Reasons to believe (encouragement thread)

[RLT63]

Having been in a conversation with an atheist for some time I wanted to start a thread to strengthen the faith of believers and just for fellowship and encouragement.
Feel free to chat, share your testimony or post about reasons to believe the gospel , evidence or anything you feel helps our case

 

[RLT63]

Why I Am a Christian

A few weeks ago a colleague of mine asked me why I was a Christian. “Is the evidence for God so overwhelming that you were compelled to be a Christian? Which piece of evidence is the one that…

shenviapologetics.com

 

[RLT63]

Following is by Charles Spurgeon

"That those things which cannot be shaken may remain."
Hebrews 12:27

We have many things in our possession at the present moment which can be shaken, and it ill becomes a Christian man to set much store by them, for there is nothing stable beneath these rolling skies; change is written upon all things. Yet, we have certain "things which cannot be shaken," and I invite you this evening to think of them, that if the things which can be shaken should all be taken away, you may derive real comfort from the things that cannot be shaken, which will remain. Whatever your losses have been, or may be, you enjoy present salvation. You are standing at the foot of his cross, trusting alone in the merit of Jesus' precious blood, and no rise or fall of the markets can interfere with your salvation in him; no breaking of banks, no failures and bankruptcies can touch that. Then you are a child of God this evening. God is your Father. No change of circumstances can ever rob you of that. Although by losses brought to poverty, and stripped bare, you can say, "He is my Father still. In my Father's house are many mansions; therefore will I not be troubled." You have another permanent blessing, namely, the love of Jesus Christ. He who is God and Man loves you with all the strength of his affectionate nature--nothing can affect that. The fig tree may not blossom, and the flocks may cease from the field, it matters not to the man who can sing, "My Beloved is mine, and I am his." Our best portion and richest heritage we cannot lose. Whatever troubles come, let us play the man; let us show that we are not such little children as to be cast down by what may happen in this poor fleeting state of time. Our country is Immanuel's land, our hope is above the sky, and therefore, calm as the summer's ocean; we will see the wreck of everything earthborn, and yet rejoice in the God of our salvation.

 

[RLT63]

Did Jesus really exist? Evidence outside the Bible

Yes. Nearly every historian of the ancient world, Christian or not, agrees that Jesus lived, gathered followers, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate.

theevidenceforjesus.com

 

[CoachedByChrist]

Here is one reason I keep coming back to: Jesus did not leave people where He found them. Lives actually change. People who were bitter learn to forgive, people who were lost get direction, people with no hope get up and try again. That kind of fruit is hard to fake for long.

 

[RLT63]

Are the Gospels historically reliable? Archaeology and the manuscripts

The Gospel writers told their story where anyone could check it. They name governors, priests, and pools, and the ground keeps turning them up.

theevidenceforjesus.com

 

[Wrangler]

Having been in a conversation with an atheist for some time I wanted to start a thread to strengthen the faith of believers and just for fellowship and encouragement.
Feel free to chat, share your testimony or post about reasons to believe the gospel , evidence or anything you feel helps our case

Thanks for starting this thread. As I posted in the thread with the Atheist, I don’t have enough faith to be an Atheist.

 

[RLT63]

Thanks for starting this thread. As I posted in the thread with the Atheist, I don’t have enough faith to be an Atheist.

I'm going to get that book. Someone gave it to my nephew and he got saved after reading it

 

[pwg_jonathan]

Thanks for starting this. One reason I keep believing is that Jesus keeps meeting people in their honest questions instead of waiting for them to have it figured out. Thomas got to touch the wounds and Jesus never shamed him for asking (John 20:27-28). My own doubts have pushed me closer to the gospel more than away from it.

 

[Debp]

Forgiveness of our sins is a reality and a wonderful thing. The Lord gives us His peace that passes all understanding, a great blessing. And to know Jesus says we will be with Him after we die is a great comfort. Not only for our deaths but when we have loved ones (believers) who pass away.

 

[RLT63]

Someone asked on another forum how we could be happy in Heaven knowing that people we cared about are in Hell.
Would part of our memories be stripped away?
I don't know but I trust God to take care of it

 

[Jericho]

There's probably several ways we could go about this...

Archology: Archeological evidence has proven the Bible true time and time again. Just a few examples... King David was once thought to be a myth, like King Author, until a reference to the House of David was found. The Hittites were also treated as mythological until more than 10,000 clay cuneiform tablets confirmed they existed.

Prophecy: Biblical prophecy proves the Bible to be true. Just to name one, Daniel accurately predicts that the Messiah would be cut off (Jesus' crucifixion) and the city and sanctuary (Second Temple) would be destroyed, which happened in 70 AD (Dan 9:24-27).

Miracles: There are plenty of miraculous testimonies out there. Here's one of a little boy who drowned and was diagnosed with irreversible brain damage. His parents were Bible-believing Christians and prayed for a miracle. Today, he's perfectly healthy and normal. I know it's true because he goes to my church, and I've heard his testimony and seen the pictures firsthand. Miraculous!

Creation: Even nature will tell you there is a God. When you look at how finely tuned the universe and earth are for life and the complexity of DNA and humans, it all points to a creator. Science once believed the universe was eternal; now they believe it has a beginning, just as the Bible says. What is little known is that the Big Bang theory, the foundation of modern cosmology, was the work of a man who was not only a physicist but also a Catholic priest. He was only able to come to that conclusion because, unlike his peers, he saw no contradiction between science and the Bible. In fact, science was born out of the Christian West, and many of the early scientists were Christians.

Transformation: We can reasonably conclude it's true because it works and changes lives. I can think of no other "religion" where a person listens to a 30-minute sermon, gets saved, and his life becomes so radically changed afterwards. It's not an outwardly change but an inwardly change. They may have been some of the worst people before, but like the apostle Paul, they were changed in an instant. It is well known that it was Christianity that tamed the Vikings. If you know anything about the Vikings, that was a miracle in itself.

 

[RLT63]

There's probably several ways we could go about this...

Archology: Archeological evidence has proven the Bible true time and time again. Just a few examples... King David was once thought to be a myth, like King Author, until a reference to the House of David was found. The Hittites were also treated as mythological until more than 10,000 clay cuneiform tablets confirmed they existed.

Prophecy: Biblical prophecy proves the Bible to be true. Just to name one, Daniel accurately predicts that the Messiah would be cut off (Jesus' crucifixion) and the city and sanctuary (Second Temple) would be destroyed, which happened in 70 AD (Dan 9:24-27).

Healing: There are plenty of healing testimonies out there. Here's one of a little boy who drowned and was diagnosed with irreversible brain damage. His parents were Bible-believing Christians and prayed for a miracle. Today, he's perfectly healthy and normal. I know it's true because he goes to my church, and I've heard his testimony and seen the pictures firsthand. Miraculous!

Creation: Even nature will tell you there is a God. When you look at how finely tuned the universe and earth are for life and the complexity of DNA and humans, it all points to a creator. Science once believed the universe was eternal; now they believe it has a beginning, just as the Bible says. What is little known is that the Big Bang theory, the foundation of modern cosmology, was the work of a man who was not only a physicist but also a Catholic priest. He was only able to come to that conclusion because, unlike his peers, he saw no contradiction between science and the Bible. In fact, science was born out of the Christian West, and many of the early scientists were Christians.

Transformation: We can reasonably conclude it's true because it works and changes lives. I can think of no other "religion" where a person listens to a 30-minute sermon, gets saved, and his life becomes so radically changed afterwards. It's not an outwardly change but an inwardly change. They may have been some of the worst people before, but like the apostle Paul, they were changed in an instant. It is well known that it was Christianity that tamed the Vikings. If you know anything about the Vikings, that was a miracle in itself.

Thanks for this post

 

[Wrangler]

Someone asked on another forum how we could be happy in Heaven knowing that people we cared about are in Hell.

I don't believe this is true. Hell is only a holding place until Judgment Day. I reject ECT, Eternal Conscious Torment. The wages of sin is death, not ECT. It is the fire that burns eternally, not humans in it.

Second Death is permanent and not ECT.

 

[RLT63]

I don't believe this is true. Hell is only a holding place until Judgment Day. I reject ECT, Eternal Conscious Torment. The wages of sin is death, not ECT. It is the fire that burns eternally, not humans in it.

Second Death is permanent and not ECT.

I tend to agree. I don’t understand why someone would be punished for eternity for a life span less that was less than 100 years.

 

[GRACE ambassador]

@RLT63, thanks for the thread:

I for one had a great fear for over 20 years of God's Undiluted Wrath ( Eternal Torment ),
so I felt great 'conviction' when I first heard ( on the phone from a wonderful lady in TN )
His Glorious Gospel Of [ Undiluted ] Grace!

Thus daily thanks is given for His Finished Work On The CROSS For me!

(Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 AV), And His:​

Justification [ Deliverance From The Penalty [ Second Death ] Of sin] of me,
By His [ God's ] OWN BLOOD! (Acts 20:28 AV), Giving me:

"...the Peace of God, Which Passeth all understanding, shall keep your ​

hearts and minds Through Christ Jesus.!" (Philippians 4:7 AV)​

​

God's Riches Of Undiluted Grace is Much More Than Reason Enough for me to believe. Amen!:

​

 

[Jericho]

Someone asked on another forum how we could be happy in Heaven knowing that people we cared about are in Hell.

Take it for what it's worth, but I heard of an NDE who went to heaven and said when he was in Jesus' presence, he wasn't thinking or caring about anyone else, not his mother, not his family, not anyone. I think once you're in the presence of God, nothing else matters. I've heard of other NDEs of those who claimed to go to hell. They didn't like being there, and yet, they felt like it's where they belonged. It may be a realization and acceptance that where you end up is where you belong (though your own choices).

I tend to agree. I don’t understand why someone would be punished for eternity for a life span less that was less than 100 years.

I'm not Catholic, but I like they way they frame it: "1033 We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: "He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."612 Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren.613 To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell."

I try to handle the topic myself here.

 

[RLT63]

I don't know it all, I don't have all the answers to respond to Atheists but I know that I believe Jesus died for me and rose on the 3rd day and God has always looked out for me and made a way when things seemed hopeless. Jesus carried me through the hard times and is carrying me now

 

[RLT63]

• • Corrie ten Boom: “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
  • Max Lucado: “God never said the journey would be easy, but He did say the arrival would be worthwhile.”
  • C.S. Lewis: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
  • Mother Teresa: “Do small things, with great love.”