How do we know there is a God?

Is there clear evidence for God?

God's works of creation and providence plainly make it clear that there is a God. The masterful design found in all of creation requires a Mastermind Designer, and providence requires a Provider. However, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit testify more effectively by revealing God as He must be known for salvation in the Scriptures.

(see Job chpt. 38 & 39; Psa 19; John 16:8-14, 17:8; 1 Cor. 2:10; click here to see a selection of verses).

Knowing Christ By a Personal Revelation

I thought these questions I transcribed from a gospel tract were good for some healthy self-examination:

He said to them, "But who do you say I am?" And Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah: for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Matt 16:15-17).

The most important question we can be asked is this: Do we in reality know the living Christ? It is not: Are we religious? Are we members of local churches? Do we read the Bible? We might be very religious, yet not know Christ in the heart. We may be very loyal to our local church, we may study the Bible, we may "say our prayers," or even love to read religious books and study doctrine. But these soul searching questions still remain - Have we ever seen ourselves as lost, vile sinners before a Holy God? Have we ever been stripped of our self-righteousness and laid low in the dust of humility? Have we ever by faith perceived the glorious person of the Lord Jesus Christ, all because of a direct and personal revelation to us by God the Holy Spirit?

When Christ is made known by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, he is made known as the very well-spring of blessing to the soul. If we know Jesus no more than the world does, or than those who are intellectuals among men, then we do not have the real blessing. If we only know the Lord of glory by what we have found out by reading or talking to others, without the help of the Father's drawing power, then it is not the blessing of true salvation. If we do not know more of Christ than what flesh and blood can reveal, we are nothing more than Pharisees or Sadducees - religious, but lost without God - separatists or rationalists, but not recipients of revelation and regeneration. May the eternal Jehovah reveal to us our true and undone condition before Him!

Among the vast religious throngs of this earth there are to be found true people of God. Those chosen of the Father are also redeemed by the Son, and made alive by the Spirit. The elect of God know by deep acknowledgment of their sin that they are blind and ignorant by nature. The true children of God have been made humble; they confess their total dependence on the grace and mercy of Christ, and place their entire confidence and faith in his credible righteousness and shed blood. In the Lord Jesus Christ alone do "we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (Eph 1:7).

It is only when the Lord himself deals with us, taking us in his powerful hand, that we are truly taught who Christ is. We may have heard about Jesus, but we only know him as "the Son of the living God" when illuminated and made alive by God the Spirit. Jesus came forth from God, and the power to know Christ comes forth from God also. If we have Christ, we have eternal life! If we do not have Christ, we have nothing but dead, lifeless, counterfeit religion. Our blessed Master said, "No man can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draw him" (John 6:44). May divine power draw you this day! May we see Christ in all his beauty! May we come to worship and serve only him. Christ is to be seen, but in the light which he himself supplies. May that light shine on you even now, and to our glorious God be all the glory!

(Adapted from "Do You Know Christ By Personal Revelation" by W. F. Bell. Available from Chapel Library.)

Heth

Well, I'm continuing to memorize a stanza a day. I did review all of them today by quickly reading over what I've covered in Psalm 119 so far. I thought that if I can memorize a stanza a day, then after I have memorized them all, I can go back and re-memorize what I forgot along the way. So far, I am blessed to be able to reflect on God's precious truth through all of this.

Here is my first try for Heth:

Heth
The LORD is my portion;
I promise to keep your words.
I entreat your favor with my whole heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise.
When I think on my ways,
I turn my feet to your testimonies;
I make haste and do not delay
to keep your commandments.
Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
I will remember your law.
At midnight I rise to praise you,
because of your righteous rules.
The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love;
teach me your statutes!

In case you didn't check it, I had to correct some mistakes:

Heth
The LORD is my portion;
I promise to keep your words.
I entreat your favor with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise.
When I think on my ways,
I turn my feet to your testimonies;
I hasten and do not delay
to keep your commandments.
Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
I will not forget your law.
I rise at midnight to praise you,
because of your righteous rules.
I am a companion of those who fear you,
of all who keep your precepts.
The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love;
teach me your statutes!

(Only minor mistakes this time, nothing too serious :)

Zayin

Another wonderful day of evangelism. Bob, the lead evangelist in Pittsburgh, who trained me in street evangelism, came to York today to witness at the York fair. He met me during lunch and we hit the streets together for about 45 minutes. A lot of people are still trying to be good to get to heaven. They think that if they can overcome sin in their lives, such as smoking, lust, pride, etc. that they will be acceptable for heaven, when in reality, they haven't yet come to the end of the law. Romans 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." The question always remains, "Have you come to the end of the law yet?" My answer was, yes, because I could not overcome my own sin, my pride, my lust, my anger, my self-righteousness. Jesus would have condemned me for all these, but He became the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes! So, my testimony to people today was, "I needed faith to believe Him. When I came to the end of myself, I called out to the Lord, and He gave me the faith to trust Him as my righteousness. Now I am at the end of law, no more trying to do it anymore, because Christ has done it already for me, by putting to death my sin in His own body on the cross and by rising from the dead, He now has become my righteousness and my life. I have been crucified with Him, and now He lives in me." I could go on, but it is summed up in 3 words: "All of Grace." Matt joined us tonight, and we had a blessed time ministering to the poor of this world. Praise God for His righteousness and for His love!

Zayin
Remember your word to your servant,
in which you have made me hope.
This is my comfort in my affliction,
that your promise gives me life.
The insolent utterly deride me,
but I do not turn away from your law.
When I remember your rules from of old,
I take comfort, O LORD.
Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
who forsake your law.
Your statutes have been my songs
in the house of my sojourning.
I remember your name in the night, O LORD,
and keep your law.
This blessing has fallen to me,
that I have kept your precepts.

Waw

I spent this evening with my buddy, Matt, and we walked around the block in York Square where we met about half a dozen people open to the gospel. We talked to a few of them from more than ten to twenty minutes each, while two experienced slight conviction. I was preaching mainly from Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The response to grace was really profound, "I never heard this before!" I explained that we are all guilty of sin and therefore worthy of eternal judgment as a result of Adam's sin, but that Christ crucified (and resurrected) is the answer. Salvation is by the grace of God through faith in Christ apart from any works that we perform. I do not doubt that God may perhaps grant repentance and an eternal change in at least one of those we met tonight. LORD, please make it so! Amen.

Waw
Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD;
your salvation according to your promise;
then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me,
for I trust in your word.
And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
for my hope is in your rules.
I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever,
and I shall walk in a wide place,
for I have sought your precepts.
I also will speak of your testimonies before kings
and shall not be put to shame;
for I find my delight in your commandments,
which I love.
I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.

There, I did it, now I can go to bed!

A prayer from my early days of being transformed:

This is not Scripture, but I was thinking of how Psalm 119 had influenced me so much in the past, as I was just beginning to understand God's Word back in 2003 or so. The bridge photo is where I walked every day during my first year in Pittsburgh, often praying as I passed over the river. I was 19 years old then, and I actually found verses from Psalm 119 written on one of my old notebook pages (I may scan it later and stick it here). Here is one of my prayers I found written waaaay back then:

O Lord, how majestic is your name?
No one knows my heart like you,
they don't believe me when I speak.
When I was in trouble, I called out to you,
and you answered me with your love.
The world is full of confusion,
though you perform miracles right in front of them,
they do not understand.
Through faith you came to me,
through hope you healed me.
But through your great love, you saved me.
How can I bear to disobey you?
Surely your will guides me,
and my heart rejoices along your path.
When you shone your light on me,
I saw my sins for what they were.
Who can see in the darkness without a light?
As surely as light contrasts dark,
righteousness contrasts sin.
Through your righteousness, I saw
the light of life.
Such a great thing cannot be hidden.
To speak of your great love,
is to speak all I know.

[There was no date on this page, but I think I was being influenced by certain Psalms when I wrote this?]

He

Today was tough for memorizing. My brain was beginning to freeze up; I had to hit restart more than once! Perhaps it was the fatigue from a busy weekend, or that I have been memorizing 8 verses [1 stanza] from Psalm 119 a day for the past five days in a row. It may soon be time for slowing down and focusing on reviewing what I've burnt into my memory space to keep it organized and clean. I was able to recite all five stanza's today, but not without resetting once in a while and a little help from my Bible to correct my mistakes. I can literally fly thru Alef, then Beth I have to slow down and think, then Gimel and Daleth need some polishing, and finally He is to the point where I can write it down without looking [this time including the footnote alternate reading at the end of verse 33].

He
Teach me, O LORD, in the way of your statutes;
and I will keep it to the end [or I will keep it as my reward].
Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
Lead me in the way of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
Incline my heart to your testimonies,
and not to selfish gain!
Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
and give me life in your ways.
Confirm to your servant your promise,
that you may be feared.
Turn away the reproach that I dread,
for your rules are good.
Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your righteousness give me life!

Daleth

More Psalm memorizing today. I had a blessed day of worship; listening to the sermon on Galatians 1:1-4 at church; studying Genesis chapter 3; eating with fellow believers; visiting my brother in Christ Herman Lee and looking at his artwork; eating with my Bible study group and teaching them of the amazing grace and love of God through Jesus Christ. Please pray for them, that they will all see the amazing hope that God gives by His promise through Christ. I really understand better, after being a teacher, that not many should presume to be teachers, we stumble in many ways with our tongue. I love teaching, just not my tongue that sometimes gives the wrong answer to some questions, so now I need to remind myself to correct it as soon as I can. There is so much joy in serving such precious people, and I love helping them understand God's Holy Word the Bible.

I read John 10 tonight for my devotion, and it struck me in a new light how that Jesus was telling the Jewish leaders that He was God by saying, "I am the door... I am the good Shepherd... I and the Father are one." They understood him when they said, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God." Even though Jesus claimed, "I am the Son of God," He was not denying His deity, but was affirming His divine relationship with His Father. He ended by saying, "If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." Then in the next chapter, He goes and raises a man from the dead!... Wow, bow down and worship this Lord.

Again, I'm only at the 32nd verse of Psalm 119:

Daleth
My soul clings to the dust;
give me life according to your word!
When I told of my ways, you answered me;
teach me your statutes!
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word!
Put false ways far from me
and graciously teach me your laws!
I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I set your rules before me.
I cling to your testimonies;
let me not be put to shame!
I will run in the way of your commandments
when you enlarge my heart!

What a day... Gimel

I woke up late this morning feeling not so great. I was up late studying Spanish and reading the Scriptures last night. A morning dose of insulin and a glass of water quickly relieved my problem. Before I even had my first cup of coffee I was up and preparing to study Genesis chapter three. I have been listening to MacArthur sermons on Genesis three all week as it was read to me by my mac at work, and I have been listening to Genesis read by Stephen Johnston all week (I listened to all of it twice). All I can say is, "Wow!" and I can say it backwards, too, "woW!" :P

Today, I really looked into the first seven verses of Genesis 3, and was amazed at what I was seeing, and with connections it was making to other verses in the Bible (the picture is me studying last week with cheerios). I will have the study up on my other blog after tomorrow. At around 3 p.m., I helped my sister and mom pick out a good senior class photo for my sister, then I headed off in the pouring rain for Philadelphia. On the way to Philadelphia, I memorized the third stanza in Psalm 119, praying along the way. Since it was raining, the brothers and I decided not to go to our regular spot for street evangelism, so we headed down to the 30th Street Station in center city. We've been there before, and it is always a blessing. Well, I can't go into all the details, but we had a great time and left rejoicing in God's magnificent grace. I spoke to a Spanish Christian man from Puerto Rico, a drug addict from Ocean City (I think that's where he said), a homeless woman from Sierra Leone (W. Africa, her name was Christiana), and also brief interaction with a few other people. We didn't stay as long as usual, but went back to Pastor Mark's house to pray. Our prayer time was filled with rejoicing and requests to God, and we also prayed for souls in the hurricane storm down in the South, as well as for the police who are walking the streets now in Philadelphia (dangerous job). It was really wonderful to have fellowship with a bunch of "ordinary" men, who are fired up for reaching lost people in our cities. One brother, a former drug addict, alcoholic and homeless, is preparing to start Bible college soon (amazing to see the change in his life, as well as the same change in one of his old buddies - amazing). Others are just so much of a blessing to know.

When I left, it wasn't raining and the sky was clear. I came home, and behold, the stars where covering the face of the sky! One of our prayers tonight was a thanksgiving for God's faithfulness to His servant Abraham, that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens and the sand on the seashore. My reason for sharing all this, is for encouragement to any who read, and to give away a little info into my life, showing that I'm not just a "smart kid" (I always despised those kids while growing up, and now I am one, but for a good reason - to help others know the gospel). As one man said to me last Saturday, "I'm a real person," I answered, "I'm a real person, too" (even though I've never been stabbed or been in jail, or joined a muslim cult - I understood the guy's point and wasn't disrespecting him). So my life is richly blessed to be spent with the greatest people in the world, the poor, lowly, downcast and nobodies of this earth, who by the grace of our precious Lord Jesus will one day be numbered with those stars.

Here is where I'm at in Psalm 119, I practiced it again on my way home:

Gimel
Deal bountifully with your servant,
that I may live and keep your word.
Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law!
I am a sojourner in the earth;
hide not your commandments from me!
My soul is consumed with longing
for your rules at all times.
You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
who wander from your commandments.
Take away from me scorn, and contempt,
for I have kept your testimonies.
Even though princes sit and plot against me,
your servant will meditate on your statutes.
Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors.

Psalm 119 Aleph and Beth

As I said in my last post, I'm memorizing the longest Psalm in the Bible, which is also my favorite. I want to memorize it, because much of it is a prayer that I often need to pray for myself. I feel helpless, just like the Psalmist, when I desire to keep God's commands, so that is why I pray, "Incline my heart to your Word," "Teach me," and "Give me understanding!" My drive to work is a lengthy one, so that is a good time to repeat Scripture out loud in my car.

I hope this will encourage any of my readers to memorize Scripture also, or please share with me what you have been memorizing and why. How do you pray when you desire to do what God has said? Do you honestly desire to keep God's statutes and commands? If so, why? Does it seem impossible to do, let alone even have the desire? Perhaps by reading along with me, you will be encouraged to pray Psalm 119, and to think a little deeper into why it was written.

Here is where I am so far (without looking):

Psalm 119 (ESV)

Aleph

Blessed are those whose way is blameless,

who walk in the law of the LORD!

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,

who seek him with their whole heart,

who also do no wrong,

but walk in his ways!

You have commanded your precepts

to be kept diligently.

Oh that my ways may be steadfast

in keeping your statutes!

Then I shall not be put to shame,

having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.

I will praise you with an upright heart,

when I learn your righteous rules.

I will keep your statutes;

do not utterly forsake me!

Beth
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you,
let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes!
With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.
In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.

This Book Shall Not Depart from Your Mouth

Joshuah 1:8-9, God said to Joshuah:
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

People sometimes ask me, "How do you remember so much of what the Bible says?" My answer is, first of all, that God has put the desire to know His Word in my heart. But that desire started when I first began to actually read the Bible. That is where it starts. Often people who do not know much about the Bible say to me, "I read it, but I just don't understand it." I simply encourage them by saying, "Just keep reading it. Even if you don't understand it all at once, if you keep reading, as time goes on it will begin to all make sense." That is my experience, and I hope that others will do the same by the grace of God. Nevertheless, this does not mean we don't need sincere preachers and teachers, especially God as our teacher (John 6:45), but I am saying that it all begins by simply reading.

So today, I was motivated by the verse above to memorize Psalm 119. Today was the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which is "Aleph." The Psalm was written as an acrostic poem, which means that the poem is alphabetical, with each stanza beginning with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It has 22 stanzas for the 22 letters. It is the longest Psalm in the Bible, and it is all about God's precious Word!

I decided to write out what I memorize to help me keep it in my head, so here it is in the English Standard Version (without looking):

Psalm 119
Aleph
Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD!
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways!
You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
Oh that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments!
I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous rules.
I will keep your statutes,
do not utterly forsake me!

Persecuted Christians in India

Christians in India are being brutally murdered, threatened and persecuted by those who reject the gospel. Please read about it and pray for their protection and safety, especially that their faith may be strong.

Please read Rita's post at her blog, New Human Life,

and you can read Team Pyro's report at their blog, Pyromaniacs.

"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have."
(Philippians 1:27-30 ESV).