"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher...You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher."
C.S. Lewis, from his book, “Mere Christianity”
Matthew 16:13-17
Jesus is with His disciples in a place called Caesarea Philippi, about 120 miles (195 km) north of Jerusalem. He turns to His disciples and asks them (v.13), “Who do people say that I am?” “John the Baptist”, “Elijah”, “Jeremiah”, “one of the prophets.” The answers pop forth like kernels of popcorn heating over a stove. Then Jesus makes the question personal (v.15): “Who do you say that I am?” It is no longer about what other people think; now it is personal. Every man must decide for himself.
Every man, not only present then with Jesus, but everyman who has ever lived on earth must also decide for himself. In fact, THIS IS the most important question anyone will ever face: “who do you think Jesus is?”
Jesus picked an interesting place to ask this penetrating, all-encompassing, question. Caesarea Philippi was a city known for its worship of pagan gods, particularly a god named Baal. It would be today’s equivalent to Jesus standing outside the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake or an extravagant Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia and asking, “Who do you say that I am?”
Peter’s response to Jesus’ personal inquiry was quick and unhesitating (v.16): “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” “Christ” as used in those days was the Greek form of the Hebrew word, “Messiah.” “Son of the living God” implies a nature superior to that of human; it implies deity, God. Peter throws in an interesting adjective when he says, living God. Jesus is not a dead god like those worshiped in Caesarea Philippi; rather Peter states that Jesus is the living God, the real God, the God Who Is.
How does Jesus respond? Note that Jesus does not rebuke Peter and say, “I am not God; I am merely a prophet.” Rather, Jesus receives Peter’s statement of worship and even blesses Peter for his proclamation.
At the trial of Jesus (Matthew 26:63), the Jewish high priest asks Jesus point blank, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Living God?” Curiously, this is the same title given by Peter in Matthew 16. Again, Jesus does not flinch; Jesus does not deny it. Jesus affirms His own status as Messiah, His own title as Son of God, His own deity, even though it will result in His crucifixion.
We cannot merely say Jesus was just a good teacher or a religious prophet. Jesus never gave us that option. Jesus claimed to be God in a human body, the 2nd person of the Godhead. As C.S. Lewis frames it, Jesus is either Lord, a liar or a lunatic. Personally, I believe He proved Himself as Lord by rising from the dead. We must either accept Jesus on His terms as God or we must reject Jesus completely. One option leads to the forgiveness of sins, friendship with God and eternal life; the other option leads to eternal separation from God.
Who do YOU say Jesus is?
Budapest
Buda Castle, Budapest
Monday, August 30, 2010
Two fun videos
While in the USA this summer, Savannah needed her wisdom teeth pulled. The camera captures her one request, repeated over and over, while waking up from anesthesia.
While not for everyone, this video starts with a $20 investment in some groceries and what happens when they become targets at a rifle range. There is some great footage here shot by my son of a watermelon exploding on impact from a rifle bullet. This video is also subtitled, "What happens when someone messes with one of my daughters without permission."
Monday, August 02, 2010
"We thought God had forgotten Kosovo."
The last week of July I teamed up with our campus ministry in Kosovo and Albania for an English language camp. Both Kosovo and Albania are ethnically Muslim and war-torn yet they are open to the gospel and friendly to Americans. The above quote is a response I heard when conversation turned to Jesus at camp.
Many of their names I could not pronounced so I relied on nicknames. This is my class starting back left: Me, Luan, Taulant "Mr. T.", Xhelal "J-Lo", Denis "Hopper", Ardit "DT", Genci. The front row: Dianna, Kaltrina, Alketa "Katie" and Flora.
That week was one of the funnest weeks of ministry I have had in years. There were difficult parts, most certainly, but connecting with the students in my class made it a fantastic week. Mine was the advanced level of 4 different classes which led to good conversations with these students, both inside and outside the classroom.
I had in-depth gospel conservations with just about everyone in my class. When I met with "DT" (pictured here with his girlfriend Ela) he told me, "I believe that Jesus was the Son of God. What should I do next?" I was floored with how the Holy Spirit had prepared his heart. DT trusted Christ with me that very evening! Another student in my class also trusted Christ that week.
In the evenings on the beach our class had "discussion group" when we read from the Bible and discussed what we read. Bible readings for the week including Genesis 1 ("do you believe there is a God who created the universe?"), John 1, Romans 5 and Matthew 27-28, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Although most of the students were not Christ-followers and most were at least ethnically Muslim, the conversation and questions led me to believe these students were attentive to what the Spirit wanted to show them.
Two law students in my class, Kaltrina and Flora, both had birthdays during camp week and we gave each a UGA baseball hat. They are both from Muslim homes yet they do not fit the American stereotype of young Muslims.
Jennie and Ron Rush from our church in Atlanta (Johnson Ferry Baptist Church) traveled over to help teach at the camp. The students respect and look up to older people, contrary to many western societies, and they loved Jennie and Ron. Here they are pictured with Izmiri.
Dave Stubblefield (middle), on staff at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, also joined us for the week. Dave taught one of the classes and did a great job connecting with the students. Here he is with Denis (left) and Xhelal "J-Lo."
One day we had a discussion about different countries. Here are my notes about what my class said they liked (left panel) and didn't like (right panel) about America. I kept the in-depth discussion to spiritual things even though it was interesting to see how this culture viewed the rest of the world.
Need to use the bathroom while at school? May I introduce you to the "squatty potty"! Just put your feet on either side of that hole and the rest is self-explanatory. Also, they turned off the electricity to the school for the summer so our classrooms were without any electrical power, including fans and lights.
From a distance, the beach where we stayed was new and beautiful. Yet there was trash everywhere. Cows scavenged thru the trash on the beach and wandering pigs rummaged thru the garbage along side the roads.
Our flight leaving Albania departed at 5am for Budapest. Since we were picked up at the hotel at 2:30 am for the 1 1/2 hour drive to the airport, I just didn't go to bed that final night and stayed up with the students. One of the blessings of a 5am flight was that I was able to catch the sunrise out my airplane window.
Thank you for your prayers and giving so we can be ambassadors for Christ in far-away places. The world is hurting and needs what God has entrusted to the American church.
Here is one last glimpse into our week...
Many of their names I could not pronounced so I relied on nicknames. This is my class starting back left: Me, Luan, Taulant "Mr. T.", Xhelal "J-Lo", Denis "Hopper", Ardit "DT", Genci. The front row: Dianna, Kaltrina, Alketa "Katie" and Flora.
That week was one of the funnest weeks of ministry I have had in years. There were difficult parts, most certainly, but connecting with the students in my class made it a fantastic week. Mine was the advanced level of 4 different classes which led to good conversations with these students, both inside and outside the classroom.
I had in-depth gospel conservations with just about everyone in my class. When I met with "DT" (pictured here with his girlfriend Ela) he told me, "I believe that Jesus was the Son of God. What should I do next?" I was floored with how the Holy Spirit had prepared his heart. DT trusted Christ with me that very evening! Another student in my class also trusted Christ that week.
In the evenings on the beach our class had "discussion group" when we read from the Bible and discussed what we read. Bible readings for the week including Genesis 1 ("do you believe there is a God who created the universe?"), John 1, Romans 5 and Matthew 27-28, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Although most of the students were not Christ-followers and most were at least ethnically Muslim, the conversation and questions led me to believe these students were attentive to what the Spirit wanted to show them.
Two law students in my class, Kaltrina and Flora, both had birthdays during camp week and we gave each a UGA baseball hat. They are both from Muslim homes yet they do not fit the American stereotype of young Muslims.
Jennie and Ron Rush from our church in Atlanta (Johnson Ferry Baptist Church) traveled over to help teach at the camp. The students respect and look up to older people, contrary to many western societies, and they loved Jennie and Ron. Here they are pictured with Izmiri.
Dave Stubblefield (middle), on staff at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, also joined us for the week. Dave taught one of the classes and did a great job connecting with the students. Here he is with Denis (left) and Xhelal "J-Lo."
One day we had a discussion about different countries. Here are my notes about what my class said they liked (left panel) and didn't like (right panel) about America. I kept the in-depth discussion to spiritual things even though it was interesting to see how this culture viewed the rest of the world.
Need to use the bathroom while at school? May I introduce you to the "squatty potty"! Just put your feet on either side of that hole and the rest is self-explanatory. Also, they turned off the electricity to the school for the summer so our classrooms were without any electrical power, including fans and lights.
From a distance, the beach where we stayed was new and beautiful. Yet there was trash everywhere. Cows scavenged thru the trash on the beach and wandering pigs rummaged thru the garbage along side the roads.
Our flight leaving Albania departed at 5am for Budapest. Since we were picked up at the hotel at 2:30 am for the 1 1/2 hour drive to the airport, I just didn't go to bed that final night and stayed up with the students. One of the blessings of a 5am flight was that I was able to catch the sunrise out my airplane window.
Thank you for your prayers and giving so we can be ambassadors for Christ in far-away places. The world is hurting and needs what God has entrusted to the American church.
Here is one last glimpse into our week...
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