The problem is if we truly believe this then there can be no absolutes. Think about the following: Killing might make a serial killer happy. Stealing might make a kleptomaniac happy. Squashing the small mom and pop stores might make the capitalist happy. But does the fact that these people might be happy make it right?

Ok the above are extreme situations. Most of us are not serial killers or kleptomaniacs or extremist capitalists. But what about things like loose talk making the gossiper happy? Or sexual conquests making the adulterer happy? Just because something may make us feel happy, it doesn’t mean it is right or good.

Sin can make us feel happy – hard drugs, casual sex, excessive booze, and so on. Let’s face it, if sin wasn’t fun and make us feel happy we probably wouldn’t do it. But according to God’s Word sin is wrong, and no matter how happy or great we might feel whilst sinning, sin is bad.

Listen to what God says in Galatians 5:19-21,

“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

Over the years I have committed many sins. But the more I follow God, the more I put my faith in Him. The more I read His Word and pray and seek Him, the more I find myself seeing sin for what it is – self gratification that goes against God’s laws and ways, and is often done at the expense, or to the detriment of others.

But there is a better way…

“…If we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John 1:7-9

Following God has never been about happiness. Joy, yes. But joy and happiness are not the same thing. The Apostle Paul, sitting in a prison cell with his back red raw from a severe beating, was probably not feeling happy. But he was still filled with joy enough to sing God’s praises (Acts 16:22-25).

A lot has been written on this subject and a lot of people have concluded that joy and happiness are one in the same, or that happiness is a part of joy and Joy and part of happiness. Other sources say that joy comes from within while happiness is triggered by external events. I like the latter. Happiness depends on what’s happening without, whereas joy depends on what’s happening within. Therefore, if the Spirit of God is within us then the joy we experience should come from Him.

I’m not saying we can’t know happiness, or be happy in this life, let’s face it we don’t need any more of those self-made, depressive, ‘woe-is-me’ Eeyore type martyrs in the church. Conversely, let’s not make the mistake of making happiness our number one goal in life. Instead let us pray that we can know the kind of inner joy that the Biblical prophets and disciples knew, the same kind of spiritual joy that comes from God… the type of joy that’s still inside of us even though life’s circumstances may dictate we should feel otherwise.

“Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.” Psalm 97:11-12

I have looked at why Christians give – Recently a friend turned me on to the idea that we give not because we have to or because it’s demanded, but we give because God gives. There is a recurring promise in Scripture that when we give, God gives back… see Malachi 3:10 and Luke 6:38. (I think the Bible is not just referring to money here but blessing of all kinds – physical and spiritual).

I have looked at why Christians pray – Jesus prayed so we pray. Everyone in Scripture prayed, so we pray. And down through the history of the church God’s people have prayed. And so we pray. There’s a great mystery to prayer in that God knows what we need before we ask and yet He still invites us to pray. God’s Word tells us that we are to pray all the time and with all kinds of requests. I don’t think prayer should ever devolve into a shopping list of our wants and desires, but we are invited to pray for our needs to be met and trust God that will come through for us. I think understanding prayer is to understand something of our God and King that we can get from nowhere else – that God simply desires to have a relationship and converse with us, and that is why we are invited to pray.

I have looked at why Christians read The Word – The Bible is not intended to be boring or a cure for insomnia. It’s the Living Word! The reason why Christians must read and study God’s Word is because it contains God’s heart – it reveals His passion, His will, and the extent of His love. If we want to know God there is no better place to start than in His Word. We are to read and study His Word because it’s the Truth… not a truth, but THE TRUTH! The Word is not simply God’s opinion, it’s His revealed truth! Also faith, love, and this life in general can be hard sometimes and God loves us enough to provide us with an ‘instruction manual’ for life that can help us in times of need, to comfort us in times of grief, to counsel us in times of confusion, to give clarity when life is unclear, and to give us joy in times of hardship.

I have looked at why Christians have faith – Faith is described in Scripture as ‘Being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’ Hebrews 11:1. Faith is the key to believing in the Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are told that in Hebrews 11:6, ‘without faith it is impossible to please God’. It is by faith we read the Word and believe. It is by faith that we pray and receive. It is by faith we give, knowing that if we are faithful in our giving God will bless our lives.

I have looked at so many things – why Christians go to church and fellowship, why Christians are to try not to sin, why Christians are to love, and so on. And I must say that it has been a great journey of discovery.

And yet, the biggest, most amazing discovery I have made (re-made) is something so very simple. That through it all Christians need Jesus. Not just some of Jesus, but all of Him – His birth, His life, all of His teachings and ways including all the hard ones, His death, and His resurrection. In short, we need Jesus. And without Jesus it is impossible to live the Christian life. Let’s face it without Jesus what’s the point of Christianity in the first place?

There is a beautiful song that has the lyrics, ‘Jesus be the center, be my source, be my life, Jesus.’ And it’s absolutely true. In a Christians life Jesus should be, no He needs to be at the absolute center of everything we do.

The other thing I am re-discovering is that what Jesus teaches is so very vital for us to read, study, and understand. In the words of Jesus we find out who He is, why He came, and why He loves us so much. In His words we learn about death and life, sin and grace, love and hope. The words of Jesus are powerful to say the least… there’s a reason why they are in red in some Bibles

And yet the truth of Jesus’ words are fast becoming more and more alien to us. In this day and age where many are trying to soften the Good News and make it more palatable, much of what Jesus taught and did is considered extremely ‘hardcore’. And some don’t like the idea of a ‘hardcore messiah’. The thing is, none can deny that Jesus was definitely unswerving, dedicated, and uncompromising, three definitions of what it means to be hardcore.

Lately it has been bought to my attention that some ‘Christians’ are questioning the relevance of some of what Jesus taught. There are those in our midst who say that teachings such as the Sermon of the Mount (SOTM) including the Lord’s Prayer, have no relevance for us today. The proponents of this line of thinking say that the SOTM was never intended for the New Covenant church, but Jesus’ Jewish audience.

Needless to say, I have HUGE problems with the idea that we can cherry pick through the words of Jesus. All of Jesus’ words are beautiful and filled with life, hope, and love. Consider who Jesus is… Hopefully to those who consider themselves Christian, He is God. Jesus is God. I believe that Jesus has always been God – The same yesterday, today and forever. To that end, I consider His words as recorded in Scripture, all of them including all of the so-called hard words, to be of intrinsic value for my faith walk.

And yet it seems some are gravitating to the idea of a softened, more palatable Jesus, even if it means ignoring some of what He said and taught. And why? Maybe it’s because these ‘Christians’ haven’t truly grasped what it means to be a Christian.

Jesus first. There can be no higher authority in a Christians life. Jesus be the center!

Secondly, unless we have wrestled through the texts of Scripture, especially the words of Christ Himself, I don’t think we can truly know God. Someone once told me that we learn more about God in the teachings we consider to be hard. And I agree. For the most part it is not through the nice, easy, comfortable times in my life when I have drawn closer to God, but through the struggles and hard times. So it is with His Word.

Thirdly, the truth is truth. And there are no truer words than those recorded in Scripture, especially the words spoken by Jesus. The whole of Scripture is therefore to be taken seriously and studied. It’s not up to us to cherry pick what we want to believe. Obviously, we are to study and seek God for interpretation, but let not avoid the hard teachings of Scripture because we don’t like what it’s saying. Some don’t like the idea of hell, but does that make hell any less real? Some don’t like the Ten Commandments, but does that make them any less relevant for our lives?

And finally, many in the church of the Western World have one thing on their lips and minds… ‘What’s in it for me?’ This is evident in the amount of books available in our Christian bookstores that are nothing more than ‘Christian’ self help guides. Some may consider me fundamental (I think hardcore is a better way of describing me) but I totally get goosebumps whenever I hear the song Look What You’ve Done by the South African CCM band Tree63.

“What can I do for You my Lord,
I want you to know my heart is Yours,
It’s not a question of what You can do for me,
What Can I do for You my Lord?”

God has given us everything in Jesus. When the world needed a Savior our Father in Heaven sent His Son. And Jesus taught, healed, cared, prophesied, rose the dead, and loved.

Why am I a Christian? Because of Jesus. I am a Christ follower. I will read, listen to, and heed everything Jesus taught, including the tough stuff. And I will teach others everything I have been taught and encourage them to obey Gods Word and all of His ways.

In Him
Chris

One of the things that symbolizes Easter for me is the Cross. The Cross, an implement of execution – possibly one of the cruelest ways a person could die. Why? Well, read on and you’ll begin to get a picture as to what crucifixion entailed.

So, what is crucifixion? A medical doctor provides this physical description:

“The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted man is quickly thrown backwards with his shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flex and movement. The cross is then lifted into place.

The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees flexed. The victim is now crucified. As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain–the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he places the full weight on the nail through his feet. Again he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the bones of his feet. As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward to breathe. Air can be drawn into the lungs but not exhaled. He fights to raise himself in order to get even one small breath. Finally carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen.

Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins: a deep, crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. It is now almost over–the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level–the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues–the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. He can feel the chill of death creeping through is tissues… Finally he can allow his body to die.

All this the Bible records with the simple words, “And they crucified Him.” (Mark 15:24). What wondrous love is this?”
(Adapted from C. Truman Davis, M.D. in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary Vol. 8.)

To think that Jesus, the Son of God, was willing to die upon a cross is just mind boggling. To think that he was willing to die this extremely painful death in my place is beyond words. Some say that he could do it because he was God. However, we often forget that he was fully human as well as fully God. He laughed like you and me. He cried like you and me. He felt pain like you and me.

A few years ago I was throwing rocks on the beach with my kids. Being the show off that I sometimes am, I grabbed the biggest rock I could lift and swung it backward to give me some momentum with which to launch the big rock. I didn’t get as far as throwing the rock because one of my fingers got caught between the rock and the tree trunk I was sitting on. The pain was indescribable. All of time and space stopped in that moment and it was if my entire being was focused on that one point, my freshly squashed finger.

Anyone who’s unsure as to what Jesus went through would do well to watch the movie The Passion of the Christ. This movie changed the way I viewed the crucifixion forever. Sometimes it’s hard to envision just what happened to Jesus by reading a handful of verses in the Bible. However, Mel Gibson took these few verses and made a movie that depicts some of what Jesus went through. Be warned, the movie is brutally graphic and filled with gore, but I have yet to meet someone who wasn’t affected by it.

And the same is said of the Cross itself. For when one looks upon the Cross and truly contemplates that a perfect, blameless, sinless man was crucified in their place, one cannot help but be forever changed. Especially when they realize that the One upon the Cross is God.

Pictures:
“Jesus carrying the cross” from the movie The Passion of the Christ copyright Icon Pictures.
Main picture from