history

I love studying American history. Maybe this is because I sat at a desk at Lyons High School in 1986 and listened to my dad make it come to life.

The Battle of Midway.

The Battle of Gettysburg.

The perspective of Abraham Lincoln.

And these events have shaped the world that we live in today.

I am grateful to hear of courageous leaders and, more importantly, courageous men who faced death to give us what we have today.

But nothing compares to Jesus. What He did on the cross 2000 years ago is the most important event in human history … and we would do well to celebrate it like the greatest New Year’s Eve party on planet earth.

But what was the second most important event?

I believe that the second most important event happened in Syria.

Acts 9 ¹ Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” ⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. ⁶ “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

If you are going to mess with the Lion of the Tribe of Judah … do it on this side of death. On the other side? He stands in judgment. I am not saying what His decision will be … but He is the one who will make it.

Paul fell on the ground blind and made the greatest transformation in human history.

And only God can change a life without giving a person a personality transplant. He takes us just as we are and turns us into amazing versions of ourselves.

Paul’s transformation was so radical that people didn’t trust him because he went from worst enemy to best friend.

And then he fought like a cornered badger to get the message of Jesus out to every person on the planet.

Prison.

Beatings.

Persecution.

Threats.

Nothing could stop him.

Jesus. He is so good. Take Him into every area of your life.

In The Name of the Father and the

Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Coach J

When you are sharing the gospel, encourage your friends to ask the right questions.

When I researched about Patton growing up, I read about him in books, watched the movie, and studied history. I very well could have asked 3 questions:

Who was Patton?
Why was he killed?
What happened afterwards?

Patton was a general in the United States army who was a key figure in World War 2. His men fought hard for him. It seemed that they related to him. And it is certain that he had much success in the war.

I do not know why he was killed. But I do know that it was a suspicious car accident.

One theory was that he was killed because of his dislike for Russia and communism. He was very outspoken about it.

After he was killed, we signed a treaty that ended the war. We were able to work with Russia to divide Germany and come to a resolution.

What more do I know? Not much.

But I am confident that I know a good bit about Patton based on history books.

I could now ask the same things about Jesus:

Who was Jesus?
Why was He killed?
What happened afterwards?

These questions I can more easily answer.

He was killed for saying things like this:

John 10 ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.

Jesus, by historical accounts, was a “magician or prophet” who many followed. He was killed because of what He said: He claimed, as in this verse, that He was God–that He … was the Messiah.

Both Jesus and Patton were killed for things that they said. Patton, while successful among his men, was not a politician and upset many with his beliefs and comments.

Jesus was much the same in that His words angered many—especially in the upper class of wealth, power, and social status.

So what are we to do with this?

My recommendation to those I talk to is this:

When someone comes and claims to be God and we have much of our current culture, traditions, dates, and beliefs based on Him, we should consider research.

It is my belief that, while we do not do a good job in basing our lives upon Him, there is great reason to research who He was and make a WHOLE-HEARTED decision based on what we discover.

And so my question to someone who may not be a Christian is this:

If someone stands at a door that gives entrance to the greatest place you could ever go in terms of protection, wealth, happiness, and well being, would you want to know how to get in?

I want to know how to get in.

If what Jesus said is true … you might want to surrender to Him.

In The Name of the Father and the

Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Know anyone who might like these? Encourage them to jump on to 2minutewarning.blog and hit the FOLLOW button!!!

Coach J

2 MINUTE WARNING

WITH DOUG JOHNSON

Tag

513 The Second Most Important Event In Human History

454 Ask The Right Questions