The Viral Christ

Why the Message of the Cross Continues to Persist, Proliferate and Thrive in a Fallen World…and Why it Matters

By Richard Kelley, M.D.

http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Kelley/e/B006GEGMBK/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1387498800&sr=1-2-ent

Table of Contents

Dedication

Chapter 1

By the Numbers

Chapter 2

Do You Believe the Story?

Chapter 3

The Word of God

Chapter 4

The Resurrected Christ

Chapter 5

In the Image of God

Chapter 6

The Great Commission

Chapter 7

Prepare to Die

Chapter 8

The Reach of God

Chapter 9

It’s All About the Cross

Chapter 10

A Life Committed

Chapter 11

How Great is Our God

Dedication

This book is dedicated to American Pastor, Saeed Abedini, who on June 22, 2012, left his wife and two young children, and his home in Boise, Idaho, destined for Iran, to help build an orphanage.

On July 28, 2012, Pastor Abedini was taken hostage in Iran and sentenced to 8 years in Evin prison in Tehran, renowned for its long history of torture, abuse and often the death of its inmates.

He is being held illegally…imprisoned by the Iranian government, solely for his refusal to denounce his Christian faith.

As of this writing, Pastor Abedini has now spent a second Christmas away from his wife and two young children, and continues to face the daily threat of torture, violence and hostility in an environment that most of us could hardly imagine, ever having to endure.

Please join in the effort to free our brother, Pastor, Saeed Abedini, by contacting the ACLJ http://aclj.org/ and/or signing the petition at http://beheardproject.com/saeed to encourage international pressure on the Iranian government, for his safe release.

Together, and with God’s blessing, we can make the awareness of Pastor Abedini’s plight go viral, and hopefully help facilitate getting him back home with his family, where he belongs.

God Bless, and thank you so much for your help.

The Viral Christ

Why the Message of the Cross Continues to Persist, Proliferate and Thrive in a Fallen World…and Why it Matters

By Richard Kelley, M.D.

Copyright © 2014

All rights reserved. ‘e-Publishing for Christ’ ministries/Richard Kelley, M.D.

Chapter 1

By the Numbers

The numbers don’t lie.

We’ve heard it before…yet we don’t always want to believe what they actually mean or what they’re saying. Your accountant tells you, “This year, you actually owe money to the government…you won’t be getting anything back.”

Publishers and movie execs rely on the numbers. No platform…no book deal. No following? Fat chance of snagging that lead Hollywood film role.

Numbers are a big deal. They’re often the bottom line or the ‘make or break’ when it comes to decision-making in the real world.

We follow trends, depending on what the numbers tell us. We attend seasonal blockbuster films, based on the numbers from the first weekend at the box-office. We line up to buy ‘hot items’ based on the popularity of the next and newest trends in music, literature, electronics and entertainment.

Who’s buying what brand of toilet paper and soda-pop at the big-box stores? Rest assured, Wal-Mart, Costco and Sam’s outlets, know who’s buying what…they know the numbers!

When something hits critical mass, where popularity is concerned, we track it down. We watch it. Read it. We attend it…and sometimes buy it, or buy into it.

Know who Psy is? If you don’t, there’s a strong possibility that your kids do. Psy is a pop-phenom. He has the numbers and platform to prove it. You may have even seen Psy, heard his slick groove and sung along with his enormous hit video, without even realizing who he was or what he was singing about.

Psy is the flamboyant South Korean musician responsible for creating an imitation dance craze of universal followers, with his catchy, pulsing tune, ‘Gangnam Style,’ and the choreography which accompanies it.

My most recent visit to Youtube, shows one of Psy’s Gangnam Style videos boasting no less than 1.8 billion views. In today’s web-based lingo, this video has ‘gone viral,’ and gone there in a very big way.

What does it mean when something has ‘gone viral,’ where numbers are concerned?

Viral is a term derived from the medical world which refers to the rapidity with which a virus is spread from one person to the next. Thus, the term, ‘gone viral’ references the phenomena, where a picture, caption, story, movement, happening, video or other audiovisual entity, captures the attention of a large number of individuals, such that it is passed along from person to person, with the speed, consistency and contagion (in this case, emotionally speaking) of a virus.

Where ‘going viral’ is concerned, as opposed to actually contracting a virus known in the medical world to cause illness or pathology, to have your picture, caption, story, video, product or business ‘go viral,’ is generally felt to be a positive thing…if that was your intent.

On the other hand, there are any number of celebrities, politicians and ordinary individuals who have endured the pain, embarrassment and fallout, resulting from an offhand comment, a racial slur, or a poorly thought-out photo or video of oneself, posted to the internet, only to explode with an unexpected level of popularity and interest, and to literally ‘go viral’ in the most unintentional and unplanned way.

The viral nature of a thing, song, idea, happening or event, is a testament to our collective and sometimes global interest in something…whatever it may be.

The numbers don’t lie, where our level of interest is concerned. We gawk at the good and the bad. We are voyeurs of other people’s pain, pleasure, success and failure.

Where business is concerned, striving to make an idea, service, philosophy or product ‘go viral,’ though desired by many entrepreneurs, is usually easier said than done.

Social media is here to stay. The technology which has inundated our world and our lives has made it a necessity for those in business to get involved in the online world and social media, in more ways than one.

It’s difficult to fathom a successful business in today’s world, devoid of a web-presence. A website is a basic necessity for any business today, to be easily found by others, whether that business be online, or solely brick and mortar.

Most entrepreneurs, authors, entertainers, and small businesses today, are now active on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin, and sport the ubiquitous tools such as Smart phones, tablets, laptops and the latest technology, to do business on the go, in a fast and ever-changing world.

Despite advances in technology, getting a business, idea, philosophy or product off the ground, and certainly getting it to ‘go viral,’ is a proposition, generally speaking, against which the odds are stacked high.

Still, the possibility of reaching millions and possibly billions of people, is a more real possibility now, than ever before in the history of mankind. The internet has created the ability for an individual living in even the most remote regions of the world, to ‘reach the world’ with his or her message, product or purpose.

This is truly an amazing technological time for us all, given the expanded reach created and allowed by the internet. The fact that an entertainer can reach millions or even billions of fans with a video, message or online blog, is unprecedented.

But even with the amazing advances that we’ve seen over the past two to three decades, all facilitated and brought to bear because of the innovators involved along the way, allowing us all to expand and extend our reach to all corners of the earth, something more amazing and miraculous, long precluded where we find ourselves today.

As incredible as we may believe it to be, that a product, idea or video is able to reach the masses in enormity, because of the technology that we possess, it doesn’t begin to trump or explain, the viral spread, of a story that originated some two thousand years ago in an ancient city in the Middle East.

Despite our amazement when we or someone else acquire a particular number of ‘likes’ on Facebook, visitors to our website, or we sell an exceptional amount of product, because of the technology at our disposal, all of these ‘successes’ pale against a much greater miracle…the viral spread of the message of the cross.

The numbers don’t lie. They are telling in the most significant of ways. Current estimates of the number of believers in the person of Jesus Christ, that He was and is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior…the one who will redeem this world, top 2 billion by the most recent estimates of the World Christian Encyclopedia. More than remarkable, given the time and place in history, in which this ‘story’ began.

How He attained ‘His platform’ and ‘His following,’ is nothing short of miraculous, regardless of how one slices it. It is even more mind-boggling when one considers that His ‘campaign’ and ministry began in an era of pre-modern history, devoid of technology to an extent that most of us today can hardly even imagine.

No running water, no electricity, no telephones, no television and most certainly…no internet. The story of the cross and the message of salvation were passed along from one person to the next, initially by word of mouth. The early disciples and followers of Jesus, who were fortunate enough to witness His teaching and the miracles performed in the three short years of His ministry, passed along what they heard and saw, person to person, one story at a time.

After Jesus’ crucifixion, His followers spread the message of the Gospel, traveling on foot from town to town, or occasionally by boat, covering miles of territory in the slowest possible manner. No planes, trains, buses or automobiles. Disciples and followers of Jesus, such as Paul, who ultimately established the earliest Christian churches, and wrote many of the documents which became the ‘books’ we know that comprise the Bible, spread the message of the Gospel through their letters of encouragement and instruction to these early Christian churches.

Months and sometimes years went by, in between the communications of these leading disciples with their fledgling churches. But little by little, from one person to the next, the Gospel began to spread beyond the relatively small circle of early believers and eye-witnesses to the crucifixion and the resurrected Christ, to larger and larger groups of people.

That we find ourselves today, some 2000 years removed from the crucifixion of our savior, celebrating in faith, what He did for us on the cross and anticipating His promised return…remaining watchful, is more than miraculous. It is divinely ordained and directed, and is the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. For it is written in Romans 14:11, “As I live, said the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”

God promises in His Word that ‘He never changes.’ He has laid out the story for us, defining the direction, details and conclusion that this world will see played out over the course of time as future events unfold over the coming years.

We are headed toward the climax of man’s predetermined destiny…like it or not. This promise from Romans 14:11, that “every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God,” is our foretold assurance that the message of the cross will continue to spread, until every living human being on our planet has encountered it, through one means or another.

Blockbuster films, hit songs and television shows will come and go. The fame and popularity of celebrities, rock bands, artists, actors and presidents will rise and fall like the ocean tide, but the story of the cross will endure. That is a promise…and it is a promise made by God and delivered to us through His Word.

I don’t know what may be consuming your time and attention at this point in your life, where your focus may lie, or what holds the most day to day importance to you. However, I can tell you with certainty that most of the things that via for our attention in this life; the movies, the latest televised trial, the ascension of the next greatest metal band or what teams may be playing in this year’s Super Bowl, are all simply distractions…background noise and wallpaper, relative to the one thing that matters more than anything else.

Nothing in this life holds more weight and importance, where your eternal destiny lies, than what you will ultimately choose to do with the knowledge that Jesus Christ died upon the cross for your sins.

The ‘viral’ spread of the Gospel will continue. It has to. It is a preordained, prophetic reality which is being played out before us, day by day and year after year, and will continue to do so until the day that Jesus Christ returns for His church.

The numbers don’t lie. The message of the cross has continued to spread, grow and thrive, century after century, despite any rational human explanation that would explain its persistence, otherwise.

Even so…you still may be asking yourself, “Of what concern is any of this, really, to me?”

If you’re a skeptic, or simply have never made up your mind about where you stand, in regard to the person of Jesus Christ, I would ask you to seriously consider answering for yourself, one simple question…..

Chapter 2

Do You Believe the Story?

That’s really the question…do you believe the story? Do you believe that Jesus Christ was and is the Son of God? Do you believe he came to earth to die for your sins, and whether you do or don’t, how will your belief or disbelief affect your life…or will it?

For those who view the Bible as some ancient, arbitrary collection of writings, written, influenced and tampered with by mere mortals over the course of history; it’s easy to see how one could choose to disregard it.

It doesn’t take a leap of faith to believe that Jesus lived and walked the earth, some 2000 years ago. His presence and existence are well documented in writings by secular scholars of the day, as well as by others…outside of a Biblical context.

But, to buy into, and somehow base your life choices on the belief that God Himself came to earth to die for the collective sins and indiscretions of the entirety of humanity, promising the ‘gift’ of eternal life for those who believe, and the damnation of those who don’t, does take just that…a big leap of faith.

In all truthfulness, the easiest thing that one can do with this information is to shrug it off, ignore it, and get on with one’s life. For myself, at the ripe age of 52, the events surrounding Jesus’ life, ministry and death, occurred approximately forty of my collective lifetimes ago. How in the world could something that happened so long ago, have any bearing on my life today, or on yours, for that matter?

For one thing, regardless of the miracles that Jesus reportedly performed; raising people from the dead, healing lepers and the blind, and making the lame to walk, it still seems like ancient history to most of us who are alive today.

Time and distance from any event will automatically influence how much something has a tendency to affect us. The devastating earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan in March of 2011 killed over 16,000 people and injured thousands more, leaving countless numbers of individuals without homes, food, water or electricity.

Though the news of this event was global, and ‘went viral,’ time and distance prevent the extent to which those of us who don’t live in Japan can truly understand what these people endured. We’re sympathetic, and often empathetic, but our ability to fully internalize what these people endured and experienced, is naturally blunted by distance from the event. It’s not that we don’t care; many of the world’s inhabitants simply live a great distance away from what happened there, and that, in and of itself, creates a void and limits how much the event encroaches into our consciousness.

That time passes, and life moves forward, is another variable that impacts how much we ‘feel’ the affects of an event that happened at some point in history. Collectively, we live in the present, consumed by day to day pressures and responsibilities which continually redirect our attention to our most immediate personal needs.

Over time, the power and significance of a particular happening or event, often simply loses its impact and becomes, practically speaking, less relevant in our lives.

Consequently, it’s really no great surprise that many individuals discount the story of the Gospel, as something that could actually impact their earthly lives, and/or their afterlives.

However, to ignore and discount solely on the basis of time and distance, in my opinion, is to make an ominous mistake.

The fact the Gospel has continued to spread, unhindered by the passage of time and geographical distance, is a very real testament to its validity and its credibility. If for no other reason than the numbers, I believe it’s important for you to consider and decide for yourself, the answer to the question: ‘Do you believe the story?’

Taken without any serious consideration, you may have a tendency to minimize what those who proclaim to be Christian believe. You may feel that those who profess a faith and belief that Jesus Christ was and is the Son of God, and that He came to earth to die for our sins, and that He was raised from the dead, is simply some kind of fictitious fabrication…essentially, just a lot of baloney.

If that’s your opinion, you will have no difficulty finding like minds and company, to bolster and support what you believe. Non-believers today, are to be found everywhere.

There is a reason that Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:13-14 to “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

This was a warning from Jesus. He was telling His disciples, and us, that the path to salvation will be missed and disregarded by mass numbers of people; and that only those who truly seek to find this narrow path, would indeed find, and follow it.

The Bible tells us in John 1:11 that Jesus “came unto his own, and his own received him not.” If it was so difficult for many of His own people to recognize who He was at the time when He was alive and walking among them…that He was the Son of God, is it so surprising that mass numbers of people throughout the ages and even today, have dismissed Him as well?

That Jesus Himself tells us in Matthew 7:13-14 that ‘many’ will enter through the wide gate and follow the broad road that leads to destruction, is significant and bears testament to the fact that The God of the universe, forces Himself on no-one.

The decision to believe in ‘the story’ or disregard it as pure folly is ours to make. Regardless, ‘the story’ is not going away. We are completely free to ignore it, but that doesn’t discount or change the fact that there is a question that vies for our attention, and begs for us to answer it.

If Jesus was simply a man…a charismatic or beguiling teacher, who was magnetic enough to garner a following of gullible and hopeful, but misguided disciples, ‘the story’ of His death upon the cross is meaningless. In that case, as it pertains to the message contained in the New Testament of the Bible, we are off the hook, where repercussions of our disbelief are concerned.

On the other hand…and I believe this is a question every living person, of any faith or no faith at all, should ponder…what if ‘the story’ is true?

If Jesus is who He says He is, He cannot be ignored…at least not without consequence.

Regardless of whether you believe ‘the story’ to be true or not, the fact that Jesus existed, that He walked this earth and created a stir while He was here…His presence and His very existence documented by credible historians, begs your attention.

It begs that you acknowledge that He was here. It also creates an imperative that we acknowledge the fact that He left us with a proposition and warnings that warrant serious attention, examination and consideration. In fact, it is an imperative with real and drastic eternal consequences.

There will always be individuals who are so proud and certain that they know there is no God, despite all the physical wonders present upon the face of the earth and within the universe that surrounds us, that give unspoken testimony to a power so much greater than ourselves.

There will also be those who have no difficulty believing that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob led the Israelites out of Egypt…and that He parted the Red Sea and guided His chosen people by a column of cloud by day and fire by night. Yet these same God-fearing, God-believing people will disregard and dismiss the story of the cross.

They will scoff at the ‘possibility’ that God could have, would have, or did, send His Son (a part of His Holy Being), to redeem the world through His death, rather than through military or political might.

However, if Jesus is who He says He is, then get ready…because ‘the story’ is far from over. If His claims are true, there is more to be played out. There is an ending to ‘the story,’ and that ending has already been written.

If Jesus Christ is for real, then He knows the outcome where your life is concerned. He knows where your eternal destiny lies. And since you are the only other soul who knows the things which lay within your heart and what you truly believe, you may very well know the outcome, as well.

I believe that the most important question you will ever answer in your life, surrounds your belief, or not, in the validity of ‘the story.’ To disregard it, off hand, is to chance a promised fate of unimaginable pain, loss and unbearable suffering, as foretold in the Bible…for eternity.

If you’re not sure where you stand on the issue of ‘the story,’ I would encourage you to take some time to truly learn what Jesus had to say while He was here on earth, by reading one or more of the Gospel accounts in the New Testament of the Bible, so you understand what is truly at stake…so you can make up your mind for yourself.

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says this: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will eat with him, and he with me.”

I hope you can see that ‘the story,’ is real for me. It can become real for you, as well. If it held no validity, if it were truly just a bunch of drivel…common sense would dictate that the story of the cross would have fizzled out, died and dissipated, hundreds upon hundreds of years ago. Any memory of Christ on the cross would long be scattered like the dust of the disciples who followed Him.

That is not however, how ‘the story’ has played itself out. There is more to come. We serve a living, resurrected God…and He has promised He will return someday in the future, for His church. Many theologians and scholars believe we are indeed living in the last days, as described throughout the Bible, and that Jesus’ return may be more imminent than any of us realize.

My hope and prayer, is that you will be ready, whether or not that hour comes within your lifetime.

Chapter 3

The Word of God

Let me ask you a question. If you were God, and you created a world and populated it with beings that you truly cared for and loved, but you also wanted them to learn to rely on you…what would you do? How would you connect with them and encourage them to look to you, and count on you for guidance?

Imagine this: Let’s assume that this world you created looks exactly like the planet earth that we now inhabit.

Let’s also assume that you, as God, are omnipotent, observing your creation simultaneously from every possible vantage point, and then some.

From where you sit, you fully understand that you have given your inhabitants everything they could possibly need to survive, thrive and be happy. In addition to giving them resources for food, clothing and shelter, you have also given to them, as their surroundings, a world which is rife with beauty. You blessed them with widely diverse terrains, blue oceans to rainforests, and deserts to jungle and frozen tundra.

You’ve also inhabited this world with an enormous variety of plant and animal life and surrounded your creation with a glorious panoramic, kinetic sky…an ever-changing, magnificent palette to behold, of unimaginable glory and wonder, as this ‘world’ alternates between periods of light and darkness.

During periods of light, you have provided your inhabitants with an ever-present burning orb by which to work and play, which warms and lights their world. During the alternating periods of darkness, during which you encourage the inhabitants to sleep, you’ve provided them with an equally impressive nightlight, surrounded by twinkling, blinking lights in the sky, amidst a vast beautiful dark canvas, which seems to expand outwardly in an infinite manner.

When you first formed your world, your relationship with your created beings was wonderful. They understood that you loved and cared for them and they recognized that you were their God…that you were in control, and they did as you commanded. They loved and cared for you, as well. They followed your instructions concerning how they were to live and manage in the environment that you provided for them.

Over time, however, something occurred that seemed to mess things up a bit. The beings that you created got to a point where they stopped listening to you and thought they could take care of themselves without your interference.

This ‘thing’ that happened, turned out to be a really big deal to you, and so you said “Fine, I love them, so I’ll let them run their own lives and we’ll see how they do. I’ll be here for them, when and if, they realize they need me.”

From that point on, you sat back and observed, while the beings you created, populated the world you made for them, and often forgot all that you had done for them…or that you were even still around.

Then time passed…a lot of time. Generations of new beings were born, lived and died, and this cycle was repeated multiple, multiple times over. Many subsequent generations of beings disregarded you. Many no-longer believed you existed and just as many led their lives in a manner that shunned any previous ‘rules for living’ that you may have handed down to their ancestors. Still others regarded you as only a myth, a distant remnant of an ancient fable, passed down from generation to generation.

You still loved them, regardless of how they felt about you, or whether they believed in you at all. You had promised you would always love them, and that you would never leave or abandon them.

There is only One being that knew the path that man would follow after the creation of the earth, and that was and is, God Himself.

The Bible says in Revelation 22:13, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

I posed the ‘what if you were God’ introduction, for one purpose. I simply want you to consider this: If you were the creator of a world that you knew would exist for thousands upon thousands, if not millions or billions of years, and you knew that man would ultimately have difficulty knowing and believing in you, multiple generations down the line, how would you solve that problem, if indeed, you wanted to maintain a relationship with them?

I believe that the true God of the universe addressed this issue, by giving to us this historical information, which we now know collectively as the Bible.

Only an intelligent, loving, ever-present, omnipotent being, who wishes for us to be with Him, would hand down to us, the information detailing how man, the earth and the universe came into existence…how we got here.

In some ways, ‘production’ of the modern Bible may actually tend to obscure and diminish what lies within the pages of this most unique and important text. That this compact, modernized ‘book,’ with centuries of detailed historical writings, is produced into an often sleek, polished and colorful binding, purchased for a song at your local bookstore, makes the value of what lies inside, somewhat deceptive without further investigation.

We can pick up the Bible and flip through it, just like any other ‘book.’

What is not necessarily apparent at first glance, however, is the fact that the Bible is actually a collection of sixty-six individual ‘books’ or letters, written by multiple writers, including some of Jesus’ disciples, and spanning centuries in its compilation.

Were we able to glance at these writings from above, viewing them simultaneously, laid out as written, over the many centuries that went before, we would likely witness seemingly endless scrolls of detailed, carefully scribed information on aged and brittle paper, obviously written by many different hands.

To be able to view the Bible in this manner, might give us a more clear picture, as to how painstakingly these documents were produced, and how much time and dedication each writer spent, to pass on the message they were divinely inspired to write down.

What’s different about the Bible, as a ‘book,’ is that it contains the story that I believe explains to us, through the voice of God, how the world and man came into existence; a ‘book’ rife with details about how to live a successful life, all the way through to the prophesies concerning how this world will come to its ultimate conclusion.

The fact that this collection of writings was ultimately bound together to comprise the text that we now know as the Bible, and that it is the number one selling ‘book’ of all time, is in and of itself, miraculous.

Many, many people, who have never even opened the Bible, at least own or possess one. Why is that true?

How is it that if you are sitting in a hotel room in the United States at this very moment, that there is an extremely high likelihood of finding a copy of the Bible in the nightstand beside your bed…why not the ‘The Guinness Book of World Records,’ or ‘The Farmer’s Almanac?’

The message of the Gospel is divinely inspired and divinely spread. It’s hard to deny this. God intended for us to know Him, and He makes His story accessible to us all the time…even in circumstances where He knows that He is off of our radar, or when we are trying to escape His influence, altogether.

One of the most intriguing things about this ancient collection of writings is that it begins with the beginning, with the Genesis story and how this world came into existence…and ends with Revelations, a book detailing the resolution of this world as we know it.

The collective books of the Bible are not the ramblings of an egotist and his philosophy of life. It is not a self-improvement manual aimed at teaching you how to conquer the world or make better use of the hours in your day. It is not a ‘book’ that stops short, at teaching us how to succeed, only in this earthly life.

It is not a book written by a man or a prophet, imploring us to kill those who don’t also believe, as he or she does.

Between the books of Genesis through the end of the Old Testament, we are told the life stories surrounding a myriad of historical figures that relied upon and interacted with God. We are privy to the earliest instructions and commandments which God handed down to His people, to give them guidance as to how He wished for them to live.

The Bible details the lives of people such as King Solomon, one of the wisest men to ever have lived; and thus we have access to the gift of King Solomon’s wisdom, and his thoughts about life and God, and consequently, we are able to apply these lessons in our own lives. The Bible teaches us how to worship God, through the writings of the Psalmists.

Time and time again throughout the history of these ancient writings, we are told stories and parables which have one message as their central theme. We are to rely on God for all things, and we are to acknowledge Him as the giver of the gifts, talents and resources that we all possess, as varied and wide-ranging as they may be.

The Bible details many times over, how individuals, who followed and relied on God’s direction, often led lives of success, prosperity and blessing. We are also exposed to the fact that God often punished those who disregarded Him or interacted with Him in a less than humble and reverent manner.

The Bible also informs us that we are all sinners and that there is a price to be paid for sin. In Romans 6:23 we learn that “the wages of sin is death.” That means all sin and any sin.

God also inspired the writers of this holy collection of books and letters that we know as the Bible, to pass on to us, the message that He has provided us with a path to redemption…a way to avoid paying the price of death ourselves, for the sin we’ve committed in our lives.

The full reading of Romans 6:23 says this: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The Word of God is so amazing and inspiring on so many levels. In studying it, it is difficult to see how anyone could dismiss its significance and what it has to say. It is literally the singular story of history from beginning to end, but written by multiple divinely inspired writers, spanning multiple centuries.

But it is the New Testament that holds the most significance to me and other Christians. It is what is written about Jesus Christ and the cross, which details the greatest gift of the book we know as the Bible.

This man, who was simultaneously both God and man in the flesh, here on earth for only thirty-three years…what He taught and did for us, is the most amazing part of what the Bible imparts to us.

Jesus came to teach us how to live with each other and how to treat each other. When asked by one of the Pharisees “which was the greatest commandment of the law?” Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22:27-28)

Jesus followed this in Matthew 22:39, by saying, “And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Bible is first and foremost, a book about love. It is the story of God and how He created man in His own image that we might walk with, fellowship and worship Him.

There is no question to me that we are spiritual beings who inhabit a mortal and corruptible body. God has placed within us an intuitive sense that our spiritual selves will not cease to exist, once our physical bodies do.

There is a consistency to the narrative of the Bible that ensures to us that God fully intends for us to live on, in His presence, living to glorify Him as the One who created us.

If this were not so, why would the Bible tell us that He created us in His own image, and why would He have given us a pathway, through Jesus Christ, for our redemption from sin?

The Bible is no ordinary book. Over two billion Christians believe it to be the inspired Word of God Himself. It is an incredible gift to be left to us by our creator. The fact that the Bible exists and has persisted, and that the message it contains is somehow supernaturally propagated, despite many who may despise it, and attempt to discredit its validity, is nothing short of miraculous.

The Bible is not going anywhere. It is not going away. Jesus tells us in Luke 21:33, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.”

Before you dismiss the divinity and the truth of what the Bible has to say, please keep in mind what Jesus says in Luke 21:32. “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.”

The Bible is a book of promises. Though it might not always be on mine or your schedule and timetable, God keeps His promises. God foretold through the prophets of The Old Testament, as well as through John the Baptist, that a redeemer would be forthcoming.

God kept His promise. That redeemer was delivered in the person of Jesus Christ who died upon the cross that we might be saved. We also know that Jesus’ death was not the end of ‘the story.’

It was the promise kept, after Jesus was crucified, in which the Bible gives us our most significant reason to have hope.

Chapter 4

The Resurrected Christ

Jesus answered and said to them,

Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. (John 2:19)

Every year, millions of believers from all over the world travel to the ancient city of Jerusalem to walk where Jesus and His disciples walked. During their trek, many will visit two locations, widely held to be the most probable sites for the burial place, of Jesus of Nazareth.

In The New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John, we read that Jesus was taken to a place called Golgotha (a place of a skull), and it was here that He was crucified. Jesus was reported to have been buried in a tomb hewn from stone, somewhere very near where the crucifixion had taken place. The location of Golgotha, ultimately became the site of The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed by many to be the place where Jesus was both crucified, and placed into the tomb.

The Garden Tomb is the other landmark in Jerusalem believed by many Christians and others alike, to be the destination where Jesus was taken, following the crucifixion. ‘The tomb’ of Jesus’ burial, whether within The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, or The Garden Tomb, is believed to have belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin, or high counsel, by the way, were the very judges who condemned Jesus to die.

Joseph however, was felt to be a disciple of Jesus, despite his place among the Jewish elders. Because of his loyalty and allegiance to Jesus, His crucifixion surely represented a resounding and sorrowful tragedy to Joseph.

The Bible describes in Luke 23:50-53, that Joseph of Arimathea begged Pilate for Jesus’ body, after the crucifixion was complete, and that Joseph then took Jesus’ body down from the cross, and to a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, and in which no man had ever been laid.

It is not absolutely certain, and has never been entirely proven, whether The Garden Tomb, or the tomb within The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the actual burial site where Jesus was laid to rest, though various attributes of both sites hold certain consistencies with what is described within the four Gospels.

For many, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre appears to hold the most promise as the actual site of Jesus’ burial, strictly based on long longstanding regional belief and local tradition, and in fact, the The Garden Tomb was not discovered until the 19th century.

What is most important to the followers of Jesus is the fact that the tombs at both sites are empty. Regardless of the accuracy of the presumed physical location where Jesus was laid to rest, we know that he did not remain in the grave. The following is taken from the account described in the Gospel of John.

In John 20:1, we read that Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb on the first day of the week… (On the third day, following the crucifixion), and found that the stone had been taken away from the entrance of the tomb.

Upon seeing this, she ran to tell Simon Peter and ‘to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved,’ (widely believed to be the Apostle John, himself).

When John and Simon Peter arrived at the tomb, we read this account in John 20:4-7. “So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came first to the sepulchre. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet he did not go in. Then came Simon Peter following him and went into the sepulchre and saw the linen clothes lying, and the napkin, that had been placed over his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.”

In John 20:8-10, we read, “Then that other disciple, who came first to the sepulchre, went in also and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the scripture, that He (my emphasis added) must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own.”

It’s obvious from these scriptures that Jesus was not found inside the tomb, when these two disciples arrived and entered into it. After they had departed, and ‘went away again unto their own,’ we read of Mary Magdalene’s experience while still remaining at the tomb.

In John 20:11-14, we read, “But Mary stood outside near the sepulchre weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, and saw two angels in white sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been placed. And they said unto her, Woman, why dost thou weep? She said unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus.”

In John 20:16, we see that Mary has the divine realization that she is indeed standing before the risen Christ.

It is within the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophesy and in the fulfillment of God’s New Covenant with man, that believers in Jesus Christ find hope and the promise of forgiveness, and eternal life, in the presence of God.

That Jesus’ tomb is empty, and has remained so since the third day following the crucifixion is significant. It is in the absence of Jesus’ body, that we celebrate who He is and what He did for us.

Though the tomb is empty, the promise that was fulfilled through Jesus’ resurrection is not.

Jesus said in John 14:2-3, “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Unlike the tombs of Mohammed, Buddha or Confucius, all of which contain the remains of these prominent and historic figures, the Bible confirms that Jesus did not remain in the grave, but rather rose again on the third day, following His crucifixion.

It was not long after His resurrection, that Jesus appeared to all of His remaining apostles, and in fact, we read this in John 20:19…“Then the same day at evening, being the first of the sabbaths, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said unto them, Peace be unto you.”

Before Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, Jesus appeared to many people. In 1 Corinthians 15:5-6, we read the confirmation of what was also recorded in John 20:19, and that “he appeared to Cephas and then to the twelve; after that, he appeared unto more than five hundred brothers at once, of whom the greater part remain unto now, but some are fallen asleep.”

Jesus carried out what He came to earth to do, just as was predicted in the Old Testament.

Isaiah’s Old Testament prophecy concerning Jesus, bears detailing in its entirety. In Isaiah 53:1-12, we read the following:

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him and by his wounds we are healed (my emphasis added).

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him (my emphasis added) the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

Yet who of his generation protested?

For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Isaiah prophesied that a savior was coming, and described how He would be tortured and condemned to death, almost seven centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ. Isaiah predicted that He would be disregarded by those whom He had come to save; and that, though He would die, in doing so, He would ‘justify many, and bear their iniquities.’

The four New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, give detailed accounts of how Jesus’ life played out on this earth, including how He lived and how He died.

Though beyond tragic, in the sense that He was brutally tortured and crucified, what Jesus’ willing death purchased for you and me is nothing short of the most miraculous gift imaginable. The fact that Jesus rose from the grave and sits now, at the right hand of the one and only God of the Universe, is a reality which should give all of us the utmost reason for hope…in the lives we live now, and for the lives we will live beyond this one.

Jesus is Real. He is Risen. He is Alive and He is God!

I am so thankful for what He did for me and what He did for you. It is because death could not contain Him…and that it had no dominion over Him, that we all have a pathway to glory and an eternity with the King of kings and the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.

Never let this reality escape your consciousness: Jesus came to earth 2000 years ago, for one thing…to die, in your place and in mine, for our sins. He did just that...then He rose from the grave. He lives today. His presence can be palpable in your life, day in and day out, and can guide you through any possible challenge or trouble imaginable.

He is Real. He is Risen, and He is Alive! Never forget this truth…as He has never forgotten you.

Chapter 5

In the Image of God

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)

Whether you believe it or not, you and I as human beings are special. We were created in the very image of The God of the Universe.

As well as being created in the image of God, the Bible also tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He hath made everything beautiful in its time: also he hath set eternity in their heart” (abbreviated).

God did not create us to be His pets. We are created in ‘in His own image,’ and it is clearly made evident in the Bible, from the very beginning of time, that God intended for us to be intimately entwined with Him, and to love and worship Him for eternity.

In Genesis 2:7, we read, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

We are alive and on this planet, because The God of the Universe literally breathed life into man from His own, supernatural and holy breath.

In Genesis 3:8 we see that there was physical interaction between God and man, from the very beginning of creation. In Genesis 3:8, we read, “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

Up until the original sin and the fall of man, secondary to Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God, the Bible describes how God made provision for man, by giving to him, dominion over the plants and animals of the earth. Adam and Eve had everything that they needed and there was no indication that they had to toil or labor in discomfort, to exist in harmony with God.

It is not until after man’s fall from grace that we read God’s response concerning the original sin, and how everything would change for the human race, going forward:

“And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it: cursed is the ground for your sake; in sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you; and you shall eat the plants of the field; In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, till you return unto the ground; for out of it were you taken: for dust you are, and unto dust shall you return.” (Genesis 3:17-19)

When God created the Garden of Eden and placed Adam and Eve within it, He knew that ultimately, they would disobey Him. Regardless…because God gave us free will to decide who we would serve and to whom we would be obedient, He obviously knew it wouldn’t be long before man turned his back on Him and chose his own sinful path.

Nevertheless, the Bible makes it clear throughout its content that God has always interacted intimately with man and the world that He created for us.

Generations of descendents from Adam and Eve, grew and multiplied from the time following their exile from the Garden. However, we see God’s disappointment and discontent with man over time, and in Genesis 6:5 we read: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

From the very beginning of the human race, the Bible makes it clear that God is holy. In accordance with Genesis 1:27, by deduction, if we are truly formed in the image of God, and it is God’s intent that we spend eternity with Him, then God’s ultimate goal for us, is that we become holy as well.

In Leviticus 20:26 we read, “And you shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from other people, that you should be mine.”

Why is our holiness important to God: Because it is impossible for man to enter into His presence in any other state. God fully intends for those who wish to be with Him, to become holy…in His image. Throughout the Bible, though we see God’s authority and His intolerance for sin, we also see His never-ending love for us, and His constant involvement and interaction with man, throughout Biblical history.

It’s apparent in Genesis 5:23-24 that God loved Enoch and enjoyed his companionship, as we read, “And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”

Enoch never died an earthly death. The Bible makes it clear in the previous passage, that Enoch simply ‘walked with God’ and that God ‘took him.’ Enoch obviously found favor with God and remains ‘with God’ to this day.

Genesis 6:8 tells us that ‘Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord,’ despite His displeasure with the earth’s inhabitants at the time.

In Genesis 6:12 we read, “And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”

Because we are made ‘in His image,’ God has always had high expectations for man’s behavior, and His intolerance for sin is made evident all throughout the Bible.

Barely have we gotten started reading Genesis and God’s account of how He created our world and placed man within it, when Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden.

Though it is apparent that multiple centuries have passed as we arrive at the time of Noah, we are still in the midst of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, when we read in Genesis 6:7, ‘And the LORD said,’ “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for I am sorry that I have made them.”

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. In Genesis 6:9 we read, “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect (my emphasis) in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”

Though God brought the great flood upon the earth, to destroy all that He created, the Bible says that Noah walked with God, and that he was a just man.

God wants us to be with Him. God wants us to desire a relationship with Him. We are made ‘in the image of God.’

The Bible is rife with evidence of God’s discipline of those who disobey His commandments, but it is also filled with stories of how the faithful and God-fearing among the populace, gained favor with God, and how God acted on their behalf over and over throughout Biblical history.

Centuries later, following the great flood, the earth had been repopulated by the descendents of Noah and his family. Approximately around 2081 BC, God makes a covenant with Abram.

“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be you perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made you. And I will make you exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come out of you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you, and to your seed after you.” (Genesis 17:1-7)

The operative phrase falls in verse seven, as God tells Abraham, that He will establish “an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you, and to your seed after you.”

Everlasting: We are made in the image of God. His relationship with us from the beginning of time, has been with the full intent that He desires for us to be with Him, eternally…everlasting and evermore.

Six centuries following God’s covenant with Abraham, God commissioned Moses to deliver His chosen people, the Israelites, out of the bondage of slavery from the Egyptians.

During the time of Moses, God spoke directly to Moses and communicated to him The Ten Commandments, as well as all of the laws concerning how His chosen people were to conduct themselves, and how they were to behave.

Moses had the privilege of direct communion and conversation with God. He put his full trust in God, and God showed His power through Moses, as He brought plague after plague upon pharaoh and the Egyptians, and performed miracles through Moses, to entice pharaoh to let the Israelites go.

After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the wilderness, where they wandered for forty years, and following the death of Moses, God commissioned Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.

In Joshua 1:5-7, we read, “There shall not any man be able to stand before you all the days of your life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with you: I will not fail you, nor forsake you. Be strong and of a good courage: for to this people shall you divide for an inheritance the land, which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be you strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded you: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.”

God promised Joshua that he and the children of Israel would go forth into the Promised Land and they would prosper and no enemy would be able to stand against them, as long as they kept the laws of the covenant and held forthright to the commandments He had handed down to them through Moses.

Why would God care about promoting and prospering His people? Again…we are created ‘in His own image.’

The Old Testament of the Bible represents an ongoing tale of God guiding and teaching His children, that it is through the keeping of His commandments, and keeping their focus on Him, that leads to an abundant, successful and fulfilling life.

God cultivated into the children of Israel, the fact the He is a holy God and that they should pursue holiness, as well…because He intends for us to spend eternity with Him.

There are many, many more examples throughout the Bible, which detail God’s guidance, love and commitment to those that also loved Him.

Over time, it became evident that perfectly ‘keeping the law’ without fail, was simply impossible for man, who is inherently sinful.

It is because we are created in the image of God, and because He desires for us to be with Him for eternity, that He created a way to bridge the gap between Himself, who is holy, and the sinfulness of mankind.

It is for this very reason that He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place and for the forgiveness of our sins. It is through the sacrifice of His son, that God accomplished His perfect plan…to bring us into His presence for eternity.

We were created in the very image of God. Because of this, it is not surprising that Jesus came to earth in the form of a man…in a form we could recognize, understand, and too which we could relate.

We are designed with eternity in mind, with holiness as His desired outcome for us.

We were created in the image of the God of the universe, and He has made a way for us to be with Him forever and ever. Amen!

Chapter 6

The Great Commission

Whenever the subject of religion comes up within a diverse group of individuals, whether at work, school, a party or other random gathering, it’s almost inevitable that you will hear from one individual or another about how “someone tried to push Jesus on them.”

Admittedly, the most committed of Christians, regardless of their good intentions, can at times be overbearing in their zeal to share the Gospel of Christ with others.

Granted, some individuals are more gifted than others, to deliver a verbal message about almost anything, and to be gifted in this way is often a powerful and beneficial tool, to those in possession of this particular verbal ability.

However, for those who stumble and sputter, battling an uncooperative tongue, while attempting to share The Gospel with others, they are regardless, to be commended for doing so.

Risking ridicule, backlash and outright rejection over a belief one holds to be true in his or her heart, takes true courage.

There is a reason that I share the message of The Gospel through my writing. I believe my ability to write (though many others may be more talented than me) is a God-given gift, which at this point in my life, trumps my inclination or desire to develop a speaking platform for this purpose. Maybe one day that will change.

Like many individuals, verbalizing The Gospel message to others, tends to be more difficult for me, than writing it…though I am committed to cultivating both of these modalities over time.

Regardless of one’s perceived limitations where their talents and abilities lie, as Christians, we are all called to ministry.

In Matthew 28:16-20 we read, “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you: and, see, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen.”

Verses nineteen and twenty make it very clear, that those of us who profess to believe in and follow Christ, are to make disciples of all nations.

This is The Great Commission of Jesus Christ, and it is a major reason for the continued persistence and proliferation of the message of salvation in His name.

Several years ago, while going through a difficult financial situation, I attended an author’s conference, and I left that conference with the realization that I should write a book explaining what I understood to be an effective approach to losing weight and improving one’s fitness.

My goal in writing this book (my purpose is not to advertise its title here) was to increase the awareness of others, as to what my wife and I do professionally, and to help give our weight management business a shot in the arm, so to speak.

Though I wrote the book and accomplished my goal of delivering what I believe to be useful information to a prospective reader, that book, sadly did not make the New York Times Bestseller list. However…it got me writing and I realized that I truly enjoyed the creative process and activity of writing.

As I mentioned before, largely because of some business decisions that I personally had made, we were going through a tough financial situation, not unlike many other families and individuals, in the midst of the most daunting recessionary period to face our nation, since The Great Depression.

As such, I found myself turning to and seeking the face and voice of God, to help me through what was a very difficult, humbling and trying time in my life.

During this period, as I perused my bookshelves at home, I discovered a copy of ‘A Purpose Driven Life,’ by Pastor Rick Warren.

On the inside cover, I found an inscription and blessing, written by my mother. She had given me the book for Christmas in 2003, five years earlier. I had never taken the time or felt compelled to read it, until this difficult season in my life.

Though I learned a lot from reading Pastor Warren’s book, one of the greatest truths I derived from reading it was this: The talents and blessings which we possess in this life are all gifts from God.

We did not create ourselves…nor did we have a hand in creating and designing our own DNA.

In making this realization, and allowing it to sink in, though my first book had not seen major commercial success, I knew that the process of writing it had led me to where I am now.

That first book opened my eyes to the fact that I needed to begin writing for the Kingdom of Christ.

We all have gifts, even if our gifts don’t measure up in our own eyes, to the quantity and depth of another person’s gifts or talents.

There is always a starting quarterback and a backup; a first chair violinist and a second chair.

However, as individuals, our impact upon the world is unique. We are here to have influence upon and reach, the people that God grants us access to, and whom He intends for us to reach.

I may not be able to write with the same level of talent and appeal as Max Lucado or C.S. Lewis, but my writing, hopefully, will play a role in leading others to the Kingdom of Christ.

What talents and gifts do you possess? What has God given to you that is unique, and how can you use those blessings to the best of your ability and to the glory of God?

The natural tendency for most of us is to assume that our gifts and talents are of our own making, and that they are something that belongs to us…apart from our creator.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Just as God made the hummingbird’s wings to flap at a rate of fifty times or more per second, revealing His glory through His creation, He has imbued you with gifts that are designed to be used for His glory, as well.

It is in the recognition of one’s gifts and talents, and in the acknowledgement that they are blessings from God, that those who have faith in Jesus Christ will persist in spreading the message of The Gospel.

We are disciples of The King of kings, and we are commanded, by His Word, to spread the message of The Gospel to others.

We are truly blessed to have this privilege.

The Great Commission will be fulfilled. It is our commission, as Christians, to tell others of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us all, upon the cross.

Point the way to ‘the narrow gate.’ For as we read in Matthew 7:14, “few are those who find it.”

You may be the only person destined to reach a specific person for Christ. Believe in the gifts you’ve been given. Acknowledge where they come from…and use them for His glory.

Chapter 7

Prepare to Die

And the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die: For God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:4-5)

But they did die.

It’s often said that there are only two absolute certainties in life…death and taxes. Death has been a constant reality for man since the time of Adam and Eve and the decision they made to disobey God.

There is no indication in Genesis that God had any other intention for Adam and Eve, than that they should live perpetually in the Garden, caring for it and all that God had given to them…communing with their creator.

The Bible says in Romans 5:12-13, “Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men.” (my emphasis, abbreviated)

We die today for one reason: with the sin and disobedience of Adam and Eve, death came into the world. Again, Romans 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death.” (Abbreviated)

You and I are going to die. There is no question about this…it is a foregone conclusion when we are born, and no-one escapes it.

Not only are you and I going to die, we will decline physically, and possibly mentally, as the decades roll by, assuming we are blessed to grow into our golden years.

The fact that our physical decline is inevitable represents a sad reality for many in the world today. For those who lack a faith in God, or for those who might deny the existence of an afterlife, the decline of the human body must represent a truly sad and cruel punch line, to a relatively short existence in time.

Without the hope that our creator imparts to us, through His promise of a life beyond what we can see with our earthly eyes, whatever meaning one might derive from a life without God, can surely only deliver a limited and parse satisfaction, in having existed at all.

Apart from God, I would submit to you, that regardless of any happiness, success or fulfillment that one might experience during their lifetime on earth, without a heavenly eternity to look forward to, the conclusion of one’s life without God, is empty, aside from whatever positive impact and influence you may have left upon the earth and humanity.

Even as children, we learn that there is finality to this earthly life as we know it. That we are hurtling through time toward the cessation of our physical existence, as we know it, is a reality that becomes clearer and clearer to us, with each and every passing year.

Young adults lament turning thirty, then forty…then fifty. Without the hope of a creator and the promise of an eternity in His presence, those lamentations are surely justified.

If this life represents the climax of all the promise and fulfillment to be expected for human beings…then what a sad and hopeless reality for the possessor of such a life-view.

Why do I say this? I say it again, because no one escapes death. There is no more certain event in the heart of a human being, than the deep and aching knowledge that he or she will ultimately die.

Because the manner of one’s demise represents an uncertainty that few of us wish to dwell upon, it’s understandable that for sanity’s sake, we choose not to spend a lot of time pondering how we will ultimately exit this world.

No one derives pleasure wallowing in thoughts of a tragic or violent death. Many of us make the assumption that our deaths will be painful in some way, and who in the world wants to get bogged down worrying about that?

We hear it said all the time: life is short…and it is.

Regardless, we are not only not without hope, we are blessed with the promise and reassurance through the words of Jesus Christ, that we will live on with Him in eternity, if we will only place our faith in Him, and what He did for us at the cross.

To reiterate, in John 14:2-3 Jesus left us with this promise: “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Death does not have to be without hope. In reality, as we place our faith in Jesus and what He did for us, the possibility exists for death to even be embraced.

No one looks forward to the possibility of a painful or violent demise. On the other hand, regardless of the mechanism or path that we as individuals may take, to exit this world, we shouldn’t ignore or deny that the day is coming for all of us. We can and should be prepared for that day.

If you are focused only on what you can become or attain during this earthly tenure, I would submit to you that your focus is far shortsighted.

In James 4:14 we read, “Whereas you know not what shall be tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.”

In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust does corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust does corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

God fully intended for us to live fulfilled and happy lives on this earth which He created for us. He did not, however, intend for us to exist apart from Him.

If you’ve never given much thought to what lies beyond the certainty of your death, I would encourage you to do so.

We are here for only a short while. Acknowledge that on a day, in which no human being can predict, you will draw your last breath and your heart will beat its last and final beat.

On the day and hour in which your earthly body ceases to live, my prayer is that you will have long before; taken the time to prepare for what comes next. My hope is that you will begin today, storing up for yourself, treasures in Heaven.

Don’t let a day go by, without spending time studying The Word of God, left to us by The Almighty Creator.

On the day of your earthly death, take heart in knowing that you will be going to a almost unimaginable place, where you will exist with Christ, for an eternity.

Prepare now to die…and you will most certainly be prepared to live in peace, harmony and glory, forever, with the one and only God who created you.

Chapter 8

The Reach of God

Almost all of us at least know someone who has declared that God simply doesn’t exist. Maybe that’s even the position you’ve chosen to take at this juncture in your life.

Maybe the difficulties you’ve encountered throughout your life have hardened your heart, and you can’t possibility see how a loving God could possibly have allowed all that you have had to endure.

There are many reasons that people write-off the existence of God. There are also many reasons that people attempt to create as much distance, between themselves, and God, as possible.

Regardless of whether you or someone you know has declared an atheistic position, The God of the universe has a way of finding us, even when we’re actively seeking separation from Him, or denying that He exists at all.

I recently read an article in Christianity Today, written by a political news contributor by the name of Kirsten Powers.

Ms. Powers is a high profile Democratic news contributor who appears on television regularly…usually in conservative news forums, to offer a more liberal and often left-leaning perspective on politics.

A self-described atheist until her conversion to Christianity in 2006…embedded in the heart of Washington politics with the Clinton administration through most of the 1990’s, God was clearly not a prominent focal point in her day-to-day existence during this period of her life.

Here’s just some of what she expressed in the October 2013 article in Christianity Today, where she described the events that led to her becoming a follower of Jesus Christ:

“Just seven years ago, if someone had told me that I'd be writing for Christianity Today magazine about how I came to believe in God, I would have laughed out loud.”

“I grew up in the Episcopal Church in Alaska, but my belief was superficial and flimsy. It was borrowed from my archaeologist father, who was so brilliant he taught himself to speak and read Russian. When I encountered doubt, I would fall back on the fact that he believed.”

“Leaning on my father's faith got me through high school. But by college it wasn't enough, especially because as I grew older he began to confide in me his own doubts. What little faith I had couldn't withstand this revelation.”

“From my early 20s on, I would waver between atheism and agnosticism, never coming close to considering that God could be real.”

“After college I worked as an appointee in the Clinton administration from 1992 to 1998. The White House surrounded me with intellectual people who, if they had any deep faith in God, never expressed it. Later, when I moved to New York, where I worked in Democratic politics, my world became aggressively secular. Everyone I knew was politically left-leaning, and my group of friends was overwhelmingly atheist.”

Ms. Powers goes on to tell about how, sometime around 2005-2006, she had begun to date a man who happened to be a Christian.

“So when I began dating a man who was into Jesus, I was not looking for God. In fact, the week before I met him, a friend had asked me if I had any deal breakers in dating. My response: "Just nobody who is religious."

Though Ms. Powers relates that this particular relationship ultimately resolved and ended, she began to attend a few church services with her new boyfriend.

“I began to read the Bible. My boyfriend would pray with me for God to reveal himself to me. After about eight months of going to hear (Pastor) Keller, I concluded that the weight of evidence was on the side of Christianity. But I didn't feel any connection to God, and frankly, I was fine with that. I continued to think that people who talked of hearing from God or experiencing God were either delusional or lying. In my most generous moments, I allowed that they were just imagining things that made them feel good.”

“Then one night in 2006, on a trip to Taiwan, I woke up in what felt like a strange cross between a dream and reality. Jesus came to me and said, "Here I am." It felt so real. I didn't know what to make of it.”

“I tried to write off the experience as misfiring synapses, but I couldn't shake it. When I returned to New York a few days later, I was lost. I suddenly felt God everywhere and it was terrifying. More important, it was unwelcome. It felt like an invasion. I started to fear I was going crazy.”

Though it was uncomfortable and unfamiliar to her, Ms. Powers ultimately began attending a Bible study. Following her first attendance, here’s what she had to say:

“I don't remember what was said that day. All I know is that when I left, everything had changed. I'll never forget standing outside that apartment on the Upper East Side and saying to myself, "It's true. It's completely true." The world looked entirely different, like a veil had been lifted off it. I had not an iota of doubt. I was filled with indescribable joy.”

“The horror of the prospect of being a devout Christian crept back in almost immediately. I spent the next few months doing my best to wrestle away from God. It was pointless. Everywhere I turned, there he was. Slowly there was less fear and more joy. The Hound of Heaven had pursued me and caught me—whether I liked it or not.”

In Luke 19:10, Jesus tells us “For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost.” This verse is Biblical verification that no matter where you go or what you do to separate yourself from His presence, God is available and seeking to save those who are lost.

In truth, we are all lost. God knows we are lost; yet He is seeking to save us, and there is no-one that lies outside of His reach.

In John 15:16 we read: “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”

No matter where you are at this point in your life…no matter what you believe, God is within reach. If you pray and ask for Him to reveal Himself to you, He will.

Whatever you may have gone through over the course of your life, whatever may have hardened your heart and your mind against God, can be healed and overcome by His grace.

In Proverbs 3:5-6 we read, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.”

Kirsten Powers wrote, “The White House surrounded me with intellectual people who, if they had any deep faith in God, never expressed it.”

It’s interesting to note, that many atheists and those who adamantly deny the existence of God, often rely so intensely on their intellect, to prove both to themselves and to others, that what they believe is the truth.

Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us that to rely on our own understanding, ‘and intellect,’ counters God’s directive for us, and it admonishes us to ‘acknowledge’ the Lord in all of our ways. In doing so, there is a Biblical promise that He will guide and direct our paths.

Don’t let pride and intellectual elitism get in your way of finding God or allowing Him to reach you. Any intellectual capacity that any of us have was provided by The Creator.

God is within reach, no matter where you are today.

The Bible says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

Open your heart and mind and pray that God will reveal Himself to you. Matthew 7:7-8 promises in fact, that He will.

Chapter 9

It’s All About the Cross

How you view ‘the story’ of the cross means everything. It will affect how you use your time, your talents, your influence and your energies during your life on this planet.

Your decision to believe, and accept or not, what Jesus did for you, by dying on the cross, will impact you like no other decision you ever make in your life.

If you are not a Christian, the above claim may appear to you, both pompous and presumptuous, but I believe it to be the truth…based on what is promised in The Word of God.

The cross defines a pivotal moment in history, where The God of the Universe sacrificed what was most precious to Him, to grant us access into His presence and give us, through grace, the gift of everlasting, eternal life.

Jesus said in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.”

I believe that God’s desire is for us to be truly happy and to be fulfilled, yet He knows that true peace, happiness and fulfillment come only when our focus is upon Him.

We have all experienced periods, moments or even seasons, where we are in pain, unsettled or even living with distress and despair. No one goes through life without experiencing at least some difficulty or unhappiness.

And yet, we are promised through Paul’s writings the following: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” (Revelation 21:4-5)

Can you imagine living an existence where all of these promises are fulfilled? Can you imagine living in complete and total peace in a place where pain, suffering, illness and despair can never enter…living in the very presence of God?

That’s what the cross represents. Because of Jesus’ death upon it, the cross is sacred and represents the path to eternal life for all of humanity. It represents God’s undying love for us and His desire for us to dwell in His presence…forever!

Though many (remember the broad path?) people will deny the truth of what the cross represents, disbelief and denial don’t change what Jesus did and why He came to live as a man among us.

Jesus was sent from The Father, for one purpose; He walked this earth with only one destination, one agenda. He had one singular mission…to die upon the cross, to offer us redemption from sin, given completely by God’s grace.

What you’ve done or accomplished in your life is insignificant when held up to the reality of the cross.

We are all sinners, but it is only through the cross that we will find salvation.

No matter whether you’re a multi-millionaire CEO of a prominent company, a paid by-the-hour day-laborer or a homeless person on the street, the cross is the great equalizer. What we attain or have the capacity to attain in this life, will pale in contrast to the glory we’ve been given through the cross.

We must be careful to avoid being deceived about the promise and potential of gaining lasting treasures in this world, as the Bible tells us to keep our focus elsewhere…on what is promised for those who are diligent in their faith.

Where is your focus today? Are you seeking wealth or fame in this life? Is your mission in life, to conquer the world?

In reality, we all have financial demands, obligations and responsibilities for our families. We feel compelled to work, in order to survive and be able to pay our bills and support ourselves and those who depend on us.

Though God has promised that He will provide for us, if we’ll faithfully rely on Him to meet our needs; our path and direction can easily be distorted by Satan if we allow our focus to be shifted to the things of this world, and what it might appear to promise.

Hebrews 12:2 tells us we are to be “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

All of our hope for a future lies in what the cross purchased for us, by the spilling of Jesus’ holy blood. Without the promise and validity of the cross, we are lost, as all in this world will decay and pass away in time.

We are commanded in Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”

The only way for us to consciously take our focus off of the things of this world, is to make a conscious decision to focus our gaze upon Jesus Christ and the cross.

The Bible tells us in Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.”

It is all about the cross and Jesus’ sacrifice upon it. Keep your gaze upon Jesus; don’t deviate from what His crucifixion means for your life. It is there and only there, that you will find hope, healing and the promise of an eternal future that you can truly rely on.

Chapter 10

A Life Committed

Would you give your life for a lie? Would you sacrifice everything you own to propagate something you knew was simply not true?

Neither would I.

If Jesus wasn’t who He said He was…if the Apostles hadn’t seen Him after His resurrection from the tomb, do you really believe they would have gone on to spread the message of salvation and hope, which Jesus brought to them.

Moreover, do you believe that they would have been committed enough to live out the remainder of their very lives for this cause, suffering traumatic and painful deaths in the process…most being martyred for what they believed?

I certainly don’t believe they would have.

Acts 12:2 tells us that James, the brother of John, was put to death with a sword.

Andrew, the brother of Peter, was reported to have been crucified, and then hung in an olive tree, due to his persistent faith in Christ.

Rather than deny Jesus for a fourth time, the Apostle Peter requested that the Roman soldiers crucify him upside down, as he did not feel worthy to be crucified in the same manner as Jesus.

The Apostle Nathaniel, also known as Bartholomew, was reported to have also been ‘flayed’ and crucified for his unwillingness to denounce that Jesus had risen from the grave.

Thomas, the Apostle from which we derive the term, ‘doubting Thomas,’ was widely believed to have been tortured and then burned alive, in martyrdom for his faith.

It is quite clear that Matthew, the author of the first Gospel of The New Testament, was committed to what he knew to be truth. Matthew was most certainly a witness to the risen Christ, as he recorded Jesus’ words as He appeared to the gathered disciples. “And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Matthew was reportedly beheaded for his persistent profession concerning the resurrection.

The Apostle Judas Thaddeus (not Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus) was believed to have been beaten to death with sticks while preaching the risen Christ in Mesopotamia, to pagan priests.

The Apostle James (the brother of Jesus) was reported to have been cast down from the Temple and beaten to death with a club.

Simon, ‘the Jewish zealot,’ who became a fervent follower of Jesus, after witnessing the resurrected Christ, was crucified by a governor in Syria for refusing to denounce his faith.

The Apostle John, one of the original twelve Apostles, though he did not die a martyr’s death, was exiled by the Emperor Domitian, to the island of Patmos, for proclaiming the resurrection of Christ.

The Apostle Mathias, previously known as Zacchaeus, the tax collector (chosen to replace Judas Iscariot), was reported to have been martyred, being stoned as he hung upon a cross.

The Apostle Paul lived a lifetime of persecution in the name of Jesus Christ. Most significant, was the fact that Paul had been a committed persecutor of Christians before the resurrected Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus. This encounter completely changed the very focus and purpose of Paul’s life. He became a most fervent and zealous witness for Christ, after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. He was ultimately beheaded in Rome under the authority of the Emperor Nero.

There have been many, many people, in fact, who have given their lives, through martyrdom, in the name of Jesus Christ, throughout the centuries since His crucifixion and resurrection.

I have no doubt that the Apostles endured what they endured, because they had seen the risen Messiah. They knew with certainty, that their suffering would only be temporary and that they would soon be with their King, as He had promised them, in the glory of Heaven.

Why else would they have given their lives to support the propagation of a lie? The truth is…they wouldn’t have.

When Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, He made Thomas a believer: “Jesus said unto him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

“Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believed.” Can you fathom the implications of this statement?

Jesus knew how much faith it required for those who had physically seen Him with their own eyes, to believe that He was indeed the Messiah. Jesus also knows how difficult it can be for you and me to persist in our faith, without the benefit of seeing Him in physical form…but we are still told to have faith in what is not seen.

In doing so, He tells us that ‘we are blessed!’ I can only imagine the extent of what that truly means, and the promises that it holds for those who believe that He died for our salvation.

The martyrdom of the Apostles, and others throughout history, only serves to bolster the evidence that Jesus was who He said He was and is.

We can take comfort in knowing that there is a long history of millions upon millions of fervent and committed believers who came before us; and that for the Apostles, their commitment was based on what they had witnessed.

On November 7, 2013 as I watched a celebration of Billy Graham’s 95th birthday, and witnessed what many believe to have been his final televised evangelical effort, in a video titled, My Hope America. I was overcome by the enduring faith which has marked Reverend Graham’s life.

It gave me a greater sense of hope and certainty, to realize that this man had committed his entire adult life, not unlike the Apostles, to spreading the message of the Gospel, with unwavering dedication and purpose.

To see this wise and elderly man, and to realize the depth of his conviction; to know that he truly ‘believes the story,’ is absolutely remarkable.

In Billy Graham’s heart and soul, he knows when he draws his final breath on this earth; he will be welcomed into the arms of Jesus Christ for eternity.

I can only hope to live with a fraction of the commitment of those who have gone before and committed the entirety of their beings, to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It should give us confidence and reassurance to understand just how committed to their faith that these individuals were.

It is through the commitment of a multitude of individual believers that the message of the cross and what it represents, will continue to persist, proliferate and thrive, in this fallen world.

Don’t discount the role that you, as single, individual believer, play in God’s divine plan to tell the world about what Jesus did for all of humanity.

You are the light of the world. Shine where you are…and you will most certainly be blessed!

Chapter 11

How Great is Our God

In 1968, the Apollo space program was in full swing, and the Apollo 8 spacecraft was launched into orbit. The crew on board this mission never landed on the moon, but rather orbited it multiple times over the course of their mission.

For the first time, these men were given a view of the earth, from a different perspective. As the astronauts aboard Apollo 8 ventured toward the stars…something unexpected took place as they turned their cameras toward the home they were rapidly departing.

One of the astronauts reportedly said, “when we were going to the moon, our total focus was the moon…we were never thinking about looking back at the earth, but now that we’ve done it…that very well may have been the most important reason that we went.”

Many of the astronauts described what they saw, with one word…Awe!

The astronauts aboard Apollo 8, as well as astronauts and cosmonauts in the years that would follow, often reported that they underwent a cognitive shift in awareness…a shift which has been described as encompassing an overwhelming sense of euphoria and spirituality.

Author, Frank White, called what the astronauts experienced, ‘The Overview Effect.’ “When we look down from space upon the earth, we see a living, breathing planet.”

The ‘The Overview Effect’ often changes individuals who experience it, profoundly.

Some of the early astronauts sought to explain this shift in cognitive awareness, by filtering the experience solely through the lens of rational science.

For others, the experience of witnessing earth from space, only served to reinforce what they already believed…that we are here at the hand of an intelligent creator.

The first verse of the Bible tells us this: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

On December 7, 1972, ‘The Blue Marble’ photograph was taken by the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft.

‘The Blue Marble’ photograph is one of the most widely requested and distributed photographs in existence, and the photo shows a complexity, diversity and splendor of the earth, unlike any other planet known to man.

Many of the astronauts viewing the earth from the vantage point of space, note the reality, that the earth is ‘protected’ by a thin veil of atmosphere, which surrounds the entirety of the planet.

We are not here by accident. Man was created by The God of the universe and placed upon a unique sphere, suspended in space, which provides everything we could possibly need.

Many of the astronauts, who have had the opportunity to view the earth from space, speak of the contrast between the overwhelming beauty of our planet, relative to the bleak, stark surface of the moon.

In truth, sharp contrast exists between the earth and every other planet in our solar system, and most of these planets would be completely uninhabitable and unwelcoming to man, for a whole host of variable reasons.

Stop and think for a moment about just a few of the things our Creator has provided for us, that are unique only to our earth:

For starters, unlike the moon and other planets which surround us, the earth has an atmosphere which protects us, providing a life-giving gas (oxygen) which nourishes every cell of our bodies.

The oxygen that we breathe, remarkably is produced by an enormously diverse plant population, which not only provides beauty for our eyes and senses and to every region of the planet, but which also replenishes itself spontaneously and without any assistance from man.

Our feet are held to the surface of the earth by a gravitational force that we rarely, if ever, perceive.

We have been given a glowing, burning, ever-present sun, which lights our days, warms our bodies and ensures the growth of every living plant, animal and human being on the planet.

We’ve been given a moon that ensures our daily rest, while gently providing us the perfect amount of light to meet our needs at any hour that we may wake.

We are surrounded by water in the form or lakes, oceans, rivers and streams…providing us an endless source of both food and recreation.

As the sun miraculously heats the lakes, oceans, and bodies of water of the world, the atmosphere carries precipitation in the form of clouds, to destinations in need of rain, snow or simply a change of scenery.

God has provided for us, every form of food imaginable, to grow from the earth, raise from the land or harvest from the sea.

We have been given the beauty and constancy of seasons which have changed like clockwork for longer than we will ever know.

We have been provided with five senses, which allow us to enjoy every aspect of the planet and everything in it, that God created…‘just for us.’

We have been given the capacity to love and care for one another, and to proliferate, because of our capacity to love.

It shouldn’t be difficult for you to fill in the myriad of gaps, of the blessings we’ve been given, of which I’ve failed to list here.

We are not here by accident. We do not represent ‘the current point’ in the continuum of some evolutionary process.

We were created by God, in the very image of God, and He has given us an unprecedented and unique environment in which to grow, live and thrive.

If you have any doubts about how you got here, or who’s really at the helm of your world and your existence, please take the time to watch the following video in its entirety. Maybe Louie Giglio can give you a better sense of how truly Great is Our God!

http://tinyurl.com/k45d5ne

You are a miracle. You are special…fearfully and wonderfully made, in the image of The Creator.

May God sincerely bless you in this life, and in all that you do.

Other Faith-based Books by Dr. Kelley

‘A Temporary Home…The Promise of Heaven, Because of God’s Grace’

http://tinyurl.com/d8e6h4h

‘Excerpt from ‘A Temporary Home’

“In the world of medicine, it’s not uncommon to encounter a patient who presents to the hospital speaking and fully communicative, only to suddenly collapse from a heart attack or other critical malady. At times, a patient such as this will die, despite medical efforts. I believe most doctors will tell you that upon someone’s death, whatever ‘light’ which was present, which made that person human, is suddenly gone.”

“The patient you met, touched and spoke with is suddenly no longer there. In death, the spirit departs. The body becomes cold. The eyes of the patient, the window to the soul, become blank and void.”

“As Christians, we believe, according to II Corinthians 5:8, that to be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord. It is my hope that this is indeed the case for all of us.”

Other Books at Dr. Kelley’s Author Page on Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Kelley/e/B006GEGMBK/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1387498800&sr=1-2-ent

The ‘Roscoe the Cat’ series:

‘The Amazing, Super Secret, Undercover Life of Roscoe the Cat’

http://tinyurl.com/bb2app7

Roscoe the Cat and the Mystery of the Lost Pirate’s Treasure

http://tinyurl.com/knefmbb

Fitness and Nutrition:

‘The 3 Hour Appetite’

http://tinyurl.com/89ln6ra

‘The 3 Hour Appetite Companion Cookbook’

http://tinyurl.com/7x6umlz

‘The Fitness Response: 21 Steps to ‘Model’ Your Way to a Fit, Fabulous Body’

http://tinyurl.com/6wh8wsd

‘The Fitness Response ‘Diet’ for Women’

http://tinyurl.com/8qkh3ya

Other Faith-based Books You Might Enjoy

Done: What most religions don't tell you about the Bible http://tinyurl.com/lkq75ds

How to Talk About Jesus without Freaking Out

http://tinyurl.com/ls2yohr

Forgive Me for Waiting So Long to Tell You This

http://tinyurl.com/kdyxppx

Dr. Kelley practices Emergency Medicine and Bariatric Medicine in Austin, Texas

For inquiries about interviews or for more information about Dr. Kelley and his services, please visit our websites

@

http://PhysiciansWay.com

http://RichardKelleyMD.com

Or call 512-440-1800

Table of Contents

Dedication

Chapter 1

By the Numbers

Chapter 2

Do You Believe the Story?

Chapter 3

The Word of God

Chapter 4

The Resurrected Christ

Chapter 5

In the Image of God

Chapter 6

The Great Commission

Chapter 7

Prepare to Die

Chapter 8

The Reach of God

Chapter 9

It’s All About the Cross

Chapter 10

A Life Committed

Chapter 11

How Great is Our God