Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering (Hebrews 13:3).
It was just before dawn on a cold winter morning on the farm. I had just shifted a line of irrigation pipes in a crop of potatoes. My bare feet were encased in congealed, cold, numbing mud. My last task before breakfast was to start the irrigation pump. When I tried to kick start the motorbike my foot slipped off the kick starter and my big toe struck the metal foot peg. I felt nothing at the time but when I arrived at the pump I looked down and noticed lots of blood oozing through the mud on my feet! On closer inspection, I discovered that I had a very deep gash under my big toe. It was a really nasty injury which was surprising! I had not even felt it because my foot was so numb from the cold.
It seems to me that just as I was oblivious to the serious damage done to my body, we can be unaware of the damage that is done daily to the body of Christ.
Every day followers of Jesus around the world are subjected to ridicule, persecution, abuse, torture, abduction and even death. In a recent statement, the International Society for Human Rights said that 80% of all religious freedom violations in the world are directed against Christians. Shockingly, it is estimated that every five minutes a follower of Jesus is put to death somewhere in the world simply because they have faith in Jesus. Some have gone as far as to say that the current levels of persecution against Christians are worse today than at any time in history!
As followers of Jesus, we are spiritually connected to all of the other followers of Jesus around the globe. The Bible describes this union as just like being part of a body (1Co 12:12).
Just as pain from an injury in one part of our physical bodies affects the rest of our body, so to the pain and suffering of one part of our spiritual body should affect the whole in some way. So why don’t we always feel their pain? Perhaps we do not feel the pain and suffering of our brothers and sisters around the world because we are numbed by complacency, indifference, apathy or just plain ignorance.
I did not know that there was a problem with my toe until I went looking and noticed some disturbing signs. There are a number of organizations that help us be aware of what is happening for many of our brothers and sisters around the world; organizations such as the Barnabas Fund, the Voice of the Martyrs, or The Open Doors.
When I found out that my foot was injured, I immediately took action to give aid to my injured member. The bible says that we should empathize with our suffering family to the point of actually considering ourselves to be in their shoes.
Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. (Hebrews 13:3).
The following websites can provide specific information about the scope and pain that the body that you and your church are a part of is experiencing worldwide and may assist in providing information as to how we can aid those parts of the body that are hurting.
If you have not already done so, I would encourage you to please make your churches aware of the plight of our brothers and sisters around the world and commit to praying regularly for them.
Lack of sleep is one of the most critical health issues for the homeless. An average of 225 homeless people seek safety and rest on the pews in the sanctuary of St. Boniface church in San Francisco every day, thanks to The Gubbio Project.
The Gubbio Project was co-founded in 2004 by community activists Shelly Roder and Father Louis Vitale as a non-denominational project of St. Boniface Neighborhood Center located in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood in response to the increasing numbers of homeless men and women in need of refuge from the streets.
“No questions are asked when our guests walk into the churches; in an effort to remove all barriers to entry, there are no sign-in sheets or intake forms. No one is ever turned away; all are welcomed, respected and treated with dignity,” the project’s website states.
While the church uses the front 1/3 of the sanctuary for church-goers to celebrate daily mass at 12:15 p.m., the Gubbio Project uses the back 2/3 of the sanctuary. “This sends a powerful message to our unhoused neighbors – they are in essence part of the community, not to be kicked out when those with homes come in to worship,” the non-profit organization says. “It also sends a message to those attending mass – the community includes the tired, the poor, those with mental health issues and those who are wet, cold and dirty.”
In addition to a place to rest, the church offers warm blankets, socks, hygiene kits, and massage services.
In the Bible we see a vision for equality between men and women, both male and female bearing together the image of God.
And the story of the Bible plays that out in amazing ways. Even in the Old Testament, you see a woman like Miriam leading a whole nation in worship. You see a woman like Deborah leading a nation politically, making judgments, making decisions, and even leading her country to war.
You see that women didn’t require a man to be a kind of mediator between them and God. They could pray directly to God. They didn’t need a husband or a father to have a relationship with God. Now sometimes people say, “Yeah, but come on, in Genesis alright, women and men both bear the image of God, but doesn’t the Bible call women sort of “helpers”. Isn’t that word there in Genesis?”
The word that is translated there “helper” is the word ezer and it’s not a term of domination or subjugation because God uses that name ezer to describe himself in his relationship to us as human beings. God is our ezer. He is our helper. It’s a powerful, strong, amazing, not sexist image.
And then we come to the New Testament. We see that Jesus directly resists the sexism that he sees and observes around him. There’s a story in John’s gospel in chapter four where a woman is talking to Jesus and the male disciples come and they see this. They see Jesus one on one with the woman. It says they’re amazed, they’re horrified, they’re staggered. What? To see him just talking one on one to a woman. Jesus considered women to be worthy of theological instruction.
It was a woman called Martha who was the recipient of one of the most amazing doctrinal statements of the New Testament: “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live and they will never die.” Jesus just brought that to Martha.
And then you see this amazing pattern emerge as you read the New Testament where women sort of have this front row seat, and the extraordinary role of witnessing the core elements of the Christian faith. It’s Mary who is the primary witness to the incarnation, the virgin birth. It’s the women at the cross who are the primary witnesses to the crucifixion, to the atonement, to the cross of Jesus. The men have all disappeared apart from John. It’s women who were there witnessing the cross and then, of course, it is women who were first at the resurrection.
When you read the New Testament you see in the early church that women like Phoebe led the church in Rome. Women like Junia were considered to be outstanding by Paul among the apostles.
There are three verses which some people use to say that women should be subjugated.
In 1 Corinthians it talks about women being silent in church. Now how do we understand that? If you read the whole letter you see that in the same letter, the same author tells women how to prophecy when they prophesy in church, which meant speak publicly, and it says to have your head covered. That meant just modesty in those days. Don’t be showing off your body or your hair while you prophesy. So clearly, it didn’t mean women should never speak and be silent. It’s speaking to a specific group of women who were disrupting the services.
Another verse talks about men being the head of women. The Greek word is kephale and sometimes that has been taken to mean dominance or subjugation, but if you read the verse in context you see that God is the head of Christ. So if it means hierarchy, that doesn’t make sense of the Trinity. So whatever that kephale word means in terms of a relationship between a man and a woman in a marriage, it doesn’t mean domination. In fact, as we read anything about God’s kingdom, it is primarily about service, about love, about laying down our lives for one another.
Then there’s another verse in 1 Timothy 2 that talks about women not teaching, not being permitted to teach or have authority. Now remember, we’ve already been taught by women like Martha, by women like Mary. We’ve already seen that women like Priscilla taught. We know that Phoebe taught. She was in authority in the Roman church.
Paul was writing that letter of 1 Timothy to the leader of the Ephesian church, Timothy. And the context there was the worship of the goddess Artemis where women dominated and subjugated men in that culture and it seems that as those women got converted it had crept into the Ephesian church. So Paul is helping Timothy to correct that specific pastoral situation. And most likely those women were saying, “Well Paul says that everyone has sinned in Adam, that we all sinned in Adam.” They just heard about this guy Adam who caused the world to sin and then the second Adam, Jesus, and Paul is saying, “Timothy, you need to explain to them that Eve was involved.” She actually sinned first.
I want to finish with a quote from one of my favourite apologists, Dorothy L. Sayers.
She writes this about Jesus:
“Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man like this Man – there never has been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them either as “The women, God help us!” or “The ladies, God bless them!”; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no axe to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unself-conscious. There is no act, no sermon, no parable in the whole Gospel that borrows its pungency from female perversity; nobody could possibly guess from the words and deeds of Jesus that there was anything “funny” about woman’s nature.”
The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended, The darkness falls at Thy behest; To Thee our morning hymns ascended, Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.
We thank Thee that Thy church, unsleeping, While earth rolls onward into light, Through all the world her watch is keeping, And rests not now by day or night.
As o’er each continent and island The dawn leads on another day The voice of prayer is never silent, Nor dies the strain of praise away.
The sun that bids us rest is waking Our brethren ‘neath the western sky, And hour by hour fresh lips are making Thy wondrous doings heard on high.
So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never, Like earth’s proud empires, pass away: Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever, Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.
1. You are invited to join us in your home praying each Saturday night and Sunday morning for your church services, its leaders, and for God to move powerfully among us all.
2. This is my invitation for you to be included among our informal groups of people committed to worship and prayer for at least an hour a week, in addition to church services. You can contact me on geoffwaugh2@gmail.com to be included anonymously. Some people give at least one hour a day to worship and prayer. You may be doing that anyway so you may like to be included in this praying friends group. I love to play worship CDs or YouTube Mix worship as listed below.
Prayer and worship constantly rise to God globally, and we just add ours to encourage one another. I like to write a brief quote from Scripture daily in my diary in red biro, mostly truth impressed on me by God’s Spirit. It became inspiring journal entries for over 50 years. It’s easy to read through different translations of the New Testament in less than a year, one chapter a day. Or you could read each Gospel in a month, one chapter a day.
There are 260 chapters in the New Testament, so it’s easy to cover that in a year. Each Gospel has less than 30 chapters so it’s easy to read a Gospel in a month, a chapter a day.
There are 929 chapters in the Old Testament. This gives a total of 1189 chapters in the Bible. Psalm 117, the shortest chapter, is also the middle chapter of the Bible, being the 595th Chapter.
You could listen to background worship music for an hour or more as you worship and pray – in your chair or even in bed, with CDs and YouTube. YouTube video “Mix” gives you similar recordings – often a surprise.
Here are beautiful worship recordings you could play while you work and pray:
The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26 – Aaronic Blessing)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. (2 Corinthians 13:14)
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. (Jude 24-25)
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! “For who has known themind of theLord? Orwho has become His counselor?” Orwho has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?” For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
(Romans 11:33-36)
Bible Prayers
A few Bible prayers you can pray as you read.
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Yourname. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earthas it is in heaven. Give us this day ourdaily bread. Andforgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, Butdeliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13)
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Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name. (1 Chronicles 29:11-13)
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Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just [a]when You speak, And blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. 16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise. (Psalm 51:1-17)
*
Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:
‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against theLordand against His Christ.’ …
Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus. (Acts 4:24-30; Psalm 2:1-2)
Every morning, lean your arms awhile Upon the windowsill of heaven, And gaze upon your Lord. Then, with the vision in your heart, Turn strong to meet your day.
At Herrnhut, Zinzendorf visited all the adult members of the deeply divided community. He drew up a covenant calling upon them ‘to seek out and emphasize the points in which they agreed’ rather than stressing their differences. On 12 May 1727 they all signed an agreement to dedicate their lives, as he dedicated his, to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Moravian revival of 1727 was thus preceded and then sustained by extraordinary praying. A spirit of grace, unity and supplications grew among them.
On 16 July the Count poured out his soul in a prayer accompanied with a flood of tears. This prayer produced an extraordinary effect. The whole community began praying as never before.
On 22 July many of the community covenanted together on their own accord to meet often to pour out their hearts in prayer and hymns.
On 5 August the Count spent the whole night in prayer with about twelve or fourteen others following a large meeting for prayer at midnight where great emotion prevailed.
On Sunday, 10 August, Pastor Rothe, while leading the service at Herrnhut, was overwhelmed by the power of the Lord about noon. He sank down into the dust before God. So did the whole congregation. They continued till midnight in prayer and singing, weeping and praying.
On Wednesday, 13 August, the Holy Spirit was poured out on them all. Their prayers were answered in ways far beyond anyone’s expectations. Many of them decided to set aside certain times for continued earnest prayer.
On 26 August, twenty-four men and twenty-four women covenanted together to continue praying in intervals of one hour each, day and night, each hour allocated by lots to different people.
On 27 August, this new regulation began. Others joined the intercessors and the number involved increased to seventy-seven. They all carefully observed the hour which had been appointed for them. The intercessors had a weekly meeting where prayer needs were given to them.
The children, also touched powerfully by God, began a similar plan among themselves. Those who heard their infant supplications were deeply moved. The children’s prayers and supplications had a powerful effect on the whole community.
That astonishing prayer meeting beginning in 1727 went on for one hundred years. It was unique. Known as the Hourly Intercession, it involved relays of men and women in prayer without ceasing made to God. That prayer also led to action, especially evangelism. More than one hundred missionaries left that village community in the next twenty-five years, all constantly supported in prayer.
I asked my colleague Melissa Haigh, Events Coordinator for the National Day of Prayer & Fasting, to share some stories about the power of prayer on video.
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Melissa chose to share the amazing story of the Pinnacle Pocket Revival, which occurred primarily among the Aboriginal people and the Kanakas in a remote part of the Atherton Tablelands, North Queensland in the 1930’s. Interestingly the Pinnacle Pocket Revival had a direct connection to the 1904 Welsh Revival.
My wife and I have personally met and worked with many of those Christian leaders who were saved either during that revival period at Pinnacle Pocket, or were saved in the years that followed. Many of those Aboriginal Christian leaders saw thousands come to Christ, many churches were planted and many extraordinary miracles occurred under their ministry.
I can personally vouch for the effect of this amazing revival that occurred in Pinnacle Pocket because I worked closely with Indigenous Ps Peter Morgan who came to Christ directly as a result of the Pinnacle Pocket Revival. See John Blackett’s in-depth videoto get the full story. Peter Morgan was the leader of the Jezariah Band and a father in the faith to both Melissa and myself.
Aboriginal Elder and Leader Ps Peter Morgan was deeply touched through the heritage of the Pinnacle Pocket Revival. Peter Morgan preached the gospel all over Australia and even in Parliament House. He saw many signs and wonders as he preached the good news of Christ’s love and prayed for people. In his ministry, mainly in remote aboriginal communities in northern Australia, he saw six people raised from the dead.
You should not be surprised to hear this because Jesus raised several people from the dead as did Paul the Apostle (Acts 20: 7-12). Jesus said in John 14:12, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father”.
My wife and I and our musical family have ministered several times at Pinnacle Pocket with Aboriginal Ps Eddie Turpin who is the still the pastor at this amazing but small influential church. You can see a photo of Ps Eddie Turpin in the above video.
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The purpose of telling the Pinnacle Pocket Revival story is not to live in the past, but to affirm the future and the truth of Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday and forever”. The man of God prayed in Habakkuk 3:2, “I have heard all about you, LORD. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in your anger, remember your mercy”.
Share good news – Share this and any page freely. Over 100,000 blog views annually. Share this link on your media, eg Facebook, Instagram, and Emails 5 verses to pray when you want to know God’s will
Do you ever lie awake at night thinking, I don’t know what to do?
You have a decision to make, a problem to solve, or a path to pursue and you’ve prayed, oh how you’ve prayed but you don’t feel like God is giving you clear direction.
So, you stare at the ceiling, weigh your options, plan to do more research in the morning, and pray again…
Father, I love you and I want to glorify you with my life. This choice is hard. There are so many possibilities and I have no idea what Your will for me is in the situation. Please help me. Guide me by Your Spirit. In Jesus name, Amen.
And you try again, to get some rest.
Whew, I’ve been there. I’m guessing you’ve been there, too.
Because my most visited post is 5 Ways to Know if Something is from God which leads me to believe I’m not the only one who struggles sometimes with the specifics of God’s will.
So, I went digging to find verses that might help us know God’s “always” will . . . when choices are hard and life is confusing.
5 Verses to Pray when You Want to Know God’s Will
Proverbs 3:5–6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.
Father, forgive me. I’m quick to ask my friends for advice and quicker to worry; yet, I’m slow to turn to Your Word or come to You in prayer. Maybe trusting with all my heart is the problem. I’m sorry. I want to surrender myself completely and trust that Your will for me always comes from Your love. Thank you for using this time to remind me just how very much I need You. And I do need You, Lord. Help me, by the power of Your Spirit. Amen.
1 Timothy 2:3–4
This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
Father, Your will for me is to know and love Your Son, Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Giver of Life eternal . . . Your gift so awesome and wonderful. I’m humbled that Your will for me above all else is that I will cherish Your gift of an eternity with You through Jesus. In light of forever, my current circumstances seem less monumental. Please by Your grace, help me keep an eternal perspective as I trust You with the details of my life. In Jesus name, Amen.
Romans 12:1–2
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God
because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—
the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
This is hard, Father. The world is always in my face and it’s tempting to just want to fit in. You tell me not to follow the behavior and customs of this world. It’s tough. I see friendships end and people hurt because they choose to stand on the truth of Your Word. Father, I need Your transforming power to change the way I think and act. Your Word says You will show me Your good, pleasing, and perfect will and you change my heart and mind and make me a new person. I love that! Please continue to work in me and draw me close.
I love You, Lord and want to honor You with my life. Amen.
Hebrews 10:10
For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
Father, You make me holy through Jesus, setting me apart and showing me Your truth. Thank you! I am overwhelmed by your grace, mercy, and love. Humbled that You care so much about Your children that You willingly sacrificed Yourself for us. Forgive me, Father, for ever foolishly believing I’m doing a good job enough to be declared righteous on my own. I can’t. I need You. I need Jesus. I need Your Spirit. Help me surrender to You and live under the glorious grace You so generously pour into my life. Thank you, Amen.
Romans 8:27
And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.
And Father, when I get it wrong . . . which I do much of the time, I’m so very thankful for Your Spirit who pleads for me. Who knows Your will and knows exactly what I need. Thank you. You will never leave me alone to wander in the dark. By Your grace poured out through Your Spirit, You fill me, provide for me, care for me, comfort me, and guide me. Thank you, Lord. Your loving presence meets my every need and with Your help, I surrender to Your will for me. In Jesus name. Amen.
May my prayer each day be to humbly surrender to God’s will trusting His will is best for my forever and for my today.
What’s your favorite verse to pray when you need to know God’s will?
Do you ever wonder whether you are following God’s will or plan for you?
Do you worry that you might be headed in the wrong direction?
Do you wish God would write His will for your day on your to-do list?
Yep, me too!
Since his ordination, Rev has received calls to serve at various ministries and I’ve had to decide whether I should go back to teaching full-time, part-time or if I should stay at home.
And work is just the beginning, isn’t it?
How many children should we have? Where should our children go to school or should we homeschool? Where should we live? Is that the right house for us? The right church family? When should I retire?
What should I do?
The questions go on and on.
Sometimes it was easy to tell where God wants us, other times are harder.
Life decisions can cause some of the greatest stress in our lives.
Ask yourself, “Does this bless my relationship with my family? Does it make it possible for me to serve others? What will my attitude be if I do this? Etc.”
Give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Romans 6:13
3. Agree with Scripture
Does it agree with Scripture?
God gave us His Word to show us His will. You and I can trust the counsel of the Bible.
You never have to ask God if it’s His will for you to embezzle from your employer or dish the latest dirty detail about your neighbor.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 2 Timothy 3:16
4. Be Willing to Wait
Be patient. God’s will is worth the wait. Trust His timing.
If something is God’s will, He will guide you while you wait and bring it to pass. Don’t rush it – when the timing is right God will let you know.
Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:14
5. Trust God to accomplish His will in your life
God will fulfill His promises and accomplish His will for you.
I’ll admit, I’ve gotten impatient at times. I want a clear answer and I want it now! But I’ve learned I can watch and wait . . . God will do what He says He will do, and He will accomplish His will.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20
Not everything in life is clear. There will be times when you will do all the above and still be uncertain about God’s direction for you.
That’s okay.
You can trust that if God wants something specific in your life He will guide you to it.
If you’ve gone through the 5 step process and still have no clear answer . . . just keep moving. Make a choice. The good news is if you are trusting and glorifying God with your life you can move ahead confidently.
By Adrian Plass, The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass. Canterbury, 1987, pp. 102-103:
‘He was a nuisance then,’ said Braddock, ‘and he’s a nuisance now. He won’t let you work out cosy little systems and call ‘em “churches”, and he won’t let you get away with having four meetings a week to discuss what you’re going to do in next week’s meetings. If that’s what you want, you’ll find Jesus a real pain in the neck. He says awkward, difficult things, like “Love your enemies”, and “Invite the people who really need it to dinner”, and “Love God before anything else”. He’s terrible like that. They couldn’t pin him down then, and you can’t pin him down now, but I’ll tell you something … if you want to pay the cost, there’s no one else worth following, and nothing else worth doing!’
By Larry Lea in C. Peter Wagner, Territorial Spirits. Sovereign World, 1991, p. 84:
Jesus was controversial. Not just a little. Not just occasionally. He was thoroughly, persistently controversial throughout most of His ministry.
Folks today who think they will follow Jesus, say the things He said, and do the things He did without encountering opposition are in for a rude awakening. Jesus was controversial in His day, and we who express His life and His teachings will be controversial today as well. Jesus even said so. He said to His apostles, ‘If they treat the master of the house as if he’s the devil, how do you think they’ll treat you?’
By John Stott, Christ the Controversialist. Tyndale, 1970, p. 49:
The popular image of Christ as ‘gentle Jesus, meek and mild’ simply will not do. It is a false image. To be sure, He was full of love, compassion and tenderness. But He was also uninhibited in exposing error and denouncing sin, especially hypocrisy. Christ was a controversialist. The Evangelists portray Him as constantly debating with the leaders of contemporary Judaism.
By Pierre Berton, The Comfortable Pew. Hodder & Stoughton, 1965, pp. 90, 94:
In the beginning, Christianity was anything but a respectable creed. Its founder moved among the outcasts of society – among the prostitutes, racial minorities, political traitors, misfits, vagrants, and thieves; among “the hungry, the naked, the homeless and the prisoner.” He himself was considered a religious heretic and a traitor to his nation, an enemy of the status quo, a man who broke the Sabbath, a dangerous radical, a disturber and a malcontent who fought the establishment and whose constant companions were the sort of people who are to be found in the skid-row areas of the big cities. When he stood trial, there was an element of truth in the charge under which he was found guilty: “He stirs up the people.”
It has been said, with truth (and by a Christian minister), that none of the twelve apostles would feel at home today in a modern church. Nor is it likely that a modern church would welcome the kind of people with whom its founder associated…
By Philip Yancey. 1995. The Jesus I Never Knew. Sydney: Strand, pp. 22-23:
What would it have been like to hang on the edges of the crowd? How would I have responded to this man? Would I have invited him over for dinner like Zacchaeus? Turned away in sadness, like the rich young ruler? Betrayed him, like Judas and Peter?
Jesus, I found, bore little resemblance to the figure I had met in Sunday school, and was remarkably unlike the person I had studied in Bible college. For one thing, he was far less tame. In my prior image, I realized, Jesus’ personality matched that of a Star Trek Vulcan: he remained calm, cool, and collected as he strode like a robot among excitable human beings on spaceship earth. That is not what I found portrayed in the Gospels and in the better films. Other people affected Jesus deeply: obstinacy frustrated him, self-righteousness infuriated him, simple faith thrilled him. Indeed, he seemed more emotional and spontaneous than the average person, not less. More passionate, not less.
The more I studied Jesus, the more difficult it became to pigeonhole him. He said little about the Roman occupation, the main topic of conversation among his countrymen, and yet he took up a whip to drive petty profiteers from the Jewish temple. He urged obedience to the Mosaic law while acquiring the reputation as a lawbreaker. He could be stabbed by sympathy for a stranger, yet turn on his best friend with the flinty rebuke, “Get behind me, Satan!” He had uncompromising views on rich men and loose women, yet both types enjoyed his company.
His extravagant claims about himself kept him at the centre of controversy, but when he did something truly miraculous he tended to hush it up. As Waiter Wink has said, if Jesus had never lived, we would not have been able to invent him.
Two words one could never think of applying to the Jesus of the Gospels: boring and predictable. How is it, then, that the church has tamed such a character – has, in Dorothy Sayers’ words, “very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified Him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies”?
By Dr James Allan Francis, 1926. One Solitary Life:
He was born in an obscure village
The child of a peasant woman
He grew up in another obscure village
Where He worked in a carpenter shop
Until He was thirty when public opinion turned against Him.
He never wrote a book
He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never travelled more than two hundred miles
From the place where he was born
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but Himself
He was only thirty three
His friends ran away
One of them denied Him
He was turned over to his enemies
And went through the mockery of a trial
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves
While dying, His executioners gambled for His clothing
The only property He had on earth
When He was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend
Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of mankind’s progress
All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life.”
He was born in the humblest of settings, yet Heaven above was filled with the songs of angels.
His birthplace was a cattle shed, yet a star brought the rich and noble from thousands of miles away to worship him.
His birth was contrary to the laws of life and his death was contrary to the laws of death, yet no miracle is greater than his birth, his life, his death, his resurrection and his teachings.
He had no cornfields or fisheries, yet he spread a table for 5,000 and had bread and fish to spare.
He never stood on expensive carpeting, yet he walked on the waters and they supported him.
His crucifixion was the crime of crimes, yet from God’s perspective no less a price could have made possible our redemption. When he died, few mourned his passing, yet God hung a black cape over the sun. Those who crucified him did not tremble at what they’d done, yet the earth shook under them.
Sin never touched him. Corruption could not get hold of his body. The soil that was reddened with his blood could not claim his dust.
For over three years he preached the Gospel. He wrote no book, he had no headquarters and he built no organisation.
Yet two thousand years later he’s the central figure of human history, the perpetual theme of all preaching, the pivot around which the ages revolve, and the only redeemer of the human race.
At this season of celebration and gift-giving, let’s join the wise men who ‘fell down and worshipped him’. Let’s remember, Christmas is about – Christ!
By Lyle C. Rollings III – prose poem (2007):
The Greatest Man in History… Jesus: had no servants, yet they called Him Master. Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher. Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer. He had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. He did not live in a castle, yet they called Him Lord, He ruled no nations, yet they called Him King, committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today. I feel honoured to serve such a Leader who loves us!
Once there was a perfect world. The first inhabitants lived naked, innocent and fearless. They enjoyed friendship without pain, living in harmony with nature and the Presence. But they decided to live a kind of selfie existence. Paradise Lost. Their new reality, knowledge without wisdom, paralysed them with fear. Until a Middle East invasion so powerful it split the darkness. 3 kilograms of soft tissue. The Presence travelled through the birth canal of an early teen. Christmas celebrates the Hope of the world.
It is impossible that Christianity is not God’s revelation of truth. Simply impossible. The math proves it beyond question. It doesn’t take faith to believe that one plus one equals two, and it doesn’t take faith to identify the religion which has mathematical certainty in its corner.
God didn’t have to give us mathematical proof of His existence, but He did it anyway. God didn’t have to give us proof of Christianity, but He chose to do so. And God didn’t have to give us proof of His love for us, but that is exactly what He did. The proof is irrefutable.
I live in Nebraska where I serve as a pastor. Imagine someone covering this entire state in silver dollars 6 feet deep. Then mark one coin and bury it anywhere across the state. Next, blindfold a man and have him choose one coin. The odds that he would choose the marked coin are the same odds of getting 8 prophecies all fulfilled in one man. God gave us about 300 fulfilled prophecies in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Here are 8 of those 300 prophecies:
(1) The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4-6)
(2) The Messiah will be a descendant of Jacob. (Numbers 24:17; Matthew 1:2)
(3) The Messiah will enter Jerusalem as a king riding on a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9; Mark 11:4-11)
(4) The Messiah will be betrayed by a friend. (Psalm 41:9; Luke 22:47,48)
(5) The Messiah’s betrayal money will be used to purchase a potter’s field. (Zechariah 11:13; Matthew 27:9,10)
(6) The Messiah will be spat upon and struck. (Isaiah 50:6; Matthew 26:67)
(7) The Messiah’s hands and feet will be pierced. (Psalm 22:16; John 20:25-27)
(8) Soldiers will gamble for the Messiah’s garments. (Psalm 22:18; Luke 23:34)
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There is no way one man could have fulfilled all 8 of these prophecies unless God was making it happen. Who else controls history? Who else could give us such irrefutable proof for Christianity? The odds are one in one hundred quadrillion, or 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.
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This mathematical proof was calculated by Professor Peter Stoner. He was chairman of the mathematics and astronomy departments at Pasadena City College until 1953. He then went to Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, where he served as chairman of the science division.
You don’t have to be a mathematics professor to see that this evidence is irrefutable. No one would pick the marked coin under those conditions. No one but God could have given us these biblical prophecies, and then brought them to fulfillment right before our eyes. It is impossible that Christianity is false. The math proves it, and the Man behind the math rose from the dead, just as it had been foretold.
It doesn’t take faith to see how the Bible could only have come from God. It does take faith, however, to accept Jesus as your Savior and to believe in God’s promise of eternal life. God has done everything to make this way open to you. If you choose to reject it in spite of the overwhelming evidence and in spite of God’s love for you, you will be walking away from an open door to paradise.
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
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They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”
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Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. (Luke 24:27, 32, 44-45)
I want to finish with a quote from one of my favourite apologists, Dorothy L. Sayers. 
