Tag Archives: demanding proof

My Pain is Christ’s Gain

I am not the first to ask why God allows bad things to happen.  Nor will I be the last to demand a response.  However, after one month of complaining, groaning and frustration, I sensed the Holy Spirit whisper to me yesterday, “my pain is Christ’s gain.”

As a former professional athlete, I’ve always been able to rely on my God given talents, to work harder than the next person, regularly experiencing success.  Yet, when your ability to breathe, lift more than 5 pounds and walk is taken away, you become helpless.  Thus, I was placed into a situation where I was vulnerable, forced to depend on Christ’s strength, 2 Corinthians 12:9, to ease my pain.

T-Shirt companies have created similar themes in the past, using God’s Gym instead of Gold’s Gym.  On the back, Jesus is doing a push up with the weight of the world, the cross on his back.  Nonetheless, a conversation on my first day back at work revealed the true reason for my accident.  One of my co-workers was encouraged by posts updating my progress.  Subsequently, without my fall, I wouldn’t have had the material to cover these topics.  Thus, in the end, God allowed my injury, 2 broken ribs, a lacerated liver and internal bleeding to occur so that my pain was Christ’s gain for eternity.

by Jay Mankus

40 Days of Proof

Deep inside the heart of a child, there lies a doubting Thomas, a desire which leads you to see or touch something before you believe.  This curious nature varies within each soul, with some demanding more proof while others are able to trust once an initial experience calms their fears.  Skeptics tend to need more evidence, questioning if their encounter was real or a mirage.

In the matter of Jesus of Nazareth, there were 40 days of proof following his crucifixion which transformed 11 men from wimps into martyrs.  According to Acts 1:1-3, Jesus met privately with his disciples, spent time in public and visited woman of faith.  However, if you listen to the media, read their books or attend seminars sponsored by cohorts, these 40 days are a fairy tale.  Like the Romans guards of Jesus’ day, people continue to do everything in their power to cover up Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, Matthew 28:11-15.

Atheists and agnostics do make a few valid arguments, like why did the gospels take over 20 years to be written if Jesus did rise from the dead?  To answer this, you need to understand the background of the gospel of Mark.  When the eyewitnesses were alive, people who saw Jesus die and rise from the dead, there wasn’t a sense of urgency to record this information.  When many of these witnesses began to grow old and die, Christians in Rome were fearful people might forget all that had happened.  Thus, John Mark, a disciple of Paul, was hired to write down key events, a reference point for those who did not hear, see or touch Jesus.  May this blog eliminate any doubt Thomas spirit, serving as proof that Jesus truly was as Pilate wrote in John 19:19, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews!”

by Jay Mankus