Inspired by God

Kurt,

This is another post on my reaction to watching Bart Ehrman debate. I mentioned that his message is less than inspiring. It seems to me that he talks like he is the first one to notice some differences between the gospel accounts of certain events.

You too, having read the Bible, have decided that Jesus is a false-prophet because he didn’t return during the life-time of the apostles. That too is less than inspiring, to me.

Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection have inspired people from the first century until now!

The list of people the Gospel message has transformed is much too long to include everyone here, but I’ll name a few people that embraced the provisions of the Gospel rather than its problems and it changed their lives and the world. These people (all but Stephen) read the same Bible we do and it inspired them to love and follow Jesus.

Stephen – Acts 7, was inspired by Jesus’ resurrection before the Gospels were written. He was stoned to death because of his Jesus convictions.

Polycarp -- the Bishop of Smyrna, was inspired by and a student of the apostle John. He read the Gospels and he knew of Jesus’s promises to return. He lived during the first generation after Jesus and the apostles (70-155 A.D.). At the age of 86 he was arrested for being a Christian. He was given the chance to renounce Jesus, but his conviction was so strong that he wouldn’t – instead he was burned alive. The Bible message brings life changing inspiration for those that accept it.

  

Constantine – the first Christian emperor.

Martin Luther – realized salvation and eternal life is only received as a free gift of God’s grace, it is not earned by good deeds. He translated the Bible, knew what it said, its message captivated him and his life!

William Tyndale – Translated the Bible into English, he knew what it said and what it meant! He was inspired by Jesus and his resurrection it caused him to be strangled and burned at the stake.

John Wycliffe – He regarded the Bible as the only reliable guide for the truth about God. The content and reliability of the Bible captivated his life. He knew what is said and it inspired him!

John Wesley – In 1738 he put his faith in Christ alone for salvation and was given assurance that he was saved from the law of sin and death. He preached from the Gospels that he read and understood. Jesus inspired him!

Husdon Taylor -- (1832-1905) was a missionary to China and founded the China Inland Mission. He spent 51 years there, and started 125 schools and brought in over 800 missioaries. 

Nate Saint – (1923 – 1956) Nate was a missionary that read and understood the Bible. He was a missionary pilot and developed a way to fly in a tight circle and lower a bucket such that people on the ground could catch hold and exchange goods into and out of the bucket. On January 8, 1956 he and four other men were killed by a tribe of Huaorani Indians in Ecuador, Indians that they were trying to contact. His wife Rachel continued his passion of telling these Indians about Jesus. Rachel contacted the tribe, many became Christian. Nate’s son Steve grew up with these Indians (after they’d become Christian) and he was baptized by Mincaye, the man that killed his father! Life magazine published a 10-page story about the efforts to reach these Indians. The man that killed Nate traveled the world with Steve telling people about how Jesus changed his life.

Billy Graham and Billy Sunday  -- These men knew their Bible, it changed their lives, and they dedicated themselves to helping others know the value of a relationship with the Living God.

John Newton -- The slave trader that cried out to God to save his ship from a violent storm in 1748. He went on to be ordained in the Church of England in 1764. He wrote "Amazing Grace" that has become an American Negro Spiritual that can be played on only the black keys on the piano.

Haratio Spafford and Philip Bliss - "It is Well With My Soul" This song was written by Haratio Spafford aboard ship 1873. Spafford sent his wife and four daughters ahead to Europe, he planned to come later. Their ship collided at sea and the four daughters drowned. The wife sent back a telegram, "Saved alone ...". When his shipped crossed the spot of the wreckage he was inspired to write these words:
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

...

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

...

He was inspired by the Bible Gospel, it changed his life!

Bruce Olson – Bruce Olson was gifted in languages and by 14, (as a young man in Minnesota) he knew Greek and Latin. While reading Luke 19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost.” he discovered God was seeking him and his life was changed forever.  In 1961, at age 19 he bought a one-way ticket to Venezuela, and felt called to help a murderous tribe of Indians on the border between Venezuela and Colombia the fierce Motilones. Today 70% of the tribe are Christians and some are doctors, lawyers, and other professionals. His story is told in the book Brochko, (http://www.amazon.com/dp/159185993X)

That’s a short list of people that have been inspired by the Bible and its message about a loving God.

As I’ve said earlier, I’m not inspired by Ehrman’s message and I’m not interested in reading his books. John labels him and his ilk:

This is how you can recognize God's Spirit. One spirit says, "I believe that Jesus is the Messiah who came to earth and became a man." That Spirit is from God. Another spirit refuses to say this about Jesus. That spirit is not from God. This is the spirit of the enemy of Christ. You have heard that the enemy of Christ is coming, and now he is already in the world. (1Jn 4:2-3 ERV)