When Jesus walked the earth, only a few persons enjoyed intimacy with him. He said that his going away would be better for them all. He said that he would send the Holy Spirit and, through the Spirit, he and the Father would take up residence in every believer!

With God’s Spirit in us, Christ continues his work on earth. Through his Spirit, he instructs, convicts, comforts, counsels and consoles. He continues to make us over, spiritually. The more we listen to him, the more we conform to his image and will. His Spirit ebbs and flows in each of us. Some of us are full of him. Some are fuller than others. Some are fullest! The distinction is easily made. It has to do with fruit.

Are you more loving and gentle? Do you experience more and more supernatural joy and peace? Are you more patient with others, tender and kind? Do you exercise more self-control in situations that formerly controlled you? These are the proper questions to determine spiritual maturity and growth.

Spiritual maturity is not measured by how many courses you completed at the local Christian University. It isn’t determined by how well you did in seminary or whether you even attended seminary! Christian maturity is determined by your ability to hear and follow Jesus Christ. It is also seen in your continued (and increasing) acts of Christian service rendered selflessly in Christian fellowship and love.

Is Christ resident in your heart, home, and relationships? Or, is he merely an occasional guest?

The news this morning is reporting a new study. Children are born being naturally altruistic. Why sacrifice ourselves for others? How did we get our conscience if not from God? Otherwise, why do we care?

There is in each person a universal feeling about right and wrong. Even the thief feels wronged when his stuff is stolen! Where does that come from?

There is a universal outrage and revulsion over the murder of innocent persons who are willfully harmed. Regardless of culture, it is viewed as an act of evil. From what is this universal sense of wrongness instilled in us? How do you explain this universal law that says premeditated murder is wrong?

The same goes for courage, dying for a just cause, love, dignity, duty and compassion. From where did this originate? Can you explain this with "survival of the fittest" thinking?

God's thoughts, personality, and attitudes are plainly known only if God chooses to reveal them. Otherwise, one can only speculate about God. But God desired that all know Him. Jesus plainly taught that God wants to be known.

Jesus’ miracles prove sufficiently what we see of God in nature. It also provides sufficient credibility for what was previously written about God in Scripture. The Old Testament accounts were given credibility as historical fact because Jesus treated them as factual!

There is an astounding consistency in Scripture. Over 40 different authors, some on separate continents, writing in three different languages. They cover diverse subject matter from different reference points in history. All is blended with phenomenal consistency to reveal a plan by God to redeem sinful mankind.

In the major world religions, we discover that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identify themselves as teachers or prophets. None claimed equality to God. Enter Jesus. This claim set Jesus apart from all the rest. He said,

"I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Jesus claimed attributes solely belonging to God. He forgave sin. He freed persons from the habit of sin. He distributed abundant life and promised eternal life. Prophets and teachers focused others on their words. Jesus pointed all to himself. He exclaimed,

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Jesus healed the blind, crippled, deaf, and raised a couple of persons from the dead. He created food from thin air to feed thousands. He walked on top of a lake. He commanded a raging storm to stop and it obeyed. Everyone followed Jesus. He met their needs. He asked them to not accept only his words but to believe by observing his miracles and good deeds. He proved God was gentle, loving, aware of our self-centeredness and shortcomings, desiring of a deep relationship with every person. Jesus received our punishment. His stripes heal us.

Jesus’ most convincing proof was his most scrutinized miracle - his resurrection from death. All other claims by Jesus matter none if the resurrection account is false. If you wish to disprove Jesus, disprove his resurrection. On the third day, the almost two-ton boulder is catapulted up a slope, by divine hands. The guards are well-trained Roman soldiers. They testify to a blinding light and an angel. The tomb is empty, except for his burial clothes. Over the years, legal, historical and logical analysis has been applied to Jesus' resurrection and the most feasible conclusion still is that Jesus raised himself from death.

Does God exist? If you want to know, investigate Jesus Christ. Look at all the facts. Draw your own conclusion. If you have already made up your mind, then there is little I can say to convince you regardless of the amount or quality of proof I offer. If you have not, please consider these things. That’s all I ask.

There is sufficient proof in nature and Scripture for reasonable faith.

We were in the Dallas-Forth Worth area. We rented a motel room and went out for dinner. They seated us next to a large group. While waiting for other employees to arrive, this group was listening intently to a young man testify concerning his amazing spiritual gift. We were close enough to hear everything.

After our meal, I stopped by his table. I explained that I couldn’t help but overhear and would love to hear more of his testimony. He stated that it would be late when he finished. I handed him a napkin with our room number on it and told him that it didn’t matter. I wanted to hear his story.

My wife fell asleep across the bed while we waited. He arrived quite late. We visited much of the night away. He had a fascinating story. His father was a Christian preacher. He rebelled against the church as a youth. He moved to California and joined the church of Satan. He was there until one night when Satan showed up at one of the meetings! It frightened him so that he immediately quit the church and fled California. He returned to Texas and his faith in the Lord. The Lord blessed him with a great spiritual gift and a powerful testimony.

I stated that I appreciated him witnessing to his fellow employees. I stated that I was also disappointed. Not once did I hear him mention Jesus or the gospel. I explained that Satan still was controlling him. That Satan had gotten him off the message of Jesus and onto preaching himself, his gift. He was immediately convicted by the Spirit. He acknowledged that what I spoke was truth. He began to weep and repent. He asked me to pray for him that he might stay focused on Jesus. I did. He left rejoicing and thanked me over and over for setting him back on the path. He promised to keep in touch. I never heard from him again.

The gospel is God's power to save. If you preach anything else, Satan is pleased. Satan is pleased with church and bible classes. They are no threat to him. Christ crucified, resurrected and enthroned is a message of defeat for Satan. His power is death! We preach life! The message of salvation is in the preaching of the cross.

It’s not about us. It’s not about church. It’s not about spiritual gifts. It’s about Christ crucified and raised from the dead! Don’t let ANYONE get you off the message that changes lives, saves relationships and redeems the souls of men.

The tomb is still empty!

History records cultures throughout the world whose people are convinced there is a God. These people represent a cross-section of sociological, intellectual, emotional, and educational backgrounds. Yet, they have this common belief in a Creator God that is to be worshipped.

God is not made real when persons believe. He does not cease to exist should everyone cease to believe. I am simply stating that I do not believe that every believer throughout recorded history could possibly be wrong or self-deluded. One who rejects the idea of God must say that every believer is, and has been, in the least, mistaken. Yet, there always has been a universal belief in God.

The complexity of our planet is another proof for the existence of a deliberate Designer. If Earth were smaller, our atmosphere would not be able to sustain life. If Earth were larger, the atmosphere would contain free hydrogen. Earth is the only known planet equipped with an atmosphere of the just the right mixture of gases to give and sustain life. Coincidence is most plausible? Hardly!

The Earth is located the right distance from the sun. If we were farther away, we freeze. Any closer, we burn up. Even a fractional variance in the Earth's position would make life unbearable. The rotating axis allows the surface to be properly warmed and cooled every day. Marvelous accident!

And our moon is the perfect size and distance from the Earth for its gravitational pull to create ocean tides and movement so ocean waters do not stagnate, and yet it restrains the massive oceans from spilling over across the continents.

Ninety-seven percent of the Earth's water is in the oceans. But there is a wonderful system designed to remove the salt from ocean water and distribute that water throughout the globe. Evaporation easily disperses water for vegetation, animals and people. It is a system of purification that recycles water.

Your brain deals with more than a million pieces of information every second, while evaluating its importance and allowing you to act on the most pertinent information. All from chance plus time? I don’t think so.

When the shuttle launches, we assume a monkey did not write the plan. It has to be from intelligent and knowledgeable minds. Only a higher intelligence could have designed and created the lower intelligence of humans. The question is whether this higher intelligence is also human, or divine.

It would be easier for me to believe that the likenesses of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt were carved by winds across Mount Rushmore than to believe all I see is a product of chance plus time. Common sense tells me that some one planned and skillfully designed what I see.

Jesus came to reveal and explain God. He lived, died and raised himself from death to prove he is the author and sustainer of life as described in Scripture and seen through nature.

I remember the first time I truly entered my prayer “closet”. I was seeking a deeper relationship with God. I couldn’t understand how some Christians could pray for hours. I wondered if I could. This was my first attempt to pray for a sustained amount of time.

I began to pray about everything that came to my mind. When I finished, it seemed I had prayed for about ten or fifteen minutes. I was attempting to pray for at least an hour so I stole a quick peek at my wristwatch to see how much longer I had to go. It had been about three minutes!

Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. They no doubt had observed Jesus’ intense and long discussions with the Father. They wanted to pray like Jesus.

My first prayers were more like King James. That’s the types of prayers I heard in church. It was like this special language. Men's voices would change when they prayed and they used a lot of "Thees" and "Thous." Then I heard my first conversational prayer. It blew me away. Such sincerity and simplicity. I wanted to pray like that.

I also observed how my mother's prayer life changed once she found out she was not going to recover from her cancer. You would swear Jesus was standing in the room with her when she spoke with him. I was her minister. I didn’t pray like that. I remember asking God,

“Father, do I have to get cancer to be able to pray like her?”

His answer was clear,

“No, you just have to know me.”

How can you hold a sustained and meaningful conversation with a stranger? I think that was why it was first so difficult for me to pray. I didn’t know God that well. We didn’t have much in common.

As I grew in my walk with God, I started to learn him. Up until that time I only knew ABOUT him. But, I didn't KNOW him. Huge difference.

Now, I spend much time listening when I pray. I pray easily at any place and anytime. More recently I have started to sense when he comes to me. This is an awesome side of prayer. It must have been what Mother was experiencing. When he comes, he brings different moods with him. Sometimes he is sad about the sin in the world. We cry together. Sometimes he brings his supernatural peace or joy. We laugh together. His presence is breathtakingly beautiful.

As you come to know him better your prayer life will increase. As you seek him, he will begin to find you and come to you. You will find yourself becoming more sensitive to his Spirit. You will know when he shows up at your worship or by your bedside. You will begin to discern truth. You will begin to discern him.

We have an awesome God. He has granted us the privilege of holding deep and sustained conversation with him, spirit to Spirit. We have the double blessing of hearing him clearly and sensing his moods.

I pray you soon discover him. There is no god like him. There is no god but him.