My friend at the gym went on,” But do you know that only a third of the world population is Christian? I said, “It started with Jesus, and only 12 men! Today, the impact of Christ is global and continues to grow. Jesus Christ is a Divine mystery; he was born of a woman, yet he created all women and men. He is hard to fully understand.  You can understand Mohammed.  He lived, he died and his bones are still upon the earth. We can understand Buddha. Born a man but said his father was an elephant with six trunks and that there was no way to find God. He died in 400 BC. But Jesus! This manual labourer who walked with dirty feet, calloused hands, and a rough village accent is, in fact, the Being who has existed from all eternity. He is the Holy One who hurled all the galaxies into being. Yet He came to earth.

Evidence of Messianic prophecy. The Old Testament contains over 300 predictions about the Messiah from His birth to His death and resurrection, all written centuries before Jesus arrived. The odds of one person fulfilling even eight of these is 1 in 10¹⁷. That’s like covering New Zealand in coins five metres deep, marking one, blindfolding someone, dropping them anywhere in N.Z. and expecting them to pick the marked coin on the first try.

Evidence of Jesus Christ. Jesus was God in the flesh, so He is the ultimate proof of God. He has more attested evidence than any Caesar. Jesus acted in ways only God can.  Jesus commanded demons, seas, storms and diseases to go, and they did. He commanded eyes to see, the lame to walk, and fig trees to wither.  He walks on water and raises people from the dead. Jesus made statements that only God can make. He promised forgiveness of sins and resurrection to eternal life to all who will trust in Him.  

Resurrection evidence. Eventually, He died on the cross to pay for our sins. The people who saw Jesus die later found His tomb empty. This tomb was impenetrable and guarded. “Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed”. John 20:8. Seeing Jesus resurrected transformed the disciples into men willing to live and die for the Truth.  The global Church remains evidence and the only religion not founded by dead men.

Personal Evidence.  The greatest evidence is the fact that many millions of people around the world, from Iran to the New Guinea highlands to the streets of New York, have met Him and been changed by him. If God is real, we should encounter Him. And we do.  I wasn’t looking for Him or expecting Him to notice me when He touched me. While camping. I met some young people who talked about a Saviour who loved me. I cried for hours in my tent.  God speaks, God heals and cynics become worshippers. I’ve seen God transform marriages, free the addicted and deliver those bound by demons.

Friends, you might argue with theories and philosophies. But you cannot argue with a God who shows up. None of this is self-help, but the power of a risen and present God. It is all totally believable, so come on, believe! The Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved! Acts 16:31 

Recently, I spoke to a dear man facing cancer. As we talked about hope, he said, “I know the tomb was empty, but perhaps that was fake”.  I shared what I could and went home to continue my research!

If God were to speak to humanity, he wouldn’t leave a Post-it note on the Wailing Wall. He left something impossible to fake, powerful enough to outlast empires and include some miraculous evidence.

Evidence of Divine authorship.  The phrase, "The word of the Lord came to..." or "Thus says the Lord" appear over 2,000 times in the Old Testament alone. The Bible was not written by human genius or even illumination from God. The Holy Spirit caused men to write the infallible word of God without violating their personalities.

Historical Evidence:  The Bible records actual conversations, commands, covenants, and encounters with God. Abraham, Moses, and Samuel were real people who met with God.  Archaeology repeatedly confirms the Bible’s accuracy. The Tel Dan Stele verifies the “House of David.” The Pilate Stone confirms the Roman governor who sentenced Jesus. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 demonstrated that the Hebrew Scriptures have been transmitted with precision for over two thousand years.

The Evidence of the Unity of Scripture. Written by forty authors on three continents over fifteen hundred years, in different languages.  No group chat or shared Document and yet there is one storyline, one message of unfolding revelation. You can’t get three people today to agree on where to eat lunch, yet forty authors in different centuries could agree because of inspiration from an ever-living person.

Evidence of miraculous deeds and words.  Moses parted seas, Joshua parted walls. The prophets healed lepers and multiplied oil and predicted events, hundreds of years before they took place, about Egypt's judgment, Israel's dispersion, and the rise and fall of Assyria, Babylon and others.

Friend, since it was penned, the Bible has been the most loved and most hated book. Empires have banned it, burned it, and killed those who possessed it, yet it remains the most printed, translated, and influential book ever produced. It has shaped justice, inspired art, launched scientific discovery, and transformed lives. Paul, the Pharisee, went from persecuting Christians to joyfully suffering for Christ because he met the risen Jesus. As he wrote, “I know whom I have believed” (2 Tim 1:12).

To be continued..

We looked after our grandkids last week. For an hour, they destroyed virtual enemies with no sense of guilt. But if people lived like that in the real world, grandmothers would be swapping their Aquas for tanks. Fortunately, human beings everywhere share a universal sense of right and wrong that transcends culture, time, and personal preference. No society celebrates betrayal or applauds cruelty. (Shortland Street excepted).  We all know some things are actually wrong, like abusing children.  Not “wrong for me,” but wrong for everyone, always.

Evidence of Morality.  These are moral judgments, not survival strategies. Evolution proposes that only the strongest should survive. This means that murderers would be moral champions because they outlive their victims. Evolution interprets instincts, like running from danger, but it cannot explain oughts. We honour elderly people, because normal people believe all people have value — not because of intelligence or abilities, but simply because they are human. Nature doesn’t teach this. Nature rewards power, not compassion. We protect the vulnerable because all people carry the imprint of a Creator. It cannot explain why we feel guilty when we lie. Guilt and the voice of conscience are a built-in moral compass pointing toward Someone greater.

Evidence of Consciousness.  No scientific theory can explain how atoms produce a soul. We are not chemical beings; we are a soul inhabiting a body. We have self-awareness and imagination. And our ability to choose love, sacrifice, and forgiveness makes no sense in a purely biological system but fits perfectly with being made in the image of God.

Finally, the Evidence of a Spirit. Humans not only feel moral restraint, but we are also hungry for meaning. People everywhere ask the same questions: “Why am I here? What is my purpose? What happens when I die?” Animals don’t wrestle with these things. Your dog isn’t lying awake pondering the purpose of suffering. Our sense of eternity, our search for truth and our ability to contemplate God are clues that we were made for worship. Humans alone are created in God’s image meaning we are spirit and we speak. Our wonder at beauty and the awe we feel seeing a sunset in the morning or our wife in the evening, tells us we are made to be awed.

Friend, humanity is not an accident. Human uniqueness points us to God, and the expectation of life beyond the grave is a logical hope. Don’t let human limitations hinder us. Instead, as Jesus said to Thomas when he doubted,“ Do not be unbelieving, but believing." John20:27 

To be continued..

Recently, Bana Research said that 75% of American churchgoers don’t believe in a real devil. Other research says that even youth who believe the Bible still struggle to keep their faith. Why? Because they were told what to believe about God, but not why they can believe. Yet the evidence for God's existence continues.

Evidence of DNA.  Zoom into life at the biological level, and we find codes, engineering, and intentionality. At the centre of this is DNA, the most sophisticated information system in the universe. Every cell in our body contains three billion letters of precise, ordered instructions. Stirring a pot of alphabet soup will never spell out a page of Shakespeare, and any primordial soup could never get 3 billion letters in the right order, in one human cell.  This is not chemistry but language, which always requires a Mind. Also, there are no physical objects that a mind never thought about first. Chairs, cars, so who thought about air and people?

Evidence of Biogenesis. Years ago, Louis Pasteur's experiments demolished spontaneous generation and established the principle that life only comes from life. Stephen C. Meyer (PhD, Cambridge), Author of “Signature in the Cell and Darwin’s Doubt”, argues that the information content in DNA makes unguided abiogenesis mathematically impossible. Robert G Endres from Imperial College London says, “Chemistry can’t just wake up one morning and say, 'You know what? I’m feeling alive today, you’d have better luck teaching a potato to do algebra.’”

Cellular Evidence. The 3 billion-letter instruction code in each cell (About the same as Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000) turns it into a microscopic city: power plants (mitochondria), factories (ribosomes), highways (microtubules), recycling centres (lysosomes), and a central library (the nucleus). All of this living nanotechnology operates with breathtaking coordination.

 Evidence of irreducible complexity. Many creatures cannot function unless all their parts are present at once. The bacterial flagellum works like a tiny rotary motor. It needs 40 proteins assembled in the right order. Without all parts provided at once, the whole system collapses. The bombardier beetle mixes chemicals that explode without exploding the beetle, but only because the first mum and dad were perfect the first time. Bigger creatures like the giraffe require a complex valve system in the neck to keep its brain from exploding when it bends down to drink. Such systems cannot evolve or be built over time. The creature must appear fully formed or not at all.

My Friend, Life is designed.  Biology and creation don’t point away from God. It is a living sign that reveals the glory of God.  God want us to believe, for Jesus said. “He who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:16 

To be continued..

A few weeks ago, at the gym, I offered to pray for a man who was in pain. He refused, saying, “Don’t bother, I’m more the scientific type”. Science, to some, is an excuse to ignore God, not evidence of God.  Then I thought I'd better collect more ammunition, so this is what I found:

Evidence of Logic. Everything that begins to exist has a cause.  Buildings require builders. Software requires programmers.  Nothing explains its own existence. Cell phones, mattresses, but also planets and people. This “Cause” could not be any part of the universe, as it didn’t exist yet.  Physicist Roger Penrose calculated the odds of our universe existing by chance as 1 in 10¹⁰⁰⁰⁰! That is a number so impossible, it makes winning the lottery every day for a million years look easy. 

Evidence of Design.  It is only because Earth sits in the “Goldilocks Zone” (not too hot, not too cold) that life is possible. If Earth were 3% closer to the sun, most life would die. If it were 3% further, oceans would freeze. The tilt of Earth’s axis (23.5 degrees) is perfect for seasons, climate stability, and agriculture. Change it slightly, and ice ages begin. Our moon stabilises Earth’s rotation, keeping us from extremely violent weather, and apparently, Jupiter's gravity pulls in asteroids that would otherwise destroy us.

Evidence of Physical Laws. The gravitational pull of every particle in the universe is so perfect that if it were altered by even 1 in 10⁶⁰ (109 is a billion), stars or planets would not form. Without planets, there would be no stable surfaces, no liquid water, no atmosphere, no life.  We can be grateful that the laws of physics are precise and reliable.  Otherwise, on Monday, your water might not boil until 200°, and on Tuesday, it might boil before you turn the kettle on.  And if the speed of light changed a lot, some days you might not see cars coming towards you in time.

Evidence of Atomic perfection.   At the atomic level, nuclear, electromagnetic and gravitational forces are perfectly balanced. If the nuclear forces were slightly weaker, atoms and matter would fall apart. Any stronger and your pot would fuse to the bench.  

So, my friend at the gym, the universe looks like a masterpiece, not a mistake.  Science leads to Him who loves us and plans for us to flourish.  Faith in our Great Creator is not a leap into the dark, but a step into the light of reason. And it is rather important. Jesus said, “And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:26.

To Be Continued…

When my daughter asked what I think about AI Christian music, I wasn’t entirely sure. William Booth, who said, “Why should the devil have all the good music?” took pub tunes and gave them Christian words, so perhaps the source of the melody matters less than the truth of the message. God has used even signs at the local gym to encourage me, so I’m sure He can use words written by AI to bless, especially when they’re rooted in Scripture. And when a Spirit-filled believer sings those words, the ministry comes from the Spirit within, not the software behind the song.

Preaching may be similar, but I think there is a catch! Preachers are called first to be with Jesus, to hear from God, and to speak for God. The direction of a message must come from Him. Once we know what God wants to accomplish, then research tools—including AI—may help us dig deeper. AI can tell you what Bernard of Clairvaux or Augustine thought about Colossians 3. But there are dangers.  Even after giving restrictive or directive prompts to avoid things like dispensationism etc, it cannot discern truth from error.

Christians receive illumination from the Holy Spirit on the revelation given by inspiration (Bible). When the Spirit illuminates something to a man or woman of God, He can use their explanation to bring growth and impartation. If the Word feeds you, it will feed them. AI cannot receive illumination. It can only provide information. If the Spirit didn’t illuminate it, the Spirit is not obligated to use it.

AI doesn’t know the congregation, so it is unable to be prophetic or hear the word of the Lord. We may preach what we have learned, not what is on God’s heart. The flock come hungry to be transformed, not informed. AI results are spiritless, but every word from Jesus is spirit and life.

AI can deceive us into thinking we’ve saved time, when in reality it robbed us of the hours of quiet listening, meditation, and walking with God. It offers knowledge but has no knowledge of God, like the Pharisees who knew the Scriptures but not the Author. AI can provide true words without the Spirit of truth, like the girl with the spirit of divination in Acts 16. It has no experience of God, unlike Christian authors and cannot operate faith, which alone pleases God.

Friend, AI gives artificial inspiration. God has built His church for 2,000 years through gifted men and women. Trust His gift within. Use AI as a concordance, dictionary and access to the ancients—but let’s hear from God. He began the Church by the power of the Spirit, and He is not going to complete it with AI.

The young Hebrew men refused to bow to the image and were tossed into a furnace so hot it killed their wardens. Nebuchadnezzar never said to stop believing in God; he simply asked them start bowing to something else. Daniel’s friends understood that today’s complacency becomes tomorrow’s captivity. The boys refused to bow to what culture worshipped, and that released their calling.  After the fire, they stepped into the authority God planned for them, but that authority wasn’t gained in the furnace. It was won long before.  Authority is built through a thousand small battles like resisting fear, immorality, and unforgiveness. Beating the “lions and bears” enables giant killing. The fire wasn’t sent to destroy the men; it was sent to qualify them. The furnace only proved they were ready. Our strength of character is not created in the fire. It is revealed in the fire.

But when the men came out, the fire had not touched them. They walked out of the furnace smoke-free.  “When the officials crowded around them, they saw that not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!” Dan 3:27 

Sure, to smell like heaven, we must refuse to bow to the gods of Babylon.  And when we do, we may face our own furnaces of betrayal, pressure, temptation, or disappointment. Seasons where everything feels like a furnace. Yet by the grace of God, what was true for the Hebrew boys can be true for us. We can come out not burnt or bound — but blessed because of the ONE who stands beside us. “I see four men, unbound, walking in the fire… and the fourth looks like a god!” Daniel 3:25

Friend, if you’re in the fire, know that your purpose is not cancelled and God has not finished. Like the boys, God is positioning you to occupy territory the enemy is trying to keep you out of. You are blessed not because of what you’re standing in, but because of who stands with you. Jesus, the Fourth Man, is with you to bring you out. Fire can burn ropes, but it won't burn your calling. Flames can test you, but they cannot consume God’s favour.  And that’s why you can say: “I may be going through hell, but I will still smell like heaven.”

Blind Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by. He reached out and received his sight. He left behind his mat, his garment and his begging. Others in the Bible had their lives changed, too, because they received something from Jesus. The adulterous woman couldn't believe what happened. She was brought before Jesus to receive judgment, but she received mercy instead. (John 8) Zacchaeus received value, and Peter received forgiveness.

Jesus is not trying to take something from us, He is always trying to give something to us. What do we have, and what will we ever have that we do not receive?  We have nothing valuable that never came from Him.

We need to be good receivers. It is the hungry, the thirsty, and the needy that receive from Him. The only thing that hinders us from receiving is not knowing our need, not knowing He is close by, or not asking. Everyone who received knew there was no life in temple programs or rote prayers, but only in a Person. When we receive from Jesus, we receive Life.  God is so good that it always brings Him more joy to give to you than to receive from you. Blind Bart received sight and followed Jesus in the way. The more we see of Jesus, the closer we will want to follow. Not as beggars but as sons.

Friend, when you receive from Jesus, your words, your position and your garments change. If you are ready to follow Him, call out to Him, "who is coming your way" and receive.

It had been easy days for the Moabites. Although a distant relative of Israel, they did not have such a turbulent history as Israel.  They had not been subject to many changes. Jeremiah the Prophet said, “Moab has been at ease since his youth; he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, so his taste remains and his scent has not changed.”   

Wine was made by decanting the fermenting wine, off into other vessels and leaving the dregs behind in the first. This purified the wine and improved the scent of the wine. Here the people of Moab had become rancid with a taste and smell not pleasing to God. They had not been poured out. There were no changes in their circumstances and no changes in their hearts.

Great things can happen when we are in a place of change.  We begin to draw closer to God as we become more aware of our need for Him to turn up in our lives. When we are emptied from vessel to vessel or we are taken to a place that is foreign to us or even difficult for us, our scent begins to change.  We begin to smell more of Jesus; more humble, less self-confident more reliant on God. We smell more of the supernatural and of the grace of God.  In the new situation we can’t rely on ourselves anymore; we are out of our depth and have no pat answers; we need the Holy Ghost.

Friend, changes in our life help us to develop the fear of the Lord and a new scent around our life. As we are poured into a new situation of change, He can pour new wine into our vessel. His new wine will be totally sufficient and it will always fill up the shape of the “new vessel” or situation we find ourselves in. Best of all the wine in the new vessel smells wonderful to Our Father.