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"...time has done little to change how people respond to an encounter with Jesus."


A thought by Charles R. Swindoll, from his book, Jesus: 09 (Great Lives Series) (p. 8). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

I'm sure that is so true.

Charles says, "As I read the accounts of Jesus in the Bible, I find that time has done little to change how people respond to an encounter with Jesus. Like today, many wrote off reports of His miracles as myth. Like today, others who accepted His miracles as genuine attributed them to the work of evil or something else. Like today, some saw His works and accepted them as blessings from God but rejected the One who brought them."

He goes on, "I also find that a relative few—perhaps numbering in the hundreds—saw the miraculous deeds of Jesus as proof that they had met someone very, very special. And their response was to stop what they were doing and consider the possibility that something remarkable was happening, something that deserved closer examination."

Charles later says, "Perhaps 'skeptical' describes you. Maybe you aren’t quite sure what to do with Jesus. Maybe you, like the people in Jesus’ day, have heard His name and the rumors but had little time or interest in knowing more until now. Maybe you recently encountered one of Jesus’ followers and the experience has piqued your interest. Or, just as likely, you’ve been turned off by a number of overzealous Christians and so you’ve decided to learn more about Him on your own. Whatever your motivation, I invite you to read on. You may be reluctant to accept His miracles as genuine or admit that He was anything more than a man. If so, you are not that different from the people who encountered Him in the houses, synagogues, dinner parties, and byways of Palestine. Nevertheless, those who wanted to be intellectually honest had to admit that Jesus was no ordinary man—and someone that remarkable deserved a closer look."


He then says, "Whether viewed face-to-face or through the lens of history, the question remains the same: who is this man? Historians who doubt the existence of the supernatural might object to a biography that accepts the miracles of Jesus at face value. Regardless, I intend to present Him in this book the same as He presented himself to eyewitnesses more than two millennia ago: as a perplexing, confrontational, natural, and supernatural man. I will then leave the question of what to do with Jesus up to you. But let me warn you before you begin: your encounter with Jesus will not allow you any middle ground, any more than it did the people who met Him in person. He not only did extraordinary things, but He also made an extraordinary claim."

I feel that we are in a time where we need to ask this question, who is this man? And Charles Swindoll is someone, I trust to help us in answering it. So if you have an interest would you stay with us for awhile? Will you? Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning


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