February 15, 2024

How to Lead Someone to Christ (Part 3 of 4)

February 15, 2024

Transcribed from Sermons by Bruce Peterson at Grace Chapel in Scottsbluff, NE. The video of this sermon can be found by clicking this link.

For a printable list of the primary verses to use when sharing the Gospel via this method, click on this link.

Alright, we're in part three of, “How to lead someone to Christ”.

How do you do that? It's it's way easier than we think it is, but it requires some knowledge.

There's four basic steps to going through the Gospel. I have a list of these steps and the verses I use in each to lead someone to Christ.

You can click on this link for a list which includes the entire verses, but here’s a list with just the references:

1) Be Holy

Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 1:14-16; Romans 3:9-20; Hebrews 4:12-13

2) Judgment is Coming

Revelation 20:11-15

3) What God did through Jesus

Colossians 2:9-15; Romans 3:21-25b; 1 John 2:1-2; Hebrews 10:11-18

4) How I Make the Work of Jesus Count for Me

Ephesians 2:1-9; Romans 4:4-8; Romans 6:23; John 3:16-18; John 3:35-36

5) Bonus: What Happens When I Believe

Romans 5:1-5; Romans 8:1-4; Romans 8:15-17; Romans 8:31-39

Or discussion about the Gospel at the end of the book of Revelation is of course triggered by these verses—Revelation 20:11-15—so let's read these verses again and get us all on the same page.

Revelation 20:11-15 (NIV)

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

This is the Great White Throne Judgment, when the age of humans in this life, on this globe, in this way, is over. It ends in a moment when God pulls the plug; when he decides time is up.

I suspect that is when he has “wrung out” of humanity everyone who will follow him.

If you listen through the Book of Revelation, he is wringing it out—getting every last drop out—of the rag. He is getting the very last human onto team Jesus that he can. Then, it’ll be over in a moment.

So, in a single moment of time, God is going to end human history, but not before it gets terribly dramatic because he's going to do some wringing. But when it's over, all of humanity, every human, will stand before God. Every human.

And that's a weighty time.

This is one of the key verses that I start witnessing with because it's dramatic. Everyone's going to stand before God and notice that there are books—plural—and then a single book and those are radically different.

and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

“God’s heart for us is full of grace. When we know and understand that about His heart, we see His grace in how He interacts with us and in what He tells us in the Bible.”

— Amanda Hovseth

Let me say this about the Book of Revelation: we can see this passage as judgment. It is a judgment scene. But here's the beautiful thing about understanding the heart of God, it is absolute Grace.

The fact that this passage is even in the Bible…not having people know that judgment's coming…that would be that would be like, “Oh, surprise! You’ve now got to answer for your life.”

That would be a bad surprise.

A good God; a loving God, is going to say, “Listen, this day is coming. I don't want you to have books, I want your name in The Book of Life. I have done everything I can. I have sent my son. He paid the price. I had the end times happen. I wrung people out. I had churches on every corner. I had your grandma know the truth. I have done what I can. I have done it.”

By putting it in there God is saying, “Get your name in The Book of Life, do it now! Don't wait. You don't know when a bus is coming that you don't see. Get your name in The Book of Life.”

That is a good thing, that's a good God, it's not just put in to be a judgment scene.

So, this is week three and here's the movements I take when evangelizing—when I lead someone to Christ; help them to become born again:

1) Start with the problem.

The Problem: We have to be holy. You're not holy. No one's holy.

You take this passage—Revelation 20—and you bring it to bear on their life. Stay with the problem, focus on the problem. What's the problem? Be holy. Jesus said that; Peter said it; the Law said it; it's all over the Bible. Be holy. You're not holy.

When Jesus was asked, “What's the most important thing I should know?” He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Destroy the person you're talking to with those two laws. No one you will ever talk to loves the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and mind. No one, not you, and you're a Believer. Not me, and I'm a pastor. Who loves God with all their mind? You don't. Your mind doesn't go to bad places ever?

Ever love with all your heart? No. With all your passion—everything you are? No.

With all your soul? No. With your whole being—your money, your time, your energy? No.

You should love God above all and always and with all your mind.

No one does that. We might do it for milliseconds and then we're lost.

And, no one loves their neighbors more than themselves.

The guy even asked Jesus who’s your neighbor? Like he was thinking, “I love some of my neighbors.”

Then Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan which teaches that every person in the world who has a need is your neighbor. That was Jesus’ answer, treat whoever needs a neighbor as if they were your neighbor. So, all the needy people of the world.

But, we do not give up our cars for them. We do not cut our celery in half and give half to them and half to ourselves. We don't. We just don't love people like we love ourselves. Most of us, when there's a tiny bit of ice cream left in the freezer, we make sure we eat it so even our children don’t get the last bowl. That's how we don't love our neighbors as ourselves. We don't even love our children as ourselves.

And I'll tell you this, if my kid gets cancer and your kid gets cancer, you will care more about yours than you care about mine. That's just the truth of it.

Point One: is to wreck them.

2) Explain the consequence to the problem.

They're going to stand before God. They're going to answer for their lives. And if they go into that experience and they're counting on their own goodness to get them through, they're done.

Don't let them think that they can go stand before God and their life is going to save them. Their life is going to wreck them. There's an angel who is writing down every single thing we think say or do—including motives—that doesn't measure up. Don't relent on this truth.

You put the weight of holiness squarely on their shoulders—just the weight of holiness.

“You’re not the judge, you are warning them about the coming judgement. You are not the judge, be careful, that’s a big distinction.”

— Bruce Peterson

Don't bring up their own personal sins, you'll just build a wall between you with those. Talk about your sins. Talk about humanity in general. Talk about how no one does it right. Don't go, “Oh, well you're a thief and you're a drunk and you're…” Don't do that. You'll just alienate them. That turns you into their judge, but you’re not the judge, you’re warning them about a judgment which is coming. You’re not the judge, be careful, there's a big distinction.

Put the weight of holiness on them and they will beg for mercy and they will ask for the solution.

Then, here's the beautiful thing, here is the grace of God.

3) Take the weight off of them.

Take all of the weight, all their guilt, all their shame, all their sin, and you just pick it up and you carry it over here and you set it squarely on the shoulders of Jesus. Jesus is the hero. Jesus is the solution.

Because of the great love of God, He sent a Savior: the Lamb.

John 1:29 (ESV)

“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’”

You show how huge and glorious the sacrifice of Jesus is. You honor Jesus with the credit do Him and the victory that He won. He conquered the books. It’s just amazing.

Paul says Jesus took everything that stood against you— all your legal indebtedness (that's the books) and he nailed it to the cross. God the Father nailed your books to the cross his son died on. What a profound profound love of God. God loves you so much that he took all your books—all your thoughts, all your motives, all your laziness, all of it and he nailed it to his son. Wow! The love of God and the grace of God, it just doesn't get bigger than that.

Make Jesus the hero that He is. Give them the weight of holiness and then take that and put it on Jesus. Jesus can handle it. He can handle the weight of holiness. He is the only holy sacrifice. He is the only pleasing sacrifice. God was satisfied with the death of his son for us.

All your sin, yes, the secret ones, yes, the really terrible ones, yes, even Hitler's sin, yes, all of Hitler's sin was paid for on the cross. That doesn't mean he's in heaven but he might be, who knows. If I can go to Heaven, anyone can go. Because Jesus said hatred is equal to murder and thinking about somebody sexually is equal to adultery. Well then, you are terrible. You're a cheating, lustful, murderer. Savage is what you are.

And greed is equal to idolatry. If you don't love your neighbors as you love yourself—which none of us do because we’re greedy—so we're all idolatrous. And we're all adulterers. And we are all murderers, every one of us.

And Jesus loves us so much that he said, “Give it to me. I will pay it. And I will give you my robes of righteousness so that when you stand before God you have no books.” You will literally stand before God clothed in the holiness of Jesus.

Move the weight of holiness from them to Jesus.

I haven't told this story in a while, but I'll tell it again.

Landon Franklin, if you're listening this is for you buddy.

Way back in youth group I was teaching these exact same verses 20 plus years ago in my old house. And what I do when I'm teaching Junior High, I say, “Who will volunteer to let me witness to them, so you guys can actually watch me do it.”

Landon goes, “Oh, I'll do it.”

He wasn't saved so I was like, “Oh, that's perfect!”

That's what I try to get to happen. I'm going to actually witness to somebody even though they think I'm only practicing and the youth group watches.

Celebration Painting by Priti Gokani | Saatchi Art

So, Landon volunteers, he might have been around 8th grade, so he is old enough to be bad enough to care. And we get to this point where I take the weight off them an put it on Christ. He literally started crying and he got out of his chair and was jumping up and down and he said, “The weight is gone! The weight is gone! I'm free!”

He was literally celebrating in my living room in front of his peers, saying, “Wow! that was amazing news!”

It's not that dramatic to everyone, but that happens. It is a dramatic truth. If I see my real guilt before God and then I finally see Jesus as taking all of the guilt—it's a huge thing.

We sing a song called “Your Great Name” by Natalie Grant:

“The Lost are saved they find their way at the sound of Your Great Name. All condemned feel no shame at the sound of Your Great Name. Every fear has no place at the sound of Your Great Name. Jesus, worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, the Son of God and man. You are high and lifted up that all the world will praise Your Great Name. All the weak they find their strength at the sound of Your Great Name. Hungry Souls receive grace at the sound of Your Great Name.”

You have a profound Savior.

The lost of this world are loved dearly by God. Jesus loves every one of them and paid as much for them as he paid for anyone.

And he entrusted—this is all over the Bible—you’re ambassadors for Christ.

Peter said in 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV):

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Here's your one job according to Peter: that you might declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness.

If you can't elaborate on the awesomeness of Jesus, what are you doing? Are you asleep? This is a profound truth and it's right there on these papers. Memorize those verses, memorize them!

“You should be able to spew for hours what Jesus has done for you.”

— Bruce Peterson

You should be able to spew for hours what Jesus has done for you.

Sometimes if you just talk about what Jesus has done for you enough someone might say to you, “I want some of that. I want some of that.”

But mostly when you share the Gospel you're going to start with the problem. You're going to say something like, “Hey do you know the confidence I have before God? I know for sure I'm going to heaven when I die. You might think I'm crazy. But. can I tell you why I have that confidence?”

Then put it on yourself:

“I used to be…
“I never loved God the way I should…
“I am guilty of…

You can talk about yourself. They'll understand what you're doing.

Then get to Jesus. You should be able to spew about Jesus for hours. He's amazing.

But, if you stop there your person may or may not be saved and you might give them the impression that it means Jesus paid for everyone’s sin; therefore, everyone is saved.

Which is not true. You have to appropriate Jesus’ payment for yourself.

4) Tell them how the work of Jesus can count for them.

How does Jesus's death to count for you? Would you like credit for Jesus? Would you like Jesus to be your holiness? Would you like him to answer for your sin instead of you? Yes? Okay, so this is the issue of Faith.

It's time to move them to the place where you're going to offer salvation to them and see if they want it.

They might go, “I'm still counting on myself. I really don't think I need it.”

Where would you go to if they did that? Back to number one. “Explain that to me. What exactly are you counting on?” Take them back to number one.

But, if they do want to move forward to learn about salvation, they have to learn that we get salvation by faith.

So, here's the verses we're going to look at and they're amazing verses each in their own right. You should know them. They are classic salvation verses. If I’m going to explain the Gospel there’s just literally no way I’m not referencing these verses. It’s just critical “bread and butter” Gospel presentation verses.

“I will literally say again, “As we read these verses what I want you to notice is how much work you do versus how much work God does. Okay?””

— Bruce Peterson

I will literally say again, “As we read these verses what I want you to notice is how much work you do versus how much work God does. Okay?”

I want them to see how much their life matters in the situation.

I'll just go slowly with them, read the verses and explain them as we go.

Verses don’t speak for themselves. People don’t automatically understand them. There’s words in the Bible they won’t understand. They don’t understand what “grace” is, what “righteousness” is, what “justification” is.

You have to explain those words in the context of the Bible.

I’ll start with Ephesians.

Ephesians 2:1-9 (NIV):

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Let’s break it down.

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins..”

Again, I'll ask: What are you doing? You're sinning.

Are you alive or dead? You're dead, obviously, spiritually dead.

When you were far from God and just not caring, living your own life doing whatever you wanted, that's where we start. What are you doing? Sinning.

Who's a sinner? All of us.

Now let me, for theology's sake, clear something up. When you get saved you are no longer a sinner, you're now a saint. The New Testament does not call us sinners; God does not refer to believers as sinners, not all of us as a group. We aren't all still in that category, some of us have been saved. I'm not a sinner. Sinners have books. I don't have books. My name's in The Book of Life. I don't have sin. I am righteous. I am holy and blameless, that's who I am. If you're a believer you are holy and blameless.

Hebrews 8:12 (NIV)

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

That's a promise. You are holy and blameless. Christ is my righteousness.

Now, do I sin? Yes, oh yeah. I'm good at it too. I like it most of the time. Yeah, I can be honest. I sin, God loves me anyhow. I sin, that doesn't keep me from a relationship with God. I sin all the time, all the time.

Again, I will say I don't think humans have a moment in time when they are not sinning. Because, I am never outside of myself, and; therefore, I'm guilty of my own greed all the time. I don't have to be in the moment where I ignore someone who needs my help, that's just a moment. But, our shortcomings don’t just exist in the moment when we act on them, we're never free of our shortcomings.

We just fall short, but as believers, we're not sinners.

That's Grace. We get credit for Jesus. Real credit that really matters. God doesn't see me as a sinner.

God does see me as needing to grow, needing to mature. I have a long way to go. I don't look like Christ yet and he's building me into the image of Christ. I fall short of that every moment in my life and I always will, even though I can make progress. Growing is a key part of the process, but as believers we're not sinners.

Everyone starts as a sinner, everyone, all of us start there. All of us lived among them at one time gratifying the cravings of our flesh, following its desires and thoughts. That's just saying, you do what you want to do.

What is the governing rule of your life? How do you decide to spend your money? On what you want?

You do what you want; we call that sin.

That's what Adam and Eve did and it has never stopped. People do what they want. It's a problem. We're supposed to do what God wants. If you don't do what God wants every time, it’s sin.

It's a lot of sin, yes it is. We were, by nature, objects of wrath. It's a bad place to be.

Back to Ephesians 2:1-9, what have we done so far? Sin. That's all we've done.

Look at look at what Paul says next:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions

Where are we? Dead in our transgressions—our sins.

What have we done so far? Sin, that's all.

What did God do? He made you alive with Christ, while you were a sinner. Not after you clean yourself up. Not after you repent. Not after you change. Not after you make some great vow or make some great pilgrimage. No, that’s all nonsense. It’s not what God says. God says, while you were doing nothing, you weren't even born yet, Jesus came and paid your price. God who knows the future tallied up your life. God already tallied your debt.

Why? Because of his great love for you.

This sounds like point two but it ends up in point three:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

You're saved. It's grace. You can't earn it and you don't deserve it. According to God you're just sinning.

it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus

What did you do in that verse? Nothing.

What are you doing so far? Sinning.

What is God doing so far? He made you alive with Christ. He paid your debt. He raised you up and seated you with Jesus in the Heavenly Realms.

God's done all that and what have you done? Sin.

Hmmm…seems a little unfair, doesn't it?

in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Why did God do that while you were just rebelling and sinning? Because he wants to be the hero. He wants to show off his love. He wants to show off the victory of Jesus. He wants to brag about Jesus in the age to come. He doesn't want to brag about you, he wants to brag about Jesus. So, he did it while you needed help.

For it is by grace you have been saved,

Here it is, step three:

through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

You get no credit. As a matter of fact you can only take credit for sin. While you were sinning God did all this work. All this work is amazing and it's all final and complete.

How do you get it? Through faith.

Don't look inside yourself, look outside. You are not your help. The help is not inside of you, it’s external, it’s Jesus.

You're not the hero in your own story; you are not your own salvation. You do not earn your own standing before God.

God, who loves you, is offering you a gift.

What is the gift? Salvation.

What are you being saved from? Your own books.

How do you get it? By grace, which is something amazing that you don't deserve. You get it by accepting it. You can use whatever word you want: “believe”, “trust”, “accept”, “follow “Jesus. Those are all synonymous. Just believe it.

The Gospel isn't magic words, you have to understand the process.

You're guilty.——> You're going to stand before God.——> Jesus loves you, so he took your debt and paid it because you can't.——> Jesus offers that payment as a gift to you.——> Do you want it?

If you did a good job at painting Jesus big, they're going to want it. They might jump up and down, they actually might

Now for the next verse on your handout:

Romans 4:4-8 (NIV)

Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

“Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”

Starting at the begining:

Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation.

This one's easy to explain.

You go to work. At the end of the day, when you get your paycheck, can your boss claim it was a gift? No, he owes it to you. It's not a gift.

God understands that and he's explaining that to us so that we know he understands it so that when he uses the word “gift” we know he means gift. He’s not saying, “If you earn it, I'm going to give it to you, but it's really good so I'm going to call it a gift even though you deserve it.”

No, no, no. God's going to say, “Listen, I know what a gift means and we all know what a gift means: wages are not a gift, they're a debt you owe me. I did the work, pay up.”

However, to the one who does not work…

The one who does not do what God wants—what do we call that? Sin. That's what it is called.

So, what is this person doing? Sinning.

However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly,

“Justified” is probably the best word in the Bible. It means “to be declared innocent”. It's a legal term in Paul's day—to be declared innocent.

It's a ridiculous idea that God will look at me and declare me innocent of what I've actually done. I'm guilty. I'll plead guilty. I’ll throw myself on the mercy of the court. I am guilty.

And God will go, “No, you're not; you're not guilty. Stop doubting me, Bruce. You're not guilty, you're innocent. Jesus became your sin and—when you accepted it—you became his righteousness.”

Jesus is guilty of those sins. That's why sinning is so gross, because I literally make Jesus guilty of that.

And, yeah, he already paid it. I get it. And I won't have to pay it. But, do I want to see Jesus doing the things I'm imagining doing?

Remember:

to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly,

What are we doing? We're doing the ungodly stuff.

What is God doing? Declaring us innocent.

Of what? everything that's ungodly.

That's ridiculous, I know.

their faith is credited as righteousness.

Faith is credited=counted as goodness. Your faith is counted as perfection.

What are you actually doing with your behavior? Sin.

But you've accepted the payment—which is a massive gift—and by accepting it, you now stand in Christ and everything here in Christ is righteous.

However, to the one who does not work…

All they're going to do is trust that God will declare them innocent and declare them righteous.

Would you like that? Would you like to be innocent?

If you're innocent, can you have books in Heaven with all your sins written in them which you will have to give account for some day? No, you cannot. You cannot have books and be innocent. You can't have both. so you either have books or your name's in The Book of Life.

Would you like to have your name written down in the Book of Life? How would you love that? Yes, I would like that very much.

David says the same thing when he speaks of “the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.” David even had a clue about this message of grace because David sinned badly and God let him off the hook and David's like, “Wait a minute…that's not how this thing's supposed to work…?”

David gets a glimpse into Grace and here's what David writes:

Psalm 32:1-2a (NIV)
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them…

How would you like to not have any of your sin count against you? What do you have to do?

…to the one who does not work but trusts God…

That's it. Accept the gift. Would you like to accept the gift?

Let me read you some more verses so that you don't think I'm just cherry picking. I'll actually say those words, “Let me show you some more…let me keep showing you more…”

Romans 6:23 (NIV)

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It doesn't get clearer…or it doesn't get more succinct, rather.

You sin. It's getting written down. You're going to stand before God, which means trouble (death) for you. God doesn't want you in trouble because he loves you. So, the gift of God is eternal life, not eternal death—eternal life.

Would you like to go from death To life? It's a gift from God.

Would you like this gift?

“The gift is: You can stand before God innocent of your guilt.”

— Bruce Peterson

If I were going to offer you a gift, what would you have to do to make it your own? You'd have to put your hands out. You'd have to receive it. You'd have to accept it. You'd have to trust it. You'd have to believe me. Whatever word you want to use, God is offering you a gift today.

The gift is: He will take the weight of Holiness off of you and he will put it on Jesus and that payment will count for you. You can stand before God innocent of your guilt.

That's a good gift.

John 3:16-18 (NIV)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

I'll try to put their name in there as I read these verses:

For God so loved Kim that he gave his only one and only son so that if Kim would believe in him, he wouldn't perish but have eternal life…

You're trying to make it personal.

If Kim would believe…

It's a gift, Kim, you’ve got to choose it. You’ve got to believe it. If you do, you will not go to the Lake of Fire, you will go to Heaven. You'll have eternal life not eternal death. This is good news; it's outrageous news.

But, you have to choose it.

Why would God make it so you have to choose?

The answer is the whole thing—the whole plan—this is the Book of Romans and the Book of Revelation. This is the Sons of God. God created us with free will because we're His children and we're going to reign with Him. He wants us to be able to put on wisdom and to grow, to make choices, to become powerful, to lay down our lives in ministry, to lay down our wealth for the spread of the Gospel.

“God isn’t going to force us into Heaven any more than He’ll force us into Hell, it’s your choice. He’s done all he can to save you.”

— Bruce Peterson

God wants you to be able to choose because we're going to stand before Him. We can't legitimately stand before a God and be judged for our choices if we can't make them.

God has huge aspirations for you. He can't have those if you can't choose them. God has giant dreams for us and because he wants those to be realized, He gave us the ability to choose.

God isn't going to force us into Heaven any more than He'll force us into Hell, it's your choice. He's done all he can to save you.

Whoever believes…

That's Jesus talking. “I'm here to accomplish this,” Jesus said, “God so loved you, he sent me. And just like the snake in the wilderness has to get lifted up I'm going to get lifted up for you.” (John 3:14 paraphrased; referencing Numbers 21:4-9)

“I'm going to get lifted up for you.” I don't know how easily that rolled off of Jesus lips. Did he quiver, even then? Did he not like to think about that day? I'll bet he didn't. But he did love to think about the love of God.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Jesus was saying, “I'm not here to condemn the world. I'm not here as your judge now. I'm here to save you. I'm here to save you. I'm the answer. I'm the solution. ‘I'm the way, the truth, and the life, no one gets to the Father but through me (John 14:6).'”

Whoever believes in him is not condemned,

Whoever—what? Believes in him.

….is not condemned

No books. There's no condemnation, you can't have books. If you believe in him you're over here, just a name in Heaven in the Book of Life.

Whoever believes…

If you would just believe; if you would accept this gift of God, your name would be in the Book of Life, your books would be destroyed. When you stand before God you would end up in Heaven because all you have is a name and you have become a Son of God.

That's next week's sermon—the results of choosing God’s gift of salvation for yourself.

but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

Why would you stand condemned already if you don't believe? Because you're still following the ways of the world. You're still over here in your sin. All you have before God is books. You're in grave trouble right now.

You should see the mountain of literature on your life, it's not pretty it's really gross. You're in big big trouble. You're not in trouble later, you're in trouble right now. You just don't see it coming. The Mack truck is literally inches from you and it's going a thousand miles an hour and all you keep doing is putting fuel on that fire. You're in grave trouble.

I'm already out of trouble. My books are already gone.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe…

You don't have a way out.

What is your payment? If you're not going to accept Jesus, what is left for you to pay with?

They might say, “My life.”

Well, let's go over that again. Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love your neighbors as yourself.” And if you do those things you're going to be okay. How are you doing?

We are right back to that. You’re doing terrible at it.

Let's actually look at your life, let's actually talk to your wife. Let's talk to your actual neighbors. Do they like your dog? Do they like your cats? Do they love your hoarding? Do they love the broken down cars, the trailer that’s parked in front of their house? How are you doing as a neighbor? Do you even talk to them? Have you even shared the Gospel? Because, if you haven’t, you're a terrible neighbor.

“Love your neighbor.” You're in trouble. But notice—you're in trouble based on what you believe and not by what you do. You don't have a way to pay for your sins, because you refuse to believe. The issue is belief.

That's step three, you're driving home belief. It can't be clearer than that and if it is still not clear to them, just a couple verses later in the same book is our last verse. It's John 3:35-36 and it's crystal clear.

John 3:35-36 (NIV)

The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Jesus is the solution. God loves him. God affirms him. He’s like, “It's all about Jesus.”

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

“You call God a liar when you say Jesus isn’t the solution.”

— Bruce Peterson

Problem #1 God is Holy and He doesn't excuse sin.

Sin must have a payment and you're either going to pay your debt or you're going to believe in God's solution. You're going to trust the wisdom of God. Trust that He knows your debt and solved your debt through Jesus.

Here it is and I can keep going like this all day long. I’ll say, “If you want a hundred more verses that say you have to make a choice. That what God wants most is for his people, the people he created, is to trust, to use their wisdom to believe Him. God wants to be believed.”

You call God a liar when you say Jesus isn't the solution.

Jesus said, “I'm the solution.”

You just add more stuff to your books.

Here it is, you want the sun? It's a free gift.

If you stand before God on the basis of your own behavior, you're done, you're just done.

God loves you so much. I love you. But, God loves you more than I love you and God wants you to be part of His family. So He has offered you Grace. He's offered you the greatest gift possible—the gift of eternal life, the gift of holiness.

Will you accept it?

I'll tell you right now, this is the hardest part in the whole Evangelistic process, the last bit once you get done with these verses, the bit where you go, “So, what do you say? Do you want it? Or, don't you?”

This closing bit is difficult, so here's what I do and you can figure out your own way if you want.

I say this, “So, does that make sense to you?”

And they'll go, “Yeah, I get what it's saying. I get the thing”

So I just ask them a couple questions. I say, “Okay, so if you were to die right now and stand before God and He would say to you, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say?”

If they say something like, “You know, I don't know right now.” …and that happens, I've had that happen… “I don't know right now. This is a lot, it's a lot. I need to think about it. I don't know how to answer.”

If they answer like that, it’s important to be cool.

I'd go, “Okay, great! If you decide, I would love to know that. I would love to learn that you actually believed. But, it's okay, you know, God wants you to think about it. This is a choice. That's a lot of truth I just dropped on you.”

This has been three sermons for me, but it’s usually just one conversation. It's a two and a half hour conversation I've just had with somebody.

“So, yeah, take your time think about it. But, here's what I'd recommend: don't die until you make a decision. Literally do safe things for a little while until you're settled on this issue.”

If they answer correctly right away—which—a lot of people are going to be able to answer right. But they might be answering just because they know what you want to hear. They might just be saying it right back.

I would answer, “Jesus is the solution, trust in Jesus.”

I'm never going to tell someone they're saved. What I'll do is follow up with a second question sometimes.

Because I never actually come out and say it, they would have to put the pieces together, so I say to them, if they answer the first one right, “Well who do you think goes to hell then?”

Usually they have to pause because I've only been talking about how to go to Heaven. I haven't been talking about who goes to Hell—not directly. If they've followed me though that's self-evident. And, if they followed, if they really have agreed with step one, if they just got saved, they can almost always answer this question without a problem.

They say, “Well…those who don't believe in Jesus.”

Then you go, “Okay, awesome, I love that you understand!”

Then I'll say, “If you believe that, if you just chose to believe that…that’s faith. You don't have to muscle through. It doesn't mean you're not going to question it later, it just means if you understand this and want this, then that's what God calls faith. And, if you just chose to have faith in Christ’s sacrifice…”

This is when I explain to them all the things which just happened for them.

“If you believe that, if you have done that today, your name just got written down in the Book of Life…”

Then I go into next week's sermon.

In “How to Lead Someone to Christ (Part 4)” We will talk about all of the wonderful things which happen for someone when they first believe in Jesus.

Click here for “How to Lead Someone to Christ (Part1).

Click here for “How to Lead Someone to Christ (Part2).

Click here for “How to Lead Someone to Christ (Part 4)”.

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written or transcribed by Amanda Hovseth.

Amanda Hovseth

February 7, 2024

Holding on to Reason

What was it like watching God change your father's life?

Amanda Hovseth

February 7, 2024

Holding on to Reason

My dad speaking in church after he was diagnosed with cancer.

In the Christian community in my small home town of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, my dad (Dan Hovseth) was well known. He was the type of guy who was either loved or hated. He never backed down from a lively debate and since the time he accepted Jesus as his Savior when I was five years old, he was a fierce defender of the faith, studying every apologetics book available and passing them out like candy to anyone he could force them on. Kids I went to school with often assumed he was a pastor and would be shocked when I’d explain to them that he actually drove coal trains, he just really loved Jesus and spreading the Gospel.

But, my dad was far from perfect and he would be the first to admit that. He was simply a human saved by grace. His humanity plus his eccentric/slightly bi-polar qualities, made my childhood rocky. It was a series of high mountain tops and deep valleys. As I grew older, and my dad grew closer and closer to God, the valleys became less frequent and less deep. I got to witness God transform my dad’s life in ways everyone had believed were impossible.

My dad, me, and my siblings on a family walk (mom took the pic on a flip phone).

He passed away August 22nd, 2015 when I was 26 years old from non-smokers lung cancer. It took me quite awhile to process the grief from his death—I’m sure I’m still processing some of it. But, about a month after his funeral, when I was back at college across the state, I sat down in a fancy pretzel restaurant and silently cried in public as I hand-wrote the first draft of this non-fiction story (I just couldn’t wait until I got home to get these words out). It was the best way I knew how to sort out the various waves of emotion and memories which had been fighting to break loose. It represents the state of my mind during the first few minutes of my life after I found out he had passed away. Time seemed to slow down during those minutes as my mind jumped me from flashback to flashback of my life with my dad.

Be forewarned, this isn’t a pretty story. The language isn’t always clean. But, it is real. It is human. And, it shows the grace of God in real, human lives.

(Before you get concerned, don’t worry, my mother has read and approved of me sharing this story, and my father would have too—anything to show the truth of Christ’s sacrifice and God’s salvation and grace in our lives.)

This is also the flagship story of my brother, Giles Hovseth, and mine short story compilation book which we dedicated to our father and titled, “Our Dad is Dead: and Other Fun Things to Talk About”.

Well, with all that said, here it is: a glimpse into my grief stricken memories.

My Dad is Dead

by Amanda Hovseth

“Amanda…” my brother’s voice breaks, like he’s choking on something. “Amanda, wake up.”

“What? Yah, Giles what…” I’m answering before my eyes open, my mind determined to respond before my body is willing.

“Dad’s dead.”

“Wow, really?” Wow? Did I really say wow? How did Giles get in here anyway? The door is open…I left the door open. When I went to bed a couple of hours ago I felt like I needed to. Twenty-six years old and still superstitious, ridiculous. Good. It would have hurt him to have come downstairs to a locked door.

“Yah.” He coughs. “It just happened…just now.”

“Okay, I’m coming.” I reach for my glasses. Have to get upstairs. Can’t wait for contacts, in a hurry…a hurry, why? Time is already up. Dead. Gone. Permanent. I put on my glasses. My brother has left, he’s waking up our other brother, right outside my room. My baby brother, the youngest, my babiest. Dad’s dead. My room is dark but light shines through the opened doorway, I hurry towards it.

I am twenty-five years old, back in college, and looking forward to a road trip home with my dad for Thanksgiving Break. When he says he is proud of me now, it feels real because I am finally proud of myself. I had never really believed him before because a silent voice inside had always read the undertones in his words as disappointment. But, now my first book is published, and the majority of reviews are positive, his review is positive. He stops at every bookstore, school, and church on his road trips to tell them about my book. His ceaseless peddling of my work has shown me he believes I have something worth saying.

He’s temporarily stationed in Arkansas for the railroad and is going to drive out of his way to pick me up. We will have seven hours alone together and I am excited to talk to him about my new life, my new future.

My phone rings, he tells me he is running late. He took a nap after work and ended up sleeping much longer than anticipated. I say it’s okay because I’ll just nap while I wait for him.

Five minutes later he calls again. He sounds tired and he stumbles over his words. His boss says he has to work later that day. I might as well drive myself and we will meet back home. He is very sorry. We hang up and I stare at the phone. It’s okay, I will still get to see him at home. But a realization penetrates my hopes, he has never missed family time for work before. He has always talked his way out of or into anything he wants. He is a real life con-artist. It doesn’t compute. I shake my head and smile. He’s an easily distracted guy, I’m sure it’s nothing.

I use the bathroom and then grab my bag to leave. My phone rings. It’s my mom, probably to check on our travel status. I answer. There’s two seconds of silence…“Mom?” She sobs. I put my bags down, “What’s wrong?”

“Have you left yet?”

“No, just about to.”

“Good, you might need to go to Arkansas. Your father had a stroke, he’s in the hospital. He says he’s fine, but I know he’s not. I’m sorry, you’re the closest… he needs someone there.”

“Okay…” I check google maps. “I can be there in eight hours.” She thanks me. “I’ll head out now.” We hang up.

My phone rings. “Mandy?” My dad’s voice is soft and wavers as if he is half asleep.

My dad at the hospital in Arkansas with friends he had already made (and talked to about Jesus) during the short time he was stationed there for work.

“I know, Dad, Mom just called me. I’m on my way to your hospital.” I prepare for an argument. For him to say he’s fine and my mom shouldn’t have imposed…

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I want to come.”

“I’ll text you my room number when they tell me.”

“Love you, Dad, see you soon.”

“Love you too.”

I’m eighteen years old, my dad’s calling me a stupid b**** and shoving me backwards. I fall onto the couch. My mother screams. “DON’T YOU EVER! Don’t you ever talk to my daughter like that!” She runs at him and is pounding his chest and arms with her fists. He tries to block her blows while moving her away. She stops, exhausted and drops down next to me, pulling me into her arms. My dad is pressing his palms to his forehead. He throws a chair across the room. Then grabs car keys and heads out the front door. My mom is telling me not to listen to him. I barely hear her. I’ve never been called a b**** before, probably never will be again…at least not by someone who knows me.

I’m twenty-three years old, in a hotel in San Antonio. It’s just me and my dad, he’s been temporarily stationed here by the railroad, “borrowed out” they call it. He didn’t want to go alone, so I decided to go with at the last minute. We’ve been here a month and a half now. He walks into the hotel room. I sit up in bed.

“Dad? Your back already? How’d you get back?” Normally I have to pick him up from the depot when his trains come in.

He’s ruffling his hair; his eyes look hollow. He sits down to undo his work boots, but I can tell his skin is crawling. I wait, he’ll talk, it’s usually hard to stop him from talking.

“I hit a guy with my train. A boy. A man. He was in his twenties.” He glances at me every once in a while as he talks, but never makes eye contact. “He just stepped out in front of the train. I think he had headphones on. They phoned his parents…came to the tracks…apparently his brain wasn’t right…he was…autistic or something.”

“What? Why was he walking alone if he was that autistic?”

“I know, right!” My dad is looking in the freezer, probably for ice cream. He pulls it out and puts it back, his skin is pale. “Some people just don’t…they just don’t think…I’ve hit cows before. Those trains, they really leave nothing. Just pulp, barely tell it’s human. He wasn’t even close to the size of a cow.” He’s opening a bag of beef jerky.

“You know it’s not your fault, right? You can’t stop those trains on time. If you could have, you would have.”

“Of course it’s not my fault!” He paces back and forth across the length of the room. “No, I’m okay. I could see him there from a ways away. He was just walking, and I thought he would stop. I honked the horn just in case. He just kept walking. I thought for sure he would stop, why wouldn’t he stop? Everyone stops. Then he didn’t…he just didn’t…stepped right out in front. Train didn’t even bump. We pulled the breaks, I thought maybe he’d made it across, where I couldn’t see. Trains take a long time to stop though.”

“Are you fired?”

“I thought for sure I would be, but no. They want me to see a therapist and I have three days off of work. I told them I don’t need a therapist, it wasn’t my fault, I had no hand in it. His parents didn’t even think so. Said he was living on his own for a year now, his roommate didn’t know he was autistic.” He takes a bite of his jerky. “Did you have plans for today?”

I do, I planned on meeting up with another railroader’s wife and daughter and going to see the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum and Ripley’s Believe It or Not. I ask if he wants to join.

He wrinkles his nose. “No, call me when you’re done though.”

“I can stay if you want.”

“No, no Mandy, really I’m fine. It wasn’t my fault.” He’s pacing again.

“Of course it wasn’t but we can go another day, when you’re at work.”

“Really,” He raises his voice and waves me off. “I’m fine. Call me after.”

I leave the room and go to the museums. My phone is turned off inside because it’s proper etiquette but when I make it to the gift shop and turn it on to call my father I realize I have six missed calls from him. My stomach flips and I call him back.

“Hello?” He answers and the phone crackles from the wind blowing past. “Mandy? Where’ve you been?”

“In the museums I just got done and called you.”

“It took that long?”

“Yah, I guess.”

“Well I’m out front.”

I turn to my friends and tell them where I’m going. As I walk to the front of the museum I spot him on a bench. He smiles and waves, but his eyes still look hollow. My heart aches. Poor guy, I should have never left him alone.

I’m nine years old and I’ve had a sleepless night. My parents are up, yelling at each other. I am lying in bed, pretending to be asleep and wondering if my sister in the bunk below me is actually asleep or if she is crying silently as well. I think that perhaps I should climb into bed with her and comfort her, but I don’t know how. And if she is asleep then I’d only wake her up. So, we lie alone.

My family: (back to front, left to right) Dan, Lori, Gavin, Kara, Giles, me

It’s the next morning, I slip into the bathroom to use the toilet. My mom is in the shower but there is only one bathroom so we often double up.

She steps out as I’m brushing my teeth and I notice a long dark bruise on her right thigh. I ask if she’s okay. She insists she is, she doesn’t even know how she got that bruise.

My dad is nowhere to be seen. Someone has obviously tidied up the living room. Part of me is worried my dad won’t come back. The other part knows that when I return from school there will be a new vase of flowers in the window and my parents will be waiting to hear how my day went. Like every time before.

I’m twenty-six years old, I came home for the summer because my dad has been diagnosed with cancer. Turns out he never had a stroke, only seizures brought on by brain tumors. My parents found me a job in road construction. I work anywhere from eight to fifteen hours a day. I’m walking up the stairs at five a.m. to get ready for work. My dad is awake in the living room. He always wakes up to send my brother and me off to work. He is looking at his phone. The low morning light allows the glow from his phone to accentuate his bone structure; sharp edges which used to be concealed in muscle. I wonder at how quickly his athletic physique has abandoned him.

“Mandy! Good morning! Have you seen these pictures of Giles and Jamus?”

My dad with my cousin Jamus (after my dad was diagnosed with cancer)

Jamus is one of my cousins, he’s four years old and can’t digest any food at all, so he lives solely on a powdery nutrient substance. Quite frankly if people didn’t know he was sick, they wouldn’t guess it. He has curly red hair and chubby cheeks that even cherubs would envy. He enjoys labeling days as “Hug Day” and then distributing hugs throughout the house. When he has an allergic episode he dresses up as Iron Man and faces the situation head on. He is just absolutely adorable and ceaselessly cheerful. He also loves my father, calls him his best friend.

“Yah.” I chuckle. “Jamus is super cute.”

“I know!” My dad lets out what is best described as a girlish squeal. “I just keep thinking, he couldn’t be any cuter, and then I flip to the next picture and…he is still even cuter!”

I laugh as I scoot my mom’s cat out of the way and head out the front door.

His voice trails after, “I love you Mandy, and I’m proud of you.”

He has said that every morning this summer.

I don’t know who made it to the stairs first, me or my brothers. It doesn’t matter, we have all climbed them and are now walking through the kitchen. My mom is already on the phone, it reminds me I’m late to the show. Time is slipping through my fingers at a speed I have never before encountered.

I’m twelve years old. My dad is standing by the stove with a big butcher knife in his hand. Neighborhood kids are watching and gasping as he continuously flips the knife into the air and catches it while making various faces of fear and shock. Tootsie Roll, our little Yorkshire Terrier, is hanging out by his feet. I call her over and pick her up. My dad glances my way and I frown at him. He knows this type of thing worries me. He calls out. “What, Mandy? You don’t trust me?” Then he throws the knife even higher. I roll my eyes and leave the room. He can insist on dropping a knife on his foot, but he can’t make me watch.

I am nineteen years old and I don’t know how many days I have been lying in bed. I share a house with two friends. My dad hadn’t wanted me to move out. He had yelled and yelled, calling me a fool for wasting the money. Then he had scoured my new apartment from top to bottom, looking for ways to make it safer. I don’t know what I am doing with my life. College is boring, and the end seems so far away. I haven’t picked a career and have no idea how to go about doing so. And I just keep gaining weight no matter how much I work out. A month ago some doctor gave me antidepressants and I don’t know if I’ve left my bed since. I’ve missed every single college class, and I’ll tell you what, I couldn’t care less. I couldn’t care if the world caught fire and burned up right in front of me. I couldn’t care if a masked man entered my room and skinned a box of puppies. I couldn’t care if Orlando Bloom asked me to dinner.

My phone rings. I answer. It’s my father. I can barely hear him. I’m not sure if he’s on speakerphone or if I’m still half asleep. While he talks I stare at the wall which I painted pink five months ago. The call is short. He tells me he loves me no matter what. He knows I’m going through some stuff and I might be worried he’d be disappointed. But he’s not, it doesn’t matter, he loves me anyway. The phone is beeping now. He must have hung up. I pull it away from my ear and notice the time. It’s time to take my antidepressant. I pick up the box and roll onto my back. I hold the little white pods in front of my face and stare at them. The sun sets outside my window, slowly obscuring my view. I blink, throw the pods at the trash can, and stand up. It’s time to take a shower.

I’m two years old, it’s the middle of the night and my mom is pulling me out of bed and bundling me into the car. I ask her where we are going.

“To pick up your father.”

My parents (Lori and Dan)-apparently I took this picture of them as a toddler

It feels like we have driven forever. I am lying with my head resting by her pregnant belly when we pull up in front of a bar. I know it’s a bar because of the neon lights. All bars have lights like that. She tells me to wait in the car and grabs a bat from the back seat. I wonder if my dad needs it to loan to a friend. Then she pauses and puts the bat back down.

Minutes later she is stomping out of the bar with my dad stumbling behind her, a bright red imprint of a palm on his cheek. They both get into the car without saying a word. I climb onto my dad’s lap and I sleep the rest of the way home.

I turn the corner from the kitchen into the hallway. I know he will be there, at the end and to the right. I know he will. But he won’t. I don’t want to go. I have to go.

I’m twenty-four years old and at a Friday night Bible study with my father. People are asking him about his testimony. I smile because I know my dad doesn’t like giving his testimony. He says that everyone thinks their life story is worth telling and most people are wrong. They insist. So, he gives them a piece of information which I always expected but never confirmed until then.

My parents (Dan and Lori) cutting the cake on their wedding day.

“When my lady told me she was pregnant with Mandy I panicked. I knew I should marry her and take care of the kid, but how was I supposed to do that? I was just a kid…I gambled a lot then, had gotten in too deep with the mafia. I started watching Oprah at my mom’s house, thought it might help, it didn’t much. My brother…the one, he’s in Omaha now but was in Alliance, Denny, his wife got me an interview with Union Pacific Railroad. So, I drove through the night, from Chicago to Western Nebraska, took the test, and they gave me the job. I figured the mafia goons wouldn’t drive to Nebraska lookin’ for me, cuz really, you can’t squeeze a dry sponge anyway. It worked, I paid them off later.…But, if it wasn’t for Lori’s pregnancy I would have never looked to leave. If I had never moved to Nebraska I would have never met Pastor Rich. And if I had never met Rich, I…who knows for sure, but I think I would not have ever been convinced of my need for a Savior. I thought I was good enough to make God happy. I suppose everyone thinks that. Ironic isn’t it, wanting to earn love and failing; when all along I could’ve gotten it for free?”

I’m twenty-three years old. I just graduated from Bible College. My dad has called a family meeting. He wants to study the book of Proverbs. It’s a good idea in theory, but family meetings never end well. This time it’s my fault.

I’m mad. My stomach is clenching and my jaw is tightening. He’s picked a study guide which is full of big words and nonsense phrases and ideas. I try to explain, “Proverbs is simple. This book is ridiculous. Man’s way of overcomplicating God’s Word to make ourselves seem more sophisticated.” Normally my dad would understand this. I know for a fact he would agree with that general statement. But this isn’t normally, this is a family meeting, and something goes wrong.

My family, taking awkward family Christmas photos

I’m grabbing my backpack, mentally calculating what is inside…my wallet, laptop, flash drive (with all my stories on it), phone…while I’m yelling at my dad and telling him I’d be better off alone. He yells back, something like, “Go ahead then!” I slam the door and stomp two miles to the library.

It’s been five hours in the library. I have friends I can call, plenty of friends who would let me move in as long as I need. Even a couple of guys I know who would welcome the chance to get closer to me, guys my dad wouldn’t approve of. But if I called them, if I called any of them, then the world would know. The world would hear of times he yelled, the time he broke our kitchen table, and they would see nothing else. They wouldn’t actually see him and how much he truly has changed throughout the years. Everything he has worked for, everything I have worked for, would be ruined.

I’m walking through my parents’ front door. The rest of my family is in the living room, quietly reading various books and watching TV. They look up when I come in, nod, and keep reading. My dad isn’t there. I wonder if I can sneak into my room and pretend like nothing happened. Our cat, Shale, is walking by. He pauses in front of me. Shale was a rescue, so he’s always hiding, never making a peep. Normally he runs when the front door is opened, instead he looks at me and walks down the hallway. I follow him. He leads me into my parents’ room. My dad is on the bed with his back towards me and a phone in his hand. Shale jumps up onto the bed and meows. My dad turns around.

Instantly I start crying. And I say, “I came back. I don’t want to break up our family over a dumb argument.”

My dad is on his feet and hugging me. “I’m glad you came home. I didn’t know where to look.”

I’m twenty years old and I work as a secretary at Regional West Medical Center. My main job is organizing patients’ charts and putting doctors’ orders into the computer. It’s been a hard twelve-hour shift and I’m exhausted when I walk through my parents’ front door. A couple of my friends are over, so I try to put on a smile. My dad isn’t fooled and instantly notices my sour mood. He insists on knowing what has upset me. I keep it simple because I want to move on, telling him the job is hard because I seldom get bathroom breaks and the doctors are pretty rude. He’s furious. He calls my friend Andy over, grabs a phonebook and the car keys, and asks me what the doctors’ names are.

I ask, "Why do you need their names?"

He says, “No one gets to be rude to my daughter, no matter who they are!”

Despite his rage, I smile. He and Andy plan on teaching the doctors “a lesson”. I know what type of lessons my dad teaches people and I know our town needs its doctors, no matter how rude they are. So, I convince him the doctors weren’t rude to me specifically. They are just rude in general. I really am okay. At this point, I’m beaming because of how protective my father and friends are, so he believes me and is content.

Instead of teaching lessons, he and Andy make homemade Chicago-style pizza.

I’m five years old. We are driving across the country, back home from my grandmother’s funeral. It’s nighttime. My parents laid down the seats in the back of our red minivan so that my siblings and I have a huge bed. I stare at the stars through the window and listen to the consistent calm of the wind blowing past.

My grandmother is dead. I cried when they told me, even though I barely knew her. I knew the concept of a grandmother, and mine was dead. Then I saw her body. It was white and cold, painted and posed. It was not her. They placed her body there, but she was not in it. I crawl to the front of the van and sit, leaning forward between my parents’ seats. I want to know where grandma is.

They tell me something my mother has known since she was young, but my father had only learned recently. Grandma could be in Heaven if she had trusted God to get her there. They just don’t know if she did.

I feel chills. How does someone trust God to get them to Heaven?

Me, my dad, and my sister (Kara) painting a porch (the van I accepted Jesus in is in the background).

They tell me that every time we do the opposite of what God wants us to do, we have to be punished for it. If we decide to try to handle the punishment ourselves, then God can’t let us go to Heaven, because not going to Heaven is the punishment. But even when God is angry, He loves us and wants us to go to Heaven. So, He decided to take the punishment, Himself. He came to earth as Jesus, never did anything wrong, and then was killed in our place. Now we have a choice: we can pay for our sins ourselves, or we can believe that Jesus already paid for all of our sins and accept that payment as a free gift.

I told them I wanted Jesus to pay for my sins. They taught me how to pray. That night I met God. I have never felt more like I could fly than at that moment. I breathed deep. I told my sister about it and she joined me in prayer. Then I went to sleep, trusting my dad would get us home safely and knowing my God would someday bring our souls home safely.

I step into my parents’ bedroom. It smells like a hospital: disgustingly sterile. My dad’s body is there. His eyes are open. One is staring in a different direction than the other. His mouth is also wide open. It has been open for days. He slept with it open. My mom has turned off the oxygen machine and taken the breathing tubes out of his nose, he doesn’t need them anymore. The machine’s constant clicking and blowing was a reminder of how much it hurt him to breathe—but now the world sounds wrong. We all step in, take a look, and leave. My mom is calling my uncles, they will be over soon. She says she has already called hospice. I say I am going downstairs to change since company will be coming.

I hurry back up the stairs. One of my brothers is telling the other that he needs to touch my father in order to make it real. The other is protesting, saying he doesn’t need to. I brush by quickly and say, “Don’t push him into anything, we all grieve different.” Then I’m back in my parents’ room, alone with my father. I step up to him and place three fingers under his jawbone as if to take a pulse…I’m six years old, I’ve had a nightmare. I know if I wake my father up he will let me climb into bed and I’ll be safe. I can sleep easy…No. No. I’m twenty-six years old. I’m twenty-six years old and I’m touching his neck. His skin isn’t quite cold yet. He’s not waking up. He’s not moving. He’s dead. My dad is dead.

I say, “I love you Dad. I’ll see you later.”

I’m twenty-five years old, it’s Thanksgiving Break and I’ve made it to the hospital in Arkansas. My dad is in the hospital bed. He’s on the phone with our pastor. I hear him struggle to speak so I step into the bathroom to give him privacy. It’s on speakerphone so I can still hear. My dad is always worried cell phones will give us cancer, so he doesn’t like holding them up to his head. Our pastor doesn’t want to let my dad give up hope. He says, “There’s still a chance. You could survive…you’re not dying before me.” I stare at the sink because I don’t want to look in the mirror. My dad says, “No listen. You know the story of John Bradford, right? I want my kids to know. I want, after all this, the one thing they should learn from my life…‘There but for the grace of God go I’.”

I take my fingers off of my dad’s neck. I walk out of his bedroom and into the bathroom. I close the door, and I cry.

“Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.”

— 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

Click here to learn about what exactly it was that changed my father’s life (the Gospel message).

Click here for the book this story is taken from: “Our Dad is Dead: and Other Fun Things to Talk About”.

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

Amanda Hovseth

January 4, 2024

Holding on to Reason

A Warning from a Dream

Amanda Hovseth

January 4, 2024

Holding on to Reason

I have this recurring nightmare…

I am outside somewhere where kids are playing, usually a public park, and it’s packed, there are people everywhere.

Nearby there is a large building, with an entrance close to us which leads into an elaborate glass walled and ceilinged room. Further along there is another entrance which leads to a less elaborate, but cozy windowless basement.

Everything is fine and happy for a little while, but then something changes in the air and as I look off into the distance, I notice dark clouds.

The clouds begin to twist as the wind picks up. I watch as a thick and massive funnel drops to the ground. Next to it, another thinner spindly funnel begins to zigzag down, behind that another one, and they just keep appearing. The sun is blotted out as the horizon fills with countless tornadoes, but somehow, I am the only one who seems to have noticed.

“Tornado Storm 1 Collage” by Steve Ohlsen

I start to yell to the crowds, “Look! Tornadoes are coming! Quick, get inside! Go to that door over there that leads to this building’s basement!”

A few people hear me, turn to see the tornadoes, grab their kids, and run off in the direction of the building. But most people act as if I don’t exist. I try to get in their faces, to get their attention. A couple more notice me and run in the direction of safety. Most still ignore me.

“Look!” I yell. “Those tornadoes are coming and they will kill us all if we don’t take shelter right now! We are running out of time!”

I start to get desperate and physically grab some heads and turn them in the direction of the tornadoes. A few acknowledge the danger and run towards safety but some other people look at the tornadoes, shrug, and continue on with what they are doing.

I consider running to safety myself and leaving everyone who is ignoring me to their fate, but I decide that while I still have time, I will keep trying because maybe someone just hasn’t had the chance to hear my warning yet.

I run to the other side of the park while continuing to yell my warning, a few more run to safety but most people keep ignoring me.

I’m now at my wits end. I decide that just because the adults are foolish, doesn’t mean the kids should die. I start grabbing and carrying as many kids as I can down to the entrance to the basement door. I funnel them inside and tell the adults already there to watch them as I run back to the park to grab more. I continue this pattern, until the tornadoes are practically on top of us. With a pile of kids in my arms and on my back I make one last trip toward the basement door.

But on this trip I realize there is a line of people forming outside the door to the above-ground, glass-walled room. In front of the line is a table with people selling tickets to the glass room. There is a big sign on the table which says, “Safety from the storm here, only $10 a person”.

I am furious. I drop off the kids I’m carrying inside the basement door and then run back to the line. The wind from the tornadoes is so loud I have to get right next to each person in line, yelling in their ear for them to hear me. “They are lying to you, this does not lead to safety. A glass room cannot keep you safe from a tornado. They are charging you and you will die. But right over there is a door to the basement, you will be safe there, and it is free to get in. Go over there, quick!”

I tell every single person. A few listen and run to safety, again, most do not.

They roll their eyes and scoff. “Who are you?” they say. “Why should we listen to you? These people are traditionally known for providing safety from storms. They have centuries of experience. What could you possibly know about it?”

“They are scamming you!” I yell. “Look! You can easily see with your own eyes that the room is made of glass!”

The people left in the line do not care. So, I push my way past the ticket table and run into the glass room to try to warn the people already inside.

“Everyone! You are not safe here! Those tornadoes will shatter this glass and the shards will tear right through you!” I point to a door towards the back of the room that leads to the basement. “You have to get downstairs! It’s free to go down there and you will actually be safe there!”

Some people actually listen, they can see the tornadoes through the glass and have already been concerned for a while, my words were all they needed to have their fears confirmed. They run to safety in the basement.

But most people ignore me. Either they don’t think I know what I’m talking about or they have already invested so much money and time into getting into this glass room that they refuse to admit it is a scam. I try to physically pull people towards the basement. They fight my efforts to save them.

The tornadoes are on top of us so I finally give up and duck into the safety of the basement.

Then I wake up.

It isn’t a mystery to me why this nightmare plagues me. It’s a clear illustration of what has torn at my heart every single day since I first learned about the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us.

Some people don’t know about the impending danger or the free salvation which has been provided, and it is my job, along with every other Christian, to tell people about it.

The tornadoes in my dreams represent judgment day, which we will all face after death. Even if we are ignoring it, it is still there, looming on the horizon.

But, like the door to the safety of the basement, there is shelter from the consequences of that day available. Christ took on the punishment for our sins, Himself, so that we wouldn't have to. He paid the price of our shortcomings.

We just have to decide if we still want to pay for our failings ourselves and face God’s judgment, or if we want to accept Jesus’s payment as our own. His payment is free, just as the door to safety in the basement was free to enter.

However, there are other forces at work and other people in the world who are only out for themselves. They will give you a long list of things they claim you must do to pay for your sins and it usually includes giving them money. They claim that if you choose their way, to pay for your sins yourself, you will be saved from the judgment seat of God. But their way offers no protection from God’s judgment. You cannot not pay for your sins with man-made traditions or offerings.

Hebrews 10:1-3;8-14 (NIV) “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins….
First he [Jesus] said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”

You cannot undo your mistakes by covering them with good deeds. The mistakes are still there, you will still have to pay for them. The glass room cannot keep you safe from tornadoes, no matter how much you pay to get into it.

The only way to not have to face the consequences of your own sins, is to let someone else face those consequences for you. And that person cannot have their own sins to pay for or they would spend all their time paying for those and couldn’t pay for ours.

Jesus was able to live a sinless life because He is God. He came down to earth as a man in order to fulfill the Old Testament Law by living a sinless life and then take on the consequences of sin for us, because He loves us. Jesus offers us safety from those consequences, and he offers it for free, all we have to do is choose to accept His free offer and “take shelter in the basement”.

1 John 4:10 (NIV): “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
Galatians 2:19-21 (NIV): “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV): “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

Amanda Hovseth

November 7, 2023

Holding on to Reason

How to Lead Someone to Christ (Part 2 of 4)

Amanda Hovseth

November 7, 2023

Holding on to Reason

Transcribed from Sermons by Bruce Peterson at Grace Chapel in Scottsbluff, NE. The video of this sermon can be found by clicking this link.

For a printable list of the primary verses to use when sharing the Gospel via this method, click on this link.

We are in the Book of Revelation this morning. Our launching text is Revelation 20:11-15.

Revelation 20:11-15 (NIV)

These are super foundational verses in how to witness to someone—how to help someone else that you know and love come to faith in Jesus Christ. It's a super important section of its own right in the Book of Revelation, but because it's so substantial in how to witness to somebody I thought we would do a mini series on how to evangelize.

If you don't have faith in Jesus Christ, I hope you get saved during this series. If you are hearing this for the first time, I hope you come to faith in Jesus Christ. It's an amazing gift of God that he would offer us salvation.

Last week I talked about focusing on the gap between us and God.

We talked about the verses which show us the problem: God says we have to be holy like he is holy.

The consequence to that is: you are going to stand before God and give an account of what you’ve done.

We learned last week that there's actually an angel in heaven who is writing down in books everything we think, say, or do. It's an accounting of our debt to God. This should crush people.

When you are telling people the Gospel you want to start off by crushing them. I mean that. You will know you have done your job well when they ask for the solution to their sin problem.

They'll ask, “Okay, what am I supposed to do?”

But let me qualify this, most importantly, when you are explaining the giant gulf between God and them, do not use their personal sins as your example. If you're talking to someone who you know is having an affair with their wife, don't bring it up. Don't bring up their addictions. Don't bring up their habits. Don't.

This is because we all fall short, as humanity, we all fall short. You don't have to pick their particular sin and drive home that one, because, if you do that, a wall is going to go up between you and them and they will not hear you. That's not the goal.

“The goal isn’t to offend them, it’s to open their heart up to hear God.”

— Bruce Peterson

The goal is not to offend them, it’s to open their heart up to hear God. And if you pick their particular sin; like, “I know you’re embezzling money at work.” They will be like, “Okay, conversation’s over.”

Don't do that, don't. Instead, look inside yourself and just be open, be honest, be like, “Let me just pour out how I feel inadequate before God.”

Believe me, if you do that they will get on board with you; like, “Oh, I too feel inadequate. I too am not the perfect husband. I too am not the perfect father. I too am not the perfect employee. I too don't love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I don't do it, I love me.”

That's all easily demonstrated by our time, by our checkbooks, by our lives. Don't pick their pet sin, don’t even bring it up, it doesn't matter, that's irrelevant. Those things are hot buttons in people's lives and if you touch that, they're going to get defensive. That's not the goal at all.

So, crush them because they're humans and humans have no right; we have no claim to self-righteousness. Humans have no righteousness, we're not good in general.

Let me read the text and then I'm going to give you another illustration that I like to use when I'm trying to demonstrate the gap between us and God. This is our launching text:

Revelation 20:11-15 (NIV)

Okay, so that's our launching text. Interestingly enough, it's not at the end of the Book of Revelation, it’s in chapter 20 and there's 22 chapters. Why is this? Because everyone whose name is in the Book of Life goes into the Kingdom of God which is on a new planet in a new city—the city of Jerusalem—and we live happily ever after.

But, who gets into the Kingdom of God? Not everyone goes in. You have to have your name in the Book of Life. Notice, if your name is in the Book of Life you get to go in.

But, if you have books--plural--what's in the books? Every sin.

What is sin? By definition, it means to miss the mark.

What's the mark? Holiness. Anything that's not holy that you participate in is sin.

Okay, let's narrow that down. What do you do that's holy?

What do you do that God would also do? It's a pretty small list, isn't it?

Let me ask you this, what do you do or think that God would not do or think? That one's easy. That's big, right? We missed the mark. We sin all the time.

But, people tend to think they're good. Most people you talk to will think they're good enough for Heaven, or at least they're good enough that they shouldn't go to Hell.

God says that's not true. No one is holy, not even one (Romans 3:9-20), that's last week's sermon.

Here's one of my favorite illustrations for this:

I like to picture Holiness as God saying, “You can get into heaven if you can swim to Hawaii.”

The question is, is it possible?

Imagine California, there's the beach, all of Humanity is on that beach. The waves are rolling in, and the goal is Hawaii. We're all gonna give it our best shot. We're gonna, because we gotta, we gotta get to Hawaii, because we want to get to Heaven. We don't want to drown, we want to get there, we want to go.

So, from California, imagine the masses just going into the ocean. Some of them aren't going very far. Some of them are just going to hit that first wave and they're just going to keep getting caught in that wave. Those are bad people, because this represents going to Heaven by good works, by earning it.

From the shore of California, it's going to become evident that people are going to begin to separate themselves.

There are the really bad, who just tumble in the waves and you know they're done.

There's going to be some who just start swimming super hard and they're at the head of the pack, but before they're out of sight they're done, because they're out of energy. They didn’t pace themselves. They're gonna seem good comparatively. From the shores of California, some people seem good.

Do you know what the world record is for long distance swimming? I looked it up. It is the exact distance from here (Grace Chapel in Scottsbluff) to Fort Collins, if you go through Kimball. 155 miles swimming. I don't even like driving to Fort Collins…swimming there? I could swim across the parking lot, I think.

But the goal isn’t to swim to Fort Collins, it’s Alaska--2,400 miles away. That's how far Hawaii is by the way.

So, from California, from the perspective of holiness, some people look amazing. Some people--no question--are so much better than other people. We're not all equals. If we're just talking straight goodness, there's people in this room who are tumbling in the shoreline, and there are people who are swimming out there pretty good. They're good people. I don't think we have any 155 mile people in the room, let's be honest, we're in that 20 mile range, pretty good.

But, if you’re looking out from Hawaii… “Hey, all of humanity is trying to swim here, let’s stand on the shore and wait for them.” And the best swimmer is 100 miles from California... How long are we going to wait? We're going to wait forever, because no one, no one, no one can swim to Hawaii, it's 2,400 miles! The world record is 155 miles!

From your perspective you think you're good. But if I had a graph and you looked at the whole graph divided into 2400 segments and the best was 100…If you had to take a test and to pass you had to get 2400, but the best you got was 150…on the graph it’s almost a flat line. No one is good enough, no one is good.

That’s the idea that you’re trying to get across. You don't have to kill them on their personal sin, but you do have to get them to see that they are gauging it wrong. They are saying, “I'm the best swimmer.” Well that may be true, I don't take that away from you, you are way better than me, but you're still not getting away with your sin. You're just not going to do it. Your goodness can't carry you all the way across.

“They are gauging it wrong, saying, ‘I’m the best swimmer.’ Well that may be true, I don’t take that away from you, you are way better than me, but you’re still not getting away with your sin. You’re just not going to do it. Your goodness can’t carry you all the way across. ”

— Bruce Peterson

That's point one of the Gospel. Stay on that point until they ask for the solution.

Now we're going to get into the point of today's sermon: Jesus is the hero.

Once they ask for a solution, here's the big point you want to get across: God wants them in Heaven. Say it to them, “God wants you in Heaven, more than you want to go to Heaven. God wants you not in Hell, more than you don't want to go to Hell. No one wants you in Heaven more than God does.

Here's the amazing news, God made a way so that you can know you're going to Heaven.

“People think God says, “Be good to go to Heaven.” You are showing them that God says that idea is wrong, instead, he sent a champion to rescue you. Jesus is the hero of the story.”

— Bruce Peterson

He wants to be able to demonstrate all of his promises to you fully. He wants you in his Kingdom. He wants you in his family. God isn’t trying to keep you out, he's trying to get you in. You don't have to try things for yourself, there is a way God has provided. He has made the way.

Your job is to show them how Jesus is God's declared winner. People think God says, “Be good to go to Heaven.” You are showing them that God says that idea is wrong, instead, he sent a champion to rescue you. Jesus is the hero of the story.

Colossians 2:9-15 (NIV)

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

This text explains the solution to Revelation 20.

THE PROBLEM: be holy.

THE CONSEQUENCE: judgment is coming.

THE SOLUTION: what God accomplished through Jesus.

Again, when I am talking someone into faith—into trusting Christ—it's usually about a two and a half hour conversation, so you shouldn't be in a hurry on any of it.

Your goal is to explain everything. You want them to understand so that they can choose on their own to make this decision. Take your time.

Okay, let’s take a closer look at these Colossians verses, they're amazing:

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.

It gets way better than that…

He is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands.

That’s probably going to confuse the person you’re talking to, but it explains it in this next sentence:

Your whole self…

All your badness…

…ruled by the flesh was put off…

…was put off. That's what it means to be “circumcised”, to be cut off, your whole “everything opposed to you” was put off, your whole flesh.

Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Next Paul is going to explain all of that, this is where it gets good.

What does “uncircumcised” represent? When you still have books. All the badness is still attached to you. Now, watch what he says here:

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh…

This sounds like we're just busting into this conversation a little oddly, but in real life I've just spent 45 minutes demonstrating to them that they're a sinner, and this has all been one conversation.

So, I ask them to tell me what they are doing in these verses to save themselves. Who's the hero in these stories, you or God? How much in this verse are you responsible for?

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh…

What is the person doing so far? Sinning. That's all they're doing.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ.

Who did it? God did it.

He forgave us all our sins…

Here’s how he did that:

…having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

That's where you should cheer.

What did he take away in the terms of Revelation? The books. What are the books in Revelation? They are a record of your legal indebtedness. Sin is a debt. You have moral debt before God. He says, “Be perfect.” You’re not perfect.

“You have a real debt you owe to God and you’re going to be asked, how would you like to pay?”

— Bruce Peterson

It's the exact same thing as a parent when you tell your kid to do something that is expected and they just give you the bird. There's moral debt, that's a real problem. That's a real issue. It's not just nothing. There's an angel and every single time you know God wants you to do something and you don't do it, it gets written down. You have a real debt you owe to God and you're going to be asked, how would you like to pay?

Look what Paul says happens, Paul said God took the record of your legal indebtedness and he took it away.

Where did it go? He nailed it to the cross.

…he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Now, I'm not going to be just reading this verse to the person I’m telling the Gospel to, I'm going to be helping this person understand it. I'm going to demonstrate it. I'm going to talk about it:

Look, here's the plan, God took all those books and he put them on Jesus. He sent a champion. You can't pay for those books. Your good works aren't going to pay for them. We are expected to be good: be holy. Goodness is not a payment, it’s what you were supposed to always be doing, it’s the baseline. Everything that gets written down is debt.

What are you going to do with that debt?

Remember, we went over the numbers. How big is the number, the accounting of your debt? It's massive. How many times a day, counting your thought life, do you do stuff that is written down as debt? It's a ridiculous number. At the end of our lives these are big books.

God took the books away from you. He cut everything off. That's what it means that he circumcised you: he cut off everything that stood opposed to you, your whole legal indebtedness. And he nailed it to the cross.

Now, I’m going to have a Bible right in front of them and they are going to read Colossians 2:9-15 themselves. Then I’ll ask them:

When Jesus says that he forgave us, how much did he forgive? All of it.

What does it say that Jesus did? Jesus paid for our sin. God wants you in Heaven more than you want to go to Heaven.

What are you doing? You're sinning.

What do you do according to God to save yourself; what in this verse do you do? Nothing.

While you were dead, while you are sitting there right now, God has already taken all your guilt and put it on Jesus. Jesus paid for your sin. Not at the moment when you believe, he isn't in Heaven dying again and again, he paid for it one time. One time for all and all your books are dealt with.

“Unburdened” by Douglas Ramsey from “The Pilgrim’s Progress” book

If you have built up enough fear about the books in the first part of your conversation, this information is a pretty big relief for them. In real life that feels like a lot of weight that you piled on them and when they see that God accomplished this task all that weight gets lifted off and they will physically lighten up in the conversation.

The charge of our legal indebtedness which stood against us and condemned us, was taken away by God and he nailed it to the cross.

And having disarmed the powers and authorities he made a public spectacle of them.

Who or what did he make a public spectacle of? The books, but also the prosecuting attorney who would have prosecuted you for the stuff written in those books. The powers and authorities which would take your debt and hold it against you. The voice of guilt. Whatever those are, whoever those are, however that's going to work, God made a public spectacle of them.

What does it mean if I make a public spectacle of something? Am I doing something positive? No, I'm making a joke of it.

Listen to what happens here, God takes our books, he knows it all, he knows everything, it's all written down. And not only did God the Father take your debt and nail it to his own Son on the cross, but he didn't just barely cover your books, he didn't just barely take your guilt.

If you could barely pay off your debt at the bank did you make a public spectacle of your debt? No, you did not. If you have debt at the bank and you could make a public spectacle of your debt, how much money would you have to have? A lot.

The point is, “Oh, I owe you 10 bucks? Well, here's a million bucks.” That's a public spectacle, it's paying way way more than you owe.

That's the Globetrotters against their rivals the Washington Generals (the other fake team). The Globetrotters make a public spectacle against the opposing team because they can take that ball and do all that fun stuff. They're setting it up so it's no contest.

Jesus didn't just pay for our sin; God did not just destroy our books; he rocked the debt, he annihilated the debt. I'm not just close to being saved, I'm not going to get there and see my debt is just barely paid and that I slid in by the skin of my teeth.

God wants you saved so much that when he sent Jesus as the champion, he overpaid so much that the debt is a public spectacle. God takes your books and destroys them.

“God wants you saved so much that when he sent Jesus as the champion, he overpaid so much that the debt is a public spectacle. God takes your books and destroys them.”

— Bruce Peterson

When I get to heaven I will have no books, zero books. I'll have no books. The angel watching my life has already been fired. There's no one in heaven keeping a record of my sin. It's gone. It's literally gone. I have no books.

Then I ask the person I’m talking to: You know me, am I perfect? No.

I'll say: listen, I am not better than you. Chances are you're better than me, or at least we're pretty equal. I'm not better than you in any regard. But you still have an angel keeping record of your books. I do not, because God wants me saved. The thing is, he wants you saved too and you can get that angel fired today. Because Jesus triumphed over your debt, your debt is gone. You don't have to have books when you show up.

The whole idea is that you're at this scene we're there's two options: there's books or a book. You're either hearing what’s written in the books of your debt or you're hearing your name called from the Book of Life. I'm going to hear my name called from the Book of Life. (That's next week's sermon by the way.)

How do you get this to apply to you? we'll get to that in a second, but let me keep telling you about Jesus, because what God accomplished through him is amazing.

So, I'll say those words and I'll give them a little head’s by saying, “There is something for you to do, but it has nothing to do with saving yourself. But that's coming later.”

All right, so, do you see why I spend time in that verse? I go right from Revelation to Colossians because you have books, but you can also have those books thrown away before you get there. You can have them erased. All those books can be nailed to the cross and and be triumphed over so that they're gone.

Next, I'm going to go to Romans. I'm going to try to explain how it works because what's important is this:

God is just.
Sin creates real debt and God is not just a crooked banker who is your best friend and will simply make it go away through accounting tricks. No, no, no, no, God isn't doing some accounting tricks here.
Jesus is actually going to pay. Your debt was actually nailed to the cross. When Jesus is on that cross for you, he is actually paying your calculated debt. The Old Testament idea of it is that the whole lamb had to be measured to make sure there was enough, that it covered everyone at the meal. But the New Testament idea is that every sin has to be paid for on the cross.
Jesus paid so much that it's triumphed over. It's not going to be even close.

Jesus actually pays for it, the debt is paid, it's not just erased, Jesus pays for our sin.

Romans 3:9-20 (NIV)

What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.”

“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”

“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

“Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.”

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

We read, “There's no one righteous, not even one,” and I just had that conversation with them. So, I say, “Look, here's God's evaluation of people: no one's good, not even one. No one seeks God. No one cares. Everyday we throw him under the bus.”

Then we look at what God does in the very next verses. I remind them to think about three things as the read these verses:

What are these verses saying that we do?
What does God expect us to do?
Who is the hero: God or us?

Romans 3:21-25 (NIV)

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—

What that's saying is: now, apart from being good—because it said that the purpose of the law was to point out our sin to us so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable. So, now set that aside—apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made known without us earning it.

We can “tap into” the righteousness of God.

In the Old Testament God talked about the fact that he would do this one day.

This is what he says now: this righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ… to who?… to all who believe.

Here's what happened…

all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

I'll come back to this but I read right over it the first time through because I want to get to this:

God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood

I'll stop. I'll read it again. I'll have them read it. And I'll say, “Here's what happened, a sacrifice of atonement means that Jesus was the satisfactory sacrifice for your sin. You have debt that you can't pay. You have a mountain of debt. I'm telling you this now and when we are done with this conversation you're going to go sin some more. All you do is make more and more and more sin. God wants you saved more than you want to be saved. God Wants You in Heaven more than you want to be in Heaven. To accomplish that he made a payment for your sin. He a satisfactory sacrifice. Jesus Paid It All so that you don't have to pay it. That's what we just read in Colossians, this is Romans, Jesus is the sacrifice. Jesus’ sacrificed satisfied the wrath of God for your sin. Jesus is the hero.”

Then I'll back up a little bit:

There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned…

What do we do in this text? We are the Sinners. That's what we're doing, sin.

and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

To be “justified” is to be declared innocent. We can be declared innocent freely by Grace.

What is Grace? Stuff you get that you shouldn't. Good things that happen that shouldn't happen, that you don't deserve.

You can be declared innocent. Your books can be thrown away because Jesus paid your debt.

You're making debt. You're making it every day. God wants you saved. So he paid your debt.

Listen to 1 John 2:1-2 they are awesome verses:

1 John 2:1-2 (NIV)

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

What's an advocate? If you have an advocate what do you have? You have someone who speaks for you. You have someone to defend you. You have someone on your side, in your corner.

Who do you have according to this verse? Jesus. Jesus, the one who paid your debt is in your corner if you have him.

You have debt so what should you have? You should have books. What do you have? You have Jesus in your corner.

Why? What might Jesus be saying if he's your Advocate and the subject is sin?

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.

I don't want you to sin. Sin is not good for you.

But if anybody does sin…

So, we're not talking about when you're good.

…we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

When is Jesus speaking for you, when you're good or bad? This verse says it, it is when you're bad. Jesus speaks up when you sin.

Who would Jesus say it to? He would say it to his Father and he would say it maybe to the prosecuting attorney—those ones who he triumphed over who he made a public spectacle of? It might be them. But he's saying it to whoever is your critic.

What might he be saying? He's going to say something like, “Oh yeah, I already paid for that. Oh I already covered that. Oh that's already forgiven. Oh don't write that down, his name's in The Book of Life.”

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.

God doesn't want you to sin. I'm not telling you should go out and sin. Sin's bad for you on lots of levels. It's bad for your life. It's bad for your relationships. It's bad for everything in your world. Sin's bad.

But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins

He's the one who paid. That's probably what he's gonna say, “Oh, I paid for that.

Oh, I paid for that one too.”

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Jesus paid for your sin. God knows your sin.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

— Romans 5:8 (NIV)

What are we doing in this text? Sinning. That's always the right answer for everyone. God knows us. That's why we can be honest: I'm a sinner, God loves me anyhow.

Listen, you have an advocate with God, even though you've sinned all the time.

Back to the swimming analogy: you think that your swimming is going to get you saved. But, God knows you only have like a mile left and you're going to drown. You are not going to make it.

***watercolor luxury Yacht on the beautiful blue ocean. Hand drawn illustration, Free Vector Free Vector by*** adhito alfattah

Here's the amazing news: you don't have to make it. There's a Lifeboat! You can stop swimming right now and you can get in the boat. Forget the Lifeboat, there's a yacht going by and everyone in the yacht is just taking it easy.

Jesus is that yacht. Jesus took all the weight of sin that's dragging you to the bottom of the ocean and he got rid of it. And he didn't just get rid of it, he lifts you into the boat. He paid the debt.

He didn't just pay my debt, he paid your debt. I'm telling you now I know I'm going to Heaven and it's not because I'm good, it's because I'm sitting back in a Lifeboat. I'm going to trust God who sent the Savior for me.

So, I'm still trying to make Jesus big in their mind.

Here's the last verse I use and it's just phenomenal…though these are all really solid verses in their own right that just decimate our sin.

“Our sin is not the barrier, the sin has been conquered by Christ...You do not have to convince God you’re good enough to go to Heaven. That is not the challenge. The the only question is who’s on the hook for your behavior?”

— Bruce Peterson

Our sin is not the barrier, the sin has been conquered by Christ. You don't have to convince yourself you're not a sinner. You do not have to convince God you're good enough to go to Heaven. That is not the challenge. The the only question is who's on the hook for your behavior?

Are you still on the hook? Then you're in for a world of trouble.

God is saying he's glad, he's happy to take the hook for you.

Listen to this next text. This next text is so full, you can spend a lot of conversation time with someone over this text. You should just know this text. It should just really be like bread and butter in your life. It's so important.

The author of the book of Hebrews is comparing Jesus and showing him to be superior to everything in the Old Testament. In this particular text he's showing Jesus to be better than the priesthood and his sacrifice better than the sacrifice of the sacrifices in the Old Testament.

So, Jesus is being compared to the ritual of sacrifice, which, by the way, I'll take time to explain this concept to them. This is something we all do, we are stuck in this ritual with God when we feel guilt we make a deal with him: “If you get me off the hook…”You know, we make these vows and these promises. You go to church and you've been trained to confess your sin, you've been trained to do Penance for your sin. You've been trained to repent of your sin. You've been trained in all of these ways in some kind of mechanism to be right with God and God is saying it's all garbage.

Jesus is the hero who deals with our sin, not our behavior.

I'll say all of that and then have them read these verses:

Hebrews 10:11-18 (NIV)

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”

Then he adds:

“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”

And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

We all do the first verse:

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

This is what we do as humans. We feel guilty, so what do we do? We buy our wife flowers. We go to church for a couple weeks. We'll put a little extra money in the offering. I'm feeling particularly bad, I'm gonna do a little bit extra. Whatever it is…we'll listen to a podcast. We'll do some kind of ritual.

God is saying those rituals are worthless because they don't actually cancel our the sin. You know from illustrations, like let’s go back to relationships. If you're cheating on your wife, is buying her flowers helpful? No, it’s not that helpful. But that's what we do all the time.

We don't stop what we're doing that’s making us feel guilty; we're not good at that. What we're good at is trying to do these little things which we can try to convince ourselves makes up for it. And we just build in these rituals into our lives that are meaningless. They don't work anywhere in life but we think they'll work with God.

They don't work.

What does your spouse want? Different behavior. They want a behavior change. They don't want flowers. They don't want cards or a night out. They want you to be different.

Your rituals don't work in life. They don't work for your boss. We want better behavior. We don't want, like, funnier jokes during lunch. That's not enough.

But when this priest—meaning Jesus—offered…for what? All time. But when Jesus offered for everyone all over the world for all time, when he offered one sacrifice for sin, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.

What did he do? He sat down.

Why? Because his sacrifice was enough. He sat down for all time.

How many sacrifices? One sacrifice.

He has, what? Made perfect…

For how long? Forever. Those who are still in progress.

Are they a finished product? No.

So, what are they doing? Sinning. They're not perfect yet; they're not finished products yet. But…

For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever…

Now, you look across the table and you say: “Do I look perfect to you?” They will say, “No.” Am I perfect? “No.”

But we're talking about holiness, and here's the truth: because of the one sacrifice by Jesus, I have no books. I have no books. And at the great trial, when all Humanity…when I stand before God…and you stand before God, there'll be no books for me.

What's in the books? Sin. I will have no sin on my account.

So, what does that make me? Perfect. I'll have no accusers. I'll answer for nothing.

When it's time for me to open my mouth, who will speak for me? Jesus.

Why? Because, he's my Advocate. I have an advocate.

When you stand before God what are you hoping for? A blue ribbon? For what? Swimming?

When I get there, Jesus, the Son of God, is my advocate and I have no books. My books are gone, God's words about me say:

For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

He knows I'm not perfect. I'm still in progress. I'm only in progress because God is moving me that way. I might have a long progress to go, the progress is irrelevant, I'm already made perfect forever. Watch:

The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”

God is going to move his word into us. It is going to go from tablets of stone to inside us: “I will write them on their hearts”.

Then he adds this:

“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”

And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

“And where these have been forgiven,” is past tense.

What does God expect of me? Sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

So here's the thing, I can look at you and I'll say, “I know I'm going to Heaven. I know I'm not better than you. God wants us to get to Heaven and this is God's plan. He wants you in Heaven.

Here's what God did to get you to Heaven: he sent his son who paid your debt. He paid for it if you accept it, or not, if you take advantage of it, or not, your debt's already paid.

I took advantage of it I have no books. You are still living your life trying to make your books smaller. How's it going? How big do you think your books are? They're pretty big.

I have no books. I have been made perfect. my slate has been cleaned forever. I will get there and I'll have no books and I will have an Advocate. I'm telling you that's what God did for you, and you can have also have an Advocate instead of books.

My name is in the Book of Life. I don't have books anymore. This is what Jesus did for us, it's a profound truth.

Take your time, make them feel guilty, and then pull that guilt right off of them and put it squarely onto Jesus.

Jesus took your debt all your secret sins that you're doing—they're not secret to God—but they're already paid for. Jesus paid for them when he died on the cross.

They're going to want to know more. They're going to want to ask, ‘How does that count for me? What do I have to do?”

Then we're going to move into Faith.

The answer for them is: you're going to get to choose. As simple as that, you get to choose. Do you want to speak for yourself or do you want Jesus to speak for you?

That's the transition, you make them feel guilty (not with personal sins out of their life, you don't want them to put a wall up). Everyone's a sinner, then, Jesus takes that sin, all of it. You put the weight of their sin on them and then you take it off of them and put it squarely on Jesus.

And they literally get lighter right in your presence. Then you're going to give them the choice to believe. That's what we'll talk about next week.

Let's pray: Father, God, we do again come before you with grateful hearts that you love us enough that you want us to be saved that you love us enough that you took our debt, you paid our bill, it's an amazing privilege. It's an amazing truth.

In “How to Lead Someone to Christ (Part 3)” we will start talking about the choice people have: to believe in Jesus or not. Click here for Part 3.

Click here for “How to Lead Someone to Christ (Part 1)”.

Click here for “How to Lead Someone to Christ (Part 4)”.

Click here for more things written or transcribed by Amanda Hovseth.

Amanda Hovseth

October 24, 2023

Holding on to Reason

How to Lead Someone to Christ (Part 1 of 4)

Amanda Hovseth

October 24, 2023

Holding on to Reason

Transcribed from Sermons by Bruce Peterson at Grace Chapel in Scottsbluff, NE. The video of this sermon can be found by clicking this link.

For a printable list of the primary verses to use when sharing the Gospel via this method, click on this link.

How do I end up going to Heaven when I die?

I’ve had the privilege—not bragging at all it’s just in a lot of ways a career choice—but I’ve had the privilege of leading hundreds and hundreds of people to Christ and I’ll tell you this right now, it is profoundly easy. It’s not quick, it’s usually a two and half hour or longer conversation because the Gospel is not something you just say it’s not a “repeat after me” prayer. No one is going to Heaven by just doing a repeat after me prayer.

When I was in Chicago at Sally’s and mine first apartment we had a landlord whose nephew went to a Christian college and he was on the football team. That football team would go to Europe during the summer and do scrimmages and show other colleges football and then they would bring that team or the other sports team onto the field and lead them into a repeat after me prayer and they would come back to the states and report on how many people got saved. And I asked if they understood English and they’d say, “Oh no they don’t understand English.” I’m like, “Wait a minute, you honestly think that repeating the words in a language you don’t know gets people saved?”

“The Gospel is not a magic trick. It’s truth. There is a real problem and there’s a real solution and getting saved is recognizing the problem and choosing the solution. You choose it. To choose it you have to understand it. ”

— Bruce Peterson

That’s ridiculous on so many levels, God is not a magician, the Gospel is not a magic trick. It’s truth. There is a real problem and there’s a real solution and getting saved is recognizing the problem and choosing the solution. You choose it. To choose it you have to understand it. As you talk to anyone the goal is to have a conversation that they understand.

If you look at how the people in the Bible share the Gospel--If you look at Paul in the book of Romans: he is writing to a church he’s never been to and he says, “I am going to tell you the Gospel.” And he starts by saying, “The Gospel is the power of God to save,” and then he takes three chapters and proves everyone in the world guilty, he condemns everyone first.

You first have to see the problem before you want the solution. No one ever, in anything in life, goes for a solution unless they see the problem. The problem has to be heavy. So when you are explaining the Gospel to people, you have to spend a significant amount of time crushing them.

I tell you this, truly before the Gospel got a grip on my soul, I was making a terrible mess of my life. I was destroying people in my path. I was destroying my own soul, stealing everything I could, and smoking everything that could be smoked. It was bad. I was dying and I was taking the world with me. Then the Gospel took me from the grave to be a mouthpiece for God.

What the Gospel can do is profound. And we don’t have the right to look at people and go, “Oh they won’t like the Gospel. I can’t explain it to them, they won’t accept it, they won’t believe it, they won’t appreciate it, they don’t want to be free from their life. They love their life.” Not true, we are all looking for something deep and meaningful that gives purpose and joy and meaning and a destiny for our lives, something bigger than ourselves that we can get involved in. Everyone you know wants the Gospel. You just may not know how to teach it to them.

They want freedom. They want meaning and purpose. They want to wake up and know what life's about. They do, they want it, they want it bad. You want it bad, you all do.

This sermon series is about how we share the Gospel. It’s huge, it’s monumental. So, I hope you take this series to heart.

Alright, so we're gonna read Revelation and I'm going to explain to you why we need the Gospel.

Revelation 20:11-15 (NIV)

These verses take place at the end of the Millennium. At the end of time.

There are four ages of humanity, four ways God has “ringed” out of this Earth as many people as he can for salvation—so his kingdom is as big as possible.

He first used his reputation, until his reputation could save no more.
Then he shifted to Abraham, to using the Jewish Nation as his means of communicating who he is to the world. Through the Old Testament we see tons of people get saved—mostly Gentiles, by the way. The Jews seem to be a bit rebellious but the Gentiles seem to come right along.
At the end of the Old Testament his Nation is done and he shifts to his People. That's us, the “Church Age”, some from every nation. He spread his Nation out into individual people, so now we are the people of God. He's using the church to save as many as he can through our age.
Next, he will shift to his King—Jesus. And Jesus will reign on the earth, God himself, for as long as people are being saved. And that too will have a timeline, it will have an expiration date.

People will eventually choose against the Kingship of Jesus. You can't go higher than God ruling on Earth. So, then it's all over, and we have this scene from Revelation. This is when the time is up.43

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.

There’s no place for them because we're having a giant “start over”.

And I saw the dead, great and small,

Who's dead at this point? Everybody, everyone's dead. We’re all dead.

standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life.

This is a very important verse. The books were opened and another book was opened. We have a pile of plural books and a separate single book. Keep that picture in your mind: a pile of books, and a separate single Book of Life.

The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

Scary.

The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

“ And here’s the giant problem: there are books that are being kept on every single thing you think, say, and do, and you will answer for every single thing.

There’s also a book of names, the Book of Life, and it only has names. Here’s the good news: you either have a pile of books or you have a name in the Book of Life, you don’t have both. ”

— Bruce Peterson

Okay, that's why we’ve got to talk about—the Gospel. This is the scene. Everyone stands before God someday, everyone, all the dead, no one escapes, every single person. And here's the giant problem: there are books that are being kept on every single thing you think, say, and do, and you will answer for every single thing.

There's also a book of names, the Book of Life, and it only has names. Here's the good news: you either have a pile of books or you have a name in the Book of Life, you don't have both.

The question is, how in the world do we get our name in the Book of Life and get our pile of books which have recorded everything we’ve done, wiped out?

This is what you need to explain to people. So, I'm going to teach you how to.

Revelations wraps everything up. Everyone stands before God. God has rung everyone out of the earth who can get into the Book of Life and now it's time to go into eternity.

We see in Revelations chapters 21 and 22 that Death is no more.

Those who have their name in The Book of Life enter into Heaven and Paradise. That's how the whole thing wraps up: We all get our day in court and that's going to be a terrible day, for all of us, including Believers. Because, the verse that says God wipes all tears from their eyes and there's no more sadness, is after the Great White Throne Judgment. It is not when you die and go to Heaven, that's not when your grief ends. Even God has said that on the day of judgment we will see people we love and did not talk to about the Gospel and they will be damned and we will not just be sad, we will be wrecked over our silence. That should wreck you; that should wreck you right now.

It is after that when God wipes away all our tears.

Okay, let's explain the Gospel. Fair warning, this sermon only ends on the negative, there's no good news today, because when you're explaining the Gospel to somebody you have to wreck them. I'm going to try to show you how I try to do that.

This is exactly how it sounds when I talk to people about the Gospel. It takes at least two and a half hours. I can't get it done in less than that and I typically record our conversation when I witness to people. Then when they get saved I can give them a recording of their own salvation and they love it. It's pretty meaningful and it's a good tool because then I also have those, and you could actually listen to me explain the Gospel to someone, but it sounds exactly like this sermon.

Usually when I’m talking to someone I personalize it, but this will be an overview.

So, you start with the problem.

If you think of Jesus’s life as the Gospel message, it starts with the Sermon on the Mount. Everyone is crushed in the Sermon on the Mount. And it ends with his death and resurrection. That's the sermon of Jesus.

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If you think of Paul, you would start in Romans 1 where it wrecks everyone, and then go to chapter 3 verse 21 where it talks about righteousness as a gift from God. But he doesn’t start with that because everyone would be confused.

You have to take your time with people to explain it and you don’t have to do it all in one setting. And you don’t give the answer--that Jesus is the solution--until they ask.

If you spend long enough just crushing people, they will eventually say, “Okay, what’s the solution to this?”

When they ask, they are ready, but don't give them the answer before they ask or they won’t truly hear it. It won’t make sense. Don't give the answer first, start with the problem, they have to understand the problem before they will care about the answer.

Here's the problem: God says we need to be holy. Be holy.

Most people in the world are going to say, “Yeah, I'm pretty good.”

“ Most people you talk to are starting from a place where they think that they’re in the top half of humanity as far as goodness and that this is good enough. You have to wreck that mentality, because God wrecks it. He says we have to be holy.”

— Bruce Peterson

That is their starting place. They're going to think one of two things: “Yeah, I’m probably going to Heaven when I die.” Or, “Well, I’m not bad enough to go to Hell. Not that bad. I don’t deserve Hell.”

Those are really the same thing. Most people you talk to are starting from a place where they think that they're in the top half of humanity as far as goodness and that this is good enough. You have to wreck that mentality, because God wrecks it. He says we have to be holy.

Hebrews 12: 14-15 (NIV)

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

“Be holy, without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Holiness. That's the standard if you want to see God. What do you have to be? Holy.

Okay, that's rough.

1 Peter 1:14-16 (NIV)

“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”

Who is saying this? God. How holy should you be? Holy like God. There’s the problem.

Paul points out this problem plainly in Chapter 3 of Romans; this is his concluding thought at the end of his argument where he is crushing people:

Romans 3:9-20 (NIV)

What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written:

“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.”

“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”

“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

“Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.”

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

Here’s a summary of these verses: Paul says, “Here’s what I’ve just done, I’ve made a charge that the Jews and the Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin, as it is written.”

Now Paul’s just going to quote all over the Biblical text, “There’s no one who’s righteous. There’s not even one.”

So, the person sitting across from you is not righteous. They might think they are, so what are you going to do? You’re going to do some work, you’re going to walk them through their life to see if they are really righteous.

“There's no one righteous…there's no one who understands…”

What's your goal? To help them understand. What do they have to understand? That they're not righteous.

That's the start of the Gospel. Paul starts his argument by proclaiming that everyone falls short of God’s requirement. No one is holy. He does all of this before he gets to the good news. Don’t waste your time explaining Jesus until you have helped them understand that they have a problem which they can’t solve. It’s right there in the text.

Therefore no one

How many people? …no one

will be declared righteous.

Righteous means “good enough” in God’s sight by the works of the law. Which means by what you do. How many people are going to Heaven because of how good they are? Nobody.

Everyone you know who thinks they are good enough to go to Heaven, is not going. And at the Great White Throne Judgement you will see them and they will see you and that’s going to be a horrible “day”. And it’s not a “day” like 24-hours, it’s a very long time. Everyone gets their day in court.

…rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

“Why did God give us the rules? So we would know we need a savior.”

— Bruce Peterson

Why did God give us the rules? So we would know we need a savior.

What do we tend to do as humans? We look at the rules and we declare ourselves good enough. And doing this will destroy many many people whom we love. And that is somewhat on us, because it is our job to tell them the truth.

Hebrews 4:12-13 (NIV)

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

You are not getting away with anything. We are all sinners.

People don't like that phrase, that “we are all sinners”. What is sin? It's missing the bullseye; it's missing the mark. What is the bullseye? Holiness. And how many times have you hit the bullseye? Zero. How many times has anyone hit the bullseye? Zero. How many times do you have to hit the bullseye to be holy? Every single time. Every time, in every relationship, in every situation, in every thought and attitude. What is missing the mark? What is sin? Not having the same thoughts, words, and deeds that Jesus, himself, would have in every single situation.

We are all wrecked.

Now you’ve got to talk about it,. You’ve got to talk about it a little bit; you’ve got to make it real.

So, I almost always bring up stuff like this illustration—I have the privilege of doing counseling, so I get to say this to people:

People will say this, “Listen, I don't deserve to go to Hell because I'm not…” and they will list some of the sins that they think people should go to Hell for, “…I'm not Hitler. I'm not a murderer. I'm not a serial rapist. I'm not…” You know, whatever the list is that they'll have.

So, I say to them stuff like this:

You know what, I get to counsel people sometimes, and here's what I'll tell you from my experience: In a marriage where someone commits one of the big sins in marriage, infidelity—where someone cheats on the other one—I'll give you tons of examples of people who have committed adultery in their relationship and that relationship not only survives it, but it's better afterwards.

Now to be clear, it's not the infidelity that makes the marriage better. Infidelity is a huge problem. But, it's the work that gets done in the relationship to recover from the infidelity which can actually make that relationship a better relationship than it was to begin with. This is pretty regular.

But, with a marriage which is just about to break, when it's on its last—literally—its last leg, one person has just been talked into going to counseling and they don't even want to be there—when it's that desperate, it's usually not a big offense. It's little ones; it's a million little cuts. It's every single day of their whole relationship someone is ignored. The other person always, every day, throws them under the bus. When it comes to decisions, one of them never considers what the other might want. They don’t share their values; they don’t share their views. They never talk to them. They never appreciate them. They never love them. They always speak down to them. When they are having a conversation, they are always throwing the other one under the bus. They use their name as a byword and a curse word and a joke. They are nothing to them. They’ve never appreciated them a single day of their life. One person is just trashed every moment of the entire relationship.

Recovering that relationship…that is almost impossible.

The pattern is so deep, it's so deep, and the wounds are so deep. The distance between them is so vast. One of them has just never ever been appreciated by the other one. That marriage is rough.

And I only say that to you to say, listen, if perhaps only one time in your life you bowed down to an idol…God might even go, “Okay, one time you had one big miss…” And maybe he could move past that.

But, here's the facts according to Paul, according to God…let’s just look at your life…how often do you think about God?

No, seriously, how often do you think about him? How often do you consider God first before you make a decision in your life? He wrote you a letter, how much of it have you read? How often do you read it? How often do you pray? How often are you building your life on God?

He says, “No one seeks me.” How hard are you seeking Him? Seriously, tell me how much time per day do you seek Him? When was the last time you went to church? When's the last time you actually sacrificed a significant part of your life for the plan of God? When you considered your retirement, when you considered your job, when you considered your career choice, when you considered anything important in your life, how often did you first ask, is this what God wants for me? The truth is, you don't do it, ever.

Here's the truth, anytime you've decided to do something, if God would have stopped you in that moment and said, “Listen, I don't want you to do this.” You would instinctively and instantly say, “I don't care what you want, this is what I want, and this is what I'm going to do.” You do it every single day.

If He was literally following you around, there would be moments in the day where you are about to think or say something, and if he stopped you, just like he stopped Cain, and said to Cain, “Listen, don't do it. Sin is crouching at your door, it's going to get you.”

You would say, “I don't care; I'm going to look at the porn. I don't care; I'm going to watch that woman walk away and I'm going to imagine what her butt looks like naked. I'm going to imagine myself winning a billion dollars and I'm going to imagine myself naked on a beach somewhere drunk. I'm just gonna imagine myself with someone else every time I go home. I'm going to put a different face on my spouse every time. I'm just not gonna care. I don't care if I use bad language. I don't care what jokes you don’t want me to tell. I don't care what jokes you don’t want me to laugh at. I don't care.”

Everyone does this and we do it all day every day. Every day. Every day. Every day. Every single day, we throw God under the bus. We use his name as a curse word all the time. And then we want to say to God, “Oh, but I'm a pretty good person and you should love me unconditionally and just let me into your family and be happy I'm here.”

It's ridiculous! Absolutely, utterly, ridiculous! To have the audacity to call ourselves good, is to have the foolish thought that we are graded on a bell curve and we are all in an underperforming school where someone has to pass the class, so, no one does the homework, but someone has to pass. I think I'm going to get a B in this class. I'm not even gonna have to try. I just have to try a little harder than that guy.

I want to know. Seriously, you take a minute now and just try to convince me…you’re not convincing God right now, just go ahead and try to convince me that you're a good person and really should deserve to go to Heaven. I'd love to hear it.

Let me have your spouse in the room when you tell me these things, because I'd love to see their reaction to how you are good enough to go to Heaven.

Listen, God says there is an angel in Heaven watching your life who knows your attitudes and he's writing them down, every one of them. And you are going to be held accountable to them.

Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

In the Bible “unclean” means unacceptable. How many of us are unacceptable? All of us, and all of our righteous acts are like menstrual rags to God.

Yep that's what it says, your cleaned up American version of the Bible will say “filthy rags” or something like that, but the Hebrews had to read what God said and He calls your “good” deeds menstrual rags.

This is how it goes in marriage counseling:

This person’s spouse is trying to explain to them how they feel totally totally ignored and this person over here says something like, “How can you feel that way? I took the garbage out just yesterday?”

And what does this other person feel about that? Is that good?

“What we think of as good is just Baseline Behavior. It’s what is expected...That’s not being good, that’s your job. ”

— Bruce Peterson

See, here's the thing, this is why this is so important, because what we think of as good is just Baseline Behavior. It’s what is expected. That’s the shocking thing that you have to get across. That’s not being good, that’s your job. It’s your job to love them. That is your one job--to love. You can’t point to moments where you loved, even if it’s big, you can’t point to it as good. It’s the Baseline.

The expectation in marriage is to love each other more than your own life. That’s what you promised at the wedding. The other person is the most important. And you’re down here wanting credit for things that aren’t even reaching halfway to that expectation?

Here's what's happening, you take out the garbage and then you hold it over my head like, “Look what I did?” That's not good, that's actually bad! It’s filthy rags to them; that's not love!

And that's the game we play with God. It's the game I'm afraid you're playing with God. I think you think you're good and I'm telling you you're wrecked.

Right here's where I'll kind of shift and go into just numbers.

I'll say, “Listen, now that you've kind of got this idea of humanity’s lack of holiness, how many times a day do you think you don't hit the bullseye?”

Even if you have a thought about doing something bad, you are guilty of it. Or if you have the wrong attitude—attitudes are important too.

Now, I'll spend a little time on attitudes.

Picture a racist, picture Hitler in a room with all the people he loves. In that moment he's not actively being racist he loves everyone in that room. Does he, in that moment, cease to be a racist? No. Is he less guilty at that moment than at any other moment? No, he's not off the hook.

Here's why that's important, because we are all greedy. I don't care if that, at this moment, you're putting something into the offering plate. I don't care if you just gave the homeless guy at Walmart 20 bucks. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is you're never ever any single moment of your life off the hook for being greedy. After all, you only gave him 20 bucks.

Then I'll go to what Jesus said when he was asked what's the most important Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40).

He said it was to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. To love God with everything you are, with all of your passions--your heart--and your soul, and your thoughts. So, with your passions, your attitudes, and every thought, love God.

Then he said the second one is very much like the first one. It's to love your neighbor as yourself.

Then, of course, Jesus’ audience asked Him, “Well, who’s my neighbor?”

Jesus answered with a story (The Good Samaritan—Luke 10:25-37) and the point of that story is that everyone is your neighbor, including your enemies. As you get a handle on loving God with everything you are, then you are supposed to love everyone else with everything you are.

I'd love to hear the story of the day that proves you love God more than anything else in this world and I would love one example, just one example, one in your whole life, one single example where you have truly loved your enemy as much as you love yourself. Because I tell you this, when I tell you my kid has cancer you will not pray for him nearly as much as you'll pray for your own kid, and you love me, but you don't even love me as much as you love yourself. And I'll tell you this, if your spouse gets cancer you won't even pray for them as much as you'll pray for yourself when you get cancer, because you suck at loving.

If I'm wrong I'm all ears. Tell me how good you are, convince me, tell me. But, I'm not the audience, I'm going to be in the audience, but you're going to explain it to God in front of everyone, including the people that you claim to love, and they'll be called as Witnesses. It seems to me that you are in for a world of hurt.

And let me explain the consequences to you:

Revelation 20:11-15 (NIV)

David Howard Hitchcock's oil painting 'Halemaumau, Lake of Fire', 1888

You have an angel who is gauging every attitude and thought you have and you're going to stand before God and the consequences are terrible. Anyone whose name is not found written in the Book of Life is thrown into the Lake of Fire.

“If you get your name in The Book of Life, none of this is in your future.”

— Bruce Peterson

I don't want that for you. I love you. I want you to know that right in this passage where God puts this warning He holds out an amazing possibility for you, even now. He gives you the chance to get your name in the Book of Life, because if you get your name in The Book of Life, none of this is in your future.

What will the person you're evangelizing to do at this moment? If you've taken your time and done it well, they will go, “How do I do that?”

Now they are ready for the good news.

Take your time with this first part, their eternity is at stake.

If you aren't saved, your eternity is at stake. I hope you felt wrecked today.

Take your time; this was a half hour, but I take way longer to explain the Gospel to people in real life.

I make it personal. I make it hurt. Sometimes there's tears. Just go slowly. You're not in a hurry. The only thing that cuts it off is their death. Take your time, make them want the solution. Until you sense that asking for the solution is on their lips, stay on this subject.

In “How to Lead Someone to Christ (Part 2)” we will start talking about the answer. Click here for Part 2.

Click here for “How to Lead Someone to Christ (Part 3)”.

Click here for “How to Lead Someone to Christ (Part 4)”.

Click here for more things written or transcribed by Amanda Hovseth.

Amanda Hovseth

October 3, 2023

Holding on to Reason

Relationship Green Flags

Amanda Hovseth

October 3, 2023

Holding on to Reason

Who you choose to marry, to face life with, is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. (The only thing which is definitely more important is choosing to accept Jesus’ payment on the cross for your sins—click this link for more info.)

June 20th, 2023 was the anniversary of my first date with my husband. Which means, as of June 20th, 2023, I had known my husband for one year.

It blows my mind thinking that he has only been in my life for a little over a year. He came along and turned out to be even more than I dared to hope for. I hadn’t even realized how low my bar had gotten until I met Dakota, and he showed me everything I’d been missing.

For example, there are times I thank Dakota for different things he does for me and his response is, “Amanda, that’s just the baseline of how people should treat each other.” And, I’m like, “I know, but the guys I’ve dated before have never done that, so I’m grateful for you.”

So, in honor of a year with a man who treats me better than I ever dreamed, here is a list of relationship green flags (in no particular order) for all of you still out there searching.

It’s important to note that we are all human and, chances are, no one is going to have mastered all of these green flags; however, the more green flags the better. And the key is to be with someone who desires to constantly work on improving themselves with you and who has these green flags as a goal.

They take responsibility for themselves.

Which means they recognize that there are things in life we can’t control, but we can control our own reactions and actions and we only have ourselves to blame if we choose poorly.

“I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

No matter the cards life has dealt them, they work through their trials and struggles and keep trying to better themselves.

They don’t dwell in their misfortune and misery. A person who constantly acts like the world owes them, will never be able to build a life with you because they aren’t interested in building their own. They are only interested in taking from others. They will eventually even turn that “you owe me” attitude on you, and nothing you do will ever be enough.

“You are the only human in charge of your destiny. Unfair things may happen to you, unfortunate times may come to you, but you always get to choose how you respond. You can live in frustration and bitterness, or you can be the bigger person and just play the heck out of the cards you are dealt. The truth is that not a single person can choose the cards they receive, but everyone chooses how they play their cards.” -Nikki Banas

They support your personal growth.

Some people hate to see others grow because they are afraid they will be left behind.

“For so long I wanted you to hold me…until I realized how small you needed me to be to fit within your grasp.” -wild spirit, soft heart / butterflies rising

In a strong relationship, both parties should be working on growing and helping each other grow. Don’t hitch your life to someone who will selfishly hold you back instead of supporting you as you move forward.

“A great spouse loves you exactly as you are. An extraordinary spouse helps you grow; inspires you to be, do, and give your very best.” -Fawn Weaver

They are self-reflective.

They pay attention to their emotions and actions and if they ever behave in a negative way, they do the work of looking inward to discover why they acted that way and what they can do to prevent it from happening again.

“It takes a lot of courage, humility, and self-awareness to look at ourselves closely and with honesty.” -Todd Davis

They are honest about their mistakes.

And with that honesty comes a sincere apology. They face the damage they’ve caused head on in order to work on fixing it.

“It is one thing to make a mistake, and quite another thing not to admit it. People will forgive mistakes, because mistakes are usually of the mind, mistakes of judgement. But people will not easily forgive the mistakes of the heart, the ill intention, the bad motives, the prideful justifying cover-up of the first mistake.” -Stephen Covey

They have long-standing friendships.

If a person can’t even manage to have a healthy friendship, there is no way they can manage a healthy relationship with a significant other. Good long-standing friendships show that they know how to manage the “the gives and takes” of a relationship and how to put others before themselves. Also, one person can’t be everything to another person, a significant other should be the priority, but no one can hold up the weight of being another person’s “everything”.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” -Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)

If they have strong relationships with friends and family, it also proves that they know the value of good relationships and then there is a better chance of them valuing their relationships with you and your potential future kids as well.

“Everything of value that we will know in this life comes from our relationships with those around us. Because there is nothing material that measures against the intangibles of love and friendship.” -R.A. Salvatore

Likewise, they encourage your connections with loving friends and family.

The more people you have loving you and looking out for you in life, the better. A significant other who truly loves you will want you to have a large and strong support system. If a significant other is trying to put a wedge between you and the people who have already proven their love for you throughout your life, that is a HUGE red flag! It indicates an abusive personality who wants you to have no one left to run to for help once they start the abuse.

“Love doesn’t isolate! If you have to cut off good friends and family to please your partner, you’re not in a relationship. That’s slavery. A person only isolates you so they can control you.” -Tony Gaskins

Their words and behavior align.

Love is a verb—which means it’s an action word, so it requires actions to truly exist. If they say they love you but their actions make you feel unloved, then they aren’t actually loving you.

I’ve had multiple guys talk about a future with me but—at best—they were dreaming and deceiving themselves about what they were capable of; and—at worst—they were only trying to keep me around longer by promising what they knew I wanted even though they did not intend to follow through. And I believed each one of them for far too long before I realized none of them were actually putting in the work to build that future, until Dakota.

For example: one thing Dakota did when we were dating which let me know he was serious about building a future with me was look up lists of questions you should ask your significant other before marriage and he went through all of the questions with me. He also made sure I met as many of the important people in his life as I could as soon as possible and vice versa.

“Great marriages are made when husbands and wives make a lot every day choices that say, ‘I love you’, rather than choices that say, ‘I love me’.” -Matthew L. Jacobson

They can engage in a disagreement without becoming cruel.

No one is ever going to agree with another person 100% of the time. You need to be able to discuss your disagreements civilly and lovingly. It’s important to be with someone who knows it’s not okay to be cruel in order to win a disagreement. The goal should be to talk things out and come to a mutual understanding.

“A healthy adult relationship is one where both people in the relationship give and both receive. There is a safe and open exchange of ideas, feelings, and thoughts and all perspectives are considered and valued. There is also the freedom to respectfully challenge, confront, and strengthen one another.” -Leslie Vernick

Even if you don’t come to the same conclusion in the end, each person needs to feel heard and understood. In healthy relationships, people can disagree and still be respectful. They can also find ways to compromise when choices and actions need to be decided upon even if they can never completely agree with or understand the other person’s viewpoint.

“Maturity in a relationship is seeing conflict as a way to develop deeper mutual understanding. It is not about winning or being correct, but about taking turns to listen selflessly and calmly speaking your truth to each other. Harmony grows when you meet each other in the middle.” -Yung Pueblo

They have their own healthy hobbies.

Of course couples should do a lot of stuff together; however, they shouldn’t need to do everything together. Each person should be well rounded enough to have their own things going on sometimes and be allowed to do their own thing.

“There’s a big difference between empty fatigue and gratifying exhaustion. Life is short. Invest in meaningful activities that move you.” -Marc and Angel Chernoff

They help you with your emotions.

Emotions can be wrong. Emotions aren’t always justified and can be misleading because they tend to come from our most selfish places. However, they are still real and ignoring or dismissing them doesn’t help. Repressed emotions can resurface later into actual physical ailments or can build up until you explode. In a healthy, loving relationship, you will be able to discuss your emotions—whether or not they are justified—without fighting about them, and work through them together.

This doesn’t mean that you both act like your emotions are always correct, it means you explore them together, without assumptions, and discover what they are trying to tell you. Even if they are illogical they are usually signaling you towards a wound which needs to be healed. So, you need to work together to figure out why you are feeling that way, be it injustice, selfishness, past trauma, an unforeseen trigger, etc. and then you can find ways to handle it healthily and heal the wounds which exist or the potentially false mindset you’re carrying which led to them.

A loving partner should be a safe space to talk about your feelings with, whether or not the feelings are logical and justified. But, you, also as a loving partner, need to be willing to be honest about the origin of the emotions and, potentially, your own infallibility, so that you can both come out better on the other side.

“When you shut down emotion, you’re also affecting your immune system. So the repression of emotion, which is a survival strategy, then becomes a source of physiological illness later on.” -Gabor Mate

They share compatible goals for your relationship.

Unfortunately, you might find someone who is perfect in every way, but they don’t want to have kids, while you do want to have kids. If you both want to build different types of futures, through no fault of either of you, you can’t build your future together.

“Chemistry refers to the emotional connection you feel with another individual. Your chemistry is what creates the magnetic pull towards someone, what attracts you to their being and the foundation for sexual attraction. Compatibility on the other hand is related to lifestyle, goals, and values and overall vision. If you have chemistry without compatibility, this creates a short term intimate relationship. If you have compatibility without much chemistry, this creates a dry, passionless relationship. Both are needed for the relationship to feel filled with passion, life, purpose, and sustenance.”

They understand that healthy relationships require continuous work.

All relationships take work. They require a willingness to grow and adapt with your partner. You are not the same person you were a year ago and neither are they; nor will either of you be exactly the same a year from now. You have to stay checked-in with each other—spend quality time with each other, talk about your day and thoughts together—in order to grow and change together instead of drifting apart.

“Men are so worried that marriage will leave them with ‘only one woman’ for the rest of their lives. That’s simply not true. I fell in love with a 19-year-old rock climber, married a 20-year-old animal lover, started a family with a 24-year-old mother, then built a farm with a 25-year-old homemaker, and today I’m married to a 27-year-old woman of wisdom. If your mind is healthy, you’ll never get tired of ‘one woman’. You’ll actually become overwhelmed with how many beautiful versions of her you get to marry over the years. Don’t say no to marriage, say yes and keep saying yes until the day you die.” -Dale Partridge

Also, there is no such thing as, “I told you I loved you on our wedding day and that’s enough.” No, that’s neglect and indicates an unhealthy detachment from your emotions. There is nothing wrong with reassuring your partner of your love, and in fact, it is ideal—dare I say, required. A strong relationship is one in which both people and constantly reminded that they are loved. Feeling securely loved allows you to grow and flourish in all aspects of your life.

“Marriage is not the end of the search for love. It’s the end of the search for the person to love. The search for ways to love that person has just begun.” -Hank Sinatra

They share your form of spirituality.

A person’s religious beliefs impact pretty much every decision they make, even the small ones, but especially the major ones. If you don’t share your core belief system, you don’t really share the same view of the world. You might be able to coast by through the small choices, but when life gets hard, like it does for everyone, you will both fall back on your core beliefs for guidance and if they are incompatible belief systems, you will fall apart.

On the flip side, if you share your core belief system, it will make your choices easier. Decisions like how to raise your children, which places you should donate money to, and which holidays to celebrate, will be way easier.

“When people fall in love with someone’s flowers, but not their roots, they don’t know what to do when Autumn comes. Your relationship needs to be built on a deep alignment of values, character, and morals (the roots) not just ‘love’, appearance, hobbies, and status (the flowers).” -suetsai & doctor_bolu / Twitter

These are just a few of many green flags which indicate the potential for a strong, healthy, long-lasting relationship. If you find a person who flies these flags and they want to build a future with you, you are blessed.

Likewise, we should all be working at becoming the type of person who flies these flags as well. The number one way to attract the type of person you want, is to work at becoming the type of person they deserve.

If you inherently long for something, become it first. If you want gardens, become the gardener. If you want love, embody love. If you want mental stimulation, change the conversation. If you want peace, exude calmness. If you want to fill your world with artists, begin to paint. If you want to be valued, respect your own time. If you want to live ecstatically, find the ecstacy within yourself. This is how to draw it in, day by day, inch by inch.

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

Amanda Hovseth

July 13, 2023

Holding on to Reason

Prayers of the Bible: Part 2

Amanda Hovseth

July 13, 2023

Holding on to Reason

A Parable Comparing Self-righteous Prayers to Humble Prayers

Context: Jesus told this parable in order to teach his followers a lesson about who their confidence should be in. In this parable the Pharisee put his confidence in himself and his own self-righteousness, while the Tax Collector was humble and believed he needed a Savior. The Tax Collector’s confidence was in God’s righteousness, not his own. Likewise, we should all put our confidence in God’s ability to save us and not in our own actions.

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
-Luke 18:9-14 (NLT)

King Hezekiah’s Prayer with the Enemy at Their Gates

Context: Sennacherib, the King of Assyria has been conquering nation after nation and he has now brought his army to the gates of Jerusalem. He tells King Hezekiah that he should surrender and he uses every other nation he has defeated as an example, claiming that their gods could not save them from him so Hezekiah would be foolish to think his God could do any better. Instead of surrendering, Hezekiah takes his concerns to God with this prayer.

God responded through His prophet, Isaiah, letting Hezekiah know that He had heard Sennacherib’s blasphemies and that Hezekiah had nothing to worry about. God promised to make Sennacherib return home where he would be destroyed by the sword. God did exactly as He promised. Sennacherib got news which had him return to Nineveh, and, then, while he was worshiping his god, Nisrok, in his temple, his own sons killed him with their swords.

And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.
“It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste to these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”
-2 Kings 19:15-19 (NIV)

Jonah’s Prayer for Deliverance

Context: Jonah was a prophet of God. When God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach repentance to them, Jonah refused. Nineveh had a history of being very cruel to other nations, including the Israelites, so Jonah didn’t want to help them out at all. He knew that God is a God of forgiveness and he didn’t want to give them a chance to repent because he didn’t want God to forgive them.

Jonah tried to run away by getting on a boat heading away from Nineveh. But, you can’t run away from God. God sent a bad storm. Jonah knew it was his fault, so he told the people on the ship that he needed to be thrown overboard if they wanted to survive the storm. When he was thrown overboard, God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah, but Jonah didn’t die, God kept him alive in the fish. While Jonah is in the fish he prays this prayer.

It’s interesting to note that this prayer is in the past tense. Jonah prayed as if God had already saved him. Jonah knew what God wanted and knew if he asked for help and forgiveness he would be granted it and saved. Sure enough, after this prayer God had the fish spit Jonah out onto dry land, and Jonah made his way to Nineveh.

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
    and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
    and you heard my voice.
For you cast me into the deep,
    into the heart of the seas,
    and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
    passed over me.
Then I said, ‘I am driven away
    from your sight;
yet I shall again look
    upon your holy temple.’
The waters closed in over me to take my life;
    the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
     at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
    whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the pit,
    O Lord my God.
When my life was fainting away,
    I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you,
    into your holy temple.
Those who pay regard to vain idols
    forsake their hope of steadfast love.
But I with the voice of thanksgiving
    will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
    Salvation belongs to the Lord!”
-Jonah 2:1b-9 (ESV)

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

Context: Solomon had recently become the new king of Israel, succeeding his father, King David. Instead of trusting in his own ability to lead, he turned to God for help. God offered him anything he wanted. This prayer is Solomon’s reply to God’s offer.

Instead of asking for riches or fame, Solomon asked for the wisdom required to be a good leader. God was pleased with the fact that Solomon’s heart was focused on taking care of his people instead of on selfish endeavors, so He granted Solomon’s request for wisdom but also promised him riches and fame.

To this day, even in secular settings, Solomon is known as the wisest man and king to ever live.

Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant, my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne.
“Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”
-1 Kings 3:6-9 (NLT)

The Prayer of Jabez

Context: This is a short prayer that is stuck right in the middle of a genealogical record written by Ezra about the Israelites who returned home after their Babylonian exile. Jabez’s prayer shows that he understood God’s promises to the nation of Israel. Jabez asked God to grant him exactly what God had already promised to do for the Israelite people if they would simply come to Him in prayer (Jeremiah 29:10-14). Jabez did precisely what God wanted all of the people listed in this genealogical record to do; he chose to follow God and God kept His promises.

We are not living during the same time Jabez was--we are not Israelites being brought back to our homeland from our exile in Babylon--so we also don’t live under the same prophetic messages and promises which Jabez lived under. However, there are still truths which we can learn from this: God always keeps His promises; and it is wise to learn which promises are meant for us and then to pray in line with them.

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.
-1 Chronicles 4:9-10 (ESV)

Paul’s Prayer for the Believers in Ephesus

Context: The book of Ephesians is a letter Paul wrote to the faithful followers of Christ in the church of Ephesus. He started out praising God for the grace He has given through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. Paul also said they should praise God for giving believers the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of salvation and spiritual inheritance. Then he prayed for the believers to grow in their wisdom and knowledge of God and to understand God’s power and everything He does and has done for the people who have believed in Him.

We may not be Ephesians; however, if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior and trusted in His sacrifice on the cross to pay for your sins, then the truths found in this prayer can also be applied to you. It is a prayer for believers (those who “belong to His dear Son”) during the church age, and we are also believers during the church age.

So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
…
And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.
I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.
- Ephesians 1:6-8; 13-23 (NLT)

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

Amanda Hovseth

June 29, 2023

Holding on to Reason

Prayers of the Bible: Part 1

Amanda Hovseth

June 29, 2023

Holding on to Reason

Jesus’ Prayer for Believers

Context: This is a part of Jesus’s prayer during ‘The Last Supper’ when He prayed for all of us who choose to believe in Him.

“My prayer is not for them alone (the Disciples). I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” -John 17:20-23 (NIV)

A Song of Praise by Moses, Miriam, and the Israelites

Context: Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt to the bank of the Red Sea. Pharaoh’s army pursued them there, trapping them. But, God split the sea, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry land. Pharaoh’s army tried to pursue them through the sea, only to have God return the waters and drown them. Once safe on the other side of the Red Sea; Moses, Miriam, and the Israelites sang a song of praise.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:
“I will sing to the Lord,
    for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
    he has hurled into the sea.
“The Lord is my strength and my defense;
    he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a warrior;
    the Lord is his name.
Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
    he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
    are drowned in the Red Sea.
The deep waters have covered them;
    they sank to the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, Lord,
    was majestic in power.
Your right hand, Lord,
    shattered the enemy.
“In the greatness of your majesty
    you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
    it consumed them like stubble.
By the blast of your nostrils
    the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood up like a wall;
    the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy boasted,
    ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
    I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
    and my hand will destroy them.’
But you blew with your breath,
    and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
    in the mighty waters.
Who among the gods
    is like you, Lord?
Who is like you—
    majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
    working wonders?
“You stretch out your right hand,
    and the earth swallows your enemies.
In your unfailing love you will lead
    the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
    to your holy dwelling.
The nations will hear and tremble;
    anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
    the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people[c] of Canaan will melt away;
     terror and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
    they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, Lord,
    until the people you bought[d] pass by.
You will bring them in and plant them
    on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,
    the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.
“The Lord reigns
    for ever and ever.”
When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. Miriam sang to them:
“Sing to the Lord,
    for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
    he has hurled into the sea.”
- Exodus 15:1-21 (NIV)

Hannah’s Prayer of Thankfulness

Context: Hannah had been desperately praying for God to grant her a child. He answered her prayers, giving her a son. She named him Samuel which means, “Because I asked the Lord for him.” This is her prayer of thanks after God granted her a child.

Hannah dedicated Samuel to God. Samuel became a priest, a prophet, and the last judge for the Israelite nation. He anointed Saul and then David, to be the first and second kings of Israel.

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.
“There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
“Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the Lord is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.
“The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.
“The Lord brings death and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave and raises up.
The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.
“For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
on them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
“It is not by strength that one prevails;
those who oppose the Lord will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
“He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
-1 Samuel 2:1b-10 (NIV)

Asaph’s Prayer about His Despair

Context: Asaph, from the book of Psalms, is one of the Levites whom King David assigned as worship leaders in the Tabernacle choir. This Psalm was meant to be sung to the Lord in praise. In it, Asaph was suffering from extreme depression. He sang about his struggle and explained how he would combat that struggle. He did so by remembering everything God had done in the past. Through considering God’s actions as a whole, Asaph was reassured about who God is and how powerful He is. Then, instead of focusing on his despair, he chose to focus on the historically proven truth that God is always faithful.

I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
“Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.[c
You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
- Psalm 77 (ESV)

King David’s Prayer of Repentance

Context: King David was walking on his roof when he saw Bathsheba bathing. Bathsheba was married to a man named Uriah who was one of David’s inner-circle known as his “mighty men”. Even so, David called Bathsheba to come to him and he lay with her. She became pregnant. After trying and failing at a couple of deceptive tactics in order to get away with his actions, David plotted to have Uriah killed in battle. Then David married Bathsheba in order to try and cover up their infidelity. Of course, nothing can be hidden from God. God sent his prophet, Nathan, to confront David about his actions. When confronted, David was struck down with grief. This is his prayer to God when he asked for forgiveness.

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right[b] spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem;
then will you delight in right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.
- Psalm 51:1-19 (ESV)

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

Amanda Hovseth

June 6, 2023

Holding on to Reason

You are on a Journey! (A lesson for kids about God's design.)

Amanda Hovseth

June 6, 2023

Holding on to Reason

For this journey you are:

given information about who God is: all-loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present.

offered forgiveness of sins through Jesus’ payment for sins by His death on the cross.

given a relationship with God, and an identity as a child of God, if you accept Jesus’ payment.

given instructions to, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matt. 28:19-20).

God knows every twist and turn which you will have to make on your own personal journey.

So, God also built you a body which is specially formed to help you on your specific journey.

Some people might look at you and not understand why you were given the body you have.

They may even laugh at you and make fun of you for the ways your body is different from how they think bodies should be.

You might also look in a mirror and think BAD things about your body.

Perhaps you’d rather have a different colored one, a different shaped one, or a different sized one. Maybe God made you a boy but you want to be a girl. Maybe you’d rather be an animal.

You may not understand why God chose to make you the way He did.

But, someday something will happen. Something God knew would happen.

And you will realize that God planned for your body to be the exact one you needed to deal with that situation.

The body you hated will turn out to be the perfect tool for you to use to serve God and to spread the truth of His Gospel.

God made you perfect just as you are.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

— Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

“Dear God,

Thank you for making me the way I am. Thank you for giving me the body I need to live out your plan and purpose for my life. Thank you for loving me, for staying by my side, and for helping me during my journey through this life.

In Jesus name,

Amen.”

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

- Psalms 139:13-16 (NIV)

You can download a free printout of this information by going to our “Free Material” Page and clicking on “On a Journey/Designed by God (Kids Booklet)”.

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more stuff written my Amanda Hovseth.

Amanda Hovseth

May 9, 2023

Holding on to Reason

The Metaphysical Search

Amanda Hovseth

May 9, 2023

Holding on to Reason

When nothing in this world can satisfy…

*Who am I?*
*Why am I here?*
*What is life all about?*

“Life and the universe refuse to remain silent, and they trigger a thousand questions in us. For those with ears to hear, and for those who dare to pay attention, the universe is alive with sounds and signals to suggest that there is a wider world than we see—a world of warmth, color, and brilliance, lit by the reality of the sun and the author of it all.
Do you already “know what you see and hear,” in the sense that you have already made up your mind about what there is to be seen and heard, so that you can see and hear nothing else? Or do you “see and hear in order to know,” in the sense that you are open to the surprise of new insight and fresh perception?...This is the way of a mind and a heart that are open to a breakthrough.
Whoever has ears to hear let him hear.”
- Os Guinness “Signals of Transcendence: Listening to the Promptings of Life”

“Throughout the ages mankind has sensed that there is something deeper than physical reality. Things like the spiritual, the mental, and the emotional. These are realities that cannot be seen or sensed with the five senses, yet they are realities nonetheless.

The study of what is really real is called metaphysics. Metaphysics deals with the reality behind the reality that we see. The metaphysical explains (accounts for) the physical. As an analogy, think about your smartphone. What you see on the screen is not the whole story. There is advanced circuitry and a whole network behind that screen. That is like the metaphysical behind the physical.”

- The Think Institute

A Metaphysician’s goal is to find the reality behind the reality that we see.

Metaphysics is not the end game; its existence is not the answer. It is merely a path taken—the name of the search—to discover the ultimate reality.

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

— C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Inventions and their Inventors

When the first hairdryer was invented by Alexandre-Ferdinand Godefroy, people didn’t walk up to the large heater and metal pipe and ask it what it was or what its purpose was. Instead, they went to its creator—Godefroy—and asked him to explain the purpose of his creation’s existence.

“Who am I?”

“Why am I here?”

“What is life all about?”

When it comes to these questions, we are the hairdryer in the equation. We did not choose to bring ourselves into existence or decide on why we should be brought into existence. So, if we want the answers to these questions, we have to ask the right being. We have to ask our creator.

“What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself. ”

— Pascal “Pensees (10.148):1"

God draws us to seek Him. We are all born with an emptiness inside, which no other human can fill. Neither spouses nor parents nor friends can be 100% what we need 100% of the time. But God can be. Only God’s love can fill that emptiness inside.

An all-powerful, timeless being like God could have created anything he wanted to create. He could have made us like robots that would do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, but he didn’t. Instead, he chose to give us free will (the ability to act according to one’s own discretion).

God wants to have a real relationship with us, to interact with us, to love us, and to, hopefully, have us love him back and also love each other.

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. - 1 John 4:7-11 (NLT)

In order for us to be able to have a genuine relationship with God, we had to have been created with the ability to love. In order to make it possible for us to love; God had to give us the ability and option not to love—because love means nothing if it is not freely given.

When people choose not to love God and not to love each other, they often choose to be selfish and do things God doesn’t want them to do. Or things which go against his design, which we call sin. Sin hurts people and causes bad things to happen.

The good news is, even when we do bad things, God still loves us and he refuses to give up on us. God knew when he created Adam and Eve that they would mess up and choose not to show him love. Yet, he also knew that he could fix the problem if he was willing to die on the cross to pay for our sins. So, despite knowing he would have to suffer and die for us, he still chose to create us. Jesus came down to earth and died on the cross to pay for our sins and fix our relationship with God. This means, even though we mess up we can still have a relationship with God.

Now you have a choice.

- You can choose to pay God for your sins yourself. This will mean you cannot make it into Heaven.

- Or you can choose to admit that you cannot be good enough to get into Heaven on your own, and don’t want to pay the consequences of your sins, yourself. Then, you just need to accept the payment Jesus already made on your behalf for sin, and enjoy the free gift of a relationship with God and entry into Heaven.

Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us...overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:34, 37-39 (NLT)

You can download a free printout of this information by going to our “Free Material” Page and clicking on “The Metaphysical Search”. For more information related to this topic you can also download “Metaphysics and God” tract and go to the blog post titled “Metaphysics and God”.

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