Reasons to Believe

The congregation at Christ the Rock have many reasons for our faith in Jesus. These are some of the ‘reasons’ that various members have (last updated 22 Apr 2023):

From Gordon:

A reason for the hope we have

“Have you always been a Christian?” I have sometimes been asked.

My answer is, No, although I thought I was. I grew up in a Christian family where we were regular at church and my parents often prayed with us and for us brothers. One day at school, when I was just 7 years old, my favourite teacher was recounting to the class the story Jesus told about the shepherd who had a hundred sheep. The shepherd realised one of his sheep was missing, and so, leaving the 99, he went in search of his missing sheep. The teacher described how the shepherd looked everywhere and eventually found the lost sheep. He was overjoyed, and carried the sheep safely back to the fold and was so happy that he threw a party for his friends. At this point the teacher paused and then asked us, “Has the Shepherd found YOU yet?” I was surprised because I didn’t even realise I was lost! That day, with a child’s simple trust, I asked Christ to be my Saviour. The Good Shepherd found me, and I found the Shepherd. That is when I became a Christian.

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I was chatting with a good friend recently, enthusing about a piece of music we both like. I asked him, “For you, what are the things or activities that give life that extra sparkle?” He replied, “Well, apart from music, I guess … badminton … nature … oh, and cats. What about you?”

I replied, “Like you, I enjoy music, (and regret I cannot play an instrument). Then tennis, and other racquet sports. Also rugby, art, and high-spec cars. But actually, way beyond all these, what really makes life wonderful is knowing God personally and being in His family. Because of his love, the past is covered, the future is full of hope, and every day I know his care and provision. Whatever happens, He is always with me.”

A friendly, informal chat like this can provide a very easy opportunity to share the difference Christ makes.

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I am convinced of the truth of Christianity because the story the Bible relates has the ‘ring of truth’ about it. It is honest about the big mess-ups there have been, and how God chooses the misfits and failures to bring about his purposes of love. I especially find convincing the story of Jesus (his humble birth, his choice of flawed followers, his extraordinary acts of compassion, his radical teaching often through imaginative stories, his death and resurrection) - all of it told in an unsensational and understated way. The transformation in those who encountered Jesus and received the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, is astonishing. And it continues to happen today. And the story doesn’t just make sense within itself, but it also helps me to make sense of everything else (love, suffering, evil, relationships, hope). In the words of CS Lewis:. ‘I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else’

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Heaven; Is your guess as good as mine?

In the course of conversation with some friends at the tennis club, I mentioned that an elderly friend had recently died following a long illness. The day before he died he said he was looking forward to going to heaven and being with God. One of my tennis friends, Richard (not his real name), replied,

“Yes, well of course … no-one knows what happens after death. Different people have different ideas, but nobody can be sure because no-one has been there and come back to tell us. Some people talk of re-incarnation, others of oblivion, others that people sit on clouds and enjoy cocktails .… but no-one really has any idea. Your guess is as good as mine.”

“True,” I replied, “People have all sorts of different notions, and one guess is as good as another. But … by way of analogy: Probably none of us here knows your address, Richard, or what your house looks like, or how we can find our way to your home. We might guess that it is out in the country, or in the middle of town. One person may guess it has 3 bedrooms, another may suggest 4. Some may guess it is detached, others guess it is in a block of flats. But no-one knows for sure, and one guess is as good as another. But you, Richard, you know all about your home, you can describe every aspect of your house, and you can tell us how to get there. You’re not guessing, because you live there. In just the same way, Jesus once said to His followers, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am. And you know the way to the place where I am going”. Thomas said, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through Me.”

From Nick:

It seems more likely to me that some higher power created the universe rather than nothing creating the universe from nothing.

It was telling that the disciples changed from being despondent after Jesus's death to being so encouraged later on that many of them gave up their lives for the gospel - it suggests that they were convinced that Jesus did rise from the dead in the interim.

Paul went from persecuting the church to being a fervent promoter of the gospel, even putting his life on the line during missionary journeys, after seeing a vision of Jesus in a life-changing incident on the Damascus Road. He must have been convinced that he had seen something significant.

Also, I remember the time I was sending a text to a friend, whilst preparing to give a talk to the church youth - wondering whether we were preparing a relevant talk or not. I left my phone for a few seconds, came back, and a cross symbol (pasted here- † ) had appeared! No-one had intervened - probably my headphones had brushed against the phone keypad. I spent minutes and minutes trying to work out how to type that cross myself on that keyboard but couldn’t manage it - certainly I could not do it without touching the keypad! I concluded that God had intervened and was encouraging me that we were on the right lines with our talk preparation.

From Lisa:

Heart-mending 

As a 20-something, I had a heartbreak – an important relationship that had looked like it would grow into something had instead gone cool.  On the way in to work, I had just seen the object of my affection driving out with a new love-interest in the passenger seat.  I was pretty cut up.  I cried out to God deeply from my heart.  Then I went on in for my shift.  After about an hour and half, one of the counsellors came up to me.  She wanted to share a Word she felt God had given her for me.  I didn’t know her personally, though we knew who each other was; she would have had no idea what was going on for me.  She said God had spoken to her about a relationship that had ‘gone wrong’ for me.  God said it would be OK and I would be alright.  My chin must have hit the floor!  “Do you know what you’re talking about?!” I asked, feeling gobsmacked and slightly paranoid. “No” she said, she just felt God said to tell me.  How kind God is to respond so quickly.  The relationship never picked up, but I now know this was for the best.  Everything did work out and I was fine.  I’m glad God knows what’s best for us. 

God-appointments 

I was privileged to be on the Yate and Sodbury Healing Rooms team for ten years.  I loved seeing God turn up for the clients every time.  For a time, I had felt the urge to take prayer out to the streets.  I had a desire to do what scared me, what felt out of my comfort zone because I believed that there, God would lead and I would see Him working to draw people to himself, people who wouldn’t come into a church or a Healing Rooms appointment, and to see His Kingdom come in little ways. 

I began to pray it in.  I felt not to ask anyone, but that God would supply.  In 2019, I left the Healing Rooms, feeling a new phase was coming.  Through the pandemic it became stronger.  A friend offered to come out prayer-walking with me.  We traversed Yate and Chipping Sodbury, praying and trying to notice anything God was pointing out.  We met an older lady who stopped to lean on her shopping trolley.  This gave us an opportunity to strike up a conversation and we talked about faith and belief.  She didn’t want us to pray for her, but we felt this was who God wanted to meet that day. 

My prayer triplet was supportive.  Paula and Debbie prayed with me and we decided to go out a few times praying for the people of the High Street and sensing what God might be up to.  On the first walk, Paula and I stopped near the Baptist Church praying quietly.  A man came up behind us and began a conversation.  “You could have a little nap in there look” he said, a twinkle in his eye, nodding to the grass in front of the church.  “He won’t mind”, he added, this time nodding up towards the Heavens.  We asked if he knew “Him upstairs”.  He had a history of hurt with the Catholic church generally.  We were able to encourage him to turn towards God.  We hadn’t even approached this person! I felt God was saying through this: “I will prepare people to encounter”. 

On the second occasion, I set out to meet Paula and Debbie.  It was a warm, summer day.  As I approached the High Street, my flip-flop suddenly broke so that I couldn’t wear it at all.  Unperturbed, I headed for a charity shop with Paula, for a replacement, rather than head home. Paula kept a look out for Debbie.  Before I had a chance to buy some sandals, there was Debbie with a bag in her hand that she had brought for me.  “You’ll never guess what I’ve got for you” she said, opening it to reveal some flip-flops she was passing on to me!  God was saying “I will provide”. 

Around this time, I was further inspired by books such as John Wimber’s “Power Healing” and “Power Evangelism” and the story of the beginning of Healing on the Streets.  I emailed HotS Bath, but didn’t hear back. 

The pandemic changed our holiday plans in 2021, as it did for many.  We found ourselves on staycation in beautiful Stratford upon Avon.  On the way up, I exclaimed “I have the feeling we’re going to meet someone famous”.  On the Sunday, I suggested our family go to a Church of England service, as a new experience for our teens.  I found one online, that purported to be meeting in person that week.  We arrived in Leamington Spa, but walking around the church, it became clear that it was not in fact open that day.  We were just making a new plan to drive and see what we could find nearby, when a small car drove past us and then reversed up and the driver wound down her window.  “Excuse me” she called “This is going to sound funny but, are you looking for a church?” “Here we go” I thought, “God is up to something.” We replied that we certainly were and she had us follow her a short distance to her charismatic, community church.  The C of E experience would have to wait. It seemed the famous person was none other than God Himself! 

They were wonderfully warm and welcoming, speaking prophetic words of encouragement over each of us.  The talk was about the very thing I had been wanting to do – going out and expecting God to be there for people and to take opportunities to pray with them and speak about him.  At the end, I mentioned this to the couple in leadership.  They thought for a moment and then said that as it happened, they knew of a young couple who had just moved to South Gloucestershire and had we heard of Yate? They would put us in touch, because they had a feeling that the wife, Bea, might go out with me. 

A few weeks later, Bea and I met and she did indeed offer to go out and see what God would do with us.  We went out about six times.  The first time, we had only gone about 100 metres when we were able to start a spiritual conversation with a lady.  Later on, in the High Street, we encountered a Big Issue seller, wearing a head-covering. I felt prompted to speak to her.  Feeling brilliantly out of my depth, we chatted to her and offered her a warm drink.  It turned out she was from a Christian background and we were able to pray with her about her family and life circumstances. 

Several times, we felt we heard where to go. One time, Bea couldn’t go out but I felt led to walk through the shopping centre towards St Mary’s church. Stepping out into my path was a young man touting for charity support. I said that I’d love to talk and that I was looking out to speak to him because he has a loving heavenly father who wants to connect with him. It turned out that he had grown up in a Christian family and had been on Bible holidays and to church as a youngster. He felt that he should reconnect, and I encouraged him to download a Bible app and to get reading.  I then duly listened to his charity spiel too. 

On another occasion, Bea felt to go to a particular park, and had the names Mary and John. We sat in the park, and before long, a lady came up and started chatting about the view. We kept engaging with her, until Bea asked her name. Bea nearly fell off her seat- it was Mary! We told her how we had felt to go there and to look out for Mary and John. She said, “Oh, I was just chatting to John before you came!”. We told her about our mission and were able to give her a “Why Jesus?” booklet and encourage her to think about God’s love for her.  

The precious people we met were hand-picked by God. My heart went out to each one and I prayed for them for many weeks afterwards. Eventually Bea got a job and couldn’t come out any more, but on the day she told me, I got an email back from “Healing on the Streets” in Bath and a new chapter began!