Place your bets!

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’”

Psalm 14:1

Have you ever been asked “Do you believe in God?”

Usually these questions come at the most inopportune time. At work, at school, at a party seems to be the time that these kinds of questions crop up and we are put on the spot to give the answer. Awkward, huh?

Being raised in the church and dedicated before a body of believers when I was 2 weeks old I have always known about God. Maybe that is the boat you are in, however, knowing about God and knowing Him are two different things. Even though I went to a “Christian college” my faith was put under the microscope and caused more questions than I had answers. I understood very quickly that it is a “heart issue” in regards to having a relationship with God.

Knowing who God is, is easy for most folks, but having a personal relationship with Him is a totally different issue and tends to be very illusive for the average “joe church goer”. Even though we must work it out on our own, it is essential to have those around us who are on the same journey and hopefully a leader who knows the way. I remember a trip we took once in Tennessee at a place called “Lost Sea”. You know the drill, we went into the caverns as a group with a guide and were having a grand time until the lights failed. We were glad the guide had both a flashlight and a working knowledge of “the unknown path” inside this mountain. Knowing God is a lot that way.

We also had a map that showed where we were, the depth, and hidden danger. Our map on this journey as a Christian is called the Bible.

No other piece of literature on the planet has undergone the scrutiny, study, and skepticism that the Bible has been through. Through the guidance of Godly teachers and friends, I was able to weed my way though this relationship with Christ and partnered with the authority of the Bible, I saw the light that God wanted me to see. I read about people just like me, interacting with God and He in turn helping them live their life. It is an amazing book. I have been studying this book for nearly 40 years, read and write, Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and some Sanskrit (Yes those squiggly little lines and dots actually mean something) and I learn something new every time I open it.

Joshua of the Old Testament said this, “Choose whom you will serve, as for me and my house we will serve God”. That is really the question isn’t it? We must choose, so place your bets. If you haven’t been able to make a commitment to a God you don’t know whether He exists or not, try Paschal’s wager. The wager is this: Paschal believed that logic alone could not prove the existence of God. Commit your life to a God you can’t prove his existence and if it is untrue you have lost nothing. However, if He does exist and you have no relationship with Him, you’ve lost everything. Not to mention Heaven and living in His glorious presence forever, greatest friends you’ll ever have, joy, peace, health, life abundant.

To believe in God takes conviction about something you can’t see the same way it takes conviction to take a breath. Oxygen is essential for life but we can’t see it, or taste it but we know that it is there because it keeps us alive. God is the same way, without Him you are not really living. How do we start a relationship with Christ if indeed there is a God?

What are the most compelling reasons for the existence of God?

Nicodemus was a religious man looking for a relationship with God. His compelling story is in the Bible reading for today.

Read John 3:1-21