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How Do We Know There IS a GOD?
This is one of the most important questions anyone could ever ask! You may find as many answers to this question as there are people on this planet.
Every thing we see around us speaks to creation- not some random event. Could it be merely luck that we live on a planet that is not only so functional to its inhabitants- but that is a thing of beauty as well?
Two thousand years ago, a great man, the Apostle Paul, spoke about these things to a group of Greek Philosophers in Athens, Greece (Act 17:22-33). Paul had noticed that the people of Athens acknowledged that some higher order must have made everything, even though they did not grasp how it came to pass. Trying to please this higher order, the Greeks had created hundred of "gods" (e.g. Zeus, Apollos and others). They had created hundreds of temples to these gods and tried, in vain, to please them all.
In speaking to these learned men, this humble apostle said, "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:24-28)
We would urge you to think about the power of these statements.
First, God made the world. Think about it-- does it really make sense that all of this merely happened? Second, God does not dwell in temples or churches made by men. God, who made everything, dwells everywhere. Third, who are we to make images of God, or of Christ, and to worship them? Can the created create their creator?
Fourth, God gave life to us, and to every creature on earth. Our very essence, our souls, are obvious. God gave us life for a purpose, and that purpose is clearly spelled out in the Bible - in order that we can live with Him forever. (Isn't that logical, too?) Fifth, Paul reminds them that men are men, no matter where you go in the world. Japan, Russia, America, Africa, Australia-- we are all the same blood, the same DNA, the same people, sharing a common ancestry.
Sixth, Paul reminds them that God has set aside boundaries for men - physical and spiritual - so that they might stop being self-centered, and start looking for God instead. Seventh, Paul reminds them that this same God that they have been trying to understand has never been far from any of us - that it's not God that has moved away from men, but men that have moved away from God. This message resonated with many present that day, and will always resonate!
Finally, Paul reminds them that men and women owe their daily existence, their every waking hour - to the presence of God.
How did they take Paul's reasoning? The scripture records that the more prominent, simply rejected Paul the moment he began talking about the major proof that God gave - His sending His only Son, who died -- and was then raised from the dead! But not all rejected Paul - in fact, many turned to Christ that day as a result of what Paul had to say. Just as today, some will accept, and some will reject.
But we today have these same foundational proofs. God created us to think: to think about who we are, who HE is, and why He placed us here on earth.
Ask yourself, what is more logical: a big bang, where matter is created out of nothing, or is everything you see from God that created it all? If there was simply a "big bang" where all matter came together, where did that matter come from?
We leave you with one final proof to seriously consider, that is, the twelve men that followed Jesus around during his three-year ministry on earth, as described in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Who were these men, and why did they leave everything they owned and follow Jesus? They were fishermen, businessmen, bureaucrats, and otherwise everyday people like you and I. In John 6:68, the Bible records that Jesus asked these twelve men if they wanted to leave Him. Their answer, after spending three years with Jesus? Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'
Secular history goes on to record that each of these men, except for Judas (who betrayed Him), and John, who lived into old age, died a martyr's death. They were beaten, they were stoned, they were killed -- because they believed what they witnessed first-hand during the three years they walked with Christ.
We believe that is strong proof. What do you think? Let us know if you want to talk about it!
