Would you want to know how you would die?

Weird question but interesting.

I don’t know if I would like to know how I would die.

Not when but how you would die.

It’s like knowing when the Lions are going to win the Super Bowl.

They will win it this year but past this year, who knows.

If I find out they wouldn’t win another Super Bowl till 2035, would I pay attention?

Would the thrill be gone?

That’s football, this is death.

I don’t think I would want to know how I would die.

Yet, this is what Jesus tells Peter in the final section of John.

Chapter 21:18-19…

“I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.  Then he said to him, “Follow Me.”

Stretch out your hand was another way of saying, crucifixion.

If you don’t know what crucifixion is (According to Wikipedia)….

Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead. The length of time required to reach death could range from hours to days depending on method, the victim's health, and the environment. Death could result from any combination of causes, including blood loss resulting in hypovolemic shock, sepsis following infection due to the wounds caused by the nails or by the scourging that sometimes preceded the crucifixion, or eventual dehydration.

I couldn’t imagine being told this was how I was going to die.

Yet this is what Jesus told Peter and Peter still followed him.

He believed in Christ and his mission.

This trumped the painful death he knew he would know receive.

Would you still follow a person if he said you are going to die a painful death by following me?

Peter did.

How can I believe Jesus was real and worth following?

Peter.

Peter came through and died in a horrible way for a cause he believed in.

People suffered painful, agonizing deaths because of their faith in Jesus.

Why do I believe in Christ?

These people were told you can live good lives if you lie about Jesus, him being raised from the dead and his miracles.

They choose the painful deaths.

Jesus brings good news to those without any hope.

He did for me and he does for you.

We know he did this because people gave their lives for the mission of Christ.

What would you give your life for?

Have a great day.

Linked by truth

I cannot lie.

We see an interesting link to lying in the movie Liar Liar.

A character played by Jim Carey is a lawyer and known for lying to get ahead.

After his kid makes a wish on his birthday cake, Carey’s character cannot lie.

He is left to tell the truth and says what some people would classify as hurtful.

There is truth behind what he says.

What if people told the truth all the time?

How would that look to you?

Give your opinion I would love to see some comments.

Are we known as people of truth?

So often in life, politics are played and we hold back what we want to say because of how we would look or what that would say.

I had some people give me some true honest opinions through the years.

I was at work at MSU when I told some people I was engaged.

Most people said congratulations, one person said, “You’ll be divorced in three months.”

They were basing this off of one of their friend’s relationships that got engaged at a young age.

I was also told by someone at a Church I ministered at, “If you leave this Church you will be out of ministry within five years.”

It can be harsh when people speak their own mind, but opinions aren’t truths.

What separates a truth and an opinion?

Having faith is believing in three things, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit (Also known as the Trinity).

John 14:16-17…

“And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- the Spirit of truth.  The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

Coming to faith, there is a Spirit within you.

Sometimes you won’t believe what is within you.

My friend Matt was telling me a story about how hard it is to hit a baseball.

All the signs and scientific approaches cannot prove how someone can hit a small baseball traveling upwards of 100 mph.

The human mind is not supposed to be able to make that happen, yet it does.

Faith gives us three things to believe in truth, Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit.

There is truth with this, truth beyond our own understanding.

When people mention your name do they mention truthful and honest?

Do they mention opinionated and only cares about themselves?

Can people see your belief or your faith?

If we are people that believe in the truth, does it come out in our actions?

Have a great day.

Going the wrong way down a one way

Driving can be interesting at times.

I remember a time in Lansing I was driving down Cedar Street which at the point I was driving, was a four lane one way road.

I was stopped at a light and there was someone driving right at us on the other side of the one way.

I was very puzzled at this moment.

The person looked around and realized they were driving the wrong way.

After shrugging their shoulders at us (Cars on the opposite side), he turned to go the right way again.

In life, sometimes we go the wrong way, sometimes literally.

We like to have the answers in life.

I for the longest time tried to figure things out on my own.

Only to be left short by my own shortcomings.

I don’t have all the answers and I don’t know always where I am heading.

It takes a lot to admit we are wrong or we don’t have all the answers.

I was hanging out with some people that just lost a friend/relative and this conversation turned to whether there was/is a Heaven or God?

Some expressed they believed in a higher power, some doubted and said they were unsure.

Some said they went to Church but they really didn’t have a clue.

It’s a sad realization that you don’t know what could happen to you if you died.

There are times we can make it without directions or help, there are other times that’s not true.

Jesus tells us this in John 14:6…

“I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

It’s hard to acknowledge God without acknowledging his Son.

This took me a while to grasp.

I spent the first 14 years of my life attending Church a good chunk of time, believing in God and Jesus but struggling with who I was and how the Church played a role.

I struggled with the life I was leading, who I was trying to be and what my relationship with God was all about.

I fought through this during middle and high school.

As I was in my freshman year of college, I realized exactly who Jesus what and acknowledge this through baptism.

I firmly believe this scripture with all my heart.

Jesus is the way.

Jesus is the truth.

Jesus is the life.

Without Jesus, I would not know I would be in heaven if I died.

That is a scary thing to think about.

In older generations, that was how people came to Christ, people used to say, “Believe in Christ or you are going to Hell!”

People would turn, listen and give their lives to Christ.

This method is often called turn or burn.

I prefer to ask questions.

Do you know where you will go when you die?

How sure are you that’s where you will go?  What percent would you say you are right?

What proof do you have that is where you will end up?

What if I can give you a 100 percent guarantee you will end up in heaven? 

Would you like that?

I don’t claim to know much, but I know faith in Jesus is what gives me the grace necessary to get to Heaven.

Have you found this grace?

Sometimes going the wrong way can be interesting; there are times when it can be more serious.

Do you know you are heading in the right direction?

Have a great day.

Free Paranormal Research

It’s amazing what you can get for free.

Hailee and I recently went to a restaurant and were treated to a free breakfast.

Why?

A cockroach ran underneath our table.

It completely freaked Hailee out and she sat with her legs up on the booth seat across from her.

We weren’t mean or angry, we let the manager know quietly and she said the meal was on the house.

Nice.

People offer free stuff all the time.

Just check out the free listing at Craigslist.

This is one of the things you can get for free….

“Hello there. I posted this under free. We are a non profit organization, a qualified, well trained, experienced and very professional paranormal research team. We are looking and accepting cases, whether it’s residential, public or any place that u believe to be haunted. and if these issues are causing fear amongst family friends and household we are trained to verify. prove or disprove and collect and analyses evidence to support or make your mind at ease. We are a team that has been in the same seats as most clients. in fear and searching for answers. so with that said if u or any one u know needs help or answers this is my cell ….. only serious inquiries please. also we are looking to build our team.”

Interesting….

Often even things that are free come with a price.

If it usually sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Even with faith, someone had to pay the price.

Jesus said this in John 8:31-32…”If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus was talking to a group of Jews who believed in what he was talking about and this is what he said afterwards.

If you hold to the teaching of Jesus, you are his followers.

The truth will set you free.

I have heard a lot over the years.

By parents, teachers, leaders and I know I have said it through the years.

There is a cost when you tell the truth.

Sometimes it doesn’t make people happy.

The truth can hurt, but there are benefits to this.

A burden gets lifted off your chest when telling the truth.

The disciples told the truth and had to face the consequences.

All they had to do in their lives was denounce their faith and what they saw Jesus did.

If they lie, they would be allowed to live otherwise face some strong punishment….death.

They told the truth and died in painful ways.

Yet they were free.

When we carry guilt and lies around, it might not show, but we are a struggle inside.

What Jesus did and said was the truth.

When we recognize that he died on the cross and was risen from the grave three days later we are telling the truth.

Living life for Jesus is an amazing challenge.

It is very hard to live out our faith sometimes, and we fail more than we succeed.

But if you believe Jesus is the truth, he will set us free from our sins and reward us with eternal life.

Jesus can set us free.

Have a great day.