Windmill Ministries - Newsletter - November 2009

Welcome to Windmill Ministries' November 2009 newsletter, our regular update about our Christian evidences ministry, recent apologetic discoveries, answers to asked questions, books, an inspirational story or poem and so on.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 3:15)

Are you prepared to answer?

The Bible teaches that God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). But are you prepared to answer why we can trust the Bible and why we know that Jesus was indeed the Son of God? God does not require you to have blind faith - our objective is to share the evidences He gave us to put a foundation of facts and truths under our faith.

Do you know WHY you are a Christian?

During my personal search for solid evidence for the truth of Christianity I often asked Christian believers: "Why are you a Christian?" I asked that question hoping to get more insights and clues that had convinced others before me to commit their lives to Jesus Christ. I was expecting most believers would reply with a number of evidences and facts that had convicted them, 'beyond reasonable doubt', that God exists, that the Bible is historically accurate and reliable and that Jesus is indeed God Himself.

However, to my surprise, just about anybody I asked this question stumbled or even failed to give me an answer. The answers I would ultimately receive would generally fit into one of the following two categories:

Many replied by explaining that the gospel and Jesus Christ had saved and changed their lives and that through faith in Him I could also be saved. They usually went on to explain how bad things were before they were saved - addictions, stress, hopelessness and so on - and how, thanks to their faith, they now were able to live fuller, more peaceful and meaningful lives. In short, they explained WHAT it means to be a Christian, but not WHY they were Christians.
Others replied that they were Christians because: "they just knew it to be the thing to believe in", "they felt God alive in their hearts", "they had seen God at work in their lives ", "they had experienced answered prayers", " they had been Christians all their lives", and so on. These are all good answers, and after I myself became a Christian, I also experienced God "at work" in my life. As a skeptic, however, looking for hard evidence, these answers are not sufficient. They are all purely subjective. As such, they relate to personal experiences and convictions, but none is based on hard and objective evidence.

I cannot remember meeting anybody who answered me: " I am a Christian because it is the truth!", and frankly that is the only answer that could ultimately convert a skeptic like me to become a Christian. I ultimately found the compelling arguments for the truth of the Christians beliefs in books and through personal study.

Now, having been a Christian for about 10 years, I have experienced that many Christian brothers and sisters (especially younger Christians) are struggling with their commitment to their faith. They are under continuous attack from the secular world through our education system and media with challenges about the existence of a Creator God, the trustworthiness of the Scriptures and the divine nature of Jesus of Nazareth. It is hard these days to turn on the TV (or spent time on the internet) and not be confronted by people claiming that science explains our existence, that the Bible is a collection of fairy tales that have been edited and added over the centuries and that Jesus was perhaps not even an historical figure and surely is not more than a wise teacher, and therefore just a human and not God.

Therefore, it should not be a surprise to anybody that 70% of young Christians (USA Today, 2007) lose their faith during their first year of college and that about 40-50% of church-going Christians (Barna, 2009) believe that Jesus committed sins while he was on earth! If we do not know why we should believe it, why should we believe it at all? And if we are challenged and have no knowledge about the arguments and evidence that build the case for the truth of Christianity how can we defend our faith? Without being able to shield off secular claims about the "fiction of Christianity" with solid arguments and facts none of us will be able to sustain a lifelong commitment to be a follower and servant of Jesus Christ.

It were ultimately the evidences that Jesus provided His disciples for His divinity (miracles, fulfilled prophecies and ultimately the resurrection) that made them commit the rest of their natural lives to proclaim His gospel in a pagan and often rejecting world. Only because of these evidences they were willing to give their life for their mission.

We are no different. We do not only need to know what we believe, but also why we can stand firm on our beliefs. We have no excuse for not knowing why it is the truth. Please remember, there is nothing wrong about having questions or even doubts about whether Christianity is true, but it is a terrible (perhaps even eternal) mistake not to try to find the answers to the questions and and not to address these doubts.

May the Lord bless your search for truth and may His truth set you free.

For more about the importance of Christian apologetics

Divine accomplishment versus Human Achievement

For more articles like this see our resource center

What does a Christian need to do in order to pay for his or her sins and earn salvation? Does one do some works, make a sacrifice, talk to a priest or say a certain prayer? The answer is that we do not need to do anything. Salvation is a gift from God. In John 3:16-18 Jesus taught: "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 he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." Our salvation is not based in the least on our merit, but entirely on the grace of God. "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith'" (Romans 1:17). The penalty for sin; death by the shedding of blood, has already been paid by Christ for all sins in the past, the present, and the future. That's why His last words on the cross were: "It is finished" (John 19:30), meaning the debt has been paid, paid in full, there is no outstanding balance. The only action left for us to do is accept this gift of salvation.

The Christian view on salvation seems too good to be true. It seems illogical. How can we get the most important thing in life, a ticket to heaven, for free? Nothing in life is free, and when something is offered for free, there is usually a catch. So what is the catch? There is no catch, because it is free for us, but it came at a dear price for God. He Himself had to pay the price for our sin by sacrificing His Son for us. We can not even imagine how much of a sacrifice this was. Perhaps a parent can imagine how it would feel to have to sacrifice one of their children. So, salvation was secured, not by human achievement, but by divine accomplishment.

All world religions promise some kind of path to liberation or salvation. Interestingly all these plans are based on something the believer has to do to earn it. In Hinduism you earn liberation by living according to certain principles plus meditation, you can improve your next life and ultimately reach total liberation by achieving Moksha. Buddhists work hard to implement the eight-fold path to reach Nirvana. Muslims believe that by working hard to do good deeds and adhere to the letter of the five pillars, they have a chance to tilt the balance in their favor and be judged by Allah worthy of heaven. But notice, they all have to do the work and are never sure whether they have done enough.

Even Christians struggle with the gift. Therefore, we see pseudo-Christian cults such as Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses adding additional instructions and qualifications one has to meet in order to earn salvation. We see the same in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches who accept the sacrifice of Christ as a first step, but then demand the addition of works and sacraments to fully earn and achieve heaven (and limit one's time in purgatory).

God did it all for you! He already did the work; we only need faith in His grace. God already loves you; you just need to start loving Him.

Holland	Inspiration and worship
“To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The words of the Lord are offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.” Jeremiah 6:10
	My heart cries for my country That is so desperate in need of love My heart cries for my country That needs Your guidance from above My country that is so dear to me Turned from you away My country that is so dear to me Doesn’t feel the need to pray
Let me help my country Lord So a revival may begin Let me help my country Lord And let your spirit in My country is so beautiful You gave it many streams and dikes My country is so beautiful With tulips, windmills and people on their bikes
	Oh, Lord save my country once again From darkness and despair Lord, save my country once again Let it become of You aware Thank you Lord for taking me out So I could see your endless love Thank you Lord for taking me out So I could see your blessing from above

But….my heart cries for my country

So, please use me if you will

My heart cries for my country

That one day will pay the bill

Dear Lord… please save my country

From other nations wicked ways

Dear Lord… save my country

I now will humbly pray….

Thank you Lord, Amen. (for more of Coba's poems and devotionals)

Last of all, but all important

Restoring a tradition: antique Christian Family Bibles from the 19th century:

Are you looking for an (Antique) Large, extensively illustrated, Family Bible?
One of those 'old-fashioned' large sized Bibles that will become part of your families tradition to be handed down from generation to generation? One of those 'huge' ones with a leather cover with gold leaf decorations and one or more brass or silver clasps to close the book? A Bible that is not only attractive to read and study and has multiples engraved illustrations on steel and wood, some in full color, but also contains special sheets to record (your) extensive family records? Or are you interested to obtain an antique 'classic' study Bible with an extensive concordance and Bible dictionary, multiple background essays (Bible history, translation history, background on Bible customs, the Holy Land etc.) and numerous illustrations and maps and commentaries?

For more about antique Christian Bibles, visit our Antique Family Bible Store

"Prepared to Answer"

You can order Prepared to Answer as paperback ($10.00), hardcover ($19.50), or as an audiobook on MP3 ($7.00) in our webstore (free shipping in the USA) . Special pricing available when ordering multiple copies.

We love to share about the evidences - e-mail or call us if you would like us to come and share in your church, at your home, in school, at a seminar or any other setting.

We would be encouraged to hear from you at our mailing address or e-mail (see below).

Windmill Ministries, 345 Hiddendale Drive, Quilcene, WA 98339, USA
http://www.windmillministries.org
Rob & Jacoba VandeWeghe * e-mail: info@windmillministries.org

Windmill Ministries is a Christian apologetics ministry that equips believers and challenges skeptics through the sharing of evidences for the foundations of the Christian faith.

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