My experience in life has allowed me to be around many non-believers who respect my faith but have a difficult time claiming Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  It is easy for me to step into a guilt trip on why they can't see Jesus clearly thru the examples they see but it is often deeper than that.  My Jewish family and friends often cite their history of tradition and breaking out from that tradition would negate many generations of belief and ideals that are deeply ingrained.  Many of my Muslim friends talk about how all of the ideals of many religions can carry significant  meaning and to live in balance on all of those teachings is a wonderful way to get the best of all the great religions.  For Muslims to accept Christ would alter their family ties beyond anything we can imagine.  Materialism and wealth are major obstacles for many "successful" people because trusting in God would violate their independance so this gets in the way of their claiming Jesus as Savior.

 Others just point to their purses or billfolds and say that religious people are all about the money.  Doubters think that the church just want more money and "they" will make up any story that will sell to get them hooked.  The people who lived thru the lies and half truths from our government from the Viet Nam War and even thru to our current herd of politicians who settle for public opinion instead of truth, embody the leadership with little or no credibility.  This same skepticism permeates the minds of people today in their feeling that you cannot trust church leaders any more than politicians.

It seems that this same skepticism has now started to take traction when it comes to the validity of the Scriptures and the life of Jesus.  The movie on the DaVinci Code and now a new documentary that claims to have found Jesus grave along with other family members of Mary and Joseph bring more data to people who often receive more information in one day from CNN than they get all year from the Bible itself.  Why then should I believe the Bible and the Easter story?

• A.  The tomb is empty

• B.  The tomb is empty

• C.  The tomb is empty

God bless you as you prepare for Holy Week!