 
DEAR FRIENDS, FAMILY, NEIGHBORS, WORLD...

Ray Majoran
DEAR FRIENDS, FAMILY, NEIGHBORS, WORLD...

Published by Ray Majoran (www.majoran.com)

© 2014 by Ray Majoran

All rights reserved

This book is created as a free resource. It is not for sale.

Book design and cover illustration by Hugh Pindur, www.thinkradiant.com

Edited by Derek McLachlin, Mike Wilkins and Carolyn Majoran

Illustration is based on "My Granddad's Last Moments", pp. 106-107.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®)

Copyright © 2001 by Crossway

Used as per ESV Copyright and Permissions Information Policy

www.crossway.org/rights-permissions/esv/

Scripture quoted from the New International Version is used under Zondervan's Fair Use Guidelines. www.harpercollinschristian.com/permissions/
Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

PREFACE

1. MY CASE FOR GOD. MY CASE FOR JESUS

A Case for God: Ignorance is Bliss

He is Real

The Evidence is Overwhelming

We Have Control Issues

A Case for Jesus

The Prophecies About Jesus

The Legitimacy of the Bible

A Father

2. MY PLEA TO CHRISTIANS. MY HOPE FOR THE CHURCH.

Something to Think About

What is Christianity?

Our Position of Wealth and Time

A Conversation With Wisdom

Tithing

Unity, Humility, Love, Forgiveness

Define "Believe"

Our Friends

Live for Christ Alone

3. MY LIFE. MY JOURNEY.

Accepting Christ

My Mom's Baptism

Hannah

Benji

My Mom's Health Issues

Mavis

My Granddad's Battle & Testimony

Fishing

Our Daughter, Adalai

Close Calls

Joni

Marissa

My Granddad's Last Moments

The Choice is Yours, and You Have to Live and Die With Your Decision

What Next?

ENDNOTES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to...

My wife, Carolyn, for your encouragement and support while I took the time to write this. I love you and am thankful that God provided me with such an amazing wife.

My daughter, Adalai. I love you very much and wanted to provide you with a book that reflects my heart for Jesus and for His church. Mom and I are very thankful to God that He provided us with you.

Mike Wilkins and Derek McLachlin for helping me edit this book and making extremely valuable suggestions. Your support is appreciated more than you know.

All of my family and friends. I care about you very much; you are the inspiration behind this book. It is my life journey, something that each one of you has been a part of.

My Savior, Redeemer and friend, Jesus Christ. Without you, none of this matters. 
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

My name is Ray Majoran. I was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1976 to wonderful parents: Steve Majoran and Elaine Gibbison. I am married to my amazing wife, Carolyn, and together we have a beautiful daughter named Adalai.

"Dear Friends, Family, Neighbors, World..." is dedicated to everyone I've ever met, and to those of you who I haven't yet met. I started planning it back in 1998 before Carolyn and I were married, and have wanted to finish it ever since.

One thing I've learned in the last 16 years is that time is what you make of it. It's easy to go through life having "good intentions" when it comes to delivering on things that you want to do or say. But it's up to each of us to take the time to actually do them. For me, this book is one of those things that I needed to do.

In Luke 19:37-39, as Jesus was entering Jerusalem on a donkey, a whole multitude of His disciples began rejoicing, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

In response, some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples."

Jesus replied to them in verse 40: "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."

That's how I feel about Christ and the need for me to write this book. In a politically correct world that shuns the idea of God (let alone the idea that He is in control of it), I have chosen to not be silent. 
PREFACE

If you were dying and you had one last chance to talk with the people that matter most to you, what would you say? If everything was on the line, and nothing was left on the table, what wisdom would you impart?

Back in 2007, professor Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon University learned that he was dying from pancreatic cancer. Taking on a tradition held by academics, he delivered "one last lecture" to a group of about 400 colleagues and students.

My name is Ray Majoran, and this book is my last lecture.

If you know me or have known me at all, much of "who I am" is in this book. Conversely, if you've never known me, thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope and pray that it will be of benefit to you.

I have itemized this book into three parts. The first part is my case for God and Jesus. You may be a complete atheist or want nothing to do with the church. Please allow me to state my case. You may want to close the book after the opening paragraph of Part 1, but please don't.

The second part is specifically directed to people who call themselves Christians. Of course, I would encourage you to read it whether you call yourself a Christian or not. Again, my hope is that all who read this book will be challenged.

The final section of the book contains some of my life experiences. Hopefully you can learn from, and be inspired by, some of the things that God has walked me through.

So thinking back to the original question: If I were dying and had one last chance to talk with the people that matter most to me, what would I say?

You are the people who matter most to me and I've been pondering that question for my entire adult life.

Am I dying?

Yes.

And you are too. 
1.  
MY CASE FOR GOD.   
MY CASE FOR JESUS.

A Case for God: Ignorance is Bliss

Before I begin, you need to understand that regardless of what I tell you and how much I pour my heart out to you, if you are hell-bent on refuting that God is who He says He is, and Christ is who He says He is... well, nothing I say is going to change your mind. There are so many clear proofs of the truths of God that those who remain unconvinced are "willingly ignorant." (2 Peter 3:5)

The Apostle Paul says, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)

King David resolved that, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" (Psalm 53:1)

So I leave it to your discretion. I pray that you will open up your heart and your mind to the truth about God and His Son, Jesus.

He is Real

I don't know of any other way to put this: God is real. You may have read a book or heard a lecture that gave you ammunition not to believe in God; whatever the case, I would challenge you to reconsider your viewpoint.

I often hear, "Well, if God is real, then why..." (and you can fill in the blank). Why do bad things happen to good people? Why are people raped and murdered? Why does God allow evil in the world? Why do natural disasters happen? Why are some people born into riches while others are born into poverty? Why does God not answer me when I call out to Him? Why does God allow war? Why wasn't God there for me when I needed Him most? Why did God allow that accident? Why does God allow cancer? Why didn't God save my child?

These are all valid questions. But just because you can't answer them, or they anger you, that doesn't nullify the existence of God.

Let me ask you a question. Do you honestly believe that this world randomly appeared through a big bang in space, without any plan or purpose? And then somehow, some way, we just evolved from single cells into mindful, meaningful, idea-generating male and female humans? And even though we can't make sense of it, we've become morally objective beings that can determine right from wrong, love from hate, and so on?

Is that what makes up your belief system? Does that make rational sense?

Consider this exercise: Let's put all of the arguments on both sides of the fence away for a moment. And by both sides of the fence I mean, God created the world versus random chance created the world. Now with everything aside let me ask you this simple question:

Based solely on your life experience to date, which would you say holds more merit:

  1. When I look around, everything seems like it happened by chance; I don't feel a greater purpose than living my life and then dying.
  2. It would seem to me like there's something bigger out there; this world does not seem like an accident.

If you're answer was (a), I appreciate your point of view. Please allow me the remainder of this book to state my case as to why I side with (b).

Have you ever watched a baby being born? Have you ever planted a seed in the ground and watched it grow? Have you ever watched birds migrate thousands of miles to the exact same spot each year? Have you ever considered the fact that the earth is traveling through space at 66,700 miles per hour? Have you ever just stood outside and observed all of the fascinating things around you?

The Evidence is Overwhelming

I'm not going to get into the scientific debate for an Intelligent Designer; there are already lots of books out there that cover that. And besides that, I'm not a scientist. I'm simply a human being living on this planet called Earth. However, I would like to note that some people think that those of us who believe in God can't possibly believe in science. Let me just debunk that myth. I actually think the opposite is true: science simply points back to God.

Many people have spent their lives trying to argue that there is no God. They'll say that man wrote the Bible, so how can it possibly be accurate? They'll argue the points that I raised at the beginning of the chapter regarding all of the evil in the world. But at the end of the day, the best they have been able to come up with to explain the origin of human beings is that an incredible series of random events took place, all by chance.

In my personal view, it stretches credulity to the breaking point to believe that the universe came into being with just the right qualities to support intelligent life, apparently out of nothing and for no reason. An uncaused effect, so to speak.

So, without getting into a debate, let me simply quote a few famous scientists and then you can come to your own conclusions.

British physicist P.C.W. Davies notes that the odds against the initial conditions of the universe being suitable for the formation of stars (a necessity for planets and life) are one chance in one followed by at least a thousand billion zeroes.1

Let me begin to write that out for you. The chance of conditions being suitable for the formation of stars is 1 in 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000... and at least a thousand billion more zeroes.

Davies also notes that if the strength of gravity were altered by only one part in 10 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000   
000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 life could never have developed.2

Would you bet your life that the universe beat those odds by random chance?

The existence of the universe and intelligent life requires an impressive series of "coincidences" to have occurred. Stephen Hawking notes that it's like a hoard of monkeys hammering away on keyboards eventually, by pure chance, producing one of Shakespeare's sonnets.3

And then to take it to the next level, think of all the different specimens of plants, animals, trees, insects, etc. on earth. All by chance. Really?

Based on what I know, what I see around me, and my personal life experiences that you'll get to read about in Part 3, I'd say it takes an amazing amount of faith to be an atheist.

We Have Control Issues

In my personal opinion, there is only one real reason not to believe in God: because you don't want to. To believe in God would require you to admit that you're not in complete control, and frankly, that doesn't sound very appealing.

When I was a child, my parents told me to stay away from the road. I didn't like that very much. The reason I didn't like it was that someone gave me orders, and to put it bluntly, I saw those orders as restrictions that kept me from "experiencing life".

Every child has plenty of those "please Mom and Dad, let me live my life" moments. But as you get older and eventually become a parent, you realize that the reason your parents told you to stay off the road was that they didn't want a car to hit you. They were simply trying to protect you.

Welcome to God and the way He feels. For some strange reason, we've conned ourselves into believing that we can figure life out on our own, that we don't need any input, advice or direction.

The best minds in the world can't hold a candle to God. Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Sir Isaac Newton, Leonardo Da Vinci, Aristotle, Thomas Jefferson, Plato, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, William Shakespeare, Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Socrates, Martin Luther, Garry Kasparov, Charles Darwin, George Washington—their combined minds are like a grain of dust in comparison to their Creator.

"Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea." (Job 11:7-9, NIV)

People write books to try to disprove His existence; they stand on pedestals and declare there is no God. But God is there. Like the wind invisible to the human eye, His power knows no bounds.

I mean, think about it for a second: your wisdom and knowledge versus God's wisdom and knowledge.

You have been around for at most 120 years versus God who has been around before the beginning of time (a concept which can't even be understood in its fullness, because God created time). How can you compare? To think that we, in our finite minds, can scientifically show that there is no Creator is asinine, especially when His fingerprints are everywhere. You are not an accident created by random chance. Period.

A Case for Jesus

Most people I encounter actually do believe there's a God—some sort of higher power that created "all of this". But when it comes to Jesus, that's where the water gets murky.

I'll save my actual "God and Jesus encounters" for later on in the book, and for now focus on some of the facts surrounding Jesus Christ.

Here are a few commonly used terms that I'd like to define for the sake of clarity:

The Messiah: The Anointed King; Savior of the World; Jesus Christ.

Prophecy: A prediction of what will happen in the future.4

BC / AD: Our entire calendar system of years is based on BC/AD. BC means "Before Christ's birth" and AD means "Anno Domini", which is a Medieval Latin term meaning "in the year of our Lord". People commonly think AD means "After Death" (i.e., after the death of Jesus), but this is not the case. Otherwise, there would be a period of about 33 years (associated with the life of Christ), which would not be present in the BC or AD time scales.

The Bible: A collection of 66 books written by about 40 authors, in three different languages, on three different continents, over a span of ~1600 years. The Bible claims to be inspired and inerrant. This means that the Bible asserts that it is from God and is without error in everything it addresses.5

Old Testament: The first part of the Christian Bible, comprising thirty-nine books and corresponding approximately to the Hebrew Bible.6 It was written between ~1500 BC and ~400 BC.7

New Testament: The second part of the Christian Bible, originally written in Greek, recording the life and teachings of Jesus and his earliest followers. It includes the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, twenty-one epistles by St. Paul and others, and the book of Revelation.8 Scholars don't all agree on when the books of the New Testament were written, but the general consensus is that it was written sometime between ~30 AD and ~100 AD.9

The book of Genesis: First book of the Bible, written   
~1445 BC.10 Located in the Old Testament.

The book of Psalms: 19th book of the Bible, completed by ~460 BC.11 Located in the Old Testament.

The book of Isaiah: 23rd book of the Bible, written   
~740 - 680 BC.12 Located in the Old Testament.

The book of Jeremiah: 24th book of the Bible, written   
~627 - 585 BC.13 Located in the Old Testament.

The book of Micah: 33rd book of the Bible, written   
~700 BC.14 Located in the Old Testament.

The book of Zechariah: 38th book of the Bible, written ~520 - 518 BC.15 Located in the Old Testament.

The book of Matthew: 40th book of the Bible, written   
~60 AD.16 Located in the New Testament.

The book of Mark: 41st book of the Bible, written ~60 AD.17 Located in the New Testament.

The book of Luke: 42nd book of the Bible, written ~60 AD.18 Located in the New Testament.

The book of John: 43rd book of the Bible, written ~80 AD - 90 AD.19 Located in the New Testament.

The book of Romans: 45th book of the Bible, written   
~55 AD.20 Located in the New Testament.

The Prophecies About Jesus

The Old Testament contains over 400 prophecies about the coming Messiah. Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled every one of them.

Do you know what the odds of that happening are? Think about it: one single man fulfilling every prediction about the coming Messiah, Savior of the world.

A professor named Peter Stoner worked with 600 students to figure out what the probability would be of just eight (of the over 400) prophecies being fulfilled in any one person who had lived up to the present time. The result: 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.21

Lee Strobel, an atheist-turned-Christian, performed some calculations to try to figure out what this would look like in real life. Lee notes:

"I imagined the entire world being covered with white tile that was one-and-a-half inches square—every bit of dry land on the planet—with the bottom of just one tile painted red. Then I pictured a person being allowed to wander for a lifetime around all seven continents. He would be permitted to bend down only one time and pick up a piece of tile. What are the odds it would be the one tile whose reverse side was painted red? The odds would be the same as just eight of the Old Testament prophecies coming true in any one person throughout history!"22

Here are some of the over 400 Old Testament prophesies that Jesus fulfilled:

Prophecy: The Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. (Genesis 49:10)

Fulfilled: Jesus' genealogy comes through the tribe of Judah. (Matthew 1:1-16)

Prophecy: The Messiah would be a descendant of King David. (Jeremiah 23:5, Psalms 132:11)

Fulfilled: Jesus was a descendant of King David. (Matthew 1:1-16)

Prophecy: Micah 5:2 says that the one true Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem.

Fulfilled: Jesus was born in Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:4-6)

Prophecy: In Isaiah 7:14, it says that the Messiah would be born of a virgin.

Fulfilled: Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:22, Matthew 1:23, Luke 2:7)

Prophecy: Psalms 2:7 says that the Messiah would be the Son of God. "I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.'"

Fulfilled: "The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.'" (Luke 1:35)

Prophecy: Isaiah 53:2 says the Messiah would grow up in poverty. "He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."

Fulfilled: "'Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?' And they took offense at him." (Mark 6:3)

Prophecy: The Messiah would heal the sick. "Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer and the tongue of the dumb will sing for joy." (Isaiah 35:5-6)

Fulfilled: "The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." (Matthew 11:5)

Prophecy: The Messiah would speak in parables. (Psalms 78:2)

Fulfilled: "Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable." (Matthew 13:34)

Prophecy: Zechariah 9:9 says that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey.

Fulfilled: "They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!' 'Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'" (Luke 19:35-38)

Prophecy: Psalms 41:9 says that the Messiah would be betrayed by a close friend, one whom He trusted, one with whom He broke bread.

Fulfilled: Jesus was betrayed by his disciple, Judas. (John 13:18, John 13:21, Matthew 26:21-25)

Prophecy: The Messiah would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver. (Zechariah 11:12)

Fulfilled: "Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, 'What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?' So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver." (Matthew 26:14-15)

Prophecy: The thirty pieces of silver used to purchase the Messiah's betrayal would be used to buy a potters field. (Zechariah 11:13)

Fulfilled: When Judas hanged himself, they used the money to buy a potters field. (Matthew 27:7)

Prophecy: He would be denied by his disciples. "Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered." (Zechariah 13:7)

Fulfilled: "Then everyone deserted him and fled." (Mark 14:50)

Prophecy: Isaiah 53:3 says that the Messiah would be despised and rejected by men.

Fulfilled: Jesus was despised, rejected and crucified. (Luke 23:20-23)

Prophecy: The Messiah would be mocked by his enemies. (Psalms 22:7-8)

Fulfilled: "Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, 'You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!' In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 'He saved others,' they said, 'but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him." (Matthew 27:39-44)

Prophecy: The Messiah would die in a brutal way, his hands and feet pierced. (Psalms 22:14-17)

Fulfilled: Jesus was beaten, nailed to a cross and crucified. (Luke 22:63, Luke 23:32-33, John 19:18)

Prophecy: The Messiah would be given gall and vinegar to drink. (Psalms 69:21)

Fulfilled: "They came to a place called Golgotha (which means 'the place of the skull'). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it." (Matthew 27:33-34)

Prophecy: "They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment." (Psalms 22:18)

Fulfilled: "When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there." (Matthew 27:35-36)

Prophecy: His bones would not be broken. "He protects all His bones, not one of them will be broken." (Psalms 34:20)

Fulfilled: "The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs." (John 19:32-33)

Prophecy: "I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting." (Isaiah 50:6)

Fulfilled: In Matthew 26:67-68, they spat in His face and struck Him with their fists.

Prophecy: He would be flogged. Isaiah 53:5 says, "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;   
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."

Fulfilled: "Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified." (Matthew 27:26) Isaiah not only talks about the flogging that Christ would receive, he even outlines the reason why Christ would suffer—to save us from the judgment of sin and death.

Prophecy: Isaiah 53:7 says, "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth."

Fulfilled: "When He was accused by the chief priests and the elders, He gave no answer. Then Pilate asked Him, 'Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?' But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor." (Matthew 27:12-14)

Prophecy: Isaiah 53:12 says that the Messiah would atone for the sin of man. "He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

Fulfilled: "God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished." (Romans 3:25)

Prophecy: "The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'" (Psalms 110:1) The Messiah would sit at the right hand of God and have authority over everything.

Fulfilled: "After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God." (Mark 16:19)

These are just a few of the many prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. But as I said to you at the beginning of this chapter, if you're bent on refuting God and Jesus, nothing I say is likely to change your mind. You can argue until you're red in the face. You can be a skeptic and declare, "There's no way 400 of those prophecies are about Jesus." But the fact of the matter remains: they are real. Even if you can argue away half of them, the other half will still taunt you. Your arms are too short to box with God; he's created too much evidence for you to just ignore it.

As Lee Strobel puts it, even if Jesus only fulfilled eight prophecies, you would still be walking across the earth hoping to flip over that one red tile. God is real and Jesus is the Son of God, Messiah and King.

The Legitimacy of the Bible

Over time, some modern thinkers have argued that the Bible shouldn't be considered a historical manuscript, that it may be fictitious. Personally speaking, I believe that the prophecies and fulfillments are more than enough to refute that argument, but I'll offer one more validating thought.

To prove the legitimacy of an ancient manuscript, historians will often compare all of the known copies of it that date to a given time period. If a manuscript is legitimate, all of its copies (which scribes have written) should be virtually identical; otherwise it can't be authenticated as a genuine work. The more copies, the better. It's like the old telephone game where one person starts with a story, and by the tenth person, the story is completely different.

So consider this: there are over 5,600 surviving copies of New Testament manuscripts, some of which were written in the second century, less than 100 years after the original manuscripts. Those 5600+ copies correspond to each other with 99.5% accuracy. That is unparalleled in any other ancient manuscript.

In addition, there are 19,000+ ancient copies of the New Testament in the Aramaic, Syriac, Coptic and Latin languages. The total New Testament document base contains over 24,000 manuscripts. The chart on the previous page outlines a few well-known, widely accepted authors and their manuscripts.23

The writings of Homer, Caesar, Plato, Tacitus, Thucydides, Herodotus and many others are often accepted as truth in secular culture and are taught in public school systems. It amazes me how people can justify in their minds that something like Plato (7 copies, and the earliest copy being 1,300 years after it was supposedly written) can be considered historical fact, whereas the Bible (5,600+ copies, some of which were written within 100 years of the original) is deemed fiction.

The unfortunate reality is this: as humans if we don't want something to be true, we can convince ourselves that it's not true. That doesn't make it any less true; it just makes us willfully ignorant.

A Father

Some people spend their whole lives trying to disprove the existence of God. I don't get it. Why would you dedicate your whole life trying to prove that you happened by chance, that you were an accident and don't have a Creator? I mean, wouldn't it excite you to know that someone intelligent created you, loves you and cares for you?

But such is the downfall of man, I suppose. Like a small child, we so badly want to do everything ourselves; we want our independence from our parents. Our children say, "I can do it myself" and "I don't need your help". These are also the words mankind utters to God

But God calls those who will listen, those who hear his voice.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)

As humans we don't have the capacity to want to give up control of our lives; we need God's help. Ask God for the faith to believe. Ask Him to change your heart and to make a believer out of you. God has to show up, and He will if you ask Him to. 
2.  
MY PLEA TO CHRISTIANS.   
MY HOPE FOR THE CHURCH.

This section of the book is directed to those of you who would call yourself a "Christian" or "follower of Christ". I don't mean all those among the 32% of the world that claims Christianity as their religion24, but only those who have made the decision to "follow Christ", which in essence, means "serving Christ wholeheartedly".

There's actually no difference between the terms "Christian" or "follower of Christ." However, some people prefer to use the term "follower of Christ" because of the negative perception that many have given to the word "Christian" as defined in Acts 11:26 and Acts 26:28. For simplicity, I will be using the term "Christian".

As I mentioned in the Preface, even if you don't call yourself a Christian, I invite you to read this. It may help you make sense of some of the misconceptions out there, and help you understand what Christianity is really about. However (for non-Christians), if you would just prefer to move to Part 3 where I share stories pertaining to my life, please feel free to skip this section.

Those who know me know that I don't hold anything back when it comes to my passion for serving Christ and going against the flow of human-generated traditions and standards. Please don't expect any less here. My goal is not to offend anyone, but rather to defend Christ's calling in our lives, and to wake us out of the sleep that we're in.

I also want to clarify that this section is by no means a blanket statement referring to all Christians. Nor is it a blanket statement regarding the way that Christians respond to all situations.

In fact, quite the opposite is true. I know many Christians who are living their life for Christ wholeheartedly. I've also been blessed to be a part of some amazing churches and communities that are having a huge impact on the world. God is using the imperfect church mightily for His glory. I love the church; my heart absolutely breaks for it.

Therefore, please let this section speak to you in the areas of your life that need attention.

"Everything exposed by the light becomes visible, and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: 'Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'" (Ephesians 5:13b-14, NIV)

Something to Think About

A friend of mine named James recently shared a story with me that I believe has strong parallels to the state of some Christians. As he was driving in the city, he watched a head-on collision take place at an intersection. James got out of his car to help those involved.

About 100 feet away from the collision was a hospital, and outside of the hospital were a number of people protesting abortion. On a typical day, a group of Christian protesters will plant their signs in the ground and stand there. Protesting abortion is a worthy cause, but on this day something amazing happened. I say amazing because what actually took place amazes me.

I would expect that when the protestors saw the accident, they'd immediately go into action-mode, getting out there to help those people!

But they did something even more amazing. Instead of running out and helping the victims of the car crash, they all jumped up, grabbed their signs and became active again—walking around in circles with their anti-abortion signs. Now don't get me wrong, I disagree with abortion as much as the next Christian, but really? That was their response?

Some of us have become so cause-driven that we have forgotten what it looks like to actually show the love of Christ.

After the last supper (John 13:35), Jesus said to His followers: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

If we do not show love to those in need, we cannot call ourselves Christians.

A note to the non-Christian reader: Please forgive us. We Christians have very good intentions and strongly believe that every life (including that of an unborn child) is worth saving. But sometimes, we can get so caught up in a cause that we blindly forget about the situations that are happening right in front of us.

So what does it mean to show the love of Christ to others? Jesus himself provided many examples, the biggest one being His own sacrifice on the cross to save us from our sins.

In Luke 10:27-28, Jesus tells us that we are to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, and that we should love our neighbor as ourselves.

In the next verse, a lawyer desiring to justify himself asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Jesus replied: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise." (Luke 10:30-37)

Let's make sure that as Christians, we're showing the love of Christ to others, at all times and in all circumstances.

What is Christianity?

I've been thinking about these next few sections of my lecture for years. As a Christian, some of you may think that I've gone off my rocker. But what I hope it does is verbalize many of the things that you've been thinking about for a long time.

Somewhere along the line, something broke. I can't quite put my finger on it. All I know is that when I read the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and when I go through the writings of Paul and the other Christians in the Bible, I come to one solid conclusion: Christianity wasn't meant to be this way.

We call ourselves Christians, yet don't live as Christ has called us to live. If we were living in Biblical times, I fear that Jesus would refer to many of us as hypocrites.

I mean think about it. We have no problem walking into a store and blowing $50 on unessential items, but when someone asks us to provide water or food so that our brothers and sisters in the Lord won't die, we have to "think and pray about it". Does that seem odd to you? To me it does. I mean, what happened? How did we end up in this place of greed, where enough is never enough? How did getting a better house, or getting a nicer car, or buying better clothes end up superseding our priorities when it comes to helping our family in Christ? How did we get from the church in the book of Acts, to this?

When it comes to the giving of our time, we have no problem going home and lounging in front of the TV or browsing the Internet out of boredom, but when people need our help, we are "too busy". Don't get me wrong; I understand that we all need downtime. But in many cases, our definition of downtime has become the Bible's definition of sloth. "Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks." (Ecclesiastes 10:18)

We walk into church on Sunday and rate the service on how good the singing was or how well the pastor spoke. Then we go about our busy lives doing busy things in the name of our God.

We sit here and wonder why people don't "get" Christianity or are so offended by it. We claim that the crusaders and other Christians who have done horrible things in the name of Christ have given Christianity a bad name, and that we're not really like that.

It's true. We cannot make up for the inexcusable behavior displayed by people that called themselves "Christians" but were not really Christians. But if we don't watch our hearts, we inadvertently take on the same traits of attaching the name of Christ to things that He detests.

Penny Lea, a Christian man who lived in Germany during the Nazi holocaust, shares his account of Christianity:

A railroad track ran behind our small church, and each Sunday morning we would hear the whistle from the distance and then the clacking of the wheels moving over the track. We became disturbed when one Sunday we noticed cries coming from the train as it passed by. We grimly realized that the train was carrying Jews. They were like cattle in those cars.

Week after week that train whistle would blow. We would dread to hear the sound of those old wheels because we knew that the Jews would begin to cry to us as they passed our church. It was so terribly disturbing. We could do nothing to help these poor miserable people, yet their screams tormented us. We knew exactly at what time that whistle would blow, and we decided the only way to keep from being so disturbed by the cries was to start singing our hymns. By the time the train came rumbling past the churchyard, we were singing at the top of our voices. If some of the screams reached our ears, we'd just sing a little louder until we could hear them no more. Years passed and no one talks about it much anymore, but I still hear that train whistle in my sleep. I can still hear them crying out for help. God forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians yet did nothing to intervene.25

With great sadness, I've come to the realization that a large percentage of Christians represent the state of that church in Germany. We are the ones who sing louder in hopes of drowning out that inner voice in our hearts and minds that know that what we're doing is not right.

The cry for help is loud and clear, both in our communities and across the world. We have chosen to ignore them. Instead, we fill our days with less meaningful things like television, video games, watching and playing sports, social media, relaxing (because we're so tired from browsing social media), working out (because we all need to be more buff) and socializing with our Christian friends who have had a busy week doing the same things. And after all that, we need a one- or two- (or three-) week vacation to "relax".

Every once in a while we'll put a little extra in the offering plate or send a donation to a third-world country to clear our conscience. And every so often, we'll read a little more or listen to a podcast so that we can become more educated as to God's plan for our life. And on occasion, we'll sing our tried-and-true worship songs a little louder or more passionately, to try to glorify God.

But is that what it really means to be a Christian?

We have conned ourselves into believing that what we're doing is okay. It's not.

As a body of "believers" who are part of Western culture, we have come together in agreement that when Jesus says, "Sell your possessions, and give to the needy" (Luke 12:33), it doesn't really apply to us—at least not in the way that He said it. And we have ignored James' definition of religion, which is "to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." (James 1:27) Instead, we have declared that the new Christianity is about being part of the world and its culture and that "religion" is a bad word. Instead, it's proper to say, "I'm not religious, I'm Christian." You're right, we're not religious, at least not under James' definition.

We forget about Proverbs 21:13, which reads, "Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered." And yet we wonder why God is ignoring us. Perhaps we can find the answer in another book, or counsel.   
At least that's what we hope. We ignore the lessons that were taught to us in Isaiah 58 and look for better answers. "We're seeking you, Lord; we're fasting, Lord; we're humbling ourselves, Lord."

And the Lord replies,

"Is not this the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the straps of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry

and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him,

and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,

and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your righteousness shall go before you;

the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;

you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'"

We avoid over 100 verses about caring for the poor, widows and orphans26 because it doesn't fit our lifestyle. To acknowledge them would mean changing the way we live. It would mean that when we pray, "More of you Lord, less of me."... "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30), we'd actually have to mean it.

Many of us need to redefine what it means to be a Christian. "Re-define" because our current understanding is inaccurate.

Our Position of Wealth and Time

Have we become blind to the fact that the Lord has put us in this position of wealth for a reason?

I remember as a kid, my friends would say to me, "If I were rich, I would ____________." Well guess what? We are rich!

If your entire household is making a total annual income of $30,000 per year, then you are in the top 1.1% of people in the world by income. That puts 98.9% of the ENTIRE WORLD behind you in wealth.27

What if your household were only making $1,000 per month (or $12,000 per year)? Then you would still be among the richest 13% of people in the world.28

And if you're household were making an annual income of $100,000 per year, you would be in the top 0.08% of people in the world by income.29

Many Christians will shrug this off and say one of two things:

(1) "Yes, see how the Lord has blessed us! Let us cherish what He has given us and be thankful."

To which I respond, "Yes, we are to be thankful. But we cannot be blind to the fact that the Lord has provided with this wealth so that we can invest it in His kingdom."

1 John 3:17-18 says, "If anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

So I invite you to stop saying you're a Christian and start becoming one. It is not enough to say, "Thank you, Lord," and take no action.

Jesus notes in Luke 12:34 that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Question: Where is your treasure? Is it in advancing the gospel of Christ, or is it in building up wealth for yourself?

You actually don't have to answer that question out loud; the answer is already found in the decisions that you are making on a daily basis.

It's ironic how as Christians we're always saying that we're "seeking the will of the Lord" on certain things, yet when it comes to our money, it's the last thing that we want to seek the will of the Lord on. I can't even count the number of times that I've seen Christians up against a circumstance where they have to make a decision between (a) worldly possessions and (b) something that will have a significant spiritual impact on their lives, the lives of their children, or the lives of others. The majority of the time, they will choose the worldly possessions because "the Lord wants to bless them" and they feel they deserve it. "If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?" (Luke 16:12)

In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus gives us a parable.

Appeal to reader: do not skim over this parable because it is familiar to you. Read it carefully, word for word. YOU are the one that the Master (God) has entrusted His property to.

For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

So what are you investing in? Are you the type of person who takes the money that the Lord has given you and invests it into the Kingdom? Or do you fall into the category of the one who is afraid?

afraid (adjective)

  1. feeling fear; filled with apprehension
  2. feeling regret, unhappiness, or the like
  3. feeling reluctance, unwillingness, distaste30

Again, this is not a question that you need to verbally answer. You are already taking the money that God has given you and investing it in the things that are near to His heart, or you're not. You're either using the money that He's entrusted to you on things that are edifying to God, or you've said (with your actions), "I am afraid, so I've taken what you've given me and buried it in the ground." That is, you've chosen to bury it in the world through your possessions and lifestyle.

Yes, this is harsh, but Jesus' words weren't easy to hear for the Pharisees, and they're not easy to hear for "Christians".

Jesus goes on to say more in Matthew 25:34-46:

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Are you getting the picture here? Brothers and sisters in Christ, both in our communities and around the world, need our help. They need our time, and they need our financial support. But many Christians feel that they are in a position to provide neither.

Which brings me to the second response that I typically hear when I speak about us being the richest 1% of the population in the world.

(2) "Really, the richest 1%? I can barely get by on what I have. I don't have the money or the time."

My response to this response can be found in the next section, "A Conversation with Wisdom", which was inspired by Proverbs 8. It's a biblically based imaginary conversation between "Wisdom" (as defined in the book of Proverbs) and myself. As you're reading, you'll see numbers to provide verse references, which can be found at the end of the book. Note that verses have been slightly altered to be grammatically correct within the context of a conversation.

A Conversation With Wisdom

As I draw close to the city, I see a bright light ahead. Some of my friends from church are with me, and they see it too. At the highest point along the way, beside the gate leading into the city where the paths meet, a lady has taken her stand. As we approach to enter, she cries aloud:

"To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it. Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right."31

She has caught my attention; I stop to hear what she has to say. I tell my friends that I'll catch up with them shortly.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"My name is Wisdom," she responds. "The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before His deeds of old; I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth."32

Lost for words, I respond, "I don't know what to say. I've prayed to the Lord for you many times. I can't believe I'm finally meeting you in person. I follow Jesus, as do many of my friends and family."

"I know who you are," she replies. "The Lord has told me all about you."

"Really? Good things to say, I hope?"

"Good?" she responds. "Only God is good."33

Embarrassed, I utter, "I know... Luke 18:19... I just meant that..."

"I know what you meant," she replies.

"I'd love to hear what you have to say. Do you have any words of Wisdom for me today before I head into the city?" I ask.

"Ah yes... words. You like words, don't you?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty,"34 she replies.

"But I do work hard! And I'm a huge advocate of freeing people from poverty."

"That's not what I'm talking about," she answers. "You told me that you were a follower of Jesus. Was I mistaken?"

"No, of course not. I love the Lord with all my heart, soul, body and mind."

"A worthy cause; I commend you. But I can assure you that you don't. To do so would require unconditional love. I fear that you are being consumed by my sister, Folly."

"I can assure you, I'm not!" I note promptly.

"You can assure Wisdom, can you? I will show you the truth before you leave here today."

Humbly, I bring my tone down a level, knowing that I've crossed the line. Surely, I have stepped into a conversation that I cannot win. A passage of Scripture runs through my head. "Do not forsake Wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you."35

"I'm sorry. I meant no disrespect. What did you mean by the 'mere talk' comment?"

"That's okay... it takes a lot more than that to offend me. As for my comment: You and your friends do a lot of talking about how you're going to reach the community and reach the nations for Christ, but the fruit on the tree shows otherwise."

"We're in tree planting mode," I say jokingly.

Wisdom is not amused.

"It's not your tree to plant, only to water," she replies. "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."36

"You know I don't want that!" I reply. "What do I need to be doing differently?"

"Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with me.37 There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death."38

I glance toward the city. "Are you suggesting that I shouldn't go into the city?"

"Why are you going there?" Wisdom asks.

"I'm heading to the department store. There's a new..." I pause, realizing where Wisdom is going with this.

"A new what?" Wisdom asks.

"Does it really matter?" I reply.

"I don't know, you tell me. Does it?"

"Oh come on... I know where you're going with this, Wisdom. But seriously, we live in a society where this is the norm. I'm not going out and spending beyond my means."

"What are your means?"

"I have a good job that pays a decent wage."

"And you feel that the Lord has given you this money so that you can go out and waste it?"

"Waste it? No of course not!" I reply. "We give our tithe to the Lord and even try to give more. I think it's okay every once in a while to spend a little something on yourself."

"Folly", Wisdom responds. "You have been seduced by her and you don't even know it. 'In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.'39 And let me guess, you have a mortgage on your house among other debts..."

"Yes, pretty much everyone does though. I mean, come on... there's no way you can live even remotely comfortably in this society without having debt."

"The borrower is a slave to the lender,"40 Wisdom replies. "And who said anything about being remotely comfortable? Jesus sure didn't."

Shaking my head in disbelief, I respond, "If that's Folly, then pretty much everyone I know has been seduced by her."

Wisdom looks at me and tears begin to form in her eyes.

"I know," she replies. "God wrote it all down in the Bible and handed it right to you. Everything you need is right there, in plain sight, so clearly outlined word by word. And the Holy Spirit has been given to you so that you'll know what is right and just in the eyes of God. But Folly has gotten the best of you, and not just you but many of you. Your generation chooses to be selective with what it wants to hear, and Folly is having her way with you. 'O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?'"41

Wisdom then begins to quote more Scripture:

"Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm." (Proverbs 13:20)

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)

"Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy." (Ezekiel 16:49)

"Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys." (Luke 12:33)

"Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19)

She then asks me, "How will you become wise when you walk with Folly? How will you enter the narrow gate when you've built your house on the wide road? How will you aid the poor and needy when you consume all that you have? And how will you make disciples of all nations when you're too busy being entertained?"

At that point I feel that Wisdom has given me enough to think about for one day. My friends call me from the side of the road by the gate. "We need to get going soon. The store will close in less than an hour, and some of us still need to get to the bank to make payments."

I wish Wisdom a good day and tell her that I'll be back in a few weeks to hear more of what she has to say.

"I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me,"42 she replies. "Beware of my sister, Folly. She will surely consume you if you let her."

I leave the gate with my friends and continue down the road. A couple of minutes later, a loud, seductive voice yells out, "Let all who are simple come in here! Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!"43 Folly has come out to greet us. Little do we know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.44 I begin to pray for wisdom45. I pray it's not too late.

Tithing

Tithing is a principle established in the Old Testament of the Bible. To tithe is to give a tenth of the money that God has given you back to Him.

To me, it seems like a no-brainer. The Creator of the universe asks that I give a tenth of what I have back to Him. A tenth, that's it?

Yet, it amazes me how many Christians make excuses for why they don't tithe (or don't give a full 10%). The excuses range from "I can't afford it" to "It's an Old Testament thing" to "Everything I have is already God's, so I don't need to give a tenth back" to "I give a tenth of my time, so I don't need to give any money" to "The government already takes too much of my money," and so on.

There's only one place in the entire Bible where God actually calls His followers to test Him. That place can be found in Malachi 3:10: "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need."

Right now, tithers make up about 10-25% of a typical church congregation.46 That means 75-90% of an average church isn't giving. Furthermore, Christians are giving an average of 2.5% back to God versus the tenth that God has requested. Sadly, that's down from 3.3% in the Great Depression.47

Based on those stats, here's the thing that bothers me the most. I've seen the impact that 2.5% has on our communities, both locally and globally. I've been a witness to churches spending this money wisely on things like justice, compassion, feeding the hungry, building communities, creating opportunity, and so on.

For example, at the church I attend (West London Alliance Church), it absolutely floors me (in a good way) that such a small amount of money can go such a long way. I am continually humbled and amazed at the level of impact that we have in the lives of those living in London, Ontario and around the world.

Churches are making an enormous impact. But just imagine what would happen if Christians were bringing the full tithe into the storehouse and giving 10%.

Relevant Magazine notes that if those numbers rose (in the U.S.) from 2.5% to 10%, there would be an additional $165 billion for churches to use and distribute.48 To put that in perspective, consider this:

  * $25 billion would relieve global hunger, starvation, and deaths from preventable diseases in 5 years
  * $12 billion would eliminate illiteracy in 5 years
  * $15 billion would solve the world's water and sanitation issues, specifically at places in the world where 1 billion people live on less than $1 per day
  * $1 billion would fully fund the Great Commission
  * $100 – $110 billion would still be left over49

Based on the Malachi verse alone, I'd think that Christians would be jumping at the opportunity to give back to God! Who doesn't want the windows of heaven thrown open and God's blessing to rest upon them? Yet money is a strange and powerful thing. It possesses the ability to cause Christians to throw out spiritual reason for earthly circumstances.

I am speaking from personal experience; Carolyn and I have tested God over and over again when it comes to this principle. Let me tell you—He has always been faithful.

Unity, Humility, Love,   
Forgiveness

"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." (Proverbs 15:1)

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

"Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor." (Proverbs 18:12, NIV84)

"Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people." (Titus 3:1-2)

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:1-3)

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." (Colossians 3:12-13)

In 1997, while working at a web design company in Toronto, I became a part-time student at Tyndale Bible College and Seminary (formerly known as Ontario Bible College). One of the things that excited me about the school was that it was multi-denominational, with students from over 35 different denominations if memory serves me correctly.

A note to the non-Christian reader: Denominations are groups of Christian churches. Every evangelical Christian denomination agrees with certain core principles, in particular that God sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins, who on the third day (known as Easter Sunday) rose again and now sits at the right hand of God. However, based on interpretation of Scripture, each denomination differs slightly in its way of thinking. For example, one denomination might believe that infants should be baptized, whereas another denomination might believe that people should make the conscious choice to be baptized. There are hundreds of different Christian denominations.

For me, a multi-denominational school was exciting, because I had taken part in a wide variety of church denominations, including Pentecostal, Baptist, Vineyard, Presbyterian, Reformed, Missionary and Alliance. Carolyn and I had also attended a couple of "non-denominational" churches, which are really just denominational churches trying to be sensitive to people who don't want to be associated with a denomination. I feel that every Christian denomination that I've attended has something valuable to offer.

Wow, was I in for a shock! I've never seen so many so-called "Christians" rip into each other because of their personal belief systems. It's like the entire school (or what seemed like the entire school) completely threw out the book of Ephesians (let alone Ephesians 4 which speaks to unity among believers) and created one of the most disjointed spiritual places I've ever been a part of.

Let me give you an example: Upon returning from missionary work in Papua New Guinea and Northern Ireland, Carolyn entered Tyndale Bible College. She was excited to go to school there because she felt it would be an extension of the missionary work that she had experienced overseas.

Many students sought to draw lines in the sand with each other based on significant man-made belief systems. In her first week there, she was asked which side of the line she stood on when it came to a specific theological viewpoint50, as if that viewpoint determined whether you were a Christian or not. Not understanding what they were talking about, she responded, "I'm a Christian." Apparently that wasn't a good enough answer. Again she was asked the question, "Which theological viewpoint do you side with?" Again she responded, "I'm a Christian". The response: "We'll convert you to our side before you leave here."

At that point, Carolyn stepped away from the conversation. Later, she came to an understanding of the two different viewpoints and was given a bad taste for anyone who sided with the same viewpoint as the person who sought to "convert her" to their side. (This took a long time to get over.)

There are lots of Christians who disagree with each other on certain theological issues. I believe God shows us many things in His Word that can't simply be broken down into black and white definitions. Such is the case when it came to the issue that Carolyn was faced with. Sometimes there is grey, and we have to deal with it.

Now don't get me wrong. There were (and still are) a lot of amazing people that came out of Tyndale, some of them still on fire for the Lord. But the sad thing is that many of the people I met at Tyndale aren't Christians anymore. And as a part-time student, who in many cases had the opportunity to look in from outside the circle, I boil it down to four destructive principles (with one core focus):

  1. Lack of unity in Christ (because of pride)
  2. Lack of humility (because of pride)
  3. Lack of love (because of pride)
  4. Lack of forgiveness (because of pride)

It amazes me how we're all called to be part of the collective church (Romans 12:4) yet for some reason, we all think that our part is the greatest, and the rest of the church needs to somehow fall in line.

We need to get over our pride. We're destroying ourselves and we look like fools doing it.

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom." (Proverbs 11:2)

One final thought on this topic. Some people have gone to the extreme and decided that they don't need a church anymore and can somehow get by on their own, or that "their friends are their church", or that "church on TV is a fine substitution." Friends are great and there are some amazing speakers on TV, but unless you're physically unable to get to a church, they are all just excuses that are completely removed from New Testament principles. Sometimes being part of a church isn't easy; people can say and do stupid things. But that doesn't remove your calling from being part of the collective church. "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.'" (1 Corinthians 12:21) The church needs you and you need the church, whether you realize it or not.

Being part of a church that's alive to the truths of Christ gives each of us an opportunity to be a part of something far bigger than we ourselves could accomplish. Sadly, when I look at the church and all the good that it's doing, I see that it's only doing a fraction of the good that it could be doing if people were seriously invested in it. Not one of us has it all together; we're all broken human beings. But to be a part of the church is to be part of a force for good in the world. Jesus did not establish the church as fortresses to protect us from the outside world. He established the church as a place of refuge for all to come to Him.

We are not perfect. His church is not perfect. But God's grace is sufficient for us, and His power is made perfect in our weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Define "Believe"

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21, NIV84)

There's a scary trend happening right now in Christianity. It's called half-heartedness. On one hand, people like the idea of having a Savior and in response, they call Jesus the "Lord of their lives." On the other hand, people don't like everything that Jesus had to say, so in response, they pick and choose what teachings of Jesus they want to adhere to, and which ones they want to ignore.

Sound confusing? It is! How is it possible that someone can follow Jesus, yet ignore much of what He had to say? Jesus thought it was confusing too. In Luke 6:46 He says, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?"

Here's the kicker: as Christians, we always like to say that we're saved by His grace. Ephesians 2:8 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." Indeed, it is by grace that we are saved!

But if you're not abiding in what Jesus commanded you to do, what makes you think that you're a Christian? Because you said, "Jesus, you are Lord... I give you my heart?"

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." And Romans 10:9 (NIV) says, "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

In looking at these two verses alone, we'd say, "Yep, all I have to do is say the words and I'm in." But the Bible's not like that. The rest of the Scripture always brings context to help us understand what each verse means. Scripture is intertwined like a finely knit garment. To take one verse and not put it in context with the rest of the Bible would be wrong.

Take Job 3:2 (NIV) for example. The verse goes like this:

"He said"

That's it! "He said".

He said what?

Exactly my point! By taking single verses in the Bible and not putting them in context with other Scripture, we shortchange the Word of God and put ourselves in serious danger of being false teachers.

So when the Bible says "believe", what does that

actually mean?

Does it mean "believe" like in fairytales? "Once upon a time, there was a Jesus far, far away..."

Or does it mean to have authentic confidence that Jesus Christ died for your sins and that He is Lord of all? And if that's the definition that we're going to go by, shouldn't it change our outlook about what's important in life and what's not?

Tim Keller notes in his book, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, "If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that He said; if He didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead."

In my mind, to say that "I believe in something" means that I'm abiding in that belief. Otherwise, I'm just a liar whose words say one thing, while my actions prove differently.

James 2:19 (NIV) says, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder."

Therefore, the word "believe" cannot just mean believe as in fairytale. It must mean more than that.

Now for a brand new Christian, I get it. You haven't had the opportunity to serve the Lord yet. And people who authentically accept Jesus into their lives just before they die (like the criminal on the cross did in Luke 23:39-43) won't get much of an opportunity to serve either.

But for those of you who call yourselves Christians, what is your rationale for not doing what the Lord has told you to do?

"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." (James 2:14-17)

Can works alone save you? Absolutely not! But you need to understand that works are proof of your faith. Without them, you really don't have faith. You talk the talk but you don't walk the walk.

I've given lots of examples throughout this book of what unauthentic faith might look like. Here are a few more to chew on:

  * Husbands: You call yourself a Christian yet habitually wound your wife with hurtful and disparaging speech. Read Ephesians 5:25-29
  * Wives: You call yourself a Christian yet habitually wound your husband with hurtful and disparaging speech. Read Proverbs 12:4
  * Everyone: You call yourself a Christian yet continually gossip about others. Read Ephesians 4:29-32, 2 Timothy 2:16, 1 Timothy 5:13 and Proverbs 10:18
  * Everyone: You call yourself a Christian yet continually criticize and judge other Christians, putting aside the act of forgiveness. Read Matthew 7:1-5, Ecclesiastics 5:2, Colossians 3:13, Matthew 8:15-17

"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." (Hebrews 10:26)

The punch line

Evaluate your life and make sure that if you're calling yourself a "Christian" then you're living like a Christian.

Ensure that you've called upon the name of the Lord so that you can be saved (Joel 2:32 as quoted in Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13) and then follow His commandments.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. "On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:40)

Your neighbor = your spouse, your friends, your enemies and everyone that you come into contact with.

I fear that many who call themselves Christians have ignored His commandments, making their faith out to be false. They are choked out by the thorns, scorched by the sun or devoured by the birds. (Matthew 13:1-9)

On the day that I die, I want to be sure that I am indeed a follower of Christ and not just an advocate of the things He had to say. I refuse to be a hypocrite, saying one thing and doing another.

Our Friends

I have one final topic that I'd like to address: our friends. It concerns me that over the years many Christians have gone the way of the Pharisees and formed tight, exclusive groups of religious friends, forgetting the fact that Jesus' favorite people to hang out with were the furthest from religion.

Question: Before they met Jesus, how many of Jesus' twelve disciples were considered religious?

The answer: Zero.

Luke 15:1-2 says, "Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, 'This man receives sinners and eats with them.'"

I'm not implying that Christians shouldn't have Christian friends. But if all your friends are Christians, who are you discipling? When Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19), did that not apply to you?

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)

Stop hiding your light by sheltering yourself behind other Christians, or in some cases, not shining it at all. "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." (Matthew 9:12b, NIV84)

Live for Christ Alone

There are many other things that I could write about in this section. But it would seem that out of all things that the Lord has put on my heart, the one that stands out the most is that many of us are calling ourselves "Christians", yet not really living like Christians.

To live like a Christian, will you have to make some extremely tough decisions? Likely.

Will you have to make some life-altering changes? Likely.

Will some people hate you because of your commitment to Christ? Yes.

Will your life be better for it? Yes.

"Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."   
(1 Corinthians 10:31b)

I pray that something I've spoken about in this section has jarred you in such a way that it would cause you to make a change in your life. We only have a short time here on this earth. Don't waste it on pampering yourself or living under a rock.

I'll leave you with the words of Jesus from John 15:9-25:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.'
3.   
MY LIFE. MY JOURNEY.

Accepting Christ

I came to know Christ when I was eight years old. Neither of my parents were Christians; my grandma and granddad (on my mom's side) had just become Christians and were attending a church in Toronto. On March 18, 1985, I was invited to a play called Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames. The play portrayed the lives of different people, and at the end of each scene, the people would tragically die and appear at the gates of Heaven. Based on whether or not they knew Christ, they were either taken into Heaven, or sent to Hell.

One particular scene really struck me. A mother would drop her child off to Sunday school every week, yet said that church was "not for her". The child would always ask her mom to go to church, but her mom always declined. One day, they were both tragically killed in a car accident. In the next scene, you see them at the gates of Heaven. Jesus takes the child's hand and walks her through the gate into Heaven, while the mother is taken into Hell. At the end of the play, I walked up the aisle and accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. At the same time, my mother walked up the aisle and accepted Christ with me.

A non-Christian might look at my testimony and think that I made my decision based on the fact that I didn't want to go to Hell, but it was actually quite the contrary. The simple reality that I could be with Jesus when I die set my course up the aisle that day. I already had a strong sense of good and evil in the world; this "call to believe in Christ" simply reinforced what I was feeling. It would be years later before I really understood the decision that I made, but this set the precedent for my life ahead.

My Mom's Baptism

Shortly after becoming a Christian, my mom decided that she wanted to be baptized.

In Matthew 28:18-20, following Jesus' resurrection from death, He says, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

The night before her baptism, she recalls "coming under attack". It was like the enemy was trying to do everything he could do prevent her from being baptized. We lived in a townhouse at the time and our neighbors held an all-night party, keeping her up for the entire night.

The next day we got in her car, a 1980 rear-wheel-drive Mustang, and began the drive to the church. On our way there, a massive storm hit and flooded out the road. About two blocks before the church, her car died.

In the pouring rain at the side of Markham Road, we abandoned the car and ran all the way to the church. Thinking back to that day, I remember my mom's faith; nothing was going to come between her and testifying her faith in Christ through baptism.

When we left the church, we walked outside and there wasn't a cloud in the sky or a trace of water on the ground. It was like the storm never happened. But something did happen—something incredible, and I was there to witness it.

I personally don't remember this next part, but when revisiting the story again with my mom, she says, "Don't you remember the clouds?" Unfortunately, I don't—I was probably looking down at my feet. "The clouds... they were amazing," she says. "The shape of them looked like Jesus standing beside a child. It was amazing."

Hannah

Have you ever encountered someone in life who had something completely different about them? And when I say "different", I mean "spiritually different". While many people talk the talk, there are very few that actually walk the walk.

For me, one of those "walk the walk" people was Hannah.

Hannah was a friend of my grandma's who, for a period of time, attended the same church that I did. Over the years, I had many opportunities to chat with her, and in many ways, she was a "living example" of Christ to me. Hannah was a prayer warrior; when she prayed, God moved.

In Luke 17:6, Jesus says, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you."

Hannah had that kind of faith. She had faith beyond anything I had ever seen, and it was evident in her prayer.

She lived in a home with her husband, Fred, a bipolar man prone to bouts of violent aggression. Home life was so bad that their son moved out because he couldn't take it anymore. But God protected her.

Every time Fred had a violent mood swing, she prayed. She says that when she prayed it was like an "invisible wall" went up in front of her that Fred couldn't get through. It stopped him in his tracks every time; he could not penetrate it.

Hannah was passionate and served God with all of her heart. When she came to faith in the Lord, she asked Him for one thing: to use her to bring 1,000 people to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Hannah kept a book with her at all times. She wrote down every single person's name that she led to the Lord, as a testimony to God's glory. Although she was keeping track, she said, "God was keeping the real record."

Hannah was about as close to the Biblical definition of one of Jesus' disciples as I've ever seen modeled. She preached the name of Jesus at all costs. She walked alone through neighborhoods that most men would avoid, even with companions. She'd walk through apartment buildings so that she could pray for the people in them. She would hop on a bus without knowing where she was going, just so she could talk with people about Jesus. She'd stand on street corners in dangerous areas—it didn't matter because God was always right there with her.

On one occasion, she was standing on the corner of Gerrard Street and Coxwell Avenue in Toronto. A man approached her that made her feel nervous; he was agitated, but she felt she needed to talk with him about the Lord. He continued to be agitated; she continued to talk about Jesus. Finally, the man began to calm down. The street was very busy at the time so they moved over to a telephone booth where they could continue the conversation away from the bustle of the people.

There, by the telephone booth, Hannah led him to know the Lord, sharing with him the good news of how Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we might live with Him for eternity. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." On that day, this man chose to turn his life around and accept God's gift of Jesus.

As he was about to leave, Hannah asked him, "What are you going to do now that you know Jesus?" The man reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a machete knife.

He responded, "I was on my way home to kill my wife and kids. Had you not stopped me, I would have gone through with it. Now, I'm going home to tell my family about Jesus, and to love them."

This is how Hannah lived life; this is an example of the people that crossed her path. An entire book could probably be written just on her ministry. I will refer to her in later sections.

In the Hebrew language, the name "Hannah" means "Grace" or "God has favored me." When it came to Hannah, I found this meaning to ring true. Sadly (for us), she passed away in 2009, but not before the Lord granted her request, and then some. When she reached 1,000 names, she asked for 1,000 more—all for His glory that His name might be praised.

It was never about counting numbers; it was always about serving the Creator.

Benji

During the summer of 1985, we were on our way back from a cottage when we stopped at a local ice cream shop just outside of Barrie, Ontario. Upon arrival, we noticed a white, fluffy dog leashed to a picnic table. We learned from an employee that the dog had been abandoned earlier in the day and was free to a good owner.

About a month prior, Barrie had been leveled by an F4 tornado that devastated the community and left a path of death and destruction. Our assumption was that someone from Barrie had left him there because they simply couldn't care for him any longer.

We took the dog home and named him Benji. (He actually resembled the dog from the movie.) Over the years, he became part of the family. He would ride in the car with us, go to the beach with us, go on vacations with us, and so on.

There were three specific instances where we almost lost Benji: twice at the cottage and once at The Beaches, a popular neighborhood in Toronto. Benji was an escape artist. If he could climb a fence or wiggle himself out of a collar, he'd do it. I won't go into detail, but each instance was equally scary. The common denominator in each case was prayer. Every time Benji would escape, we'd pray. And we'd pray. And pray. Sometimes it would take 30 minutes, sometimes it would take over an hour; but each time, by the grace of God, we found him.

Now if you're not an animal lover, you're probably thinking, "Dude, relax. It was only a dog." But Benji was special to us, and besides that, God had something even greater that he wanted to show us.

It was August 7, 1997—my 21st birthday. I received a phone call from my mother who lived in Mount Albert. She was in tears. Benji hadn't been doing very well for about six months. He had begun to limp earlier in the year, just before I moved out to live at Tyndale Bible College & Seminary.

A couple of days prior, Benji had lost his ability to walk. My stepdad, Bill, would carry him outside and help him up so that he could go to the bathroom, but his fate looked sealed.

They had called our town veterinarian (who conveniently lived next door to them). He was a very nice man and always bent over backwards to help out our family. He met them at the clinic and ran a series of tests and x-rays on Benji. The results weren't good.

Benji had degenerative disc disease and a disc in his back had totally disintegrated. The vet advised my mom and Bill that it was time to put Benji down; he would never walk again. After conferring with each other, they decided to bring him home.

Following the phone call, I drove to Mount Albert, about a 45-minute drive from Tyndale. When I got there, Benji was wrapped in a blanket, my mom and stepdad obviously distraught. We talked for a little while about the prognosis and recalled memories from Benji's life. My mom asked me what I thought we should do. My response: "Call Hannah."

She quickly processed where I was going with this. "You want me to call Hannah? What should I say?"

"Tell her the situation with Benji. Tell her I've asked you to call her for prayer for God to heal Benji."

I left for the night and my mom called Hannah.

The next day I received a phone call.

"Benji's walking again!"

"What?"

"I called Hannah last night. She prayed for him; we all prayed for him. Now he's walking again!"

My mom proceeded to tell me that despite a medical x-ray proving that he'd never walk again, Benji was now walking; nothing short of a miracle.

Instead of calling the vet, my mom and Benji just walked up and down the street, passing the vet's house each time. I don't know if he ever came to know the Lord; I pray that he did. One thing is for certain: he saw the mighty power of the Lord that day.

In time, Benji passed away, but not before God did His thing. It's truly amazing how God uses every creature for His glory and purpose until its life is completed. Sometimes   
He chooses to heal, sometimes He doesn't, but everything He does has purpose and reason behind it (even when we can't understand it).

Romans 11:35 says, "For from Him and through Him and to him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen."

And Lamentations 3:22-24 says, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.'"

Great is His faithfulness. And His mercies are new every morning.

Oh, one more thing you should know: God has a very strange sense of humor. Benji ended up outliving the veterinarian.

My Mom's Health Issues

One year, my mother was having major health concerns—she was always dizzy, had a fever, and so on. It got so bad, my grandma had to drive her to work each day.

Finally, she ended up going to the doctor who set her up with a specialist at Sunnybrook Hospital's Dizziness Clinic. Upon further examination and blood tests, two alarming things came to the forefront: (1) my mom had a lump on her breast, and (2) she had severe lead poisoning.

The lead poisoning was a result of where she worked as an Office Admin: a die casting company in Toronto that used large amounts of lead in their products. The specialist scheduled a mammogram to further diagnose the issue.

My mom then called my grandma who called Hannah. They all met at my grandma's house, as they usually did when something needed to be taken to prayer. While Hannah and my grandma were praying for my mom, she knew through faith that the Lord had healed her.

Upon getting the mammogram and visiting the specialist, two new things came to light: (1) the lump on her breast had "somehow" disappeared, and (2) her lead poisoning was gone.

My mom was no longer dizzy and her fever was all but forgotten. She returned to her job and worked there for many more years.

As I reflect back more than two decades later, it's easy to let moments like these slip away from memory. More hardships arrive, new illnesses form, and it's easy it's easy to shout, "Where is God now? Why won't He come to our rescue?" But in doing so, we miss the point and make a mockery of God, like what He did back then wasn't good enough.

God reveals His miraculous power when it aligns with His plan for our lives. He is the author and Creator. He sees the big picture; we do not.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)

Mavis

Mavis, the late mother of my stepdad, Bill, was a wonderful woman. One summer, a car hit Mavis, leaving her lower body so badly damaged that she was unable to walk.

About six months after the accident, during a heat wave in Toronto, my grandparents invited Mavis to stay with them for the weekend so that she could enjoy their air conditioning.

Every week, my grandma hosted a small prayer group and on that Saturday, they decided they were going to pray for Mavis.

Hannah and another lady were in attendance. Although Mavis was unable to stand on her own, she was able to do so with the assistance of crutches.

They formed a circle around Mavis and prayed.

In the words of my grandma, "Mavis got knocked right off her feet. I thought she was going to go through the living room window. God protected her, and under ordinary circumstances, she would have gone right through the window. She just dropped to the floor and didn't know what happened."

I was in the house at the time and knew something had happened. Mavis got up off the floor and began walking.

Later that night, my mom, Bill, Mavis and I left my grand-parents' house, but unlike when we had arrived, Mavis was walking.

My Granddad's Battle   
& Testimony

On a summer evening in 1991, my granddad suffered a major heart attack. The heart attack was so massive that it lasted from the time my grandma took him to the hospital right through to the next morning.

Following a sleepless night, my grandma was told by nurse, "We nearly lost your husband three times last night." By all accounts he should have been dead.

Eighty percent of his heart was damaged. They didn't know how to handle him (because he kept having heart attacks) so they transferred him from Markham Stouffville Hospital to St. Michael's Hospital.

When they finally got him stable, he was told that surgery wasn't an option because it was too risky.

He was to live out the time he had left and take life on a day-by-day basis.

In 1992, my grandma pleaded with the cardiologist to perform surgery on my granddad. To get the surgery approved, it had to be cleared by the Ontario Medical Board. When they received his case, they rejected it, again saying that it was too risky.

My grandma didn't let up; she kept phoning and phoning. "You've got to do something. You've got to do something!" she pleaded.

Finally, the cardiologist presented his case again and they agreed to allow the surgery even though they didn't think he would survive it.

Later, on a scheduled date, my granddad was admitted to Sunnybrook Hospital and had a quadruple bypass.

He survived it.

Following the surgery, my granddad got himself into the regular exercise routine of walking around the block every day. In 1994, something strange started happening. During the course of his daily walk, he began tripping.

Their family doctor couldn't diagnose the issue so he referred my granddad to a neurologist at Markham Stouffville Hospital. The neurologist couldn't figure it out so she sent him to St. Michael's Hospital and Sunnybrook for further testing.

Four years later in December of 1998, they finally came to a diagnosis: my granddad had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease.

ALS is a debilitating disease with varied etiology characterized by rapidly progressive weakness, muscle atrophy, muscle spasticity, difficulty speaking (dysarthria), difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), and difficulty breathing (dyspnea).51 Only 20% of people live longer than five years after onset of symptoms.52  
My granddad had already lived four.

And that's what baffled the doctors. Although my granddad clearly had ALS, there was nothing rapid about his decline. In a matter of four years, the only thing that he lost was some muscle in his leg. He had no difficulty breathing, no difficulty swallowing, no speech impediments and no progressive weakness.

As far as Sunnybrook Hospital was concerned, he was a walking miracle. The head of ALS (Neurology) at the time told my grandma that he was absolutely amazed that it wasn't progressing, as it should.

My grandma responded, "Well doctor, let me tell you... I pray for my husband every day."

He looked at her and said, "Well, I'll tell you... your prayer has done more than anything I can do."

Fast-forward nine years to March 13, 2007, about 16 years after his massive heart attack, and 13 years after he first felt the onset of ALS. My granddad was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Before he went into lung surgery at Southlake Hospital, they took an angiogram—a medical image that shows blood vessels and organs within the body. The test was necessary because of my granddad's heart attack years earlier.

Looking at the arteries of my granddad's heart on the angiogram, the doctor was perplexed. "In all of the years I've been in practice, I have never seen a bypass surgery where the arteries are so pristine after all these years," he proclaimed.

My grandma acknowledged that, "When doctors see things like that, they know something's happened, but they can't explain it from a medical point of view."

"God is the great physician. He has left a lot of doctors astonished."

Fishing

I could tell you plenty of great fishing stories—I have lots! Some of them got away, some of them didn't. I've even had fish randomly jump in the boat (as my friend Graham Buchanan can attest to). Let me just tell you that when a fish jumps in the boat without being caught, it is not happy!

The story I want to share came very early on in my faith. We were in Minden, Ontario. I was sitting in the middle of 12 Mile Lake on a paddleboat with my mom. We had been out there for a long period of time and weren't catching a thing. I told my mom that the fish weren't going to bite today so we might as well head in. My mom suggested that before we throw in the towel, that we pray. I had never prayed for catching fish before, but it seemed like a good idea.

Within seconds of praying, my line screamed. A few minutes later, I reeled in probably the biggest smallmouth bass I've caught to this day.

Luke 5:1-11 records this: "On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on Him to hear the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, He asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.' And Simon answered, 'Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.' And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.' For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.' And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him."

When I think back to that moment on the paddleboat, I realize it was never about the fish, but rather God bringing glory to Himself. All authority is His. He commands the waves to be still, the wind to stop, and even the fish to bite. Could it have happened by chance? Sure. But chance had its opportunity for hours. God needed only seconds.

You might be thinking to yourself, "Man, I should head out fishing with you!" Truth be told, since that moment, I've been out fishing dozens of times where I've prayed for fish. Sometimes we catch them, sometimes we don't. I do know one thing though: God is in control, and that's good enough for me.

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." (Proverbs 19:21)

Our Daughter, Adalai

As I sit here about to write this section, my mind is filled with thoughts and emotions. Wow. What an amazing, life-altering journey.

Much of my testimony to this point has focused on the miraculous power of God through physical healing. Let me be the first to say that sometimes God shows His glory through physical healing, and sometimes He knows better. We don't have to look far in Scripture to see examples of this.

Speaking on being given a thorn in his flesh, Paul notes (in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10), "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Or rewind to Luke 22 when Jesus, who knows He's about to be crucified says, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."

God could have removed the thorn from Paul, but He didn't. His power was made perfect in Paul's weakness. He could have removed the cup from His Son, Jesus, but for the sake of mankind, He did not.

Jesus himself taught us how to pray. "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10)

Sometimes the things we want in the flesh (such as healing) are in His will, and sometimes they are not. But we can be sure that if we trust Him, He will not lead us astray.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Now fast-forward to the 21st century, and that's where Carolyn and I found ourselves when it came to having children.

Carolyn sums it up best in her blog from January 25th, 2012:

If you know anything about us, you know that Ray and I struggled with infertility for many years. We prayed for a child continuously. We shared our pain with friends and family so that they could pray with us. It seemed that God was not answering our prayers. Instead, I was left reeling from what felt like a complete betrayal from the relationship that meant the most to me outside of my relationship with my husband. If prayer and working at a relationship with Christ was all that would have brought a child into my life, I would have been pregnant.

In His great wisdom, God withheld a biological child from us because He knew that He had a greater gift to give us. While the road was painful for many years, when we were lead to adopt, God placed Adalai into our lives more quickly than we ever anticipated! She is our miracle child regardless of her being carried in another mother's womb. She is the child God intended for us.

My firm belief, after years spent pleading with God to give me my heart's desire in the way I wanted it to be fulfilled, is that our prayers need to be rightly focused. If what I am asking for is not in God's plan for my life, it won't matter how many times I request it. Through my struggle with infertility, I learned to pray for what was God's will for me. And beyond that, if my heart's desire was not His desire for me then I needed Him to remove it from me.

This simple change in how I approached God in my request changed me completely. After five years of praying about our infertility, God certainly knew what I'd be asking for. But, I began pleading for His will to be done even though it may not be my will. I began pleading for Him to remove the desire to have a biological child if He did not intend for me to be pregnant. It was not an instant miracle but it did happen. About 7 months before we adopted our daughter I felt a significant change within me. I was finally at peace with never having biological children. I was ready to accept whatever God had in store for us. God had changed my heart to be more like His in preparation for the wonderful gift He had planned for us. (For the full blog post, visit http://g7.gs/giants)

On June 16, 2007, Carolyn and I officially began the journey to adoption through a home study. Both of us felt complete peace in our hearts about wanting to adopt a child, and the home study was the first part of the process. A home study enables a social worker to "evaluate the home", which obviously includes evaluating the potential parents.

Our assigned social worker, Kim, was phenomenal. Before the interview, we had some uneasiness regarding some of the questions that we might be asked. But everything she asked was helpful and to-the-point. The big decision that we had to make at that point was which adoption route we wanted to go with. Essentially, there are three paths when it comes to adoption: International, CAS (Children's Aid Society) and Private. She explained that each type of adoption would require a different home study.

Carolyn and I had discussed it prior to the meeting and decided to go with the private route. In a typical scenario with private adoption, the potential parents provide a "profile" to the mother seeking adoptive parents. Usually, the mother picks between a number of profiles based on her desire for her child. For example, some mothers prefer that their child be adopted by a couple with no children, whereas others want their child placed in a home where children are already present.

In the weeks following our first home study, we did lots of homework. We met with Charmaine, a lady representing an online adoption registry53, who helped us write our adoption profile. We did police checks, fingerprinting, and thanks to Matt Sharpe (a good friend of ours), we were able to design a twelve-page creative profile.

We continued with our home study on July 28 and finished up on August 13. At that point, Kim told us she had everything she needed. It was just a matter of compiling all of the paperwork, getting us approved by the government, and then presenting our profile to potential birthmothers. As far as how long she thought it would take to find a child, she really couldn't answer that. "Usually somewhere between one and two years, but it could be longer; you simply don't know."

Regardless of the amount of time it would take once our home study was approved, we were prepared to wait on the Lord.

On the afternoon of Saturday, September 22, we received a call and email from Kim letting us know that our home study had been approved. There were just a couple of minor revisions that needed to be completed, but other than that, we were good to go. The "one to two year, or sometimes longer" process had officially begun.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5).

"Didn't you just quote that verse?" you might ask.

Yes. Yes, I did. And I'll repeat it again. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

It was Monday, September 24. For those of you counting on your fingers, that's two days after our home study had been approved. The considerable amount that God had already taught me that year paled in comparison to what this day had in store.

My morning began in an ordinary fashion, though this Monday was not quite typical. I was on my way to speak at a conference for the Canadian Council of Christian Charities (CCCC). I had been preparing a number of days in advance for this engagement. The plan was to drive to Toronto, shoot a round of golf with Brian Klassen (my friend and business partner) and Andrew VanderPloeg (my friend and VP, Communications at our company), and then head to the hotel where the conference was being held. Then, the next morning, we would all do our respective talks at the conference.

On my way out the door, something stirred me mentally. In my laptop bag was my laptop (with my presentation on it), my digital camera, and my video camera.

Earlier in the year, Carolyn I had visited Daniel and Vera Kuranji, missionaries in Novi Sad, Serbia. While we were there, we recorded numerous videos of testimonies and events, none of which had been transferred or backed up to a computer.

It was like the Holy Spirit triggered my conscience. "Take the camera out of your bag in case it gets stolen."

Not really thinking too much about it, I went back in the house, opened up my laptop bag and removed the camera. I then drove off to pick up Brian and Andrew.

When we arrived at Royal Woodbine Golf Course, the parking lot was unusually packed. We ended up finding a spot near the back of the lot beside a cargo van.

While we were out playing, my friend Dave Drinkwalter called. I try not to take calls on the golf course, so, true to form, I didn't take this one either. Then he called again. Like the last time, I declined the call. Finally, he called one more time on the 18th green, and again I declined the call, knowing that I could chat with him in a matter of minutes.

I didn't really think anything of it. Dave and I talked all the time. Being September, I assumed that the Maple Leafs had landed a big player or something like that. I calmly finished up my round with the boys and walked back to my SUV.

As we approached the vehicle, I noticed that one of the rear windows near the trunk was shattered. I thought someone had driven a golf ball through my window due to a rogue drive. But as I approached the vehicle, I realized that it was much worse than that. Everything was gone—our laptop bags, our camera equipment, our suitcases and even our suits.

For those of you that know me, you know that I'm pretty particular when it comes to protecting my gear. You can steal my car, my clothes, or my wallet, but whatever you do, don't steal my laptop.

One of my greatest fears had come true—my laptop (along with everyone else's) had been stolen.

And that's one of the things that made this day so weird. Instead of losing my cool, I was completely calm. I mean, I wasn't happy about the situation—someone had just violated my car. But I wasn't angry either. "Lord, your will be done."

I walked into the clubhouse and asked the Golf Pro if they had any video cameras; they did not. He told me that this had been a recurring theme at the course lately, even citing a time when he chased the kids a number of blocks before giving up. He explained that, because Royal Woodbine is located near the airport, the thieves would wait for a plane to fly overhead to mask the sound of their activities. At the right moment, the thieves would shatter the glass on a vehicle with a pair of charged jumper cables (which explained why all of my glass was broken into tiny little pieces).

I then asked him if I could use a computer while I called the police. The reason why I asked to use the computer was because each one of our computers was equipped with Computrace, which is computer-monitoring software used to track stolen devices. Within seconds, I located our laptops. They were in an apartment building near Highway 401 in Toronto. I relayed all of the data to the police and they took my information. Again, I was completely relaxed inside. It was actually kind of surreal.

After patching up the window with a sheet of plastic, we determined that the best thing to do would be to drive to the CCCC conference and let them know that we couldn't present anymore. All of our data had been on the laptops and wasn't backed up, a learned lesson that we have now remedied at our company. We could have winged our presentations, but we all determined that the best thing to do would be to offer CCCC attendees a future workshop at no cost.

While we were standing outside of the hotel, my phone rang again. It was Dave; this time I picked up.

Ray: Hello.

Dave: Hey bro, it's Dave. I've been trying to get a hold of you all day!

Ray: I know man... I'm really sorry. We were playing golf and my car got broken into. All of our laptops, camera gear and clothes are gone. We're just standing in front of a hotel. Can I give you a call back?

Dave: Dude, I really need to chat with you now.

Ray: Why? What's up?

Dave: You know how you guys are looking to adopt?

Ray: Yeah?

Dave: My co-worker Jane just found out about a baby girl in need of adoption. Are you guys interested?

<insert long pause>

I honestly can't even describe the range of emotions that came over me at that point. I removed myself from the conversation with Andrew, Brian and CCCC, and walked to the back of my SUV.

Everything that had happened over the course of that day—it didn't matter. All of my possessions—I would give them up in a second for this.

The birth mom's name was Jennifer, who as it turned out, I went to high school with. She was a few years older than me so I never really knew her, but it did add some more amazement to the entire situation.

Jennifer had her baby at 2:20 a.m. on the morning of September 21. Jane, a worker at the Salvation Army church in Newmarket, knew Jennifer and was good friends with Dave who was the church's Youth Pastor at the time.

Immediately, I called up Carolyn and shared the news with her. She was ecstatic. Both of us knew in our hearts that this was the little girl that God had been preparing us for all of these years.

The next number of weeks were a whirlwind. We immediately went into "task mode". Our social worker Kim cautioned us, as stuff like this just doesn't happen.

On September 24, Carolyn sent Kim an email asking her how long the process could take at this point. Kim, again cautioned us, "Two weeks or more is a good estimate. But remember there is no point in getting too prepared at this stage. Just wait until we know more."

At the recommendation of Kim, we hired a lawyer from Toronto named Cheryl who acted as our adoption licensee. She was a really nice lady, who also warned us not to get too far ahead of ourselves.

As it turned out, there was a serious roadblock. When Jennifer had her baby, it was a surprise; she didn't even realize she was pregnant until her water broke. On the evening of September 21 when she left the hospital, she asked the Children's Aid Society to plan for her child.

Remember earlier in this section when I mentioned that CAS adoptions were totally separate and handled differently than private adoptions? Yeah, that was a big problem.

After contacting Jane, Jennifer became aware of us and set the bar in motion to try to switch it to a private adoption. Cheryl and Kim were very concerned that CAS would not give up the child.

On October 9, Carolyn and I met with Jennifer, Jane, and Jennifer's mother, Dorothy. What an amazing family! Jennifer and Carolyn shared similar personality traits and interests, while Jennifer and I shared common friends. We also learned that Jennifer had another daughter named Elisa, who was four years old.

Later that same day, through the grace of God, CAS released Jennifer's baby girl into the private foster care of Carol and Richard. And on October 18, we drove to Carol and Richard's and picked up our beautiful daughter. We named her Adalai Elizabeth Majoran. Adalai means "God is my refuge", and Elizabeth means "Consecrated to God". What an amazing gift from God!

After saying our thank-you's and goodbye's to Carol and Richard, we visited my side of the family. One of my most special memories is bringing Adalai to see my granddad nine days before he passed away. Although she'll never remember him here on earth, she'll get her opportunity one day in Heaven.

It's been almost seven years now since that day. The journey has been more than we'd ever hoped for. Not only were we able to adopt Adalai, we have become good friends with her birth family. We share frequent dialogue with Dorothy, Joe (Jennifer's father), Jennifer and Elisa. When we head to Toronto for Christmas, we spend a night at their place while Adalai and Elisa "party it up". Over the last couple of years we've developed a tradition of having Elisa up to the cottage with us. And when Joe and Dorothy are in London, where we live, they bring Elisa with them so she and Adalai can visit. They are absolutely amazing together.

What a great God we serve.

Close Calls

It's amazing how many close calls I've had in my life. I'm referring to those moments that you reflect back on and realize that you almost died.

I remember one day when I was 11 or 12, I crossed the street without really paying attention; I was focused on getting across the road to see a girl. (I'll refrain from cracking any jokes about women being that downfall of men.) As I crossed the street on my bike, a Mercedes-Benz came racing along (and I do mean racing). He saw me ride out and slammed on his brakes. When he finally came to a screeching halt, his bumper was about an arm's length away from me.

There were many times like this when, looking back, I see that the Lord spared my life. Members of my family have also shared many accounts with me of times when the Lord spared their lives.

Take for example my grandpa (on my dad's side) whose car was T-boned in an intersection. When one of the officers arrived on the scene, he gave my dad his condolences. My dad responded by telling him that my grandpa was in the hospital. The police offer was shocked; the car looked like it got crushed in a can opener. My grandpa ended up making a full recovery.

Or take my Aunt Karen's account from December 13, 2010:

Last week I drove to Nana's; it took me 1.5 hrs. I HONESTLY thought I was going to lose my life. Cars were spinning out all over the place and people were crashing and ending up in ditches! I finally got to Nana's, took some deep breaths in the parking lot, and composed myself enough to stop shaking and go in. When I went through the door to the lobby a little old lady was sitting there; she handed me a folded paper. I opened it up and it said 'Jesus Saves'. I told her that I honestly thought that my life had been saved that night.

In October of 1983, my grandma received a Bible as a gift from her brother and sister-in-law. It was a gift that she didn't really want. It wasn't until February of 1984 that she picked it up and started looking through it to find information on "fear, worry and anxiety".

Earlier that day the doctor had called and told her that he had found two masses on her kidneys. It was so serious that my grandma thought her life was over. She knew nothing about Jesus but pleaded with Him, "If you will spare my life, I will serve you." After that, her brother Jerry led her to the Lord.

She recounts:

Until your heart is ready and your eyes and ears are opened, people can preach all they want and talk about the Lord, but until that moment that God has for you, that special appointment—you don't hear it. You really don't hear it. Only when God knows you're ready, your heart is opened up for Jesus. For people to say that God doesn't exist, they have absolutely no idea what they're saying.

It's now 2014 as I finish up this book, and my grandma is alive and well. The Lord took my grandma up on her offer, and then some.

Here are two of Carolyn's accounts:

I recall being the young age of 9 and visiting with a friend at her dad's workplace, which happened to be the local jailhouse. We were goofing around in his office while he was checking on the inmates, when I began to choke on a gobstopper candy. I don't have any way of telling how long I was without breath but I can still feel the fear of not being able to help myself. My friend didn't know how to stop someone from choking so she just slapped me on the back repetitively. I distinctly remember silently calling out the words, 'God, please help me!' It was at the moment I requested His help that the candy became dislodged and I could breathe again. This remains such a vivid memory that even now, I can recall each second of this traumatic event.

Fast forwarding to today, I can tell you that there are so many more instances in my life that I felt saved from a tragic end. Recently I was driving on a fairly high-speed roadway in London and I had Adalai in the car with me. I was stuck in the slow lane and wanted to pass the person in front of me. Suddenly, my car started to smell like it was smoking. I slowed down and tried to figure out what might be wrong with my car. A few seconds later, the truck in the fast lane that I would have been behind, lost the large metal sheet it had been carrying. If I had moved from the slow lane, that metal sheet would have been in my windshield. After seeing the metal sheet go flying and I passed safely in the slow lane, my car stopped smelling smoky. I completely believe that God saved my life and the life of my child that day.

Joni

My stepmom Joni was one of the most caring people I have ever met. She married my dad when I was 11 years old, and was the mother to my siblings, Andrew and Elise.

If you ever needed anything, Joni was always there. She always put others first. In all the years that I knew Joni, I can't think of a single time when she put someone else down or gossiped about another individual. She was a "half-glass full" type of person.

Recently, we lost Joni to a lengthy battle with cancer. She was 58. Joni had faith in Jesus Christ; she knew Him as her Lord and Savior.

In the days before her passing, she shared amazing visions of meeting Jesus. During this time, my Dad, Andrew, and Elise rotated shifts sleeping at the hospital. Each night, they would pull a cot into the room and sleep beside Joni. On the night that Elise stayed there, she had a dream. She describes it to me as the most vivid dream she's ever had. "Ray, it was so real," she recounts.

In her dream, Elise finds herself in the same hospital room that she was sleeping in—same cot, same setup, same everything. She wakes up and sees her mom up and walking around. She's completely fine. "I was so happy!" Elise exclaims. "She wasn't sick anymore." Joni then walks to the closet, picks out a white dress and puts it on. Shortly afterwards, my Dad and Andrew walk in the room and realize that she's all better. They celebrate together, completely overjoyed at what's taken place.

What an amazing dream! It absolutely blew my mind when she told it to me; I was speechless.

In John 3:29, John the Baptist says, "The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete."

Elise was seeing a vision of the future, where there will be no pain—a time to rejoice and a time for celebration. Jesus calls himself the bridegroom and His people, the bride. The white dress that Joni was putting on was a representation of that relationship in Christ.

In John 14:1-3, Jesus says, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?"

We celebrate Joni's life knowing that she is now pain free, dwelling with her Savior, Jesus Christ.

Marissa

February 1, 2003 is a day that I'll never forget. For many of us, we remember the seven astronauts that lost their lives in a horrific space shuttle accident.

But that wasn't the only tragedy that happened that day. Back on earth, 13 students from Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School were skiing in the backcountry near Revelstoke, British Columbia when an avalanche caught them by surprise. Carolyn's cousin, Marissa, was one of the people on the trip.

I was up at Muskoka Woods Sports Resort when I received a phone call. "There was an avalanche in British Columbia; Marissa is not on the survivor list," Carolyn explained tearfully. Marissa, along with six other students had been tragically killed in the avalanche.

At the time of her death, Marissa was 15, four months shy of her sixteenth birthday. She was the daughter of Donna and Karl Staddon, and sister to Brittany.

The following is an excerpt that Donna wrote for her friend Donna Carter's book, 15 months after the avalanche:

Friday, January 31st, Marissa left early in the morning for her outdoor education ski trip—the anticipation and excitement was high! As I hugged her and kissed her goodbye—the usual 'Love you, have fun and be safe.' the tears started streaming down my cheeks. Not a usual occurrence with my goodbyes. Marissa looked at me, eye-to-eye and said, 'Mom, I'm going to be O.K.' I nodded my head in affirmation and gave her an extra firm hug and the 'I Love You' was exchanged one more time. But my stomach was unsettled that entire day as I frantically cleaned the house. My thoughts were constantly on Marissa and I prayed endlessly for her safety.

We received word of the avalanche at about 5 pm on Saturday, Feb. l, 2003. Marissa's name was not on the survivor list. The RCMP told us to prepare for the worst. We decided to drive to Revelstoke but just prior to leaving home, Ray Matheson one of our pastors here at First Alliance came to our home and prayed with us. The one thing I held on to during our drive was Ray's words: 'Marissa is alive... whether she is alive on earth or in heaven, she is alive.' I knew I could take assurance in that because Marissa had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I prayed to God that he would protect Marissa. I prayed that she would be safe and be alive but at the same moment, I also prayed that if He needed to take her so that another may have the opportunity to be prepared for eternity, I could accept that too.

We left home at 7:30 pm and about l5 minutes after being on the road, my husband Karl received the phone call from the RCMP informing us that Marissa was not a survivor. At that moment I just said out loud, 'Marissa is alive... she's alive and in heaven with Jesus.'

I felt nauseated with the reality that Marissa was gone from our presence and tears flowed, but at the same time I kept repeating those words of Ray's.... that Marissa is alive. It was a calming thought. The tears that flowed were quiet tears. I immediately held onto Christ, knowing that Marissa was safe with Him.

Marissa was gifted in many areas and was guided by her strong faith in Jesus Christ. She was passionate about figure skating, but even more so, she was passionate about serving Jesus.

In 2002, Marissa went on a trip to Mexico to help build houses for the poor. She loved interacting with the Spanish people and learning their language.

Donna recalls when Marissa was seven years old, their family spent almost three weeks with Wycliffe Bible Translators' personnel in Pucallpa, Peru. "We flew by float plane into a remote jungle village where Marissa laughed and played with the village children communicating only with smiles and giggles—no words spoken."

Five weeks prior to her death, Marissa told Donna that she hoped to one day use her Spanish, and perhaps with a medical degree, go and help people in remote areas of Central or South America. Marissa desired to give of herself to help others, to serve God and reach out to those in need.

It's times like this when we can easily throw up our hands to God and ask, "Why God? What possible purpose can you have in Marissa's death?" But He has a purpose indeed.

Through Marissa's death, many people came to know the Lord and grow stronger in Him. Donna received letter after letter from people who were changed by Marissa's life, and by her death.

Donna notes in her letter to CanIL—an organization that trains linguists, translators and trainers so that people can have access to the Bible in their own language:

Just a few weeks ago I came across some writings of Marissa's from January, 2003—in these she expressed 'I want to use my talents to better one person's life each and every day—I desire to be more self-less'. I cried when I read those words, knowing that indeed she was at that time, and to this day continues, impacting lives in a positive way. Her passion and energy to live life to the fullest and her heart to serve and encourage others was evidence that God was working through her. Though the pain of losing Marissa is ever present in my heart, God continues to tenderly remind me that His plan is so purposeful.

Marissa's passion and joy are painfully missed, but she is alive and well in Christ. One day soon, we will see her again.

Marissa reminds us of this through this amazingly prophetic poem that she wrote in February 2001, two years prior to her death:

A Fresh Start

Shoulders down...

Face downward...

Emotions downcast...

She ponders, wonders, cries

Tears walking round her face

Covering all in their course

Overcoming the skin before them.

Why is she alone?

Why out in the snow?

Out in the cold?

Kneeling, bowing, stooping

Fallen in the frost

Hands grasped...

Eyes closed...

Heart welcoming...

She finds a Redeemer

A Saviour

A fresh start.

What an unbelievable testimony of God's wonder and majesty. She found her Redeemer. She made it home.

My Granddad's Last Moments

When the Lord finally called my granddad home on October 29, 2007, he was 73. It wasn't a heart attack or ALS that he ended up dying from—it was lung cancer. God gave my granddad an extra 16 years of life. He was an incredible testimony to the glory of God.

My grandma still keeps the calendar from 2007 containing a complete record of everything that happened that year. People say to her, "You need to throw that out; it will just make you sad." Her response: "I keep it, not because I want to look at all of these things. I keep it because I want to remember that God was there."

Just before his death, my Aunt Debbie went to visit him. When Debbie arrived, she went into his room while my grandma waited outside. A little while later, she came out.

"Dad's talking about angels", Debbie averred.

My grandma went into the room.

Grandma: "Wes, are there angels here with you?"

Granddad: "Yes."

Grandma: "What are they doing?"

Granddad: "Some are holding my hands and some are just here."

Grandma: "Wes, are they going to take you to see Jesus? Are they going to take you home?"

Granddad: "Just part of the way."

Grandma: "What do you mean part of the way? What about all the way to be with the Lord?"

Granddad: "They haven't told me that yet. But they're here."

Soon after, He left this earth. My granddad loved the Lord with all of his heart; he was ready to meet Jesus.

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9b, NIV84)

The Choice is Yours,   
and You Have to Live   
and Die With Your Decision

For those of you who are young, it feels like you have all the time in the world.

You don't.

It may feel that way right now, but time passes quickly. And the more that time passes, the deeper your spinning tires get stuck in the mud.

For those of you who are older, what have you accomplished?

Accumulated wealth? A legacy? A stable family?

You cannot bring any of those items to your grave. They simply don't matter. The fact that you were "good" holds absolutely no weight with the Creator of the Universe.

There is only one thing that will hold any clout with God when you meet Him: that you have a relationship with His Son, Jesus.

Romans 10:13, Acts 10:2 and Joel 2:32 say that everyone who calls on the name of Jesus will be saved.

In contrast, in Matthew 25 it says that those who do not have a relationship with Him will be sent "into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" and will "go away into eternal punishment". (Matthew 25:41,46)

This truth is not very exciting among people who don't have a relationship with Christ. Of course it's not; who honestly wants to go to Hell?

But you need to understand that the decision is yours and yours alone. No one is forcing you to follow Jesus, and no one is forcing you not to follow Jesus.

Jesus Christ, the man who fulfilled over 400 prophesies, healed thousands of people, died on the cross for your sins, rose again on the third day, and sits at the right hand of God—gives you the decision.

Jesus himself said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

Therefore, it is impossible to say, "I believe in Jesus" and then in your next breath say, "but I think there are many ways for someone to get to Heaven". To do so would be to claim Jesus as a liar.

There is no other way, no other religion, no other reality. Buddhism won't save you, Islam won't save you, Hinduism won't save you, Baha'i won't save you, Judaism won't save you, Wicca won't save you, being a monk won't save you, Sikhism won't save you, sitting on your butt and ignoring reality won't save you, and not even "calling yourself a Christian" will save you.

Only a true, honest faith in Jesus Christ will save you. That and only that will allow you to go home and live with your Heavenly Father for eternity.

What Next?

Let me explain why I've written this book and what I hope you'll do with it. If you believe that what I told you is true and that I'm not a liar, my hope is that you will put your faith in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son (Jesus Christ), that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

I pray that you would take that verse to heart and believe in Him. And once you believe in Him, find a Christian church, be baptized and live your life for Christ.

Following Christ is not easy, but it is worth it. I hope that my life is a testimony to this fact. All that I do, I do for Jesus. He gave His life for me, and in return, I give my life to Him.

Thank you for listening. 
This concludes my last lecture.

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep

to gain that which he cannot lose."

\- Jim Elliot 
ENDNOTES

All Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV (English Standard Version) of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

1 P. C. W. Davies, Other Worlds, (London: Dent, 1980), p. 6.

2 ibid

3 Stephen W. Hawking, A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes,

(New York: Bantam, 1988), pp. 123.

4 Definition by Google.com

5 Definition by Matt Slick; see http://g7.gs/mslick

6 Definition by Google.com

7 Kevin A Miller, How We Got the Bible: A Time Line of Key Events in the History of the Bible, (Rose Publishing, 1998)

8 Definition by Google.com

9 To be safe, I've quoted 30AD as a potential starting date to the New Testament (based on a number of sources); Kevin A Miller, How We Got the Bible: A Time Line of Key Events in the History of the Bible, (Rose Publishing, 1998) notes 45AD.

10 Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry; see   
http://g7.gs/carm

11 Amazing Bible Timeline with World History:   
http://g7.gs/timeline

12 Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry; see   
http://g7.gs/carm

13 ibid

14 ibid

15 ibid

16 ibid

17 ibid

18 ibid

19 ibid

20 ibid

21 Science Speaks, Peter Stoner, (Chicago, Moody Press, 1963), p. 109

22 Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary, Lee Strobel, (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1993), pp. 36-37

23 This chart was adapted from three sources: 1) Christian Apologetics, by Norman Geisler, 1976, p. 307; 2) the article "Archaeology and History attest to the Reliability of the Bible," by Richard M. Fales, Ph.D., in The Evidence Bible, Compiled by Ray Comfort, Bridge-Logos Publishers, Gainesville, FL, 2001, p. 163; and 3) A Ready Defense, by Josh Mcdowell, 1993, p. 45.

24 Stats provided by the Washington Times; see   
http://g7.gs/religion

25 See http://www.pennylea.org

26 Passages listed in this endnote are from The New International Version:

  * "Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan." Exodus 22:22
  * "Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits." Exodus 23:6
  * "During the seventh year, let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove." Exodus 23:11
  * "Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 19:10
  * "Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly." Leviticus 19:15
  * "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 23:22
  * "If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold... If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you... If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave." Leviticus 25:25, 35, 39
  * "If an alien or a temporary resident among you becomes rich and one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells himself to the alien living among you or to a member of the alien's clan, he retains the right of redemption." Leviticus 25:47-48
  * "He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing." Deuteronomy 10:18
  * "At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied." Deuteronomy 14:28-29
  * "However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you." Deuteronomy 15:4
  * "If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother." Deuteronomy 15:7
  * "Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near, so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin." Deuteronomy 15:9
  * "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." Deuteronomy 15:11
  * "Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns." Deuteronomy 24:14
  * "Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge." Deuteronomy 24:17
  * "When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow." Deuteronomy 24:19-21
  * "'Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow.' Then all the people shall say, Amen!'" Deuteronomy 27:19
  * "He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor." 1 Samuel 2:8
  * "...as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor." Esther 9:22
  * "When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up and kills the poor and needy; in the night he steals forth like a thief." Job 24:14
  * "...because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him." Job 29:12
  * "Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?" Job 30:25
  * "If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary." Job 31:16
  * "The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble." Psalm 9:9
  * "But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish." Psalm 9:18
  * "Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise, says the LORD, I will protect them from those who malign them." Psalm 12:5
  * "You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge." Psalm 14:6
  * "This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;   
he saved him out of all his troubles." Psalm 34:6
  * "My whole being will exclaim, Who is like you,   
O LORD? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them." Psalm 35:10
  * "The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright." Psalm 37:14
  * "Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay." Psalm 40:17
  * "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,   
is God in his holy dwelling." Psalm 68:5
  * "Your people settled in it, and from your bounty,   
O God, you provided for the poor." Psalm 68:10
  * "The poor will see and be glad — you who seek God, may your hearts live! The LORD hears the needy and does not despise his captive people." Psalm 69:32-33
  * "Yet I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD,   
do not delay." Psalm 70:5
  * "He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor." Psalm 72:4
  * "For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death." Psalm 72:12-13
  * "Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name." Psalm 74:21
  * "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." Psalm 82:3-4
  * "But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks." Psalm 107:41
  * "For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save his life from those who condemn him." Psalm 109:31
  * "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor." Psalm 112:9
  * "He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;" Psalm 113:7
  * "I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor will I satisfy with food." Psalm 132:15
  * "I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy." Psalm 140:12
  * "He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free." Psalm 146:7
  * "The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked." Psalm 146:9
  * "I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy." Proverbs 13:23
  * "He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy." Proverbs 14:21
  * "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God." Proverbs 14:31
  * "The LORD tears down the proud man's house but he keeps the widow's boundaries intact." Proverbs 15:25
  * "Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud." Proverbs 16:19
  * "He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished." Proverbs 17:5
  * "He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done." Proverbs 19:17
  * "If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered." Proverbs 21:13
  * "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor." Proverbs 22:9
  * "He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and he who gives gifts to the rich — both come to poverty." Proverbs 22:16
  * "Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court." Proverbs 22:22
  * "A ruler who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops." Proverbs 28:3
  * "He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses." Proverbs 28:27
  * "The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern." Proverbs 29:7
  * "...those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth,   
the needy from among mankind." Proverbs 30:14
  * "Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:9
  * "She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy." Proverbs 31:20
  * "If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still." Ecclesiastes 5:8
  * "Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." Isaiah 1:17
  * "The LORD enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people: 'It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?' declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty." Isaiah 3:14-15
  * "...to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless." Isaiah 10:2
  * "With righteousness he will judge the needy; with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.   
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked." Isaiah 11:4
  * "The poorest of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety. But your root I will destroy by famine; it will slay your survivors." Isaiah 14:30
  * "You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall." Isaiah 25:4
  * "Once more the humble will rejoice in the LORD;   
the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel." Isaiah 29:19
  * "The scoundrel's methods are wicked, he makes up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just." Isaiah 32:7
  * "The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them." Isaiah 41:17
  * "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" Isaiah 58:6-7
  * "If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday." Isaiah 58:10
  * "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners." Isaiah 61:1
  * "On your clothes men find the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them breaking in. Yet in spite of all this you say I am innocent.'" Jeremiah 2:34
  * "I thought, These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the requirements of their God.'" Jeremiah 5:4
  * "(They) have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor." Jeremiah 5:28
  * "...if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm..." Jeremiah 7:6
  * "This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place." Jeremiah 22:3
  * "'He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?' declares the LORD." Jeremiah 22:16
  * "Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked." Jeremiah 20:13
  * "Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy." Ezekiel 16:49
  * "He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked." Ezekiel 18:7
  * "The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice." Ezekiel 22:29
  * "This is what the LORD says: 'For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back [my wrath]. They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name.'" Amos 2:6-7
  * "Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, 'Bring us some drinks!'" Amos 4:1
  * "Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land." Amos 8:4
  * "Buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat." Amos 8:6
  * "Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other." Zechariah 7:10
  * "'So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,' says the LORD Almighty." Malachi 3:5
  * "Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'" Matthew 19:21
  * "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in." Matthew 25:35
  * "They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely." Mark 12:40
  * "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed." Luke 4:18
  * "So he replied to the messengers, 'Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.'" Luke 7:22 
  * "Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys." Luke 12:33
  * "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind." Luke 14:13
  * "When Jesus heard this, he said to him, 'You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'" Luke 18:22
  * "Beware of the teachers of the law... They devour your widows' houses... Such men will be punished severely." Luke 20:46-47
  * "'Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages.' He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it." John 12:5
  * "In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor." Acts 9:36
  * "Cornelius stared at him in fear. 'What is it, Lord?' he asked. The angel answered, 'Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.'" Acts 10:4
  * "After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings." Acts 24:17
  * "On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.'" Romans 12:20
  * "For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem." Romans 15:26
  * "All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do." Galatians 2:10
  * "Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need." 1 Timothy 5:3
  * "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27
  * "Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, 'Here's a good seat for you,' but say to the poor man, 'You stand there' or 'Sit on the floor by my feet,' have you not discriminated among yourselves and becomes judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?" James 2:2-6
  * "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."   
1 John 3:17-18

27 Referenced from www.globalrichlist.com

28 ibid

29 ibid

30 Definition by Dictionary.com

31 Proverbs 8:4-6

32 Proverbs 8:22-26

33 Luke 18:19

34 Proverbs 14:23

35 Proverbs 4:6

36 Matthew 3:10

37 Proverbs 8:10

38 Proverbs 14:12

39 Proverbs 21:20

40 Proverbs 22:7

41 Matthew 17:17

42 Proverbs 8:17

43 Proverbs 9:16-17

44 Proverbs 9:18

45 James 1:5

46 Christianity Today: An Inside Look at Church Attenders Who Tithe the Most; see http://g7.gs/tithe1

47 Church Leaders: Generous Church: Ten Top Characteristics; see http://g7.gs/tithe2

48 Relevant Magazine: What Would Happen if the Church Tithed? (How giving 10% could change the world); see   
http://g7.gs/tithe3

49 Church Leaders: ibid

50 The question that Carolyn was asked was, "Are you a Calvinist or an Arminianist?" If you don't know what Calvinism or Arminianism is, don't worry, you're not the only one! In its simplest form, Calvinism emphasizes God's omnipotence, man's depravity and the salvation of God's elect by grace alone, and Arminianism teaches that God has given humans free will, and humans are able to freely choose or reject salvation. (Definition provided by Tim Challies—see "An Introduction To Calvinism & Arminianism") You can find more information here:   
http://g7.gs/CalvArm.

51 See Wikipedia: http://g7.gs/als

52 Stats provided by the ALS Association; see   
http://www.alsa.org/

53 AdoptionProfiles.ca

