Smartphones are the new black. You would think that during a time when unemployment is at 10.5% (the highest rate in over 26 years), people would not be so eager to spend money on something they don’t need. However, statistically, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, it is estimated that 200 million smartphones were sold in 2009 and experts are expecting this number to increase to 500 million over the next five years.
At a minimum, a smartphone is a cellular phone that also offers capabilities normally only found on a computer (ex. internet and email). The first smartphones were marketed for corporate use (ex. Blackberry), but the newest smartphones are marketed for personal use and have evolved into powerhouse do-all toys. The latest smartphones operate using touch screens and offer “standard” features of GPS navigation, picture taking, and video recording.
Are smartphones a necessity? No. But is fun to be able to receive instantaneous alerts about the latest online JCREW sale, the biggest headline news, and a new wall post to your f book, all while in the dressing room at Banana snapping a picture of a dress that you can’t decide whether or not to buy? Yes, of course it is. I jumped on the bandwagon by accident in fall 2008 and splurged on an iPhone after my 3 year old Motorola RAZR accidentally fell into a bubble bath. In fall 2008, there were lines out the door at the Apple store because at the time there was nothing else even close to it. Flash forward to the present, and you are suddenly faced with several options.
Now, before you make any type of investment, you should do your research. Conveniently, it has already been done for us. Let’s take a peak at the chart Billshrink.com provided. The phones have nearly identical features, give or take an extra megapixel here, or and extra hour of batter life there. Thus, I think ultimately a potential buyer will consider price, service carrier, and number of applications. Based on price, Palm Pre wins (assuming you won’t be paying to break an existing contract). Based on # of applications, iPhone wins big. Based on service carrier, I would argue Verizon wins (Droid); however, service carrier performance varies depending where you live and service carrier loyalty trumps coverage when you have friends and family on the same carrier.
Now, if we are going to spend so much time researching an investment in a phone that will last between 1-3 years, wouldn’t it make sense to research a savior that could in theory last you for all eternity? I certainly think so. Over the next several weeks, I’d like to take us on a journey and explore everything there is to know about Jesus. And I’m talking going deeper than just acknowledging that his birthday is celebrated on December 25. Hopefully by the end of this, you can discern whether Jesus was a man, a prophet, God, a lunatic, or some combination of the aforementioned.
Let’s start simply and address one of the smaller claims of Christ. Was Jesus a prophet? A prophet at minimum speaks forth God’s message (Exodus 7:1-2). A prophet does so via preaching (encouraging and reproving people) in addition to foretelling (giving the people the word of God concerning the future). In terms of sheer foretelling, Jesus was unique because every word of Jesus was the word of God. All prophets before Jesus spoke the Word of God when moved by the Holy Spirit, but in general conversation their speech was entirely their own. Jesus, however, at all times spoke the word of God, whether in public preaching or in private conversation (John 12:49-50, John 14:10). So Jesus was a prophet. Beyond this, there is a lot of disagreement. Muslims think Jesus was only a prophet, whereas Christians think he was much more. Let’s compare him with some of the OT prophets that were involved in performing miracles and see how Jesus stacks up.
Based on this chart alone, it is crystal clear that Jesus was the ultimate miracle worker. Jesus not only completed feats that no other prophet before him did (ie. The ability to drive demons out of people, heal people born blind, heal the deaf, heal paralytics etc), he also performed the most miracles out of any other prophet (34). Also, keep in mind that in all miracles where Moses, Elijah and Elisha are involved, the miracle is proceeded by a prayer to God, or preceded by God telling the prophet how He is going to work through the prophet to perform the miracle. In sharp contrast, when Jesus performs a miracle the Bible records the miracle as happening with a simple word or action coming from Jesus without any preceding request for assistance from God the Father.
So Jesus was a prophet, and a great miracle worker, but how does that show he was God? We’ll explore that in the next post.
At a minimum, a smartphone is a cellular phone that also offers capabilities normally only found on a computer (ex. internet and email). The first smartphones were marketed for corporate use (ex. Blackberry), but the newest smartphones are marketed for personal use and have evolved into powerhouse do-all toys. The latest smartphones operate using touch screens and offer “standard” features of GPS navigation, picture taking, and video recording.
Are smartphones a necessity? No. But is fun to be able to receive instantaneous alerts about the latest online JCREW sale, the biggest headline news, and a new wall post to your f book, all while in the dressing room at Banana snapping a picture of a dress that you can’t decide whether or not to buy? Yes, of course it is. I jumped on the bandwagon by accident in fall 2008 and splurged on an iPhone after my 3 year old Motorola RAZR accidentally fell into a bubble bath. In fall 2008, there were lines out the door at the Apple store because at the time there was nothing else even close to it. Flash forward to the present, and you are suddenly faced with several options.
Now, before you make any type of investment, you should do your research. Conveniently, it has already been done for us. Let’s take a peak at the chart Billshrink.com provided. The phones have nearly identical features, give or take an extra megapixel here, or and extra hour of batter life there. Thus, I think ultimately a potential buyer will consider price, service carrier, and number of applications. Based on price, Palm Pre wins (assuming you won’t be paying to break an existing contract). Based on # of applications, iPhone wins big. Based on service carrier, I would argue Verizon wins (Droid); however, service carrier performance varies depending where you live and service carrier loyalty trumps coverage when you have friends and family on the same carrier.
Now, if we are going to spend so much time researching an investment in a phone that will last between 1-3 years, wouldn’t it make sense to research a savior that could in theory last you for all eternity? I certainly think so. Over the next several weeks, I’d like to take us on a journey and explore everything there is to know about Jesus. And I’m talking going deeper than just acknowledging that his birthday is celebrated on December 25. Hopefully by the end of this, you can discern whether Jesus was a man, a prophet, God, a lunatic, or some combination of the aforementioned.
Let’s start simply and address one of the smaller claims of Christ. Was Jesus a prophet? A prophet at minimum speaks forth God’s message (Exodus 7:1-2). A prophet does so via preaching (encouraging and reproving people) in addition to foretelling (giving the people the word of God concerning the future). In terms of sheer foretelling, Jesus was unique because every word of Jesus was the word of God. All prophets before Jesus spoke the Word of God when moved by the Holy Spirit, but in general conversation their speech was entirely their own. Jesus, however, at all times spoke the word of God, whether in public preaching or in private conversation (John 12:49-50, John 14:10). So Jesus was a prophet. Beyond this, there is a lot of disagreement. Muslims think Jesus was only a prophet, whereas Christians think he was much more. Let’s compare him with some of the OT prophets that were involved in performing miracles and see how Jesus stacks up.
Based on this chart alone, it is crystal clear that Jesus was the ultimate miracle worker. Jesus not only completed feats that no other prophet before him did (ie. The ability to drive demons out of people, heal people born blind, heal the deaf, heal paralytics etc), he also performed the most miracles out of any other prophet (34). Also, keep in mind that in all miracles where Moses, Elijah and Elisha are involved, the miracle is proceeded by a prayer to God, or preceded by God telling the prophet how He is going to work through the prophet to perform the miracle. In sharp contrast, when Jesus performs a miracle the Bible records the miracle as happening with a simple word or action coming from Jesus without any preceding request for assistance from God the Father.
So Jesus was a prophet, and a great miracle worker, but how does that show he was God? We’ll explore that in the next post.
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