Post by larry on Apr 22, 2006 15:37:03 GMT -5
Hi.
In answer to your questions,The answers you are looking for will not be found in any books of this world.
The place to start is the Holy Bible.It is by faith that we know God and all these things are real. I would start in the book of Hebrews Chapter 11.
Here is how most of the people in this world today react to God,s word.
"Raised from the dead? Sure. Right. And I have a bridge I'd like
to sell you."
John 20:24-26
That's how Thomas might have responded if he had lived in our day.
"Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger where
the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe
it."1 He'd seen dead people before. And Jesus was dead. He sounds
like sophisticated rationalists of the Twenty-first Century. "It
isn't possible," they would contend. "It didn't happen."
But what if it did happen?
Thomas was convinced when Jesus appeared to him, reached out his
hands to Thomas, and said, "Put your finger here."
Thomas dropped to his knees. "My Lord and my God!"2
It was self-hypnosis, you counter. The disciples wanted to believe
that their Lord was not dead, so they just invented it out of
nothing.
Really? Let's look at some of the evidence.
1. Jesus' body was missing. If the Jews could have found it, they
could have stilled the preaching of Jesus' resurrection that
filled Jerusalem. But they could not.
2. The body wasn't stolen. The Romans had no motive. The Jews had
no motive. Ah-ha, you say, the disciples stole it. There is the
matter of the Roman guards, and the disciples' initial disbelief
when the women brought them the news early that Easter morning.
This brings me to my third point.
3. If the disciples had stolen the body, you wouldn't expect them
to risk their lives. People don't die for what they know is not
true. But the disciples put their lives on the line, and nearly
all were eventually martyred for their faith. They certainly
believed it.
4. The church mushroomed size in Jerusalem, the very place he was
crucified. Followers of Jesus in the city of Jerusalem grew from a
few dozen to thousands upon thousands soon after Jesus'
resurrection. They believed it was true.
5. Contemporary documents refer to the event. Thallus the
Samaritan, Suetonius, Tacitus, Pliny contain references to Jesus.
Jewish historian Josephus writes about Jesus' crucifixion and
resurrection. They knew something had happened.
Jesus' resurrection from the dead is actually more plausible than
any other explanation. That's why we Christians make such a big
deal about Easter. That's why we celebrate.
Jesus' resurrection means that death is not the end. That though
my body may lie moldering in the ground, Jesus, whom the Father
raised from the dead, gives me eternal life. Ultimately, we
Christians believe, our bodies, too, will be raised from the dead.
And since Jesus is not dead, people can encounter him today. You
can know him through a personal relationship. I could point to
lots of people who can testify what Jesus has done in their lives
to bring them from the brink of disaster to peace and meaning and
joy. He changes people for good.
If you're not sure can't really say you've met this risen Jesus,
this Sunday why don't you slip into church to seek him. And
perhaps in the midst of worship with Gods people you will find Him,
He's alive, you know.
GOD BLESS
Larry
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