“…I have come that they may have life and have life in full.”
- Jesus (John 10:10 NIV).
The question of why we believe what we do is a question that I believe we all have to answer in life. In reality, life will really not make much sense if we don’t ask ourselves the basis for our beliefs.
Some months ago, I stumbled on two places where two men talked about inconsistencies in the scriptures (bible). One was an article, and another was a radio program. I didn’t read all of the article; nevertheless, from what I read, I was able to see that the writer was once a devout Christian but renounced Christianity as a result of his ‘exposure’ – from books that disproved God’s nature and anything else.
The second man, from the radio program, argued about some inconsistencies in the old testament (although he didn’t talk about not believing in God)
These things that I came across brought back some memories to me. I remembered two Christians who were very devout and had even blessed lives from their services to God. These same people renounced their faith publicly. It was disheartening to know, because a song by one of them, and books by the other are still blessing lives in Christendom. What an irony!
One question I had in my mind when I pondered on what happened to these people was, “what would make a man decide to renounce his faith?”
It’s true that the devil and his agents wage war against Christians especially in our minds to make us fall, but that’s why we’re advised to be strong in the LORD (Ephesians 6:10).
Besides, Apostle Paul also said that we Christians should use our strong and mighty weapons of warfare which are not carnal to bring every thought captive in obedience to Christ, to the word of God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
The devil will not stop trying to bring thoughts or things that make us question God’s existence. These thoughts can come in form of much knowledge that may try to make one question the existence of God. However, we must use God’s word breathed upon by the Holy Spirit to counter these thoughts.
MORE REFLECTIONS ON THE CHRISTIAN FAITH:
In the process of reflecting more on the topic of forsaking one’s faith, I thought about how trials and sufferings can also make one renounce one’s faith, like the story of a young African boy that I read about in Evangelist Reinhard Bonkhe’s autobiography.
Evangelist Bonkhe prayed for this young boy after a crusade and God began to use this boy in great ways. However, due to some trials that he faced, he stopped believing in Christ.
There’s a word in the scripture for this kind of situation too: “what can separate us from the love of Christ – troubles, persecution, trials etc?” (Romans 8:35) Scripture goes on to say that “in all things, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:37).
Christians are not promised a life free of trials. In fact, Jesus said we should expect to be persecuted more because He was persecuted and no servant is greater than his master (John 15:20).
Still, we are assured that even in trials, the Holy Spirit is in us to comfort and strengthen us. We must be willing though to accept His strength; otherwise, we’ll be weak.
THE QUESTION OF BELIEF:
A question came to my mind as I continued to reflect on the necessity of the Christian faith: “Why do you believe in Christ?” As I thought about this question, the Holy Spirit brought to my mind a reply that Apostle Peter gave to Jesus when Jesus asked the twelve disciples if they were going to leave Him the way His other disciples had left due to His ‘hard’ teaching. Apostle Peter said “LORD, to whom else shall we go? Only You have the words of life” (John 6:68-68).
WORDS OF LIFE! The words of Jesus are the words that give true life. There are many reasons why I believe in Jesus and this (words of life) is definitely one of them.
Note this. Whether we like it or not, every human soul is on a search for something – Life, true life. Man goes to different extents to find this, but it is only found in Jesus and His words. He in fact is the word. He, His words bring true satisfaction to man. Only in Jesus can we find true life.
Test this. Examine scriptures; examine the teachings and words of Jesus. They contain a vital element: truth. Everything that Jesus says is true and it refreshes the soul, especially when it has been breathed upon by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Himself said that He came to give us Life and Life in abundance (John 10:10). This is what His words do to us. His words change us and make us take up more of Christ’s life which is full of peace.
Do you still have doubts about Jesus’ words bringing life? Imagine this then. Imagine if everyone in the world did what Jesus said we should. The world will be LIFE FULL. There’d be so much peace and productivity. What a blessed place the world would be!
But then again, we can’t do everything that God’s word says except by the Holy Spirit empowering us. And the Holy Spirit cannot empower us except He is in us. But He cannot come into us and then empower us if we don’t first make the decision to believe in and accept Jesus.
In addition to these things I’ve written, Jesus said something profound that I’d like to reference. In John 10:38, He said: “if you don’t believe in me, at least believe in the signs/works (the signs that He gave)”. I like to see these signs as His extraordinary wisdom, His miracles and Healings, His love and compassion.
These things are supernatural and cannot be done by ordinary men. And even today, God is still using His followers to perform these same signs. And guess what? It is SCRIPTURAL! Mark 16:20 talks about the Lord working with His followers and confirming the word with signs.
These things are all contained in the scripture for all to see. We see scriptures come alive even in these contemporary times.
Yes. It is true that there are many things that we may not understand. But that temptation to disbelieve or disprove the existence of God is a lie from the devil.
There are so many things that point to God’s existence and His involvement in our daily lives. I’d like to write even more but the post will be too long.
I’d just end with this: the words of God in scripture has been tested and trusted for many ages and is still working its wonders. Jesus words contain true life, I tell you. They are words of life. Please believe in Him; believe in His words and stay true to your belief.
Remember, “we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth“. Think on these things. (Pardon the length of this post).
Till next time!
'Tomi's blog 
This is a great post Tomi! I learnt a lot! God bless you! Indeed Jesus is LIFE!
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Amen! Yes, Jesus is life, and only Him gives the true life that all humans need.
Thanks for reading through, Temi. God bless you too.
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This is enlightening and instructive as well.
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Thank you! Thank you for reading through.
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