I recently returned from a teaching retreat at The Cove in Asheville, NC. During one of the morning devotions the Lord brought to mind a talk I heard Andy Stanley share on one of his podcasts. The subject was the difference between the undeniable and the unexplainable. I began to share this with the group and it seemed to strike a chord and the subject came up several times during the retreat. I thought I would see if it did the same with the readers of my blog.
We seem to struggle when unbelievers and doubters challenge our faith. They usually do so in the area of the unexplainable. How do you explain the story in the Old Testament where God made the sun stand still? How about bad things happening to good people, or the holocaust, how does a good God allow these things to happen? Can God make a rock so big that He cannot lift it? The questions often come in the realm of science. Did dinosaurs and man live at the same time in the same place? If light from the nearest star takes longer to get to the earth than creationists say the star has existed, then how is it we can see the light at all?
As a man of faith I can deal with those questions. I have come to grips with most of the skeptics issues after years of growing in my faith and the study of the Bible. But rarely can I win an argument with a skeptic. The arguments become emotional rather than rational. I have found that I can capture the attention of my unbelieving audience with the undeniable facts of my personal faith. The cannot attack my personal testimony. When I came to believe in Christ He turned my world around. I lost the desire for the things that once dominated my life. I became a better person. I could sleep at night. It wasn't after counseling, or after I read a book or became better educated. I was changed because I had an encounter with almighty God. That they cannot deny.
This has always been the case. When the man was asked to give an account of how Jesus could be the Messiah or a sinner he simply said, "this one thing I know, I once was blind, but now I see!" (John 9:25) It was his personal healing that could not be denied. When Jesus spoke of eternal life and life beyond the grave, His skeptics denied His teaching. But when He arose from the grave He crushed their arguments. In the Book of Revelation, the saints during the Tribulation defeated Satan with "the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony!" (Rev. 12:11)
The word of your testimony is the argument for faith in Christ that no one can deny. There is no argument that can stand against it. If we are going to change the world around us, it is not because we prepared a better brochure or won a debate. We are going to turn things around because we are letting the light of Christ burn brightly in our lives!
Recent Comments