HEBREWS 11:1

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

TO PONDER

I know I have talked about this previously, but I think it is worth reflecting on again. One of the biggest objections to the Christian faith you tend to hear from people these days is around the perceived conflict between faith/religion and science. Many people seem to have bought into the assumption that science is based purely on imperical evidence, and that religion or 'faith' is simply a blind adherence to a set of beliefs with no evidence to back it up whatsoever. Some of the best discussions addressing this concern, you can find online just do a google search for 'John Lennox-faith versus science' or find the episode of John Dixon's "Undeceptions" podcast where he talks with John Lennox.

But the reality is that there is so much evidence that points to God. Sure, it may not 'prove' God's existence, but any decent criminal lawyer will tell you that evidence offered in a trial can't really prove anything either. The best it can do is paint a picure of the most probably scenario and sequence of events. Create a compelling story that interprets the same evidence in a different way and suddenly you have a jury in doubt.

That's the kind of evidence we have for our faith. It's not scientific evidence we can test with repeatable experiments. It's historical evidence, recorded in the annuls of history with more reliable close to the source accounts than almost any other historical figure or event. It's eye witness testimony of those who walked with Jesus and then also those who have discovered the truth of their claims for themselves down through history to the Christians of today. None of this is proof that we can hold or see, yet it is evidence in which we can have confidence.

The one 'test' we have available to us is simply this, to put Jesus words and teaching to the test. To follow him faithfully, dwell on his teaching, do as he commanded and see if our experience matches what he describes.

Although I have failed horribly at this at different times in my life, I have strived to follow Jesus. I have to say, my experience supports the evidence. I have confidence that Jesus is who he says he is and that only through him, I have life in all it's fulness.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, our world is increasingly preoccupied with 'getting to the truth'. Yet it seems that the more we look for it in our won strength, the further we end up from you. Today, I simply ask that you would turn my life into one that provides evidence to those around me that you are who you say you are, and that a life spent following you is one that is full of love, mercy, and a hopeful assurance of what is yet to come. Amen

Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle