Why Choose God?

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve

the Lord.”- Joshua 4:15 NIV

Do you ever sit back, relax and wonder about things that don’t make sense to you.  Sometimes, I think about things like, “Why are trees green instead of purple.”  That would make the world a happier place, I think.  My wife, Barb, would certainly be happy about a color change.  I get that it is a chemical thing but why don’t those chemicals when combined turn purple instead of green.  Or why does asphalt have to be black.  Why can’t the components when combined make white roads.  That would surely help with the heat when we are riding in the summer.  Who came up with the idea of a guitar.  Somebody had to first look at a piece of wood and say, “hey, if I stretch something out and use my fingers, I can make a pleasant sound when I strum those six strings in a certain pattern.”  If you have heard me play, you know there are notes that should not be pressed at the same time, so there if order to music.  Why does a minor chord sound somber while a major chord is bright and happy.  How did it start that we cry when we are sad and laugh when we are happy?  Seems to me that someone had to start the idea.  Why don’t we play songs like “Pop goes the weasel” at funerals.  That would certainly make everyone in the front row pay attention to see what happens.  How about why do we have turn signals on cars in Florida if no one is going to use them? 

There are mysteries in life, right? Yet there is order isn’t there? There are things we believe are wrong.  Murder is wrong. Stealing is wrong. Hitting others is wrong.  Verbally attacking another person is wrong. There seems to be a definition of good and bad which most people can comprehend.  Where does our moral compass come from.  Did morality just randomly occur and get spread through humankind like an undetected virus.  I recently watched a video of a mother chastising her child for bullying a disabled child.  That is great parenting, I believe, but watching the video made me wonder what made her realize that a vulnerable person deserves protection?  Most people would recognize abuse as an act of immoral behavior.  But again, where does this come from?  Why is there a standard that even a criminal can see that is wrong.  He/she may not always avoid the behavior, but they certainly know what is right and wrong or there would be no attempt to conceal or hide the criminal activity.  So, while knowing may not change their behavior, built into every person is the ability to see wrong from right behavior.

I ask these questions not to confuse but simply challenge us to see what is before our eyes. Moral absolutism holds that certain actions are inherently right or wrong, regardless of context, while moral relativism asserts that right and wrong depend on cultural or situational factors.  Well, I absolutely believe that internal to human design is the spark of God that defines morality.  Unfortunately, it coexists with sin and therefore a battle over behavior occurs.  

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 7:15-18 (CEV), “In fact, I don't understand why I act the way I do. I don't do what I know is right. I do the things I hate. Although I don't do what I know is right, I agree that the Law is good. So, I am not the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them. I know that my selfish desires won't let me do anything that is good. Even when I want to do right, I cannot.” 

Paul also tells us in Romans 7:25 (CEV) “Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me. So, with my mind I serve the Law of God, although my selfish desires make me serve the law of sin.” 

The design of this world lends itself to order and not chaos.  Believing the world's design came from chaos rather than divine intent requires more faith in "nothing" than I have in God.   Nowhere in this world can we show that life comes from nothing.  Life comes from life in every single living object on this planet.  Trees come from trees, ants come from ants, amoeba’s come amoeba’s, horses come from horses and humans come humans.  Horses do not produce sheep and pigs do not produce humans.  I would bet someone is saying right now, “I know donkeys do produce some men or women,” but that argument is for another blog.  For those that believe in abiogenesis, which is that humans today come from a combination of amino acids that combined to form life, what a miserable way to look at life.  If that theory is true, there would be no genetic pre-disposal to morality or right and wrong.  It would be simply a person who develops from nothing and therefore has nothing built into their being, including behavioral determinants.  Scripture tells us we were made in the image of God. (Genisis 1:26-27), (James 3:9), (Psalms 8:4-6) (Psalm 139:14) and (Romans 2:15).  We have value in God's eyes.  Theoretical physics is a great read but there is nothing that supports it.   Someone will say that I use the scripture to support my view.  That is correct and I believe there is evidence to support the bible as an accurate and honest look at man and God.

The unity of the biblical message is reason to believe the Bible. The Bible was written over a period of approximately 1,550 years, with at least 40 human writers, most of whom did not know each other and were from varying backgrounds (king, fisherman, tax collector, shepherd, etc.). The Bible was written in various environments (desert, prison, royal court, etc.). Three different languages were used to write the Bible, and, despite covering controversial subjects, it carries one harmonious message. The circumstances surrounding the writing of the Bible would seem to guarantee its fallibility, and yet, the message from Genesis to Revelation is uncannily consistent.

The Bible shows a consistent accuracy. The Bible should not be confused with a science textbook, but that does not mean that the Bible does not speak to issues that are scientific in nature. The water cycle was described in Scripture centuries before it was a scientific discovery. In certain cases, science and the Bible seemingly are contradictory.  However,  when science advances, many scientific theories have proved wrong and the Bible proved right. For example, it used to be standard medical practice to bleed patients as a cure for illness. Many died from severe blood loss.    Now medical professionals know that bloodletting as a cure for most diseases is counterproductive. The Bible always taught that “the life of a creature is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11).

The history of the Bible has been substantiated. Skeptics used to criticize the Bible for its mention of the Hittite people (e.g., 2 Kings 7:6). The lack of any archaeological evidence to support the existence of Hittite culture was often cited as a rebuttal against scripture. In 1876 archaeologists discovered evidence of the vast Hittite nation and since that date there has been more evidence substantiated by archaeological evidence from the days of kings to the Pool at Bethsaida mentioned in John 5. 

Certain prophecies came to pass fairly quickly—for instance, Abraham and Sarah having a son, Peter denying Jesus three times, or Paul bearing witness for Jesus in Rome.  Other predictions were fulfilled hundreds of years later. It would be improbable for one person to fulfil 300 messianic prophecies without a greater power at work.  Specific prophecies like Jesus’ birthplace, activities, manner of death, and resurrection demonstrate the preternatural accuracy of Scripture supported by historians of the time.

In the end, the Bible is a proven document and when coupled with the design of this world shows us there is evidence of order and structure that cannot be ignored. Most importantly the truths of the bible extend into the life of men and women.  That means that when the Bible says the Hittite nation existed, then we can believe that there were Hittites, and when the Bible teaches that “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23) and the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), there is reason to accept that conclusion as well.

Accepting the Bible means accepting the whole of the scripture including Romans 5:8 which says, “But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.”   And John 3:16 which says, “God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.”

In the long run, this blog, nor any of us, can convince someone to accept Christ as Savior.  Evidence can be given, reason used to try and influence but ultimately it comes down to each of us examining our heart and deciding what we will believe.  For every argument there is a counter argument and every statement a rebuttal.  We can explain, cajole and pray that every person can see the truth of our faith but ultimately this challenge is every person’s decision and we must sound this as an alarm to everyone we know, love and encounter.

Psalms 26:2- ‘Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart,” and Psalms 139:23- “Look deep into my heart, God, and find out everything I am thinking.”