaven, and others. In his book, “The Case for a Creator”, Strobel uses science to prove Darwinism (i.e. evolution theory) is failed and only the Creator God could bring life into existence. The technical term for this study is Cosmology; the study of the universe, the world.
Three years ago, my wife and I drove to the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter in Northern Kentucky. At the Creation Museum, we enjoyed a planetarium experience that was showing the movie, “The Created Cosmos”. I encourage all who are reading this to view this outstanding movie (available on YouTube). It was this movie that gives perspective of how big the Creator is and perhaps more importantly, how small we humans are. While our sinful natures can lead us astray and even cause us to subconsciously consider ourselves to be masters of our own universes, nothing of the sort is true.
Consider the seventeenth-century French mathematician, philosopher, physicist, and theologian, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). Pascal contended that a rational person should adopt a lifestyle consistent with the existence of God and actively strive to believe in God. Pascal developed the idea of a WAGER. Pascal’s WAGER posits that individuals essentially engage in a life-defining gamble that involves the belief in the existence of God.
Pascal reasoned that if God did not exist, and the person believed in God and altered his life with reverence for God, those individuals would incur only finite losses when they die and perhaps sacrifice momentary, earthly pleasures and luxuries. If, however, God does indeed exist and the person believed in God, then that person would stand to gain immeasurably (epic win) via eternity in Heaven while avoiding boundless losses associated with eternity in hell (epic fail).
Pascal’s Wager
According to Pascal’s Wager; who would gamble on the chance of epic failure and infinite loss? To believe in God is to believe in His Son, Jesus. To fathom God is to open our eyes or redirect our view away from ourselves and to place them on Him. If we could just seek His face then we would find strength and hope for a bright tomorrow even in times of terror and strife.
We know from God’s Word that the United States is not mentioned anywhere in the pages. While the political landscape in the US is disconcerting; our hope is not in our politicians. It is easy to wonder when justice will reign again. My encouragement would be to put your hope and trust in Jesus and let God be God. He is in control and He alone has the power to save us from His wrath reserved for the unjust and evil-doers. He alone is the just and righteous judge.
The year is 2024 and no one knows the hour or day that the Lord Jesus will return. All of the biblical prophecies have been fulfilled. Israel is ground zero. October 7, 2023, saw terrorists attacking Israel and taking lives. April 13, 2024, saw Iran send a historic number of drones over the skies of Israel. Rest in what the scriptures tell us from Mt 24:3-8:
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
Scripture tells us that the wages of sin is death (Ro 6:23). This refers to the second death, the eternal death separated from the Creator God. Why risk a wager that holds such weight in the balance? Trust only Jesus and make the winning bet; a wager that stands with life eternal as the payout!