Life's Toughest Questions: Is Jesus the Only way to God?

In less than an hour, Roger Clemens will appear before a Congressional committee to answer questions regarding his alleged use of steroids and HGH. The smart money has Clemens strongly denying any use of such drugs. That will be a problem because the federal government has one of Clemens' former trainers as a witness saying Clemens DID indeed take steroids. All of the TV and radio sports shows are going nuts here and around the country wondering who will commit perjury today in front of Congress. They all say, "There is only one truth! One of these two guys is lying; they both can't be right."

You are probably wondering what this has to do with anything important in life. Good question! I think this illustrates a key idea for our next topic in the LTQ series. Many people believe there is no one correct religion or way of thinking and that every religion points to the same God. If you have ever heard, "It's all the same God," then you have met someone who has that belief. Maybe you believe it yourself. As right and as good as that belief sounds, it runs into some serious problems. For one thing, all major world religions make some very strong (and opposing) claims and most even claim to be the only way to God. So we have multiple, different stories that are all claiming to be true. Just like Roger, not everyone can be right. However, the problem is even deeper than that.

To me, this is not about "being right." It isn't about getting all the facts straight. It is easy to think that way, but it is a pointless exercise. The real question is this: Who brings life to the human spirit? We will explore that on Sunday, and I hope you bring yourself and anyone else you want to hear this message.

Finishing the Job

There is a lot of talk about the Superbowl today throughout our country. There may have been a better Superbowl game, but I haven't seen it. Part of the interest, of course, is because of the Pats failing to complete their bid for a perfect season. It goes to show that we can never give up or assume defeat. No matter how long the odds are against us, we can never give up because we would miss out on the opportunity to do something unbelievable.

The Patriots teach us a lesson as well. The lesson: Finishing strong is all that matters. A person can rack up accolades and awards, acclaim and influence for his/her entire life and then lose it all in one moment of self indulgence. Our application? Finish strong. No matter what your life race looks like; this is good advice. If your life feels like a disappointment to you, take heart because the finish could be a moment of redemption. If you have success and are connected to God, don't quit running until your race is complete.

Paul said it best when he looked back on his life. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Tim. 4:7 (NCV)

Could you say that about your life if it ended today? We all have a race to run, but we won't experience the best of what God has for us if we quit before facing a huge challenge (like 18-0) or if we fail to finish our race with strength (18-1*). Be encouraged today on several fronts. We have a new day, filled with opportunity. We have love that can be experienced. God is still real, and He still cares. Because of all of this, we can run our race with confidence, hope, and purpose.

Run your race well!

How to Bounce Back

If you are a Colts fan, you probably still have a bit of a bitter taste in your mouth this morning after the game last night. I have pretty much decided to watch anything but sports TV this week because I don't want to see a single highlight of the game. A bit extreme? Perhaps.

Toward the end of the day yesterday, I began thinking about how the Colts could respond to this loss next year. We still have a good team, and other teams like the Pats and Chargers are unlikely to get any better, and could actually get worse as their players continue to age. Basically, I was wondering how our team could bounce back.

That got me to wondering about how people can respond to life's most pressing challenges. Football, of course, is fairly unimportant compared to difficult situations and tragic circumstances that we all go through at different points in our lives....so how can we bounce back from the truly disappointing times?

Jeremiah was a prophet in the Bible who went through some difficult times. You can read the book named after him to get his story, and he is also credited with writing the book of Lamentations. He was a prophet during the time when Israel was invaded and destroyed by a foreign army; he saw his beloved city, Jerusalem, completely destroyed and he himself was carted away into exile in a foreign land. This was humiliating for the people of Israel, and Jeremiah spends the book of Lamentations complaining and weeping about the tragedy he had seen.

How did he ultimately respond? It is fascinating to hear his words in Lam. 3:22-23

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Did you catch that? Read the book of Lamentations to that point and you will see Jeremiah's point of view and hear the extent of his sorrow. Despite all of that, he still responds to God with praise and TRUST. He affirms the goodness and love of God, saying they are new every morning. Our God is a God of great faithfulness, and he is faithful to us even when no one is faithful to Him.

When we go through difficult situations, we know we can still trust God because he is full of love and compassion. If you choose to respond to tragedy or adversity in this way, you will be greatly benefited by it. So don't worry about the Colts, they will be fine! And if you are like me, remember, only about five weeks until spring training!