Lives of Christian Martyrs Changed my Friend's Life by Richard Palumbo

The Crucifixion of St. Andrew

I had a friend who became a Christian in his adulthood. I asked him what made him change his mind and accept Jesus. He was scornful of the Bible during his college years, but having married a Christian, he noticed she behaved differently given the stresses in life. He said the most convincing argument came not from the Gospel message at first, but how it affected those who believed it. He was interested in history, so he did some research into the lives of the apostles. He found the following:

Peter, Andrew, Jude and Simon were crucified.
Matthew was impaled into the ground and beheaded.
Bartholomew was whipped to death.
Thomas died of a spear wound.
Phillip was hung like a side of beef with hooks in his heels.
James the son of Zebedee was beheaded by King Herod.
Mattias was stoned and beheaded.
James the half-brother of Jesus and James the Less were dropped from the temple.
Paul was beheaded.
John, the beloved disciple, died of old age after serving time on a lonely island.

He asked himself, “Why would all these people be willing to die such horrible deaths for their faith if the Gospel message was not true?’

C.S. Lewis and Ravi Zacharias, two apologists much more able than I, have said: the argument is that Jesus is either lunatic, liar, or Lord. He can be only one of the three. If Jesus was a lunatic or liar, how many of the apostles would be executed before the rest gave it up and went back to their professions? The fact that they all followed Jesus to the end of their lives was the testimony my friend needed to believe in the message of Jesus. It is testimony to the power that one receives when they ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior.

Socrates once said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” In this day and age, it appears that consuming goods and living for entertainment is what life is all about. In the quiet moments of life, it may be worthwhile to ponder the question of what was so great about Jesus that all the disciples gave their lives along with countless others throughout history. We all have to answer the question of what is worth living for and what is worth dying for.

This is written by church member, Richard Palumbo. To connect with Richard please email him at drahcir1054@yahoo.com

Comments

God's Perfect Timing by Janet Myers

How often have you said to someone “your timing is perfect?” In the last 6 weeks, I have experienced God’s perfect timing. During a dinner conversation at a Wednesday Night Fellowship Supper, a church member, who I will call Lydia, shared a touching story about a special gift she received some time back. While Lydia had every good intention of using this gift, time passed, it only collected dust and took up space. Lydia listened that night as I shared about my love for sewing and how I especially enjoyed applique and creative sewing projects. Several weeks later Lydia approached me with a wonderful surprise! She wanted me to have that special gift that she had spoken about at dinner one night. You guessed it! It's a sewing machine! Not just any sewing machine, but a machine that has all the bells and whistles that a seamstress dreams about! Little did I know that this sewing machine would later be the work horse that has enabled me to sew over 400 face masks ...

An Alabaster Jar Matthew 26.6-13

Jesus is about to pay for our sins and restore us to the Father. In the next several weeks there’s a turn towards the cross. Matthew 26 is days before the cross. The setting is Bethany. Jesus and His disciples spent time in Bethany. Several times per year Jerusalem would swell with people because of festivals and events. For example, at Jesus’ birth Jerusalem was full. This is the scene. Jerusalem is packed. Jesus had friends in Bethany, outside of Jerusalem. The home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus was located there. They are in a different house close by for the final preparation for the cross. Luke tells us this is the primary purpose of Jesus’ coming to this world. In Matthew 26 the opening verses are a powerful demonstration of what it means to value Jesus. How do we value Jesus? How do you know what something is worth? We can search online to get a feel for what something is worth. ...

The Great Commandment: Luke 10:25-37

The great commandment is also found in Mark 12 when a question is asked, "How can I have eternal life?' This is also in Matthew 22:34. The parable we'll examine this morning, the parable of the Good Samaritan, probably comes in second place to the parable of the Prodigal Son. It's a close second. This is an important reading for us. When I study the Bible it helps for me to check three boxes: 1) I need to be careful to read the passage in its entirety. I need to observe the text in it's context. Who are the characters? What's the context? This is a familiar story we are examining this morning and because it's familiar we can lose it's meaning. 2) The second box I check when I read Scripture is interpretation. What's it mean? Where is my curiosity stirred? What questions come to me? What does this passage teach me about God? About humanity? About who Jesus is? What does God ...

First Baptist Family of Asheboro, NC

Search This Blog