Blog

This is why Atheists are Dishonest

The Creator left his signature on everything – even us!

Why are those that claim to be atheist so vocal about it?

They form societies.

They enter debates.

They even work overtime to prove it through their so-called “science.” (Which they have never been able to do, by the way.)

If they do not believe in God, why do they care about those of us that do?

Because they know the truth!

It is dishonest to believe this world exists only because of some cosmic accident.

Those that desire to prove God doesn’t exist are looking for anything at all to make it happen. They will never do it, though – all creation serves as the signature of the Creator!

Look at what Paul wrote:

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. – Romans 1:19-20

Paul shows us that ignoring the evidence of God’s existence is neither new or innovative.

The writings of Plato, Xenophon, Cicero and others prove ^[1] that there is and always have been enough evidence and logic to conclude that we have a Creator. They might not have known the Gospel, but men have always had enough evidence to believe when it was brought to them.

So like Paul said, the world has no excuse.

Get on the defense

The danger in all of this for us is that we might unwittingly choose to fall into the trap of doubt. Through repetition, arrogance and peer pressure, the actively atheist community will continue to chip away at the general belief in God. We unwittingly contribute to their effort when we are slow to defend Him.

I recently saw a clip of Bono, the lead singer of U2, answer an interviewer’s questions about his belief in God and Jesus as our risen savior. While he is wrong on some doctrinal matters in that interview, I was thoroughly impressed with his boldness. He just came right out and looked into the man’s eyes and said “yes I believe Jesus rose from the dead. I believe in his miracles.”

We need to be bold like that.

We might not ever be as influential as Bono, but I’m sure we all have a few people we can influence through that same kind of boldness.

1. James Macknight, Apostolical Epistles (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company, 1960), p. 56.

July 14, 2014
Smelted Hearts

Pure gold is not destroyed by the hottest fire

A hot furnace tests silver and gold,
but the Lord tests hearts. – Proverbs 17:3 NCV

Gold has been a precious metal through time because its intrinsic value comes from its utility. When subjected to extreme heat, it does not discolor or lose weight, and it remains a near perfect conductor of heat and electricity.

The fake stuff only looks nice – avoid testing it as gold because it will just burn away.

Job understood this as his heart was tested (Job 23:10). He made up his mind to survive his trials with a pure heart and chose to “come out as gold”.

Paul gave Timothy the formula for purifying our hearts (2 Tim 2:21-22). Jesus revealed the reward for the pure in heart (Matt 5:8).

Will you survive God’s test?

July 10, 2014
Preparation and Progress

Even simple tasks like removing these retaining rings need thought and preparation

First, finish your outside work
and prepare your fields.
After that, you can build your house. – Proverbs 24:27

If you have ever tried to remove a retaining ring from some machine without an extractor, you already have the sense of what is being taught here.

Removing this looks easy.
A pair of pliers should work.

At some point, you might give up even though the correct tool costs $5 at Walmart. Having the correct tools and proper preparation makes the task at hand manageable.

In the same way, staying faithful to the Lord’s work requires daily preparation.

Study.

Prayer.

Worship.

Sacrifice.

These are the things that help us meet the challenges that we will face.
They prepare us for the work.

July 9, 2014
You Have It Too
Ants are small, but get their work done.

There are four things on earth that are small,
but they are very wise:

Ants are not very strong,
but they store up food in the summer.

Rock badgers are not very powerful,
but they can live among the rocks.

Locusts have no king,
but they all go forward in formation.

Lizards can be caught in the hand,
but they are found even in kings’ palaces. – Proverbs 30:24-28 NCV

You Have It – The Ability to do Great Things

The Proverb writer listed some very small creatures endowed by their creator with great strength and instinctive wisdom.

These creatures are not pretty. They are not specimens of strength, but look at what they do have:
- Wisdom of planning and follow through
- Proper conduct and discipline
- Industry and stamina to get the work done
- Application of their resources to survival.
If God gave all of these creatures the building blocks to do great things, why wouldn’t he have done it for us?

Further, he gave mankind something he did not give the creatures:

His Word!

Think about what mankind could accomplish by using what God reveals to us about life and success and survival.

Think about the power of hope he has given us.

We often trust too much in ourselves rather than investigate the plan and design that God has laid out. Many of us even choose not to act on God’s plan when we know about it! Sadly, many even choose to work against the plans God gave us.

Success can be defined in many ways, but in the end, it will not be defined without God’s involvement.

What are you doing to insure you’re in sync with God’s plan? ( 2 Timothy 2:15)
July 8, 2014
What is Right?
Some people think they are doing right,
but in the end it leads to death. – Proverbs 16:25 NCV

When Tinkerbell tells Pinocchio to “let your conscience be your guide”, the world thought they had the answer to life. While the conscience is a pretty good tool for staying out of trouble, we must train it to do so. An untrained conscience is pretty useless to a Christian.

Here is some food for thought on the subject of what I call the “Jiminy Cricket” philosophy:
- The majority of people living in sin are not acting against their conscience – A lot don’t know right from wrong. Many don’t care. Either way, they are sinning under a good conscience!
- Incorrect worship is sinful yet it makes people feel good – God authorized certain acts in worship. There are plenty of new additions that “feel spiritual” but have no place in proper worship.
- A philanthropist that never obeys the gospel will be passed over at the judgment – There are some very kind and generous people that will die with a clear conscience. They are still subject to God’s word.
Are you making sure you know what is “right”?
July 3, 2014
Who to Trust?
It is painful when trust fails

Trusting unfaithful people when you are in trouble
is like eating with a broken tooth or walking with a crippled foot. – Proverbs 25:19 NCV

This is a two way street. We can give as good as we get on this one.
- There are those who make a habit of backing out of commitments
- There are “friends” that disappear at the first sign of trouble
- There are those that let anger end relationships
We often leave ourselves open to the kind of pain the Proverbs writer describes when we are dependent on others. We have to be very careful of who we trust.

There isn’t much we can do about how others act though.

What we can do, is see this as a good place to apply the golden rule. (Matthew 7:12) When we demonstrate the proper way to be a friend we compel other to be the same way. Never backing out of a commitment demonstrates its importance. Anger should never drive any decision.

Be faithful. Trustworthy. Dependable. This gives you all the power you need to influence others in life, but more importantly toward God.
July 2, 2014