Purpose:
Not too long ago I had a wooden box made and I placed it in the lobby of a large church. The box was simple and its purpose was simple. It was a box that encouraged people to ask faith- based questions. The sign and plaque on the box simply said “Spiritual Questions”. People asked very insightful questions and I answered them privately. Some of the questions were:
- Can my dad visit me from heaven? He died.
- What does God think about war?
- What happens to people who have never heard about Jesus? Can they go to heaven?
- Who made God?
- How can I be a better husband for Jesus and my wife?
These are just a few examples of the questions placed in the box. I answered them from the perspective of a follower of Christ.
One thing that has been clear to me through this time of study and preparation is that many bloggers and evangelists today make God’s word too complicated. They go on-line and argue different views of predestination, justification, and other heady topics but miss the point. People live in this world and need answers that they can understand. The general Christian population wants to know, “How does this affect my life as I live it here in the real world as opposed to the world of theologians?” I believe God has called me to make things simple to understand without compromising God’s word. I believe that Jesus is God and the Savior of the world. I believe in the Trinity and the Bible God has left I us, to help us understand how to live our lives and relate to who He is. I don’t think God wants to hide from us in theories. I don’t think he wants to hide at all. He has given us a book to guide us and I don’t believe he wrote it in such a way as to make it too complicated to understand.
Who am I:
You need to know a little about me if you are going to read answers to questions or pose questions. I am a husband, father, grandfather and a Christian. I became a Christian over 30 years ago and one of the gifts God gave me was the gift of teaching through apologetics (defender of the faith). In order to fulfill this commission I have studied the bible and many Christian and non-Christian writings.
I do not have degree in philosophy or theology and I am not a pastor of a church. People who know me say I have the gift of making spiritually tough questions easy to understand. I feel people should be able to ask a question in the context of their life as the little girl did when she asked “Can my Dad visit me from heaven?”. During a time of reflection I realized a blog was the medium to use to answer these individual and personal questions.
I pray that whoever reads this blog or asks questions will hear the voice of God filtered through a man He has asked to take up this project. I am not infallible and neither is anyone else who teaches the word of God. I say this so that you remember to verify what I write with your Bible. I will try to give truthful simple answers to your questions but God wrote the book and He is the ultimate expert. Read His word and ask for understanding. It will be given to you. If you need help in understanding how things apply to your real life please ask me a question and I will do my best to send you in the right direction to gain an answer from God’s word.
I hope you will come back for the next installment where I will share my answer to the young lady who asked “Can my dad visit me from heaven?” Until then, spend time reading your Bible and see what answers God has in store for you.