For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;

– 1 Timothy 4:4

I parked my van at a large parking near the Appalachian Trail in Tennessee. As I usually did, I reviewed my backpack’s contents to ensure I had enough food and water for a five-hour hike. I had three liters of water or Gatorade, my Snickers bar, 2 BelVita cookie packages, and a well-filled peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Probably more than I needed, but more is better than not enough.

Then I ensured I had my emergency kit in case of an injury to myself or someone else. Next, I made sure I had my bear spray. Finally, I switched my phone to GPS mode to track where I was and the height of the climb in front of me. Switching to GPS mode also entails going to Airplane mode so the GPS doesn’t drain the battery.

Then I made my regular mental reminders. The first was to enjoy the hike and not treat it like a competition. This a helpful reminder to ensure I didn’t miss anything along the way, and this attitude also provides I drink and eat properly. There is always the tendency when you go too fast to give up the important water and snack breaks. Plus, you won’t take the time to experience the woods and views. For competitive people, it is important to remind ourselves it’s about the hike, not the speed.

My one last thing to do is say a prayer of thankfulness and protection. Usually, when Connie and I hiked, we did this just after we were on the trail. It always seems inappropriate to pray in the parking lot and feels much better when we are standing on the trail.

On this day, I crossed the street in front of the parking lot and spotted the three-by-six-inch white blaze on a tree that let me know I was on the Appalachian Trail. Up a few stairs by the blaze, and a quick right put me right on the trail. When I looked up after making the turn, I was suddenly hit with the sun shining precisely on the path of the trail. Almost as if the sun’s rays followed the path I was to take. Amazingly, the shadow of the trees outlined the path perfectly.

As I looked up, the sun was like a crown encasing the tops of the trees. At that moment, I knew where to say my prayer and to tell God I was thankful. There was a warmth to the sun, almost as if God was inviting me into God’s creation. But then, peace settled in, and while I knew the hike would be tough, I was thankful to be able to share in this place.

I stopped to take a picture to capture this unusual image. A photo I would later study many times. Not because I am a great photographer, I am not! But to see the miracle in my day. A perfectly outlined path. An unusual creation from God.

Later, a half-mile climb almost straight up had to be encountered. There were the cliffs, which required hand-over-hand climbing without hiking poles. There was the walk on an exposed path to a view of a valley some fifteen hundred feet below. There were rocks littering the tail and fallen trees to climb over. All reminders of what a normal hike on the Appalachian Trail looks like.

On my five-hour trek, I climbed two thousand feet. I had lunch at a wonderful picnic table far away from the road, making me wonder how it got there. As is usually the case met a few other hikers, whom you take the time to greet. We would talk about where we have been and where we are going. No formal script, just friendly reminders of how wonderful the hiking community can be. No judgment because everyone hikes their own hike.

On this day, the first step on the trail and into the sun, the warmth of God, was what I remember from this day. The grandeur of a simple scene of trees, a path, and golden sun. A reminder all that exists took billions of years to be just right for God to remind me to look and enjoy God’s world.

I am thankful!

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” ⁹ At once, the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

– John 5:8-9

One of my favorite things to read is stories about people who overcome difficult life circumstances. These people choose to be Victors and not Victims despite the odds. The latest story I found was about former NFL all-pro Warwick Dunn.

On January 7^th, 1993, in Baton Rouge, Betty Smothers, a Baton Rouge police officer, was on a private police detail escorting a local merchant to make a late-night cash deposit. Two men approached her and the merchant. The men asked for the cash bag, and the merchant resisted, which resulted in gunfire. One of the bullets hit Betty, and she was killed.

Betty left behind six children; the oldest was the future All-Pro running back, Warrick Dunn. Warrick had just turned eighteen two days earlier and, as the oldest, was left in charge of his five siblings. Warrick was a gifted athlete, excelling as a high school football player and track star.

Warrick became head of his family and, with the help of his grandmother, raised the other five children. At the same time, Warrick attended Florida State, won a national championship, and was a three-time ACC selection. Warrick also ran track for Florida State and was an Associated Press All-American.

Warrick went on to play in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons. A career where he gained over fifteen thousand all-purpose yards – the 14^th best all time.

While Warrick had a remarkable NFL career, it was in his second life that he excelled as well. After he retired, he set up a  charity called Holidays For Homes to raise money to help single-parent families move into homes they could not afford – 150 families moved into new homes.

He also set up Warrick Dunn charities and was named the Walter Payton man of the year award, along with the Bart Starr Award. In other community services, Warrick worked with other professional athletes, such as Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Mario Lemieux, and many others.

Because of his integrity and willingness to help others, Arthur Blank invited him to become a minority owner of the Atlanta Falcons. While Warrick and his siblings went on to prosper after their mother’s tragic death, his attitude of not being a victim set the course for his and their lives. He had chosen to become a victor.

His life reminds me of a story in the Gospel of John. In this story, Jesus approaches a man lying on the ground by the healing pool of Bethesda. The man had been coming to the pool for thirty-eight years and was never healed. One morning, Jesus sees the man at the pool and asks, “Do you want to get well?”

The man replies, “I have no one to help me in the water, and when I try, someone else gets in the way.”

Sensing a state of victimhood, Jesus tells the man, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

The man understands the meaning behind Jesus’ request, realizing he has been playing the victim for thirty-eight years. Listening to Jesus, he gets up, takes control of his life, and walks. Not all of Jesus’ miracles are physical; in this case, it was sage advice. The man had a simple choice: continue floundering by the pool or walk. He chose to walk.

Not every miracle in life is physical; many times, they are by making brave choices. Jesus knew the man could walk on his own but had chosen not to walk. He was essentially trapped by the comfort of going to the same place for many years, despite it not being the most productive life. All Jesus did was tell him to change and walk a different life.

After finding out about his mother’s death, Warrick could have given up, like the man at the well. I am sure the burden of losing your mother and then having to raise five children was enormous. Yet, he chose the path of moving forward and not lying down as a victim. Warrick went on to raise the children with his grandmother. He became an NFL star, and most importantly, he reached out to others the help them pick up their mat and walk.

Life isn’t always easy. Jesus knows that. He simply asks for us to have faith and walk forward. He asks us every day, Do you want to get well? Sometimes it’s little things that get us down or, for others, really big events. Sometimes it is easier to use our obstacles as crutches than the task of overcoming our obstacles. Every day, we have the choice: to become a Victim or a Victor.

“Lazarus, come out!”  The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

– John [11:43]-44

Miraculously, Lazarus emerged from his death tomb, saved by Jesus. Many of those who witnessed this event turned to believing in the power of Jesus. But some did not and went back to Jerusalem to tell Caiaphas, the chief priest, and the other leaders what they had seen.

Immediately, Caiaphas and the other priests called a meeting of the Sanhedrin to discuss this latest feat performed by Jesus. The few who had gone to see the leaders were seeking favors from the leadership in Jerusalem. In turn, Caiaphas and the others were alarmed, seeing this as an event that could encourage the existing population to rise up against them.

During the meeting, they all agreed it was time to get rid of Jesus. For the past year, Jesus had been saving the blind, healing the lame, and speaking to huge crowds. Now Jesus had raised the dead! Because of this last event, Caiaphas and the other leaders now knew Jesus had become competition for the control of the masses.

Caiaphas was the chief priest, and head of the ruling Jewish body called the Sanhedrin. He was in the fifteenth year of his reign. His father-in-law, Annus, who had reigned for nine years, had appointed Caiaphas as his successor. Combined, they had held the chief priest position for almost a quarter of a century.

During his reign, Caiaphas solidified his power with the Jewish aristocrats and the Roman rulers. However, at the same time, he had made life for the average citizen very difficult. As Caiaphas grew in power, the people became poorer.

After deciding to get rid of Jesus, Jesus could no longer move about publicly. So instead, he went to Ephraim in Samaria. A place he would stay until his return to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

What amazes me is that instead of seeking Jesus out to find out more, instead, they chose to kill him. It would seem to me after such a powerful action of raising the dead, Caiaphas would want to learn more and perhaps see Jesus as who he was, the Lord.

So why didn’t Caiaphas and the others turn to Jesus and, at the very least, find out more? It seems they were stuck in their own narratives, and Jesus directly opposed the lives they were leading. Jesus was a change in the course of how Caiaphas thought.

Caiaphas had become so enamored with his life and power that there was no room for other viewpoints. Any different view, he squashed. Those around him had learned this and only told him want they thought he wanted to hear. Conversation amongst them had collapsed into making sure Caiaphas didn’t get angry.

Caiaphas and his group had lost the art of critical thinking. When differing points of view rose up, the individual would be shamed and discarded. Instead of hearing the person with a different opinion, their ideas were seen as extreme and threats. As a result, the person was usually ostracized.

Looking back at these events in the 21^st century, we can clearly see the flaw. Jesus had saved a person from death, yet no one in power wanted to know more. We can all agree they lacked the skill of critical thinking.

Critical thinking in the dictionary is defined as: the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.

Simply, critical thinking allows events and statements to change our viewpoints and perhaps our behavior. A method of thinking that prevents our thoughts from getting stale and outdated.

What if Caiaphas had honestly sought out Jesus to learn more? We could assume he would have become a follower of Jesus as well. Instead, Caiaphas chose the path of denial and elimination.

By ignoring Jesus and seeking to destroy him, Caiaphas, in turn, lost everything.

A few months later, Caiaphas successfully had Jesus crucified on the cross. But the outcome for Caiaphas was bleak. When the Roman rulers learned about this event, Caiaphas was removed from power and forced to leave Jerusalem in 36AD.

Everything thing he had was gone. All because he denied the reality of Jesus.

“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

– John [21:25]

I am frequently asked about the historical accuracy of the four Gospels. Over the years, skeptics have said they are not history but a legendary account to appease a group desiring it to be real. My research finds this assessment remarkably wrong.

From a 21st-century perspective, where writing is far more prolific than in the 1^st century and many times with a specific agenda, it is not surprising some would be suspicious of the accuracy of the Gospels and other writings in the New Testament.

But we must be careful when we evaluate writings from the 1^st century using our 21st-century state of mind. Doing this is called Presentism. And when we use Presentism, we can distort the truth.

Instead, we need to insert historical context into our evaluation. The 1^st century was a different time, and writing history was less about agenda and more about getting the facts right. While all books, even from the 1^st century, include agenda, but to a lesser degree than today in the 1^st century.

Additionally, less than 5% of the population could read or write because of the low literacy rate. Thus significantly fewer writings occurred, and those that did were a serious undertaking. 1st-century authors like Ovid and the Apostle Paul, who did write books, had higher standards. Additionally, their efforts were hampered compared to the modern authors; no programs like Word or computers existed. There were no typewriters; writing each sentence required patient thought.

In our century, over one million books are written every year! In the first century, less than one hundred books exist for the entire hundred-year period. Most were written in Latin or Greek. The books in the New Testament, twenty-seven in total, represent a large portion of what was written in the first century. Half of these were written by the Apostle Paul or his students. Most of the New Testament was written by the start of the second century. Making Christian literature or history the most significant genre of the 1^st century.

While certainly specific agendas existed, there is a high level of consistency in the New Testament books. All are centered on Jesus and his teachings. The consistency of thought and facts across all these books supports a high level of accuracy.

While some will point out the inconsistencies, most are explained by understanding the perspective of the individual writers, not that they disagree with another person’s account. Instead, they saw the events from a different lens. So, while we would all like one book to explain Jesus and his life fully, he was a rich and dynamic presence that affected everyone differently. As such, each writer, inspired by God, wrote from their viewpoint.

In the Gospel of John, we find an exciting verse that explains why so much has been written about Jesus. John [21:25] says, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Thus when we read about Jesus, we can enjoy the many different perspectives of his life.

Another support for the accuracy of this story is there were over five hundred eyewitnesses to the risen Jesus. The Apostle Paul wrote about these witnesses in 1^st Corinthians, published in 50 AD. (1^st Corinthians 15:4-8) In his account, he also declared many were still alive seventeen years after the first Easter week.

Why is this important in proving accuracy? First is knowing Paul would not idly mention this fact unless it was real. Paul himself was a man who was well educated and zealously riveted on getting the facts right. Secondly, others widely read this letter, and the document could easily be checked.[1]

Paul’s letters were written around twenty years after the resurrection. When many who observed and knew about the events of Jesus were still alive, if Paul were incorrect or embellishing his facts, there would undoubtedly be disagreement. However, none exists from this period.

Additionally, the characters of the New Testament actually existed. Take Pontius Pilate; archeologists in 1961 discovered a small statue in the town of Caesarea.

The inscription on the statue written in Latin says, “Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea, has presented the Tiberium to the Caesareans.[1]

Another main character and Jesus’ primary foil during the Easter week is the high priest, Caiaphas, who also was a real person. Caiaphas presided over the religious trial of Jesus and was directly responsible for Jesus’ death. In 1990 his burial box with his bones was discovered in the old city section of Jerusalem.[2]

Paul, who either himself or his students wrote half of the books in the New Testament, was widely quoted by non-Biblical writers – authors such as Clement (95AD), Polycarp, Papias,  Irenaeus, and many others. From a non-Biblical basis, Paul and his writings were perhaps the most quoted by 1^st and 2nd-century scholars/writers.[3]

Additionally, several writers from the late first and early second century have written accounts that validate the Gospels, scholars such as – Irenaeus, Eusebius, and Polycarp.

Polycarp, in particular, is important. He was a student of the Apostle John, and much of his writing emanates from his time with John. In many of his writings, he frequently refers to several books in the New Testament.[4]

The Polycarp writings are most important because we have a scholarly writer who had a close relationship with a first-hand eyewitness to Jesus and his life, the Apostle John. For me, this was an important and exciting revelation. In Polycarp, we have a person who spent a good deal of time with a direct eyewitness to Jesus and his ministry – a fantastic gift for us in the 21^st century.

While little known amongst the general populace, Polycarp is well-known by Biblical scholars and frequently cited in articles.

Another clue in the authenticity of the Jesus story comes from a Roman historian and Senator, Tacitus. In 116 AD, in his final book called Annuals,  he confirms that Jesus was crucified and writes about early Christians in Rome.[5]

Tacitus is important because a non-Christian confirms the event. Many scholars have confirmed this writing to be authentic, and it is one of the earliest non-Christian accounts of the crucifixion and persecution of Christians.

Further proof is the cities mentioned in the Gospels existed precisely as mentioned, as did the buildings mentioned. Furthermore, the customs written about in the Gospels are also accurate. Particularly the traditions surrounding the Passover dinner that was Jesus’ last supper, including the details of the supper’s preparation.

While we have proof of the existence of many of the characters and well-respected authors, the New Testament is also a remarkably “stable” document in its consistency. Despite centuries of revisions and translations, a literary critique of the New Testament has a ninety percent score on consistency. A very high score for a document that has been so frequently revised and translated.

Some will say, “How can a document that has been revised still be accurate?” Yet well over five thousand scraps of ancient documents have been discovered, which all support the words of the modern New Testament.

While there is much evidence of the accuracy of the New Testament and the four Gospels, they are not enough to fully convince an individual of the New Testament’s accuracy. An easier path exists. Spending time reading the Bible will create a stronger belief in the words of the Bible and the New Testament.

One way to do this is to read a chapter starting with the first chapter in Matthew each morning. Pray after the reading. But when you pray, wait for quiet to come into your mind. Repeat this daily. After a while, doubt will start to be replaced with assurance.

[1] Webb, Demer, Explore the Story, https://explorethestory.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/whats-up-with-those-500-witnesses/ , April 2016.

[2] Stewart, Don, The Amazing Historical Accuracy of the Bible-Question 12. https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/stewart_don/faq/historical-accuracy-of-the-bible/question12-gospels-historically-accurate.cfm

[3] Ibid

[4] Oakes, John, Is There Any Clear Evidence Paul Existed. https://evidenceforchristianity.org/is-there-any-historical-evidence-that-paul-was-a-real-person/, February 2^nd,  2015.

[5] Policarpo (santo, vescovo di (2013-07-25). Polycarp’s Epistle to the Philippians and the Martyrdom of Polycarp: Introduction, Text, and Commentary. University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-922839-3.

 

[6] Tacitus, The Annals, book 15, chapter 44

…encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. 

1 Thessalonians [2:12] 

Around 50 AD, the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to a church in Thessalonica that he had founded just three months earlier. The letter today is called 1st Thessalonians in the New Testament. The letter’s purpose was to instruct those in the church to not give up their Christian values, despite outside temptations and persecution.  

The church was under siege by external influences (and even some from within), attempting to get them to compromise their values. As a new church, there were growing pains. Paul’s letter encouraged the church members to stay their course and not let temptation affect their actions. While the tone of this letter was one of encouragement, it also included reminders to live lives worthy of God.  

Over the last few years, I have become friends with a man who has had some remarkable challenges in his life. After struggling for the first few years of his career, he recently found success. He is now earning significantly more than he had in the past and has been promoted twice in the last three years. He bought a home, and life was good.  

But when he first arrived at his new company, many encouraged him to take a few shortcuts. He was challenged to bend a few rules and was told not to worry about getting caught. He listened quietly, knowing it was the wrong approach, and silently refused to comply.  

This caused some ripples with his co-workers, but he held on to his beliefs. Sure, he missed a few sales because he didn’t mislead potential customers. But the customers he did land became loyal because of his honesty. Slowly, his sales numbers grew, and he was soon bringing in more business than those taking shortcuts. He was asked to help train new salespeople. Those he trained also started to do well. 

One of the senior vice-presidents noticed not only that his sales were great, but that those who had attended his training classes were exceeding their goals as well. He was called into his boss’s office and told he would be promoted—they were putting him in charge of training all the new salespeople.  

After his early years of struggling and trying to find the right job, it seemed my friend had found a perfect fit. The struggle to make ends meet became a distant memory. Simply being honorable and not giving in to temptation has paid off.  

I enjoy talking with my friend. I love hearing his low-key and humble approach to his work. He doesn’t brag about his accomplishments. Instead, he humbly gives credit to God for all he has accomplished. He doesn’t think he is remarkable. Yet he is: despite outside influences, he stays the course of honesty. His lesson to me is that being great at work is achieved simply by adhering to Christian values. This might seem boring, but living this way every day takes personal inner strength.   

This was Paul’s point to the Thessalonians: simply live lives worthy of God. However, some days it takes encouragement and endurance to continue living that kind of life. And Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians is designed to remind us even today to stay the course in following Jesus.  

Today, I encourage you to read 1st Thessalonians and become uplifted. It will only take fifteen minutes to read, and the letter serves as a reminder that trials will always exist, but when we live lives worthy of God, we will endure.