ATTENTION MIDDLE EASTERNERS...Gossip Girl here. Your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Israel's elite.

Spotted: Levite giving his seconds to Mr. Benjamin. Oh L, did you not realize the consequences of your sin? You may have saved yourself, but wife number 2 to death you sent and so many rules it seems you've bent. So on the stoop the next day is where she stayed, and on the back of a donkey to Ephraim she laid. Did you really think she had any chance of survival? And why in 12 pieces did you cut her upon arrival? To the Israelites you claimed of death you escaped, but why no mention of sacraficing your mate? Oh it seems like a mess you've helped create, by giving your second wife as bait...

Yes, I realize this is April Fool's Day.. but the story you are about to read is 100% from the bible. It is full of selfishness, cowardness, unfaithfulness, and sexual promiscuity. The first time I came across this passage, my jaw dropped... was this really happening??? I mean sure it happens in the real world all the time today, but I mean really, these people are in the Old Testament... A Levite is a descendent of one of the greatest prophets of the OT, Moses AND Levites were chosen by God to be allowed to be an intermediary between God and the Israelites (remember there was separation from God before Jesus)… so doesn’t that mean by default he would be a good an faithful servant, someone who was always faithful to God, who didn't fall prey to sin? Well, as you will see as you read the disturbing story below, that is far from the truth. The Levite was troubled by sin, just like you and I are, but is what he did really that far fetched? I mean sure he did hand his second wife over to men to be raped AND then he later lied about what actually happened to make himself seem like the victim/hero….but the choice was ultimately either himself or her… and if he would so easily give up his concubine for such an act, how much more quickly would he have given her up if the men said “come out so that we may kill you?”. If you were in the same situation as the Levite, and the only choice was you or your spouse, what would you do? I’m sure the answer is an obvious yes and you are probably offended that I even asked it… but seriously think about it, would you really give yourself over to be raped/killed? So maybe you would give yourself, but the only reason you would is because of your deep love and care for your spouse. And who knows, maybe the Levite only had marginal affection for the woman in the form of lust and he didn’t think she was good. Romans 5:7 says it best “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.” NOW go back and imagine the person you like least or possible hate in this life. Would you die for them? Of course not. BUT WAIT! You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6,8). You guys when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of Christ! (Romans 5:10) Now if that isn’t love I don’t know what is. Jesus has already done all the work needed for us to have a relationship with God and have eternal life, but the ball is in our court…we have free will.. it's like receiving a free gift, we can either accept the gift or reject it.. it's that simple. But enough rambling, read the passage for yourself. Below is the majority of Judges 19-20. DISTURBING PARTS ARE IN RED!

Now a Levite took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. But she was unfaithful to him. She left him. After she had been there four months, her husband went to Bethlehem to persuade her to return and is successful. Levite takes concubine to return to Ephraim. During journey back they decide to rest for the night in Gibeah (home of the Benjamites) and an old man agrees to let them stay at his place for the night.

22While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, "Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him." 23The owner of the house went outside and said to them, "No, my friends, don't be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don't do this disgraceful thing. 24 Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But to this man, don't do such a disgraceful thing." 25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. 26 At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight. 27 When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, "Get up; let's go." But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home. 29 When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. 30 Everyone who saw it said, "Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Think about it! Consider it! Tell us what to do!"

…2The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand soldiers armed with swords. 3 Then the Israelites said, "Tell us how this awful thing happened." 4 So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, "I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5 During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died. …

P.S. this event set in motion a civil war amongst the Israelites. 400,000 Israelites rally against their own people (the Benjamites) and killed over 100,000 men, women, and children. Eeek.

MATZAH! it's flat.. it's crunchy. it's delicious?!

MATZAH! It's flat, it's crunchy,... it's DELICIOUS! Oh wait, I think that in that episode Kramer was talking about Junior Mints ... Anyways, matzah isn't something people normally request to eat. However, if you are Jewish, chances are this week you have been eating only matzah and staying away from bread, cake, sweets, or anything else containing leaven. Although it's not the best tasting food, it's eaten during the celebration of Passover. Passover is a time to celebrate how God delivered the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. [Passover itself refers to the time when the Angel of Death "passed over" the homes covered in lamb's blood (Israelites) and went to all Egyptian homes sans blood to slew the first-born son as a punishment for not allowing the Israelites to be released from slavery. (Exodus 12)] Matzah is eaten because unleavened bread was eaten right before the actual Passover in Egypt (Exodus 12:15).

This week at church, a Jewish man named Steve from Jews for Jesus came to talk about Passover. He went through a whole demonstration of a Passover Sader, and it was very informative and awesome. My biggest takeaway from his demonstration was the soverignty of God. From the beginning of time, God knew everything that was going to happen, and because of his foreknoweldge he was able to weave in sublte hints, and foreshadow the coming of Jesus. It may appear obvious to some, subtle to others, or not at all to some blink folk. Let's take a look at some events during the actual Passover and some traditions during the Passover Sader. Decide for yourself if these items blatantly point to Jesus Christ as the Messiah/God.

Two main things of note:

1.) The Matzah Tosh- Jews are divded as to what they think the 3 coming to 1 symbolizes. Some think it represents the 3 Patriarchs of Israel (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob), while others think it represents a 3 fold divison of worship (Priests, Levites, rest of Israel). However, does it really make sense for Isaac or a Levite to be broken, buried, and brought back? Not really.....
2.) The Lamb Bone- Jews ceased performing animal sacrifices entirely after the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70 . But how do Jews TODAY atone for sin if they don't believe Jesus was the once and for all sacrifice for our sins? Hmmmmmm

I hope this has found you well, and I would like to encourage you to actually watch the whole video of the Passover Sader, pretty cool stuff. I left a lot of things out becasue I know how ADD ya'll can be.

The TRUTH about Cadbury Cream Eggs

There was a period of time when I honest to goodness thought that Cadbury Cream Eggs were real eggs covered in chocolate. I remember seeing the commercials as a wee lil one. A bunny appeared on screen with a basket of Cadbury Cream Eggs, clucking like a chicken. Clearly, Schweppes couldn’t afford to buy lots of air-time for the commercial, so they had to get the message across quickly, using subtle hints. I remember feeling like a total Gumshoe when I put the puzzle together and realized that Schweppes was just tricking kids into eating eggs, GROSS. I decided to stay far away from said wolf in sheep’s clothing. I didn’t learn the actual truth until I witnessed someone on my school bus eat a Cadbury Cream Egg. I remember being surprised that there was no lingering rotten egg smell on the bus, and the person didn’t keel over from salmonella poisoning. BTW, I was in high school at the time. Have you ever been in a similar situation where you thought you knew exactly what something was, and based on what you thought was the truth, you rejected it, called it sick nasty, and stayed away completely? Believe it or not, there was actually a period of time when I also had a misconception of Christianity. I thought I knew the truth, decided I didn’t like it, and stayed away. Then, one day the Truth was revealed to me. Perhaps the biggest misconception I previously had was that Christianity was similar to all other religions in that there was some formula an individual could follow (i.e. doing good works) to get to heaven. OOPS! Christianity is DISTINCT from all other religions in that it is the only religion in which an individual can’t get to heaven by his own works, but instead can get there by the work already done by God (Jesus). This past Sunday, Todd Philips, the pastor of Frontline, did a phenomenal job of touching on said Truth in a sermon that is part of a series that will cover the three days of Jesus's death/resurrection. Real quick, let's take a look at the day of Jesus's death (on a Friday). Details are below:

“From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. ..... And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom… The earth shook and the rocks split….When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"” (Matthew 27: 45,50-51,54)

Our focus will be on what happened immediately after Jesus died. You’ll notice that the curtain of the temple or veil ripped from top to bottom. Before we proceed, we must first remember that the Temple was the centerpiece of Jewish religious life. It was the place where animal sacrifices were made daily to atone for sins, and also the place where God resided. God’s physical presence resided in a room known as the Holy of Holies. No one was allowed to enter this room. There was a curtain/veil in front of the Holy of Holies that physically separated people from the presence of God. (This served to remind people that man was separated from God by sin (Isaiah 59:1-2)). However, once a year ONLY, a high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies to offer the sin offering (Hebrews 9:7, Leviticus 16:11). So there was a massively impenetrable curtain (6 stories high, 4 inches thick, intricately woven), yet the moment Jesus died, it tore in half from top to bottom. This action explains the fundamental Truths about Christianity which the chart below summarizes.


The veil was torn and now through Jesus we can no longer be separated from God, but can have a relationship with God that is real and personal. Ya’ll, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, do you see that? (Romans 5:8) It’s not from anything we did. It was all God’s work. That’s why Christians often refer to Christ’s work on the cross as a gift. It’s not something we deserve, we can’t earn it, we can’t pay for it. We simply accept it or reject it. If you profess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9).

Like what you read? If so, maybe you should come check out Frontline this Sunday at 5:30pm in person or online as my summary was nearly verbatim what was preached. The series continues over the next two weeks. This Sunday will be talking about the 2nd day, (Saturday, which was the Passover), and next Sunday will be talking about the 3rd and final day, (the Ressurection). In the meantime, stay away from those dreadful Cadbury Cream Eggs.

More Than Meets The Eye

Sometimes to see the true value of something, we have to look beyond the surface. A perfect example of this can be found during a visit to the US Mint. Let’s pretend you live in Costa Rica (we can dream can’t we?!). You speak no English, but decide to visit America during your vacation. Now look at the coins above and tell me their monetary value, READY GO!!!! Oh, what’s that? You can see a mountain man with a bow tie, two girlie men with braids and bows in their hair, a torch, an olive tree, an eagle, and two architecturally symmetrical buildings and they don’t clearly inform you of the coin value? Hmm, that’s kind of odd. Well it turns out US coins are one of the only monetary units in the world that don’t have the numerical value on the coins. (Go ahead, take a second to scrounge around in your pockets to confirm this. No I didn't photoshop the pics). Now just because the coins don’t numerically show $.01, $.05, $0.1, and $.25 that doesn’t make the coins worthless, does it? Of course not. You, as a Costa Rican, can easily find out the value by simply asking someone to read/translate the English on the coins. Bueno.

Sometimes to see the true value of something, we have to look beyond the surface. Today, I wanted to examine one of the most significant events in all of history and see if there really is any value beyond our initial impressions. I’m talking about Jesus dying on the cross. Sure, on the surface, it really doesn’t seem significant at all. After all, it was very common for people (mainly criminals) to be crucified on a cross. In fact, there were 2 other people that were crucified at the same time as Jesus…. So who cares, right? Well actually, there is more to it, and it involves asking someone from that time. Although we can’t time travel and ask someone from the time of Jesus we can still get the insight we need from the Bible. Let’s look at two facts and see why they are valuable:


So now we know that animal sacrifices were necessary for a person to experience forgiveness of sins. The innocent, blemish-free animal died in place of the sinner. This only temporarily forgave sins, and thus had to be offered over and over (Hebrews 10:4). You guys, this was foreshadowing and illustrating what Jesus was going to do. Jesus was the ultimate end-all-be all sacrificial substitute. His death on the cross was a sufficient payment to forgive all our sins---past, present, and future. We were separated from God because of our sin, and deserved death, but Christ took on our punishment so that we may have a restored relationship with God and experience eternal life.

“Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

"Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself." (Hebrews 7:27)

I’ll leave ya’ll with a quote from the pastor of a church I went to in North Carolina “Rather than being never-satisfied, Jesus accepts you fully, as you are. The Messiah’s salvation was not that if you could be good enough for long enough then He would save you. Jesus’ salvation was an announcement of His acceptance of us based on the work He would do for us: He would live the life we were supposed to live and die the death we had deserved to die, in our place, so that if we would just accept it we would be immediately and fully forgiven and accepted. “ – J.D. Greear.

Journey to Abercrombie & Fitch / Synagogue

This past weekend I went shopping for the first time since last summer. It had been so long that I momentarily forgot which stores I frequent. To refresh my memory, I decided to walk around and see what caught my attention. When we were approaching Abercrombie and Fitch, my Mom asked me if I wanted to go in, and I proceeded to give her the I’m not going to dignify that with a response eye stare that conveyed the unspoken “Mom seriously, does it look like it’s 1995 and I’m a pre-teen?!” thought in my mind. We continued walking past the store, when something from the window caught my eye. Dangit! If you have never been in A&F before, consider yourself blessed. Sure, its fine if you are an oblivious 11-17 year old, can tolerate the blaring techno remix of Black Eyed Peas I Gotta Feeling, and enjoy paying an absurd premium for a paper thin shirt just because it has a cute little moose logo in the upper left corner. As a 20 something though, it’s not the best way to spend your time. My experience in the store was so cliche and stereotypical that I have to share it with you. I found an item to try on and after two failed attempts of asking customers to open a dressing room, I found a sales associate. The sale associate escorted me to the fitting room area and I got in line. In front of me was the token 15 year old girl with at least 20 items in her hand. This same girl also took an eternity in the fitting room only to reappear with 0 items in her hand, leaving behind a dressing room that looked as if a Tornado had swept through. Also in front of me, was the token teenage couple who was PDA-ing like whoa. Behind me, was the token Mom holding several pairs of jeans and calling out to her son who was in another part of the store. After about a 10 minute wait, a dressing room freed up. I tried on my item and exited said dressing room in an impressive 90 seconds.

Post dressing room, I headed towards the check-out as quickly as possible thinking “the faster I walk and check-out the less likely one of my friends will see me here”. After I got in line, I realized that my logic was irrational because the only friend that would see me here would be a friend that is also shopping here…. if that happened, we would both agree to not tell other people that we saw each other here, PHEW. The line moved quickly, but in the mean time I watched 3 preteens in front of me giggling uncontrollably as they handed their coins and crumpled dollar bills to the cashier to pay for 1 pair of male boxers. TSK TSK TSK. My turn was next and I handed my item to the cashier (The cashier likely had her mom drop her off at work because she didn’t even look old enough to be driving a motor vehicle!). The cashier rang up my item and proceeded to put it in the LARGEST bag available. Yes, I realize most patrons of A&F always request the EXTRA LARGE bag even when they buy perfume, and yes I also realize I was with my Mom which might make me look younger, but seriously do I really strike you as the type of person that wants to be walking around Tyson’s with a bag showcasing a half-naked man??!?!? (Needless to say I left the bag at the front of the store and put my purchased item into my purse.) Before leaving the store, I decided to report the one UNUSUAL thing that I noticed during my time in the store:

Me: I think your store’s profit margins are in jeopardy. In my dressing room there were at least 4 security buttons loose on the floor. You really should have someone monitoring the fitting room area.
Cashier: haha oh really?! Well we are low on staff
Me (in my head): Really? I would think refolding an already folded shirt should be a job duty that comes SECOND to monitoring and preventing theft.
My Mom: (reverting back to defensive/protective mom from the 90s): Yeah, and one more thing! The dressing room is like a pig sty!”

We decided to put our good Samaritan deed to rest and exited the store. If only, A&F realized, that I, once a regular patron now a visitor, was actually trying to help them and not make them irritated. Now, suppose instead of going into A&F and living in the 21st century, we lived in the time of Jesus, and walked into a synagogue one day. What would that experience be like? How would people react if a visitor walked in and tried to help out the people in the synagogue? First, let's brush up on our knowledge of synagogues:


So as you can see from the chart above, if you waltzed into a synagogue, you would experience something similar to a church service in the sense that it was a place to teach and learn scripture. On the Sabbath, a service would start with singing of Psalms, transition to a reading from the Torah, switch to a reading from the prophets, and then culminate with a sermon. Local teachers gave sermons and on occasion a visitor/guest teacher would preach. Attendees were Pharisees, aka middle class Jews that had a reputation of self righteousness. Pharisees were obsessed with rituals, laws, and outward symbols of faith such as circumcision. Almost all of them grew up memorizing the entire Torah (first five books of the Old Testament) by the time they were 12. Although they were gifted at rote memorization, they didn’t appear to have any kind of relationship with God or understanding of what the scriptures actually meant.

So now imagine if you can, that you are in your hometown of Nazareth at the synagogue on the Sabbath, and a guest speaker is giving the sermon. This guest speaker is someone that grew up in your neighborhood. Someone whose father Joseph was neither royalty nor of priestly decent, but instead a measly lower-class craftsman. Someone that is a carpenter by trade. Someone you haven’t seen in a few years, yet have heard news about him receiving praise in nearby towns (Capernaum being one of them) for healing a paralytic, healing a blind man, etc. Someone that has yet to perform any miracles in your and his hometown of Nazareth. Well that’s exactly what happens in Luke 4.

“Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:14-21)

Keep in mind, any other teacher before Jesus, would have started a sermon on a messianic prophecy by saying something along the lines of “And SOME DAY this will happen, not TODAY’. After saying he has fulfilled the Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 61, Jesus continues to preach to his hometown, telling the people how they won’t accept him, and reminding them of the fact that God has imparted blessings upon non-Jews in the past. Now let’s see how the people react.

"All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way." (Luke 4:28-30)

YOU GUYS, WE KNOW JESUS IS GOD BECAUSE HE CLAIMED TO BE GOD! This passage makes it so blatantly obvious that Jesus claimed to be God. If he had just got up and said “I am God” the Pharisees would dismiss him as ignorant. The Pharisees knew the Old Testament Messianic prophecies inside and out and were always on the look out for the Messiah. The Pharisees tried to kill Jesus because they mistakenly were expecting the Messiah to be an actual Roman king and and were angry at the fact that Jesus was saying he would bring salvation for everyone and not just themselves (Jews). But alas, Jesus was trying to help them. He was bringing the 'good news' they and their ancestors had been waiting for.

Who DAT says he's perfect?

It's true though isn't it? I mean yes, figure skating is impressive. Triple salchows and quadruple axles are something I am 99.9% positive I will never be able to do in my life, and I'm okay with that. But that being said, there is something unsettling to me about watching a 'sport' that is so subjective. I like the idea that there is the potential for a skater in theory to achieve a perfect score, but I also dislike the fact that often times there is no clear winner. It's basically up to the discretion of some Canadians and Russians who in the past have been known to accept bribes and try and fix the outcome.

Football isn't like that. It's black and white. There are no ties (well almost never). There are no style points awarded to the Saints for the way Drew Brees spirals the football. There were no technical points awarded to the Steelers for the way Santonio Holmes magically lept into the air , caught the ball, and gracefully landed his tiptoes into the end-zone during the 2009 Superbowl. Scoring is instead very systematic, clear, and for the most part objective. Six points for a touch down, two for a safety, three for a field goal, etc.

This past year in football was particularly exciting because the Saints won their first ever Super Bowl. Although the Saints did walk away as champions, they did not have a perfect season. Overall, the Saints record for 2009-2010 was 13-3; 3-0. The only team in the NFL to have a perfect season was the 1972 Miami Dolphins who went 17-0. (14 regular season, 3 post season). The New England Patriots came close to matching this in 2007 when they went 16-0 in the regular season. However, the Patriots fell short when they lost to the Giants in the super bowl 14-17. The NFL has been around for 44 years, and only one team has had a 'perfect' season. WOW. That's pretty crazy. It must be pretty hard to achieve. But is that really perfect? Yes, the Patriots had a perfect regular season in the sense that they won all 16 games, but if we look at the individual games, was each game truly "without flaw or blemish, free from error" ?! I think the answer is a resounding HAILLLLLLL NO.

Okay, so maybe all 16 games weren't perfect, but was at least one game perfect? Was there at least one game when the Patriots had 100% completions, 100% for rushing, no turnovers, no false stars, no interceptions, no holding flags, and 0 points scored by the other team?! Hmmm, so no perfect game, but maybe there was a perfect player during one of the games? Someone who recorded perfect stats related to their particular position, and with no mistakes or turnovers of any kind? Sounds a little more plausible, but again probably very unlikely. So I think we can all agree it's really really tough to be perfect within four 15 minute quarters, even if when we use the term "perfect' we don't truly mean without error, but simply performing better relative to the surroundings.

Now think to your own life for a second. What do you think is the longest amount of time you have gone and remained "perfect' in a literal sense of being without flaw, blemish, or defect. Perfect in a sense where you did only things that were pleasing to God and nothing displeasing. Before you settle on an amount of time, remember that things considered displeasing to God , or more succinctly known as sin, aren't just major things such as murder or adultery. Failing to be perfect, could be as simple as stealing a pen from the office to use for personal use...or using a file sharing software to illegally download music...or watching free episodes of How I Met Your Mother from a sketchy non cbs.com or hulu.com website....or taking credit for when you receive a promotion, score a goal in soccer, negotiate a job offer, or complete a marathon...or being envious of your neighbors car, designer jeans, handbag, house, iphone, vacation home...or loving your parents, boyfriend/girlfriend , spouse, house, car, money, or anything else more so than you love God...or having lustful thoughts about someone....or cursing (it still counts if you do it in your head)....or speeding or any other form of breaking laws set in place by the government...or gossiping...or putting yourself before others...etc.

Okay, so what's the number you came up with?! Assuming we are talking about non-sleeping time, I think we'd all come up with around 5-10 minutes if we're being perfectly honest. Now what if I told you there was someone who came to this earth who was able to be perfect for a whole hour. What if I told you there was someone who led a perfect life for a whole day? What if I told you there was someone who led a perfect life for a whole week? What if I told you there was someone who led a perfect life for a whole month? What if I told you there was someone who led a perfect life for a whole year? What if I told you there was someone who led a perfect life for a whole lifetime?

You guys, the point is there was such a person! Jesus Christ roamed around on the earth for 33 years, and led a perfect life. He never sinned once, in-spite of the fact that he was tempted for 40 days and nights in the dessert by the devil. Jesus Christ was fully man, but he also had to be fully God. There is really no other logical or rational explanation for such a impossible task.

"He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth" (1 Peter 2:22)

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15)

"Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? " -Jesus (John 8:46)

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God " (2 Corinthians 5:21).

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).... "I and the Father are one" - Jesus (John 10:33)

"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9)

"Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation..." (Hebrews 5:8-9)

Hopefully now, you realize we have just unveiled another reason why we know Jesus was God. We know Jesus was God because he led a perfect life . Who DAT was perfect? JESUS.

SPOILER ALERT: In a future post, I will address why it was so important that Jesus was perfect. If you would like to have a hint as to what we will discuss check out the verse below:

"When anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the LORD to fulfill a special vow as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable" (Leviticus 22:21).

New Year's Resolution FAIL.

We've all done it. Whether we admit it or not. You start off January first with this mindset that “This is going to be the year! “ You're going to change, improve, be healthy, be disciplined, be flawless. Then February rolls around and you’re the same unchanged person as before, only a few pounds heavier and a few days older :/.

I think that the reason why I was never able to read through the whole Bible was mainly because I started out with an unrealistic goal. "I'm going to read the Bible every single day for 365 days and read the Bible in 1 year!” While this is definitely something great to strive for, ultimately you are going to break it. It might come when you go on vacation, hit the snooze button on your alarm, receive a call from a lover asking you to dinner, forget to bring your Bible when traveling, get sick, etc. What's worse, is that your mind makes you feel so guilty and bad about yourself that you end up doing more harm than good to yourself and you quit altogether. If you're having a hard time following me, think back to when you've made a resolution to lose weight. You tell yourself you are only going to eat 1,200 calories a day and work out three times a week. Well Monday and Tuesday you absolutely are crushing it, until Wednesday rolls along and you feel like a rabbit. You're sick of munching on celery sticks, carrots, and putting your chicken over a bed of spinach instead of over warm sour cream and chive mashed potatoes. You decide you have earned the right to 'cheat' a little so you go to the cupboard where the beloved double stuffed Oreos are patiently waiting to reward you for your YTD success. You pop one in your mouth. HEAVEN!!!! It's like you experience the taste of an Oreo for the first time. Who would have thought 48 hours would be enough to forget how delectable the cream is and how it is the perfect complement to the crunch and chocolaty goodness of the cookie part. Okay, time to pour some milk to wash my mouth and then I will be done with my reward. You pour the milk and take two sips. You see the empty glass and your economical/humanitarian self kicks in "now self, you can't waste that milk, milk is expensive! And besides, there are plenty of starving kids in Africa , you can't just put this to waste". Drinking the milk by itself is not an option when you see the tiny black specks floating in the milk, remnants of your 1 double stuffed Oreo. You go back to the cupboard rationalizing that you will only have 2-3 more so you can finish the milk and avoid being given the nickname "Pro-Hunger Garbage Loving Child Hater”. You end up eating 4 more. SHOOT. The milk is gone, but you forget about your humanitarian achievement and enter the mode of guilt/disappointment. I completely blew it. What was I thinking? I was doing sooooo good! UGH. I feel sick. I already ruined this whole day, might as well eat some more. [NOTE: I have no idea why our mind thinks that a 200+ calorie slip/indulgence is justification for 'rationalizing' that the day is shot and giving us a license to eat more and turn it into a binge.] Half a sleeve later you shove the Oreos back in the cupboard, tell yourself you will set your alarm 30 minutes early to get in an extra/unplanned workout to make up for aforementioned snafu. Welp, the next morning rolls along, and you do not go to the gym. You are abnormally hungry, and decide to forgo oatmeal (what you were supposed to have) and opt for a bagel instead. Next thing you know Thursday is shot too, and you decide that the whole week is shot, and you will start again next Monday. Another week roles by and you hop on the scale, only to see that your weight is now 2lbs more than before you started the diet. For a while, you tell yourself it’s water weight, and eat a few more Oreos to forget about the 3 numbers on the scale. By the end of the month, you completely abandon your ‘diet’ and decide to focus on more important things in life, such as oh I don’t know People Magazine.

I’m writing today to share with you my secrets for how I was able to read the entire Bible. I wouldn’t say it was necessarily hard to do. Whereas dieting is as simple as “eat less, exercise more”, reading the Bible is as simple as “Read from left to right. Flip page. Repeat”. Even though we know these truths, we are always looking ways to make things easier and be more efficient. Unfortunately, I can’t speak to how to lose weight, (I have tried to lose 5lbs before and failed). However, I can speak to how to read the Bible. Below are 10 things that helped me read the Bible. In true dieting fashion: results may vary. My example is not typical of most people.

#1 Set a Reasonable Goal and Don't Stress When You Get Off Track.
It will take you 67 hours to read the whole Bible. Yes, I did this calculation before I started and I originally thought it would take me 2 weeks and 2 days to read the whole thing ( 2 minutes per page X 2,000 pages = 4,000 minutes. 4,000 minutes / 60 minutes = 66 hours. 66 hours/ 4 hours a day of reading = 16 days to read the bible). However, it took me four months to read the whole Bible. To help me not feel overwhelmed with the greatness of the task I would narrow my focus. Instead of thinking “I have 1,800 pages left” I would think “Only 20 more pages until I am done with Exodus." There will be days when you don't read the Bible and that's okay. You don't have a goal revolving around a time frame, you have a goal revolving around completing the whole Bible.

#2 Read In Order Genesis-Revelation
Clearly, this isn’t the only way to approach reading the Bible. Reading from Genesis-Revelation isn’t in exact chronological order, but it’s pretty darn close. I believe you can’t fully grasp the New Testament and the need for Christ without first reading the Old Testament.

#3 Get Comfy!
I think a lot of times when I would try to read the Bible I would stop pre-maturely simply because I was uncomfortable. Find a place to sit that is comfortable has good light, allow you to stretch out your legs so you can rest the Bible on your legs verses trying to hold up the book with your wrists. I used a couch in my living room.

#4 Pray
Praying before you start to read is critical. The Bible is complicated. There are a lot of hard to pronounce words. The historical events of the bible took place over 2,000 years ago in a culture that is drastically different than today’s culture, which can make it hard to understand. AND, there are all sorts of different types of literature such as history, law, poetry, songs, wisdom literature, prophecy, personal letters, and apocalyptic literature. “Trying to read the Bible on your own would be like trying to learn Calculus with just a textbook” -Todd Philips.
Followers of Christ have the privilege of having direct access to the writer of the text (God), because the Holy Spirit dwells inside us. Praying will enable the Holy Spirit to guide us, convict us, and reveal truth to us as we read (1Corinthians:10-11; John 14:26). If you are just checking out Christianity, I would recommend praying to God asking Him to reveal himself to you while you read . “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 4:29). I at first was leery of this, but the days I prayed before I read, I got so much more out of the Bible!

#5 Take Your Time
There is no need to rush. The Bible isn’t going anywhere or changing anytime soon.

#6 Allow Time For Review & Questioning
As with anything, you will be more likely to push a piece of information into your long term memory the more you review it. After finishing a book in the Old Testament, I would often read or listen to John Piper’s sermons on that particular book. The Old Testament reads like a story, and it was helpful to learn themes, and life applications from Piper. I would constantly ask questions. Often times, when I would get stuck on something, I would use my roommate’s Bible commentary by MacArthur as one point of reference.

#7 Talk To Someone About What You Just Read Probably one of my favorite steps! Every Tuesday, on the way to small group, I would summarize what I had read recently. My friend was amazing, she was so knowledge about the bible because she has read the whole thing several times. We had fun talking about Baal worship, King Nebuchadnezzar, Elisha, the Holy of Holy places, levitical law, and many other topics.

#8 Keep Track Of Your Progress
I used Google Calendar. I would create an event for the day I started a particular book and then update the event with an end date once I finished it. It was helpful to have a visual to see my progress. If you’d prefer to use a poster with a thermometer where you color in your progress a la Jump Rope For Your Heart style, by all means do it!

#9 Tell Someone About Your Ultimate Goal
There were periods of time where I went a day or a few days without reading the Bible at all. What really helped me get back into the Word, was talking to my friends that knew of my goal. Every so often, they would casually ask me where I was in the Bible. Sometimes my answer would be the same as the last time they asked me. However, most of the time, I couldn’t’ wait to tell them where I was so they could hear of my progress!

#10 Have Fun
Reading the Bible shouldn’t be thought of as a chore, or something you dread doing. Reading the Bible should be something you look forward to. Yes there were some slow parts, cough cough [genealogies throughout the first 9 chapters of Chronicles] cough cough, but overall it’s a thrilling, exciting, and an adventurous read. And, huge bonus, you get a small glimpse of how awesome the creator of the universe is!

If you think you are up for the challenge, let me know and we can make a thermometer chart together!

Cheescake Factory, Quarter Life Crisis, and The Bible.. Oh My!

Is it possible to love and hate something at the same time? Absolutely. If you don’t believe me, take a trip to The Cheesecake Factory next time you want to go out to eat. I love Cheesecake Factory because it offers my all time favorite dessert (cheesecake), the portion sizes are gargantuan (re: 1lb box of pasta which serves 8 normally is used for 1 order of spaghetti with meat sauce), it can please any crowd because the menu has options from nearly every type of cuisine (American, Asian, Italian, Mediterranean, Mexican), and I have the comfort of knowing that when I order Chicken Picatta in Chapel Hill it will taste the same as when I order it in Clarendon (thank you quality control!) . Despite the many positives of Cheesecake Factory, I can’t help but also hate it at the same time. Why? Because as soon as I sit down at the fine establishment, the waitress hands me a menu, which based on the unusual shape tricks me into thinking I was handed a wine list menu. WRONG. As soon as I open the menu I see 200+ menu items spread across 20 PAGES. Forget pre dinner conversation. I need to spend the next five minutes carefully reading over the novel I was just handed. And while normally I like options, there is a point where lots of options becomes more stressful than beneficial. Think about it. When was the last time you ordered something after careful deliberation, only to fall into food envy? You are content with your order until the flatbread pizza glides by, giving off an aroma of fresh basil, only to be delivered to the neighboring table in which man has huge smile on his face. Sometimes I wonder if man sees my envy and then purposely tries to rub it in by exaggerating his facial expressions while eating… I mean really no normal person smiles while they chew on pizza dough!!

Now maybe I’m the only one with this, eh hem ‘problem’, but at least I’m not in denial. And you know what? I would be willing to bet that our parents (baby boomer generation) love the Cheesecake Factory menu with seemingly endless options. Lots of baby boomers came from humble backgrounds. They worked so hard, and they had ‘nothing’ relative to our generation. Some baby boomers grew up on a farm, while others lived in the city where their parents worked in a factory or manufacturing plant. Their activities as kids were very limited. They didn’t have private tutors, personalized piano lessons, or travel soccer teams at their disposal. It was more play stick-ball in a back alley and using cardboard boxes as bases. Vacations consisted of getting together with the local extended family every other Sunday for polka and potato salad. As adults, there also tended to be limited paths to pursue. Many were the first in their family to attend college. For some, the first time they left the state they were born in didn’t happen until college. And for others, after graduating from college they took the first job they were offered and ended up staying with that same company for their ENTIRE CAREER!

So then, naturally, when said baby boomers had some kids of their own, of course they were going to want their kids to have a “better” life. I remember from a young age my Dad always told me, “Chess, I just want to be able to create more options for you” . Well, I’m not sure if you know this, but my Dad created the internet. Just kidding that was Al Gore. But seriously, think about how technology has exponentially increased our options. Gone are the days when folks in their 20s relied on paper business cards, phone books, land-line phones with answering machines, and newspaper ads to find a job. Today, we have information and communication at our fingertips thanks to fax machines, emails, online college classes, online alumni databases, Career Builder, Indeed.com, Linkedin, company websites, Facebook, etc. These technological advances have no doubt helped to create more options because they have made it much easier to switch careers, take advanced classes, move to a new city, and find a different job. While there is a large sense of freedom that comes with taking on the mindset that the world is our oyster and we can really chase after almost anything we want, it can also be really stressful. I do enjoy my job most days, but am I in the right job? Can I really do this forever? Is there a better job out there that uses my FULL skill set? My college friends are going back to B-school and having a blast… maybe I should too?

{STAGE DIRECTIONS} Cue thunder bolts and lightning.

Enter quarter-life crisis.

Protagonist : AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!


Now what if during said quarter-life crisis when you are looking for direction, purpose, meaning, answers, clarity, you seek advice from someone whom you have tremendous respect for. Someone that knows you almost as well as you know yourself. Someone that has your best interest at heart, and who you think can surely just provide you with the right job suggestion that perfectly aligns with your personality and skill set. When they reveal to you this perfect job suggestion you will go “ah ha! “ and all will be normal again. Now what if that person after you finish sharing your frustrations, doubts, confusion, and plea for guidance simply says back to you " I don’t have an answer for you. What I can tell you though, is the most important thing you can do in life is to Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind.” Initially, I was furious when I heard this. That is not at all helpful! Of course I Love God… I think?! After taking some time to cool off, I stared asking myself if I really truly loved God. The conclusion I came to was “I want to, but I honestly can’t say I’m there yet”. Yes, I knew that as Christians we love Him because He loved us first, and I have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of my life. However, I couldn’t undoubtedly say that I was madly and passionately in love with God. I remembered hearing in a sermon that God’s love language is obedience, so I thought well surely since I try to follow His commands, that produces love for God? WRONG. Obedience doesn't produce love. Love produces obedience. Okay next strategy: try to develop strong feelings. (1 week passes and nothing changed) Final solution: maybe I can develop love for God by getting to know Him.

It was during this simple yet profound realization that I started on the best journey of my life to date…. the journey of reading the word of God (the Bible). [Ironically enough, the person who spoke such wise words to me, also happened to be the same person that gave me my first Bible.] I’ll admit that at first I was hesitant and scared. I was afraid that reading the Old Testament would make me think God was full of wrath and not at all loving. I started in Exodus (2nd book of the Bible), read the entire Old Testament (read Genesis last), and soon thereafter read the entire New Testament (Matthew- Revelation). During my reading of the OT, I surprisingly did not come away thinking God was 100% wrathful. In fact, I think the most significant aspect of God’s character that was revealed to me during my reading was how unfailing God’s love for His people was. I got to know a God who was steadfast in mercy, abounding in love, and quick to forgive His people who for generations kept making the same mistakes over and over again.

Additionally, reading the Bible brought a tremendous amount of peace into my life. It was almost as if a switch in my brain turned back on that allowed me to be at ease, rest, and stop stressing 24-7 about attempting to figure out my ‘life plan’. I can’t even give you an analogy to illustrate the peace I felt during the 5 months it took me to read the bible simply because I have never felt this peaceful before. The Bible gave me incredible wisdom, helped refocus my life, and understand what actually matters in this life and what doesn’t.

Now, let me clarify, the Bible isn’t going to have a verse in there that says “Yes (your name), I think you should take job A because it only has a 25 minute commute” or “No (your name), don’t apply to graduate school, I think you would be better suited programming computers” or “Move to San Diego! I give you 4 thumbs up!” , or “Yes, you getting laid off is a sign that you should switch careers to pursue your true dream of working in the FBI” , etc. The Bible was written by God for EVERYONE, regardless of age, sex, gender. It also was written so that it would transcend time. Anyone, anywhere, anytime, in any environment, can relate to it and come out with a significant amount of wisdom.

If you think you might be having a quarter-life crisis, I still think you should continue to take career personality tests, network, shadow people who have a job you are interested in, and apply for jobs online. However, I also strongly recommend reading the Bible. It’s much better than the alternatives: overeating (you’ll spend more money and get fat), getting wasted (you’re just avoiding dealing with problems), or working out (who needs to work out when you have the Shake Weight?) The Bible is not detrimental to your health. You can easily find one for free or at the very least under $11. So why not give it a shot? All the cool kids recommend it.

• “The Bible is the best book in the world. It contains more than all the libraries I have seen.” -John Adams
• “The Bible makes the best people in the world.” -Thomas Jefferson
• “The Bible is the Anchor of our liberties.” -Ulysses S. Grant
• “No educated man can afford to be ignorant of the Bible.” -Theodore Roosevelt
• “The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and the next.” -John Jay First Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
• “Education is useless without the Bible….God’s word, contained in the Bible, has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct.” -Noah Webster
• “The Bible is worth all the other books which have ever been printed.” -Patrick Henry
• “In the formative days of the Republic the directing influence the Bible exercised upon the fathers of the Nation is conspicuously evident.…Our enemies are guided by…unholy contempt of the human race. We are inspired by a faith that goes back through all the years to the first chapter of the Book of Genesis: “God created man in His own image.” “Franklin D. Roosevelt

I read the New International Version (NIV) Study Bible. The study Bible was fascinating because it has introductions before each book of the bible that tells author, date of writing, background, purpose, themes, theological significance etc. Also, most verses have footnotes to show other verses in the bible aka ‘cross references’ where similar content is discussed.

GET OUT!!!!! (Elaine Shove)

I think Wikipedia says it best "Elaine's signature move is expressing incredulity by giving people a vigorous two-handed shove, occasionally knocking her victim to the floor from the force. Sometimes yelling "Get out!" in shock. " I think you'll find this video to be very appropriate, as it does a good job illustrating what I think your reaction will be after you read this post.

As promised, today we are going to examine the question “Was Jesus more than just a prophet and miracle worker?” The answer is yes. He was God. We know this because he fulfilled 322 prophecies of the Messiah that were laid out in the Old Testament. There are also other reasons why we know Jesus was God, but that will be addressed in a later post.

In the Old Testament, there were ~322 predictions (prophecies) about the future Messiah of the Jewish people. The predictions are in numerous books of the Old Testament, with multiple authors, and across 1,000 years of time. They were very specific predictions and Jesus fulfilled every single one. Now you may be thinking “ Well Jesus just got lucky” , or “ Jesus just altered his actions and behavior to fit the prophecies”, or “Jesus’s disciples went back and edited the original Old Testament scripts to make Jesus fit them.” Let’s walk through each of these objections one at a time. After we do, I think you’ll see that all of these scenarios are as valid as John Edward’s claim that he didn’t father Rielle Hunter's baby girl.

#1 Jesus just got lucky.

Initially, when we hear that a person would have to fulfill 300+ items to be considered the Messiah, it doesn’t sound difficult at all. Time consuming? Yes. But impossible? No way. Although it does sound like an easy feat, when you actually calculate the statistical probability of 1 person fulfilling various prophecies, you will see that it would be nearly impossible for a human to achieve, even if this person was a walking for leaf clover or even if this person had an easy button at his disposal. Thankfully, the research and number crunching has been done for us. Real quick, let’s walk through professor Peter Stoner’s findings and calculations regarding messianic prophecy fulfillment.

Probability of 1 person fulfilling just 1 of 322 prophecies is 1 in 300,000.

This probability relates specifically to the prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Stoner calculated this by a simple division problem:

average population of Bethlehem (Micah time to present) = 2.8 * 10⁵ = ~300,000

average population of Earth (Micah time to present)

As you can see, Stoner found that the chance of 1 man being born in Bethlehem is 1 in 300,000.

Probability of 1 person fulfilling just 8 of 322 prophecies is 1 x10¹⁷.

Stoner used similar methods to calculate the probability of one person fulfilling 8 of 322 prophecies. The probability 1 x 10¹⁷ translates to 100,000,000,000,000,000. But how large is that? Stoner gave the following illustration as a means to comprehend the grandeur/ridiculousness of completing this by luck.

Imagine covering the entire state of Texas with silver dollars to a level of two feet deep. (You’d need 1 * 10¹⁷ coins). Choose one silver dollar and mark it with a pen. Stir coins. Find a blind man. Take him to Texas and ask him to select one silver dollar. The odds that he will select the coin are the same as one person fulfilling ONLY 8 of the 322 prophecies.

Probability of one person fulfilling 48 of 322 prophecies = 1 in 10¹⁵⁷

If you want an illustration for this number, you can here . The illustration involves electrons and when I tried to understand it almost made my head explode, so buyer beware.

Probability of one person fulfilling 322 of 322 prophecies = ???

Stoner didn’t do this calculation, but really is it necessary? We just saw how nearly impossible it was to fulfill only 8 (2.5% of total prophecies). Clearly, it would be impossible for anyone other than God to fulfill 8 prophecies, let alone all 322 prophecies.

Now, I know you may think this is “fuzzy math”, but it’s not. In fact, it’s verified by the American Scientific Affiliation:

“The manuscript for Science Speaks has been carefully reviewed by a committee of the American Scientific Affiliation members and by the Executive Council of the same group and has been found, in general, to be dependable and accurate in regard to the scientific material presented. The mathematical analysis included is based upon principles of probability which are thoroughly sound and Professor Stoner has applied these principles in a proper and convincing way.” ^“American Scientific Affiliation, H. Harold Hartzler, Ph.D., Secretary-Treasurer, Goshen College, Ind.

#2 Jesus simply did things to fulfill scripture.

Jesus, being an opportunist, could use his knowledge of the Old Testament to see what prophecies about the Messiah were made and then simply fulfill them. Hmm let's see.. ride into Jerusalem on a donkey.. check! (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:4-9) Present yourself as king of Jerusalem exactly 173,880 days from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem….check! (Daniel 9:25; Matthew 21:4-11) Minister in Galilee…check! (Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:12-16). Preach good news… check! (Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:14-21)…Perform miracles …..check! (Isaiah 35:5-6; Matthew 9:35).

Last time I checked, I didn’t know that any man could simply slather mud on a blind man’s face and restore his sight, or heal a cripple by instructing the cripple to pick up his mat and walk. However, let’s be extra conservative, and for argument sake assume Jesus could orchestrate some of the aforementioned prophecies. This argument that a man could align himself to the Messianic prophecies by his actions alone is heavily flawed when we look at ALL prophecies and realize that most of them were out of Jesus’s control. I’ve constructed the chart below to highlight some key prophecies.

For example, how could Jesus control the prophecies about his birth ? The OT says the Messiah would be born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem, and a descendent of Abraham, Judah, and David. Additionally, how could Jesus control the prophecies about his enemies? The OT says he will be betrayed by a friend, he will be sold for 30 pieces of silver, the silver will later be used to buy potters field, and people will gamble for his clothing? Think about it. Would an enemy ever do something if he knew that it would help the cause of his nemesis? Of course not!!!!!!! And finally, how could Jesus control the circumstances of his death? I’m pretty sure Jesus wasn’t saying “hey, go ahead, spit on me, beat me, and mock me. Oh and also can you make sure that I will die on the cross before the other criminals being crucified so that you won’t have to break my bones which is the standard normal operating procedure? Also, don’t forget, once I’m dead, you’ll need to pierce my side to fulfill the scriptures…. Mmm k?! “ .

You guys, Jesus is God. That’s the only way any of this could be explained. Please believe me or I love you.

#3 Jesus’s disciples went back and rewrote OT prophecies to make them fit to Jesus.

This is easily put to rest thanks to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls between 1947 and 1956. The scrolls, which were found in various caves along the Dead Sea, prove that the Old Testament text (which includes Messianic prophecies) were unaltered since the time they were written. How do we know this? The Dead Sea Scrolls contain fragments of every book of the Old Testament (except for Esther). Specifically, the Isaiah Scroll, which is virtually intact, is 1,000 years older than any previously known copy of Isaiah. Note: Isaiah contains a ton of Messianic prophecy. Furthermore, carbon 14, paleographic and scribal dating methods were used to determine the age of the scrolls. These tests showed Dead Sea Scrolls were written during the period from about 200 B.C. to 68 A.D. Many crucial biblical manuscripts (such as Psalm 22, Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 61) date to at least 100 B.C. For more in depth details about the Dead Sea Scrolls go here.

Mirror Mirror on the wall, which is the best smartphone of all?

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.