How do I know?

I know so many people who "know" that Jesus was just a man who lived around the first century. I know so many people who "know" that Jesus did not even exist. I know so many people who “know” that there is no God. Yet I know that Jesus Christ was and is God. Although how do I know?

Honestly I know Jesus is real through many reasons. First and foremost he is my best friend and I have a relationship with him. Yes, I did just say that. Let there be no mistake, I believe in Jesus and he is my best friend and I talk to him through prayer.

Let me ask the questions for you… “Does he talk back?”

If you are asking if I ever heard the audible voice of God, then no I have not. Although I felt his presence, his Holy Spirit consume and fill me and if you ever experience that, there is no denying God.

“But Zaq, that is just what you believe and if he is your “best friend” why doesn’t he talk back? I mean the bible is filled with examples of God talking directly to his people.”

He does not need too for most people. You see God has given most of the advice we could ever need in his word, the bible. I know it sounds like a stock Christian answer but it is true.

“Zaq…God cannot possible give you all of the worlds wisdom in one book. Let’s say you are faced with a tough decision, like you are given a job offer. How do you know what God wants you to do?”

Well I would pray about. I would ask God to guide me in what to do, give me sign or just help me this one. Typically if God does not want me to do something, I will have a bad feeling about it or there will be a series of bad events leading to whatever. When God does want me to pursue something I usually get filled with the Holy Spirit. For example when I made the decision to become a minister I just flat out asked God, “Do you want me to work for you, to be a minister?” I was completely and totally consumed by the Holy Spirit. I cannot remember a time where I was more filled other than when I said yes to Jesus.

“Well that is all well and good but what about science?”

What about science? When you can scientifically prove the existence of someone 2000 years ago let me know! You cannot, this is not a matter of science. It is history and in history we have to rely on the records of that current time.

“Exactly! We can’t rely on the so called Gospels because they were written by the hand of man!”

In that case nothing is real. All of history is a fabrication because it was written by the hand of man. In fact most of what we know of ancient history was written by men who did not even live in the same time period of said events. For example, nearly everything we know about Alexander the Great was written by Plutarch some 400 years after the death of Alexander the Great. Although the New Testament was written by people who either knew Jesus or by people who knew people who knew Jesus.

“That is true but the writers of the New Testament were friends of Jesus, like you said and could have had an objective.”

Well first off, Paul who wrote almost half of the New Testament was someone who original hated what Christ stood for. He was one of the most feared persecutors of early Christians because he was so ruthless. Paul (then Saul) killed many Christians for their beliefs. As a non-believer I can see where you could say the disciples would have had an objective but have looked at how they died? All of the disciples, excluding John who was exiled from Rome, were murdered at the hands of Roman Officials because they would not renounce their faith. If someone was going to kill me and I knew that what they were going to kill me over was not true, I would have told them the truth. Yet what makes this even more amazing is the fact that they were all murdered separately, miles away from each other. One of them could have easily said, “Yo, it is all fake…” and their life would have been spared. The other disciples would not have found out and the one who came “true” could have been long gone. When the other disciples would have found out that one could have had a new life, in a new country. Although this did not happen, they all died because they believed Jesus was God!

“Hmmmmm, that is pretty impressive but ______________”

You fill in the blank. This blog was not made to answer all your questions but to inspire more. If you have any questions about Jesus or God, ask me. If you do not want to leave a comment because you do not want other people to see what you are saying, e-mail me. My e-mail is phillipsz@my.wccc.edu. I will do my best to answer your questions and if I cannot I will find someone who can. If your question is how do I become a Christian?

All you have to do is say…

Lord Jesus, I know that you are God and you died for my sins on the cross. I may be a sinner but today I invite you into my life to make me new.

If you said that with true and honest heart give me a shout because I would like to welcome you to my family.