The Problem of dogs... –Ray Comfort <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

"I've heard and read of babies and toddlers who died. Had they broken the ten commandments? I had a dog who died. Did it break the ten commandments? And then of course there's the whole problem that if we die because of our sins, and Jesus paid the price for our sins, and, in fact, undertakers have not been put out of business at all, because death continues to devour the entire human race, Somebody forgot to collect Jesus' payment, which speaks ill of the efficiency of the divine economy..." Steven J. It makes sense that you come to this conclusion. This is because of your idolatry. The god you don't believe in doesn't exist. You have an erroneous image of God. This was the problem with the religious leaders at the time of Christ. Think of how Jesus answered them when they asked Him a question about God and the afterlife. They created a scenario about a woman who had seven husbands, each one dying and going to Heaven to wait for his wife. Their big stumper was "In the resurrection, whose wife shall she be?" They thought it was a real "Gotcha!" It wasn't. Jesus told them that they were in great error, because they neither understood the Scriptures, nor the power of God. And that's your problem. First, to understand the Scriptures you need the Holy Spirit, who comes via the new birth (see John 3:1-5). If you obey the gospel and repent and trust in Jesus, God will give you the Holy Spirit, who will open the eyes of your understanding and lead you into all truth. Without Him, you are like a man who tries to read a book with the light off. Second, you don't understand the power of God. As an atheist, set aside your belief for a moment and think about all the massive stars, the beautiful birds, DNA, etc. Don't skip over the thought. Think about how big those stars are, how they float in space, have their own governing laws, etc. Think of all the colorful birds--the structure of their feathers, their amazing fast-moving eyes, their instincts, their little beating hearts, their ability to fly, etc. Think of the incredible structure of DNA and how it works. If God made those things, then He must be breath-takingly, mind-blowingly (I'm making up words here), awesomely powerful. Then consider the trillions of other utterly amazing things in creation. Hold that thought, and then consider the fact that if He can do all that, He can handle your minor problem of toddlers and dogs.

Charming Little Pup...

I have to admit, this is not a cute puppy. There's nothing in the dog that draws out affection. His teeth are yellow and crooked. Half of them are missing. His skin is wrinkly, and his ears look like the dried pig's ears they give to dogs to chew on. He is balding, and what is left of his hair is thin and grey. His eyes are not bright and wide, his nose is dry and crusty, and he's sitting with his ugly foot in his ugly mouth. Nope, he's about as cute as a wart...and it looks like he's got a few of those pushing through too. Such is our state before God. There's nothing in us that it likeable and that draws His affection toward us (see Isaiah 64:6). We are selfish, hateful, blasphemous, self-righteous, ungrateful, wicked, and even repulsive. The best of us is one ugly puppy. The Bible teaches that nothing in us is desirable and worthy of His love. That comes solely because He is love and because of His mercy. Look at this verse: "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life" (Romans 5:10, NKJV).Not only were we not attractive to God, but when we were blasphemous enemies of God, Christ died for us (see Romans 5:8). This is hugely consoling for the Christian because it means that if I live to get old, when my hair grows thin, when my ears become long and floppy, my teeth become yellow and fall out, my skin gets wrinkly, my eyes fail, and my mind goes--when I'm just one ugly puppy, He is still the lover of my soul. His love isn't dependent on me. It is dependent on Him. How cool is that!

Black or Green?

Sue and I were watching football on TV recently, when I froze the picture on a spectator, and told her to look at his strange green shirt. When she said that the shirt looked black to her, I had the thought that she might be going colorblind. It was clearly green. Knowing that women are usually right, I stood up and walked across to look at the TV from her perspective. Sure enough, she was right. The shirt was black. But when I sat back down in my seat, the shirt turned back to green. We couldn't both be right. Or could we?As I looked closely at the TV screen, I noticed that light from a window that was behind me was reflecting exactly on the man's shirt. The light, or the absence of it, changed the color of the shirt, depending on your perspective.From an atheist's perspective, Christianity looks like a black and lifeless stump. Christians really stink. But Christians see Christendom as a huge, beautiful, green, fruit bearing tree. They can't both be right. Or can they? Look at how the Bible addresses the two differing perspectives: "Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume..." (2 Corinthians 2:15-17 (NLT).So who is right? Do Christians stink of "a dreadful smell of death and doom," or are we a really "sweet" smelling people? It all depends on the light you have. If you are godless, you have no light at all. But when you come to the light, you will not only see biblical Christianity in a completely different light, you will understand why you so scorned it, and why you had such contempt for those who love God. It is for the same reason criminals scorn the police, and hold them in contempt.
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