‘Investigating’ Something [v277]

MARCH 2022

How does one go about determining a ‘hypothesis’, INVESTIGATE that topic, and then support a solid, unshakable conclusion?

INTRODUCTION
Websters says that to ‘INVESTIGATE’ is to systematically inquire, study, closely examine, look into, scrutinize, or critically inspect something in order to ascertain facts, discover a ‘secret’ and come to a conclusion. So, I wondered ‘who’ was considered the most effective “investigator” or “detective” of all time.

After reading a lot of surveys, Sherlock Holmes was at the top by a wide margin—even though he is a fictional character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (a physician by trade). Then, probably because we are such a media-focused culture these days, another fictional character from a TV series, Lieutenant Columbo, most of the time, was number two on the lists.

The following list was taken from the “Top 25 Most Famous Fictional Detectives” lineup created by Chris Morgan of “Yardbarker Entertainment News.” His entire list is just below, with detailed descriptions of each in the “Articles” section:

1) Sherlock Holmes
2) Lieutenant Columbo
3) Jessica Fletcher (“Murder, She Wrote”)
4) Nancy Drew
5) Hardy Boys
6) Phillip Marlowe
7) Jim Rockford (“Rockford Files”)
8) Miss Marple
9) Hercule Poirot (“Murder on the Orient Express”)
10) Thomas Magnum (“Magnum P.I.”)
11) Sam Spade
12) Veronica Mars
13) Encyclopedia Brown
14) Easy Rawlins
15) Adrian Monk (“Monk”)
16) Shawn Spencer (“Psych”)
17) Dick Tracy
18) Inspector Clouseau (“The Pink Panther”)
19) Popeye Doyle (“The French Connection”)
20) Nick Charles (“Thin Man”)
21) Spenser
22) Benoit Blanc (“Knives Out”)
23) Temperance Brennan (“Bones”)
24) Jessica Jones
25) Batman

[ Note: According to Res Rasheed—from the “Complete University Guide”—the top 10 ‘REAL-LIFE’ detectives are, in order of importance are: Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith, Kiran Bedi, Jay J Armes, Alice Clement, Dave Toschi, William E. Fairbairn, Francois Vidocq, Allan Pinkerton, Mary Doyle, Kate Warne. Detailed descriptions of each are in the “Articles” section. ]

Especially because of the really popular modern adaptation on BBC TV (airing 2010-2017, starring Benedict Cumberbatch), Sherlock Holmes continues to be one of the most popular fictional characters of all time.

The premise of the BBC series depicts Sherlock as a “consulting detective” solving various mysteries in modern-day London. Holmes is assisted by his flatmate and friend, Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman), who has returned from military service in Afghanistan with the Royal Army Medical Corps. Although Metropolitan Police Service Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade (Rupert Graves) and others are suspicious of Holmes at first, over time, his exceptional intellect and bold powers of observation persuade them of his value. In part, through Watson’s blog documenting their adventures, Holmes becomes a reluctant celebrity with the press reporting on his cases and his eccentric personal life. Both ordinary people and the British government ask for his help. Although the series depicts a variety of crimes and perpetrators, Holmes’ conflict with his archenemy Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) is a recurring feature.

[ VIDEO: “Top 10 Genius Scenes in Sherlock” ].

So, I am going to try to ‘emulate’ Sherlock Homes’ acclaimed skills of astute observation, forensic expertise, and logical reasoning in solving mysterious crimes for my ‘INVESTIGATION’ in this post.

<<< SUMMARY >>>

The following is a collection of ‘snippets’ from the post that aims to give you the overall ‘jest’ of this post.
[ 10-15 Minute Read ]

‘INVESTIGATING’ A TOPIC
Investigative thinking is aimed at analyzing the information collected, developing theories of what happened, and establishing reasonable grounds for what transpired. Investigative thinking is the process of analyzing evidence and information, considering alternate possibilities to establish the way an event occurred and to determine if they are reasonable.

The MOST IMPORTANT ‘element’ of an investigation is the ‘EVIDENCE’—information related to the question that is being investigated.

Evidence provides the confirmation of a claim or assumption. It is proof of something that did or didn’t happen. Interpreting and attributing meaning to the information collected produces a “body of evidence.

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Probably, THE ‘heart’ of the investigative process is ‘verification’ and it is an iterative process—you have to keep doing it over and over again. The process is not only related to one piece of evidence you uncover, but also to how all the pieces fit together.

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The three main ‘phases’ of verifying information include the source, the content, and the relevance of the evidence.

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After verification, other important elements of an investigation are: what makes good evidence, how to develop a strong documentation process, the value of verification, and the ‘key’ to focus on.

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Of course, asking questions that explain and expand on the evidence is the goal. Asking the kinds of questions that will lead to critical thought can access good analysis more easily. Such questions often anticipate what a reader might want to know as well. Questions can take the form of explaining the evidence or expanding on evidence (In other words, questions can give context or add meaning.) Asking both kinds of questions is crucial to creating a strong analysis.

INVESTIGATIVE ‘PERSONALITY TYPE’
An investigative ‘personality type’ enjoys solving problems using logic. They enjoy solving highly complex, abstract problems. An investigative personality type tends to focus on ideas when they are involved with people. Wherever they are, they collect information and analyze situations before making decisions.

INNATE ’SKILLS’
Investigators are hired to gather information and use the data available to them to discover the truth (or the culprit). But knowing how to use that information is key.

1) Investigative Competence
2) Appraisal of Incoming Information
3) Adaptation
4) Strategic Awareness

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PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR
A private investigator (often abbreviated to “P.I.” and informally called a “private eye”), is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory services. Private investigators often work for attorneys in civil and criminal cases.

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INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST
What distinguishes investigative journalism is its ‘intense focus’ on a single topic.

Investigative journalists conduct extensive interviews and dive deep into archives and public records to find documents that reveal hidden truths. They also need a personality that can, for the most part, keep their personal perspectives out of their writing.

INVESTIGATIVE ‘METHOD’
Questions are such powerful tools to unlock learning. Asking questions is a uniquely powerful tool for unlocking value and spurs learning and the exchange of ideas. By asking questions, we naturally improve our emotional intelligence, which in turn makes us better questioners—a ‘virtuous’ cycle. Questioning should be used to achieve well-defined goals.

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In general, there are two kinds of interrogative questions: closed-ended and open-ended. Closed-ended questions can usually be answered with a single word or a very short phrase, thus producing detailed ‘specifications’. Open-ended questions prompt people to answer with sentences, lists, and stories, giving deeper ‘insights’ and motivating the respondents to put their feedback into words without restricting their thoughts.

Closed-ended questions can usually be answered with “Yes” or “No,” or they have a limited set of possible answers (Such as A, B, C, or All of the Above). Open-ended questions are questions that allow someone to give a free-form answer.

——

CLOSED-ENDED QUESTIONS
A closed-ended question offers, as its name suggests, a ‘limited’ answer or a simple “Yes” or “No.” They are intended to provide a precise, clearly identifiable, and easily classified answer.

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OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
Using open questions can be scary, as they seem to hand the baton of control over to the other person. However, well-placed questions do leave you in control as you steer their interest and engage them where you want them.

QUESTIONING ’STRATEGIES’
Questioning should be used to achieve well-defined goals. “Bloom’s Taxonomy” is a hierarchical system for ordering thinking skills from lower to higher, where each level requires a ‘mastery’ of the skills below it. The taxonomy is introduced as a tool that is helpful for defining the kinds of thinking skills and for helping to establish congruence between the investigator’s goals and the questions they ask.

BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
Bloom’s taxonomy is a set of three hierarchical models used to classify educational learning objectives into levels of complexity and specificity. The models organize learning objectives into three different domains: Cognitive, Affective, and Sensory/Psychomotor.

Bloom’s taxonomy was developed to promote higher forms of thinking in analyzing and evaluating concepts, processes, procedures, and principles. It is a framework in which each level depends on the one below (often drawn as a pyramid).

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The first of the three ‘domains’, the “Cognitive Model,” serves as the predominant focus of the model and includes six levels of objectives: Create; Evaluate; Analyze; Apply; Understand; and Remember [ These are the revised categories (in 2001) ].

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
“Garbage in, garbage out” (“GIGO”), is a popular saying—often remarked in reference to computer systems—is the concept that flawed, or nonsense (garbage) input data produces nonsense output. [ UK English version: “Rubbish in, rubbish out” (“RIRO”) ].

The same principle applies to communications in general: If you ask the wrong questions, you will probably get the wrong answer—or at least not quite what you are hoping for. So, asking the right question is at the heart of effective communications and information gathering.

ASKING JOURNALISTIC QUESTIONS
All investigative journalists that set out to find answers to a hypothesis essentially ask the same questions: Who is involved? What is happening? Where is it happening? When is it happening? Why is it happening? How is it happening?

These journalistic questions are also known as the “5W1H” method. The following chart shows the questions one could ask in a variety of situations.

“5W1H” METHOD
The ‘foundation’ for the “Five Ws and How” (5W1H”) questioning method is attributed to Aristotle in his “Nicomachean Ethics” as the “Septem Circumstantiae” (μόρια περιστάσεως) or “elements of circumstance” [ “Quis, quid, quando, ubi, cur, quem ad modum, quibus adminiculis” – “Who, what, when, where, why, in what way, by what means” ]

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However, BY FAR, the most popular method used has been the “5W1H” (“Who, What, Where, When, Why, How”). It is sometimes referred to as the “Kipling Method” or the “6 Serving Men of Creativity,” due to a poem that appeared in Rudyard Kipling’s 1902 “Just So Stories.” In the poem—accompanying the tale of “The Elephant’s Child”—it opened with:

“I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.”

Investigative journalists and detectives have long understood the power of the 5W1H method as a tool to formulate the most important questions to ask, to create a ‘framework’ to present the information gathered, and then in delivering the content in a holistic sense—effectively touching upon the core components to create an accurate and compelling story/report. The 5W1H method ensures the investigator is capturing the important perspective, sharing the all-important content, and making it relevant for their audience.

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So, the following is a breakdown of how each of the 5W1H ‘components’ is used in research and investigational writing. [more…]

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The 5W1H questioning technique is a ‘framework’ that the investigator can use when gathering information and investigating a problem. It is an iterative interrogative technique used to explore the cause-and-effect relationships underlying a particular problem, which allows them to understand a situation and to discern a problem by analyzing all the dimensions from different perspectives one at a time. This framework can help them to expand a discussion, scope the research, organize the findings, and create a report in a logical manner.

PROCESS EXAMPLE
A professor of Project Management (Jiwat) authored a post on the International Project Management Association website about using 5W1H as a technique to improve project management efficiencies for a software development project.

BEST PRACTICES
So, what are some ‘best practices’ for using 5W1H? Well, to make this method work efficiently, the investigator must: [more…]

INVESTIGATING THE ‘CHRISTIAN FAITH’
Is Christianity rational and reasonable? Is the Bible trustworthy? Is there ‘evidence’ that supports the claims of Christianity?

Well, there are two people that tell about their journeys from atheism to a Christian, and both were VERY familiar with investigation and evidence.

Lee Strobel was an investigative reporter and the legal editor for the Chicago Tribune, and J. Warner Wallace was a homicide detective for the Torrance (CA) Police Department who is well known for investigating a number of high-profile cold-case murders.

INVESTIGATING THE ‘CORE’ OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
The Bible tells the reader to “examine all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:21), hope that they will do a comprehensive investigation of the evidence for themselves, especially the Resurrection (empty tomb) since it is THE ‘FOUNDATION’ upon which all of Christianity rests. The Apostle Paul said, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” [ 1 Corinthians 15:17 ].

For centuries, skeptics have argued that faith in Jesus’ resurrection is nothing more than a blind step into thin air. Investigative journalist Lee Strobel, on the other hand, says that the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection is strong, persuasive, powerful, and based on a solid foundation of historical truth.

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So, the following summarizes Strobel’s findings for Jesus’ resurrection by using “Four E’s”: Execution; Early Accounts; Empty Tomb; and Eyewitnesses.

INVESTIGATING THE ‘CASE’ FOR CHRISTIANITY
Former atheist and cold-case detective J. Warner Wallace understands the value of evidence, and suggests that the Christian needs to examine their beliefs until they are absolutely convinced of their faith in Jesus, then be ready to defend their Christian worldview by ‘equipping’ themselves to do so.

It doesn’t require a master’s degree in apologetics or a library full of books. It simply requires a personal commitment to learn the truth and defend it to others.

After twenty-five years spent handling evidence and investigating the truth (much of that time related to cold-case homicides), Wallace learned a few things about how one can investigate the Christian worldview and present it to those who have questions (There are a number of important parallels to be drawn between criminal investigations and examining the case for Christianity.)

So, the following is a summarization of the eight steps he went through in all of his cold-case investigations to prepare to make a presentation to a jury (which could be your ’skeptical’ friend). [more…]

INVESTIGATING JESUS’ “SECOND COMING”
After the resurrection of Jesus, probably the most popular ‘topic’ of interest—especially because of all of the ‘angst’ in the world today—would be Jesus’ “Second Coming.” This is the hope of believers that Jesus will be returning to the earth to first take them up to Heaven before “The Tribulation” (the “Rapture”), and to end the horrendous “Great Tribulation” (at “Armageddon”).

So, in the past six months, I have used the “5W1H” methodology to create a ‘series’ of posts that investigated the Second Coming of Jesus: [more…]

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So, to try to help you get a ’60,000-foot view’ of Jesus’ “Second Coming,” the following ‘sections’ are SUMMARIES OF EACH PREVIOUS POST related to each 5W1H question. [ Of course, feel free to view one or all of the previous posts for more detail than is presented below. ]

>>> ‘WHO’ JESUS IS <<<
[ SEPTEMBER 2021 ]

CULTIVATING ‘INTIMACY’ WITH GOD/JESUS
SPIRITUALLY, JESUS IS THE ‘WHO’
DO YOU ‘KNOW’ JESUS?
‘WHO’ JESUS IS
‘ALLUSIONS’ TO JESUS
JESUS’ ‘CHARACTERISTICS’

>>> ‘WHAT’ JESUS DID/HAS DONE FOR US <<<
[ OCTOBER 2021 ]

WHAT JESUS ‘DID’
WHAT JESUS HAS ‘DONE’ FOR US
JESUS ‘DID IT ALL’
WHAT HAVE ‘YOU’ DONE FOR JESUS?

>>> ‘WHERE’ JESUS WILL RETURN TO <<<
[ NOVEMBER 2021 ]

JERUSALEM IN BIBLICAL PROPHECY
‘WHERE’ JESUS WILL RETURN
‘PREPARE’ FOR JESUS’ RETURN!

>>> ‘WHEN’ WILL THE SECOND COMING BE? <<<
[ DECEMBER 2021 ]

PREDICTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ‘100% CORRECT’!
THE “SECOND COMING”
THE “RAPTURE”
THE “TRIBULATION”
THE ‘SIGNS’

>>> ‘WHY’ WILL JESUS RETURN? <<<
[ JANUARY 2022 ]

WAITING FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT ‘PERSON’ TO RETURN
THE ‘PROMISE’ OF GOD
JESUS’ EARTHLY ‘TEACHINGS’
THE HOLY SPIRIT’S ‘TESTIMONY’
GOD’S ‘PROGRAM’ FOR THE CHURCH
THE ‘CORRUPTION’ OF THE WORLD
THE ‘PROGRAM’ FOR ISRAEL
JESUS WILL ‘VINDICATE’ HIMSELF
TO ‘REMOVE’ SATAN
‘HOPE’ FOR THE BELIEVER
SET UP THE ‘KINGDOM’
A FEW ‘OTHER’ REASONS

>>> ‘HOW’ SHOULD ONE PREPARE FOR JESUS’ RETURN? <<<
[ FEBRUARY 2022 ]

JESUS IS ‘THE’ MOST IMPORTANT PERSON TO MEET
PREPARING FOR JESUS’ ‘RETURN’
‘SPECIFICS’ ON WHAT TO DO
‘NOW’ IS THE TIME TO PREPARE!

WRAP-UP
Primarily because of movies and TV shows, many people have a mental image of the stereotypical private investigator as a person that works from a dimly-lit, cluttered, sometimes smoky office in a less-than-affluent part of town. There, he ‘ruminates’ about how his client has been wronged in one way or another.

Usually, his job is to find proof of wrongdoing. To do this, he gets useful information from witnesses. He interviews witnesses, takes pictures, searches buildings, and keeps an eye out for clues that others may have overlooked. Eventually, he returns to his distressed client/police department, and lets them know that he has solved the case.

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Primarily, RESEARCHING is ‘fundamental’ to investigating a topic, and the ‘key’ is being able to successfully ‘analyze’ the data properly. It usually involves either ‘inductive’ or ‘deductive’ methods.

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Inductive research methods are used to ANALYZE an observed event, while deductive methods are used to VERIFY the observed event. Inductive approaches are associated with ‘qualitative’ research, while deductive methods are more commonly associated with ‘quantitative’ research. The objectives for conducting research can differ as well. One may simply need research for collecting information or validating sources.

Probably the most used ‘method’ of gathering information is the ‘interrogative’ question. In general, there are two kinds of interrogative questions: CLOSED-ENDED and OPEN-ENDED. Closed-ended questions can usually be answered with a single word or a very short phrase, thus producing detailed ‘specifications’. Open-ended questions prompt people to answer with sentences, lists, and stories, giving deeper ‘insights’ and motivating the respondents to put their feedback into words without restricting their thoughts.

—–

However, the MOST USED questioning ‘method’ is what has been termed, “5W1H,” which translates to “Who, What, Where, When, Why, How.” Investigative journalists and detectives have long understood the power of the 5W1H as a tool to formulate the most important questions to ask, creating a ‘framework’ to present the information gathered, and then is very helpful in delivering the content in a holistic sense effectively touching upon the core components—to create an accurate and compelling story/report.

The 5W1H method ensures the investigator is capturing the important perspective, sharing the all-important content, and making it relevant for their audience.

[ Note: For all the details about the “5W1H” method, refer back to the particular ’section’ above that goes into much more detail about it ].

So, this is the method that I used to ‘investigate’ Jesus’ “SECOND COMING” in a ‘series’ of posts for the past six months (one question per month)—to determine the ‘validity’ of it and, if true, to provide information to those who were interested in investigating this for themselves.

The ‘essence’ of each question was as follows: [more…]

So, the entire six-month ‘series’ of posts was to INVESTIGATE the ‘VALIDITY’ of what the Bible says about the “Second Coming” of Jesus. Is it something that is actually going to happen and, if so, what one should do about it.

Along the way (in this month’s post), I thought I would try to help you with the validation of what the Bible says about the Second Coming by presenting validation for Jesus’ resurrection. If that can be proven, then what the Bible and Jesus say about everything else—like the Second Coming—probably has some ‘strong’ credibility to it. Reasonable conclusion?

SO, as I have said previously, my ‘LIFE FOCUS’ is “to take as many people to Heaven with me as I can.” So then, to do this, I have to go by what the Bible says about how this can happen:

Becoming a “born again” believer ‘in’ Jesus is the ONE ‘WAY’ to get Heaven.

So, that’s WHY I spend the effort in writing a monthly post about this—so I can ‘see’ you in Heaven someday!!!

In the past decade, I have tried to ‘PACKAGE’ the Bible’s teachings about getting to Heaven in a few different ‘series’ of posts (a sequential ‘grouping’ of posts).

– “Fruits Of The Beatitudes”
– “End Times”
– “Final Deception”
– “Second Coming”

Now, there are also MANY other posts that were not directly associated with a series that are VERY IMPORTANT for one to consider—which are primarily focused on the ‘URGENCY’ of making a decision ‘FOR’ Jesus and the reason(s) why it should get one’s ‘ATTENTION’ to act PROMPTLY!

As I concluded in last month’s post, ‘WHAT’ will it take to convince you to honestly consider BECOMING ‘PREPARED’ for Jesus’ Second Coming?

The Bible says that EVERYONE MUST ‘DECIDE’ while they are alive on this earth, and death is the END of ANY ‘OPPORTUNITY’ to get into Heaven (and ‘dispatches’ one to Hell!)

The Bible says our earthly lives are a “mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Our earthly ‘sojourn’ is EXCEEDINGLY ‘BRIEF’! (about 70-100 years). When death comes knocking on our ‘door’, the ONLY THING that will matter is one’s ‘RELATIONSHIP’ with Jesus. “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36).

The truth is, if one wishes to live apart from God during our time on earth, He will grant them their wish for eternity as well! I’ve heard it said that, “If you board the train of unbelief, you will have to take it all the way to its destination.” GET OFF that ‘platform’ to board that ‘train’… NOW!!!

You need to GET READY! For a believer to meet God, it WILL BE a wonderful, thrilling, and ‘sweet’ experience. HOWEVER, for those who have ‘rejected’ Jesus (unbelievers), how TERRIBLE that will be! SO, DON’T PROCRASTINATE until it is TOO LATE! Since no one knows how long they have on this earth, RIGHT NOW is the ONLY TIME that one can determine their eternal ‘location’ (Heaven of Hell).

Let me ask you a question: If you were to die tonight, or if Jesus were to come back right now, would you be FOUND ‘READY’?

“The Day Is Near
Besides this, you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires”
[ Romans 13:11-14 ].

I am BEGGING YOU to GET SERIOUS and ‘PREPARE’ for Jesus’ Second Coming—NOW!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q21Jnaq-EL8

[ This video is the audio of a presentation by the ‘frontman’ for the Christian parody band ApologetiX, J. Jackson, talks about their mission “To reach the lost and teach the rest,” and that they take the Bible VERY SERIOUSLY! ].

<<< END OF SUMMARY >>>

<<< ALL THE ‘DETAILS’ >>>

The following is a comprehensive presentation of the topic that follows the ‘headings’ laid out in the Summary.

The MOST IMPORTANT ‘element’ of an investigation is the ‘EVIDENCE’—information related to the question that is being investigated.

The process of organizing evidence seeks to be as close to the truth as possible. (The past leaves behind ‘residue’: dust, footprints, documents, videos, audio recordings, witnesses, scents, paperwork, and the presence or absence of something that was or wasn’t there before.) Collecting evidence means finding and verifying these ‘traces’. While it’s impossible to recreate history, these traces of events, relationships, transactions, or places can work to prove that the hypothesis is based on reality.

Think about an investigation like a jigsaw puzzle, with each connection helping to see the larger ‘picture’. The more pieces that are collected, the clearer the picture becomes. No matter how much information is collected, there is always something that was not available at the start of the investigation, and new information creates a much clearer ‘framework’, or even creates the starting point for a new ‘branch’ of the investigation. The more pieces of information that are discovered bring the investigation closer to the answers, and when enough good evidence is collected, it will be evident that it supports a solid, unshakable conclusion.

A ‘checklist’ of good evidence should include:

– First-hand witnesses or documents
– Timely documentation close to when the event occurred
– Accurate and verified information
– Documentation has an unbroken ‘chain of custody’
– Information is uncorrupted and safe from tampering
– Information includes ‘metadata’ (such as author, location, and time) which proves its authenticity
– Evidence that ‘links’ information together/Fills information ‘gaps’
– Evidence that ‘challenges’ preconceived ideas/contradicts original assumptions (a different perspective)
– Evidence that ‘speaks’ for itself

Now, not every piece of evidence that is discovered will meet all of these ‘conditions’, and that is to be expected. However, some of the evidence will meet many of them, and those are the pieces of evidence that are to be prioritized.

The primary goal of documentation is to create a verifiable record of the investigation, which helps verify prior conclusions and confidently state that a source is valuable and trustworthy.

The investigator is always trying to get the ‘closest’ to first-hand evidence as they can. Examples of sources include word-of-mouth, expert statements, documents and reports, photos, videos, and audio recordings.

Any new evidence you find may cast reasonable doubt on old evidence that you may have already verified. That is why documenting evidence is important, so that the ‘steps’ can be retraced and verified again and again.

Now, while at the heart of the investigative process is verification, it has many obstacles, too. Besides how to find other sources of information, the investigator’s own assumptions can be one of the biggest challenges to overcome.

Whatever is assumed about what happened, personal ‘biases’ will affect how information is handled and verified. Many times, the investigator must look for sources of information that confirm their biases rather than examine aspects that could contradict their findings.

Assumptions about the credibility of human sources can also get ‘in the way’ of proper verification, especially if the assumptions are not true. So, it is essential not to take anything for granted since even the most trusted and reliable of sources can sometimes get it wrong, even if unintentionally.

The three main ‘phases’ of verifying information include the source, the content, and the relevance of the evidence.

It is VERY important to rigorously test the evidence and keep biases in check, even using other investigators to confirm what makes sense to them.

Even though most people’s unconscious biases make them more interested in hearing some stories and less interested in others, the investigator needs to try to remain a mere ‘recipient’ of the evidence.

Now, realistically, the investigator should accept that they cannot remain a ‘completely’ detached observer. However, they still should strive to be mindful of their biases and seek to act in a fair and honest way as much as possible. (The investigation may fail if they push a certain point of view at the expense of others, or neglect important context due to their personal bias.) This can also damage their reputation and trustworthiness.

Choosing the right evidence can be crucial to proving a hypothesis, but the analysis of that evidence is equally important. Even when it seems like evidence may ‘speak’ for itself, a reader needs to understand how the evidence connects to the argument. In addition, because analysis requires the investigator to think critically and deeply about the evidence, the main argument can be improved by making it more specific.

An analysis chooses selective ‘pieces’ of evidence and analysis in order to arrive at one single, clear hypothesis that makes a claim about the deeper meaning behind the evidence being analyzed.

Now, because there may be multiple ways to interpret a piece of evidence, all evidence needs to be ‘connected’ explicitly to the hypothesis, even if the meaning of the evidence seems obvious.

Much of how to use evidence is about finding a clear and logical relation between the evidence that is being used to support the hypothesis.

Once the evidence has been selected, it is important to tell the reader why the evidence supports the claim. Evidence does not speak for itself: some readers may draw different conclusions from the evidence, or may not understand the relation between your evidence and the claim. It is up to the investigator to guide the reader through the significance of the evidence of the claim and the larger hypothesis. In short, there needs to be a ‘reason’ why the evidence supports the hypothesis.

Some questions to be considered are:

– Why is this evidence interesting or effective?
– What are the consequences or implications of this evidence?
– Why is this information important?
– How has this evidence been important to prove the hypothesis?

Specifically, for crime scene investigators must ask the right questions quickly in an effort to gather information about a crime before memories begin to change. Whether the crime scene involves murder, assault, burglary, or any number of criminal offenses, the crime scene investigator has a very small window of opportunity to interview witnesses on the spot. The longer the investigator takes with each witness, the more frustrated the other witnesses are likely to be because they are essentially detained until they can be questioned. The more efficient the crime scene investigator works in gathering vital information right away, the faster and more effectively he can get to the rest of the investigation process.

So then, the investigator needs to build a ‘framework’ that is clear and logical, that is easy for the reader to understand, and has evidence that backs up each claim made within the analysis. The aim is to guide the audience to a DEEPER ‘UNDERSTANDING’ of the issue.

So, the investigator must use a reliable ‘technique’/methodology to simply and accurately define, analyze, and investigate an issue (to be presented later).

An investigative personality type sees themselves as highly intelligent, but they may be introverted and lack leadership skills (Sherlock Holmes was like this). They use their mind/information to achieve, rather than their association with people and things (Sherlock Holmes was not that good in his ‘romantic’ relationships). These individuals often avoid activities that seem mundane, commercial, or enterprising.

An investigative personality type prefers working in an environment that encourages scientific competencies, allows independent work, and focuses on solving abstract, complex problems in original ways. The ‘greatest’ percentage of these kinds of people then to end up in jobs like a psychologist, lawyer, an investigative journalist, a private investigator, or a police detective (although there are other very ‘specialized’ jobs that have, by percentage, very few people in those occupations).

So, related to my needs here, I will focus on a private investigator—like Sherlock Holmes was—and an investigative journalist.

INNATE ’SKILLS’
Investigators are hired to gather information and use the data available to them to discover the truth (or the culprit). But knowing how to use that information is key.

Nicky Smith and Conor Flanagan (of the Home Office and Reducing Crime Unit,) define “investigative ability” as that which requires the skills to assimilate (to learn and comprehend), assess and prioritize incoming information, and draw inferences from that information that will inform a line of inquiry. The aim is to gain further relevant (more detailed or valuable) knowledge on the hypothesis.

In short, investigators use various investigative techniques to gather information and then use their critical judgment to aid them in prioritizing what is relevant and what isn’t relevant when contradictory data or multiple lines of inquiry arise.

They presented five skill areas that were referenced in regard to investigative ability in criminal investigations:

1) Investigative Competence
At the beginning of an investigation, you start with very little information or direction. What strategy do you want to take? How do you want to gather your information? You will have to come up with hypotheses for what you think could have happened and then test it in reality. The ability to learn from experience is key to identifying hidden and revealing cues early on.

2) Appraisal of Incoming Information
Information is only helpful if it is valid and credible. So being able to evaluate the relevance, reliability, and validity of information is crucial. This means remaining objective and avoiding speculation at all times, verifying ‘expert’ advice and it even requires you to play ‘devil’s advocate’ from time to time.

3) Adaptation
Investigations evolve and can change direction when you least expect them. Thus, investigators need to remain flexible and open-minded to the changing needs of the investigation, grasping new opportunities as they present themselves—not concentrating on one line of inquiry at the expense of all.

4) Strategic Awareness
Investigations are disruptive. You should be aware of the impact on the wider community, victims, and witnesses.

5) Innovative Investigative Style

The clues to a mystery can be found in many places. Instead of being confined to traditional approaches, lateral thinking might help you find several sources of truth. With new investigative methods and technologies developing every day, one should adopt a creative, integrative approach, incorporating new strategies wherever and whenever possible.

Private investigators also engage in a variety of work not often associated with the industry in the mind of the public. For example, many are involved in process serving, the personal delivery of summons, subpoenas, and other legal documents to parties in a legal case. The tracing of absconding debtors can also form a large part of a PI’s workload. Many agencies specialize in a particular field of expertise. For example, some PI agencies deal only in “tracing” services (Information about a person’s whereabouts and ‘dealings’ gathered from public or business records.)

A handful of firms specialize in technical surveillance counter-measures, sometimes called electronic counter-measures, which is the locating and dealing with unwanted forms of electronic surveillance (for example, a bugged boardroom for industrial espionage purposes). This niche service is typically conducted by those with backgrounds in intelligence/counter-intelligence, executive protection, and a small number of law enforcement entities whose duties included the covert installation of eavesdropping devices as a tool in organized crime, terrorism, and narco-trafficking investigations.

Other PI’s—also known as corporate investigators—specialize in corporate matters, including anti-fraud work, loss prevention, internal investigations of employee misconduct (such as Equal Employment Opportunities violations and sexual harassment), the protection of intellectual property and trade secrets, anti-piracy, copyright infringement investigations, due diligence investigations, malware, and cyber-criminal activity, and computer forensics work. Some PI’s act as professional witnesses where they observe situations with a view to reporting the actions or lack of them to a court or to gather evidence in antisocial behavior.

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST
What distinguishes investigative journalism is its ‘intense focus’ on a single topic.

Investigative reporting involves collecting, verifying, and assessing information—but on a greater scale than day-to-day news-gathering. The research phase can run for months or years, focusing on a single topic. Most investigative reporting is written in the form of one or a series of feature stories.

One of the biggest challenges journalists face is interviewing sensitive or anonymous sources. High-ranking government officials and whistleblowers are all examples of sensitive sources. While delicate to deal with, these sources often yield vital information that leads to the exposure of huge coverups, misdealings, and other controversies.

Journalistic ethics are the common values that guide investigative reporters. They lay out both the aspirations and obligations that journalists, editors, and others working in the field should follow to execute their work responsibly. Some common guiding ethical principles include honesty, independence, fairness, public accountability, harm minimization, and proper attribution. These principles call on journalists to seek the truth, act in the public interest, and minimize harm.

While definitions of investigative reporting vary, among professional journalism groups there is broad agreement of its major components: systematic, in-depth, and original research and reporting, often involving the unearthing of secrets, with a focus on social justice and accountability.

An investigative journalism handbook (published by UNESCO), “Story-Based Inquiry,” defines investigative reporting thus: “Investigative journalism involves exposing to the public matters that are concealed—either deliberately by someone in a position of power, or accidentally, behind a chaotic mass of facts and circumstances that obscure understanding. It requires using both secret and open sources and documents.”

[ A link to this reference is in the “Resources” section below. ]

Veteran investigative journalists employ a careful methodology, with heavy reliance on primary sources, forming and testing a hypothesis, and rigorous fact-checking—referred to as “systematic inquiry.”

Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Practitioners sometimes use the terms “watchdog reporting” or “accountability reporting.”

In many cases, the subjects of the reporting wish the matters under scrutiny to remain undisclosed.

British media theorist Hugo de Burgh stated that: “An investigative journalist is a man or woman whose profession is to discover the truth and to identify lapses from it in whatever media may be available. The act of doing this generally is called investigative journalism and is distinct from apparently similar work done by police, lawyers, auditors, and regulatory bodies in that it is not limited as to target, not legally founded and closely connected to publicity.”

In a “Frontline Club” survey, they asked two questions: “What function do you believe investigative journalism serves for society?” and “What should be its purpose, and why?” These are some of the responses:

– To watch the watchers and expose wrongdoing and hypocrisy.

– Investigative journalism should call the powerful to account, and expose corruption.

– It’s supposed to give the public a ‘heads up” about certain people who are not obeying the law.

– To hold individuals and institutions accountable by uncovering that which others might wish to remain hidden—issues that affect society.

– To reveal wrong-doing and to unfair treatment of the weak or marginalized in society.

– Its function is to reveal the truth, to root out facts many people often want to keep hidden, to re-establish fairness, to shine light in dark places.

– Uncover the truth and not be selective in its revelations. It should not be tainted by people and/or organizations that do not want the truth revealed.

– To uncover that which people in power would like to keep secret for their own gain and the detriment of society.

– It should concentrate on exposing corruption, exploitation, illegal practices that are harmful to individuals or society.

– Unmasking potential abuses of power and/or developments that stand to significantly impact on the life of a proportion of society, or at the very least creates a system of monitoring powerful interests that may check abuses of power with such outcomes.

– It should serve as a check and balance against power-hungry corporations and government. It should inform the public rather than sensationalize.

– Expose such actions so that those involved can be held accountable.

– Act as a ‘watchdog’ in the public interest, exposing abuses of power wherever it finds them.

A good investigative reporter tends to think like a public prosecutor, a private investigator, or a police detective. They form a hypothesis about what’s going on they use in effect the scientific method you form a theory. Then they test it—they go out there and find the facts that will either support or not support their thesis. It is one of the hardest things of investigative reporting. If the facts don’t support the theory, it must be abandoned it and focus on where the facts lead.

So, why is investigative journalism so important? Well, it unmasks the truth—and that is what I am going to try to do with ‘MY’ HYPOTHESIS (to be revealed a bit later).

Although there are a variety of investigating ‘methods’ available (like the “Socratic” method), probably the most popular and a very effective strategy for breaking down the subject into logical questions to gather evidence is called “Interrogative Questioning.” An interrogative sentence is a sentence that asks a question (punctuated with a question mark).

These two types of questions can be used together to create fuller answers from respondents. They can work well when combined, as not every question needs a long and detailed response. While others don’t require a great deal of thinking or consideration.

The following are some examples of ‘interrogative’ words:

– Are
– Can
– Can’t
– Do/Did
– Don’t
– How
– Should
– What
– When
– Whence
– Where
– Whether
– Which
– Who
– Whom
– Whose
– Why

Most of the time open-ended questions are used in qualitative research, and closed-ended questions are used in quantitative research.

Closed-ended questions are often good for surveys because you get higher response rates when users don’t have to type so much. Also, answers to closed-ended questions can easily be analyzed statistically, which is what you usually want to do with survey data.

Closed questions have the following characteristics:

– They give you facts
– They are easy to answer
– They are quick to answer
– They keep control of the conversation with the questioner

Closed-ended questions eliminate ‘surprises’—what you expect is what you get. [ Example: Choose your favorite ice cream: vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate. There is only one answer. ]

However, when you ask closed-ended questions, you may accidentally limit someone’s answers to only the things you believe to be true. Worse, closed-ended questions can bias people into giving a certain response. Answers that you suggest can reveal what you are looking for, so people may be directly or indirectly influenced by the questions. [ Example: Don’t ask, “Does this make sense?” Ask, “How does this work?” ]

‘Closed-ended’ questions are looking for SPECIFIC ‘details’ about something, so some of the words to formulate the question are:

– Are
– Can
– Did
– Do
– Does
– Have
– Is
– Should
– Were
– Where
– Will
– Would

While some researchers consider the use of closed-ended questions to be restrictive, others see that in these questions—combined with open-ended questions—is the possibility of generating different data for analysis.

So, since it is the investigative journalist’s aim to collect ‘stories’ instead of one- or two-word answers, adding “Other __________” to a set of multiple-choice answers is also a good way to get some open-ended feedback.

Use closed-ended questions for:

– Quantitative research (questionnaires and surveys)
– To use with a wide range of respondents
– To allow a standardized analysis of the data
– To confirm the hypotheses (previously stated in the qualitative part)

Even though the investigator must ask closed-ended questions, they can ask an open-ended question at the end, such as, “What else would you like to say about that?” However, that kind of defeats the purpose of a closed-ended question, so let’s discuss the open-ended question.

When opening conversations, a good balance is around three closed questions to one open question. The closed questions start the conversation and summarize progress, whilst the open question gets the other person thinking and continuing to give you useful information about them.

A neat trick is to get them to ask you open questions. This then gives you the floor to talk about what you want. The way to achieve this is to intrigue them with an incomplete story or benefit.

Open questions have the following characteristics:

– They ask the respondent to think and reflect
– They will give you opinions and feelings
– They hand control of the conversation to the respondent

The most important benefit of open-ended questions is that they allow you to find more than you anticipate: people may share motivations that you didn’t expect and mention behaviors and concerns that you knew nothing about. When you ask people to explain things to you, they often reveal surprising mental models, problem-solving strategies, hopes, fears, and much more.

‘Open-ended’ questions are looking for GENERAL ‘details’ about something, so some of the words to formulate the question are:

– How
– What
– Why

Generally, questions that start with “what” are good, non-biased open-ended questions. allow the respondent to answer without being influenced by the person asking the question.

Furthermore, using a hypothetical tense also requires those answering the question to take a moment to consider their feedback. “What would you do if…” and “What should we consider…” types of questions require those answering to think critically and creatively to formulate an answer that conveys their opinions and ideas.

While “why” questions are open-ended (“Why did you do that?”), in general, try to avoid “why” questions, because human nature leads people to make up a rational reason even when they don’t have one (and they can also often trigger a defensive answer from the respondent). Ask “why” only about ratings or to tease out more open-ended feedback. Say something like, “Please tell me more about that” instead.

Respondents also like open-ended questions since they get 100% control over what they want to respond to, and they don’t feel restricted by the limited number of options.

Use open-ended questions for:

– Qualitative research (interviews and focus groups)
– To understand, in detail, the respondent and his or her position
– Concerning a defined topic/situation
– To reveal new aspects, sub-themes, issues, and so forth that are unknown or unidentified

So, when is it best to ask open-ended questions? Well, here are a few examples:

In a screening questionnaire, when recruiting participants for a usability study (for example, “How often do you shop online?”)

While conducting design research, such as on:

– Which problems to solve
– What kind of solution to provide
– Who to design for

For exploratory studies, such as:

– Qualitative usability testing
– RITE (paper prototype) design research
– Interviews and other field studies
– Diary studies
– Persona research
– Use-case research
– Task analysis

The ‘bottom line’ is that whenever possible, it’s best to ask open-ended questions so you can find out more than you can anticipate. Test your questions by trying to answer them with yes or no, and rewrite those to find out more about how and what. In some cases, you won’t be able to accommodate free-form or write-in answers, though, and then it is necessary to limit the possibilities.

People often refer to “lower-level” and “higher-level” questions or behaviors, rather than assigning a specific level to those questions or behaviors. Lower-level questions are typically at the remember, understand, and apply ‘levels’ of the taxonomy, and are most appropriate for:

– Evaluating preparation and comprehension
– Diagnosing strengths and weaknesses
– Reviewing and/or summarizing content

Higher-level questions involve the ability to analyze, evaluate, or create, and are most appropriate for:

– Encouraging to think more deeply and critically
– Problem-solving
– Encouraging discussions
– Stimulating to seek information on their own

Other functions of questioning strategies are as follows:

– To motivate and to interest
– To reveal prior misconceptions
– To evaluate
– To guide thinking
– To encourage involvement
– To help reflection
– To gain insight
– To increase the incentive to respond
– To help construct meaning
– To summarize information
– To relate concepts
– To provide feedback

The models were devised by Benjamin Bloom in 1956 (who chaired the committee of educators at the University of Chicago).

Now, while there are subcategories within each, each stage lies on a ‘continuum’. The belief is that learners move up through each level of the pyramid in Bloom’s taxonomy, starting from very basic learning, to acquire deeper knowledge on a subject, with each level crucial to the development of the next.

Bloom’s taxonomy framework enables the creation of achievable goals that investigators can both understand and then build a definitive plan to meet them.

[ Credit: Vanderbilt University’s “Center of Teaching” ]

[ NOTE: The following is the text for the chart. ]

Create
Produce New or Original Work
– Design; assemble; construct; conjecture; develop; formulas; author; and investigate

Evaluate
Justify a Stand or Decision
– Appraise; argue; defend; judge; select; support; value; critique; and weigh

Analyze
Draw Connections Among Ideas
– Differentiate; organize; relate; compare; contrast; distinguish; examine; experiment; question; and test

Apply
Use Information in New Situations
– Execute; implement; love; use; demonstrate; interpret; operate; schedule; and sketch

Understand
Explain Ideas or Concepts
– Classify; describe; discuss; explain; identify; locate; recognize; report; select; and translate

Remember
Recall Facts and Basic Concepts
– Define; duplicate; list; memorize; repeat; and state
[ From the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching ]

[ End of text for the chart. ]

Using the categorization, courses can be designed with appropriate content and instruction to lead learners up the pyramid of learning. Instructional designers can also design valid assessment tools (i.e., quizzes) to ensure each category is met and in turn, that each part of the course material is in line with the level’s objectives. However, oftentimes, especially in a corporate setting, several of the stages are interconnected and blend into each other.

Learners may not be aware of Bloom’s taxonomy, but to them, it serves to bridge the gap between what they know now, and what they need to learn in order to attain a higher level of knowledge—and perform better at their jobs.

The purpose of applying Bloom’s taxonomy is to create measurable goals—perfect for corporate learning and development. If applied successfully, the learner has acquired a new skill or level of domain expertise and instructional designers are able to effectively assess this learning on an ongoing basis as the course moves through each stage of the framework.

Here is a list of question types based on Bloom’s six cognitive levels:

– Create
(Development of opinions, judgments, or decisions):

“Do you agree …?”
“What do you think about …?”
“What is the most important …?”
“Place the following in order of priority …”
“How would you decide about …?”
“What criteria would you use to assess …?”

– Evaluate
(Combination of ideas to form a new whole):

“What would you predict/infer from …?”
“What ideas can you add to …?”
“How would you create/design a new …?”
“What might happen if you combined …?”
“What solutions would you suggest for …?”

– Analyze
(Separation of a whole into component parts):

“What are the parts or features of …?”
“Classify … according to …”
“Outline/diagram …”
“How does … compare/contrast with …?”
“What evidence can you list for …?”

– Apply
(Use of facts, rules and principles):

“How is … an example of …?”
“How is … related to …?”
“Why is … significant?

– Understand
(Organization and selection of facts and ideas):

“Retell …”
“Summarize …”

– Remember
(Identification and recall of information):

“Who, what, when, where, how …?”
“Describe …”

In addition to the open- and closed-ended questions, a “funneling” question is a technique that involves starting with general questions, then ‘drilling down’ to ask a more specific question. Usually, this will involve asking for more and more detail each time another question is asked. It is often used by detectives taking a statement from a respondent.

Using this technique, the investigator ‘helps’ the respondent to re-live something and to gradually focus in on a useful detail. When using funneling questioning, one starts with closed-ended questions, and as they progress, they start using more open-ended questions.

Another strategy for finding out more detail—for clarification—is the “probing” question. An effective way of probing is to use the 5 Why’s method (Developed by Sakichi Toyoda), which can help the investigator quickly get to the ‘root’ of a problem (Asking “Why” successively fives time in a row).

[ Credit: Kanbanize ]

Probing questions are good for gaining clarification to ensure that you have the whole story and that you understand it thoroughly.

These journalistic questions are also known as the “5W1H” method. The following chart shows the questions one could ask in a variety of situations.

Journalistic Questions Chart (5 W’s and H)

[ Credit: Thoughtful Learning ]

[ NOTE: The following is the text for the chart. ]

1 = Observing an Event or Situation
2 = Researching a Topic
3 = Planning a Project
4 = Evaluating a Project

WHO?
1) Who is involved?
2) Who caused this? Who is most affected by it?
3) Who is involved with this project? Who will benefit in the end?
4) Who created each part? Who provided the most help to others?

WHAT?
1) What is happening?
2) What is the nature of this? What is the extent?
3) What goal do we have? What tasks should we complete?
4) What feature is strongest? What feature is weakest?

WHERE?
1) Where is it happening?
2) Where is this? Where else might it be?
3) Where will we work? Where will we present?
4) Where should we present this project?

WHEN?
1) When is it happening?
2) When did this first appear? When will it cease?
3) When is it the project due? When is each task due?
4) When was it due? When did we complete work?

WHY?
1) Why is it happening?
2) Why is this important? Why does it impact our lives?
3) Why are we doing this project? Why will our project stand out?
4) Why did we choose this project? Why did it turn out as it did?

HOW?
1) How is it happening?
2) How is this useful now? How could it be used in the future?
3) How will we complete the work? How will others judge what we did?
4) How did our plan work? How did the teamwork together?

[ End of text for the chart. ]

St. Thomas Aquinas acknowledged Aristotle as the originator of the elements of circumstances, providing a detailed commentary on Aristotle’s system in his “Treatise on Human Acts” and specifically associated with Question 7 (“Circumstances of Human Acts”): “For in acts we must take note of who did it, by what aids or instruments he did it (with), what he did, where he did it, why he did it, how and when he did it.”

For Aristotle, the elements are used to distinguish voluntary or involuntary action, a crucial distinction for him. These elements of circumstances are used by Aristotle as a framework to describe and evaluate moral action in terms of what was or should be done, who did it, how it was done, where it happened, and most importantly for what reason (why) for all the other elements:

“Therefore it is not a pointless endeavor to divide these circumstances by kind and number; (1) the Who, (2) the What, (3) around what place (Where) or (4) in which time something happens (When), and sometimes (5) with what, such as an instrument (With), (6) for the sake of what (Why), such as saving a life, and (7) the (How), such as gently or violently…And it seems that the most important circumstances are those just listed, including the Why.”

Also, for Aristotle, ignorance of any of these elements can imply involuntary action:

“Thus, with ignorance as a possibility concerning all these things, that is, the circumstances of the act, the one who acts in ignorance of any of them seems to act involuntarily, and especially regarding the most important ones. And it seems that the most important circumstances are those just listed, including the Why.”

The actual term “5W1H” has been attributed to a 16th century English rhetorician Thomas Wilson, who introduced the method in his discussion of the “seven circumstances” by translating a 12th-century quote by Matthieu de Vendome (“Quis, quid, ubi, quibus, auxiliis, cur, quomodo, quando”) into English:

“Who, what, and where, by what helpe, and by whose,
Why, how and when, doe many things disclose.”
[ The Arte of Rhetorique, 1560 ]

Since then, there have been a few ‘iterations’ of this questioning technique:

– “3W”: What, Why, What of it
– “4W 1H 1Y”: Who; What; When; Where; How; Why
– “5W”: Who; What; When; Where; Why;
– “5W1H”: What; What; When; Where; Why; How;
– “5W’s and 1H”: Who; What; Where; When; How; Then Why (asked 5 times) [ Using Sakichi Toyoda’s method. ]
– “5W2H”: What; What; When; Where; Why; How; How Many;
– “6W”: What, Why, Where, Who, When, and Which (By Six Sigma)
– “7W”: Why, Who, What, How, by Whom, When and Where, and How it Went

“I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.”

To show you how the 5W1H method can help practically, here is a preferred sentence organization pattern for a story that overviews it in one sentence:

Tag Elliott [who] of Thatcher, Utah, was in critical condition one day after surgery [what] to repair extensive facial injuries sustained in a collision with a bull [why].

Elliott, 19, was riding a 1,500-pound bull named Werewolf on Tuesday [when] in the Days of ’47 Rodeo [where] when their heads smacked together [how].

So, the following is a breakdown of how each of the 5W1H ‘components’ is used in research and investigational writing.

WHO
This question refers to the ‘ACTOR’ behind the issue. It is used to analyze who the significant people are involved in a certain topic, issue, or problem.

WHAT
This is the typical first question to solve an ‘ISSUE’ by giving a question such as ‘what is the problem’. This element aims to describe the specific details or issue that is discussed before moving on to the next data collection. This W is the ‘foundation’ for the whole research topic, and can set a strong roadmap to guide the investigation actions.

WHERE
This element questions the ‘LOCATION’ of the event. It is used to ‘map’ the occurrence of an event.

WHEN
This element focuses on the ‘TIME’ of the occurrence of an event. With specific time explained by using the ‘when’ element, people can gather information and map the issue more accurately and reliably.

WHY
This element ‘drives’ deep analysis as it brings more exploration to the issue and truly understands it value. ‘Why’ focuses on the ‘REASON(s)’ for the issue.

HOW
‘How’ is the last element in 5W1H methods, but it is not less significant in making an analysis. It focuses more on the ‘PROCESS’ of the issue and guides your project planning with tasks and tactics.

THE ‘PROCESS’
The 5W1H method can be used in a variety of situations. Here are a few practical examples for the ‘office’ environment.

> To Define a Project
Before starting a project, it helps to be organized and above all, to know all the details of the project.

This questioning method is a useful tool to define all the aspects of a project before starting.

– What: What is the project? What are the objectives? What budget do you have at your disposal? What are the delays in the realization?
– Who: Who is the client? Who are the users? Who are the members of the team?
– Where: Where will the project take place?
– When: What is the date of the consignment? When will it start? How long will it last?
– How: Which financial, HR and technical means have been put in place to create the project? By what means will you progress?
– Why: Why has the project been started? What are the reasons? What is the goal?

> To Solve a Problem
The 5W1H method is an irreplaceable problem resolution tool because this allows you to understand a potentially problematic situation by asking the right questions.

– What budget do you have at your disposal? What are the delays in the realization? What: description of the problem;
– Who: The responsible parties;
– Where: The location of the problem;
– When: Temporal characteristics of the problem (at what point in time, how often)
– How: The effects of the problem?
– Why: Reasons, cause of the problems?

> Leading a Meeting/Brainstorming Session
In order to increase productivity, meetings (just like brainstorms) should be prepared, have an objective, an agenda, and be organized. If they are not structured correctly, a meeting can rapidly lose all sense and drag on, becoming time-consuming and completely unproductive.

The questioning method allows you to precisely define the subject of the meeting. You can also send an invitation to all participants. Furthermore, each participant has the same information (delays, who does what, what are the priorities, etc.) and concentrate on the objective of the meeting. You avoid losing time with useless questions and you directly address the point.

The 5W1H method is also very useful when taking meeting minutes.

[ Note: For more details on preparing for a meeting, view last month’s “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/how-to-prepare-to-meet-someone-important-v276/ ].

> Integrating a Communication or Marketing Strategy
In project management, like in many other sectors, communication is key for effective and successful collaboration. The 5W1H method is very useful in marketing and in communication by helping you determine the type of action plan that should be put in place.

Essentially, this type of tool allows you to define:

– What: What is your problem? What are the products and services you will use to communicate?
– Who: Who are your targets? To whom will you communicate? Which members of your team will oversee various jobs?
– Where: Where will you obtain the information you need? Where are the places you would like to communicate?
– When: How often would you communicate? What is your schedule?
– How: What is the means of communication that you are going to put in place (website, social media, events, brochures, etc.)?
– Why: What are the benefits of the products/services on which you are communicating? What is the objective of this communication strategy?

The 5W1H method allows one to structure their thoughts and to ask essential questions in order to decipher a situation. In terms of project management, this is an irreplaceable tool that may be used in multiple contexts: establishing a communication plan, defining a project, or even crisis management.

The following is his scenario where the development team has found that the technology they are using is not fully compatible with the existing systems of their client, as was previously thought. So, the project team used the 5W1H methodology to understand the problem and the extent of the impact.

WHAT: The team can ask the following questions to build an understanding of the fundamental problem and scope of the problem

– What is the technology we are using for software development?
– What technologies were considered initially for this development project?
– What was known about the existing system(s) of the client?
– What checks and verifications were done to confirm the compatibility of the technology being built and the deployment acceptability of new technology on the existing client system(s)?
– What (if any) approved or unapproved modifications/changes have been made following discussions on technological compatibility since the start of the project?
– What expertise is available to the team to help them understand the compatibility issue?
– What are the accepted processes for managing compatibility and technological synergies?
– What guidelines or standard operating procedures (SOPs) are available to deal with such issues?
– What actions were taken once the problem was detected?

WHY: The project team may ask ‘Why’ questions to get a more granular understanding of the problem and seek to clarify triggers or drivers that may have contributed to the issue. Some of the questions that can be asked are:

– Why has it happened that two technologies are now found to be incompatible?
– Why was this problem not identified earlier or at the start of the project?
– Why technologies cannot be made compatible?
– Why were quality assurance processes not able to detect the problem?
– Why were the project team or experts involved in the project not able to detect the problem?

WHEN: By using ‘When’ questions, project team members can time stamp the events and understand the relationships among various events that may have influenced the emergence of incompatibility issues.

– When was the problem first detected?
– When was client system(s) information/architecture evaluated?
– When were compatibility issues mapped and discussed?
– When were any compatibility tests done and compatibility found acceptable?
– When was any incompatibility impact assessment done?
– When was the matter taken up with the client or client informed?

WHERE: By asking ‘Where’ questions, the project team can get a better handle of the source(s) of the problem. Some questions that can be asked:

– Where are the client system(s) located?
– Where are development teams located?
– Where are quality assurance/testers located?
– Where is documentation on system compatibility kept?
– Where is any approval/change management documentation on system architecture and compatibility kept?

WHO: The project team can ask questions to identify the people involved in contributing to the issue. Some questions that may be asked:

– Who is responsible for ensuring technological compatibility within the project team?
– Who is responsible for data gathering and client system(s) mapping on the project team side?
– Who is responsible for design and change management approvals?
– Who is responsible for providing client system(s) information and technical details to the project team from client-side?
– Who is responsible for overseeing the compatibility testing and reporting?
– Who is responsible for problem detection and escalation?
– Who is responsible for problem firefighting and liaison?
– Who detected the problem or came to know the problem first and who were informed first?
– Who escalated the problem and informed the firefighting parties?

HOW: To understand the sequence of various inter-related events, the project team can ask how questions such as:

– How did the problem happen?
– How has the sequence of events led to the detection of the problem?
– How are compatibility issues handled and key activities identified in the project?
– How is compatibility documentation prepared, shared, and stored?
– How are compatibility tests performed?
– How is the potential of incompatibilities minimized and a better understanding is gathered about technological compatibility?
– How are roles and responsibilities within the project delineated and how is accountability ensured?
– How is a disconnect between project teams minimized and proper communication maintained?

HOW MUCH: A later addition to 5Ws 1H technique, this element is used to gauge the size of the impact. Some questions that can be asked are:

– How much is the estimated time and cost loss to the project due to the emergence of this incompatibility issue?
– How much estimated time and cost is needed to resolve the issue?
– How much are the increased risks to the core objectives of the project due to this issue?
– How much impact will this issue have in inducing long-term system vulnerabilities even after compatibility issues are resolved?
– How much would the loss be to business from this client or similar clients due to the emergence of the issue?

Concluding thoughts:
Integration of new tools and techniques should be an ongoing process to deal with the emergence in project management practices. In particular, problem-solving and quality management techniques could help improve the overall effectiveness of project delivery. 5Ws and 1H (or 2H) technique is simple, logical, and has what it takes to be used with minimum cost to the project. Practicing it on regular basis could help project teams to become naturally more problem-solution oriented. It is important to note that the list of questions used above is for illustration purposes only and should not be considered exhaustive or complete.

BEST PRACTICES
So, what are some ‘best practices’ for using 5W1H? Well, to make this method work efficiently, the investigator must:

When related to police work, during an investigation, of the various parties that may be questioned—such as the accused or any witnesses—it is common to question the complainant first to understand the depth and breadth of the claim’s impact. It is suggested to consider the following to make this time worthwhile:

– Questioning should take place in a private area
– Explain to the complainant that you need to take notes
– Provide copies of applicable policies
– Take the report seriously, but be careful not to promise a specific outcome at this stage
– Keep any opinions to yourself, regardless of whether they apply to the complainant, the accused, the situation, the claims, etc.

It is mentioned that, above all else, the investigator does not promise any measure of confidentiality, because it’s often necessary to bring in additional parties to resolve issues. While one can explain that privacy will be protected at every opportunity, it’s also important to note that it’s very rare to have an investigation where nobody outside the complainant and the investigator knows the details and parties involved.

In addition to ‘investigations’, the 5W1H method has many applications, very different from each other. It is perfectly suited, by virtue of its simplicity and versatility, to a variety of structures, configurations, and problems, and so it can be used at all levels of the business:

– At the strategy level to design or improve a market penetration strategy, for instance;
– At the management level to improve organization and processes during brainstorming sessions;
– At the quality level as a problem-resolution support tool;
– At the innovation level to boost the emergence of solutions and ideas in the cause of progress;
– At the project management level generally.

The advantages of the 5W1H method
The strength of the 5W1H method lies in four key attributes:

– Simple: no need for training or people accredited in the method to successfully ask these questions.
– Systematic: the key to success is to always ask all the questions, each and every time.
– Versatile: it can be used equally well to design a new process as to implement a corrective measure.
– Comprehensive: the method can be used to obtain a 360° view of the problem and detect the route to resolution.

The 5W1H method breaks down into three main stages:

– Describe the initial situation;
– Determine the key factors and prioritize them;
– Propose fitting and, importantly, effective, actions.
– The 5W1H questions are used to establish the situation (phase 1). On the basis of the answers and overview obtained, it is possible to find the critical factors (phase 2) and then offer solutions (phase 3).

The 5W1H method is an outstanding method to better understand and delineate a situation, provided it is controlled properly and used wisely. It is a method that provides effective solutions to problems encountered and helps to create a positive continuous improvement dynamic in the business.

The 5W1H method helps in the following ways:

– So that essential questions are not forgotten to be asked
– So that there is not any incomplete information
– So that problem-solving resources are not wasted

INVESTIGATING THE ‘CHRISTIAN FAITH’
Is Christianity rational and reasonable? Is the Bible trustworthy? Is there ‘evidence’ that supports the claims of Christianity?

Well, there are two people that tell about their journeys from atheism to a Christian, and both were VERY familiar with investigation and evidence.

LEE STROBEL
Lee Strobel was an investigative journalist and the legal editor (Yale Law School Alumni) for the Chicago Tribune. He was widely known for his skepticism, saying, “I needed evidence before I’d believe anything.”

After his agnostic wife, Leslie, explored her beliefs through a period of spiritual investigation, she told Lee that she had decided to become a follower of Jesus.

Strobel thought to himself, “This is the worst possible news I could get, and that this was probably the end of our marriage.” But, to Strobel’s surprise, the new ‘version’ of his spouse was a welcome presence in their home.

Lee comments that, “I saw positive changes in her values, in her character, in the way she related to me and the children. It was winsome; and it was attractive; and it made me want to check things out. So, I went to church one day… mainly to see if I could get her out of this cult that she had gotten involved in.”

In his visit to the church, Strobel says that he heard the message of Jesus taught in a way that was far different from what he had experienced in the past. This time he could actually understand it. The pastor explained that forgiveness is a free gift, and Jesus died for our sins so that the believer could spend eternity with our almighty and all-loving Father in Heaven. He walked out saying to himself, “If this is true, this has huge implications for my life.”

So, Strobel spent the next year and nine months putting his legal training and experience in investigative journalism to work by investigating whether or not there was any credibility to Christianity—or any other faith system.

Through all of his research, Strobel concluded that it would require more faith for him to continue being an atheist than it would for him to follow Jesus and become a Christian: “To be an atheist I would have to swim upstream against this torrent of evidence pointing toward the truth of Jesus Christ. And I couldn’t do that. I was trained in journalism and law to respond to truth.”

Strobel then took his findings and turned them into a series of novels, including “The Case for Christ,” “The Case for Faith,” “The Case for the Creator,” and a handful of others that dive into the history of Jesus, the existence of God, and the beliefs of Christianity.

[ FYI: For more information about Lee Strobel and why he believes Christianity is true, visit his website (https://leestrobel.com/) and/or check out his books in the “Resources” area below. ]

J. WARNER WALLACE
J. Warner Wallace became a police officer and eventually advanced to detective. Along the way, he developed a healthy respect for the role of evidence in discerning truth, and his profession gave him ample opportunity to press into proactive what he had learned about the nature and power of evidence.

Throughout all of this, he remained an “angry atheist”, hostile to Christianity and largely dismissive of Christians. He was passionate in his opposition to Christianity, and he enjoyed debating with his Christian friends. In debating his friends, he seldom found them prepared to defend what they believed.

However, when he took the time to be honest with himself, he had to admit that he had never taken the time to examine the evidence for the Christian worldview without the bias and presupposition of naturalism. He never gave the case for Christianity a ‘fair shake’.

So, when he finally examined the evidence fairly, he found it difficult to deny, especially if he hoped to retain his respect for the way evidence is utilized to determine truth. He found the evidence for Christianity to be VERY convincing.

From angry atheist to skeptic, to believer, to seminarian, to pastor, to author and podcaster, his journey has been assisted by his experience as a Detective. J. Warner wrote, “Cold-Case Christianity” with a desire to share those experiences with those who might have some of the same questions he did, and it’s his hope that his efforts to detect and articulate the truth will help the unbeliever to also decide that Christianity is true, and the believer to become a better Christian “case maker.”

[ FYI: J. Warner Wallace has a few resources for you to check out. First his website (https://coldcasechristianity.com/) and his book on the evidence for Jesus (in the “Resources” area below). ]

This one ‘event’, if not true, would collapse Christianity like a house of cards—and Lee Strobel knew this:

“Even as an atheist, I understood one thing about Christianity: it rises or falls on the resurrection of Jesus.

After all, anyone can claim to be divine, as Jesus did directly and indirectly. Yet if Jesus predicted he would die and rise again three days later—and then did it—that would be pretty good evidence he was telling the truth about his identity. In other words, Easter is the ballgame.

As a law-trained journalist at the Chicago Tribune, I also knew something else: dead bodies stay dead. I had seen lots of corpses during my career as a reporter, and none of them ever regained life, especially after three days.

So, I figured it would be easy to disprove the resurrection and thus liberate my wife from her newfound faith in Christ. Give me a weekend, I told her, and I can shred Christianity’s central claim.

Well, it wasn’t that easy.”

So, the following summarizes Strobel’s findings for Jesus’ resurrection by using “Four E’s”: Execution; Early Accounts; Empty Tomb; and Eyewitnesses.

EXECUTION
The first “E” stands for the word “EXECUTION,” since there has to be a death before there can a resurrection.

Well, not only are there multiple early reports of Jesus’ resurrection in the documents that make up the New Testament, but there are five ancient sources ‘OUTSIDE’ the Bible confirming and corroborating Jesus’ execution.

First, there is Flavius Josephus (37-100AD) a 1st-century Jewish historian that worked for the Romans. Then there are Publius Cornelius Tacitus, another early historian (56-120AD), Lucian pf Samosata, a Syrian rhetorician (120-200AD), Mara bar Serapion (First Century AD) a Stoic philosopher from Syria, and Roman historian Suetonius (69-122AD). Even the Jewish Talmud (the Jewish law) admits that Jesus was executed.

Today, even the atheist New Testament scholar critic like Gerd Lüdeman (from Vanderbilt University) said, “Jesus’ death as a consequence of crucifixion is indisputable.”

So, what evidence proves that Jesus did die on the cross, and that He was dead? Well, virtually every scholar on planet Earth concedes that Jesus was dead after crucifixion. We have no record of anyone, anywhere, ever surviving a full Roman crucifixion. Even the Journal of the American Medical Association publish a peer-reviewed scientific medical study of the evidence for the death of Jesus and said, “Clearly the weight of the evidence indicates that Jesus was dead even before the wound was inflicted.” Again, New Testament scholar Gerd Lüdeman said, “Historically it’s indisputable that Jesus was dead.”

Now, some have posited that Jesus merely passed out or “swooned.” Well, the peer-reviewed, secular Journal of the American Medical Association said, “Clearly, based on the medical and historical evidence, Jesus was dead even before the wound to His side was inflicted.”

EARLY
The second “E” stands for the word “EARLY,” since there are many reports close to the event.

Many posit that the idea that Jesus rose from the dead is a legend. The thing is, the Apostle Paul preserves a ‘report’ of the resurrection by a “Creed””

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles” [ 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 ].

The eminent scholar James Dunn said that, “We can be entirely confident that this report was formulated within months of Jesus’ death.” It comes far too quickly after Jesus’ death to be considered a legend, which usually took 150-200 years to develop in the ancient world. This letter to the Corinthians has been proved to be written within 25 years of the death of Jesus. Now, historically that is VERY impressive! [ The first two biographies of Alexander the Great by Aryan and Plutarch were written 400 years after the fact, and are generally considered reliable. ]

It gets even better since the Apostle Paul met with the Apostle Peter and James to ‘investigate’ the faith (Galatians 1). This would mean that Paul is given this Creed most likely one to six years after Jesus’ death!

The thing is, that’s not the only ‘early’ report we have. All four Gospels contain others that date back to within a generation of Jesus’ death. So, the point is there is NO huge ‘time gap’ between the death of Jesus and the later development of a legend that He rose from the dead. This is historic ‘gold’!

One of the greatest classical historians who ever lived was A.N. Sherwin-White of the University of Oxford. He studied the rate at which legend developed in the ancient world, and he determined that any text which is within only two generations is not enough time for the legend to grow up and wipe out a solid core of historical truth—and we don’t have two generations of time that have passed for this passage.

EMPTY
The third “E” stands for the word “EMPTY,” since it is said that there was an empty tomb.

Strobel suggests that the strongest argument of all—and to him conclusive—is that even the opponents of Jesus admitted that the tomb of Jesus was empty (this is called “enemy attestation”). They implicitly admitted that the tomb was empty by the Roman government commanding that the soldiers say, “His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep” [ Matthew 28:13 ]. They are conceding that the tomb was empty, and they are just trying to explain how it got empty.

Now, Strobel reasoned that maybe the body was never entombed in the first place, since he read of skeptics claim that the Romans didn’t allow the burial of crucifixion victims.

Well, the “Digesta” (a summary of Roman law) says: “The bodies of persons who have been punished should be given to whoever requests them for the purposes of burial.” In fact, in 1968 archaeologists found the buried remains of a crucifixion victim with the spike still through his anklebone.

So, since everyone was conceding that the tomb was empty, how it got empty was the real issue—and that ‘serves up’ the fourth category of evidence, “eyewitnesses.”

EYEWITNESSES
The fourth “E” stands for the word “EYEWITNESSES,” since there were reports that people saw Jesus after His resurrection.

So, over a period of time, Jesus appears alive in a dozen different instances to more than 515 eyewitnesses…

… to skeptics and doubters and opponents as well as to believers
… to men and to women
… to groups
… to individuals
… indoors
… outdoors

For most of what we know about ancient history, it comes from one or maybe two sources of information and yet for the conviction of the disciples that they encountered the resurrected Jesus, we have no fewer than nine ancient sources inside and outside the New Testament confirming and corroborating the conviction of the disciples that they encountered the risen Christ:

1) The Creed we talked about
2) The Apostle Paul’s testimony
3) The book of Acts
4) Matthew’s Gospel
5) Mark’s Gospel
6) Luke’s Gospel
7) John’s Gospel
8) Clement
9) Polycarp

There is so much historical data that the atheist New Testament scholar Gerd Lüdeman was compelled to write this, based on the power of the evidence:

“It may be taken not as a possibility not as even a likelihood it may be taken as historically certain that Peter and the disciples had experiences after Jesus death in which Jesus appeared to them as the risen Christ.”

So then why would Gerd still be an atheist? Well, he and other like him subscribe to the hallucination’s ‘loophole’. However, this also has much evidence to explain it away. [ Maybe it’s because they don’t want God to tell the ‘what’ to do. ]

Well, a guy with impeccable credentials, Dr. Collins (a Ph.D. in psychology, a professor of psychology for 20 years at a major Midwestern university, the president of a National Association of Psychologists and Counselors, and has written over 30 books on psychology), said to Strobel that, “This is not possible. You have to understand something about the nature of hallucinations. They are individual events that happen in individual minds like dreams.”

So, for example, you can’t wake up your spouse in the middle of the night and say, “Honey, honey! Wake up! I’m having a great dream about a vacation in Hawaii. So, let’s both go back to sleep so we have the same dream. We’ll save all the airfare, the hotel cost, and have a great time!” Ridiculous, right?

Well, the same thing goes for the people that say that they saw Jesus. They WERE NOT ‘hallucinating’!

Another thing was that these actual appearances of the resurrected Jesus RADICALLY ‘transformed’ the disciples—enough to be martyred for their belief!

So, in the light of an avalanche of evidence—at points so powerfully toward the truth of Christianity—Strobel finally realized that it would take

more faith to maintain his atheism than to become a Christian!

[ FYI: A really good book on this is Norman Geisler and Frank Turek’s “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.” A link to it is in the “Resources” section below. ]

[ Note: Lee Strobel’s book, “The Case for Christ,” was a bestseller and the basis for a movie of the same name about Lee’s search for the truth:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On6RM27qSFc

The full movie is in the “articles” section below. ]

It doesn’t require a master’s degree in apologetics or a library full of books. It simply requires a personal commitment to learn the truth and defend it to others.

STEP #1 – Read the Book Completely
Before I can do anything with this case, I need to read and understand the case book as though I was part of the original investigation. I need to understand everything the original detectives were going through, what they were thinking, and the nature of the culture at the time of the crime.

As a Christian…
Before I can hope to make a case for the Christian Worldview, I better open the “book” (the Bible) and become intimately familiar with what it teaches. I’m going to need to read the original eyewitness transcripts (the Gospels) until I know them thoroughly. I’ve got to do my best to “place myself” at the scene and understand what the writers were writing from their perspective.

A “Case Making” Tip:
Read sequentially through complete books of the Bible in as few sittings as possible. I take this same approach when reading the original case book. I may refer back and forth along the way, but I read the book “cover to cover” to get the broad scope prior to dissecting it. Proper Biblical “hermeneutics” are critically important.

STEP #2 – Take Notes and Summarize the Case Thoroughly
Before I begin reading the original case book, I make a copy of it. I do this so I can highlight the pages of the book and write copious notes in the margins. This helps me to think through the case more clearly and it reminds me of those areas needing clarification (or further investigation).

As a Christian…
I’ve purchased a number of inexpensive “pew Bibles” over the years with the largest possible margins on each page. I treat these Bibles like case books; I highlight them and write extensive notes with colored pens.

A “Case Making” Tip:
On your first review of the text, feel free to note everything you are discovering. Include your rational and emotional impressions, reminders of things you want to research, and places where the text offers something causing you to be skeptical.

STEP #3 – Gather the Evidence Neutrally
As I am reading through the original case book of a cold-case Homicide and taking thorough notes, I begin to organize, list and summarize the evidence available to the original investigators. At this point in the process, I refuse to come to any conclusions about what the evidence is telling me.

As a Christian…
The Bible gives us a number of clues and proofs to support its claims. As I study the text, I write out and list the evidences as they present themselves, trying to retain my skepticism in this process.

A “Case Making” Tip:
You are now ready to create “evidence lists” related to each claim of Christianity. You may want to have separate Bibles containing separate kinds of evidence lists. There are also a number of “evidence” study Bibles on the market to help you form basic lists.

STEP #4 – Examine the Eyewitnesses Critically
The eyewitness statements are incredibly important and they seldom agree with each other completely. The variations between eyewitness accounts are not troubling in and of themselves. No two eyewitnesses see the same event in precisely the same way. But as an investigator, I’ve got to make sure the eyewitnesses are reliable.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to critically examine the eyewitnesses who observed Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. I need to recognize there are three eyewitness accounts in the Bible (Matthew, Mark, and John) and recognize these accounts differ. Do they contradict one another? Can the differences be reconciled and can they be explained on the basis of perspective or literary purpose?

A “Case Making” Tip:
Begin this process by isolating the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and John. Read through each account, flipping back and forth to compare the events as they are described by all three authors. Now examine these differences carefully. Can they be harmonized? Are they truly contradictory? Can perspective or literary purpose explain the differences?

STEP #5 – Reconstruct the Crime Scene (and Events) Meticulously
The crime scene alone can tell us a great deal about the victim and the killer. It’s my job to try to retrace the last days of the victim to get a better idea of how the victim came into contact with the murderer, or to see what caused the murder to occur in the first place.

As a Christian…
We can now “reconstruct” the geography of ancient Palestine to help us understand the events recorded in Scripture. The chronological reconstruction can help us to see the role successive prophecy played in predicting Jesus’ life and role as Savior, and the geographical reconstruction can help to confirm (or erode) the reliability of the eyewitness accounts of the Gospels.

A “Case Making” Tip:
Examine the “crime scene” by evaluating the archeological support for the Old and New Testaments. In addition to the articles that I’ve written, there are a number of good books describing the archeological confirmation of the Bible.

STEP #6 – Look for New Evidence Diligently
Regardless of the nature of the new evidence, it’s important for me, as the detective who is now in charge of the case, to begin diligently searching for something new to strengthen the existing case. This new piece of evidence may come from inside the original case book, or it may come from a creative approach previously unconsidered by the first detectives.

As a Christian…
While most Christians are familiar with the Biblical texts, few look at them evidentially (examining them from the perspective of fulfilled prophecy, confirmed archeology, or scientific accuracy). Even fewer Christians are familiar with the writings of non-Christians and Jewish authors of the first century. Many of these authors provide corroborating texts useful in building the case for (or against) Christianity.

A “Case Making” Tip:
Begin collecting resources describing the first-century non-biblical sources who write about Jesus or the early Christians. Become familiar with the writing of Thallus, Pliny the Younger, Suetonius, Tacitus, Mara bar Serapion, Phlegon, Josephus, and others.

STEP #7 – Reason Toward An Answer Rationally
There comes a time when the investigators need to interpret and assess the evidence to determine what it all means. Does the evidence point to a particular suspect, and how do I determine WHICH suspect best accounts for the evidence I have? When evaluating the evidence on any homicide, I employ five reasoning principles in order to determine the identity of the suspect:

– The truth must be “feasible”
– The truth will usually be “straightforward”
– The truth should be “exhaustive”
– The truth must be “logical”
– The truth will be “superior”

There comes a time when I have to focus in on one reasonable conclusion about the case, and these five explanatory criteria help me to determine the truth about the identity of the killer.

As a Christian…
The three basic evidential principles of reasoning can be applied to the Biblical evidence. Most scholars, for example, will agree on several minimal facts related to the claim of the Resurrection (even if they don’t agree that Jesus was actually resurrected from the dead). How are we to explain or account for these commonly agreed-upon pieces of evidence? If the simpler explanation is to be trusted, we must conclude that the resurrection of Christ is the most reasonable solution.

A “Case Making” Tip:
I’ve applied this approach to the Resurrection through the filter of “abductive reasoning” in “ALIVE: A Cold-Case Approach to the Resurrection.” Many gifted historians and scholars have utilized similar principles of evidence to make a case for historic Christianity. Read through their example and apply similar strategies to other claims in the Bible.

STEP #8 – Write Up the Case Carefully
Now’s the time to begin writing down what I know; the time to make a case on paper by laying out all the evidence and demonstrating how this evidence points singularly to the suspect I want to arrest. This process of summarizing and organizing the case is extremely helpful. In addition to making it possible to present the case to others, it helps me understand and clarify my own thinking about the evidence and what it demonstrates.

As a Christian…
It’s always helpful to write out or journal my observations, creating summaries and shorthand arguments I can then use in the future when reviewing the issue again. The act of concisely summarizing my findings has great value in critically thinking through the evidence and forming rational conclusions that can then be expressed to others.

A “Case Making” Tip:
Take the time to create evidential “cases” related to the issues concerning you the most. Write these cases out in some format so they can be saved and stored in a place where you can access them quickly later.

Once an investigation culminates with a decision about the involvement of a particular suspect (and results in the arrest of this suspect), we’ve next got to present our case in a court of law. The burden begins to shift from the detective to the attorneys who then take nine steps to make the case (https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/nine-steps-to-presenting-the-case-for-christianity/).

Becoming a “Case Making” Christian means applying the basic rules of investigation and presentation to every aspect of the Christian Life. As a result, Christian “Case Making” raises the bar on thoughtful living. God has created us in his image and given us the capacity to live beyond our natural impulses and desires. He’s given us the ability to dream and reason; the ability to exceed our own natural limits. Let’s use what God has given us to make the case for the Christian Worldview.

[ FYI: Here is the link to the original article that shows all the details of each step:
https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/eight-steps-to-investigating-the-case-for-christianity/ ].

So, in the past six months, I have used the “5W1H” methodology to create a ‘series’ of posts that investigated the Second Coming of Jesus:

“It’s ‘WHO’ You Know”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/its-who-you-know-v271/

“‘WHAT’ Have You Done Lately?”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/what-have-you-done-lately-v272/

“‘WHERE’ You Return To”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/where-you-return-to-v273/

“‘WHEN’ Will Something Important Happen?”
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/when-will-something-important-happen-v274/

“‘WHY’ Does Someone Return?”
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/why-does-someone-return-v275/

“‘HOW’ To Prepare To Meet Someone Important”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/how-to-prepare-to-meet-someone-important-v276/

So, to try to help you get a ‘60,000-foot view’ of Jesus’ “Second Coming,” the following ‘sections’ are SUMMARIES OF EACH PREVIOUS POST related to each 5W1H question. [ Of course, feel free to view one or all of the previous posts for more detail than is presented below. ]

>>> ‘WHO’ JESUS IS <<<
[ SEPTEMBER 2021 ]

CULTIVATING ‘INTIMACY’ WITH GOD/JESUS
God is a relational being. He desires communion with the individuals of His creation (Revelation 3:20). As poet Tim Hansel put it…

The truest model of spiritual direction is found in the ministry of Jesus. There are several instances of people seeking an audience with Jesus to discuss matters pertaining to the soul. A “ruler of the Jews” (a Pharisee), Nicodemus, came to Jesus at night to discover spiritual matters on a one-to-one basis. Nicodemus was a ‘seeker’—someone pursuing truth. He acknowledged that Jesus was a “Rabbi,” (a ‘guide’ in helping people understand God and His ways in the world). That is exactly what Jesus did. He ‘mentored’ Nicodemus.

Accountability is not just for religious ‘leaders’. It is the ‘key’ to maturity and character growth in the life of EVERY believer.

So, it really comes down to ‘priorities’—and managing them. The connection between work and nonwork spheres of our lives is not a conflict over time but over ‘PRIORITIES’.

[ FYI: For more details about managing your priorities, view last month’s “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/what-really-matters-v270/ ].

Again, in the book of Proverbs, it recognizes the potential of mentoring when it says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one individual sharpens another” [ Proverbs 27:17 ].

SPIRITUALLY, JESUS IS THE ‘WHO’
So, because of ‘who’ they know, there are those in life who have obtained positions of privilege and prestige largely because of who they know or to whom they are related to. The world is filled with people who ride the ‘COATTAILS’ of others to success. However, there is no substitute for hard work and determination, and the successes gained through self-motivated effort will usually prove to be more rewarding than those received by favors and good fortune.

HOWEVER, when it comes to one’s ‘spiritual’ life, the opposite is true. In the spiritual realm, the best way and, the ONLY ‘WAY’ to succeed is to know the RIGHT ‘Person’—JESUS!

Now, naturally, the better you know someone, the deeper your willingness to go out of your way to try to help. Sometimes it is important who you know as well as HOW ‘WELL’ you know them (and how well they know you!).

One of the most ‘dire’ verses in the Bible is, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” [ Matthew 7:21-23 ].

There are professing Christians who WILL NOT be allowed to enter the Kingdom of Heaven because they REALLY DON’T ‘KNOW’ Jesus! This he said to not just ‘run-of-the-mill’ believers either, but some involved in ‘substantial’ ministries! Can you imagine? There will be those who perform miracles that WILL ‘MISS’ Heaven! All because He DOESN’T ‘KNOW’ them.

[ To read more about how you can ‘know’, for sure, that you are a ‘child’ of God, read this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/knowing-assurance-v243/ ].

DO YOU ‘KNOW’ JESUS?
Human communication is an amazing thing. It’s been said that communication is probably only 10% ‘WHAT’ we say and all the rest is ‘HOW’ we say it—in volume, facial expression, body language, and, most of all, ’TONE’.

To prove the power of how you say things is more than what you say, here are four different ways to say a sentence made up of four simple words: “I love my family.” If we put the emphasis on each of these words, one at a time, what the sentence conveys is significantly different each time.

So, say these sentences out loud, emphasizing the bolded word each time: “I love my family.” “I love my family” “I love my family.” “I love my family.” What can you take away from being asked the question differently each time? Do the implications change?

[ Note: For sake of my bottom line point, I have taken them out of consecutive order. Hopefully, you will understand why. ]

However, it’s NOT TOO LATE! (since you are reading this). You can start RIGHT NOW, working towards making your answer an absolute “Yes!” to this question!

It may be just a question of semantics, but hopefully, this type of exercise can help each of us evaluate and improve where we are in regard to Jesus being one’s Lord and Savior—the propitiation for all of one’s sins and their ‘gateway’ to Heaven!

‘WHO’ JESUS IS
Jesus’ last name IS NOT “Christ.” Christ is His ‘title’. It means “anointed one” or “messiah.”

The Old Testament had prophesied a messiah for centuries, and the Jewish people have been anxiously waiting for the fulfillment of these promises. They were anticipating a political leader who would overthrow the oppressive Romans, however, Jesus rejected their ‘advances’ to make Him their earthly king. He was after something bigger—something more ‘spiritual’ and ‘eternal’.

Despite His crystal-clear teaching and all the miracles He performed, the Jews were still confused. If He was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophesies—as He said—why didn’t He take on the characteristics of a military general or political deliverer? Well, then just ‘WHO’ is Jesus?

[ VIDEO: “There’s Something About That Name” – Bill and Gloria Gaither ]

Jesus Himself announced, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me” [ John 14:6 ]. Jesus said, many times, that He was uniquely God, and the ONLY ‘mediator’ between God and man.

One day we will all ‘stand’ before Jesus, either as our Savior or our Judge. I don’t know about you, but I AM ‘READY’ to face the One who is owed all the glory and honor, and the One who bears the name—Jesus! I PRAY you are ‘ready’, too!!!

‘ALLUSIONS’ TO JESUS
From beginning to end, the Bible relates to Jesus, and there are many ‘allusions’ to who He is.

[ Note: Refer to pastor Michael Youseff’s sermon snippet “Jesus In Every Book of the Bible” in the “Articles” section below. ]

Jesus has been alluded to as the “Ark,” the “Rock,” “Living Water,” the “Bread,” the “Bronzed Serpent,” the “Tabernacle,” the “Suffering Servant,” the “High Priest,” the “Bridegroom,” and the great “I AM.”

JESUS’ ‘CHARACTERISTICS’

– Jesus is superior to everyone and everything (Hebrews 1:1-3)

– Since Jesus serves as our High Priest, we have access to God (Hebrews 8:1)

– Man cannot discover God on his own; God must reveal Himself to man (Hebrews 1:1-2)

– Jesus not only brought but in fact was God’s full and final revelation (Hebrews 1:1-2)

– Since Jesus is the Son of God, He is the air of all that God possesses (Hebrews 1:2)

– Jesus is the agent through whom God created the world (Hebrews 1:2)

– Jesus is both God manifest and God in substance (Hebrews 1:3)

– Jesus, by His almighty power, hold together all creation (Hebrews 1:3)

– Jesus offered one sacrifice for all sins of mankind, then sat down with the Father once He had accomplished it (Hebrews 1:3)

– Jesus is God, and He created the angels (Hebrews 1:7-8)

– Jesus existed before the beginning of the world; thus, He is without beginning (Hebrews 1:10-12)

– The destiny of Jesus is that ultimately everything in the universe will be subject to Him (Hebrews 1:13-14)

– God confirmed the truth of the Gospel preached through Jesus with many miracles (Hebrews 4:3-4)

– Jesus was born to die as a Substitute (Hebrews 2:9)

– Through Jesus’ death, He became the perfect leader for His people (Hebrews 2:10)

– Jesus came to break the power of Satan, which He did by conquering death (Hebrews 2:14-15)

– Jesus came to sympathize with us, so He could be our merciful and faithful High Priest (Hebrews 2:16-8)

SO, CAN you answer the question, “Who do you think Jesus is?” in the ‘affirmative’? That you ‘KNOW’ Him as ‘YOUR’ “MESSIAH”?

‘KNOWING’ JESUS
When people speak of “knowing” Jesus, they refer to having a ‘relationship’ with Him. Being a Christian is more than knowing ‘about’ Jesus; being a Christian is knowing Him ‘intimately’. Jesus spoke of the need to ‘know’ Him when He prayed during what is called His “High Priestly Prayer”: “This is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

‘WHOSE’ YOU ARE
Because the world is crazy and ‘upside-down’, the believer sometimes forgets ‘WHOSE’ they are—and when one feels like they don’t know whose they are, it’s because that they have forgotten what Jesus said: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” [ John 15:5 ].

The believer is God’s “child,” and He has given His children the warning of an enemy’s attack and what to do in such a moment: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” [ 1 Peter 5:6-7 ].

SO, for the believer, they must remember ‘WHOSE’ they are! Don’t allow yourself to be the Devil’s next ‘triumph’! Remember the Devil will flee when one resists him and submits themselves to God. Again, remember ‘whose’ you are!

[ For more details on one’s ‘identity’ in Jesus, view this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/new-identity-v220/ ].

‘RIDING SOMEONE’S COATTAILS’
To “ride on someone’s coattails” is a metaphor that refers to one who achieves some level of success or notability primarily through association with someone else. This can often be used as a generic phrase for anyone that ‘hangs onto’ another person as he or she forges ahead, without any effort from the ‘hanger-on’, and is usually considered unable to attain success on their own.

That’s why this expression primarily refers to situations where one person gets a free ride from another. If a father gives his son a job, the son might be accused of riding his dad’s coattails. This suggests the son doesn’t deserve the job, and he only has it because of the family connection.

The doors and opportunities were created by the first person—they ‘earned’ everything—but the second person just followed along and benefited from their hard work. So, when one is on the coattails of someone else, they are enjoying success because of the ‘ASSOCIATION’.

Now, perhaps you might think it’s a bit strange about what I am going to say, but I take a great deal of satisfaction in having been a ‘humble’ “coattail rider” of Jesus, AND, in addition to that, being one who has a few people riding on my ‘coattails’ as a ‘disciple’ of Jesus spreading the message of His love and forgiveness—worldwide! (The reason I keep doing these monthly posts). [ The ‘true’ believer goes out to find someone to ‘lead’/disciple (Matthew 28:19-20) ].

THE ‘CONSEQUENCES’ OF UNBELIEF
Many people think that rejecting Jesus is a choice without ‘consequences’. Although they don’t mind others following Jesus, they seem to be doing just fine without Him. HOWEVER, they fail to consider both the present and the eternal consequences of their unbelief.

Since God’s judgment is often seen as a future event, the urgency of salvation may be lost on people who want to enjoy the pleasures of earthly life, and feel no need for a ‘Savior’.

However, Jesus said that those who do not believe in Him have already been judged because they love ‘darkness’ and don’t want their sins ‘exposed’ by His ‘Light’. In other words, they love their sin and are unwilling to ‘turn’ from it. Living this way seems comfortable and allows them to ‘rule’ their own life according to their desires.

There are also those who claim to believe ‘in’ Jesus while still loving their sin—and also trying to hide from Jesus’ ‘Light’. But, attempts to have it both ways WON’T WORK, and such people remain in ‘darkness’, and are en route to Hell!

The pleasure of sin, however, is temporary (Hebrews 11:25). The ‘wise’ are those who truly believe in Jesus, and are ‘EAGER’ to be ‘in the Light’—they want nothing more to do with a ‘godless’ lifestyle. HOWEVER, it’s NEVER TOO LATE for one to ‘come’ to Jesus!

[ VIDEO: “In The Light” – DC Talk ]

IT’S ‘WHO’ YOU KNOW
In conclusion, one’s ‘association’ with Jesus CAN ‘develop’ into a relationship that leads to ‘favor’ and ‘opportunity’, if one is ‘committed’ to developing it (with involvement + willingness + time).

Jesus WILL BE your ‘mentor’ if you are ‘responsive’ to Him and ‘give it all’ to Him to provide the ‘water’ you will need when you are ‘parched’ (Remember the man at the water well?) [ See Luke 14:33 and Matthew 16:24 ].

Jesus IS the MOST IMPORTANT ‘WHO’ you NEED TO ‘KNOW’ such that He can be the ‘WHO’ that ‘knows’ you, be a ‘MENTOR’ to you for your life here on earth, and provide you the ULTIMATE ‘connection’, ’opportunity’, and ‘favor’—a place with Him in Heaven… FOREVER!

[ FYI: This is a link to the original post, “It’s ‘WHO’ You Know”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/its-who-you-know-v271/ ].

>>> ‘WHAT’ JESUS DID/HAS DONE FOR US <<<
[ OCTOBER 2021 ]

WHAT JESUS ‘DID’
When Jesus was on this earth, He ‘DID’ MANY things. Let’s consider some of the important ones (not exhaustive):

First off, Jesus left Heaven so that we might be…

– Jesus became poor, that in Him I can become spiritually rich (2 Corinthians 8:9)
– Jesus suffered hunger, that I might be fully and forever satisfied (Matthew 4:2)
– Jesus was lonely, that I might never be alone (John 6:66, 67)
– Jesus suffered great grief, that I might have abundant joy (Matthew 26:38; John 15:11)
– Jesus was tempted, that He might understand and help me overcome temptations (Matthew 4:1; Hebrews 2:18)
– Jesus was forsaken, that I might join an innumerable host (Matthew 26:56; Revelation 7:9)
– Jesus became a servant to man, so that I could become a son of God (Philippians 2:7; 1 John 3:1)
– Jesus was snubbed by men, that I might be received into fellowship with God and His people (John 1:11; 1 John 1:3)
– Jesus was troubled, that I might have peace that passes all understanding (John 12:27; Philippians 4:7)
– Jesus was in agony, that I might be of good comfort (Luke 22:44; 2 Corinthians 13:11)
– Jesus was rejected, that I might be welcomed (Isaiah 53:3; Matthew 25:34)
– Jesus was homeless, to give me an eternal home in glory (Matthew 8:20; John 14:2)

Then, while Jesus was on this earth, He did MANY miracles to ‘prove’ His deity…

– Jesus changed water into wine (John 2:1-11)
– Jesus cured the nobleman’s son (John 4:46-47)
– Jesus ‘produced’ a great haul of fishes (Luke 5:1-11)
– Jesus cast out an unclean spirit (Mark 1:23-28)
– Jesus cured Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever (Mark 1:30-31)
– Jesus healed a leper (Mark 1:40-45)
– Jesus healed the centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13)
– Jesus raised the widow’s son from the dead (Luke 7:11-18)
– Jesus stilled the storm (Matthew 8:23-27)
– Jesus cured two demoniacs (Matthew 8:28-34)
– Jesus cured the paralytic (Matthew 9:1-8)
– Jesus raised the ruler’s daughter from the dead (Matthew 9:18-26)
– Jesus cured a woman of an issue of blood (Luke 8:43-48)
– Jesus opened the eyes of two blind men (Matthew 9:27-31)
– Jesus loosened the tongue of a man who could not speak (Matthew 9:32-33)
– Jesus healed an invalid man at the pool called Bethesda (John 5:1-9)
– Jesus restored a withered hand (Matthew 12:10-13)
– Jesus cured a demon-possessed man (Matthew 12:22)
– Jesus fed at least five thousand people (Matthew 14:15-21)
– Jesus healed a woman of Canaan (Matthew 15:22-28)
– Jesus cured a deaf and mute man (Mark 7:31-37)
– Jesus fed at least four thousand people (Matthew 15:32-39)
– Jesus opened the eyes of a blind man (Mark 8:22-26)
– Jesus cured a boy who was plagued by a demon (Matthew 17:14-21)
– Jesus opened the eyes of a man born blind (John 9:1-38)
– Jesus cured a woman who had been afflicted eighteen years (Luke 13:10-17)
– Jesus cured a man of dropsy (Luke 14:1-4)
– Jesus cleansed ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19)
– Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-46)
– Jesus opened the eyes of two blind men (Matthew 20:30-34)
– Jesus caused the fig tree to wither (Matthew 21:18-22)
– Jesus restored the ear of the high priest’s servant (Luke 22:50-51)
– Jesus ‘produced’ a second great haul of fishes (John 21:1-14)

Jesus came to…

– Jesus came to ‘revealed’ the Father (Matthew 11:27)
– Jesus came to serve (Matthew 20:28)
– Jesus came to preach the good news of the kingdom of God (Luke 4:43)
– Jesus came to do the will of the Father (John 6:38)
– Jesus came to give the Father’s words (John 17:8)
– Jesus came to testify to the truth (John 18:37)
– Jesus came to give life (John 10:10, 28)
– Jesus came to preach (Mark 1:38)
– Jesus came to proclaim freedom for believers (Luke 4:18)
– Jesus came to save the world (John 3:17; Luke 19:10)
– Jesus came to be a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28)

Since Jesus was here, believers now are…

– Jesus has blessed us (Ephesians 1:3)
– Jesus has chosen us (Ephesians 1:4)
– Jesus has predestined us (Ephesians 1:5, 11)
– Jesus has made us accepted (Ephesians 1:6)
– Jesus has redeemed us (Ephesians 1:7)
– Jesus has abounded toward us (Ephesians 1:8)
– Jesus has made known unto us (Ephesians 1:9)
– Jesus has given us an inheritance (Ephesians 1:11,14)
– Jesus has ‘sealed’ us (Ephesians 1:13)

Below is a list of verses that describe in a bit more ‘detail’ about what Jesus accomplished for us. [ Note: In the following verses, I emphasized words/phrases that relate to the ‘WHAT’ Jesus did for us, however, they are not emphasized like that in the Scriptures. ]
[more…]

WHAT JESUS HAS ‘DONE’ FOR US
So, if actions speak louder than words, some people ask—spiritually speaking— “What has Jesus done for me?” Well, PRIMARILY, as the incarnate Son of God (John 1:1, 14), Jesus came to earth to become humanity’s “SAVIOR,” offering the ‘way’ to become reconciled to God the Father, and the ‘way’ to achieve eternal life in Heaven. He accomplished these by ‘DYING’ on the Cross and ‘RESURRECTING’ from the dead.

– JESUS ‘GAVE UP’ A LOT TO BECOME OUR SAVIOR
– JESUS ‘EMPTIED’ HIMSELF
– JESUS GAVE UP HIS ‘RICHES’
– JESUS GAVE UP HIS ‘HEAVENLY GLORY’
– JESUS GAVE UP HIS ‘AUTHORITY’
– JESUS BECAME A ‘SERVANT’

JESUS CAME TO ‘DIE’ FOR OUR SINS
In the Old Testament, God required animal sacrifices to provide a temporary ‘covering’ of sins (Leviticus 4:35, 5:10). When Adam and Eve sinned, animals were killed by God to provide clothing for them (Genesis 3:21). Animal sacrifice is an important theme found throughout Scripture because “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22).

God commanded the nation of Israel to perform numerous sacrifices according to certain procedures prescribed by Him. First, the animal had to be ‘spotless’. Second, the person offering the sacrifice had to ‘identify’ with the animal. Third, the person offering the animal had to inflict ‘death’ upon it. When done in faith, the animal served as a ‘substitute’. That is, the animal died in the place of the sinner, but only temporarily, which is why the sacrifices needed to be offered over and over.

Then, on the Day of Atonement, (described in Leviticus 16), another sacrifice demonstrates forgiveness and the removal of sin. The high priest was to take two male goats for a sin offering. One of the goats was sacrificed as a sin offering for the people of Israel (Leviticus 16:15), while the other goat was released into the wilderness (Leviticus 16:20-22). The sin offering provided forgiveness, while the other goat provided the removal of sin.

– JESUS CAME TO ‘RESURRECT’ FROM THE DEAD
– FUTURE RESURRECTION
– FINAL JUDGMENT
– POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
– RECEIVE A NEW ‘LIFE’
– A SECURE ‘HOPE’

JESUS ‘DID IT ALL’
In the refrain of Janet Jackson’s song, “What Have You Done For Me Lately?,” she complained that she deserves more than her husband is giving, and that he isn’t putting enough effort into what he does give her—which is very little.

WELL, Jesus is MUCH ‘DIFFERENT’ than Jackson’s husband—He ‘GAVE’ IT ALL! Through our sin, we are completely separated from God—we have lost it all. However, through Jesus’ death and resurrection though, He completely paid the price as a full sacrifice for our sin—He did it all!

There is ‘NOTHING’ WE CAN DO to ‘earn’ our forgiveness. There is no work that we can do to add to Jesus’ work on the Cross. There is no way we can get to Heaven through any human effort of our own. There is no way that we can contribute to our salvation. Some of his last words on the Cross were “It is finished” [ John 19:30 ]. Jesus did everything necessary to pay for man’s sin and reconcile them back to God— “Tetelestai”… “PAID IN FULL”!

WHAT HAVE ‘YOU’ DONE FOR JESUS?
Since I just showed the tremendous amount of things Jesus was done for the believer—especially salvation and eternal life—I’m thinking there’s a big ‘possibility’ that Jesus just might ask “What have you done for Me lately?”

So, what would you say? You might rightly cringe a little bit and say, “Well, I attend church weekly, and I give a hand here and there when they need some help.”

We might also mention that we read our Bible a few times a week, give money to the poor, tell a few people about Jesus, and try to live the ‘Christian’ life.

However, if we are honest, we might say, “Well, I could be doing more but I’ve been really busy with family, work, and a bit of recreation.”

SPECIFIC ‘ACTIONS’ TO DO
Jesus said it’s what’s ‘inside’ us that comes out of us. This means our behavior flows out of our ‘hearts’. He also stated that we have the power over what is inside us—we have a ‘choice’ in what we say and do.

So, what does it means to let your actions speak louder than your words? Or maybe more like actions prove your words. As believers, we are ‘called’ to live our lives in a certain way, AND to speak in a certain way.

GIVE YOURSELF IN ‘SERVICE’ TO JESUS
True followers of Jesus seek to serve Him and honor their Lord with their thoughts and actions. Our love for other people, especially other believers and those in need, is what displays our love for our Savior. In many of Jesus’ teachings, He encourages His followers to meet the needs of others (Matthew 6:2; Matthew 5:40-42). The people of God are to be about meeting the needs of others.

Each believer has been given different gifts, talents, and assets at their disposal. They should remember what Jesus taught about those who hide their gifts and do not use them (Read Matthew 25 for that story.) We need to be about using what God has given to us in a way that people will see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven (1 Peter 2:12).

A LIVING ‘SACRIFICE’
So, believer, are you doing these things? “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” [ Romans 12:1 ].

The ‘world’ DESPERATELY needs to get right with God (Romans 1:18-3:20), and you are God’s ‘mouthpiece’ to a ‘lost’ world. Believers, and the ‘body’ of Christ (the Church), are God’s choice to carry the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus to the world (Romans 9:1-11:36). Therefore, in light of the mercies of God, the believer must ‘devote’ themselves to God and His wishes. A “living sacrifice” means we live to serve God.

THE “GREAT COMMISSION”
Sadly, in the U.S., the focus of most believers is on “what God can do for me.” If we listen to the lyrics of most contemporary Christian songs, we hear about God saving us, healing us, restoring us, delivering us from our trials; about God’s mercy and grace upon us in the time of our need. The same can be said of most of the preaching that we hear from our pulpits. The focus is on God’s help and blessings in this life on earth. This is all well and good, but it should only be for ‘starters’ because many believers have forgotten that we are “blessed to be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2-3).

The thing is, many believers pay mostly ‘lip service’ to the purpose of God’s blessings in their lives—helping out at church in their ‘spare time’. Their “being a blessing,” however, must go far beyond simply doing what is convenient for the believer. It has been said that believers are “SAVED TO SERVE.”

GOD ‘HAS’ DONE A LOT!
When we stop to think about it, God really has done A LOT for us lately—as well as in our past, and will do so in our future. To examine this, I want us to take notice of some striking similarities we have with the story of Jesus cleansing the 10 lepers.

DELAYED GRATIFICATION
It’s a natural human urge to want things now, HOWEVER, most of the time one will often receive more benefits they wait. The obverse version of “instant gratification” is “delayed gratification.” It’s easier to see the benefits of delayed gratification, but we all struggle daily with the ‘temptation’ to give in to our immediate desire. (Such as when you order a cheaper pair of shoes, that won’t last as long, but you can have them now rather than having to wait for your next paycheck to have enough to get the better ones.)

– DENY YOURSELF
– PRIORITIZE
– PLAN
– KNOW THE VALUE OF GOD’S ‘REWARD’
– BE PATIENT

IMMENSELY ‘THANKFUL’!
So, for me, the unspoken message in Janet Jackson’s song “What have you done for me lately?” is: “If you really loved me, you would ‘show’ it.” On way, as the one leper did, is to be ‘IMMENSELY’ THANKFUL!

God gave us an unspeakable gift, His son Jesus, and NO GIFT from man will ever measure up to this precious gift!

When God gave us this undeserved gift, it was for a special purpose—to save us from our sins. We cannot save ourselves, so He sent His only Son to do that for us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” [ John 3:16 ]. Our Father in Heaven didn’t just love us, He “so loved” us! Therefore, be thankful for the gift of THE Savior of the world!

Sadly, sometimes we forget how REALLY IMPORTANT these things are. Especially us in the U.S., we continue to want more and better, HOWEVER, there will be who will sleep on dirt today. Some will starve. Most importantly, there will be people who will die and go TO HELL because they do not ‘know Jesus! So, when you see how blessed you truly are—that a holy God will love ‘vile’ people like us and ‘crush’ His Son for us—that makes you IMMENSELY ‘THANKFUL’!

When we are appreciative of all God HAS ‘DONE’ for us it should make us to want to love Him more, obey Him more, give Him more, pray to Him more, sacrifice more, and share the Gospel to more people (as I am trying to do with this post).

In a relationship, it’s about GIVE and TAKE—not just what you ‘receive’ out of the relationship. The same should be true for us as well in our relationship with God. It is not just about what He has done for you—‘SAVING’ you from Hell and giving you eternal life—but what are you going to ‘DO’ FOR HIM. “What does it profit my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? Thus, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” [ James 2:14,17 ].

Then, when something ‘unbelievable’ is GIVEN to you, THANKFULNESS should be ‘top of mind’. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” [ 1 Thessalonians 5:18 ]. Thankful for His unfailing love, wonderful deeds, that He is ‘good’, for Creation, for His unconditional mercy, for His glorious Son, Jesus, whose ‘sacrifice’ conquered sin and set us free by paying our sin debt, and for being given a hope and a future, calling us toward Heaven to live forever in His Kingdom. Let us enter His ‘courts’ with praise to GIVE ’THANKS’!

So, instead of asking “What has God done for me lately?,” I’m suggesting we re-frame that question by asking ourselves, “What have I done for God lately?” BECAUSE of ‘WHAT’ Jesus has ‘DONE’ FOR ME!

[ FYI: This is a link to the original post, “‘WHAT’ Have You Done Lately?”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/what-have-you-done-lately-v272/ ].

>>> ‘WHERE’ JESUS WILL RETURN TO <<<
[ NOVEMBER 2021 ]

JERUSALEM IN BIBLICAL PROPHECY
During 1996 there were celebrations in Jerusalem to mark the 3,000th anniversary of King David’s founding of his capital city.

Jerusalem is undoubtedly sacred in the OT period. Unlike any other city, God endorsed David’s choice of Jerusalem and established Solomon’s temple as the place where “His name dwelt” (1 Kings 8:29); Mount Zion, the mountain on which the temple was built, became a symbol of God’s dwelling among His people.

So, after 1967, with Israeli control over the holy places, and the Temple Mount in particular, the fundamentalist Jews believe that the destiny and future of Judaism and of the Jewish people is the rebuilding of the Temple up where the Dome of the Rock mosque is and start animal sacrifices again. So, the Book of Revelation, says that the Antichrist will come into Jerusalem from the outside and occupy Jerusalem, sitting in a temple of God, claim to be God, and stop the Jewish sacrifices.

So, what precisely is the significance of Jerusalem in God’s purposes? Should the events of 1948 (the birth of the state of Israel) and 1967 (the unification of Jerusalem under Jewish rule) be seen as instances of fulfilled prophecy?

‘WHERE’ JESUS WILL RETURN
Even though Jerusalem is #61 on the “most visited” list—and nowhere to be found on the “most important” list—this is ‘WHERE’ Jesus WILL BE RETURNING to earth in His Second Coming, to ‘end’ the Great Tribulation, and to set up His Kingdom to reign for 1,000 years! (and He will be returning to one of the top-visited sites, the Mount of Olives).

MOUNT OF OLIVES
Archaeological excavations here have uncovered a settlement on the Mount of Olives that dates back more than 4,000 years.

It is one of the city’s most famous landmarks. It separates the most holy place, the Temple Mount, from the Judean Desert to the East. It is also called the “Mount of Anointment,” the hill owes both of its names to its olive groves, and it hosts the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed just before He was crucified. [ It was there that an angel comforted Him. During Jesus’ life, as He ministered to the multitudes, He would often retreat to pray on the Mount as well (Luke 21:37, Luke 22: 39) ].

It is also the oldest active Jewish burial site in the world, with some of the greatest Jewish leaders, prophets and rabbis have been buried on Mt. Olives. It is the ‘home’ to more than 150,000 Jewish graves.

TEMPLE MOUNT
Lauded by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, this is the site where Abraham (father of all three monotheistic faiths) is said to have offered his son, Isaac, up as a sacrifice to God, where Solomon built the First Temple for the Ark of the Covenant, and where the Dome of the Rock is (Beneath the golden dome is the sacred stone that both Jews and Muslims believe to be the location where Abraham offered his son up to God.)

The “Western Wall” of the Mount is the surviving retaining wall of Jerusalem’s First Temple. Commonly called the “Wailing Wall”—due to the people’s laments for the loss of the temple in AD 70—it is now the holiest site in Judaism and has been a place of pilgrimage for the Jewish people since the Ottoman era.

SECOND COMING
Jesus is NOT coming back to London, New York, Rome, or any other ‘popular’ city. Jesus is going to return to JERUSALEM. However, His coming, this time, will not be difficult to discern. It will be sudden and, for many, unexpected (Matthew 24:44; Mark 13:36), and His return will not be in secret (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

The prophet Malachi also wrote a powerful description of Jesus’ Second Coming as Judge and King (Malachi 3:1-4). Christians would do well to pay attention to what is ‘happening’ in Jerusalem, because it is a ‘time-clock’ for events of the Last Days and Jesus’ Second Coming. “So, you too must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming” [ Matthew 24:42 ].

To emphasize the importance of the Second Coming of Jesus, it is referenced in the Old Testament 1,500 times, and in one of every 25 verses in the New Testament. I’m thinking that God wants us to know how ‘IMPORTANT’ this is!

CULTIVATING A SENSE OF ‘SPIRITUAL’ URGENCY
In the Bible, King David tells us that, “As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more” [ Psalm 103:15-16 ]. Hmmm… I’m thinking that this should ‘encourage’ EVERY ONE OF US to a ‘sense of urgency’!

We all have a tendency of putting things off that we know we should be doing this can be physically (regular exercise), mentally (expanding our knowledge), and spiritually (reading the Bible and praying). Since we are ‘creatures of comfort’, we sometimes lack an urgency to do something and put it off for ‘another day’.

The thing is, the Bible is VERY ‘DIRECT’ in telling us that, compared to ‘eternity’, life is VERY ‘short’ so don’t be ‘complacent’ in one’s desire to be ‘reconciled’ to God. The Bible also tells us not to wait for ‘tomorrow’ since we have it in our power to act today and that we are NOT ‘assured’ of tomorrow! “Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it’—when you have it with you” [ Proverbs 3:28 ].

ESCAPE THE ‘END TIMES’!
The thing is you DON’T have to remain on earth during the worst days in human history! Jesus has promised that He will come and ‘RESCUE’ His people!

As I have mentioned, the time is late. Even scientists said a few years ago that the “Doomsday Clock” is just “two minutes” before the symbolic “Apocalypse”—known in the Bible as the “Tribulation.”

BECOME “BORN AGAIN”
The best thing an individual can do to equip themselves for future events, and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, is to be BORN AGAIN! Jesus told Nicodemus that he wouldn’t see or enter the Kingdom of God unless he was “born again of the water and the Spirit” [ John 3:5b ].

‘PREPARE’ FOR JESUS’ RETURN!
There will be a ‘Traveler’ from Heaven (Jesus), that WILL BE ‘RETURNING’ to this earth to ‘rescue’ believers and ‘judge’ unbelievers. If I have convinced you of those things within this post—and the multiple other cited posts—I BEG YOU to ‘PREPARE’ for His coming!

[ FYI: This is a link to the original post, “‘WHERE’ You Return To”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/where-you-return-to-v273/ ].

>>> ‘WHEN’ WILL THE SECOND COMING BE? <<<
[ DECEMBER 2021 ]

PREDICTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ‘100% CORRECT’!
If something is “inevitable,” it will ‘DEFINITELY’ HAPPEN—like some say, “death and taxes” are two such things.

The word “inevitable” comes from the Latin word “inevitabilis,” which means unavoidable. If you say something is inevitable, you give the sense that no matter what ‘scheme’ you come up with to get around it, it’s GOING to happen sooner or later. You can use all the skin products you want, but wrinkles are inevitable! (Sorry, ladies!)

Millions of Americans are caught up in a desperate attempt to know the future. The phenomenal rise in the sale of crystal balls, Ouija boards, and Viennese fortune‐telling tarot cards are only a part of the incessant ‘need’ to know the future.

Well, there IS a ‘predictive’ source, that has NEVER BEEN ‘WRONG’ (which totally verifiable, if you care to check). It’s the BIBLE. SO, knowing this, for me—and MANY others—it IS the MOST IMPORTANT ‘RESOURCE’ for predicting what the near future holds! (It so happens that predictions of future events occupy approximately ONE-QUARTER of all the Bible.)

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One ‘HUGE’ example is how Jesus fulfilled more than 300 prophecies in the Bible. Peter Stoner, in his book “Science Speaks,” calculated the probability of one man fulfilling ’just’ 48 of these prophecies. It is one in 10 to the 157th power!!! [ Scientists estimate that there are about 10 to the 82nd power ATOMS in the “observable universe”! ]

So, since that number is ABSOLUTELY ‘IMPOSSIBLE’, Stoner figured out the odds for fulfilling ‘just’ 8 prophecies. That still turned out to be one in 10 to the 17th power. The equivalent would be a person choosing the one marked quarter in a pile of quarter two feet depth covering the entire state of Texas on the first try! Again, absolutely impossible.

[ FYI: A link to purchase Peter Stoner’s book, “Science Speaks,” is in the “References” section below. ]

THE “SECOND COMING”
The MOST ‘ANTICIPATED’ once-in-a-lifetime event—really the once-in-history event—is the SECOND COMING of Jesus. God’s people have looked forward to the time WHEN Jesus would come back to put an end to the ‘broken’ world and set up His everlasting Kingdom.

The Second Coming is when Jesus will come personally and bodily in a ‘return’ to the earth (which was prophesied in Acts 1:9-10). His return will be similar to His ascension (after the end of His “First Coming”), that He will return bodily and it will be gradual and visible with the clouds (as the angels prophesied): “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into Heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into Heaven” [ Acts 1:11 ].

The Apostle John wrote this in his book of the “revelation of Jesus”: “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen” [ Revelation 1:7 ].

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The New Testament mentions His return in 7 out of every 10 chapters. In other words, 1 out of every 30 verses in the New Testament proclaims that Jesus is coming back to this earth. The teaching of the “Second Coming” of Jesus is dealt with in some 1,800 passages in the Bible, which 318 of those are in the New Testament.

Jesus Himself referred to His Second Coming 21 times. The prominence of Jesus’ return in Scripture is an indication that this event is ‘IMPORTANT’ to God, and as a result, it should be important to us!

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The Apostle Matthew declared that, “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory” [ Matthew 24:30 ]. The Apostle Paul described the Second Coming as a “glorious appearing” (Titus 2:13).

THE “RAPTURE”
The “Rapture” and the “Second Coming” are often confused, but they are TWO ‘DISTINCT’ EVENTS on God’s prophetic timeline.

First, the Rapture will occur when Jesus returns to take every Christian to Heaven with Him before the “tribulation,” which is the seven years of judgment that will be poured out on the earth. The Apostle Paul wrote about the Rapture like this:

“For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” [ 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 ].

[ Note: There are some who argue the Tribulation will begin before the Rapture. However, the Bible says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” [ Romans 8:1 ]. I believe this means the Church will not experience the judgment God has planned for that time. In addition to that, the “Church” is not mentioned after chapter three in the Book of Revelation—until the end when they come back with Jesus. ]

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CONTRAST BETWEEN THE RAPTURE AND THE SECOND COMING…

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The Rapture will also inaugurate a period that the Bible characterizes as the “great day of His wrath” (the “Great Tribulation”) and the “time of Jacob’s trouble.” This time of unprecedented difficulty will affect all nations, but ‘primarily’ Israel. Its ‘main’ purpose will be to prepare Israel for her Messiah (though secondarily, to ‘judge’ the unbeliever).

The clearest picture of this seven-year period is found in Revelation chapter six. While speaking broadly about the end of the age, this chapter references both the Rapture and the Second Coming. It is important to note that the purpose of Jesus’ teaching here was to ‘PREPARE’ believers and to ‘WARN’ unbelievers of the ‘end’.

For believers, Jesus wanted His followers to be watchful, living each day as though His return was imminent. The message was simply, “BE ‘READY’!”

THE “TRIBULATION”
The Bible describes a time in the future that will be a period of unparalleled horror on the earth. It portrays the slaughter of billions of people and the most horrendous ‘afflictions’ the world has ever seen.

The entire time is called “The Tribulation,” but the second half is given a special name, the “Great Tribulation”—a period of great suffering and distress. This will occur just before Jesus returns with the Church to defeat the Antichrist, overthrow evil, and then establish His 1,000-year reign on earth (Revelation 19:11-16). It is often seen as a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27. [ Related verses: Psalms 2:1-12, Matthew 24:15-51, Mark 13:14-25, Revelation 9:1-11, 16:13-16 ].

So, some people ask then, “Why in the world would a God of love allow this to occur? Well, there are two main ‘purposes’ for the Tribulation. The first is that God is going to ‘JUDGE’ the world for their sin (not believers, because their sins were atoned for by Jesus 2,000+ years ago on the Cross). The second purpose is that God is going to ‘REACH OUT’, once again, to extend His grace to His chosen people, the Israelites, and will be giving them the opportunity to receive Jesus as their Savior (who they ‘shunned’ at His “First Coming”). This time will be a ‘holocaust’ of major proportions, since it combines the wrath of God (absolute justice), the fury of Satan (fierce anger), and the nature of man run wild (unrestrained evil).

[ God put Israel on the ‘back burner’ for the past 2,000+ years to allow the Gentiles to have a chance to become ‘children’ of God. ]

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Most of the specific details about this period of time is in the “Book of Revelation” (with some other details in Deuteronomy, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, Isaiah, Zephaniah, Amos, 1 Thessalonians, and Matthew, Mark, and Luke), and is presented by the Apostle John using the visual of a ‘scroll’ with seven “Seals.”

[ A quick overview of the “Tribulation” period:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tP3yN8snsc&list=PLbE_MYjGeeTAVEyK-p4fG9Gb1nK3sMoh9&index=4 ].

THE ‘SIGNS’
The most fundamental truth related to the Second Coming is that NO ONE knows EXACTLY WHEN Jesus will return. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of Heaven, but My Father only” [ Matthew 24:36 ].

So, anyone who tries to place a date to Jesus’ Second Coming is best IGNORED. It is for good reason that God has not disclosed this information to us, since we probably wouldn’t make the ‘right’ use of that information if He did. If we knew when Jesus was going to return, many would delay in repenting and submitting themselves to Him, instead choosing to pursue selfish interests with the intention that they will only repent and prepare for Jesus coming the ‘minute’ just before He arrives. Many who are actively proclaim the coming of Jesus would become lethargic in the important work of the “Great Commission,” and as a result, many people would go to their graves without having accepted Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins—and go to Hell for eternity!

So, instead of giving an exact time for His coming Jesus gave us ‘SIGNS’ of His return. By looking at the events that are to take place just prior to His return, we can know that He is COMING ‘VERY’ SOON! There are a number of ‘signs’ that show that we are living ‘RIGHT BEFORE’ Jesus’ coming—that we are getting REALLY CLOSE!

THE ‘PRIMARY’ SIGN
The ‘GREATEST’ SIGN transpired in the Middle East on May 14, 1948, when Israel became a ‘nation’ again. Almost all teachers of the “Last Days” agree that the restoration of the Land of Israel in 1948—after almost 2,000 years—was the moment the “End-Time” ‘clock’ began to tick.

‘SECONDARY’ SIGNS
This is referred to as the “Olivet Discourse,” where Jesus ‘laid out’ some specifics about what would be happening just before He comes back again. So, pulling from this ‘primary’ passage—and adding some events from some other books—here is a summary of ‘essential’ events that MUST occur before Jesus returns: …

“CONVERGENCE”
All of the different end times ‘signs’ are coming together for the first time ever—“converging”—clearly indicating that we are living in the ‘season’ when Jesus will return to take all His believers, past and present, back with Him to the “place” He has prepared for them in His Father’s ‘house’ (John 14:2-3).

[ For more details on convergence, read this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/got-your-attention-yet-v255/ ].

Many generations of Christians lived and died without witnessing a single ‘sign’ of Jesus’ Second Coming. However, it looks like our ‘generation’ will witness ALL OF THEM!

A ‘CERTAIN’ DATE?
All this to say that I just want you to BE ‘READY’! Prophecy expert Dr. Ed Hindson says, “No one knows the time, so don’t waste your time trying to guess the time; be ready all the time because Jesus could come at any time.”

‘PREPARE’ FOR JESUS’ COMING!
Because no one knows when Jesus will come again for the final judgment, we must always BE ‘PREPARED’. Jesus’ Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) speaks directly to the need to be spiritually prepared for the final judgment: …

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Author David McCasland tells a story about a friend of his who lived all her life in California. She goes to sleep every night with her shoes and a flashlight under her bed. When she was a child, her father required every family member to be ready to leave the house if an earthquake were to come during the night.

His friend said to him, “During a tremor, windows shatter and electricity is lost. With shoes I can walk on broken glass, and with a light, I can find my way in the dark. I never go to bed without them. I’m ready.”

SO, WHAT ‘LIES JUST AHEAD’?
|If we do not heed—nationally or individually—the warning going out now and over the months and years just ahead, we will have to absorb the full ‘brunt’ of God’s corrective punishment—and go through the “Great Tribulation.”

The Bible clearly ‘FOREWARNED’ us that there will be ‘cynics’ and ‘doubters’ who will contradict and ridicule God’s warning through His true servants: “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” [ 2 Peter 3:4 ]. Are YOU one of these people?

Our nations are in mortal peril. Many scholars say that everything you have ever known will be changed over the next decade or two. Your future and the future of your children and grandchildren are really AT STAKE!

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Given all the ‘signs’, you can be certain of one thing: Jesus IS coming, and I believe that OUR ‘GENERATION’ will witness His return!

[ For more details on this being the last ‘generation’ before Jesus’ Second Coming, consider reading this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post: https://markbesh.wordpress.com/last-generation-v249/ ].

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The message of Jesus’ SOON ‘COMING’ brings great joy to the BELIEVER. HOWEVER, for the UNBELIEVER, this will be a HORRIBLE ‘EXPERIENCE’ since they have ‘chosen’ sin over their Savior and WILL experience God’s ‘WRATH’!

Now, one CAN look forward to Jesus’ return with gladness IF they ‘PREPARE’ themselves to meet their God—by repenting of their sins and believing that Jesus is their Savior and Lord (becoming “born again”).

[ FYI: For more details on how to become “born again,” view this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:

https://markbesh.wordpress.com/saved-from-death-v219/ ].

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If I have convinced you of this VERY ‘IMPORTANT’ PREDICTION that JesusWILL BE ‘RETURNING’ to this earth either to ‘RAPTURE’ believers or to ‘JUDGE’ unbelievers, and that it is going to be SOON—then I BEG YOU to ‘PREPARE’ for His coming! It WILL change the ‘location’ of your ETERNITY!!!

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The Bible ‘PREDICTS’ that Jesus will be returning, so it is ‘INEVITABLE’—since EVERY prophecy the Bible has ever given has been 100% correct!

For me, if I am given the opportunity for a ‘SURE’ thing, I’m not going to waste any time thinking about it—since I might miss out if I wait too long.

So, DON’T wait and MISS YOUR very ‘important’ opportunity to be in Heaven for ETERNITY! You NEED to do this NOW!

[ FYI: This is a link to the original post, “‘WHEN’ Will Something Important Happen?”
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/when-will-something-important-happen-v274/ ].

>>> ‘WHY’ WILL JESUS RETURN? <<<
[ JANUARY 2022 ]

WAITING FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT ‘PERSON’ TO RETURN
Just like a ‘loyal’ customer returning to a business, the Scriptures promise that Jesus WILL return to earth—and based on the ‘CONVERGENCE’ of the prophetical ‘signs’, it looks like it just may be happening REALLY ‘SOON’!

Regardless of what the ‘scoffers’ say, Jesus IS COMING BACK (2 Peter 3:3-10). World history is ‘barreling’ toward the conclusion that God ordained. It isn’t an end that will come as a result of nuclear war, environmental irresponsibility, or alien invasion. It is the one that comes by the purposeful, pre-planned ‘action’ of God, foretold in Scripture. Make no mistake—Jesus WILL return!

THE ‘PROMISE’ OF GOD
Since there are 224 Old Testament prophecies that have to do with Jesus’ Second Coming—as opposed to 109 in His First Coming—can you see that the Word of God is ‘at stake’? If Jesus does not return, then God is a liar, and His ‘credibility’ is invalidated. ALL the prophecies regarding Christ MUST—and WILL—come to pass!

If God ever said something would happen that didn’t happen, then God ‘messed up’—and if God ‘messed up’ JUST ONCE then we are ALL in BIG ‘TROUBLE’, since that would show a ‘flaw’ in the character of God, and there would be no guarantee that it was only once!

JESUS’ EARTHLY ‘TEACHINGS’
Jesus must return not only because of the promise of God, but because of the statements that He made about Himself. His own statements ‘DEMAND’ His Second Coming. During His life and ministry, He made frequent statements regarding His return. Most of His parables, for example, are related to His own return. (And there are several whole chapters in the Gospels connected with His Second Coming.)

One of the most ‘important’ things He said was: “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” [ John 14:2-4 ]. So, He is intending to come back to ‘take’ the believer BACK with Him to Heaven. So, if Jesus doesn’t return, He is a liar too, right?

THE HOLY SPIRIT’S ‘TESTIMONY’
The Bible says that the Holy Spirit ‘inspired’ men to write the New Testament. So, probably the ‘most’ inspired of all of the writers would be the Apostle Paul. He wrote: “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ” [ 1 Corinthians 1:4-7 ]. It seems to me that the Holy Spirit is telling the Apostle Paul to say, “Tell them Jesus is coming!”

GOD’S ‘PROGRAM’ FOR THE CHURCH
In the book of Acts it says, “God visits the Gentiles and calls out a people for His name” [ Acts 15:14 ]. That’s the gathering of the “Church,” the “called out” ones [ Translating the Greek word “ekklēsia,” or “a gathering of those summoned.” ]

As was mentioned just above, the Church is ‘taken out’ of this world before the “Second Coming” of Jesus (First the Rapture, then a minimum of seven years later, Jesus returns). James mentions that the prophets said that, “After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it” [ Acts 15:16 ]. This is referring to Jesus ‘calling’ the Church out, and then He coming back to rebuild the ‘house’ of David. That means He sets up the Millennial Kingdom and reigns as King on David’s ‘throne’.

THE ‘CORRUPTION’ OF THE WORLD
The Bible says that, “All judgment is given unto Him” [ John 5:22 ]. So, if Jesus is the Judge, then He HAS to return to judge those nations. So, God’s ‘program’ for the nations demands a return of Jesus Christ. [ Yes, God is a God of love, but He is also a God of judgment (our sins). ]

“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem” [ Joel 3:1 ]. Joel was talking about the time when the “Messiah” (Jesus) regathers Israel in the future times.

“There’ll be wonders in the heavens, and blood and fire and smoke, and the sun turn to darkness, the moon and the blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord. In the great day of judgment. In that day, at that time, when I bring back Judah and Jerusalem, you know, when I gather them from captivity” [ Joel 2:30-31 ]. Here Joel is talking about the Second Coming.

“Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, “I am strong!” Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there” [ Joel 3:9-11 ]. This is a prophecy of the battle of Armageddon.

THE ‘PROGRAM’ FOR ISRAEL
When the Church age is over, then all Israel shall be saved. Since the Church has been taken out with the Rapture, then God starts to ‘deal’ with Israel—they are saved during the seven-year Tribulation (which is actually THE main ‘reason’ for the Tribulation). It has been God’s ‘promise’ to Israel from the ‘beginning’.

As soon as the Rapture occurs, the ‘blindness’ is taken away from Israel. “Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” [ Romans 11:25 ]. Israel is going to be ‘saved’ BUT, they can’t be saved until Jesus comes for the Church. So, Jesus MUST COME since the ‘program’ of Israel demands it.

– GOD’S PURPOSE FOR ISRAEL DURING THE TRIBULATION
– THE CONDITION FOR THE SECOND COMING

JESUS WILL ‘VINDICATE’ HIMSELF
The last the world saw Jesus was when He was hanging on a cross, dying. They never saw His ‘glory’. However, they WILL SEE IT when He returns. So, Jesus must return in exaltation because His ‘humiliation’ demands it.

The writer of Hebrews is clear about this: “But as it is, He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” [ Hebrews 9:26 ]. This says that Jesus came once to die, but then, “So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him” [ Hebrews 9:28 ]. This then says that Jesus IS COMING BACK, only next time no more ‘sin-bearing’ and no more ‘humiliation’. The next time, He comes in ‘EXALTATION’.

TO ‘REMOVE’ SATAN
“Again, the Devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me’” [ Matthew 4:8-9 ]. Satan is the ‘ruler’ of the earth—then and today.

Satan’s power is over all the nations of the earth. That could be very frightening when we realize that he can ‘influence’ people in such a way that they are not even aware that they are being influenced toward evil. His power is so extensive that he is over all the nations of the earth. Jesus calls him the “ruler of this world” (John 14:30). He affects people’s attitudes by moving their reasoning processes toward satisfaction of the self. He gives disinformation and stirs up people’s spirit.

Here’s what is so perverse about all this: It is not evil for one to take care of themselves, however, it IS evil to make the satisfaction of the self more important than God or others. We are to serve God before all else (the “Great Commandment”), and the second command is like it: We are on an equal par with others physically. Nowhere are we given the right or privilege by God to make ourselves greater than or more important than God or other human beings.

So, that is Satan’s ‘strategy’. To make satisfaction of the self to become more important than conforming to what God says is the limit of our authority. In other words, he will ‘push’ us toward making ourselves greater or more important than righteousness or truth.

‘HOPE’ FOR THE BELIEVER
Let me tell you, God IS NOT in the ‘business’ of giving false hope. God loves the believer just the same as He loves Jesus—and you, His “beloved” (Zephaniah 3:17; Romans 5:8; John 3:16; Ephesians 2:4-5;1 John 3:1; 1 John 4:9-10).

The Apostle Paul said: “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” [ Philippians 1:6 ]. The ‘day’ that Jesus ‘RETURNS’!

The Apostle Paul then said: “Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” [ Titus 2:13 ]. That is ‘REAL’ HOPE for believers. Then, because believers are ‘looking’, the Apostle John encourages them with: “Beloved, now are we the children of God. But we know one thing; when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” [ 1 John 3:2 ].

SET UP THE ‘KINGDOM’
After Jesus visibly returns to this earth, He will ‘set up’ the Kingdom and then reign over this earth from Jerusalem for 1,000 years. How wonderfully glorious this will be, to think that believers will be ‘physically’ with Him, worshiping Him, helping Him to reign, and promoting His name, His cause, and His glory all over the earth.

A FEW ‘OTHER’ REASONS
The previous ‘reasons’ for Jesus coming back are the ‘primary’ ones. The following are a few of the ‘secondary’ reasons (though important) why Jesus MUST come back to earth.

– To Save Mankind from Total Destruction (Matthew 24:22)
– To Resurrect and Transform His Followers to Immortality (1 Corinthians 15:53)
– To Teach the World His Ways and Bring World Peace (Isaiah 54”13)
– To Bring Restoration to All Creation (Revelation 21:1)

Hopefully, all of the foregoing ‘reasons’ EMBOLDENS you that Jesus’ ‘RETURN IS CERTAIN! The Bible ends in affirmation of this abiding promise and a prayer for its swift fulfillment we should all join in with. Revelation 22:20 concludes, “He [Jesus] who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

LOYALTY ‘TO’ JESUS
Just like a company wants to ‘encourage’ their customers to become a loyal ‘fan’ of its products/services, Jesus also expects His believers to be ‘loyal’ to Him.

The word “loyalty” brings to mind a powerful sense of belonging and solidarity. With it comes the idea of wholehearted fidelity coupled with unswerving devotion and duty. In the Bible, the concept of loyalty is purely relational. This means our whole being is thoroughly committed to Someone (Joshua 24:15). Such loyalty is expressed to us in both the divine and human realms as given to us in the first two commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:29-31; cf. John 15:13; 1 John 3:16).

WHAT DOES LOYALTY TO JESUS ‘LOOK’ LIKE?
Well, first off, loyalty means total ’DEVOTION’ of one’s ‘heart’. Has Jesus achieved the highest ‘place’ in your HEART? It is not your ‘deeds’ that He wants most—it is YOUR ‘HEART’! It is wonderful to ‘do’ things for Him, but it is still more wonderful to make a ‘home’ for Jesus in your heart!

JESUS ‘DESERVES’ OUR LOYALTY
We can’t know all that’s ahead for us, but we can choose to declare, “Jesus, you are my Master. I choose to be loyal to You—today and every day of my life.”

In many places in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul refers to himself as “a servant of Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:1; Colossians 4:12; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 4:6). Jesus’ half-brother Jude refers to himself in the same way (Jude 1:1), and rather than capitalize on his close relationship to Jesus, Jude relegated himself to the status of a servant. Jesus’ family, friends, and chosen apostles refer to themselves as His servants, the plain implication being that Jesus is Lord.

“Servant” is a translation of the Greek word “doulos,” which means more literally “a slave or bondservant, someone who sets aside all rights of his own to serve another.” Because the word slave carries such a negative connotation to our modern culture, we often choose the word servant instead. However, servant does not quite capture the real meaning of doulos. Paul said he was a “slave” to Jesus.

RETURNING ‘TO’ JESUS
So, for those who have ‘backslidden’ (or are unbelievers), RETURNING ‘TO’ Jesus starts with being honest about all that’s going on in one’s head and heart in addition to whatever one has done. “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun” [ Psalm 37:5-6 ].

So, how can you return to God? Well, get 100% honest—Admit every thought, desire, motive and sin to yourself and confess it to God. REPENT of your sins and believe that Jesus is your Lord and Savior. (“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” [ Acts 3:19 ]).

God WILL take you back! “Therefore thus says the LORD: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them” [ Jeremiah 15:19 ].

JESUS DESERVES OUR ‘WORSHIP’
When you are hungry, it’s hard to ignore your body’s desire for food. When you are thirsty, it’s hard to ignore that craving as well. Hunger and thirst are both mental and physical cravings for something we truly need. The sensations of hunger and thirst can be powerful. They help us to survive, even.

Well, Psalm 10 describes a craving and a desire. It’s a craving and desire to be in the “House of God.” It’s a passion to be with God and to worship God in his holy ‘temple’.

Author and lay theologian C.S. Lewis rightly referred to this as an “appetite for God.” As the Bible tells us, man does not live by bread alone (Matthew 4:4). That physical hunger and thirst alone is not enough to meet our basic needs. Humanity also has a need to be in communion with God. This psalm expresses that fundamental need.

‘DELIGHTING’ IN JESUS
Webster’s dictionary defines “delight” as a high degree of gratification, or something that gives great pleasure.

Delight is such a ‘substantial’ word, and it has a ‘majestic’ feel about it—though ’quieting’ to the soul. Delight offers a more permanent state of mind and heart than even joy, which ‘expires’ in time. When one says they are delighted in a person, situation, opportunity, or accomplishment, they are deeply and gratefully fulfilled. They are content and at rest with a cheerful disposition, as they celebrate the good ‘fruit’ that delight produces.

So, what does it mean to “delight in the Lord”? Well, this comes from Psalm 37 that King David wrote. He said, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” [ Psalm 37:4 ].

Taking delight in the Lord means that our hearts truly find peace and fulfillment ‘in’ Him. If one can truly find satisfaction and worth in Jesus, Scripture says He will give them the longings of their hearts.

SEEKING JESUS’ ‘RETURN’
It is the extreme importance that each and every Christian seek to establish a good, close, intimate, personal relationship with the Lord.

God is now waiting with wide and open ‘arms’ for all of us to approach Him. So, what exactly is He waiting for? Well, intimate fellowship, intimate prayer and communication, intimate dialogue and conversations about anything and everything, and intimate sharing of our most personal, private, and secret thoughts.

The ‘bottom line’ is that God is looking for ‘SEEKERS’! Those that want to establish a passionate, intense, and a ‘tell-all’ relationship with Him—to understand all of His ways.

Let me finish this post with a story by Christian author Jeff Kinley (Author of “Wake the Bride”) discussing the great British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton:

“In 1914, there was a very famous British explorer named Sir Ernest Shackleton. He was one of the most famous explorers in England.

And he placed an advert in a London newspaper. It read, just like this:

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant dander, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.” – Ernest Shackleton

So, are your ‘bridal garments’ ready? Are you ready to be ‘wed’ the One who died on the Cross for you?

Well, Jesus IS anticipating with great joy ‘RETURNING’ FOR YOU!

If I have convinced you of the ‘PREDICTION’ that Jesus WILL BE ‘RETURNING’ to this earth either to ‘RAPTURE’ believers or to ‘JUDGE’ unbelievers—and that it is going to be SOON—I BEG YOU to ‘PREPARE’ for His coming! It WILL change the ‘location’ of your ETERNITY!!!

[ FYI: For more details about how to ‘prepare’ for Eternity, view this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/are-you-prepared-v210/ ].

The thing is, Jesus’ SOON ‘COMING’ brings great joy to the BELIEVER. The crucial question is: “Do you have this BLESSED HOPE?” Will Jesus return as your “Blessed Hope” or as your “Holy Terror”? It will only be one of the two, because there are only two ways that God ‘deals’ with sin: by His grace (Jesus’ perfect righteousness as ‘payment’ for all your sins when you were saved) or by His ‘appropriate’ wrath (presenting your ‘wretched’ unrighteousness as some kind of ‘restitution’ for all your sins).

[ For more details on a believer’s “blessed hope,” view this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/blessed-hope-v245/ ].

HOWEVER, for the UNBELIEVER, this will be an ABHORRENT ‘EXPERIENCE’ since they WILL experience God’s ‘WRATH’! The Bible says, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” [ Hebrews 10:31 ]. Now, THAT is something people ought to be afraid of! If people are going to have a ‘phobia’—if they’re going to have an uncontrollable, debilitating, disabling, exaggerated, unconquerable fear—let it be the fear of falling into the ‘hands’ of the living God!

Jesus warned, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell” [ Matthew 10:28 ]. To ‘fear’ God is to live in the reality of His holiness, His sovereignty, and His judgment of sin. It is to love God, to respect Him, to reverence Him, to adore Him, to hold Him in awe, and to worship Him. Refusing to do this is at the ‘core’ of man’s prideful rebellion. [ Pride is why Lucifer (later Satan) was ‘kicked out’ of Heaven originally. ] This can only be ‘overcome’ by loving God’s only Son, Jesus, the ONLY Savior for mankind (John 5:23).

[ For more details on God’s ‘wrath’, view this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post (Look for the “‘Fear’ God’s Wrath!” section:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/got-your-attention-yet-v255/ ].

[ FYI: For more details on how to become “born again,” view this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/saved-from-death-v219/ ].

Finally, in today’s ‘vernacular’, Jesus said, “I’ll be back!” Just before He ascended into Heaven, He told His disciples: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, you may be also” [ John 14:3 ]. This was Jesus’ promise to ‘RETURN’ to receive those who believe in Him so that they may be taken into Heaven to be with Him forever!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWoctMLIxTo&t=15s

[ VIDEO: “I’ll Be Back” – Michael Combs (Lyrics in the “Songs” section below). ]

Jesus IS ‘RETURNING’. Are you READY to be ‘received’ by Him?

DON’T MISS your opportunity to ‘DELIGHT’ in Him for ETERNITY in Heaven!

[ FYI: This is a link to the original post, “‘WHY’ Does Someone Return?”
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/why-does-someone-return-v275/ ].

>>> ‘HOW’ SHOULD ONE PREPARE FOR JESUS’ RETURN? <<<
[ FEBRUARY 2022 ]

JESUS IS ‘THE’ MOST IMPORTANT PERSON TO MEET
So, in many of the surveys of people to meet, Jesus was listed first, but not always. So then, why do I say that He is the “MOST IMPORTANT” Person to meet?

Well, first off, He said He was God in the flesh (John 10:30). That means that everyone has to determine if that is true. Author and lay theologian C.S. Lewis put it this way: [ The “Trilemma” ]

Secondly, Jesus said that HE is THE ‘ONLY’ WAY to get to Heaven and spend one’s afterlife with God. Jesus is the ‘KEY’ to membership in God’s ‘family’. When He stooped to our level by becoming a man, He made it possible for us to relate to Him and for God to relate to us through Him.

Then, since Jesus resurrected from the dead (“Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” – 1 Corinthians 15:3-4), He promises that all who believe in Him will ALSO be raised from the dead (“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” – 1 Corinthians 15:22). So, I’m thinking that, if you can determine for yourself that these things were true, then these things should make Jesus VERY ‘IMPORTANT’ to you, too!

So, if there is an afterlife and only one way to get there—and that one way is ‘by’ Jesus—that would mean Jesus is THE ‘MOST IMPORTANT Person EVER TO LIVE!

Then, HOW would one ‘PREPARE’ for a ‘meeting’ with Jesus—since He says that He IS ‘coming back’ to this earth?

PREPARING FOR JESUS’ ‘RETURN’
Preparation is defined as the activity or process of making something ready or of becoming ready for something. We prepare ourselves for so many things in life. We get prepared for a job interview, to get married, to have children, to buy a house, school exams, a vacation, a party—and the list goes on and on.

Now, since we all make so many preparations for different ‘events’ here on earth—and some are long-term and ‘intensive’—have we taken into consideration that we need to GET PREPARED to ‘meet’ Jesus? Are we ready to ‘face’ God (judgment) and are we sure that we will spend eternity with Him? We have to keep in mind that everything that we are busy preparing here on earth will vanish (Matthew 6:19) but preparing oneself to face God will be eternal (Matthew 6:20)—it will just depend ‘where’ one goes (Heaven or Hell)!

Well, the MOST IMPORTANT thing one needs to do to be ready to meet Jesus is that they must be sure of their ‘relationship’ with Him—they must be “BORN AGAIN”!

‘THE’ WARNING TO PREPARE NOW!
Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight’” [ Mark 1:2-3 ]. The “messenger” Isaiah was describing ‘become’ John the Baptist, and his purpose was to “prepare the way of the Lord,” to prepare people’s hearts and minds to ‘meet’ Jesus. Again, proving the Biblical prophecy IS accurate, this was originally written by Isaiah 700+ years before John the Baptist/Jesus came!

John the Baptist PREPARED PEOPLE to ‘meet’ Jesus the Messiah back in his day, and people today need to prepare in the same way John told his listeners to prepare.

When people believe the truths John preached, they receive the knowledge of salvation for the forgiveness of their sins. When John preached, many believed, REPENTED, were baptized, and bore “fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8). Those who obeyed John’s message opened their ‘hearts’ to believe in Jesus when they met Him and they followed Him as the ‘way’ of salvation (just what you need to do if you want to ‘miss’ God’s coming wrath in the Great Tribulation, and have a place in Heaven!).

PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS
One of the Biblical passages that talks about ‘PREPARING’ for the return of Jesus is the “Parable of the Ten Virgins.” The overall thrust of the parable is that Jesus will return at an unknown hour and that His people MUST BE ‘READY’. Being ready means preparing for whatever contingency arises in our lives and keeping our eyes fixed ‘on’ Jesus at all times while we eagerly await His coming.

Again, being ready for Jesus’ return ultimately involves one major thing which manifests itself in several areas of our lives—we must be “BORN AGAIN” through saving faith in Jesus (John 3:16; 14:6; Romans 10:9 and 10; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 2:1-10). This is referred to as “being wise” in the parable.

The parable of the ten virgins represents the ‘visible’, professing Church, which consists of both ‘true’ believers and ‘false’ confessors. The term “virgin” symbolizes purity, with five professing that Jesus is Lord and the other five were “foolish,” false ‘professors’.

They are called foolish for one reason–they “took their lamps, but did not take any oil with them.” Why did that matter? Well, in order to meet the bridegroom at night, there was one requirement—a bright torch. When the cry went out, “Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him,” these virgins were to light their torches, meet the bridegroom, and proceed with him to the place of feasting and celebration.

However, the wise virgins differed from the foolish virgins in one VERY ‘IMPORTANT’ respect. They alone were ‘thoughtful’. They learned of the essential requirement of torchlight for the procession, and they knew that without lit torches they would be excluded from the procession and from feasting with the bridegroom. So, they put this knowledge into practice. They took ‘EXTRA’ SUPPLIES of olive oil in jars with them. The wise virgins are ‘true’ believers who are led not by the enthusiasm of emotions but rather by an understanding of the Gospel.

The wise were ‘PREPARED’ for the delay of the bridegroom, but the foolish were not. The foolish were like those who receive the Gospel with great joy and enthusiasm, but do not understand that there will be troubles and persecutions because of the Gospel (John 15:20). When difficulties come they wither away. Those who are foolish want a gospel that prevents them from problems. They want the “Prosperity” gospel that will make them happy and trouble-free.

However, the ‘true’ believer is prepared for delay and disappointments. They rejoice in tribulations, because “He who began a good work in [him] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” [ Philippians 1:6 ]. The true believer says, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” [ Romans 8:38-39 ]. Delay shows who the ‘TRUE’ BELIEVER is.

So, one NEEDS to be ready NOW just in case Jesus comes sooner than they anticipate. In another related parable, Jesus talks about the unbelievers that think that their ‘master’ will be long in coming:

The parable of the Ten Virgins is to call for ‘inward’ preparedness for the return of Jesus, rather than simply an outward ‘show’. Over and over again, God expresses His concern for those people who outwardly make a profession for Jesus but inwardly do not ‘know’ Him.

The thing is, the foolish virgins are not ‘reprobates’, atheists, agnostics, irreligious, or even outwardly ungodly. Nope, they are ‘in’ the Church BUT have no genuine ‘fruit’. The whole of their profession is to satisfy the ‘eyes’ of people, rather than please the One who sees in secret.

DO NOT WAIT until the Bridegroom comes before you prepare to meet Him! If you do, it will be TOO LATE! The ‘wise’ are those who KNOW THE WILL of God and DO IT NOW! Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” [ Matthew 6:19-20 ]. Do not be blind or nearsighted, but exercise forethought. He may come today, or you may die today. ARE ‘YOU’ READY to meet Him NOW?

So, finally, ask yourself this question: “Am I a wise virgin or a foolish one?” Since you are reading this, the ‘door’ is STILL ‘OPEN’! Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” [ Matthew 11:28 ]. This is ‘THE’ TIME of great mercy and grace!

Jesus IS COMING BACK in glory and great power, not only to judge and exclude every wicked person, but also to admit those who love God into the eternal joy of His presence. PLEASE ‘REPENT’ of your sins and put your trust in Jesus alone so you will have eternal life in Heaven with Jesus!

‘SPECIFICS’ ON WHAT TO DO
You can’t be indifferent and have a lethargic view of the future. You must BE ‘READY’ for the future. Jesus is saying that you have to live realizing that the end is near. Anticipation of the Second Coming should be your ‘MOTIVATION’. There is going to be an ‘invasion’ in this world—of Jesus in final judgment—and the Bible describes it in the most ‘HORRIFIC’ terms.

The culmination of all redemptive history IS ‘COMING’ SOON! It IS the judgment of the wicked, the blessing of the righteous, and most of all, a permanent place and everlasting life in Heaven with Jesus. All other doctrines lead up to that one. It’s the finale. It’s the culmination. The purpose for which all other elements of redemptive history were ‘designed’!

The Son of Man (Jesus) is coming at an hour you do not expect. This statement really says just two things: a certain event at an uncertain time.

The Bible gives us warning after warning that Jesus IS coming (‘certain’ event) and it could happen at ANY MOMENT (‘uncertain’ time)!

You then might say, “Then what is He waiting for?” Well, the very next verse answers your question: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” [ 2 Peter 3:9 ]. He’s waiting for those (YOU?) to come to repentance—because He DOESN’T WANT ‘ANYONE’ to go to Hell!

SPECIFICALLY, JESUS MUST BE YOUR ‘MASTER’

SPECIFICALLY, YOU MUST BE JESUS’ ‘SERVANT’

SPECIFICALLY, YOU MUST LIVE IN ‘EXPECTATION’ OF JESUS’ RETURN

KEEP ON DOING THE ‘WORK’ JESUS LEFT US TO DO
Jesus warned of troubling events as we near the end of the age, including the persecution of believers (Mark 13:7-9). He then added that nothing—not even persecution—should distract the believer from the one necessary thing: to preach the Gospel to all nations (Mark 13:10).

Before ascending into Heaven, Jesus gave the ‘Church’ its marching orders: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” [ Acts 1:8 ]. The very next verses report that the disciples just stood there looking up into the sky. Two angels appeared and spoke the words the church today needs to hear: “Why are you standing there gazing into Heaven? Jesus IS coming back” (Acts 1:9-11). So, GET BUSY with the following:

‘NOW’ IS THE TIME TO PREPARE!
A “Coming Soon” announcement often precedes future events in entertainment and sports, or the launch of the latest technology. The goal is to create anticipation and excitement for what is going to happen, even though it may be months away. (Apple creates this kind of anticipation better than anyone else.)

While reading the book of Revelation, I was impressed with the ‘coming soon’ sense of immediacy that permeated the entire book. Rather than saying, “Someday, in the far distant future, Jesus is going to return to earth,” the text is filled with phrases like “what must soon take place” (Revelation 1:1) and “the time is near” (Revelation 1:3). Three times in the final chapter, Jesus says, “I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:7, 12, and 20). Other versions translate this phrase as “I am coming quickly.”

‘DESIRE’ IT NOW!
Sadly, the unbeliever has no ‘desire’ to be faithful. “But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers” [ Luke 12:45-46 ].

Here Jesus teaches us that the unfaithful slave is not like the faithful slave. We discover that there are two characteristics of an unfaithful person.

The first ‘symptom’ of an unfaithful slave that Jesus gives us is that they do not truly love other people. The unfaithful want to be loved and so they do for others in order to receive.

The second characteristic of the unfaithful slave is that they are self-indulgent. (given to excess). The unfaithful slave is actually unloving and self-indulgent.

JESUS WILL COME LIKE A ‘THIEF’
Jesus tells another parable that emphasizes that one needs to be ready at ALL TIMES since no one knows when He will return. He uses a homeowner to show that if they had known that the thief was coming, they would have prepared:

“But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect”

[ Luke 12:39-40 ].

Now, be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

Preparation in every area of life here on earth is a necessity and not an option. So, wouldn’t you think that meeting Jesus should be even MORE IMPORTANT?

“THE ABC’s OF SALVATION”:

– Admit you are a sinner
– Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead
– Call upon the name of the Lord

PREPARING FOR THE COMING ‘JUDGMENT’
The unprepared will meet God just as certainly as the prepared will. The Scriptures teach that an ‘interview’ with God is inevitable: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” [ 2 Corinthians 5:10 ]. God DOES NOT want you to be ignorant or unprepared. So, He sent prophets, and later His Son and the apostles, that ‘pleaded’ to people to prepare.

God also has been warning that there will be a JUDGMENT ‘MEETING’ that will come: “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” [ Acts 17:30-31 ].

The Bible calls this the Judgment Seat of Christ.” It will the be judgment of all unbelievers based on all their sins: “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds” [ Revelation 20:12 ]. The need to prepare to meet God is clearly recognized by all who understand WHAT WILL HAPPEN when they meet God!

‘MISS’ ETERNAL PUNISHMENT!
It is ESSENTIAL that one is ‘prepared’ to meet God, since the alternative is simply too horrible to contemplate: “And cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth… these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life… these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” [ Matthew 25:30, 41; 2 Thessalonians 1:9 ].

For the believer to meet Jesus will be a ‘THRILLING’ EXPERIENCE! The Apostle Paul, near the close of his life, said, “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand” [ 2 Timothy 4:6 ]. (Death came SHORTLY after he had uttered those words!)

HOWEVER, for the unbeliever, meeting God will be a ‘FRIGHTENING’ EXPERIENCE! The Bible says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31) and, “The Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression,” but by no means will He “clear the guilty” (Numbers 14:18). If you resist God’s love, refuse His salvation, and despise His warnings—the day you stand before Him will be a VERY ‘DREADFUL’ DAY!

Let me consider the ‘ABSURDITY’ of procrastination. God’s justice demands that we be punished for our sins, but God’s love has provided a ‘REMEDY’. That remedy is the death of God’s own Son, Jesus. Isaiah says, “The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” However, in order that Jesus’ death becomes effective as an atonement for your sins, you MUST ‘RECEIVE’ Him into your ‘heart’.

It is my hope that this post has challenged you to think about the End Times and Jesus’ Second Coming (and the “Rapture”), and how to better prepare for them. However, thinking about these times and how to prepare is meaningless unless you actually TAKE ‘ACTION’ and begin to PREPARE. It would be a horrible shame to have read this post and think, “Wow, that was daunting and arduous,” and then do nothing. Please DO NOT allow this to happen!

SO, ‘WHAT’ will it take to convince you to honestly consider BECOMING ‘PREPARED’?

The Bible says that EVERYONE MUST ‘DECIDE’ while they are alive on this earth—death is the END of ANY ‘OPPORTUNITY’ to get into Heaven, and ‘dispatches’ one to Hell!

You need to GET READY! For a believer to meet God, it WILL BE a wonderful, thrilling thing, a sweet experience. HOWEVER, for those who have ‘rejected’ Jesus, how TERRIBLE that will be!

So, RIGHT NOW would be the BEST ‘TIME’ to ‘punch your ticket’ for Heaven! “Now is the acceptable time and now is the day of salvation” [ 2 Corinthians 6:2 ] and “Seek the Lord while you can find Him. Call upon Him now while He is near” [ Isaiah 55:6 ]. One should search for God and prepare ourselves before it is TOO LATE!

So now, is Jesus THE PERSON that you want to meet?

If so, it’s time to GET SERIOUS and ‘PREPARE’ for His RETURN!

[ FYI: This is a link to the original post, “‘HOW’ To Prepare To Meet Someone Important”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/how-to-prepare-to-meet-someone-important-v276/ ].

Lots of fictional detectives have contributed to this image, with Sherlock Holmes being the most popular. Today’s pop-culture investigators, like Columbo, Adrian Monk, and Veronica Mars, are often a little ‘quirkier’ than Holmes. They don’t necessarily wear ‘fedoras’, work in questionable neighborhoods, or even call themselves private investigators. However, they still appear as heroes who have a knack for digging up the right information at just the right time.

However, the primary goal of the private investigator—or even the investigative journalist—is to separate fact from fiction. Their job is to collect information, analyze the data, and determine what is the truth.

Gathering facts involves more than the luck and intuition that some fictional investigators seem to rely on. Successfully solving a case begins with planning and analysis. The investigator must:

– Conduct the investigation, gathering ‘reliable’ evidence in such a way that it can be presented in court when necessary
– Analyze the evidence
– Report the findings to the client and/or the police

Like any good researcher, a private investigator/investigative journalist uses multiple ‘tools’ to solve a case. However, some tools are more effective than others.

Then, there are questioning ‘strategies’, with “Bloom’s Taxonomy” being one of the most used. Bloom’s is a hierarchical system for ordering thinking skills from lower to higher, where each level requires a ‘mastery’ of the skills below it. The taxonomy is introduced as a tool that is helpful for defining the kinds of thinking skills and for helping to establish congruence between the investigator’s goals and the questions they ask. (People often refer to “lower-level” and “higher-level” questions or behaviors, rather than assigning a specific level to those questions or behaviors.)

The model includes six levels of objectives: Create; Evaluate; Analyze; Apply; Understand; and Remember. It suggests a process to develop and investigate a topic, then to appraise and support the conjecture. One then analyzes the data, comparing and contrasting it by questioning and examination. This is then interpreted, classified, and explained so others can understand the hypothesis and can recall the main points of the ‘argument’.

Another valuable principle is the popular saying referred to as “Garbage in, garbage out” (“GIGO”)—the concept that flawed, or nonsense (garbage) input data produces nonsense output.

Another strategy for finding out more detail—for clarification—is the “probing” question. An effective way of probing is to use the 5 Why’s method, which can help the investigator quickly get to the ‘root’ of a problem (Asking “Why” successively five times in a row). Probing questions are good for gaining clarification to ensure that you have the whole story and that you understand it thoroughly.

The 5W1H method ensures the investigator is capturing the important perspective, sharing the all-important content, and making it relevant for their audience.

[ Note: For all the details about the “5W1H” method, refer back to the particular ’section’ above that goes into much more detail about it. ]

The ‘essence’ of each question was as follows:

‘WHO’ JESUS IS:
– He is God and the ONLY ‘mediator’ between God and man.
[ Previous post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/its-who-you-know-v271/ ].

‘WHAT’ JESUS DID/HAS DONE FOR US:
– Became the ‘atonement’ for our sins which reconciled a believer to God the Father and gave them a ‘way’ to achieve eternal life in Heaven.
[ Previous post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/what-have-you-done-lately-v272/ ].

‘WHERE’ WILL JESUS RETURN:
– Jesus will return to the “Mount of Olives” in Jerusalem.
[ Previous post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/where-you-return-to-v273/ ].

‘WHEN’ WILL JESUS RETURN:
– Prior to coming physically back to the earth (the “Second Coming”), Jesus will ‘rapture’ all the believers to Heaven before the “Great Tribulation.” All of the prophesies ‘required’ for this have been fulfilled, so the Rapture can happen at ANY TIME. Sometime after that, there will be a seven-year “Tribulation” which, at the end of it, Jesus will come back to end it all (“Armageddon”).
[ Previous post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/when-will-something-important-happen-v274/ ].

‘WHY’ WILL JESUS RETURN:
– Primarily, Jesus is returning because it is a ‘promise’ of God. Secondarily, if Jesus didn’t come back, humanity would totally destroy itself. Finally, Jesus will set up a “Millennial Kingdom” and will reign as King for 1,000 years.
[ Previous post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/why-does-someone-return-v275/ ].

‘HOW’ TO ‘PREPARE’ FOR JESUS’ RETURN:
– One MUST become “born again” and the time to do so is NOW—since there is a “convergence” of prophetic ‘signs’ that indicates that Jesus will be RETURNING VERY SOON!
[ Previous post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/how-to-prepare-to-meet-someone-important-v276/ ].

Becoming a “born again” believer ‘in’ Jesus is the ONE ‘WAY’ to get Heaven.

So, that’s WHY I spend the effort in writing a monthly post about this—so I can ‘see’ you in Heaven someday!!!

In the past decade, I have tried to ‘PACKAGE’ the Bible’s teachings about getting to Heaven in a few different ‘series’ of posts (a sequential ‘grouping’ of posts). The first ‘major’ series was done to explain the “Fruits Of The Beatitudes” website I developed (https://fruitsofthebeatitudes.org/). It associates “The Beatitudes” and the “fruit of the Spirit” to help one develop the attitudes of Jesus and produce the character of Jesus. The following are the ‘associations’ that connect the particular “fruit of the Spirit” that most closely relates to the intent of each “Beatitude”:

THE BEATITUDES FRUIT OF SPIRIT
(Attitudes) (Character)
PURE IN HEART………… LOVE
POOR IN SPIRIT………… JOY
MOURNING………………. PEACE
PERSECUTED…………… PATIENCE
MERCIFUL……………….. KINDNESS
RIGHTEOUSNESS………GOODNESS
PEACEMAKER………….. FAITHFULNESS
MEEKNESS……………… GENTLENESS
INSULTED……………….. SELF-CONTROL

The intent of these associations was to help the believer focus on becoming more like Jesus, and become the kind of person that will then have a “Great Commission” focus in THEIR life (wanting to see their ‘acquaintances’ in Heaven, too!). [ ‘Discipling’ them to have an eternal focus, too ]

This series started with post number 203 (January 2016), “The ‘Blessed’ Life,” and ended with post number 209 (July 2016) with the ‘launch’ of the website (https://fruitsofthebeatitudes.org/). [ The intermediary posts explained the reasoning behind the ‘associations’, the refinement of the concept, and why one should actively (daily) ‘remind’ oneself about these things. ]

– “The ‘Blessed’ Life” [v203]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/the-blessed-life-v203/

– “The ‘Fruitful’ Life” [v204]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/the-fruitful-life-v204/

– “‘Casual’ Associations” [v205]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/causal-associations-v205/

– “‘Poignant’ Reminders” [v206]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/poignant-reminders-v206/

– “‘Empowered’ Willpower” [v207]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/empowered-willpower-v207/

– “Concept ‘Clarification’” [v208]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/concept-clarification-v208/

– “Concept ‘Refinement’” [v209]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/concept-refinement-v209/

The next ‘major’ series was just a few years ago, and focused on the “END TIMES”—what the Bible prophesies to be the cataclysmic events preceding the “end of the age” and the final war, “Armageddon.” I wanted people to know what the Bible says about when it might possibly be and what to do about it.

The series started with post number 245 (July 2019) the “Blessed Hope” explaining that the believer doesn’t really have to worry about all the ‘angst’ in the world since they will be taken to Heaven before it gets ‘really’ bad, and ends with post number 251 (January 2020) to “‘Heed’ The Warning” about the “convergence” of all the things that Jesus and the prophets have said that would be happening just before the “Great Tribulation.” [ The intermediary posts went into the details about the Tribulation, mankind’s “destiny,” if this is the last “generation,” and how the believer can become a “watchman” and a ‘sentinel’. ]

– “‘Blessed’ Hope” [‘v245]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/blessed-hope-v245/

– “‘Final’ Tribulation” [v246]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/final-tribulation-v246/

– “Mankind’s ‘Destiny’” [v247]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/mankinds-destiny-v247/

– “Last ‘Generation’” [v249]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/last-generation-v249/

– “Being A ‘Watchman’” [v250]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/being-a-watchman-v250/

– “‘Heed’ The Warning!” [v251]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/heed-the-warning-v251/

The next ‘major’ series was just a few months ago—just before the current “5W1H” series—and focused on the “FINAL ‘DECEPTION’” (April 2021-June 2021). It is what the Bible says about how the “Antichrist” will be the final ‘deceptive’ power—during the “Tribulation”—just before Jesus’ Second Coming. It did discuss what the Antichrist would do during the Tribulation—just to make the unbeliever aware of what they may experience—however, the series was PRIMARILY to make the believer aware of the ‘deception’ that will be happening in the ‘COMING’ DAYS. [ The intermediary posts talked about how to become more ‘discerning’ (with a post before the first one in the series explaining ‘how’ to gain a deep understanding). ]

– “Being ‘Discerning’” [v266]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/being-discerning-v266/

– “The ‘Ongoing’ Deception” [v267]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/the-ongoing-deception-v267/

– “The ‘Final’ Deception” [v268]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/the-final-deception-v268/

The latest series—which is summarized in this post—focuses on Jesus’ “SECOND COMING.” As was just mentioned above, this is the NEXT ‘EVENT’ scheduled in prophecy, and will be the ‘END’ of the world as we know it!

Now, many people will say that I am “out of my mind” saying something like this. Well, don’t shoot the messenger! I’m just presenting what the Bible says WILL HAPPEN, and for MANY biblical scholars—based on what is happening in the world these days—is going to happen ‘REAL’ SOON!

The series started with post number 271 (September 2021) “It’s ‘WHO’ you Know,” explaining that Jesus is the ‘ONLY’ ONE that can get one to Heaven, and ends with post number 276 (February 2022) with “‘’HOW’ to Prepare To Meet Someone Important” which talked about how Jesus is ‘THE’ MOST IMPORTANT Person anyone could ever ‘meet’! [ The intermediary posts went into the details about ‘what’ Jesus did for humanity, ‘where’ He is going to return to, ‘when’ He will return, and ‘why’ He returning. ]

– “It’s ‘WHO’ You Know” [v271]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/its-who-you-know-v271/

– “‘WHAT’ Have You Done Lately?” [v272]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/what-have-you-done-lately-v272/

– “‘WHERE’ You Return To” [v273]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/where-you-return-to-v273/

– “‘WHEN’ Will Something Important Happen?” [v274]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/when-will-something-important-happen-v274/

– “‘WHY’ Does Someone Return?” [v275]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/why-does-someone-return-v275/

– “‘HOW’ To Prepare To Meet Someone Important” [v276]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/how-to-prepare-to-meet-someone-important-v276/

– “What Really ‘Matters’?” [v270]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/what-really-matters-v270/

– “A Sense Of ‘Urgency’” [v269]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/a-sense-of-urgency-v269/

– “Gaining A Deep ‘Understanding’” [v264]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/gaining-a-deep-understanding-v264/

– “‘Presence’ Withdrawn?” [v257]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/presence-withdrawn-v257/

– “‘Protection’ Removed?” [v256]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/protection-removed-v256/

– “Got Your ‘Attention’?” [v255]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/got-your-attention-yet-v255/

– “Are You ‘Blind’?” [v252]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/are-you-blind-v252/

– “‘Saved’ From Death” [v219]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/saved-from-death-v219/

– “‘Mayday!-Mayday!-Mayday’” [v218]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/mayday-mayday-mayday-v218/

– “Are You ‘Prepared’?” [v210]:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/are-you-prepared-v210/

As I concluded in last month’s post, ‘WHAT’ will it take to convince you to honestly consider BECOMING ‘PREPARED’ for Jesus’ Second Coming?

The Bible says that EVERYONE MUST ‘DECIDE’ while they are alive on this earth, and death is the END of ANY ‘OPPORTUNITY’ to get into Heaven (and ‘dispatches’ one to Hell!)

Let me ask you a question: If you were to die tonight, or if Jesus were to come back right now, would you be FOUND ‘READY’?

[ Romans 13:11-14 ].

I am BEGGING YOU to GET SERIOUS and ‘PREPARE’ for Jesus’ Second Coming—NOW!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q21Jnaq-EL8

[ Excerpts by: Felicia Yulianti; David Galiana; Deepak Chawla; Erika Montgomery; Pradeep Kumar Mahalik; David Grossman; David Galiana; Lee Strobel; J. Warner Wallace; Tracy V. Wilson; Wikipedia ]

RELATED POSTS:

“‘Investigating’ Something”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/investigating-something-v277/

“‘HOW’ To Prepare To Meet Someone Important”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/how-to-prepare-to-meet-someone-important-v276/

“‘WHY’ Does Someone Return?”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/why-does-someone-return-v275/

“‘WHEN’ Will Something Important Happen?”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/when-will-something-important-happen-v274/

“‘WHERE’ You Return To”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/where-you-return-to-v273/

“‘WHAT’ Have You Done Lately?”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/what-have-you-done-lately-v272/

“It’s ‘WHO’ You Know”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/its-who-you-know-v271/

“What Really ‘Matters’?”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/what-really-matters-v270/

“A Sense Of ‘Urgency’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/a-sense-of-urgency-v269/

“The ‘Final’ Deception”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/the-final-deception-v268/

“The ‘Ongoing’ Deception”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/the-ongoing-deception-v267/

“Being ‘Discerning’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/being-discerning-v266/

“Gaining A Deep ‘Understanding’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/gaining-a-deep-understanding-v264/

“‘Presence’ Withdrawn?”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/presence-withdrawn-v257/

“‘Protection’ Removed?”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/protection-removed-v256/

“Got Your ‘Attention’ Yet?”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/got-your-attention-yet-v255/

“Are You ‘Blind’?”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/are-you-blind-v252/

“‘Heed’ The Warning!”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/heed-the-warning-v251/

“Being A ‘Watchman’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/being-a-watchman-v250/

“Last ‘Generation’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/last-generation-v249/

“Mankind’s ‘Destiny’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/mankinds-destiny-v247/

“‘Final’ Tribulation”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/final-tribulation-v246/

“‘Blessed’ Hope”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/blessed-hope-v245/

“‘Saved’ From Death”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/saved-from-death-v219/

“‘Mayday!-Mayday!-Mayday’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/mayday-mayday-mayday-v218/

“Are You ‘Prepared’?”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/are-you-prepared-v210/

“Concept ‘Refinement’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/concept-refinement-v209/

“Concept ‘Clarification’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/concept-clarification-v208/

“‘Empowered’ Willpower”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/empowered-willpower-v207/

“‘Poignant’ Reminders”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/poignant-reminders-v206/

“‘Casual’ Associations”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/causal-associations-v205/

“The ‘Fruitful’ Life”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/the-fruitful-life-v204/

“The ‘Blessed’ Life”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/the-blessed-life-v203/

‘PRAYER’ OF REPENTANCE
In the Bible, there is a parable that Jesus told about a Pharisee and a tax collector praying the the Temple. He notes that the tax collector didn’t even dare to lift his eyes toward Heaven as he prayed. Instead he “beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner’”—and Jesus said that the tax collector “went home justified,” he had been “born again” and ‘reconciled’ by God. (Luke 18:9-14).

If you are ‘sensing’ something like that right now, let me strongly encourage you to HUMBLE YOURSELF, CRY OUT to God, and PLEAD for Him to mercifully ‘SAVE’ YOU! None of us have a ‘claim’ on our salvation, nor do we have any ‘works’ that would cause us to deserve it or earn it—it is purely a gift of Divine grace—and all any of us can do is ask. So, CONFESS YOUR SINS and acknowledge to God that you have no hope for Heaven apart from what He provides through Jesus. [ See Psalm 51 ].

There is no ‘formula’ or certain words for this. So just talk to God, in your own words—He knows your ‘heart’. If you are genuinely sincere, and God does respond to your plea, one will usually have a sense of joy and peace.

Jesus said, “He that comes to Me, I will not cast out” [ John 6:37 ].

[ FYI: This is a great sermon on the “Call to Repentance” by John MacArthur from his book “The Gospel According to Jesus”: https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-22/the-call-to-repentance (Transcript: http://www.spiritedesign.com/TheCallToRepentance-JohnMacArthur(Jul-27-2019).pdf) ].

[ NOTE: If you have ‘tasted the kindness of the Lord’, please e-mail me—I would love to CELEBRATE with you, and help you get started on your ‘journey’ with Jesus! ].

<<< RESOURCES >>>

“Introduction to Criminal Investigation: Processes, Practices and Thinking”
By: Rod Gehl and Darryl Plecas

Introduction to Criminal Investigation, Processes, Practices, and Thinking, as the title suggests, is a teaching text describing and segmenting criminal investigations into its component parts to illustrate the craft of criminal investigation. Delineating criminal investigation within the components of task-skills and thinking-skills, this book describes task-skills such incident response, crime scene management, evidence management, witness management, and forensic analysis, as essential foundations supporting the critical thinking-skills of offense validation and theory development for the creation of effective investigative plans aimed at forming reasonable grounds for belief. The goal of the text is to assist the reader in forming their own structured mental map of investigative thinking practices.

WEBPAGE: https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/criminalinvestigation/

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“The Process of Investigation: Concepts and Strategies for Investigators in the Private Sector”
By: Charles A. Sennewald, and John Tsukayama

The Process of Investigation, Fourth Edition addresses the needs of today’s private sector investigative professional by providing a full-spectrum treatment of the investigative process, from case inception and investigative strategy selection to executing complex investigative techniques, to creating reports useful for corporate, legal, and prosecutorial purposes. Continuing in the tradition of its previous editions, The Process of Investigation, Fourth Edition covers essential topics overlooked in books on the public aspects of investigation. Investigative skills such as surveillance techniques, interviewing and interrogation, collecting and documenting evidence, and taking confessions and written statements are all discussed, and supplemented with updated case studies and examples from the authors’ own professional experiences.

https://www.amazon.com/Process-Investigation-Concepts-Strategies-Investigators/dp/0128001666

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“Story-based Inquiry: A Manual for Investigative Journalists”
By: Mark Lee Hunter

“Investigative Journalism means the unveiling of matters that are concealed either deliberately by someone in a position of power, or accidentally, behind a chaotic mass of facts and circumstances – and the analysis and exposure of all relevant facts to the public. In this way investigative journalism crucially contributes to freedom of expression and freedom of information, which are at the heart of UNESCO’s mandate. The role media can play as a watchdog is indispensable for democracy and it is for this reason that UNESCO fully supports initiatives to strengthen investigative journalism throughout the world. I believe this publication makes a significant contribution to promoting investigative journalism and I hope it will be a valuable resource for journalists and media professionals, as well as for journalism trainers and educators.” — Jānis Kārklinš, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO, Preface, page 1.

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000193078.nameddest=193103

—————-

“Forensic Faith: A Homicide Detective Makes the Case for a More Reasonable, Evidential Christian Faith”
By: J. Warner Wallace

Forensic Faith will help readers: • understand why they have a duty to defend the truth • develop a training strategy to master the evidence for Christianity • learn how to employ the techniques of a detective to discover new insights from God’s Word • become better communicators by learning the skills of professional case makers With real-life detective stories, fascinating strategies, and biblical insights, Wallace teaches readers cold-case investigative disciplines they can apply to their Christian faith. Forensic Faith is an engaging, fresh look at what it means to be a Christian.

https://www.amazon.com/Forensic-Faith-Detective-Reasonable-Evidential/dp/1434709884/

—————-

“Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World that Rejects the Bible”
By: J. Warner Wallace

Can the truth about Jesus be uncovered–even without a body or a crime scene? Join cold-case detective and bestselling author J. Warner Wallace as he investigates Jesus using an innovative and unique approach he employs to solve real missing person murder cases.

In Person of Interest, Wallace carefully sifts through the evidence from history alone, without relying on the New Testament. You’ll understand like never before how Jesus, the most significant person in history, changed the world.

Features:

Join a cold-case detective as he uncovers the truth about Jesus using the same approach he employs to solve real murder cases

Marvel at the way Jesus changed the world as you investigate why Jesus still matters today

Learn how to use an innovative and unique “fuse and fallout” investigative strategy that you can also use to examine other claims of history

Explore and learn how to respond to common objections to Christianity

Detective J. Warner Wallace listened to a pastor talk about Jesus and wondered why anyone would think Jesus was a person of interest.

Wallace was skeptical of the Bible, but he’d investigated several no-body homicide cases in which there was no crime scene, no physical evidence, and no victim’s body. Could the historical life and actions of Jesus be investigated in the same way?

In Person of Interest, Wallace describes his own personal investigative journey from atheism to Christianity as he carefully considers the evidence. Creative, compelling, and fully illustrated, Person of Interest will strengthen the faith of believers while engaging those who are skeptical and distrusting of the New Testament.

“Wallace has an uncanny ability to discover clues where no one else sees them. Now he tackles perhaps his toughest case ever: solving a deeply personal mystery involving his own religious faith.”

—ROBERT DEAN, producer of NBC News Dateline

“A creative and eye-opening work. You’ll be captivated as Wallace takes you on a thrilling journey of discovery.”

—LEE STROBEL, bestselling author of The Case for Christ

“If you read this book, you will have to reckon with Jesus, not just as a historical person but as Lord and Savior. This is not your typical apologetics book!”

—ALISA CHILDERS, author of Another Gospel

“Bring your doubts, bring your skepticism–but if you bring them in open-minded honesty . . . be prepared to render a shocking verdict.”

—SCOTT HANSON, host of NFL RedZone

https://www.amazon.com/Person-Interest-Jesus-Matters-Rejects/dp/0310111277/

—————-

“Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels”
By: J. Warner Wallace

Written by an L. A. County homicide detective and former atheist, Cold-Case Christianity examines the claims of the New Testament using the skills and strategies of a hard-to-convince criminal investigator.

Christianity could be defined as a “cold case”: it makes a claim about an event from the distant past for which there is little forensic evidence. In Cold-Case Christianity, J. Warner Wallace uses his nationally recognized skills as a homicide detective to look at the evidence and eyewitnesses behind Christian beliefs. Including gripping stories from his career and the visual techniques he developed in the courtroom, Wallace uses illustration to examine the powerful evidence that validates the claims of Christianity.

A unique apologetic that speaks to readers’ intense interest in detective stories, Cold-Case Christianity inspires readers to have confidence in Christ as it prepares them to articulate the case for Christianity.

https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Case-Christianity-Homicide-Detective-Investigates/dp/1434704696/

—————-

“The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus”
By: Lee Strobel

A SEASONED JOURNALIST CHASES DOWN THE BIGGEST STORY IN HISTORY

Is there credible evidence that

Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God?

Retracing his own spiritual journey from atheism to faith, Lee Strobel, former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, cross-examines a dozen experts with doctorates who are specialists in the areas of old manuscripts, textual criticism, and biblical studies.

Strobel challenges them with questions like How reliable is the New Testament? Does evidence for Jesus exist outside the Bible? Is there any reason to believe the resurrection was an actual event?

Strobel’s tough, point-blank questions make this bestselling book read like a captivating, fast-paced novel. But it’s not fiction. It’s a riveting quest for the truth about history’s most compelling figure.

What will your verdict be in the “The Case for Christ?”

“Lee Strobel probes with bulldog-like tenacity the evidence for the truth of biblical Christianity.”

Bruce M. Metzger, PhD, Professor of New Testament, Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary

https://www.amazon.com/Case-Christ-Journalists-Personal-Investigation/dp/0310339308

—————-

“The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus”
By: Gary R. Habermas and Michael Licona

“There is nothing like this on the market. It is interesting, engaging, and crucial material.”

—Norman Geisler

This is an accessible, comprehensive, and persuasive resource providing detailed evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. It also demonstrates how to share the material clearly, honestly, and definitively. Included is an interactive CD which tests the reader’s knowledge of the material by using an entertaining TV game show format.

“[The authors] have distinguished themselves as leading experts on the evidence for this all important event.”

—D. James Kennedy

Written by the leading evangelical apologist on the resurrection and an up-and-comer

Includes an interactive CD to cement the information from the book

Written for lay people but includes extensive footnotes that scholars will find valuable

Includes charts, diagrams, and a detailed outline for quick reference

https://www.amazon.com/Case-Resurrection-Jesus-Gary-Habermas/dp/0825427886

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“The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ”
By: Gary R. Habermas

Habermas provides evidence that a man named Jesus really did live in Palestine in the first century, using the ordinary canons of historical research (artifactual evidence, inscriptional evidence, and literary evidence).

https://www.amazon.com/Historical-Jesus-Ancient-Evidence-Christ/dp/0899007325/

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“Evidence That Demands a Verdict: Life-Changing Truth for a Skeptical World”
By: Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell

Equip yourself to present and defend the claims of the Christian faith.

The truth of the Bible doesn’t change, but its critics do. Now with his son Sean McDowell, Josh McDowell has updated and expanded the modern apologetics classic for a new generation. Evidence That Demands a Verdict provides expansive defense of Christianity’s core truths and thoughtful responses to the Bible’s most difficult and extraordinary passages. It invites readers to bring their doubts and doesn’t shy away from the tough questions.

Topics and questions are covered in four parts:

– Evidence for the Bible

– Evidence for Jesus

– Evidence for the Old Testament

– Evidence for Truth

Serving as a go-to reference for even the toughest questions, Evidence that Demands a Verdict continues to encourage and strengthen millions by providing Christians the answers they need to defend their faith against the harshest critics and skeptics.

Evidence That Demands a Verdict was the winner of the 2018 ECPA Christian Book award for Bible Reference Works.

https://www.amazon.com/Evidence-That-Demands-Verdict-Life-Changing/dp/1401676707

—————-

“Investigating Jesus”
By: Waldo Steyn

Was Jesus really the Messiah? It’s tempting to imagine that if we just could have seen Jesus, if we could have heard his parables and witnessed his miracles, that the truth of this claim would be obvious. But the truth is, Jesus’ contemporaries—even many of his own followers – struggled with this question just as we do today. Plenty of people who observed Jesus’ actions with their own eyes resisted the idea that he was the Messiah. One of the most useful ways to test Christianity’s claims about Jesus is to look to the Jewish Scriptures that predated Jesus’ birth. By examining the story of Israel, and by looking carefully at the different prophecies and hints that describe the promised Messiah, we can evaluate whether or not Jesus fits the picture of that Messiah.

https://www.amazon.com/Investigating-Jesus-Waldo-Steyn/dp/1522957588

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“The Fate of the Apostles: Examining the Martyrdom Accounts of the Closest Followers of Jesus”
By: Sean McDowell

The Book of Martyrs by John Foxe written in the 16th century has long been the go-to source for studying the lives and martyrdom of the apostles. Whilst other scholars have written individual treatments on the more prominent apostles such as Peter, Paul, John, and James, there is little published information on the other apostles. In The Fate of the Apostles, Sean McDowell offers a comprehensive, reasoned, historical analysis of the fate of the twelve disciples of Jesus along with the apostles Paul, and James. McDowell assesses the evidence for each apostle’s martyrdom as well as determining its significance to the reliability of their testimony. The question of the fate of the apostles also gets to the heart of the reliability of the kerygma: did the apostles really believe Jesus appeared to them after his death, or did they fabricate the entire story? How reliable are the resurrection accounts? The willingness of the apostles to die for their faith is a popular argument in resurrection studies and McDowell offers insightful scholarly analysis of this argument to break new ground within the spheres of New Testament studies, Church History, and apologetics.

https://www.amazon.com/Fate-Apostles-Sean-McDowell/dp/1138549134/ref=asc_df_1138549134/

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“I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist”
By: Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek

To some, the concept of having faith in a higher power or a set of religious beliefs is nonsensical. Indeed, many view religion in general, and Christianity in particular, as unfounded and unreasonable.

Norman Geisler and Frank Turek argue, however, that Christianity is not only more reasonable than all other belief systems, but is indeed more rational than unbelief itself. With conviction and clear thinking, Geisler and Turek guide readers through some of the traditional, tested arguments for the existence of a creator God. They move into an examination of the source of morality and the reliability of the New Testament accounts concerning Jesus. The final section of the book deals with a detailed investigation of the claims of Christ. This volume will be an interesting read for those skeptical about Christianity, as well as a helpful resource for Christians seeking to articulate a more sophisticated defense of their faith.

https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Have-Enough-Faith-Atheist/dp/1581345615

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“Skeptics Answered”
By: D. James Kennedy

In clear, unassuming language, Dr. Kennedy examines the reliability of the Bible, the nature of God, and Christian faith in the face of life’s harsh realities. Skeptics Answered uses factual, well-reasoned arguments to affirm the faith of Christians everywhere. Ideal for both personal and group study, it makes an excellent gift for any non-believer who, as a matter of intellectual integrity, is willing to consider the clear evidence for the Christian faith.

https://www.amazon.com/Skeptics-Answered-Dr-James-Kennedy/dp/1590526597

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“Why I Believe”

By: D. James Kennedy

In this powerful declaration of what Christians believe and why, Kennedy explores the foundations of the Christian faith. For new believers and seasoned Christians alike, this book will strengthen their faith by answering that all consuming question, “Why?”

https://www.amazon.com/Why-Believe-D-James-Kennedy/dp/0849937396/

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“Perfect Ending: Why Your Eternal Future Matters Today”
By: Dr. Robert Jeffress

What Does Christ’s Return Have To Do With Your Life Today?

Do you consider yourself a “panmillenialist”? When it comes to the end times, do you believe everything will just pan out in the end? It’s easy to slip into apathy when it comes to Christ’s return, especially since many people in recent years have falsely predicted the end of the world. The danger of false predictions is that they discourage us from preparing for the actual event—an event that will happen and does matter right now.

As popular Bible teacher Dr. Robert Jeffress shows in Perfect Ending, we may not know when Christ will return, but the Bible offers many details about what the end times look like. Understanding these biblical prophecies not only gives us greater peace about the future, it draws us to God in the present. Strengthen your biblical knowledge and your spiritual life through this powerful look at the future God promises for every follower of Christ.

https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Ending-Eternal-Future-Matters/dp/1617951838

—————-

“Final Conquest: A Verse-By-Verse Study of the Book of Revelation”
By: Dr. Robert Jeffress

From the Ministry of Dr. Robert Jeffress… Final Conquest is a verse-by-verse commentary on the study of the book of Revelation. From Dr. Jeffress: “With all chaos and despair today, we have a great hope in the return of Jesus. Final Conquest is the first commentary on the book of Revelation from Pathway to Victory, and my series, Final Conquest, is about the return of Jesus Christ—most hope-filled event in human history!” For the companion DVD and MP3 Audio-CD set, sold separately, just copy and paste catalog ID B09SRJ7WF7 into your web browser URL above in place of the ID for this book and leaving the rest.

https://www.amazon.com/Final-Conquest-Verse-Verse-Revelation/dp/B09B35YXS5

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“Tactics, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions”
By: Gregory Koukl

Tactics provides the game plan for defending your faith and artfully communicating the truths of Christianity with confidence and grace.

This expanded anniversary edition of the classic book of Christian apologetics includes updates and expansions of existing tactics, as well as the addition of an all-new tactic and a chapter on Mini Tactics filled with simple maneuvers to aid in discussions.

In a culture increasingly indifferent or even hostile to Christian truth, followers of Christ need to be equipped to communicate with those who do not speak their language or accept their source of authority.

In Tactics, 10th Anniversary Edition, Gregory Koukl demonstrates how to artfully regain control of conversations, keeping them moving forward in constructive ways through thoughtful diplomacy. You’ll learn how to:

Meet challenges, questions, and provocations with poise and conviction.

Effortlessly start your own evangelical conversations.

Present the truth clearly, cleverly, and persuasively.

Graciously and effectively expose faulty thinking and logical fallacies.

Most important, you’ll learn how to get people thinking seriously about Jesus.

Drawing on extensive experience defending Christianity in the public square, Koukl will not only walk you through effective arguments to defend why you believe what you believe, but he’ll teach you methods for engaging in meaningful dialogue and debate.

Step-by-step, you’ll learn the tactics of good persuasion and defense, how to identify the tactics of your opponent, and how to build your case, patiently and practically.

https://www.amazon.com/Tactics-10th-Anniversary-Discussing-Convictions/dp/0310101468/

—————-

“CROSS EXAMINED” (Website)
CrossExamined.org is a non-profit ministry started in 2006 that conducts dynamic I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be An Atheist seminars on college campuses, churches, and high schools. Led by Frank Turek and other Christian apologists, CrossExamined.org exists to address the problem that 3-out-of-4 Christian youth leave the church while in college, many because they are intellectually skeptical. In addition to I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be An Atheist, CrossExamined.org presenters address other topics faced by young people today.

WEBSITE: https://crossexamined.org/

—————-

“STAND TO REASON” (Website)
Stand to Reason trains Christians to think more clearly about their faith and to make an even-handed, incisive, yet gracious defense for classical Christianity and classical Christian values in the public square.

WEBSITE: https://www.str.org/

—————-

“ONE MINUTE APOLOGIST” (Website)
At this site, I wear multiple hats, those of husband, father, apologist, author, speaker and friend. Here, I hope to offer you credible answers to life’s most curious questions, as I address everyday issues and how they relate to ancient, but all too relevant Scripture.

WEBSITE: https://oneminuteapologist.com/

—————-

“DR. GARY HABERMAS” (Website)
Specializing in Resurrection-of-Jesus Research

Billions profess to believe in the historical existence, death, and supernatural resurrection of Jesus. This man from Nazareth, a working-class Jew, made an exclusive claim to personal deity. The size of his popular religion and this one audacious claim refuse to be ignored, yet neither one amounts to evidence.

Gary Habermas has dedicated his professional life to the examination of the relevant historical, philosophical, and theological issues surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus. His extensive list of publications and debates provides a thorough account of the current state of the issue. Christian believers as well as unbelievers may find within the contents of this site a strong argument for the philosophical possibility of miracles and the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus, as well as the theological and practical implications of this event.

WEBSITE: https://www.garyhabermas.com/

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

SPECIAL ‘GENERAL’ RESOURCE

“ApologetiX Songbook”
(An interactive PDF)

It features the lyrics to every song on every CD and every “download” from 1993-2020

Special features:

– indexed by title, original song, original artist, subject, and Bible verse
– each song’s page has icons showing what albums it appears on
– each song’s page has a commentary from lyricist J. Jackson
– each album’s page includes liner notes and track listing
– print any pages you like or use for slides in church
– photos from ApologetiX’s debut concert in 1992
– discography of out-of-print cassettes
– downloadable in PDF format

New features in this edition:

– all song commentaries from J. Jackson updated and expanded
– also indexed by year when original song spoofed was a hit
– J.’s original handwritten rough lyrics to 40 ApX classics
– scads of photos from ApX 25th-anniversary concerts
– list of 40 ApX parodies most likely to be redone
– over 200 new parodies and journal entries
– list of the first ApX concerts in each state
– six new full-length feature articles
– DVD discography and synopses
– never-before–seen rare photos
– lyrics for over 700 parodies
– over 1000 pages!

Interactive features:

– click on any page number in indexes or TOC to go to that page
– click on any album icon to go to its liner notes and track listings
– click on any song title on an album page to go to that song

Note: This e-book is a download-only and doesn’t include sheet music.

The songbook is available for a donation of $50 or more. After we receive your donation, we’ll send you a follow-up email with the link.

Get the Songbook for a donation:
http://www.apologetix.com/store/store.php#songbook

Songbook Demo Video: https://rumble.com/vfazhl-apologetix-songbook-2020-demo.html

“THE SEARCH FOR MEANING” WEBSITE

This site presents discussions on the 12 most commonly asked questions about the Christian faith.

The 12 discussions are accessed by the “tabs” at the bottom of the page. The tabs are numbered 1-12. Roll your mouse over them and you will see the question displayed at the right. Click on the number to select that question.

Within each question (i.e. tabs 1-12), there are subtopics (or dialogues) to select that appear as smaller tabs underneath the numbered tabs. Roll your mouse over them and the title of these topics is also displayed to the right. Click on the open rectangle to select that dialogue.

For each question (1-12), a link to related resources and an optional flowchart is provided. To access this material, click on the respective words, “Related Resources” or “Options Flowchart.”

To play a more detailed discussion of the subject, between two people, select the desired dialogue and click on “Play Audio Dialogue.”

In the upper right-hand corner of the page, there is an icon that looks like binoculars looking at a question mark. Click on this icon to return to the homepage.

In the upper right-hand corner of a “Related Resources” page, there is an icon that looks like some books. Click on this icon to get to an “overview” page that has links to all of the resources for all of the questions. There also are additional “appendices” for most of the questions.

In the upper right-hand corner of a “Flowchart” page, there is an icon that looks like an Org chart. Click on this icon to get to an “overview” page that has links to all of the flowcharts.

http://4vis.com/sfm/sfm_pres/sp_q1_d1_1of10.html

[ Content by: Bill Kraftson and Lamar Smith; Website by Mark Besh ]

“FRUITS OF THE BEATITUDES” WEBSITE

(The ATTITUDES of Jesus that produce the CHARACTER of Jesus)

CLICK ON THE LINK to view:
http://fruitsofthebeatitudes.org/

FACEBOOK PAGE:
https://www.facebook.com/FruitsOfTheBeatitudes/

[ Mark Besh ]

[ P.S.: If you would like to investigate further about what it means to “believe,” visit the following link:
http://www.4vis.com/sfm/sfm_pres/sp_q10_d1_1of10.html ].

<<< ARTICLES >>>

“Top 10 Genius Scenes in Sherlock”

The game is on. For this list, we’re counting down the best, most incredible and most memorable scenes and moments from the popular BBC show, “Sherlock”. With Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Watson, there’s no crime too big, no puzzle to difficult, and no stag do too outrageous. The world-famous detective and his loyal assistant have given us some momentous TV highlights, so don your deerstalker and let’s get down to it.

10) Capturing Smith’s Confession
9) Meeting Kitty Riley
8) Van Coon’s Murder
7) London Maps
6) I Am Sherlocked
5) Sherlock Gets Shot
4) The Mind Palace
3) ???
2) ???
1) ???

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW5fhUtpEEo

“Top 20 Genius Scenes in Sherlock”

He’s a high-functioning sociopath – do your research! For this list, WatchMojo UK counts down the top 20 best and most genius moments in the super slick, super sleuth BBC crime series, “Sherlock”. Featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as the main main, ably assisted by Martin Freeman as Watson, there are some truly iconic moments in this list! Did your favourite scene make the cut?

[ Sherlock Holmes – BBC TV Series ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ8eQZLcfXA

“I KNEW You’d Come Back”

From Season 3 Episode 7 “Swan Song” A gospel singer wants to be rid of his zealous wife. But a murder made to look like an airplane accident does not fool the wily Lt. Columbo

[ Columbo ]

Video Snippet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nCxcb_fcWI

“Columbo Solves His Last Case”

In the last episode from New Columbo, the detective solves the murder of a tabloid reporter and the mysterious disappearance of the son of a mob boss.

From New Columbo Season 9, Episode 1 ‘Columbo Likes the Nightlife’: Columbo hits the Los Angeles party circuit to solve the murder of a tabloid reporter and the mysterious disappearance of the son of a mob boss.

[ Columbo ]

Video Snippet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0y9PJrQ4Wg

“Every Time Columbo Asked One More Thing | Season 1”

When Columbo asks ‘just one more thing’, we all know he’s about to crack the case. Here are all the times he asked one more thing in Season 1. What’s your favorite?

He’s the greatest detective of all time, and he finally has his own official channel! Follow us for the clips and compilations of the most iconic murders and moments from the classic series.

[ Columbo ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB-jlomZhHU

“Inspector Clouseau’s Funniest Moments”

From Peter Sellers to Steve Martin, Inspector Clouseau’s antics are guaranteed to make you laugh! [ “The Pink Panther” ].

[ MGM Studios ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAdyCgYYH5k

“Top Ten Real-life Detectives”

Here are ten detectives who cracked impossible cases and made the world a safer place – detectives that criminology students might want to keep in mind.

Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith
In prohibition-era US, Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith were federal police officers who achieved the greatest number of arrests and convictions between 1920–1925. They were known nationally for successfully shutting down speakeasies, using disguises in their work and going undercover in bars where their faces were on the wall. They made 4,392 arrests of which 95% gained convictions. By 1930, both men were working as insurance salesman after being ousted by jealous colleagues.

Kiran Bedi
Not quite content being a champion tennis player, passionate politician and vehement social activist, Kiran Bedi turned her hand to policing. The first woman officer in the entirety of the Indian Police Force, Bedi found herself keeping the peace amid tense political protests. She set up civilian volunteer groups to patrol areas the police couldn’t quite cover and clamped down on bootlegging, sexual assault and institutional corruption in Delhi. All on her first few postings.

Jay J Armes
Amputee, actor and private investigator Jay J Armes has led an interesting life. After having both hands amputated at the age of 11, Armes spent a brief period in California acting before setting up a detective agency in El Paso. He served eight years as Chief Deputy Constable for the El Paso County Constables Department, and now charges approximately $1million per private investigation case.

Alice Clement
In 1913, Alice Clement was sworn into Chicago’s police force as its first female detective. Sporting pearls and packing a gun, Clement was a colourful character and an accomplished sleuth. One famed case involved the death of a young woman from typhoid. While male colleagues saw nothing suspicious, Clement demanded further investigation. In doing so, she uncovered a plot involving the girl’s long-lost aunt, a dulcimer, a sizeable fortune – and the deliberate poisoning of the dulcimer’s strings with typhoid bacteria by the aunt, who sought to gain the girl’s inheritance. A plot fit for an Agatha Christie novel!

Dave Toschi
Dave Toschi worked as an inspector for San Francisco police between 1952–1983. He was the chief investigator in the Zodiac killer case, which is still unsolved today. He was portrayed in the 2007 film Zodiac by Mark Ruffalo and was the inspiration for the title character in Bullitt, the 1968 movie starring Steve McQueen.

William E Fairbairn
William E Fairbairn worked as a private investigator and police officer in Shanghai, and his job put him face-to-face with some of the toughest figures in the commonwealth. To cope, he started developing his own martial arts techniques and teaching them to the rest of the Shanghai Police Force. The systems he developed would eventually evolve into what he called Defendu, a comprehensive self-defence science he’d one day teach to World War II Commandos.

Francois Vidocq
One of the earliest criminologists and a one-time career criminal himself, Francois Vidocq’s life inspired the works of Hugo and Balzac, and there’s a biographical film about him too. Vidocq became the founder and first director of the first known private detective agency, and is considered to be the father of modern criminology and the French police department.

Allan Pinkerton
Born in Glasgow in 1819, Allan Pinkerton became a detective and spy, the first in Chicago after emigrating there as a young man. Pinkerton’s agency solved a series of train robberies during the 1850s, bringing Pinkerton into contact with the Illinois Central Railroad, and the company’s lawyer, a young chap by the name of Abraham Lincoln.

Mary Doyle
Mary Doyle is the Chief Superintendent of the Manchester Police Force. Joining when she was only 20, she’s had nothing short of an illustrious career. In 2011 she led an intense national investigation into the murder of Indian student Anuj Bidve and helped put his killer – who dubbed himself ‘Psycho’ – behind bars. She now helps manage the policing of a city with over 27 organised crime syndicates.

Kate Warne
Kate Warne was the first and only female detective Allan Pinkerton ever hired, and she was deeply influential. Hired because she could make the acquaintance of women more easily than men could, she soon found herself in the middle of the Pinkerton agency’s grandest exploits. Her career saw her uncovering stolen fortunes, hunting down the occasional murderer and rescuing President Lincoln from an assassination attempt. All in a day’s work for one of history’s least appreciated sleuths.

[ Res Rasheed ]

“5 Famous Investigators in History and Their Accomplishments”

Who doesn’t love a good mystery? A thrilling yarn about an investigator or two taking stock of a crime scene, assessing the clues, and uncovering the truth surrounding their logical conundrum. While these stories may be incredibly entertaining, the real-life tales of investigators may very well be more enthralling than anything that fiction may stir up. These modern private investigators are responsible for solving a variety of crimes and mysteries in our everyday lives.

In that case, we have taken it upon ourselves to take put forward five incredible examples of real-life investigators in history who channeled the spirit of Sherlock Holmes in their cases. Here are the five most famous investigators in history:

Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith
Isidor “Izzy” Einstein and Moe Smith were two middle-aged men from New York’s Lower East Side who managed to arrest 4,932 offenders, uncover approximately five million bottles of illegal liquor, and have a conviction rate of 95 percent between 1920 and 1925.

Before becoming the main alcohol detector of his time, the Austrian immigrant Einstein had been a street vendor and a postal employee, while Smith owned a cigar shop. When the duo first applied to work for the Prohibition Bureau for $40 a week, the G-men in charge were not too impressed.

Somehow, Einstein and Smith managed to convince their superiors by selling them the idea that the thugs would never suspect two average, decently out-of-shape fellows like them of ever being undercover agents.

The pair weren’t incredibly smart, outlandish figures with ludicrous amounts of savvy or experience. The partnership was so successful because they were simply two very hard workers with a love of New York City. Of course, Einstein’s gift of languages didn’t hurt either.

William J. Burns
Referred to as “America’s Sherlock Holmes” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, William J. Burns succeeded in moving up the ladder from being the son of an Irish immigrant in Columbus, Ohio, to the Director of the Bureau of Investigation, or the BOI. However, Burns made a name for himself as one of the most famous investigators in history.

While running William J. Burns International Detective Agency, the man took the lead in investigating some of the most covered crimes of the early 20th century. Thanks to his ingenuity and intuition, he became one of the most famous investigators in history.

Ellis Parker
Much like William J. Burns, Ellis Parker was once referred to as “America’s Sherlock Holmes.” However, Parker was unlike Burn and Holmes in that he did not serve to protect a nation or a major city. He was a simple Chief of Detectives in Burlington County, New Jersey.

While that title may sound a bit humble or straightforward, Parker took on the challenge of an estimated 300 crimes. Many of these crimes were classified as “unsolvable,” but not for the Chief of Detectives.

However, the legend of this famous investigator would become permanently tarnished following his kidnapping and torturing of an ultimately innocent suspect during the Lindbergh Kidnapping case.

Ignatius Pollaky
Typically referred to as “Paddington Pollaky,” Ignatius Pollaky was a Hungarian immigrant who became one of the first private detectives in Victorian England. One could also argue that he was the most popular, as well.

In 1881, Pollaky’s legend was solidified in history when his name was used in a song for the work of Gilbert and Sullivan, Patience. Before becoming a piece of theatrical record, Pollaky had run a “private investigative bureau,” the forerunner of today’s private detective agency, and was known for enjoying the company of people like novelist Charles Dickens and Jack Whicher, a famous detective in his own right.

Of all the cases that Pollaky investigated, among the more famous ones was the 1860 Road House murder. Said murder is the centerpiece of Kate Summerscale’s famous book, The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher. Although Summerscale’s book focuses predominantly on Inspector Jack Whicher, the appendix shows that Pollaky was present for at least one official exam.

To that point, at that time it was observed that Pollaky was staying at a local inn during the investigation, and was often at Kent’s house to take notes. This may point to Pollaky being the first to realize that the four-year-old victim was the target of someone from within the family.

Marcel Guillaume
While there is no solid evidence behind the claim, many believe Georges Simenon based his prolific inspector Jules Maigret on French detective Marcel Guillaume.

Hailing from the French provinces, Guillaume moved to Paris only to eventually be urged by his father-in-law to become a police officer. For decades, Guillaume perfected his skills and became known to be a capable and patient researcher who knew the streets of Paris better than almost anyone.

This eventually led to Guillaume being an incredibly important investigator. In fact, Guillaume worked on some of the most notorious cases in French history. He was involved in the investigation of the serial murderer Henri Landru’s crimes, as well as Alexandre Stavisky’s financial manipulations. The Stavisky affair in particular pitted Guillaume and his men against the powerful movements and agitators of French politics between the years of war for the country.

[ Powered By Orange ]

“MOST NOTABLE PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS IN HISTORY”

When you think of a private investigator, the words private eyes, detectives, sleuths, and trenchcoats may come to mind. You may also visualize Humphrey Bogart, Sherlock Holmes, Sam Spade, or even Thomas Magnum from countless T.V. shows and classic Hollywood noir-style films. While they are all fictional, they do show different perspectives of what a private investigator may be. Though books and television have portrayed private investigators in different ways, they are essential as they have inspired many to enter the field.

NOTABLE PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS

James McParland – He was famous for his detective work in the Mollie Maguire case. Due to his undercover work, he was made Pinkerton’s Denver Office Assistant Superintendent in 1887. In 1903 he has appointed the position of Western Division Manager.
George S. McWaters – As a detective, he struggled with reconciling the dubious techniques of detectives with a more noble end. He once wrote that American Detective was, “The outgrowth of a diseased and corrupted state of things, and is consequently morally diseased himself. It is, at least, the silent, secret, and effective avenger of the outraged majesty of the law when everything else fails.”
Thomas Beet – Was a prominent British Detective who visited the United States in 1906 and was made entirely known by his unfavorable opinion of American Detective Agencies.
Anthony Pellicano – He is a high-profile private investigator in Los Angeles and known as a Hollywood fixer.
Gordon Novel – Not only was Gordon a known Private Investigator, but he was also an electronics expert. He made his name with many controversial investigations. His most famous one was his conflict with District Attorney Jim Garrison with his work for automatic executive John DeLorean.
Jack Palladino – Based out of San Francisco and also an attorney, he founded the Palladino & Sutherland private detective agency with his wife. They investigated abuses in the New York prison.
Paul Henderson – Paul is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and private investigator.
Edwin Atherton – Though he served as a Foreign Service Officer and as a Bureau of Investigation Agent, it was his work as a private investigator that got him his notoriety.
Guy Bannister – He started as an employee for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and later on as an Assistant Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department. He continued as a private investigator. After his death, allegations were made that he was involved in the assassination of JFK.
Jay J. Armes – Jay, is a private investigator and amputee that is known for his prosthetic hands and a line of children’s action figures based on his image.

While there are more notable private investigators in the United States and even around the world, they have all made their mark for others to follow in their footsteps. With their investigative skills and abilities to solve cases, regular law enforcement couldn’t, and they have paved the way for today’s more modern private investigators, private detectives & private eyes.

[ Nathan’s Investigations ]

“TOP 10 FAMOUS CRIMINAL INVESTIGATORS OF ALL TIME”

Personalities in the History of Criminal Investigation

[ RCS Criminology ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig5c6yJCE8E

“The most famous fictional detectives”

There’s nothing quite like a good detective story. Usually there’s a mystery involved, and so many pop culture detectives are memorable characters. The detect has been around in story for centuries at this point. Books, TV, and films are filled to the brim with detectives. Who are the elite of the world of fictional detectives? We could go on listing them all day, but we decided to stick with 25 of our favorite famous sleuths.

1 of 25Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
BBC
We start with perhaps the most famous detective ever. Sherlock Holmes has been iconic since the days when he was the subject of stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He’s been portrayed in movies and television dozens of times. People from Basil Rathbone to Robert Downey Jr. to Benedict Cumberback to, um, Will Ferrell have stepped into the role. Sherlock is truly one of the most indelible characters every created.

2 of 25Lieutenant Columbo
Lieutenant Columbo
ABC
You do not want to be a criminal who commits murder on Columbo’s beat. No matter how clever you think you are, Columbo is smarter. Sure, he seems absent minded and wears a rumple raincoat everywhere. When it comes to piecing together a mystery, his appearance only serves to lead the murderer into a false sense of security.

3 of 25Jessica Fletcher
Jessica Fletcher
CBS
Admittedly, we do wonder why so many people die mysterious deaths in Cabot Cove, Maine. Also, why Jessica Fletcher, a seemingly mild-mannered novelist, is the one who solves them all. And yet, that’s what happens in “Murder, She Wrote.” It’s the sweet older lady who is getting to the bottom of everything. We can’t quibble, given that she’s portrayed by delightful Angela Lansbury.

4 of 25Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew
Warner Bros.
We turn to the opposite end of the age spectrum from Fletcher with Drew. She’s still a teenager and very much an amateur sleuth. Just like Fletcher, though, Nancy is able to get to the bottom of a lot of cases the professionals can’t. Although, she does deal with a lot fewer murders.

5 of 25Joe and Frank Hardy
Joe and Frank Hardy
Book Cover
Joe and Frank, known forever as the Hardy Boys, have been the subjects of literally dozens of novels. Through them all, the brothers are out there solving mysteries. They were the starting point for detective stories for many young readers. Our only concern is that Frank and Joe seem to have only two friends, Chet and Tony, and one of the Hardys dates Chet’s sister while the other dates Tony’s.

6 of 25Phillip Marlowe
Phillip Marlowe
United Artists
Marlowe has been played by a few iconic actors, including Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum, and Elliott Gould. He’s maybe the quintessential hardboiled Los Angeles private eyes. Chandler wrote several Marlowe stories, including “The Big Sleep” and “The Long Goodbye.” Speaking of “The Long Goodbye,” if you’re only going to watch one Marlowe movie making it Robert Altman’s version of that story.

7 of 25Jim Rockford
Jim Rockford
NBC
You know who else played Marlowe once? James Garner. However, he’s much more well known for perhaps the best TV private eye. Well, at least the most enjoyable to watch. Jim Rockford wasn’t as suave as others. He’s often hard up for cash and takes as many punches as he dishes out. And yet, Rockford keeps hitting the streets to solve cases others won’t, even when it puts him in danger. Rockford is a legend of ‘70s procedurals.

8 of 25Miss Marple
Miss Marple
MGM
Miss Jane Marple is the first of a couple Agatha Christie characters on this list. Chandler wrote stories about fast-talking, cynical men who got by with hustle and determination. Christie’s characters tend to be more gentle geniuses who don’t have to get as dirty. Miss Marple may be an “elderly spinster,” but she still knows how to crack a case.

9 of 25Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot
StudioCanal
Poirot may be second only to Sherlock Holmes when it comes to literary detectives. Both have appeared many times over on TV and in film as well. Another creation of Christie, the Belgian with the remarkable mustache is maybe a tad less eccentric than Sherlock, but he may be just as smart. Otherwise, how could he have solved that murder on the Orient Express.

10 of 25Thomas Magnum
Thomas Magnum
NBC
Poirot may be second only to Sherlock Holmes when it comes to literary detectives. Both have appeared many times over on TV and in film as well. Another creation of Christie, the Belgian with the remarkable mustache is maybe a tad less eccentric than Sherlock, but he may be just as smart. Otherwise, how could he have solved that murder on the Orient Express.

11 of 25Sam Spade
Sam Spade
Warner Bros.
Humphrey Bogart has played multiple famed detectives. In addition to playing Marlowe, Bogie stepped into the shoes of Sam Spade in “The Maltese Falcon.” The noir detective was first brought to life by writer Dashiell Hammett. Some even say Chandler’s Marlowe was inspired by Spade.

12 of 25Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars
UPN
What if a Spade-style detective was a girl in high school? That was basically the premise of “Veronica Mars.” Kristen Bell starred as the tough-as-nails teenager trying to shine some light on the dark elements of her hometown of Neptune, California.

13 of 25Encyclopedia Brown
Encyclopedia Brown
Book Cover
Leroy Brown, known to most as Encyclopedia Brown, makes Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys look like slow starters. Brown is a true boy detective, making him a perfect protagonist for young readers. Mostly he exists in books, which consist of a series of short stories. However, there was a brief HBO show in 1989, though most of us still think of Encyclopedia from the books we read as children.

14 of 25Easy Rawlins
Easy Rawlins
TriStar
Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins is a Los Angeles private eye (unlicensed, for the most part) who solved cases from the 1940s through the 1960s. He has a lot in common with other hardboiled detectives. The one big difference? Walter Mosley’s popular character is black, giving Rawlins’ adventures a very different perspective from somebody like Marlowe. There’s been one notable Rawlins adaptation so far, the Denzel Washington-starring “Devil in a Blue Dress.”

15 of 25Adrian Monk
Adrian Monk
USA
The USA Network turned itself into the place for light procedurals for several years. This “blue skies” era began with “Monk,” though the premise isn’t as breezy as you might think. After his wife’s murder, Detective Adrian Monk develops a serious collection of tics and phobias, including Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Tony Shalhoub won multiple Emmys for his work on “Monk.”

16 of 25Shawn Spencer
Shawn Spencer
USA
“Monk” paved the way for “Psych,” the rare one-hour procedural that is just a straight-up comedy. Shawn Spencer doesn’t have a tragic backstory. He’s just a goofy, shiftless guy who eventually finds an idea that sticks when he becomes a psychic detective. Shawn isn’t actually psychic, just extremely observant, but it allows him to get work, help the police with cases, and continue to goof around all the live long day.

17 of 25Dıck Tracy
Dıck Tracy
Touchstone
Dıck Tracy has existed as a tough detective archetype since he debuted in comics in 1931. He continued to exist in comics form all the way until 1977. While Tracy found his way into some early serial films, you may know him best from Warren Beatty’s 1990 film adaptation. Mostly for the fact all the unusual characters from the comics were rendered real through makeup in a way that can only be described as disconcerting.

18 of 25Inspector Clouseau
Inspector Clouseau
United Artists
Hey, we said famous detectives. We said nothing about them being good at their job. Inspector Clouseau certainly is not that. In fact, he’s quite bumbling and accident prone. You would know him from many of the “Pink Panther” films, either with Peter Sellers in the role or Steve Martin, perhaps depending on your age.

19 of 25Popeye Doyle
Popeye Doyle
20th Century Fox
We wouldn’t say that Popeye Doyle from “The French Connection” is a good detective either. Sure, he gets the job done, but he also will cut any corner he can and is a straight-up racist. However, Gene Hackman was stellar in the first “French Connection” film, which won Best Picture as well.

20 of 25Nick Charles
Nick Charles
MGM
We aren’t overlooking Nick’s wife Nora. In the “Thin Man” stories she plays a vital part in solving cases, and you could make the argument she’s an amateur detective in a way. However, Nick is the one who is a former Pinkerton detective, which is how they end up getting involved in so many cases. They are a dynamic duo together, as fond of a drink as they are of each other, but you’d better believe Nick and Nora get to the bottom of the case.

21 of 25Spenser
Spenser
Netflix
Technically, we do know Spenser’s first name (David), but that didn’t happen to the second season of the TV show “Spenser: For Hire.” It’s not there in the first of the Robert B. Parker books, and it barely comes up in the show. There’s also that fairly-new Netflix movie “Spenser Confidential,” where Mark Wahlberg stepped into the role. That’s the perfect actor to play Spenser, given that he comes from Boston.

22 of 25Benoit Blanc
Benoit Blanc
Lionsgate
Yes, Benoit Blanc is a new creation, but we already consider him an iconic detective. He’s the last of the gentleman sleuths, after all. “Knives Out” was a big success, in part due to Daniel Craig’s delightful and fun performance as Blanc. The movie was so successful that a sequel starring Blanc is already in the works. In a few years, we might consider Blanc on par with any of these detectives.

23 of 25Temperance Brennan
Temperance Brennan
FOX
Forensic anthropologists are considered detectives as well. You will find them in a lot of mystery books and TV shows, such as “Quincy, M.E.” With all due respect to Quincy, he’s not on the same level as Temperance Brennan. You may know her better by her nickname “Bones,” which gave the hit TV show she was the main character of its name.

24 of 25Jessica Jones
Jessica Jones
Netflix
Jessica Jones is another hard-drinking private eye, but there’s something that makes her standout from the pack. Namely, she’s a superhero. Jessica is basically impervious to damage and has super strength as well. She’s been a Marvel character for almost 20 years, but she really came into notoriety when Krysten Ritter played her on a Netflix show.

25 of 25Batman
Batman
ABC
Does Batman have a bunch gadgets, including the Batmobile? Absolutely. You may think of him primarily as the Caped Crusader, a true superhero. Ah, but what is one of the moniker’s that has been given to Batman? They call him “the world’s greatest detective.” How could we not include him?

[ Chris Morgan ]

“A 1904 illustration of Sherlock Holmes, arguably the world’s most famous fictional private detective”

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a “consulting detective” in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic, which he employs when investigating cases for a wide variety of clients, including Scotland Yard.

First appearing in print in 1887’s A Study in Scarlet, the character’s popularity became widespread with the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine, beginning with “A Scandal in Bohemia” in 1891; additional tales appeared from then until 1927, eventually totaling four novels and 56 short stories. All but one[a] are set in the Victorian or Edwardian eras, between about 1880 and 1914. Most are narrated by the character of Holmes’s friend and biographer Dr. John H. Watson, who usually accompanies Holmes during his investigations and often shares quarters with him at the address of 221B Baker Street, London, where many of the stories begin.

Though not the first fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes is arguably the best known. By the 1990s there were already over 25,000 stage adaptations, films, television productions and publications featuring the detective, and Guinness World Records lists him as the most portrayed literary human character in film and television history. Holmes’ popularity and fame are such that many have believed him to be not a fictional character but a real individual; numerous literary and fan societies have been founded on this pretense. Avid readers of the Holmes stories helped create the modern practice of fandom. The character and stories have had a profound and lasting effect on mystery writing and popular culture as a whole, with the original tales as well as thousands written by authors other than Conan Doyle being adapted into stage and radio plays, television, films, video games, and other media for over one hundred years.

Edgar Allan Poe’s C. Auguste Dupin is generally acknowledged as the first detective in fiction and served as the prototype for many later characters, including Holmes. Conan Doyle once wrote, “Each [of Poe’s detective stories] is a root from which a whole literature has developed… Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?” Similarly, the stories of Émile Gaboriau’s Monsieur Lecoq were extremely popular at the time Conan Doyle began writing Holmes, and Holmes’s speech and behavior sometimes follow that of Lecoq. Doyle has his main characters discuss these literary antecedents near the beginning of A Study in Scarlet, which is set soon after Watson is first introduced to Holmes. Watson attempts to compliment Holmes by comparing him to Dupin, to which Holmes replies that he found Dupin to be “a very inferior fellow” and Lecoq to be “a miserable bungler.”

Conan Doyle repeatedly said that Holmes was inspired by the real-life figure of Joseph Bell, a surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, whom Conan Doyle met in 1877 and had worked for as a clerk. Like Holmes, Bell was noted for drawing broad conclusions from minute observations. However, he later wrote to Conan Doyle: “You are yourself Sherlock Holmes and well you know it.” Sir Henry Littlejohn, Chair of Medical Jurisprudence at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, is also cited as an inspiration for Holmes. Littlejohn, who was also Police Surgeon and Medical Officer of Health in Edinburgh, provided Conan Doyle with a link between medical investigation and the detection of crime.

Other possible inspirations have been proposed, though never acknowledged by Doyle, such as Maximilien Heller, by French author Henry Cauvain. In this 1871 novel (sixteen years before the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes), Henry Cauvain imagined a depressed, anti-social, opium-smoking polymath detective, operating in Paris. It is not known if Conan Doyle read the novel, but he was fluent in French. Similarly, Michael Harrison suggested that a German self-styled “consulting detective” named Walter Scherer may have been the model for Holmes.

Sherlock describes his brother as the more intelligent of the two, but notes that Mycroft lacks any interest in physical investigation, preferring to spend his time at the Diogenes Club.

Holmes says that he first developed his methods of deduction as an undergraduate; his earliest cases, which he pursued as an amateur, came from fellow university students. A meeting with a classmate’s father led him to adopt detection as a profession.

Holmesian deduction
Holmes observes the dress and attitude of his clients and suspects, noting skin marks (such as tattoos), contamination (such as ink stains or clay on boots), emotional state, and physical condition in order to deduce their origins and recent history. The style and state of wear of a person’s clothes and personal items are also commonly relied on; in the stories Holmes is seen applying his method to items such as walking sticks, pipes, and hats. For example, in “A Scandal in Bohemia”, Holmes infers that Watson had got wet lately and had “a most clumsy and careless servant girl.” When Watson asks how Holmes knows this, the detective answers:

It is simplicity itself… my eyes tell me that on the inside of your left shoe, just where the firelight strikes it, the leather is scored by six almost parallel cuts. Obviously they have been caused by someone who has very carelessly scraped round the edges of the sole in order to remove crusted mud from it. Hence, you see, my double deduction that you had been out in vile weather, and that you had a particularly malignant boot-slitting specimen of the London slavey.

In the first Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, Dr. Watson compares Holmes to C. Auguste Dupin, Edgar Allan Poe’s fictional detective, who employed a similar methodology. Alluding to an episode in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, where Dupin determines what his friend is thinking despite their having walked together in silence for a quarter of an hour, Holmes remarks: “That trick of his breaking in on his friend’s thoughts with an apropos remark… is really very showy and superficial”. Nevertheless, Holmes later performs the same ‘trick’ on Watson in “The Cardboard Box” and “The Adventure of the Dancing Men.”

Though the stories always refer to Holmes’s intellectual detection method as “deduction,” he primarily relies on abduction: inferring an explanation for observed details. “From a drop of water,” he writes, “a logician could infer the possibility of an Atlantic or a Niagara without having seen or heard of one or the other.” However, Holmes does employ deductive reasoning as well. The detective’s guiding principle, as he says in The Sign of Four, is: “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

Despite Holmes’s remarkable reasoning abilities, Conan Doyle still paints him as fallible in this regard (this being a central theme of “The Yellow Face”).

“Elementary, my dear Watson”
The phrase “Elementary, my dear Watson” has become one of the most quoted and iconic aspects of the character. However, although Holmes often observes that his conclusions are “elementary”, and occasionally calls Watson “my dear Watson,” the phrase “Elementary, my dear Watson” is never uttered in any of the sixty stories by Conan Doyle. One of the nearest approximations of the phrase appears in “The Adventure of the Crooked Man” (1893) when Holmes explains a deduction: “‘Excellent!’ I cried. ‘Elementary’, said he.”

William Gillette is widely considered to have originated the phrase with the formulation, “Oh, this is elementary, my dear fellow,” allegedly in his 1899 play Sherlock Holmes. However, the script was revised numerous times over the course of some three decades of revivals and publications, and the phrase is present in some versions of the script, but not others.

The exact phrase, as well as close variants, can be seen in newspaper and journal articles as early as 1909; there is some indication that it was clichéd even then. “Elementary, my dear Watson, elementary” appears in P. G. Wodehouse’s novel Psmith, Journalist (serialised 1909–10). The phrase became familiar with the American public in part due to its use in The Rathbone-Bruce series of films from 1939 to 1946.

[ Wikipedia ]

“How do you start thinking like an investigative reporter?”

How do you start thinking like an investigative reporter?

In GIJN’s Tip of the Day, David Kaplan, executive director of the Global Investigative Journalism Network, points journalists to where to begin.

[ David Kaplan ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2ViD5ugXmA

“What Is Investigative Journalism?”

What exactly is investigative journalism? Although definitions vary, professional journalists are in broad agreement about investigative reporting’s main features, from systematic research to the use of public records and data. They point to a set of methods and techniques that can take years to master.

To start this series about tips and tools for investigations, David E. Kaplan, executive director of the Global Investigative Journalism Network, explains how investigative reporters define their craft.

The Global Investigative Journalism Network is an international association of journalism organizations that support the training and sharing of information among investigative and data journalists—with special attention to those from repressive regimes and marginalized communities.

Our key activities include:

Providing resources and networking services to investigative journalists worldwide;
Publishing in multiple languages and on multiple platforms the latest tools, techniques and opportunities for those in the field;
Helping organize and promote regional and international training conferences and workshops;
Assisting in the formation and sustainability of journalism organizations involved in investigative reporting and data journalism around the world;
Supporting and promoting best practices in investigative and data journalism;
Supporting and promoting efforts to ensure free access to public documents and data worldwide.

[ David E. Kaplan ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCVU52T6Cbs

“DEFINING INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING”

What makes it different from other types of journalism?

Investigative reporting has many, sometimes widely divergent, meanings. To understand what investigative reporting is, it may be best to start by explaining what it is not.

It is said that all reporting is investigative. After all, journalists routinely dig for facts. They ask questions. They get information. They “investigate.”

But is this really the case? In the day-to-day practice of journalism, how deep do reporters really dig? How probing are their questions? And how complete or original is the information that they present?
If reporters attend a press conference and then write about it, they cannot be said to be doing investigative reporting. If they interview those wounded in a police operation and then report what they have been told, that is not investigative journalism either.

The reality is that daily news coverage is usually not probing or investigative. It reports mainly what officials or institutions say as well as other people’s responses to what has been previously said. Much of what we consider “news” are reports on official statements or reactions to official statements. Daily journalism is also mainly about events that reporters have witnessed or interviewed witnesses about—such as a train collision, a demonstration, a criminal being arrested. There is no digging beyond what has been said or what has been seen. Daily news reporting is seldom investigative, it is mostly reactive.

Most of the time, journalists react to what is happening or what has been publicly announced. Reporters seldom decide on their own what or who they cover. They often do not initiate story ideas. Unfolding events and the daily schedule of news briefings and press conferences determine what the makes it to the newspaper, the newscast or the Web. [more…]

Download Entire PDF: https://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/caseconsortium/casestudies/23/casestudy/files/sunsentinel/coronel_chapter_10_16.pdf

“Obsessive, illuminating, high-stakes: why investigative journalism matters”

An ensemble cast of Guardian reporters and editors reflect on why investigative journalism is so important for a healthy democracy and what it feels like, on a more personal level, to be going up against powerful governments, tax-dodging billionaires, institutional racism, human rights abuses and more

[ The Guardian ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y3aTJkLY7U

“Tips from Bob Woodward on Investigative Journalism”

Bob Woodward explains the three ways journalists get their information and comments on the future of in-depth journalism in the digital age.

[ Washington Post ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVKGUctuoXE

“Chapter 4: The Process of Investigation”

“For the court to be satisfied that the investigator acted lawfully and within the bounds of legally prescribed authority, the judge needs to hear the investigator describe their thinking processes to form reasonable grounds, or in some emergency cases, to have a reasonable suspicion that justifies the action taken.”

An effective strategy for learning any new skill is to define it and break it down into logical steps, establishing a progression that can be followed and repeated to reach the desired results. The process of investigation is no exception and can be effectively explained and learned in this manner. In this chapter, you will learn how each of the following issues relates to the process of investigation.

The distinction between investigative tasks and investigative thinking
The progression of the investigative process
The distinction between tactical investigative and strategic investigative responses
The concepts of event classification and offense recognition
The threat vs. action response dilemma
The distinction between active events and inactive events
The connection of active events and Level 1 priority results to the powers afforded under exigent circumstance
The Response Transition Matrix (RTM) and the critical need to transition from tactical response to strategic response

Topic 1: The Distinction Between Investigative Tasks and Investigative Thinking
To understand the process of investigation, it is necessary to comprehend the distinction between investigative tasks and investigative thinking. Investigative tasks relate to the information gathering processes that feed into investigative thinking and the results. Investigative thinking, on the other hand, is the process of analyzing information and theorizing to develop investigative plans. Let us consider this distinction in a little more depth.

Investigative Tasks
Investigative tasks relate to identifying physical evidence, gathering information, evidence collection, evidence protection, witness interviewing, and suspect interviewing and interrogation. These are essential tasks that must be learned and practiced with a high degree of skill to feed the maximum amount of accurate information into the investigative thinking process. Criminal investigation is aimed at collecting, validating, and preserving information in support of the investigative thinking process. Accordingly, it is important to learn to do these evidence collection tasks well.

Investigative Thinking
Investigative thinking is aimed at analyzing the information collected, developing theories of what happened, the way an event occurred, and establishing reasonable grounds to believe. Those reasonable grounds to believe will identify suspects and lead to arrest and charges. Investigative thinking is the process of analyzing evidence and information, considering alternate possibilities to establish the way an event occurred and to determine if they are reasonable.

Topic 2: Progression of the Investigative Process
The investigative process is a progression of activities or steps moving from evidence gathering tasks, to information analysis, to theory development and validation, to forming reasonable ground to believe, and finally to the arrest and charge of a suspect. Knowing these steps can be helpful because criminal incidents are dynamic and unpredictable. The order in which events take place, and the way evidence and information become available for collection, can be unpredictable. Thus, only flexible general rules to structured responses can be applied. However, no matter how events unfold or when the evidence and information are received, certain steps need to be followed. These include collection, analysis, theory development and validation, suspect identification and forming reasonable grounds, and taking action to arrest, search, and lay charges.

In any case, as unpredictable as criminal events may be, the results police investigators aim for are always the same. And, you should always keep the desired results in mind to provide focus and priority to the overall investigative process. We will talk more later in this book about developing a mental map of the investigative process to assist in recording, reporting, and recounting events. It is mentioned now because a mental map is an appropriate metaphor to illustrate the investigative thinking process.

In this process, even though the path we will take to investigate may be unclear and unpredictable at first, the destination, the results we seek in our investigation, will always be the same and can be expressed in terms of results and their priorities.

Results and priorities focus first on the protection of the lives and safety of people. They focus second on the priorities of protecting property, gathering and preserving evidence, accurately documenting the event, and establishing reasonable grounds to identify and arrest offenders.

Priorities refer to Level One Priorities, as the protection of the lives and safety of people. This includes the protection and safety of the police officer’s own life and the life and safety of other officers.

The Level Two priorities are the four remaining aforementioned results, and these may be considered equal value to each other. Depending on circumstances, a rationale can be made for choosing to concentrate on one Level Two priority at the expense of another depending on the circumstances presenting.

Chart of investigative response priority results. Long description available.
[Long Description]

The critical point to be made here is that under no circumstances should an investigator ever choose to focus his or her efforts and attention to a Level Two priority if doing so would compromise the Level One priority of protecting the life and safety of a person, including police officers themselves. In the event that evidence is lost or destroyed, or that a suspect is not identified or apprehended because investigators were taking care of the Level One priority, that is a justifiable outcome. A response that would sacrifice the safety of people to achieve a level two priority would not be justifiable, and could even lead to civil or criminal outcomes against the investigators making such a choice.

Now that we have looked at the critical aspects of investigative tasks and the response priorities police investigators need to apply to decision making when they take action, we can proceed to examine the two different types of investigative response. We will refer to these as the Tactical Investigative Response and the Strategic Investigative Response.

Topic 3: Distinction Between a Tactical Investigative Response and a Strategic Investigative Response
These two different types of investigative responses are defined by the nature and status of the event that the investigator is facing. If it is an active event, it will require a Tactical Investigative Response and if it is an inactive event it will require a Strategic Investigative Response. It is important for an investigator to understand these two different levels of response because they include different response protocols, different legal authorities, and limitations to authority.

Tactical Investigative Response
Tactical Investigative Response is faced by operational officers who are engaged in the frontline response to criminal events. As mentioned earlier, police are often challenged to respond to events, sometimes life and death situations, where information is limited and critical decisions need to be made to take action. In these Tactical Investigative Responses, the responding officers often have little or no time to undertake the tasks of gathering information. They must rely on the information of a dispatched complaint, coupled with their own observations made once they arrive at the scene. If an officer takes the action of making an arrest or using force to bring the situation under control, they are accountable for the action they have taken, and they may be called upon by the court to articulate their thinking, albeit based on limited information.

Strategic Investigative Response
Once an investigator has arrived at the scene of an event and has brought the event under control by either making an arrest or by determining that the suspect has fled the scene and no longer poses a threat to the life or safety of persons, the investigation becomes a strategic investigative response. With this expiration of life and safety issues, also comes the expiration of exigent circumstances and the additional authorities to detain persons suspected and to enter and search private property without a warrant.

Clearly understanding and being able to define and articulate the circumstances of either an active event and tactical response, or a controlled event and a strategic response is critical. In court, it becomes important for a police investigator to describe what they were told going into the complaint, what they saw and heard when they arrived at the complaint, and, most importantly, what they were thinking to justify the action that was taken. For the court to be satisfied that the investigator acted lawfully, the judge needs to hear the investigator describe their thinking process to form reasonable grounds, or in some emergency cases, to have a reasonable suspicion that justifies the action taken.

To properly articulate their thinking in these investigative responses, it is important for the officer to understand the situational elements that can help define their thinking process when they testify in court. Two of the most important situational elements to understand are event classification and offense recognition.

Topic 4: Event Classification and Offense Recognition
In order to enter any investigation in either the tactical or the strategic response mode, an investigator must engage their thinking processes and make decisions about the event they are confronting. Is it an active event in progress that requires immediate and decisive tactical actions; or is it an inactive event where a less urgent, slower, and more strategic approach can be taken? This slower and more considered approach is the strategic investigative response, and the situational elements of this approach will be discussed in detail later in this chapter. Thinking about these situational elements of active event or inactive event is call event classification.

Considering the possible crime being committed in the event is called “offense recognition,” and this recognition of a specific offense activates the investigator’s thinking to look for the evidence that supports the elements of that recognized offense.

Topic 5: Classifying the Event as Either an Active Event or an Inactive Event
For each of these classifications of active event or inactive event, the investigator has some different legal authorities to put into action, as well as some immediate responsibilities for the protection, collection, and preservation of evidence. When attending the scene of any reported event, the investigator should assume that the event is active until it has been established to be inactive.

In many cases, an event can be re-classified as an inactive event when it is determined that the suspect has left the scene of the event, or the event has concluded by the suspect being arrested. In cases where the suspect is still at the scene of an active event, the investigator needs to be thinking about the possibility of detaining the suspect or making an arrest of that suspect for an offense in progress. To make that detention or arrest, the investigator should be thinking about what possible offense they are being called to investigate by the initial complaint, and also by the evidence they are seeing and hearing upon arrival.

The classification of active event or inactive event is critical. It is a distinction that will guide an officer to determine what powers of detention, arrest, use of force, entry to property, and search may be relied upon to take action. The defining elements between active event and inactive event are:

An Active Event
The criminal act is or may still be in progress at the scene.
The suspect is or may still be at the scene of the event.
The situation is, or may be, a danger to the life or safety of a person, including the life or safety of attending police officers.

An Inactive Event
The criminal act has concluded at the scene.
The suspect or suspects have left the scene or have been arrested or detained.
The situation at the scene no longer represents a danger to the life or safety of a person, including police officers.

Topic 6: Threat vs. Action Analysis Dilemma
The critical elements of this Threat vs. Action Analysis Dilemma were demonstrated in what became known as “Active Shooter calls” flowing from the incident at Columbine High School in 1999 (Police Executive Research Forum, 2014). In this incident, two armed teenagers went on a shooting spree in the high school killing 13 people and wounding 20 others before turning their weapons on themselves and committing suicide. Officers responding to that call followed departmental protocols of that era. These protocols dictated they should wait for the arrival of their Emergency Response Team in events where armed suspect confrontations were taking place. The fact that these first responders waited despite ongoing killing taking place inside the high school led to a determination that police have a duty to take action in such cases, and waiting is not the correct response. As a result of these determinations, active shooter response protocols were adopted across North America and police agencies re-trained their personnel to respond to active shooters with more immediate action and strategies to enter and confront the shooters in order to protect lives of possible victims.

The Threat vs. Action Analysis Dilemma response protocols in the active shooter response situations now provide the standard or benchmark that a responding officer must consider when faced with the decision to enter a dangerous situation alone and take action, or to wait for back-up before entering to take action. For active shooter situations, the protocols across North America are now prescribed responses, where responding officers are trained to enter and confront with minimal back-up. That said, not every potentially dangerous Threat vs. Action Analysis Dilemma is going to be an active shooter. Responding officers will often be faced with other calls where danger exists to the safety of persons and the decision to enter or wait for back-up must still be made. In these cases, the responding officer must weigh the available information and respond or wait for back-up per their own threat vs risk assessment of the facts. The active shooter protocols have provided something of a calibration to this analysis where extreme ongoing threat to life and safety of person equals high duty and high expectation to take action.

Topic 7: Rules of Engagement for an Active Event or an Inactive Event
Police officers may be called to action by many different means. It may be a radio dispatch 911 call to attend an emergency, a citizen flagging down the passing police car to report an incident, or an officer coming upon a crime in progress. Whatever the means of being called to action, this is the first step of the police officer becoming engaged in a thinking process to gather and evaluate information, make decisions, and take action. The first step of this thinking process for the investigator is to make the evaluation and ask the questions:

Is this an Active Event requiring a Tactical Investigative Response?
Is this an Inactive Event requiring a Strategic Investigative Response?
As a subsequent part of this evaluation determining an Active Event or Inactive Event, the investigator should also be alert to the type crime being encountered. For example, is it an assault, a robbery, or a theft? From the perspective of police tactical investigative response, an investigator confronted with an active event must first assess the threat level. Is there a danger to the life or safety of persons that would require a Level One Priority Result, taking immediate action to protect life and safety of persons, including the life and safety of attending police officers?

In assessing these threat levels to life and safety, police are often faced with very limited information. Sometimes there is only a possible threat, or an implied threat to the life or safety of persons. In such cases, it is only necessary for the police to suspect that there is a threat to the life or safety of a person to evoke the extended powers provided by exigent circumstances. In these cases of implied threats, police are authorized to rely on the powers afforded by exigent circumstances to enter private property without a warrant and to detain and search suspects who may present a danger. These are significant powers and an investigator must be aware that if they use these powers, there is a strong possibility they will later be called upon to justify the exercise of those powers. Let us consider that section of the Criminal Code that authorizes officers to enter a dwelling without a warrant, and then apply that understanding to some scenarios:

Authority to enter dwelling without warrant under the Criminal Code of Canada

529.3 (1) Without limiting or restricting any power a peace officer may have to enter a dwelling-house under this or any other Act or law, the peace officer may enter the dwelling-house for the purpose of arresting or apprehending a person, without a warrant referred to in section 529 or 529.1 authorizing the entry, if the peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is present in the dwelling-house, and the conditions for obtaining a warrant under section 529.1 exist but by reason of exigent circumstances it would be impracticable to obtain a warrant. (Criminal Code, 1985, s 529(1))

Exigent circumstances
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), exigent circumstances include circumstances in which the peace officer

(a) has reasonable grounds to suspect that entry into the dwelling-house is necessary to prevent imminent bodily harm or death to any person; or

(b) has reasonable grounds to believe that evidence relating to the commission of an indictable offense is present in the dwelling-house and that entry into the dwelling-house is necessary to prevent the imminent loss or imminent destruction of the evidence. (Criminal Code, 1985, s 529(2)(a,b))

Where warrant is not necessary pursuant to the Criminal Code of Canada

487.11 A peace officer, or a public officer who has been appointed or designated to administer or enforce any federal or provincial law and whose duties include the enforcement of this or any other Act of Parliament, may, in the course of his or her duties, exercise any of the powers described in subsection 487(1)(Criminal Code, 1985, s 487(1)) or
492.1(1) without a warrant if the conditions for obtaining a warrant exist but by reason of exigent circumstances it would be impracticable to obtain a warrant. (Criminal Code, 1985, s 492(1))

Scenario #1
A uniform patrol officer receives a call to attend a complaint through radio dispatch. The 911 caller is reporting that he has just witnessed his neighbor punch his wife in the front yard and then drag her forcibly into their house. The responding officer is immediately able to classify this event as an active event. The officer’s offense recognition of the criminal act is that it is likely an assault and possibly a forcible confinement. Given this assessment, the situation requires a Tactical Investigative Response. The suspect is still at the scene and there is an ongoing possibility of danger to the life or safety of the suspect’s wife. In this type of case, the officer can draw upon the extended powers under exigent circumstances to ensure the safety of the wife. Considering the information that has been reported, the officer may go to the residence with a view to using the necessary force to enter without a warrant to investigate the safety and well-being of the identified victim. If, after entering the home, further investigation provides evidence to confirm an assault, the officer can arrest the identified suspect for that offense. In this scenario, the information that allows the classification of the active event and the offense recognition is fairly clear in the reported circumstances.

Scenario #2
Sometimes an event cannot be immediately classified as either an active event or an inactive event. In these cases, where the information is less clear, the investigator may be justified to assume an ongoing danger to the life or safety of persons, and remain in the tactical investigative response mode utilizing the powers afforded under exigent circumstances to pursue the investigation until it is determined that an implied danger no longer exists. For example, consider the situation where police dispatch receives a 911 call from a woman crying. Before any further information can be obtained from the caller, the call is terminated from the caller’s end. A patrol unit is dispatched to attend the residential address associated with the identified phone number. Upon arrival at the front door of the caller’s address, attending officers are met by a male resident of the home who identifies himself as the home owner. The attending officers advise the male that a terminated 911 call from a crying woman was received from this address. The male states that there is nothing wrong in his home and he refuses to allow officers to enter the premises. The officers advise the male that they need to enter the premises to satisfy themselves that there is no ongoing threat to the life or safety of the crying woman caller. The officers warn the man that they will be entering the premises and if he resists he will be arrested for obstructing a police officer.

The man steps aside and the officers enter the home and find a woman in the bedroom area with a bleeding nose and a bruised face. The woman tells officers that the male, her husband, punched her in the face during an argument and when she attempted to call police he ripped the phone cord from the wall and struck her again. She states that he threatened to kill her if she cried out when the police came to the door. The man is arrested for assault, forcible confinement, and uttering threats. He is provided with his Charter Rights and warning, and he is then asked if he wishes to make any statement.

To evaluate this scenario, the officers had very little information in the first instance that would allow them to make a determination of active event or inactive event. The information to identify a criminal act was equally limited. Fortunately, case law has evolved to recognize this kind of information-limited case, and it provides a framework for making a response that can protect life and safety. In such situations, an officer is still empowered to act under the authority of “exigent circumstances.” Considering information-limited circumstances like this, the officer only needs to have a suspicion that there is a threat to the life or safety of a person to act. That threat may be simply implied by the circumstances being presented. In this case, the implied threat to life or safety of a person was the disconnected 911 call. The officers had a duty to attend and resolve the possible threat to life or safety of a person implied in this disconnected 911 call (R v Godoy, 1999).

As you might imagine, an officer attending the calls outlined in the preceding scenarios needs to be very clear on the circumstances where implicit distress and exigent circumstances can be interpreted to use the powers to enter private property. This same need extends to using appropriate levels of force and making an arrest. Considering these are active and still evolving criminal events, there is urgency to act. It is critical for the investigating officer to have a clear understanding of these principles to quickly assess the presented facts, make the event classification, and take the necessary action in an expedient manner.

As outlined earlier in this book, there is a significant difference between reasonable grounds to believe and reasonable grounds to suspect, and an officer who is not clear on the distinction might have a difficult time articulating to the court how and why they took the initiative to act or not to act. It is these types of cases, where there is implied distress, or an implied threat to life or safety, that an investigator must be clear on their interpretation of the event and on their authorities to take action. The thinking involved might be described as an active event and an explicit or implied threat to life or safety equals exigent circumstances.

Active Event + Explicit or Implied Threat to Life or Safety = Exigent Circumstances

More on Offense Recognition
At the same time the event is being classified as either active event or inactive event, the investigator should be engaging in the thinking process of offense recognition. In other words, what offense is being reported or what is the offense being observed in the fact pattern that is unfolding? With this offense recognition, the investigator will begin to assemble a mental inventory of the evidence and information that will be required to support the recognized offense(s). Having an offense in mind, the investigator will also begin to consider their range of powers and authorities that can be used under the law regarding that offense. The investigator will ask them self;

Is this a summary conviction offense where the suspect must be found committing to justify an arrest?
Or, is it an indictable or dual procedure offense where there is direct evidence or strong circumstantial evidence to support an arrest?
If the investigator determines that they are attending to an Active Event and their offense recognition suggests that there may be a danger to the life or safety of a person, such as assault causing bodily harm, they will know that they need only find evidence to form reasonable grounds to believe in order to make an arrest. As part of attendance to the scene of the event, the investigator should be classifying the location to determine what their legal requirements are for their authority to enter. Consideration of the possible authorities to enter private property would include:

Consent of the property owner
Section 487 CCC warrant to search
Exigent circumstances to suspect a need to protect the life or safety of a person
Exigent circumstance with reasonable grounds to believe there will be a destruction of evidence of an indictable offense

Fresh pursuit of a suspect found committing an offense
If the investigator arrives at the scene where a suspect is immediately apparent, the investigator can make an immediate detention or perhaps even an arrest. The investigator may rely on the Section 529 (2) of the Criminal Code of Canada (1985) under exigent circumstance to enter private property without a warrant to make the arrest and ensure the safety of persons at the scene. If the investigator makes an arrest after forming reasonable grounds for belief, they are required by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to tell the suspect what offense they are being arrested for.

Required Warnings
The following is the standard Charter of Rights (Canadian Charter, 1982, s 10(a,b)) warning and police warning. These standard caution warnings are given as follows:

I am arresting you (or detaining you) for [name of offense(s)].

POLICE WARNING
I wish to give you the following warning: You need not say anything. You have nothing to hope from any promise or favor, and nothing to fear from any threat whether or not you do say anything. Anything you do or say may be used as evidence.

Do you understand? (Transit Police, 2015)

CHARTER WARNING

You have the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay. You also have the right to free and immediate legal advice from duty counsel by making free telephone calls to [toll-free phone number(s)] during business hours and [toll-free phone number(s)] during non-business hours.

Do you understand?

Do you wish to call a lawyer?

You also have the right to apply for legal assistance through the provincial legal aid program.

Do you understand? (Transit Police, 2015)

Let us consider the following scenario to illustrate these principles in action.

Scenario #3

An officer is dispatched to attend the complaint of an assault with a weapon and determines that it is taking place in a residential dwelling house in a nearby subdivision. Upon arrival, the officer is met on the front lawn by a man claiming to have witnessed the owner of the home stab a visitor to the home during an altercation as a second male runs out the front door holding his side and bleeding from an apparent wound. A third man holding a bloody knife comes to stand in the front doorway and the witness identifies him as the owner of the home. The officer directs the man with the knife to drop it on the ground and step out of the residence. The man complies and is arrested for assault with a weapon.

From this fact pattern the investigator could make an immediate arrest for assault with a weapon. The investigator would seize the bloody knife and protect it as evidence of that offense. The facts within this scenario that allow the investigator to take action, enter the private property, and form their reasonable grounds for belief and make the arrest. When the case goes to court, the investigator of this case will articulate the chain of events along with their thinking to substantiate their reasonable grounds for belief. To achieve this, the investigator’s testimony would be that:

they were dispatched to attend a complaint of assault with a weapon in progress,
the suspect was still on scene and it was an active event,
considering the potential danger to life or safety of a person, they entered the property under the provisions of exigent circumstances,

an independent witness at the scene stated the home owner had stabbed a guest in the home,
a man bleeding from an apparent wound ran from the home, and
another man standing in the doorway was holding a bloody knife and was identified by the witness as the home owner.

The investigating officer arriving at the scene of this event would treat this as a Level One priority because there is an ongoing danger to the life and safety of persons. Under these circumstances, the Criminal Code authorities of exigent circumstances would apply. The investigator would be justified in detaining all parties present, including the witness and the victim, on the reasonable suspicion that they may all have been involved in combative behavior and might each still pose a threat to the life and safety of others, including the investigator. The powers of exigent circumstances are significant in this kind of scenario, and provide authority to take immediate action that will neutralize threats to the safety of people. Even if the facts of this assault with a weapon had evolved to show that it was taking place inside the private home of the suspect with the bloody knife, the authority of exigent circumstances would permit the investigator to enter that home without a warrant to protect the life and safety of persons. A very significant point to be made here is that as soon as the event is under control the extended powers of exigent circumstances expire.

Once this event has been brought under control and the threat to the life or safety of persons had been eliminated by arresting or detaining all persons present, the investigator must reclassify this event as an inactive event. As soon as this occurs, some of the rules of engagement and legal authorities to take action change, and the investigation must switch to a Strategic Investigative Response.

With the expiry of exigent circumstances and the switch to a Strategic Investigative Response, several factors change. If this assault with a weapon had been taking place in the suspect’s private home, and the investigator had entered under the authority of exigent circumstance, the authority to remain in the private residence and search it would expire. If the investigator needed to collect additional physical evidence in that home, such as blood from the stabbing assault, a warrant or consent to search would now be required.

In this type of case, the residence of the suspect could be locked down externally and all persons removed until a search warrant was obtained to complete the investigation. Evidence obtained up to the point where the arrest was made and before exigent circumstances expired would be lawfully seized without a warrant. This would include the seizure of the bloody knife as plain-view search or a search incidental to arrest. Anything else searched for and seized after the arrest could be challenged as an unlawful seizure if it was taken without a search warrant.

In addition to the requirement for search warrants, in some cases after exigent circumstances expire, other priorities and investigative must also change. As you will recall, the protection of life and safety of people is the Level One priority. With that priority, the court allows significant leeway to investigators in regard to the protection of crime scenes and the collection of evidence. If an investigator is attending any criminal event, the protection and collection of evidence always takes a backseat to the protection of life or safety of people. That said, once the life and safety issues have been resolved, the securing of the crime scene and the subsequent protection and collection of evidence becomes the number one priority.

Once the life and safety issues are resolved, it is time to lock down the crime scene and start protecting evidence for court. If it is possible to protect the life and safety of people and collect, protect, and preserve evidence, this is the preferred outcome. If it is not possible, the court will accept the fact that damage to evidence occurred prior to life and safety issues being resolved. Once those issues are resolved, the expectation is that a high level of care will be taken. If proper care is not taken, and evidence becomes contaminated, or continuity of possession is lost, the evidence may be ruled inadmissible at a trial. It is important for the investigator to fully grasp the construct that dictates when to transition from Tactical Investigative Response to Strategic Investigative Response.

Topic 8: Response Transition Matrix (RTM)
The RTM is a matrix tool to illustrate the considerations for police response when considering the authorities and issues to escalate or de-escalate from a Tactical Investigative Response to Strategic Investigative Response. Considering the following questions will help an investigator to identify an event as either a Tactical Investigative Response or a Strategic Investigative Response:

Is the event active or inactive?
What offense(s) is possibly occurring?
Do I suspect an implicit or explicit danger to the life or safety of a person?
Do I have reasonable grounds to believe evidence of an indictable offense will be lost or destroyed?
What immediate actions can be taken to protect the life or safety of persons?
What immediate action can be taken to protect evidence, without compromising life or safety?
Have life and safety issues been resolved, and should the change be made from Tactical Investigative Response to Strategic Investigative Response?

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Criminal Code, and common law authorities provide police with both powers to act and limitations to taking action. In the Canadian justice system, both statutory law and case law have evolved to establish a range of authorities and police powers that allow rapid response at the more dangerous end of the matrix, and more time-consuming restrictions to act at the less threatening end of the matrix. The chart below illustrates the duty to act, the authority to act, and the priorities for action to consider.

Response transition matrix. Long description available.
[Long Description]

Summary
In this chapter, we have discussed the progression of the investigative process and the key elements within the progression that must be considered by an investigator. These elements within the investigative process are the signposts on the roadway of a mental map. These signposts of active event or inactive event tell us to either take action within the extended authorities of exigent circumstances or to modify our response for an inactive event and recognize the need to make the transition to a strategic response. An investigator’s understanding of the changes in circumstances that define these situations and the change from active to inactive events can make the difference between successful and unsuccessful investigative outcomes.

Study Questions

What is the difference between investigative tasks and investigative thinking?
What is the difference between Level One Priorities and Level Two Priorities?
What is the difference between a Tactical Investigative Response and a Strategic Investigative Response?
What is the difference between an active event and an inactive event?
When would an investigator consider the Threat vs. Action Analysis Dilemma?
When does an investigator have the authority to enter a dwelling house without a warrant?
Why is it important for an investigator to thinking about “offense recognition” at the same time they are thinking about whether a situation should be classified as an active event or an inactive event?
What is the Response Transition Matrix (RTM)?

Long Descriptions
Investigative response priority results long description: There are two levels of investigative response priority results. Level 1 includes “Protecting the life and safety of people including police officers attending the scenes of crime.”

Level 2 has four priority results:

Identifying, gathering, and preserving evidence
Establishing reasonable grounds to identify and arrest suspects
Accurately recording and documenting the event in notes and reports
Protecting property
[Return to Investigative response priority results]

The RTM: Response Transition Matrix long description: In the case of an active event with recognized offense, suspected issues of life safety or reasonable and probable grounds of evidence destruction, police need to take tactical investigative response action considering level-one priority results. Immediate action is required in such exigent circumstances, and as such, an officer has reasonable and probable grounds to detain and search without a warrant.

In the case of an inactive event with recognized offense but no life or safety issues or issues of evidence destruction, police need to take strategic investigative response action considering level-two priority results. This action should be specific to an identified offense. In such non-exigent circumstances, an officer has reasonable and probably grounds to perform an arrest and search only with a warrant.

[ Rod Gehl ]

“Socratic Method”
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Socratic method (also known as method of Elenchus, elenctic method, or Socratic debate) is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions. It is named after the Classical Greek philosopher Socrates and is introduced by him in Plato’s Theaetetus as midwifery (maieutics) because it is employed to bring out definitions implicit in the interlocutors’ beliefs, or to help them further their understanding.

The Socratic method is a method of hypothesis elimination, in that better hypotheses are found by steadily identifying and eliminating those that lead to contradictions.

The Socratic method searches for general commonly held truths that shape beliefs and scrutinizes them to determine their consistency with other beliefs. The basic form is a series of questions formulated as tests of logic and fact intended to help a person or group discover their beliefs about some topic, explore definitions, and characterize general characteristics shared by various particular instances.

Contents
1 Development
2 Method
3 Application
3.1 Socratic seminar
3.1.1 Various approaches to Socratic seminar
3.1.2 Text selection
3.1.2.1 Socratic seminar texts
3.1.2.2 Pertinent elements of an effective Socratic text
3.1.2.3 Two different ways to select a text
3.1.3 Questioning methods
3.2 Psychotherapy
4 Challenges and disadvantages
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links

Development
In the second half of the 5th century BC, sophists were teachers who specialized in using the tools of philosophy and rhetoric to entertain, impress, or persuade an audience to accept the speaker’s point of view. Socrates promoted an alternative method of teaching, which came to be called the Socratic method.

Socrates began to engage in such discussions with his fellow Athenians after his friend from youth, Chaerephon, visited the Oracle of Delphi, which asserted that no man in Greece was wiser than Socrates. Socrates saw this as a paradox, and began using the Socratic method to answer his conundrum. Diogenes Laërtius, however, wrote that Protagoras invented the “Socratic” method.[1][2]

Plato famously formalized the Socratic elenctic style in prose—presenting Socrates as the curious questioner of some prominent Athenian interlocutor—in some of his early dialogues, such as Euthyphro and Ion, and the method is most commonly found within the so-called “Socratic dialogues”, which generally portray Socrates engaging in the method and questioning his fellow citizens about moral and epistemological issues. But in his later dialogues, such as Theaetetus or Sophist, Plato had a different method to philosophical discussions, namely dialectic.

Method
Elenchus (Ancient Greek: ἔλεγχος, romanized: elenkhos, lit. ’argument of disproof or refutation; cross-examining, testing, scrutiny esp. for purposes of refutation'[3]) is the central technique of the Socratic method. The Latin form elenchus (plural elenchi) is used in English as the technical philosophical term.[4] The most common adjectival form in English is elenctic; elenchic and elenchtic are also current.

In Plato’s early dialogues, the elenchus is the technique Socrates uses to investigate, for example, the nature or definition of ethical concepts such as justice or virtue. According to Vlastos,[5] it has the following steps:

Socrates’ interlocutor asserts a thesis, for example “Courage is endurance of the soul”.
Socrates decides whether the thesis is false and targets for refutation.
Socrates secures his interlocutor’s agreement to further premises, for example “Courage is a fine thing” and “Ignorant endurance is not a fine thing”.
Socrates then argues, and the interlocutor agrees, these further premises imply the contrary of the original thesis; in this case, it leads to: “courage is not endurance of the soul”.
Socrates then claims he has shown his interlocutor’s thesis is false and its negation is true.
One elenctic examination can lead to a new, more refined, examination of the concept being considered, in this case it invites an examination of the claim: “Courage is wise endurance of the soul”. Most Socratic inquiries consist of a series of elenchi and typically end in puzzlement known as aporia.

Frede[6] points out Vlastos’ conclusion in step #5 above makes nonsense of the aporetic nature of the early dialogues. Having shown a proposed thesis is false is insufficient to conclude some other competing thesis must be true. Rather, the interlocutors have reached aporia, an improved state of still not knowing what to say about the subject under discussion.

The exact nature of the elenchus is subject to a great deal of debate, in particular concerning whether it is a positive method, leading to knowledge, or a negative method used solely to refute false claims to knowledge.[7]

W. K. C. Guthrie in The Greek Philosophers sees it as an error to regard the Socratic method as a means by which one seeks the answer to a problem, or knowledge. Guthrie claims that the Socratic method actually aims to demonstrate one’s ignorance. Socrates, unlike the Sophists, did believe that knowledge was possible, but believed that the first step to knowledge was recognition of one’s ignorance. Guthrie writes, “[Socrates] was accustomed to say that he did not himself know anything, and that the only way in which he was wiser than other men was that he was conscious of his own ignorance, while they were not. The essence of the Socratic method is to convince the interlocutor that whereas he thought he knew something, in fact he does not.”[8]

Application
Socrates generally applied his method of examination to concepts that seem to lack any concrete definition; e.g., the key moral concepts at the time, the virtues of piety, wisdom, temperance, courage, and justice. Such an examination challenged the implicit moral beliefs of the interlocutors, bringing out inadequacies and inconsistencies in their beliefs, and usually resulting in aporia. In view of such inadequacies, Socrates himself professed his ignorance, but others still claimed to have knowledge. Socrates believed that his awareness of his ignorance made him wiser than those who, though ignorant, still claimed knowledge. While this belief seems paradoxical at first glance, it in fact allowed Socrates to discover his own errors where others might assume they were correct. This claim was based on a reported Delphic oracular pronouncement that no man was wiser than Socrates.

Socrates used this claim of wisdom as the basis of his moral exhortation. Accordingly, he claimed that the chief goodness consists in the caring of the soul concerned with moral truth and moral understanding, that “wealth does not bring goodness, but goodness brings wealth and every other blessing, both to the individual and to the state”, and that “life without examination [dialogue] is not worth living”. It is with this in mind that the Socratic method is employed.

The motive for the modern usage of this method and Socrates’ use are not necessarily equivalent. Socrates rarely used the method to actually develop consistent theories, instead using myth to explain them. The Parmenides dialogue shows Parmenides using the Socratic method to point out the flaws in the Platonic theory of forms, as presented by Socrates; it is not the only dialogue in which theories normally expounded by Plato/Socrates are broken down through dialectic. Instead of arriving at answers, the method was used to break down the theories we hold, to go “beyond” the axioms and postulates we take for granted. Therefore, myth and the Socratic method are not meant by Plato to be incompatible; they have different purposes, and are often described as the “left hand” and “right hand” paths to good and wisdom.

[ Wikipedia ]

“Socratic Questioning”

Socrates taught by asking questions, drawing out answers from his pupils to challenge the completeness and accuracy of their thinking. Here are the six types of questions Socrates posed:

Clarifying concepts. These questions get students to think more about what they are asking or thinking about, prove the concepts behind their argument, and get them to go deeper.

What exactly does this mean?
How does this relate to what we have been talking about?
Can you give me an example?
Probing assumptions. These questions make students think about the presuppositions and unquestioned beliefs on which they are founding their argument.

What else could we assume?
What would happen if…?
Probing rationale, reasons and evidence. When students give a rationale for their arguments, dig into that reasoning rather than assuming it is a given.

Why is that happening?
What evidence is there to support what you are saying?
Questioning viewpoints and perspectives. Most arguments are given from a particular position. So attack the position. Show that there are other, equally valid, viewpoints.

Who benefits from this?
Why is it better than or different from…?
Probing implications and consequences. The argument a student gives may have logical implications that can be forecast.

Do these data make sense?
Are they desirable?
How do [these assertions] fit with…?
What are the consequences of that assumption?
Questioning the question. You also can get reflexive about the whole thing, turning the question on itself. Bounce the ball back into their court.

Why do you think I asked this question?
What does that mean?

[ University of Nebraska-Lincoln ]

“Questioning Techniques”

Knowing how to ask the right questions is a vital part of communication. If you ask good quality questions, you will receive better and more useful information in response.

There are several techniques and strategies you can use to ask better questions. For more information, watch this video!

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImfU12epYcI

“Writing open-ended and closed-ended questions for user research”

How you phrase your questions will directly impact the quality and value of your user testing results. Ask your participants wrong questions, or use the wrong words to structure the questions, and you will gather incorrect feedback. Wrong questions can contaminate the whole research —leading to misleading insights.

Before you come up with any usability questions, there is a great need to think of what you intend to learn from the test. Begin by asking yourself this: what information do I need from this research?

Taking time to answer that question will help you narrow down all the possible wrong directions you might head before getting to the insights you need.

When you have a clearly defined goal, writing usability questions isn’t a task hard to do. By default, your usability questions can either be open-ended or closed-ended.

Open-ended questions are questions that do not limit users to one- or two-word answer. Instead, they have multiple potential responses, and they often give room for further probing by the asking person (investigator).

The greatest nuggets of insights are in open-ended questions because it is the “Voice of the Customer”

People, in general, tend to open up and express themselves better when they are given room to answer in their own words.

Open-ended questions are ideal for starting and holding a conversation in any circle. They empower users, giving them 100% control of what they intend to say —and this is something that cannot be done using closed ended-questions.

Here are some few tips that will help you write effective open-ended questions.

Begin your question with how, why, and what
This way, you give your users freedom to say more and in the process, there is a possibility of uncovering rich insights.

Close ended questions for user research
Avoid using more specific words such as did, would, which, when and was —these usually prompt one-worded answers.

By motivating users to give clarity in their responses, open-ended questions can also be used as a way of motivating their participants to verify their answers, especially when your previous question was a closed-ended.

Avoiding leading participants into a certain answer
In any research approach, open-ended questions are asked so as to elicit valuable insights from users not to confirm the ‘investigators’ existing beliefs.

In some situations, the only way to get valuable insights is to give respondents some sense of control over the conversation by allowing them to answer in their own words. There is a high chance of bumping into something completely unique and valuable if you allow users to have the freedom to express themselves.

Provide you a better idea of what your customers think about your product.
Trigger a meaningful and insightful conversation with your customers.
However, not all open-ended questions are good. In an article written by

How much are you willing to spend?

What kind of goods or services are you ready to pay for

The more you let your customers feel comfortable, the more they will reveal what drove them to consider purchasing your product. keep your customers TALKİNG and use the information to your advantage. And the best way of doing this is opening up the conversation.

a closed-ended question aims to get precise and clear-cut answers — without leaving any room for users to express themselves.

A closed-ended question refers to any question for which a researcher provides research participants with options from which to choose a response. A closed-ended question contrasts with an open-ended question, which cannot easily be answered with specific information.

Asking closed-ended questions will give you specific answers.

In most cases, closed-ended questions are used in a quantitative research approach where insights gathered are numerical.

Closed-ended questions have their place in user research and they are wonderfully effective in guiding participants into giving certain answers.

the question eliminates any element of surprise by setting boundaries for the participants’ responses.

But sometimes it’s necessary to use these types of questions in user research as they make it easier and quicker for respondents to answer.

They draw out from the respondents —clear-cut answers.

they leave no room as to the intended meaning. multiple-choice questions
specific or multiple-choice questions are considered to be the most versatile type of questions.

To make a question a closed-ended, there is a certain way you should phrase it. In his book, Conversationally Speaking, Alan Garner suggests that you use these few words to begin closed-ended questions:

Are
Would
Who
When
Where
Which
What

They all can be answered with a one-word answer yers or no.

Use at least four alternatives in each multiple-choice question so as to give users a variety of alternatives.

Closed-ended questions are often good for surveys, because you get higher response rates when users don’t have to type so much. Also, answers to closed-ended questions can easily be analyzed statistically, which is what you usually want to do with survey data.

[ Simbar Dube ]
(Original article has more: https://www.invespcro.com/blog/writing-open-ended-and-closed-ended-questions-for-user-research/)

“Using 5W-1H and 4M Methods to Analyse and Solve the Problem with the Visual Inspection Process – case study”

Krzysztof Knop1,*, and Krzysztof Mielczarek1

1Technical University of Czestochowa, Faculty of Management, Department of Production Engineering and Safety, 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland

Abstract:
The article presents a case study on the use of specially prepared 5W-1H and 4M sheets for the analysis of the problem during the visual inspection process of the electric device, in order to solve it. The identified problem was related to inconsistent assessments during the visual (alternative) inspection of chamber gaps of the electric switch. The research methodology was presented the same as results confirming the effectiveness of the problem analysis in the area of quality control by using these two methods of Lean and WCM concepts. The article aimed to show that a skillful and pragmatic approach to the problem supported by appropriate tools can contribute to its effective solution. [more…]

Case Study: https://www.matec-conferences.org/articles/matecconf/pdf/2018/42/matecconf_qpi2018_03006.pdf

“5W1H [ 5w and 1h ] How to define problem correctly ? | Problem Definition | #5W1H Technique”

5W1H is the abbreviation which stands for What? Who? Where? When? Why? How?
5W1H [ 5W and 1H ] How to define problem correctly ? | Problem Definition | 5W1H Technique
If we want to Solve the Problem then we need to know or understand the Problem, If we want to understand the Problem then we need to Define a Problem. so, 5W & 1H is the Method of Defining the Problem in well structured manner #5W1H.

[ Digital E-Learning ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlcT-m0dymw

“How 5W1H Can Make You a More Effective Problem Solver”

5W1H is shorthand for “Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.” It is used both in problem solving and in project planning.

[ Velaction Videos ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–1_9pcrT14

“How to Question with 5W1H”

Questioning with 5W1H prompts you to investigate an issue from multiple aspects. Asking What, When, Where, Who, Why and How leads to searching and finding answers. More questions, more answers!

[ NUS Libraries ]

Illustration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mf_80u0vkE

“45 Crime Scene Investigator Interview Questions (Plus Example Answers)”

Hiring managers interview potential candidates to get to know them and determine if they suit the position. The interviewer may ask questions about you, your professional experience and the specifics of the role. Reviewing common interview questions for crime scene investigators can help you prepare for your interview and feel confident speaking with your interviewer. In this article, we list 39 crime scene investigator interview questions and provide six additional questions with sample answers you can use as inspiration for your own.

Related: How To Become a Crime Scene Investigator

General crime scene investigator interview questions
Employers ask general interview questions to learn more about your personality, career goals and interest in the position. Here are some general crime scene investigator interview questions a hiring manager may ask you:

Can you tell me about yourself?
What can you tell me about our organization?
How did you hear about this job?
Why are you interested in this position?
Why are you leaving your previous position?
How long do you plan to stay with your next employer?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
What are your professional goals?
What are your three greatest professional strengths?
What is your biggest weakness, and how do you work to overcome it?
Can you work efficiently in a high-pressure environment?
What do you think makes you a good fit for this job?
What are your salary expectations?
Related: How Much Do Crime Investigators Make?

Questions about experience and background
Your interviewer may ask about your educational or employment history to learn about your experience in the field and your qualifications for the job. Here are some questions about your experience and background a hiring manager may ask you:

Do you have experience working as a crime scene investigator?
Do you have any professional certifications?
How has your professional experience prepared you for this job?
Can you tell me about a time you made a mistake and how you corrected it?
Have you ever worked on an on-call basis?
Do you have experience writing investigative reports?
How did you begin your career as a crime scene investigator?
Have you ever had to collect information from witnesses at a crime scene?
Can you tell me about a time you spoke with a victim’s loved one at a crime scene?
Do you have experience assisting forensic scientists in a laboratory?
Can you tell me about a time you collected evidence from a complex crime scene and how you handled it?
Have you ever taken any forensics-related continuing education sources?
How do you think you have improved as a crime scene investigator over the past year?
Read more: 6 Interview Questions About Experience (With Sample Answers)

In-depth crime scene investigator interview questions
Employers often ask in-depth interview questions to find out how much you know about specific duties and characteristics of the role. Here are some in-depth crime scene interview questions the interviewer may ask you:

What steps do you take to preserve evidence at a crime scene?
How do you feel about the accuracy of bloodstain pattern analysis?
What techniques do you use to collect evidence?
How do you ensure the integrity of the evidence you collect?
How do you record your conversations with witnesses and loved ones?
How would you define forensic science?
Have you ever accidentally tainted evidence, and if so, how did you respond?
Are there any specific types of crime scenes that make it challenging to perform your job duties?
Can you tell me about the most challenging crime scene you have investigated?
What types of law enforcement software programs are you comfortable using?
What types of forensics software programs are you comfortable using?
What are some of the most important tools for collecting evidence at crime scenes?
What do you think is the most important characteristic of a crime scene investigator?
Related: 15 Interview Questions About Work Ethic (With Examples)

Crime scene investigator interview questions with sample answers
Here are six questions you might encounter in a crime scene investigator interview and some example answers:

What made you decide to be a crime scene investigator?
Interviewers often ask about why you chose your career to learn more about your experience in the field and why the role is important to you. If you worked in another role before choosing this position, include information about that job and why you decided to change careers.

Example: “I started my career as a law enforcement officer 15 years ago. Although I enjoyed the work and the opportunity to help people, I spoke with crime scene investigators at the department and wondered if the role might be a better fit for me. The mix of law enforcement and science appealed to me, and I saw personally how crime scene investigators comfort families by working hard to solve crimes involving their loved ones. I became a crime scene investigator five years ago, and it’s a very fulfilling career.”

What motivates you as a crime scene investigator?
Hiring managers like to know what motivates you to do your job because it helps them understand your objectives and whether they fit the role. Consider giving real examples in your answer to show your passion for the role.

Example: “My primary motivator is justice. I know the evidence I collect might determine if police can recreate the crime scene, apprehend suspects and punish the guilty party. I also find it rewarding when my evidence can prevent wrongful convictions by confirming that someone initially considered a suspect told the truth about their lack of involvement in the crime. For example, I once found a shoe print at the scene of a crime that removed a person from the suspect list.”

Why is it important for crime scene investigators and forensic scientists to work together effectively?
Crime scene investigators often work alone, but they’re also members of a team. Your feelings about working with others and maintaining positive working relationships can help interviewers determine if you would benefit the team. If possible, include information about positive experiences you’ve had working with forensic scientists in previous roles.

Example: “Crime scene investigators and forensic scientists might work in different environments, but we’re part of the same team and have the same ultimate goal of solving crimes. In my current position, the forensic scientist I work with trusts that I collect and preserve as much relevant evidence as possible at crime scenes, and I want to feel confident that they perform comprehensive testing on my samples. When we can rely on each other, we can achieve more. We can also learn from each other, which I find important.”

What is the chain of custody, and why is it important?
Interviewers often ask questions about specific concepts or processes that have an important role in the position. Your answers to these questions tell the interviewer how much you know about the job itself. If you feel unsure about your response, mention that you have limited experience with that concept but would like to learn more about it.

Example: “The chain of custody is the transferring of evidence to different people and departments throughout a court case. Chain of custody documentation lists who had possession of a piece of evidence, when they received it and who gave it to them. It’s important because it helps prevent tampering with evidence, and it can prove in court that those involved in the case handled the evidence properly.”

What is the difference between corroborative and circumstantial evidence?
In most cases, crime scene investigators retrieve the evidence and bring it to law enforcement departments for further evaluation. However, they may also receive a subpoena to testify about a case in court, which requires a strong knowledge of legal terminology. Explain the differences between the two concepts clearly and give examples if you can.

Example: “Corroborative and circumstantial evidence are defined by their role in the case. Corroborative evidence supports a theory about the case. For example, if I found the DNA of a suspect on a weapon used in a robbery, that evidence would corroborate the theory that the suspect committed the crime. Circumstantial evidence may be related to the crime, but it has an indirect relationship. For example, if the DNA of a victim’s friend was found at the scene of the crime, it tells us that person was present at the scene, but not that they committed the crime.”

What is the first task you complete when you arrive at the scene of a crime?
Learning about your processes helps interviewers understand how you work. Hiring managers want to make sure you understand the importance of starting at the beginning of the evidence collection process. Answering this question as if you were training someone else to do your job can help you give precise details.

Example: “The first thing I do when I arrive at a crime scene is evaluate it. I observe the scene itself, determine if there are witnesses present and locate law enforcement officers. After speaking with the officers about the case and learning what they know or suspect, I do a walk-through with one of the officers to assess the situation before I collect evidence. This gives me background on the crime, which helps me decide how to approach the scene.”

[ Indeed Editorial Team ]

“The 5 W’s (and an H) That Guide Your Content Marketing Strategy”

Journalists make excellent content marketers. It’s not just because they’re used to writing clean, compelling copy. Or that, given the state of the modern news industry, there’s a wide talent pool for marketing departments to choose from.

No, journalists make great marketers because they have finely-developed instincts for chasing down a story. They know how to collect the facts thy need to make a full report. They ask the right questions and make sure they get a straight answer, before they write a single line.

Couldn’t your content marketing use a little journalistic edge? Not just for the copy, but for your entire strategy?

When reporters are researching a story, they go through the Five W’s: Who, What, When, Where, Why & How (Yes, I know that’s five w’s and one h. This is the country that brought us the three R’s: reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic).

You can use these six big questions to guide your content marketing strategy. Use them in your research to make sure when people see your content, they’ll want to read all about it.

1: Who is my audience?

This question is the fundamental building block of your content marketing strategy. The more specific your answer is, the more effective your content can be. That means identifying everyone involved in a purchase decision for your solution. Research what their needs and motivations are, what information will be helpful to them, and what they need to know before they make a purchase decision.

Start to answer this question by building personas, abstracts of your ideal customer. These useful fictions are informed by interviewing your customers, potential customers, and even those who opted for another brand’s solution.

Remember that one crucial aspect of knowing your audience is knowing who isn’t your audience. Then you can tailor content to select your audience and exclude those who aren’t the right fit. The end result can be a more qualified audience and livelier content with a strong point of view.

2: What is my audience looking for?

First, we can easily answer what your audience is likely not looking for: talking points about why your brand or solution is great. That’s the topic most brands want to publish content about, sure. But that type of content is the least appealing to the majority of your potential audience.

Find out what your audience wants and needs by researching keywords and queries. Search engine queries are direct expressions of what is most important to your audience. As Dan Blumenthal put it: “Content marketing is what web searchers are looking for.” If your content doesn’t match the need, it’s not content marketing. It’s just filler.

There are a ton of great tools to help you with that research. My favorite new one is Bloomberry, from the fine folks at BuzzSumo. Ahrefs Content Explorer, and BuzzSumo can all help you find out what kind of content is already resonating with your audience, too.

3: When should I publish?

This question is less about finding the right time of day, or right day of the week, to publish to your blog or promote on social media. That part of the equation is unique for every audience, and you’ll need to do some experimenting to nail it down.

The important part of the “when” is to publish consistently. Establish a steady cadence, whether it’s daily, weekly, or even monthly. Set a schedule that enables you to only publish quality content. Better to have a hugely valuable weekly digest than a daily shallow post.

4: Where should I publish and promote?

Even a year ago, this was a simple question. Publish on your blog, promote on the social media channels your audience uses. But now there are convincing arguments to be made for publishing directly on other platforms than your home site. For example, a long-form post on LinkedIn is likely to load faster on mobile, be easier for your audience to read and share, and will provide detailed analytics on who is engaging with the content.

Many marketers are finding it makes sense to post content natively to LinkedIn, Medium, even Facebook, rather than trying to drive traffic back to a blog post. Just make sure your CTA leads to a next step on your site.

5: Why Should My Audience Do What I Want them to Do?

We’ve discussed what your audience wants—high-quality content that helps them solve a problem. But what you want is a conversion that leads to revenue. Answering this question helps you bridge the divide between the two. Why should your audience take the action you want them to take?

Your audience will feel inspired to do what you want them to do if:

The next step is clearly stated. Now is not the time to be shy.
The next step is logical and incremental. Don’t propose on the first date.
The next step is How many obstacles are you throwing between your customer and a conversion?
The next step deepens the relationship.

6: How will I measure success?

A solid content marketing strategy works backwards from measurable goals. Don’t lead with content and add the metrics in later. You should know what each campaign is intended to accomplish, expressed in a quantifiable way.

That goes for top-of-funnel campaigns, too. Even if your goal is raising awareness, find the metric. In that case it could be an increase in branded searches, increased traffic to your site, or adding followers on social media. Just make sure you have a plan to lead that top-of-funnel interest towards further conversion.

This Just In…

Asking the right questions—and researching the right answers—is the difference between investigative journalism and fake news. For marketers it’s the difference between random acts of content and strategic content marketing. So take some time to learn your audience and determine when, how, and where you will reach them. Let the five W’s and one H help lead your marketing team to ROI.

To take your content marketing efforts to the next level, learn how to document your content marketing strategy.

[ Joshua Nite ]

“5Ws 1H: A technique to improve Project Management Efficiencies”

Project management can be regarded as a multipurpose techno-managerial activity. The diversity of its applications necessitates making PM inclusive. One way to do that is to broaden its knowledge circumference by integrating new tools and techniques with an aim to enhance the quality of PM processes and the quality of products / services produced using these processes. Yet, in hindsight, it seems that use of quality management tools and techniques have not captured the deserved attention from people working on the projects. There could be several reasons; from people lacking knowledge or intent (or both) of how to use quality management in projects, to a more systematic problem of lack of integration of tools, techniques, standards and general awareness for people to use quality management techniques regularly and effectively.

With an intention to build further thought and propose some new tools / techniques, one technique that carries good potential for use in PM for problem solving is called by the name 5Ws 1H (or sometimes 5Ws 2H).

5Ws 1H (or 2H) explained

5Ws stand for What, Why, When, Where, and Who. 1H (or 2H) stands for How (and How much). For a detail description of origin and history of the concept, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_W

What: Thinking of What initiates the process of understanding the basics of issue, problem or scenario at hand. It is about cognitive mapping of the scope of the issue, problem, or scenario.

Why: Asking ‘Why’ entails clarifying why the issue, problem or situation at hand occurred. It aims to identify the triggers and rationalizes the occurrence of an issue or a problem.

When: This element is about time-stamping the occurrence of an issue or a problem. Having an understanding of the time of occurrence could help in sequencing the triggers and impact of the issue, or problem.

Where: This element is used to pinpoint the location or place of occurrence and hence could be helpful in identifying the people and other things present / existing at that location which may have contributed to the occurrence of an issue or problem.

Who: This is about identifying people who may have direct or indirect involvement in causing or contributing to the issue or problem.

How: This element of technique is used to examine the sequence of things and triggers and how the resultant problem or issue unfolded.

How much: This indicates the quantity, volume or size.

5Ws 1H (or 2H) explained through a project management-based scenario.

Taking a Software development project as an example, we consider a scenario where development team has found that technology they are using is not fully compatible with the existing systems of their client, as was previously thought. So the project team can consider using 5Ws 1H (or 2H) to understand the problem and its extent of impact.

What: The team can ask following questions to build an understanding of the fundamental problem and scope of the problem

What is the technology we are using for software development?
What technologies were considered initially for this development project?
What was known about the existing system(s) of client?
What checks and verifications were done to confirm the compatibility of the technology being built and the deployment acceptability of new technology on existing client system(s)?
What (if any) approved or unapproved modifications / changes have been made following discussions on technological compatibility since the start of the project?
What expertise is available to the team to help them understand the compatibility issue?
What are the accepted processes for managing compatibility and technological synergies?
What guidelines or standard operating procedures (SOPs) are available to deal with such issues?
What actions were taken once the problem was detected?

Why: The project team may ask ‘Why’ questions to get a more granular understanding of the problem and seek to clarify triggers or drivers that may have contributed to the issue. Some of the questions that can be asked are:

Why has it happened that two technologies are now found to be incompatible?
Why was this problem not identified earlier or at the start of the project?
Why technologies cannot be made compatible?
Why were quality assurance processes not able to detect the problem?
Why were project team or experts involved in the project not able to detect the problem?

When: By using ‘When’ questions, project team members can time stamp the events and understand the relationships among various events that may have influenced the emergence of incompatibility issue.

When was the problem first detected?
When was client system(s) information / architecture evaluated?
When were compatibility issues mapped and discussed?
When were any compatibility tests done and compatibility found acceptable?
When was any incompatibility impact assessment done?
When was the matter taken up with client or client informed?

Where: By asking ‘Where’ questions, project team can get a better handle of source(s) of the problem. Some questions that can be asked:

Where are client system(s) located?
Where are development teams located?
Where are quality assurance / testers located?
Where is documentation on system compatibility kept?
Where is any approval / change management documentation on system architecture and compatibility kept?

Who: The project team can ask questions to identify the people involved in contributing to the issue. Some questions that may be asked:

Who is responsible for ensuring technological compatibility within the project team?
Who is responsible for data gathering and client system(s) mapping on project team side?
Who is responsible for design and change management approvals?
Who is responsible for providing client system(s) information and technical details to the project team from client side?
Who is responsible for overseeing the compatibility testing and reporting?
Who is responsible for problem detection and escalation?
Who is responsible for problem firefighting and liaison?
Who detected the problem or came to know the problem first and who were informed first?
Who escalated the problem and informed the firefighting parties?

How: To understand the sequence of various inter-related events, the project team can ask how questions such as:

How did the problem happen?
How has the sequence of events led to detection of problem?
How are compatibility issues handled and key activities identified in the project?
How are compatibility documentations prepared, shared and stored?
How are compatibility tests performed?
How is the potential of incompatibilities minimized and a better understanding is gathered about technological compatibility?
How are roles and responsibilities within project delineated and how is accountability ensured?
How is disconnect between project teams minimized and proper communication maintained?

How much: A later addition to 5Ws 1H technique, this element is used to gauge the size of the impact. Some questions that can be asked are:

How much is the estimated time and cost loss to the project due to emergence of this incompatibility issue?
How much estimated time and cost is needed to resolve the issue?
How much are the increased risks to the core objectives of the project due to this issue?
How much impact will this issue have in inducing long term system vulnerabilities even after compatibility issues are resolved?
How much would the loss be to business from this client or similar clients due to emergence of the issue?
Concluding thoughts:

Integration of new tools and techniques should be an ongoing process to deal with emergence in project management practices. In particular, problem solving and quality management techniques could help improve the overall effectiveness of project delivery. 5Ws and 1H (or 2H) technique is simple, logical and has what it takes to be used with minimum cost to the project. Practicing it on regular basis could help project teams to become naturally more problem-solution oriented. It is important to note that the list of questions used above is for illustration purposes only and should not be considered exhaustive or complete.

[ Roger Tagg ]

“THE 5 W’S ARE OUT OF ORDER…”

You all learned it in grade school for your very first writing assignments. The 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, + Why. We are here to tell you those are in the wrong order. You should be starting with “Why.” “Why” should be your priority. The “why” is what really matters.

As someone within their first year of business, I can tell you that I am more motivated than ever when I come back to my purpose. After 90+ hour weeks, it’s easy to keep peddling, keep the bike moving, but when you take a step back and look at why you are on the bike in the first place, everything changes.

Simon Sinek says it best. When you are really in tune with why you do what you do, people notice. You attract the right audience, you hire the right people, and you make the right products.

Another way to say this is, “So what’s your story?” We are in the business of marketing. And we believe that good marketing tells your story. Stop trying to sell people on what you do, or what new product you are putting on shelves. People want connection. Consumers purchase from people they trust. So how are you building that trust? On what platforms are you making contact with your ideal consumer?

Your story should be communicated through everything you do. This is why strategy is so important. This is why you need to really define who you are, what you believe in, where you will market, when you will launch, and why you started your business in the first place before you even begin brainstorming a logo, a brand kit, a mission statement, a website.

You: “So you’re saying there is homework to do before I ask you to design a logo?”

Me: “Damn Right.”

I promise you we won’t sell you on things you don’t need. I promise when we submit proposals to you and your business that it includes everything we truly believe your business needs. THAT is our purpose, our “why.” We are in the business of telling your brand story, the RIGHT way. We are in the business of setting you up for success.

And I guarantee, when you invest in your identity from the get-go, you set yourself and your team up for success. It’s kind of like buying a used car that may or may not need a new transmission. You buy the car because it’s cheaper and you want to save money, right? But after a new timing belt, oil change, tires, and yup.. that transmission failed, you end up investing more. More time. More money. More headache and you are back at square one. We are not in the business of selling broken cars, or broken brands for that matter.

We are asking you to start with the “why,” so we can build a brand that will be with you for a long time, one that tells your story, one that reaches your consumer, one that build loyalty.

[ Jordan Lacenski ]

“How Great Leaders Inspire Action”

Simon Sinek presents a simple but powerful model for how leaders inspire action, starting with a golden circle and the question “Why?” His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers — and as a counterpoint Tivo, which (until a recent court victory that tripled its stock price) appeared to be struggling.

[ Simon Sinek ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4

“USING THE FIVE W’S AND ONE H APPROACH TO SIX SIGMA”

5W1H (who, what, where, when, why, how) is a method of asking questions about a process or a problem taken up for improvement. Four of the W’s (who, what, where, when) and the one H is used to comprehend for details, analyze inferences and judgment to get to the fundamental facts and guide statements to get to the abstraction. The last W (why) is often asked five times so that one can ‘drill down’ to get to the core of a problem.

WHAT Is Six Sigma –– a Concept
The “what” in Six Sigma is a concept, a subject whose basic goal is to focus on the basic steps and analysis.
Six Sigma also is a level of quality applied to variations in any process. Sigma, the Greek letter “σ” is the symbol in statistics used for standard deviation, a measure of variation in the distribution of values. Six Sigma (σ) equates to 3.4 defects per million opportunities, providing a stretch goal of near perfection in business products or services.

In the Six Sigma methodology, anything that dissatisfies the customer is a ‘defect’, and so understanding the customer and customer requirements is the most important issue in establishing a Six Sigma culture. Six Sigma is a problem-solving management methodology that can be applied to any type of business process to identify and eliminate the root causes of defects, ultimately improving the key business processes and saving cost for the organization. In this regard, the main goal of Six Sigma is that any quality improvements in an organization need to be economically viable.

Six Sigma, as a management philosophy, allows an organization to apply a disciplined, data-driven approach that continuously brings improvement in business process performance by reducing the variability in each business process. Six Sigma creates a culture in an organization aimed at learning to build processes that delivers the business output with flawless quality. Six Sigma also focuses on measuring and controlling the variation at each stage of business process. That sometimes creates a mistaken notion that Six Sigma is a set of statistical tools and a mere strategy for their use. The reality is Six Sigma is a blending of the wisdom of an organization with a methodology and an extensive toolkit to improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization in meeting its the customer requirements.

Handpicked Content: It’s Not Common Sense – It’s a Sixth (Sigma) Sense

WHY Six Sigma –– an Objective
How to achieve the goals is accomplished in “why” context.
The goal of Six Sigma is to help people in their attempt to improve business processes to deliver defect-free products and services. Six Sigma requires practitioners to consider both the “voice of the customer” and the “voice of the process,” it reduces the gap between the two ‘voices’. That leads to more satisfied customers, and that is what makes the Six Sigma initiative a profitable business proposition. Not only does the Six Sigma organization save costs, but it also has great opportunity to increase sales.

Six Sigma focuses on long and sustained success for every improvement projects, improving each and every process in the organization. That gives organizations a way to continue improving year after year and even provides a system that rewards “out of the box” thinking, which can accelerate the rate of improvement.

Since it is a data-driven approach to problem solving, Six Sigma builds robustness in daily management. This starts a set of chain reaction in strategic, tactical and operational improvements, which compels the organization to set a stretch target for every business performance and set goals for everyone in the organization.

WHO Is Involved in Six Sigma –– People Involvement
Since Six Sigma is for the total business process, it involves everyone in the organization.

In well-functioning Six Sigma deployments, everyone in the organization is involved in reducing defects, reducing cycle times and increasing customer satisfaction.

WHERE to Apply Six Sigma –– Business Process Location
Six Sigma is applied to ALL business processes. To start with, it can be applied to key business processes which have the highest visible impact on the customers and shareholders. All business processes impacting customer satisfaction and profit growth of the organization need to undergo Six Sigma methodology implementation.

WHEN to Apply Six Sigma
The starting point of Six Sigma does not matter.

When they find out that the customer satisfaction level is eroding.
When they want to retain a leadership position.
When there is a clear indication of losing market share.

HOW to Apply Six Sigma –– Methodology Followed
Depending upon the requirement of the organization and the type of organization different strategies are followed for Six Sigma implementation.

The three main strategies followed in Six Sigma are:

Process Management: An ongoing cross-functional ownership and measurement of core support processes.

Process Improvement: Focused on problem solving, aimed at eliminating the vital few root causes. It is most common to use the DMAIC roadmap:

Define
Measure
Analyze
Control

Process Design/Redesign: The creation of a new process to achieve exponential improvement and/or meet the changing demands of customers, technology and competition. It must handle totally dysfunctional processes and reengineer them. It is also known as Design for Six Sigma (DFSS). DMADV is the most common roadmap followed for DFSS:

Define
Measure
Analyze
Design
Verify

Handpicked Content: Importance of Assessing Readiness to Implement Strategy

The interrelationships also guide Six Sigma practitioners to take systematic error-free steps to complete the Six Sigma project successfully on-time and every-time.

[ Pradeep Kumar Mahalik ]

“Learn the 5 W’s of effective brochures”

Posted in Compelling brochures, Reaching your customers

A brochure shouldn’t just look good, it should be effective at communicating your message to your target audience.

You’ll want to learn the Who, What, Why, Where & When of compelling brochures.

The Five W’s uses a “left brain” approach to communication (left brain = verbal, analytical, logical). While we often think of writing and design as a “right brain” function (right brain = visual, intuitive, creative), the best communication comes out of combining both approaches.

For many years I designed brochures with the goal of selling tickets to the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra concert seasons. These were complex pieces mailed before the season started that needed to include concert descriptions, musician photos, subscriber benefits, and a user-friendly order form, among other things. Hopefully, they would ultimately engage the reader enough to buy concert tickets. Early on in the process of creating a season brochure, the marketing director and I would spend a great deal of time answering the questions below to come up with the best brochure solution for our mission.

All brochures, whether complex or simple, benefit by a discussion directed at answering these questions:

WHO will be your audience?
What are their common denominators (age/sex/income/interests/etc.)
What benefits would they derive
Do they already know anything about the product/service
Is the reader likely to be a “skimmer”
WHAT format would be best?
Size and proportion of the finished piece
Number of pages or folds needed
Photos vs. illustrations (with or without captions)
How many photos would be appropriate
Will it be a self-mailer (label/indicia/return address). If so, what size best fits current postal requirements or realizes economical postage rates?
WHY do you need a brochure?
To make a sale, build awareness or introduce a product
To assist salespersons in their presentations
To introduce the product before a sales call
As a leave-behind to reinforce the presentation
WHERE will it be used?
Direct mail (mass market or target market)
Passed out at trade shows, expos, meetings, etc.
As a product package insert
Enclosed with other materials as part of a sales campaign
As a sales tool for sales personnel
WHEN will it be used?
To support an ad campaign
As part of a larger marketing effort
During a personal sales call
Around special dates, seasons or holidays
I’ll ask you questions like this when we start your brochure project. Then I’ll work with my right brain, focusing my creativity on your project’s purpose and target audience.

So to create a successful brochure, you start with the left brain and I’ll finish with the right brain. Together, we’ll make it look good and tell the best story.

[ Sally Rauschenfels Creative ]

“The 5 Ws (& 1 H) of Content Marketing”

Want your content marketing efforts to succeed? Here are the six basic elements you need to consider when launching your campaigns.

The 5 Ws (& 1 H) of Content Marketing

Want to gain greater brand exposure and tons of new leads without spending a single cent on paid ads?

Before you shake your head and dismiss the idea as impossible, consider the proof.

On January 15, Shutterstock posted its yearly creative trends infographic. Take a look.

content marketing creates brand exposure

The infographic is filled to the brim with technicolor images, trendy music, and stunning video clips. It’s so awesome it garnered:

54 backlinks
4,194 social shares
10,900 total engagements
All in only four months!

So, what did Shutterstock pay for this huge brand exposure?

Not a cent.

All they did was create this brilliant piece of content and publish it for the world to see.

The great news? You can achieve their stunning success too.

All you need boils down to two words: content marketing.

Let’s explore how it’s done!

The 5 Ws & 1H of Content Marketing
These six elements explain the basics of successful content marketing.

W #1: The What – What Is Content Marketing?
Here’s a quick definition of content marketing:

“Content marketing is strategic marketing based on the creation and distribution of relevant content focused on improving users’ lives. Its ultimate goals are to position a brand as an authority, gain trust, and drive profitable user action.”

As an example, look at this email from Ramit Sethi.

content marketing through email

The email provides a link to a free 30-minute masterclass.

It’s not selling anything. It’s not a paid ad.

But it does three things:

It teaches people how to write an outstanding email.
It promotes brand awareness.
It sets Ramit Sethi up as an authority in the industry.

Users who watch and love the masterclass are one step closer to buying Ramit’s products.

That’s how awesome content marketing is done!

W #2: The Why – Why Do Content Marketing?
But why should you do content marketing instead of spending on ads?

If you own a large company with a ton of resources, won’t you get better results from paying for promotions?

The surprising answer is no.

Here’s proof:

Educational content makes consumers 131% more likely to buy.
47% of people use an ad blocker.
Content marketing generates 3x more leads than traditional marketing.
Unlock (not provided) with Keyword Hero
See all your organic keywords in GA and their specific performance metrics. Free Trial. Cancel anytime. Professional support. 4-minute setup.

Plus, people nowadays don’t want to feel “sold” or “closed.”

They want to gather information, enjoy free value, and then choose the brand that gives them the most meaningful experience.

W #3: The Where – Where to Do Content Marketing
The #1 place to do content marketing is on your own website.

Why?

Because your website is your very own content house.

No matter what happens, you’re the one in control of it.

But there are other platforms where you can publish and promote your content. These include:

Blogs of well-known influencers (guest posting)
Social media
Email

A healthy combination of these is the secret to content marketing success.

W #4: The Who – Who to Target with Content Marketing
Content marketing isn’t about creating and publishing post after post, hoping someone will see what you’re doing and take action.

It’s about knowing exactly who you’re writing to and creating content that’ll make their lives better.

Take this email from Rori Raye’s Have the Relationship You Want as an example.

targeted content marketing

This email works because it targets a specific person: a woman who’s brokenhearted and confused over her relationship.

It’s not for:

Singles
Women in happy relationships
Men
Sending it to them would be nothing but a huge waste of time.

Also, penning a generic piece of content meant to appeal to everyone will end up appealing to no one.

So, discover what your target audience needs and start crafting content that’ll change their lives in deep, meaningful ways.

W #5: The When – When to Do Content Marketing
When should you do content marketing?

All the time!

The key with this type of marketing is consistency.

You can’t sit down to write an inspiring piece of content, publish it, and then let your blog stagnate for the next two months.

What you should do is create a schedule and stick to it at all costs.

So, how often should you post on your blog?

The more the better!

Here’s a chart from Orbit Media to guide you.

strong results in content marketing via publishing frequency

H: The How – Best Practices for Content Marketing
Follow this step-by-step guide to a successful content marketing campaign.

Step 1: Know Your Audience

Before you create even a single piece of content, you need to answer three questions.

Who is your audience and what are their pain points?
How can you help them?
What kind of content will best appeal to them?
Answering these questions will keep your content focused and relevant.

Step 2: Decide on Your Content Marketing Goals

The next question you should ask yourself is, “What’s the ultimate goal of my content marketing campaign?”

Actually, you can have more than one goal. You can use content marketing to:

Increase traffic to your site
Increase revenue
Gain trust
Set yourself up as an authority in your industry

Know your goals before you start creating content, and be sure to attach KPIs to your content pieces to measure your success.

Step 3: Figure Out Which Content Types You’ll Create

The number one content type you need is a blog.

Your blog works as the core of your content marketing campaign.

Publish two or more blog posts per week, making sure they’re relevant, actionable, valuable, and shareable.

Besides your blog, here are five great types of content you can add to your campaign:

Video
Webinars
Ebooks
Email
Podcasts

Step 4: Create a Content Calendar

A content calendar helps you stay on track with relevant and timely pieces of content.

Step 5: Start Creating Content!

Remember, quality is the number one goal to aim for with every piece of content you publish.

The 5 Ws & 1 H of Awesome Content Marketing
You don’t need big bucks to get your brand front and center in the minds of your audience.

In fact, expensive paid advertising is no longer bringing in the results it used to.

People don’t want to feel sold. They invest in ad blockers, skip TV commercials, and ignore direct mail.

So, what do they want?

They want to feel powerful. They want to be in control.

They want to make decisions based on the value a brand gives them.

The great news is you can give them all these through successful content marketing.

[ Julia McCoy ]

“The 5 Ws of Social Media (and the H)”

Find out who should be doing your social media, what they should be doing, when they should be doing it, why, where, and how.

As everyone who does it knows, social media is one of the biggest time sinks available to us – and that includes Tetris and Angry Birds. So we’re going to take the journalistic approach to managing social media, borrowing from the who, what, why, when, where, and how of journalism.

Who: Who should be doing it?
What: What should they be doing?
When: How often?
Why: What are the objectives?
Where: What channels?
How: What’s the overall process?

Now, the details.

Who Should Manage Your Social Media?

Sometimes, there’s only you. Other times, there’s a staff member or agency person. In a pinch, you can find freelance help.

What Should They Be Doing?

Content development and dissemination. Working off of your social media plan, you/they should be building content that aligns with the SEO plan. If you’re not doing the work yourself, you have to closely monitor the person(s) who is. You should start the day with “What are we going to do?” and end the day with “What did we accomplish?” This communication can be managed on your content calendar.
Listening and engaging. Look at what others in your network are saying and respond only to what is directly or indirectly related to your brand. Engage with individuals in a meaningful way. For example, if someone shares your content with comments, continue the conversation by building on their comments – with your plan’s goals in mind. Don’t waste time on off topics or with “trolls” who aren’t supporting your goals.
When to Post and Engage

How frequently you should post content and engage with followers depends on your social media marketing plan. Social media can expand to take up all the time you can give it. So understand the minimum you need to do to get the results you need. If you have more time to give, great; but if that takes time from other activities, evaluate where the time should be best spent.

Why: How to Define Your Objectives

You are investing time in social media to achieve specific and measurable marketing and sales goals. You can only answer “why” if you know what your specific goals are – which means you start with a plan and objectives: to generate qualified leads, to expand brand awareness by sharing of content, to get media attention/pickup/interviews, etc.

Be sure that your objectives include social media goals as well as real goals. Subscribers on YouTube, Facebook likes and fans, and the number of Twitter subscribers are numbers without meaning. What has meaning: content shared by your readers with key target groups, people signed up for events, opt-ins for your blog, visits to website to fill out a lead form, etc.

And you need to understand how to evaluate the results. What if you only get 10 likes? If those likes are qualified, 10 are better than 1,000 trolls. This leads back to your social media content strategy, to develop content and target people who are likely to share your content and make it viral.

Where to Engage

With the buffet of social media channels whetting your appetite, how can you decide what to eat? Unless you have vast resources, you have to make choices; you can’t take on everything.

So the question always is: where are you most likely to attract the best customers and enthusiasts (people who will share your content, brand awareness, and media attention)?

To track how specific channels are working for you, set up the social traffic feature in your Google Analytics dashboard. It will tell you where the traffic is coming from, and over time, you can see what is working for you.

How: The Overall Process

While “how” is at the end of a journalist’s list, logically, it is where a social media marketer begins. You need to establish your objectives, the amount of time and resources you can invest, and a detailed action plan that stems from a comprehensive evaluation of your business goals. You should identify tools that will aid you in managing your social media broadcasts (i.e., all the content you push out), as well as monitoring both your social media influence and your online reputation.

This, in turn, will take you back to the other Ws: how often you should post to each channel, for example, and how (and if) you need to differentiate your messages to each. To determine the latter, you have to constantly monitor your social media insights to see if people are actually engaging with your content. If not, adjust and then proceed.

At the beginning of each week, assess the results of the previous week versus how much time you are spending, and where. Are you getting results that tie back to your goals? Are people referring business to you within the social channel?

Revise your channels and time investment accordingly. Social media provides a never-ending opportunity to test and learn.

For those who would like to know more, please leave a comment below or send me a note via ClickZ’s “connect with the author” and I can answer specific questions.

[ Jasmine Sandler ]

“What are some good resources for Christian investigative journalism?”

Leif Nummela, Bible Teacher and Theologian, Finnish Lutheran Mission, answers the question “What are some good resources for Christian investigative journalism?” related to his talk “Investigative Journalism: The Missing Link in Christian Media Communication” given at the 2016 European Leadership Forum.

[ Leif Nummela ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YIZvsqqQ3U

“What challenges do Christian media professionals face in investigative journalism?”

Leif Nummela, Bible Teacher and Theologian, Finnish Lutheran Mission, answers the question “What challenges do Christian media professionals face in investigative journalism?” related to his talk “Investigative Journalism: The Missing Link in Christian Media Communication” given at the 2016 European Leadership Forum.

[ Leif Nummela ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1TvRmL1zG8

“What impact can investigative journalism have on a culture?”

[ Leif Nummela ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPGKtISQXlc

“What impact can investigative journalism have on the Church?”

[ Leif Nummela ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDSySeqKn1c

“Why do Christian media professionals need to take investigative journalism seriously?”

[ Leif Nummela ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q_vfwiJ_T0

“Investigating Jesus Christ: A Person of Interest”

Last week, popular author, apologist, and Colson Center Senior Fellow J. Warner Wallace released his latest book, Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World that Rejects the Bible.

His background experience as a police detective specializing in cold cases has always added a fascinating dynamic to Wallace’s investigations of Christianity. His skills solving cold cases, sometimes years after initial investigations closed, have led him to national recognition in both forensics and Christian apologetics.

In his earlier book, Cold Case Christianity, Wallace examined the testimony of the Gospel writers. He explored the New Testament to determine if there were reliable witnesses to Jesus. In his next book, Forensic Faith, Wallace taught investigative techniques to readers so they could examine their own faith, and share it with others.

Now, in Person of Interest, Wallace answers a difficult question: What if all that compelling evidence from the Gospel accounts wasn’t even available? Writing to a culture that has largely rejected the Bible as a valid source of information, Wallace asks if there is enough extra-Biblical information to consider Jesus a person worth paying attention to? Is there reason to believe that He was the incarnate Son of God?

In Person of Interest, Wallace employs a methodology similar to what police use in what are called “no-body, missing person cases.” No-body, missing person cases are disappearances where there is little to no physical evidence, no victim’s body, no crime scene. Throughout his career, Wallace worked many cold cases and he’s noticed a pattern from those cases: there’s usually a trail of compelling evidence to follow. For example, in the case of a serious crime, there’s almost always a fuse: a series of words, suspicions, preparations, expectations that can be incriminating when followed after a crime.

And, there’s nearly always what Wallace calls a blast radius: the scope of an impact from the event’s significance. Even if the crime was hidden, almost anything about someone’s life could change after a hidden crime: hobbies, lifestyles, actions, relationships. Wallace writes, “When a high impact event like a homicide occurs, it leaves a mark. It takes a while for the fuse to burn, and the debris is difficult to miss.”

Think about it: if Jesus really is the center in all of history, we’d expect to see a significant fuse and significant fallout from His life. And that’s exactly what we see: from the Greek language that led to the proliferation of Scripture, to the Roman roads that carried the Gospel to the ends of the earth, to the hundreds of prophetic messages delivered to the people of Israel.

The life of Jesus Christ was predicted and prepared for. Here’s how the Apostle Paul put it, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” And, of course, the impact after Jesus’ life was “also immense.” Wallace writes, “As I investigated the literary fallout caused by the explosive appearance of Jesus, I realized it was nearly impossible to erase him from history.”

Jesus impacts virtually every leader, artist, educator, and religious figure, and that this is true within the larger social category of religion, in particular, is especially interesting. As Wallace points out, Christianity failed to morph around anyone who came after Jesus Christ, but almost every major religion adapted to incorporate him.

Person of Interest explores the plausibility of Christianity. Though the idea that God would have spoken through just one religion can seem ridiculous to so many secular westerners, what they miss is that we live in a world that has been so thoroughly shaped by the life and death of Jesus. Person of Interest cuts through all the fog and shows this influence of Jesus clearly.

The investigation by one of America’s best cold case detectives leads to just one conclusion. If the God of the universe was ever going to interact personally with his creation, Jesus of Nazareth is certainly the leading suspect. As Wallace writes, “Jesus didn’t matter because He changed the world. He changed the world because He mattered.”

J. Warner Wallace’s newest book, Person of Interest, hit bookshelves last week. You can get yours by visiting us at BreakPoint.

[ John Stonestreet ]

“Former Atheist on Evidence for the Resurrection – Author Lee Strobel Talks About Why He Became a Christian”

Lee Strobel, best-selling author of numerous books including The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith, was a committed atheist when his wife, Leslie, became a Christian in 1979. Rankled by this turn of events, Strobel, then legal editor at the Chicago Tribune, poured his legal training and journalistic skills into investigating the validity of Leslie’s newfound faith. He figured he could dismantle it in a weekend.
Twenty-one months later, Strobel laid down his yellow legal pad and surrendered his life to Jesus Christ. He spoke with Decision about how his Christian faith is bolstered both by the evidence and by three decades of walking with the Savior.

Q: In your latest book The Case for Grace, you detail some of your formative experiences that turned you toward atheism. Yet it was the truth of the resurrection of Jesus that turned your life upside down. Do you recall a moment in time when you knew in your gut that you had a decision to make?

A: Yes, Nov. 8, 1981. I had gone to church with Leslie that day. I can’t remember anything that was said, but I came home and I just felt like after a year and nine months of looking at the evidence from science and history, and especially the resurrection, that I needed to reach a verdict. As I wrote page after page of evidence on my yellow legal pad, I just put down my pen and said, “Wait a second, it’s going to take more faith to maintain my atheism than to become a Christian,” because the evidence, I believed, was that strong. So that’s when I concluded the resurrection was true. I read John 1:12, which says that “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name.” I didn’t just believe it, but I repented of my sin and received His free gift of forgiveness and eternal life, and became a child of God. And my life began to change.

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Q: Before your wife came to saving faith, how would you have assessed the claim that a Jewish carpenter/rabbi who was flogged and crucified by Roman soldiers rose from the dead after two nights in the grave and then appeared to His followers?

A: Well, I have skepticism woven into my DNA. My knee-jerk reaction to Christianity was that it was ridiculous and not worth checking out. The idea was absurd. As I studied more in the area of atheism, I became more cemented in that view. But when my wife became a Christian and I saw positive changes in her, I decided to use my legal and journalism background to investigate it. Like one of those clown punching bags, I felt like every time I would hit Christianity with an objection, it would bounce back up.

Q: For you, what are the most convincing proofs that point to the resurrection?

A: Well, first we have to look at the issue of whether Jesus claimed to be divine, which is clear and convincing. In Mark, the earliest Gospel, the most common way Jesus talks about Himself is as the Son of Man—a reference to Daniel 7, where you have a figure with exalted and divine characteristics, in the very presence of God. So this is, in a sense, a claim to deity.

The parable in Mark 12 of the landowner and the vineyard and the tenant farmers clearly talks about the beloved son and his special exalted status as the heir.

At the time of the crucifixion when He is asked, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” He says, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One,” which is a reference to Psalm 110, “coming on the clouds of Heaven,” which is also Daniel 7. In John 10:30, He says that “I and the Father are one,” and the word there in Greek is not masculine, it’s neuter, which means He’s not saying “I and the Father are the same person.” He’s saying “I and the Father are the same thing.”

Q: Did His return from the dead back up His claim to deity?

A: I look at the four E’s of the resurrection: First, the execution. We have no record of anyone surviving a full Roman crucifixion. The evidence for the execution is so strong historically because not only do we have multiple sources in the New Testament, we have five ancient sources outside the New Testament that confirm and corroborate His execution.

Then, we have early accounts that He rose from the dead. Most people like me thought it was a legend that developed a long time later. And it generally took, according to A.N. Sherwin-White, the great Oxford scholar, at least two generations of time for legend to grow up in the ancient world and wipe out a solid core of historical truth.

But we have—and this was a key bit of evidence for me—1 Corinthians 15 starting in verse 3—a creed of the earliest church that says that Jesus died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, was buried and rose on the third day. Eminent scholar James D.G. Dunn says we can be entirely confident that this creed was formulated within months of Jesus’ death. So here we have something that goes right back to the beginning—too quickly to write it off merely as a legend.

Then we have the empty tomb. For me the most convincing piece is what the skeptics said. When the disciples began saying that Jesus had risen, what the skeptics never said was, “Baloney, go open the tomb and you’ll see the body.” That would have put the onus on the disciples to prove it. But they never said that. What they said was, “Oh, well, the disciples stole the body.” They’re implicitly conceding that the tomb is empty.

And then the eyewitnesses. We’re lucky in the ancient world if we have one or two sources to confirm a fact. But for the conviction of the disciples that they had encountered the resurrected Christ, we have no fewer than nine ancient sources from inside and outside the New Testament, confirming and corroborating His appearances. The resurrection really confirms His identity of being the Son of God.

Q: How does the certainty of the resurrection help buoy the believer in difficult times?

A: I think the evidence is important because it points us in the direction of Jesus being the Son of God, but if you ask me today why I believe, I don’t generally go back to the evidence, even though it’s there. It’s strong. It’s led me to that conviction. My belief today that Jesus is who He claimed to be is based on the fact that I’ve known Him now since Nov. 8, 1981. I have a personal relationship with Him. So it’s a both/and. I think the evidence is important, but our relationship with God ultimately is how we know it’s true. And the Bible says that the Holy Spirit whispers to us, confirming to us that we are a son or daughter of God.

Q: Your other books are more evidence based. Your latest one goes deeply into true stories of grace. What prompted you to go that direction?

A: Two things. I’ve written these previous books that look at the historical and scientific evidence for orthodox Christianity. They present some foundational facts. But another element is the experiential side. It’s an important part of the case because if God is real, you would expect that He would change lives. And so if that wasn’t true, we would have reason to doubt. But we see lives transformed, and I believe that is part of the case.

But by itself it’s not sufficient because if you just look at changed lives, Muslims claim changed lives and even atheists claim changed lives. Lots of different world religions claim changed lives. So it’s not enough by itself to make the case.

The other reason is it’s really my life’s message. Because God so radically transformed my values and character and morality and worldview when I came to faith in Him, and over time He has so fundamentally transformed my life, my mission in life has been to see other people change, too. I’m an evangelist, I want to see people come to faith. And I’m sort of an addict for stories of grace. My life message is that God will forgive you, He’ll adopt you and He’ll transform you. And this book is about the way in which He’ll forgive you and adopt you and transform you.

I want people to know that. That’s a message the world needs to hear. Fundamentally, grace is God’s favor toward sinners. It’s the unmerited and unearned gift of forgiveness and eternal life. That’s grace.

Q: You mention in the preface of The Case for Grace that “Christianity is unique” when compared to world religions, and “so is the grace Christ offers.” What is unique about these things?

A: That’s a good question. Christianity stands in sharp contrast because it is based on grace. Christ has paid the penalty for our sin, and He offers forgiveness and eternal life as a free gift that we can’t earn.

And what’s also different about Christianity is that it invites investigation. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:17 that, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. You are still in your sins.” So he’s saying, “Look, if the resurrection is not an actual historical event, you should walk away from this.” That invites investigation.

That’s different. I don’t know if I want to say that’s unique about Christianity, but it’s different. Christianity is different because it invites investigation and it withstands historical and scientific scrutiny.

But certainly the grace aspect of Christianity is unique. C.S. Lewis once encountered a group of scholars having a debate in one of the rooms at Oxford, and he asked, “What are you guys talking about?” They said, “Well, we’re trying to figure out what’s unique about Christianity.” And he said, “Well, that’s easy. Grace.”

Q: To someone who would say, “I believe in rational things—science, evidence, etc. But you rely on faith,” what do you say?

A: We all have faith in one thing or the other. It’s either faith in our own intellectual capacity, faith in a person or faith in an institution or organization. I believe putting your faith in Christ is a step of faith, yes, but it’s a step in the same direction that the evidence of history and science are pointing. So if you picture a stream with a strong current, that’s the picture in my mind’s eye of how the evidence is flowing in a direction. Not everything—you have little tributaries that are hard to account for—but overwhelmingly the evidence is flowing in a direction. To maintain my atheism, I would have had to swim upstream against that evidence. That’s not the rational or logical approach. The most logical thing is to go in the direction the evidence is flowing. We do that every day. We assess evidence and we take a step in the same direction.

Right now I am drinking from a bottle of water. How do I know it isn’t poison? Well, my wife gave it to me. She has no reason to harm. I haven’t seen any news reports of anybody getting sick from drinking bottled water. The name of the company is reputable. The bottle was sealed. It doesn’t smell funny or appear discolored. It still could be poison, but based on that evidence I take a sip and I taste and see that it’s good. And the Bible says “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). We assess, either consciously or unconsciously, the evidence that points in a direction. We still have to take a step of faith, but it’s a logical step. It makes sense. It’s logical to drink of the living water that John 4 talks about.

You can know the risen Christ today.

[ JERRY PIERCE – Billy Graham Evangelistic Association ]

“The 4 E’s of the Resurrection”

[ Lee Strobel ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Itcj8mhMcA

“4 Proofs of the Resurrection – Lee Strobel from The Case for Christ”

JESUS WAS DEAD
Did Jesus die on the cross? Was he dead? Virtually every scholar on planet Earth concedes that Jesus was dead after crucifixion. We have no record of anyone, anywhere, ever surviving a full Roman crucifixion. Even the Journal of the American Medical Association publish a peer reviewed reviewed scientific medical study of the evidence for the death of Jesus and said, “Clearly the weight of the evidence indicates that Jesus was dead even before the wound was inflicted.” Even the atheist New Testament scholar Gerd Lüdeman says, “Historically it’s indisputable that Jesus was dead.” So, Jesus was dead.

EARLY ACCOUNTS FOR THE RESURRECTION
The second category of evidence is the early accounts we have for the resurrection. In other words, I used to think is an atheist that the resurrection was a legend and that took a long time to develop in the ancient world. What I learned is that we have preserved for us a creed of the earliest Christian Church. A creed that is an eyewitness-based report of the resurrection of Jesus. Now this creed has been dated back by scholars to within months of the death of Jesus — within months. That is historical gold. So, we’ve got a news flash from ancient history on the resurrection.

THE EMPTY TOMB
The best evidence for the empty tomb is even the opponents of Jesus implicitly admitted the tomb was empty. When the disciples began proclaiming that Jesus had risen what the opponent said was, “The disciples stole the body.” They’re conceding that the tomb was empty, they’re just trying to explain how it got empty. So, everybody’s conceding that the tomb was empty. How it got empty is the real issue, and that goes to the fourth category of evidence, which is eyewitnesses.

THERE WERE EYEWITNESSES
For most of what we know about ancient history, it comes from one or maybe two sources of information and yet for the conviction of the disciples that they encountered the resurrected Jesus, we have no fewer than 9 ancient sources inside and outside the New Testament confirming and corroborating the conviction of the disciples that they encountered the risen
Christ. That is an avalanche of a historical data.

So, you put all that together and you have a really good case for Easter.

[ Lee Strobel ]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ-IfnDtJ_4

“The Case for Christ”

Lee Strobel spent two years of his life studying, researching, learning everything he could in order to disprove the resurrection and deity of Christ. What he found instead changed his life forever.

This week, Lee Strobel takes us through the four main points he found that shifted his mind and heart about the truth surrounding the resurrection of Jesus.

[ Lee Strobel ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67uj2qvQi_k

“The Case for Christ: Evidence for the Resurrection”

February 20, 2018 – The Case for Christ: Evidence for the Resurrection

[ Lee Strobel – ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDgu3jXeCTM

“Case For Christ (Full Documentary)”

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abLATf6Q9Ls

“The Case for Christ” (Full Movie)

In 1980, Lee Strobel is an atheist journalist and investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune. He and his wife Leslie have a daughter named Alison and are expecting their second child. After getting a very special recognition, Lee and his family go out to celebrate with dinner, where Alison chokes on a piece of candy. One of the patrons, a nurse named Alfie, intervenes and saves Alison. She credits the event to God’s will, which Leslie takes to heart.

Leslie and Alfie become friends and start attending a Christian church together; irritated, Lee unsuccessfully tries to dissuade Leslie. Due to advice from his mentor, Lee sets out to find evidence that proves that the resurrection of Jesus did not happen. Meanwhile, Leslie gives birth to a son, Kyle.

Lee starts gathering information and evidence. Next, he tries to prove that the witnesses were hypnotized, but a psychologist proves him wrong. Lee then tries to gather evidence that Jesus may have not died or was taken off, but again, a physician proves him wrong, saying Jesus had to have died on the Cross.

Meanwhile, Lee’s estranged father tries to reconcile with him, but Lee brushes him off. His father dies soon after, and then Lee learns that his father truly loved him, which surprises Lee.

Lee is also investigating a case of a murder of a police officer. At first, it looks like the convicted man is guilty and an informant for a gang, but Lee proves that the cop had shot himself with a secret gun disguised as a pen, and the convict is freed.

Lee tries to get more evidence for his religious investigation, but his mentor explains that whether he chooses to believe or not believe, the last part of proving His real existence is faith. When a colleague gives him a speech, Lee decides to take the leap of faith and believe. When he tells Leslie about it, they have a happy reconciliation and pray together.

Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBcNvSA1kNo

“Why We Know Christianity is True”

[ J Warner Wallace ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCHJbO-3-jA

“7 Huge Mistakes About Bible Prophecy”

Welcome to Calvary Tucson’s Annual Southwest Pastors and Leaders Conference 2022

0:00 Introduction
7:25 Number 1 – People say the rapture is not in the Bible
7:44 Number 2 – Satan is already bound by the power of the cross
7:58 Number 3 – There are churches that believe we’re already in the millennium
8:13 Number 4 – The church really replaces Israel because Israel failed to receive the Messiah
8:42 Number 5 – The church will go through the tribulation
9:06 Number 6 – The Antichrist can be identified today
9:36 Number 7 – We can predict the date of the rapture can’t we?
12:34 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – The comfort of Christ’s coming
25:11 Matthew 12:28-29 – Surely the kingdom of God has come upon you
26:03 Revelation 19:20 – The beast was captured
26:18 Revelation 20:3 – He cast Satan into the bottomless pit
41:33 1 Thessalonians 5:9 – God did not appoint us to wrath
46:31 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 – The Antichrist may be revealed in his own time
52:41 Matthew 24:36 – No one knows the day or hour

[ Dr. Ed Hindson: ]

Teaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH6U15Vcx88

“Answering Skeptics Questions”

Does It Really Matter What I Believe?
A question we hear often is, “Does it really matter what I believe as long as I believe in something?” Or, “As long as your belief helps you, isn’t that all that matters?”
The idea behind statements such as these is that there is no absolute truth to believe in, and thus the act of believing is all there is. We all believe in something, as Edgar Sheffield Brightman states, “A thinker cannot divest himself of real convictions, and it is futile to pose as having none” (E.S. Brightman in H.N. Wieman, B.E. Meland (eds.), American Philosophies of Religion, New York, Harper & Brothers, 1936).

The idea of finding any truth or meaning to life has escaped modern man. This statement reflects the inability to conceive of something outside of one’s self: “There are no rules by means of which we would discover a purpose or a meaning of the universe” (Hans Reichenbach, The Rise of Scientific Philosophy, p. 301).

Even though we live in a day in which we all have definite beliefs about things, the climate seems to be the act of belief rather than any real object of belief. “Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact,” states pragmatist William James.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Belief will not create fact. Truth is independent of belief. No matter how hard I may try, believing something will not make it true. For example, I may believe with all my heart that I want it to snow tomorrow, but this will not guarantee snow. Or I may believe that my run-down old car is really a new Rolls Royce, but my belief won’t change the fact.

Belief is only as good as the object in which we put our trust. Someone may come to me and say, “Hey, let’s go for a ride in my new plane!” If I come to find out that his plane hardly runs at all and he does not even have a pilot’s license, then my faith, no matter how much I have, is not well-founded.

My faith won’t create a great pilot out of my friend once we are in the sky! However, if another friend of mine comes along and makes the same offer, but he is a certified pilot with a new plane, then my trust has a much more solid base. So it does matter what I believe, for my believing it does not make it true.

The Bible also emphasizes the fact that it is vital what one believes. Jesus said, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24, MLB). We are also told, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” (John 3:36, NIV).

Thus, the stress of the Scriptures is not so much on the act of belief as on the object of belief. What is emphasized is not so much the one trusting, but rather the one trusted. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NIV).

People today are believing whatever they wish to believe, but this will lead to their ultimate destruction. The famous classroom story of the philosopher, Georg Hegel, illustrates the type of faith many people display, which is entirely unbiblical. Hegel, as the story goes, was expounding on his philosophy of history with reference to a particular series of events when one of his students objected to Hegel’s view and replied, “But, Herr Professor, the facts are otherwise.”

“So much worse for the facts,” was Hegel’s answer.

One of the darkest periods in the history of Israel occurred in the time of the kings. During this time, there was a contest between the Lord God and Baal, a highly regarded cult deity.

An altar of wood was built, with pieces of an oxen laid upon it as a sacrifice. The god who answered by fire and consumed the sacrifice would be acknowledged as the true god in Israel. Baal went first.

If anyone could start a fire from the sky, it was Baal—the great nature god who controlled the weather (e.g., rain, thunderstorms, lightning). The priests of Baal paraded around the altar all morning and until late afternoon, beseeching Baal to respond.

These false priests jumped all over the altar, cut themselves with swords, danced into a frenzy, raved and pleaded all day. Yet nothing happened. No one can say they were not sincere or did not believe.

After they were finished and the altar was rebuilt, the Lord God answered with fire from heaven and consumed the altar and sacrifice. The false prophets of Baal were then slain.

If sincerity and belief saved, then these prophets should have been spared. But they do not. These prophets had their trust in the wrong object. They had never chosen to investigate the truth. God requires man to put his faith in Jesus Christ; nothing less will satisfy either them or Him.

[ Source: Answers to Tough Questions that Skeptics Ask About the Christian Faith, Pg. 162 ]

[ Josh McDowell ]

“The Reliability of Scripture”

One of the Reasonable Faith Lectures at a conference we went to at High Desert Church.

[ Sean McDowell ]

Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQQlbHObi6k

“You Don’t Have Anymore Time To Waste | Answer The Call Of God Today!”

The return of Christ will happen in the twinkling of an eye. Whether or not these are the last days or end times, you should be living wholeheartedly for the Lord.

Motivation Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8Z3Q3QbKiQ

<<< SONGS >>>

“It’s Who You Know”

It’s not what you have(not what you have)
But it’s who you know(who you know)
That determines where one day you’ll go
You can have a fortune and lose your soul
It’s not what you have(not what you have)
But it’s who you know

Do you testify and tell about His word
Make sure it’s known make sure it’s heard
Do you plant the seed do you pray and plead
That before they die they will believe

You may have a house high on a hill
And have the money to buy a field
But if you don’t know Jesus Christ
Your money can’t buy eternal life

It’s not what you have(you have)
But who you know(who you know)
That determines where one day you’ll go
You can have a fortune and lose your soul
It’s not what you have(not what you have)
But it’s who you know

It’s not what you have(not what you have)
But it’s who you know
That determines where one day you’ll go
You can have a fortune and lose your soul
It’s not what you have(not what you have)
But it’s who you know

It’s not what you have(not what you have)
But it’s who you know
It’s not what you have(not what you have)
But it’s who you know

[ Carroll Roberson – “The Early Years, Volume 1” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INDMpriuYGY

“It’s Who You Know”

Seems I took a wrong turn heading down my way of thinking
Somewhere between me, myself and I
Guess I thought it was a matter of playing the game and winning
Just looking for a way to get somewhere, somewhere in life

Had a good friend sit me down for a conversation
Took my hand and looked me straight in the eye
She said let me spare you a lifetime of frustration
Took a long time to figure out what it’s all about
Take my advice

It’s who you know — that will get you where you’re going
When God is the biggest part of your life, you’ll never have to think twice
You live and learn there’s one who loves you like no other
If you count on Him through thick and thin you’ll begin to see how the saying goes
It really is who you know

So I held onto those real life words of wisdom
It’s like I’d heard it a thousand times before
You see what matters is how well we get to know him
‘Cause the secret to the good life is on the inside
One thing’s for sure

Chorus

It’s not the car you drive or the clothes you wear
Or the letters by your name
It comes down to who you are, and who lives in your heart
And who you want to be living with one day

Chorus

[ Wayne Burton – “Times Like These” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yCSkCRZisw

“To Know You”

Ooh, it’s well past midnight
And I’m awake with questions
That won’t wait for daylight
Separating fact from my imaginary fiction
On this shelf of my conviction
I need to find a place
Where You and I come face to face

Thomas needed
Proof that You had really risen
Undefeated
When he placed his fingers
Where the nails once broke Your skin
Did his faith finally begin?
I’ve lied if I’ve denied
The common ground I’ve shared with him

And I, I really want to know You
I want to make each day
A different way that I can show You how
I really want to love You
Be patient with my doubt
I’m just tryin’ to figure out Your will
And I really want to know You still

Nicodemus could not understand
How You could Truly free us
He struggled with the image
Of a grown man born again
We might have been good friends
‘Cause sometimes I still question, too
How easily we come to You

But I, I really want to know You
I want to make each day
A different way that I can show You how
I really want to love You
Be patient with my doubt
I’m just tryin’ to figure out Your will
And I really want to know You still

No more camping on the porch of indecision
No more sleeping under stars of apathy
And it might be easier to dream
But dreaming’s not for me

I want to know you
I really want to know you
Hey yeah, yeah
I really want to know you
I really want to know you
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

[ Nichole Nordeman – “Wide Eyed” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB-U8KsayxE

“My Jesus”

Are you past the point of weary?
Is your burden weighin’ heavy?
Is it all too much to carry?
Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus
Do you feel that empty feeling?
‘Cause shame’s done all its stealin’
And you’re desperate for some healin’
Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus

He makes a way where there ain’t no way
Rises up from an empty grave
Ain’t no sinner that He can’t save
Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus
His love is strong and His grace is free
And the good news is I know that He
Can do for you what He’s done for me
Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus
And let my Jesus change your life

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Amen
Amen

Who can wipe away the tears
From broken dreams and wasted years
And tell the past to disappear? Oh
Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus
And all the wrong turns that you would
Go and undo if you could
Who can work it all for your good
Let me tell you about my Jesus

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Amen
Amen, Amen

Who would take my cross to Calvary?
Pay the price for all my guilty?
Who would care that much about me?
Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus, oh

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah, amen
Amen
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Let my Jesus change your life

[ Anne Wilson – “My Jesus” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=243R8BlcZZE

“Jesus Paid It All”

I hear the Savior say,
Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
and melt the heart of stone.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
Jesus died my soul to save,
my lips shall still repeat

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow

O Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead
O Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead
O Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead
O Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead
O Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow
He washed it white as snow.

[ Kristian Stanfill – “Hello” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FHwdx5BIvc

“What Mercy Did For Me”

I was hopeless
I knew i was lost
Death and Darkness were my only songs
I needed someone to come to rescue me
And mercy heard my plea

Lord, You found me
You healed me
You called me from the grave
You gave me your real love
I thank you Jesus
You washed my sins away
and now I’m living
Like I’m forgiven
You came to set me free
and that’s what Your mercy did for me

You gave beauty for my guilty stains
and now I’m living day to day by His grace
so excuse me if I can’t contain my praise
cause I know that I’ve been saved

And every morning mercy will restore me
I will proclaim
and even if the world may fall before me
I will proclaim

That’s what Your mercy did for me

[ Featuring Crystal Yates, Micah Tyler, and Joshua Sherman ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GRU5K3UFmE

“What a Friend We Have in Jesus”

What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
And what a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer

Oh, what peace we often forfeit
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer

Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness
Take it to the Lord in prayer

[ Alan Jackson – “Precious Memories” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCV5t8wRBI8

“I Know What Jesus Did For Me”

I wasn’t there by the shores of Galilee
When Jesus touched those blinded eyes
and made them see
And though I did not see the empty tomb that day
I still believed, for I know what Jesus did for me.

I believe there is power in the blood of the Lamb
And I believe there is healing in the touch of His hand
But the greatest of all miracles was when Jesus saved me
For I know what Jesus did for me

I have seen the lowest sin-sick soul
Have life anew and be made pure, pure and whole
And I have knelt and loosed the chains of sin
And set my spirit free
Yes, I know what Jesus did for me

I believe there is power in the blood of the Lamb
And I believe there is healing in the touch of His hand
But the greatest of all miracles was when Jesus saved me
For I know what Jesus did for me.

[ North Valley Baptist Church of Santa Clara ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4iTZCb4bBc

“Yes, I Know What Jesus Did For Me”

I wasn’t there by the shores of Galilee
When Jesus touched those blinded eyes
and made them see
And though I did not see the empty tomb that day
I still believed, for I know what Jesus did for me.

I believe there is power in the blood of the Lamb
And I believe there is healing in the touch of His hand
But the greatest of all miracles was when Jesus saved me
For I know what Jesus did for me

I have seen the lowest sin-sick soul
Have life anew and be made pure, pure and whole
And I have knelt and loosed the chains of sin
And set my spirit free
Yes, I know what Jesus did for me

I believe there is power in the blood of the Lamb
And I believe there is healing in the touch of His hand
But the greatest of all miracles was when Jesus saved me
For I know what Jesus did for me

[ Brenda Sours ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vyQuBuLyDM

“Jerusalem”

John saw a city that could not be hidden
John saw the city, oh yes he did
John caught a glimpse of the golden throne
Tell me all about it, go right on
Around the throne he saw the crystal sea
There’s got to be more, what will it be
I want to go, to that city he saw
New Jerusalem

Jerusalem
I want to walk your streets that are golden
And I want to run where the angels have trod
Jerusalem
I want to rest on the banks of your river
In that city, the city of God

John saw the lion lay down by the lamb
I want to know everything about that land
John saw the day but he did not see night
The lamb of God well, he must be the light
And he saw the saints worship the great I am

Crying worthy, worthy is the lamb
I want to go to that city he saw
New Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Jerusalem
Sing for the night is over
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna forever
Forever more

Jerusalem
I want to walk your streets that are golden
And I want to run where the angels have trod
Jerusalem
I want to rest on the banks of your river
In that city, the city of God
The city of God
Jerusalem, Jerusalem
The city of God, is the city of God.

[ The Hoppers – “Live From Toronto” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2j5uq0rYXA

“Streets of Jerusalem”

Will Callery featuring Danny Brooks

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SKEEM-XBIU

“Get Ready”

Do it (One, two three)
C’mon
Yeah Yeah
Gettin Funky in here
And hear we go
Whoo!
Ah c’mon
Ha ha
Ah c’mon
Fields of glory straight ahead
But your veerin to the left
Why don’t you pick your ass up off the ground
‘Cause you’ll never know what’s next
Sometimes you go uptown, run out of money
And ain’t life all kinds of funny
Justify, don’t analyse the possibilities
Aoow
(Change is coming)
It’s been a long time
Been a long time coming
Change is coming)
Whoo
So get ready, get ready
(Change is coming)
So get your shit together
Pussyfootin’ like a feather
Ain’t no time to stop halfway
Get ready
Haha
Ah come on!
Spread your wings and don’t look back
‘Cause you’re better off that way
And when your train heads off the track
You know there’s hell to pay
I said, great expectations
So make your reservations
Change is coming
So you better start running, running, running a running
Whoo
(Change is coming)
It’s been a long time
Been a long time coming
(Change is coming)
Whoo
I said, get ready, get ready
(Change is coming)
Whoo
So get your shit together
Pussyfootin’ like a feather
Ain’t no time to stop halfway
Whoo Get ready
Hoo shit hahaa!
Separation, masturbation, where’s it gonna lead
I’m searching through the galaxy to find a recipe
With a dash of this and a dash of that
It’s all you’ll ever need
I said now
Change the situation
Change the situation
Change the situation
Change the situation
(Change is coming)
It’s been a long time
Been a long time coming
(Change is coming)
Whoo uha ho
So get ready I say get ready hoooo
(Change is coming)
So get your shit together
Pussyfootin’ like a feather
Ain’t no time to stop halfway
Ho ho ho ho
Get Ready
Thats right
Hooo
(Change is coming)
Oh oh oh get ready
(Change is coming)
I said yeah yeah oh
(Change is coming)
Oh, I said get your shit together
Pussyfootin’ like a feather
Ain’t no time to stop halfway
Whoo!
Get ready

[ Anointed – “Under the Influence” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVu7ThxfTmo

“Jesus Is Coming Soon”

Troublesome times are here, filling men’s hearts with fear
Freedom we all hold dear now is at stake
Humbling your hearts to God saves from the chastening rod
Seek the way pilgrims trod, Christians awake

Jesus is coming soon, morning or night or noon
Many will meet their doom, trumpets will sound
All of the dead shall rise, righteous meet in the skies
Going where no one dies, heavenward bound

Troubles will soon be o’er, happy forevermore
When we meet on that shore, free from all care
Rising up in the sky, telling this world goodbye
Homeward we then shall fly, glory to share

Oh, Jesus is coming soon, morning or night or noon
Many will meet their doom, trumpets will sound
All of the dead shall rise, righteous meet in the skies
Going where no one dies, heavenward bound

Jesus is coming soon, morning or night or noon
Many will meet their doom, trumpets will sound
All of the dead shall rise, righteous meet in the skies
Going where no one dies, heavenward bound
Heavenward bound, heavenward bound

[ Bill & Gloria Gaither – “Live at Gaither Studios” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbK9ftPCCJQ

“Even So Come”

All of creation
All of the earth
Make straight a highway
A path for the Lord
Jesus is coming soon

Call back the sinner
Wake up the saint
Let every nation
Shout of Your fame
Jesus is coming soon

Like a bride
Waiting for her groom
We’ll be a church
Ready for You
Every heart longing for our King
We sing
Even so come

Lord Jesus come
There will be justice
All will be new
Your name forever
Faithful and true
Jesus is coming soon

So we wait
We wait for You
God we wait
You’re coming soon

[ Chris Tomlin – “Passion: Even So Come” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1BMJXt6QC8

“The King Is Coming”

The marketplace is empty,
No more traffic in the streets,
All the builders’ tools are silent,
No more time to harvest wheat,
Busy housewives cease their labors,
In the courtroom no debate,
Work on earth is all suspended
As the King comes thro’ the gate.
O the King is coming,
The King is coming!
I just heard the trumpets sounding,
And now His face I see,
O the King is coming,
The King is coming!
Praise God, He’s coming for me!
Happy faces line the hallways,
Those whose lives have been redeemed,
Broken homes that He has mended,
Those from prison He has freed,
Little children and the aged
Hand in hand stand all aglow,
Who were crippled, broken, ruined,
Clad in garments white as snow.
O the King is coming,
The King is coming!
I just heard the trumpets sounding,
And now His face I see,
O the King is coming,
The King is coming!
Praise God, He’s coming for me!
I can hear the chariots rumble,
I can see the marching throng,
The flurry of God’s trumpets
Spells the end of sin and wrong:
Regal robes are now unfolding,
Heaven’s grandstand’s all in place,
Heaven’s choir now assembled,
Start to sing “Amazing Grace!”
O the King is coming,
The King is coming!
I just heard the trumpets sounding,
And now His face I see,
O the King is coming,
The King is coming!
Praise God, He’s coming for me!

[ Gaither Vocal Band – “Live at Gaither Studios” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaYRmSKm98c

“Our God Is Coming”

Hear the freedom sound
Broken chains
Hit the ground

Now the time has come
Beyond ourselves
To live as one

We worship our God
Only only
The one living God
Holy holy
Jesus we give You our lives
Oh Jesus we give You our lives

Raise the banner high
The flood of love
Has changed our lives

All the earth resound
Singing songs
Of God’s renown

Our God is coming
Look to the skies oh
Heaven is wide open
You are the Christ

Our God is coming

[ Desperation Band – “Center Of It All” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ItV0iTiFJk

“Are You Ready For His Coming?”

The author of this song, Mary Pedersen, wrote this appeal from her heart to all those who long to be with Jesus and want to be ready to meet Him when that day comes.

“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

We know the day is coming when the Lord will come in the clouds to gather the faithful to Himself, first those who are asleep in Him, and then those who are alive and remain. (1 Thessalonians 4:16.) The question is, am I ready for Jesus? What am I doing now to prepare myself for that day? The days we are living in are a time of grace that we must use to make ourselves ready for His coming, by living wholly for Him.

[ Mary Pedersen – “Ways of the Lord” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f70kUDgbreI

“Soon And Very Soon”

Soon and very soon,
We are going to see the King,
Soon and very soon,
We are going to see the King.
Soon and very soon,
We are going to see the King,
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
We are going to see the King

[ Andre Crouch – “Kennedy Center Homecoming” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxarZBxK0iQ

“I’ll Be Back”

One day up in heaven, the Savior said goodbye
As he started on His journey
The Holy Angels cried, He turned to face his father & this they heard him say
Mankind owes a debt below, that only I can pay, but

Chorus
I’ll be back, I’ll be back
I’ll be gone for a little while, but one day I’m coming back, I’ll be back

On His way to Jerusalem, Jesus told his men –
You’ll see the son betrayed there; there I’ll be condemned
You’ll see them mock me and curse me, you’ll see me crucified
You’ll see me suffer in agony and there you’ll see me die
Oh, but

I’ll be back
I’ll be back, just a few short days and I’ll be back

But after they laid my sweet Jesus in the tomb, He got up and took a trip down below. Showed the Devil that he had lost the battle for mans soul.
But I believe that as he took the keys he looked the devil right in the eye.
He said the grave could not hold Me, I’m headed back for glory, so Devil just keep this in mind

I’ll be back
I’ll be back
I’ll be gone for a season, oh boy, one day I’m coming back,
I’ll be back

One day on a hillside as Jesus rose up in the clouds, the words he spoke came flooding back, to some young men in the crowd. He said I go to prepare a place, but I’ll be back again.
I’m gonna take my people to a land, where joy shall never end

So, I’ll be back, I’ll be back
I’ll just be gone for a little while, but one day I’m coming back
Oh, I’ll be back. I’ll be back.
Oh I hope your ready to meek me, cause one day I’m coming back
And, I’ll be back
Christians don’t lose faith
‘Cause I’ll be back.

[ Michael Combs – “The Glory Train’s a Comin’” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUQCo5cJ_E8

“Even So Come”

All of creation
All of the earth
Make straight a highway
A path for the Lord
Jesus is coming soon

Call back the sinner
Wake up the saint
Let every nation
Shout of Your fame
Jesus is coming soon

Like a bride
Waiting for her groom
We’ll be a church
Ready for You
Every heart longing for our King
We sing
Even so come
Lord Jesus come

There will be justice
All will be new
Your name forever
Faithful and true
Jesus is coming soon

So we wait
We wait for You
God we wait
You’re coming soon

[ Kristian Stanfill – “Passion: Even So Come” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBHcvJhc6Pk

“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessings”

Come Thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise

Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it
Mount of Thy redeeming love

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Here by Thy great help I’ve come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home

Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood
(Precious blood)

Oh, that day when freed from sinning
I shall see Thy lovely face
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace

Come my Lord, no longer tarry
Take my ransomed soul away
Send Thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless days

Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, oh take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

Here’s my heart
Oh take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

[ Chris Rice – “Never Lose Sight” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax_NMWLEb6U

“All To Jesus I Surrender”

All to Jesus, I surrender
All to Thee I freely give
I will ever love and trust You
In Your presence daily live

I surrender all, I surrender all
All to Thee, my blessed Savior
I surrender all

All to Jesus, I surrender
Lord, I give myself to Thee
Fill me with Your love and power
Let Your blessing fall on me

I surrender all, I surrender all
All to Thee, my blessed Savior
I surrender all

All to Jesus I surrender
Now I feel the sacred flame
O the joy of full salvation
Glory, glory, to Your name

I surrender all, I surrender all
All to Thee, my blessed Savior
I surrender all (I surrender all)
I surrender all, I surrender all
All to Thee, my blessed Savior
I surrender all (all to Thee, my blessed)

All to Thee, my blessed Savior
I surrender all

[ Vineyard ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x2IpLSfqp8

“I Surrender All (All To Jesus)”

All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence I will live
All to Jesus I surrender
Savior make me wholly thine
Let me feel Your Holy Spirit
Truly know that You are mine

All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
And in His presence I will live
I surrender all, I surrender all

All to Jesus I surrender
Lord, I give myself to thee
Fill me with Your love and power
Let Your blessing fall on me
All to Jesus I surrender
Now I feel the sacred flame
O the joy of Your salvation
Glory, glory, to His name

All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
And in His presence I will live
I surrender all

At Your feet I lay me down
All my scars and all my crowns
Jesus, I surrender all (I surrender all)
No more having my own way
No more chasing yesterday
Jesus, I surrender all (I surrender all)

All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him, all to Him I freely give
All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
And in His presence I will live
I surrender all, I surrender all

No more having my own way
No more chasing yesterday
Jesus, I surrender all (I surrender all)
I surrender all

[ Casting Crowns – “Glorious Day: Hymns of Faith” album ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXzjLUN6Fd0

“Are You Ready For His Coming?”

The author of this song, Mary Pedersen, wrote this appeal from her heart to all those who long to be with Jesus and want to be ready to meet Him when that day comes.

“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

[ Mary Petersen ]

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f70kUDgbreI

[ NOTE: There are additional songs related to the “Who, What, Where, When, Why, How” series in each of the past six month’s posts. ]

<<< APOLOGETIX SONGS >>>

<<< WHO >>>

“The Promised One”
(Parody of “Der Kommissar” by After the Fire)

So I cried, Do you want to see this Jesus with me?
Well, it’s not that I don’t dare go
‘Cause I hear He’s our Messiah
Thought I’d better let you know
While He’s leading a parade here, yo
Check!
See the young — their hearts are pure
But in their minds, they’re wise to God
They said, He sure is sweet
They come a-clappin’ to the street
With the palms that they had brought
They were singin’

Don’t turn Him down — whoa uh-oh — Jesus
The Promised One’s in town — whoa uh-oh
Some criticize — I don’t know why
The more religious have to “hue and cry”
Have they sought their Promised One?

Jesus came, you know, on a mission of hope
With all that stuff He said
But I needed understanding and a lesson in love
To know what He really meant
And I got to thinking while He was talking
And He mostly told some stories
That there’s a special grace here that He shows
The way He rides with a donkey here this Sunday, singing

Don’t turn Him down — whoa uh-oh — Jesus
The Promised One’s in town — whoa uh-oh
Well, if He talks to you and you don’t know why
I’d say He likes you — don’t let it make you shy

Have you sought your Promised One?

Check! Check! Check! Check! Check! Check!
Check! Check! Check! Check! Check! Check!

Well, He preached to and fro on brotherhood
And the whole crew came along
They’re clappin’ here, they’re clappin’ there
And He was signin’ up them all
It’s clear that He’s the Promised One
‘Cause all the children know
They’re all shouting down into the alleys
They’re all singing’ on the main road
Hear the children!

Don’t turn Him down — whoa uh-oh — Jesus
The Promised One’s in town — whoa uh-oh
Well, He’s got the power here for one week
But your proud station will not let you seek
La la la, la la la

Don’t turn Him down — whoa uh-oh — Jesus
The Promised One’s in town — whoa uh-oh
And if He talks the truth, I don’t know why
The more religious cats say He should die

Don’t turn Him down — whoa uh-oh — Jesus
The Promised One’s in town — whoa uh-oh
Oooh … don’t turn Him down — whoa uh-oh — Jesus
The Promised One’s in town — whoa uh-oh
(Now have you sought the Promised One?)
Don’t turn Him down — whoa uh-oh — Jesus
The Promised One’s in town — whoa uh-oh
Oooh … don’t turn Him down — whoa uh-oh — Jesus
The Promised One’s in town — whoa uh-oh
Don’t turn Him down — whoa uh-oh — Jesus
The Promised One’s in town — whoa uh-oh
Don’t turn Him down — whoa uh-oh — Jesus
The Promised One’s in town — whoa uh-oh

[ ApologetiX – “Overdue Books” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXFJ9IKvXQ8

“Temple Physician”
(Parody of “Pinball Wizard” by Elton John)

Ever since I was a young boy I prayed in the synagogue
That somehow the Messiah might rush to save us all
But I ain’t seen nothing like Him in any Jerusalem hall
The deaf, dumb, and blind came — the Lord just healed them all
This man’s got an attitude — He’s not part of the regime Healin’ all the lepers — although they’re unclean
He’s breakin’ men’s traditions — that didn’t count at all
The deaf, dumb, and blind came — the Lord just healed them all
He’s a temple physician — a pastor to the sick
A temple physician — one touch just does the trick
How do you think He does it? I don’t know! Some say He’s no good
Oh, men came from John the Baptist when he was puzzled as well Are you Christ, they asked Him, please say so then Yourself
All Jesus said was, Relay the miracles you saw
The deaf, dumb, and blind came — the Lord just healed them all
It can’t be denied — there’s always been a chance I know every scripture is He gonna be that Man?
Oh oh-oh-oh — can’t escape
Oh oh-oh-oh — can’t escape
Oh oh-oh-oh — can’t escape
Oh oh-oh-oh — can’t escaa-aaape
Even Sabbath Day He’s available — He don’t need to rest
His disciples believe in Him — and we just must confess
If God’s savin’ sick and sinners — like them then we should call The deaf, dumb, and blind came — The Lord just healed them all
He’s a temple physician — it has to be addressed A temple physician — ones such as us He’ll bless
He’s a temple physician — we surely can’t ignore A temple physician — He’s something special or He’s something more — He’s something more
The Romans wanted Herod to be king
But God just handed down Israel’s crown to Him — to Him — to Him

[ Apologetix – “Alien Invasion” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piH-OihGwzY

“I’ll Prepare for You”
(Parody of “I’ll Be There for You (Theme from ‘Friends’)” by The Rembrandts)

So Jesus told His disciples, I’m gonna go away
But where I go you know. They all cried, Please explain.
He said, You’ve all been stuck in second grade
If you haven’t seen the Way, the Truth, the Life is here in your face … but

I’ll prepare for you … prepare a place up above
I’ll prepare for you … ’cause I’ve been there before
I’ll prepare for you … and you prepare for me, too.

I’ll send another friend to help you on your way
You’ll learn from Him, you’ll go far. Please don’t be afraid
The Father helped me do the things I did
But you even will do greater works than that if you believe — that

CHORUS

The world could never know Him — The world could not receive Him
So you’re the only ones who know what it’s like to know Him
There’ll come a place and day when He’ll come to live inside you
Soon when all of this happens you will know the words I said were true.

LEAD

Seems like you’ve all been stuck in second grade
If you haven’t seen the Way, the Truth, the Life is here in your face, but

CHORUS

[ ApologetiX – “Eastern Standard Time” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pa-TworQD4

<<< WHAT >>>

“Died and Rose”
(Parody of “China Grove” by Doobie Brothers)

When the Son come down He was deep within the ground surrounded by a giant stone
And it’s no surprise that on the Sabbath day all His pals stayed home
But things were all about to change and they never were the same
Well, we’re talkin’ cause He died and rose — Lord, died and rose!
Well, their leader, Simon Peter, and John the Apostle, they took a walk to the tomb
And the Gospel came alive when they arrived and they found an empty room
But they had forgotten His claim that He’d resurface again
Well, we’re talkin’ ’cause He died and rose — Lord, died and rose!
Then He came when the group met Sunday — They’d locked the doors and shut the room
But standin’ right among them was the man they called Lord
You just should have seen the look in their eyes!
But Thomas would doubt it for eight more days
Till Jesus came when he was there — He just took one look and he believed! LEAD

[ ApologetiX – “Jesus Christ Morningstar” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwarBt_gTRw

“Didn’t Just Die”
(Parody of “Live and Let Die” by Paul McCartney & Wings)

When He was hung on the cross like a common crook
His accusers said He was just dead (You know they did, you know they did …)
But it was everlasting life that He was livin’ — And they’d get a surprise
He didn’t just die! Didn’t just die! Didn’t just die! Didn’t just die!

LEAD
What He did matters to ya — Man He did a job for you — you couldn’t do yourself
He had to save ya from the pit of Hell

LEAD
Now you still say He was just dead (You know you did, you know you did …)
But He could never save this world unless He’s livin’
Don’t you give up on Christ — He didn’t just die!

[ ApologetiX – “Jesus Christ Morningstar” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUD3jdYO4k4

“Man On A Cross”
(Parody of “Man in the Box” by Alice in Chains)

I-i-i-i-yi-yi-yi-yi-o
I-i-i-i-yi-yi-yi-yi-o
I am a man on a cross
Perishin’ in my sin
Won’t You kindly save me?
Please save me

Please, I cry (Can You show me love?)
Jesus Christ (Can I be saved, sir?)
He replies (You’ll be with Me)
In Paradise (Now you’re goin’ up)

I-i-i-i-yi-yi-yi-yi-o
I-i-i-i-yi-yi-yi-yi-o

High on a cross with this thief
Struck for those in sin
Won’t You kindly save me?
Please save me

See that sky (Heaven’s opened up)
Jesus Christ (Divine Redeemer)
He who dies (will be raised yet)
We will rise (Now we’re goin’ up)

See me — I’m crucified (Death for both of us)
(With) Jesus Christ (We died together)
Read between the lines (in Galatians)
He redeemed my life (Now we’re goin’ up)

I-i-i-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-o
I-i-i-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-o

[ ApologetiX – “Hot Potato Soup” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_L_hmkeqW4

“Back Intact”
(Parody of “Back in Black” by AC/DC)

Back intact, yes, it’s a fact
And not a bone was fractured or cracked
Yes, sir, spread the news, it’s Gospel truth
Nail-scarred feet, hands are the proof
And a spear went in My side, come and check with your eyes
I kept the scars, now I’ll never die, I got Son-rised, baptized
Keepin’ every bone like David prophesied

‘Cause I’m back, yes, I’m back, well, I’m back, yes, I’m back
Well, I’m ba-a-a-ack, ba-a-a-ack
Well, I’m back intact, yes, I’m back intact

Oh, back as a man, I’m alive again
Not a ghost, I can prove I’m not a charlatan
Yes, I’m in the flesh, here’s a test
You guys can watch Me eat a couple of fish
‘Cause I’m back off the rack, where I was beaten and smacked
Nobody’s gonna get me now I’m over that
Take a look at the Psalms; they predicted my fate
Psalm 34, verse 20, said I’ll never break

‘Cause I’m back, yes, I’m back, well, I’m back, yes, I’m back
Well, I’m ba-a-a-ack, ba-a-a-ack
Well, I’m back intact, yes, I’m back intact
Out of the black!

[ ApologetiX – “New and Used Hits” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8qwx5iBPYI

<<< WHERE >>>

“Bathwater”
(Parody of “Backwater” by The Meat Puppets)

When will you wake up to the warning
‘Cause Jesus may come back today
Like the flood of Noah, His appearing
Will surprise the world and happen suddenly

Some think He never came
And they say He won’t come back here but He’s going to just the same
The date’s been prearranged
He’ll be back in a hurry – there are some people who’d better change

And when they say He’s been gone a long time
They laugh and say He’s kinda late
Just when they say there’s peace and safety
Destruction comes on them suddenly

Some think He never came
And they say He won’t come back here but He’s going to just the same
I maybe see a drain
With the bathwater circling – there are some people who’d better change

They are blind to the signs
Now’s the time for you to decide

You’d better wake up to the warning
‘Cause Jesus may be on His way
Though we might not know the day or evening
We’re still one day closer now than yesterday

Some think He never came
And they say He won’t come back here but He’s going to just the same
I maybe see a drain
With the bathwater circling – there are some people who’d better change

[ ApologetiX – “Apoplectic” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt_gKoTQb_Y

“Casket Place”
(Parody of “Basket Case” by Green Day)

Do we have much time to live until we find
A lot of things are happening all at once?
Violent crime explodes – the Lord has many foes
Morality is low – they’re proud about it

Sometimes I think this world’s asleep
Soon we just might be history
It all keeps adding up — I think I’m waking up
I’m not just paranoid — I’m not alone

I went to great lengths – to analyze these things
It’s just like back in Second Timothy now
I read through some more in Matthew 24
To get some signs when God will bring the first round

Sometimes I think this world’s asleep
3:1 through 5, Second Timothy
It all seems bad enough – I think I’m packin’ up
He might just tarry more – He might just come

Oh oh
Last days soon unfold – so you better know God
LEAD

Sometimes I think this world’s asleep
Keep your eyes on the Middle East
The whole scene’s getting rough – I think that backs it up
And I just can’t ignore – the signs I’m shown

[ ApologetiX – “I Know You Are, but What Am I?” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS5JzHdnonI

“Lightning Flashes”
(Parody of “Lightning Crashes” by Live)

Lightning flashes all over the sky Weather center calls for a storm This ain’t no ordinary sky
The invasion begins
Who thought that God would step in and stop the war? Lightning flashes … an old book of mine
Clearly mentioned all this before
We ain’t supposed to be surprised
But the few who prepared
Are gone now as we face the wrath of God
Ooh, I see Him comin’ back again
Like the lightning comes from east to the west
Faces fallin’ as the Son returns to earth again … I can see Him Lightning flashes … the moment of Christ
This moment He’s been waitin’ for
The angel hosts have arrived!
Pale and paralyzed, we face the Son
But the glory is too bright! Bright!
Ooh, I see Him comin’ back again
Like the lightning comes from east to the west
Voices callin’ out as sinners on the earth confess, “I believe it!” Ooh, I see Him comin’ back again
Like the lightning comes from east to the west
We’re so sorry, but repentence doesn’t work right then, I can see it Ooh, I see Him comin’ back again
Like He told in Matthew’s Gospel back then
Chapter 24 the 27th verse, amen … I believe it

[ ApologetiX – “Ticked” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOpzUnPlMBU

“In Armageddon Valley (Someday)”
(Parody of “Pleasant Valley Sunday” by The Monkees)

The global clock moves down to zero while the armies march along
They surround Israel’s weakened sides; They’re just about to throw their bombs

In Armageddon Valley someday (someday)
Christ’s returning in the air
Rows of thousands that have that have called His name
And no one seems too scared

Jesus displays his power today. He’s got His soldiers on platoon.
They met the Beast who can’t believe he got defeated there so soon

In Armageddon Valley someday (someday)
Fiercest battle in the land
Bible explains about a war like this
And the simple don’t understand

The future comforts those
who know He won their souls
They’re lookin’ forward to this scene
Armageddon day
It isn’t so far away
You need to change your loyalty

Da da ta ta…

In Armageddon Valley someday (someday)
Christ’s returning in the air
In Armageddon Valley someday
Fiercest battle in the land

In Armageddon Valley someday (Armageddon Valley someday)…

[ ApologetiX – “Biblical Graffiti” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK75BbqY6aQ

<<< WHEN >>>

“Gimme Pre-Trib”
(Parody of “Gimme Three Steps” by Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Our Lord’s comin’ for us
And there’s a day called the Judgment
But the world ain’t in the mood
Then in walks a man with an un-Christian plan
And he’s a-workin’ for you-know-who
He’s a hateful fellow if you dare to rebel though
‘Cause you’ll die if you do
So it’s a time to prepare if you’re a man who’s scared There just might be an out for you … to say excuse me! Well, there’s several theories for that time
Our Lord takes us like a thief on a spree
‘Cause there’s a pre- and mid- and post-trib Rapture
And folks who like none of these
Oh, take a minute, Christians, and look at First Corinthians In verse 15:52
And then both Thessalonians and in Matthew twenty- Four and Revelation for clues
But won’t you gimme pre-trib, gimme pre-trib Rapture Gimme pre-trib or before
Gimme pre-trib, gimme pre-trib Rapture
And they’ll never see me no more
For sure

LEAD
Well, it’s not clear today when those events take place And we oughta dwell on the Lord
And I tell you: for some, to debate’s more fun
Than to wait for the Lord’s reward
He’ll return for me and them and you
That’s the day I’ll be looking for
And you’ll be hearin’ me singin’ the highest praise
As I’m heading up toward the Lord
But won’t you gimme pre-trib, gimme pre-trib Rapture Gimme pre-trib or before
Gimme pre-trib, gimme pre-trib Rapture
Don’t know when we’re gonna see the Lord
Don’t even act sure

[ ApologetiX – “Hot Potato Soup” album]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-WNlR8_PsY

“Taken Up”
(Parody of “Shake It Up” performed by The Cars)

Uh, well, a man called Elijah prayed one day
That the Lord would take Him away
Stand tall, Elijah — keep your feet
Don’t you worry, now – soon you’ll be
Taken up
Taken up — Ooh yeah
Taken up
Taken up

Well, men don’t fly – Israel knew
But you know Enoch did it, too
In Genesis 5, verse 24
Don’t you know why? He pleased the Lord

Taken up – ooh ooh
Taken up – yeah yeah
Taken up – ooh ooh
Taken up

That’s right, I said
Men don’t fly
(No, no, no)
And yet those guys
(Would get real close)
No one died
(Definitely not)
They were
(Ahh ahh ahh)
Taken up, yeah, home with God, woo! Yes!

LEAD
Oooh yes!

Uh, well, His friends know Christ will prepare
To take us right back up to there
Just hold tight – go to work
Let’s spread the news that the earth needs first

Just take it up – ooh ooh
Take it up – ooh yeah
Take it up – that’s right
Take it up

Uh well, shed some light
(Go, go, go)
Spread worldwide
(Let them know)
Stand for Christ
(Spread real love)
And we’ll
(Ahh ahh ahh)
Take ’em all – home with us, woo

Taken up – hey, have you seen
First Thess-a-lon-i-ans 4:17
Just stand tall in Christ — keep your feet
Don’t you worry, now – soon you’ll be

Taken up — ooh ooh
Taken up – ooh ooh yeah
Taken up — ooh ooh
Taken up – ohhh yeah
Taken up – taken up, taken up, baby
Taken up – taken up — ooh ooh
Taken up — taken up, taken up, baby
Taken up – taken up — ooh ooh
Taken up — ooh
Taken up – ooh yeah, yeah
Taken up – hoo hoo
Taken up – taken up
Oh Taken up – look it up — in Second Kings, baby
Taken up – check in – chapter 2, ooh!
Taken up – mm mm hmm
Taken up – oh yeah — yeah
Taken up – oh here He comes
Taken up – oh here He comes

[ ApologetiX – “Double Take” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrKA6UwZvgg

“L.S.F.”
(Parody of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” performed by Elton John)

Picture yourself on the Mount called Olivet
You’re standin’ with Jesus … a marvelous time
Then while you talk He begins to rise slowly
And gives you His final goodbyes
Aeroplane flyers are seldomly seen down in Jerusalem then
Look for the Lord with the sun in your eyes and He’s gone!

Lookee, in the sky, He’s flyin’!
Lookee, in the sky, He’s flyin’!
Lookee, in the sky, He’s flyin’!
Ohhhhh

Following that there appear on the mountain
A couple of angels in garments so white
“Ye men of Galilee,” they say, “please tell us
“How come you still stare at the sky?
“Soon He’ll be back, He’ll appear as before
“Where He was taken away
“When He comes back, He’ll descend through the clouds.”
Then they’re gone!

Lookee, in the sky, you’ll find Him!
Lookee, in the sky, you’ll find Him!
Lookee, in the sky, you’ll find Him!
Ohhhhh

LEAD

“Soon He’ll be back, He’ll appear as before
“Where He was taken away
“When He comes back, He’ll descend through the clouds.”
Then they’re gone!

Lookee, in the sky, you’ll find … huh?
Lookee, in the sky, you’ll find … huh?
Lookee, in the sky, you’ll find … huh!
Ohhhhh ohh

Scriptures foretell of a day we’ll be taken
“The Rapture,” we call it — it’s looking past time
Suddenly trumpets declare His return while
The church will arise to go with Christ

Lookee, in the sky, we’re flyin’!
Lookee, in the sky, we’re flyin’!
Lookee, in the sky, we’re flyin’!
Ohhhhh ohh

Lookee, in the sky, we’re flyin’! (Oh oh, just lookee-ee!)
Lookee, in the sky, we’re flyin’! (Oh oh, just lookee-ee!)
Lookee, in the sky, we’re flyin’! (Oh oh, just lookee-ee!)
Ohhhhh ohh

[ ApologetiX – “Jesus Christ Morningstar” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46qr7GjaUBQ

“Where’s Ten Girls”
(Parody of “West End Girls” performed by Pet Shop Boys)

Sometimes a wedding’s upset
If you come with your lamp, and there’s oil that you forget
It’s a thing we learned — through our Savior
Speaking in parables, talking ’bout later in the end times
In their best ten gowns
All of the ladies there were standin’ around
Some left town, unannounced
There were five gone — when the guests went down

When the guests head down to the wedding hall
There’s at least ten boys, but where’s ten girls?
When the guests head down to the wedding hall
There’s a feast enjoyed, but where’s ten girls?
Where’s ten girls?

Too many slackers didn’t bring resources
They just don’t possess fuel to support this
“It ran dry — nuts! How much have you got?”
“Have you got a bit extra?” “Heck, no, not a droplet!”
“What should we do?” “Depart and start shoppin’!”
(How much do you need?)

(How much do you need?)
When the guests head down to the wedding hall
There’s at least ten boys, so where’s ten girls?
Oooh the guests head down to the wedding hall
A feast’s enjoyed, but where’s ten girls?
Where’s ten girls?

We gotta guard our lamps, and it starts at home
If you wait, then I bet you won’t
Gotta know the future does not go fast
(You) better pray you’re built to last
And let’s be ready and let’s be patient
And take the needy to the fillin’ station
(How far can He be?)

Where’s ten girls?

Where’s ten girls?
(How far can He be?) Girls
Here’s ten boys
But where’s ten girls?
Matthew 25
But where’s ten girls? (How far can He be?)
Here’s ten boys
But where’s ten girls?
Yeah, here’s ten boys
But where’s ten girls?
But where’s ten girls?
But where’s ten girls?
But where’s ten girls?

[ ApologetiX – “Get Rich Quick” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mFaOHn55PM

<<< WHY >>>

“I Can’t Go Back”
(Parody of “I Can’t Hold Back” performed by Survivor)

There’s a story on my mind
Turn the page to John, you’ll find
Now in chapter 6, go read
Verse 61-69

I can see the temple when He talks
His appeal demands our faith
Preachin’ how we broke God’s laws

I’ve been told about the Christ
I’ve been searchin’ for Him, too — have you?
I’ve known the Bible all my life
Today the stories all came true

Can you hear them grumble when He talks
Can you feel the friends of hate
Even now they throw some rocks
Give God a fair chance, wait

I can’t go back — I won’t renege (I can’t go back!)
Your choice is yours — but mine I’ve made
I can’t go back — I want that crown
‘Cause it’s foolish to turn that down

I’ve known a few that stopped — no lie
But then a guy named Simon speaks for you and I
And now that Simon’s turn has past
Don’t waste your own — be strong, hold fast

I can feel a trend that scares me much
Can I be a man of faith
If the crowd opposes us?

There’s assurance in my mind
Turned to faith that God designed
Now it’s time to make folks see
Though a rugged path I’ll find

I can’t go back — I won’t renege (I can’t go back!)
The choice is plain — in spite of death
I can’t go back — I want that crown
‘Cause it’s foolish to turn that down

I could be a criminal and be crushed
Ooh … yet I feel a stand-up faith
Reachin’ out to bolster us
There’s stuff the world can’t take

(I can’t go back!)
(I can’t go back!)
(I can’t go back!)
(I can’t go back!)

[ ApologetiX – “Apolo80s: Back from the Future” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4NdaV9nSeo

“To Wait For The Lord”
(Parody of “Too Late for Goodbyes” by Julian Lennon)

Oh ohh-ohh

Oh-oh-ohhh oh-ohhhh ohh ohh-oh
Ohhh-ohh-oh ohhh-ohh-oh-ohh

Ever since you believed in Him
You’ve been longing for Christ
Now you know how He feels for you
Like you’re one of a kind
But He wants to wait for the Bride
Yes, He wants to wait for the Bride

Time has flown since Christ bid adieu
And Christians started to die
Now we seek Him so prayerfully
Some guys don’t understand why
But He wants to wait for the Bride
Yes, He wants to wait for the Bride

As I sense He’s not far away
I’ll be watching the skies
‘Cause He’ll show up eventually
I don’t want a surprise

But He wants to wait for the Bride
Yes, He wants to wait for the Bride

Ever since He was leavin’ here
We’ve been wanting to fly
Now, I know that appeals to you
‘Cause we won’t have to die
But He wants to wait for the Bride
Yes, He wants to wait for the Bride

Ooh-ooh-ooh ohh-ohh-ohh

Doo-doo doo-doo doo-oo
Ba-da ba-da ba-dum bum-bumm
Bum-bum-bum bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bu-umm

[ ApologetiX – “Apolo80s: Back from the Future” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1PAHt9Mw6s

“You Gotta Go”
(Parody of “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette)

I want you to know that I have prayed for you
I wish nothing but the best for your soul
I know you’re worried prob’ly — you’ll get converted like me
When it comes down to it there’s a fear there
Cause you say, “Hell — it can’t be”
You should play poker, baby
You sure do make a really excellent bluffer

Those who call on His name will be saved by His grace
Cause He paid quite enough for you when, you know, He died
And every time you speak His name it’s in vain, what a shame
Cause His arms are still open wide — open wide — while you’re still alive

But I’m here — to remind you of the mess you’re in if you turn away
It’s not fair — to deny Him
And the cross and just think you’ll get away
You, you, you — gotta go

You say there’s no Hell — you’re not evil
I’m not nice to tell you that you could go
If you forget about me — you can do as you please
I ain’t above you — I’m a miserable sinner
But there’s a path we must take
Now if we wanna be saved
And if you think it’s a joke — then you’ll suffer

But I’m here — to remind you of the mess you’re in if you turn away
It’s not fair — to deny Him
And the cross and just think you’ll get away
You, you, you — gotta go

There’s no one who can say that He sent them away
Cause an offer was made to you and you closed your eyes — and you knew it
And everyone says that’s not fair, that’s someone else’s fault
That’s not appealing — I hurt your feelings

But I’m here — to remind you of the mess you’re in if you turn away
It’s not fair — to deny Him
And the cross and just think you’ll get away
You, you, you — gotta go

I-I’m here — to remind you of the mess you’re in if you turn away
It’s not fair — to deny Him
And the cross and just think you’ll get away
You, you, you — gotta go

[ ApologetiX – “I Know You Are, but What Am I?” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6G2dwoKxFA&t=27s

“Child Of God”
(Parody of “Shining Star” performed by Earth, Wind & Fire)

Yeah, yeah – hey – huh
Bet you wish you were a star
You dream of fame and fancy cars, yeah
But when you’re with the Nazarene
Life ain’t always such a dream, oh yeah
What you’ll be now’s not so clear, hey
Yet to Christ you’re very dear, yeah

You’re a child of God – don’t matter who you’re not
We’re the bride to be – of Jesus, you and me – His church in unity
LEAD

Child, what’s gotten into you?
Child it’s not quite “what” — it’s “who”? Yeah!
It’s His Spirit there along, yeah
Yeah, makes His Body quick and strong, yeah
We’re goin’ to mansions of the Son — yeah
Yeah, sowin’ God’s Word to everyone
Yeah, God will help, His Spirit will move, yeah
Well, yes, He will, I got my proof, oh yeah, oh yeah
So edify yourself and read
I know you’re facin’ some adversity
Jesus Christ is greater than
Are you His? Say, yes, I am

You’re a child of God – don’t matter who you’re not
We’re the bride to be – of Jesus, you and me
You’re a child of God – don’t matter who you’re not
We’re the bride to be – of Jesus, you and me
You’re a child of God – don’t matter who you’re not
We’re the bride to be – of Jesus, you and me

Child of God, though you can’t see what you’re like and soon will be
Child of God, though you can’t see what you’re like and soon will be
Find First John 3:2 and read — and Philippians 2:15

[ ApologetiX – “Very Vicarious” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChjTfuFEUGQ

<<< HOW >>>

“Born Above”
(Parody of “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen)

In the day he went about on the streets
Doing run-of-the-mill Pharisee things
At night he met with his master, the Lord, and said
Show us what You mean
I’m a sage but You’re highly divine
Your wisdom’s respected, you’re second-to-none, top of the line Oh — Jesus said, If you’re born from above
You can get that — you can go where I’m at
You gotta get it while you’re young
But you can’t find much, baby, till you’re born above
That’s what He told Him

Then He said to Him, you must be born again If you want God to increase your vision
Just like the wind blows just where it wills The same thing happens to Christians
You never see it make its path — yet somehow you know Baby, whenever it blows past
Oh — will you walk with Me out on the water?
‘Cause, baby, I can prepare you to know the Father
If you wanna know, here’s the deal:
You must become a little child if you wanna know that God is real Oh, let Me show you

John 3:3 ha!

Beyond this planet, Heaven’s got a home Seems like it’s really far
The world’s unaware but it’s really near And you don’t have to look so hard
The amusing part is it’s there in your heart Yet it’s somehow out of reach in your midst You either die with Me daily or you wait to die And get everlasting death — ha!

The highway’s jammed with folks whose steering’s Gonna get them burned alive
Well, everybody wants on the road to God
But there’s no way there but Mine
Together, Nicky, we can live at this address
I’ll scrub you of all the badness in your soul Someday when you’re born again
You’re gonna get to that place you really wanna go And you’ll walk with the Son
But till then — can’t find much, baby, till you’re born above Come on, honey — can’t find much, baby, till you’re born above Come on, Nicky — can’t find much, baby, till you’re born above.

[ ApologetiX – “Grace Period” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ56scF8NME

“Garden My Heart”
(Parody of “Harden My Heart” by Quarterflash)

I am like a farmer, waitin’ on the rain
I stare up at Heaven and I pray again
You gave me Your Word — words of truth and life
Pardonin’ my wild misdeeds — and every thought I’d sown
With this kindness that You’ve shown

I’m gonna garden my heart
It’s gone to fallow, I fear
I’m gonna turn and seek You here

All of my life I’ve been wastin’ Your grain
I’ve been basin’ it on feelings — and never ever faith
The field still grows – but all these weeds appeared
Farmers need to plow, it seems – I never had a clue
Well, it’s time You taught me to

I’m gonna garden my heart
Don’t wanna follow my peers
I’m gonna turn and seek You here
LEAD

Pardon all my wild misdeeds — and every thought I sow
With this kindness that You show

I’m gonna garden my heart
Break up the fallow ground here
It’s gonna turn and be a new year

I’m gonna garden my heart
It’s gone to fallow, I fear
I’m gonna garden my heart
Don’t wanna follow my peers
Garden my heart
Break up the fallow ground here
Hoe, oh, oh, oh
Garden my heart
I’m gonna garden my heart
It’s gone to fallow, I fear
I’m gonna garden my heart
Don’t wanna follow my peers
Garden my heart, garden my heart
Startin’ right here
I’m gonna garden my heart
I’m a-gonna start it right here

[ ApologetiX – “Quilt” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc01LqbadQk

“Fly Away From Hell”
(Parody of “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC)

It was easy, it was free
Jesus said, You know, you must decide
Asked Him nicely, Save me please
Make my every single sin washed white
So many reasons – for me to fry
Because of all the bad I do
Slow me down, throw me a line
I never wanna barbecue
I wanna fly away from hell
Wanna Fly away from hell
Fly away from hell
I wanna fly away from hell
Won’t drop by, won’t even visit
Nobody’s gonna point me down
I’ve been sealed – by His Spirit
I’m headed for the best place around
He saved me, paid my dues
Though I was a rotten man
Hey, Moses, wait for me
I’m on my way to the promised land
Whoa!
I’m gonna fly away from hell
Fly away from hell
I’m gonna fly away from hell
Fly away from hell
Mmmmm
Don’t drop me!
Hey, hey, ow!
LEAD
I’m gonna fly away from hell
Gonna fly away from hell
I’m gonna fly away from hell
Gonna fly away from GUITAR
Fly away from hell (I’m gonna fly away from hell)
Fly away from hell (fly away from hell)
Fly away from hell (Mama, I’m gonna)
Fly away from hell
And I’m glory bound … up and away!
Whoa!
Gonna fly away from hell

[ ApologetiX – “Chosen Ones” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B76oCk96q6o&t=27s

“Follow Me”
(Parody of “Follow Me” by Uncle Kracker)

You don’t know how He met me — You don’t know why
You can’t turn around my faith in Christ
Long ago I went-a fishin’ one day at sea
He said to me, “James, try some fishin’ for Me”
“And if You want to leave life in Galilee
“You know I’ll go gladly just like Thee”
I’m not worried ’bout the king out there
Cause the Lord has got my soul and my body don’t care
You feel I’m guilty and I’m well aware

A funeral’s booked for James but baby I’m not scared
He told me, “Follow Me, ” and I said, “Jesus, all right
“I’ll be the one to trust You with his life
“And if You’re gonna be fightin’ Pharisees
“You know I’ll go gladly just like Thee”
Forgive me, Mama, I can’t kiss you goodbye
You’re better off if you don’t drop by
I’m locked in prison; I’ll soon go away
Maybe they’ll write of this in Acts 12 someday
“Follow Me, ” and I said, “Jesus, all right
“I’ll be the one to trust You with his life
“And if You want to lead to Gethsemane
“You know I’ll go gladly just like Thee”
You don’t know how He met me — You don’t know Christ
You’ve captured me now and say I’ll die
All I know is when I’ve left you, I’m breaking free
So cling to your vain lives, I’m itchin’ to leave
He told me, “Follow Me, ” and I said, “Jesus, all right
“I’ll be the one to trust You with his life
“And if You want to lead up to Calvary
“You know I’ll go gladly just like Thee”
He told me, “Follow Me, ” and I said, “Jesus, all right
“I’ll be the one to trust You with his life
“And if You want to lead up to Calvary
“You know I’ll go gladly just like Thee”
He told me, “Follow Me, ” and I said, “Jesus, all right
“I’ll be the one to trust You with his life
“And if You want to lead up to Heavenly
“You know I’ll go gladly just like Thee.

[ ApologetiX – “Grace Period” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcIcM9N_fHo

“To Wait for the Bride”
(Parody of “Too Late for Goodbyes” by Julian Lennon)

Oh ohh-ohh

Oh-oh-ohhh oh-ohhhh ohh ohh-oh
Ohhh-ohh-oh ohhh-ohh-oh-ohh

Ever since you believed in Him
You’ve been longing for Christ
Now you know how He feels for you
Like you’re one of a kind
But He wants to wait for the Bride
Yes, He wants to wait for the Bride

As I sense He’s not far away
I’ll be watching the skies
‘Cause He’ll show up eventually
I don’t want a surprise

But He wants to wait for the Bride
Yes, He wants to wait for the Bride

Ever since He was leavin’ here
We’ve been wanting to fly
Now, I know that appeals to you
‘Cause we won’t have to die
But He wants to wait for the Bride
Yes, He wants to wait for the Bride

Ooh-ooh-ooh ohh-ohh-ohh

Doo-doo doo-doo doo-oo
Ba-da ba-da ba-dum bum-bumm
Bum-bum-bum bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bu-umm

[ ApologetiX – “Apolog80s: Back from the Future” album ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1PAHt9Mw6s

“Get Serious”

J Jackson talks about ApologetiX’s mission: “To reach the lost and teach the rest,” and that they take the Bible VERY SERIOUSLY!

Video (audio only): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q21Jnaq-EL8

<<< DEEP THOUGHTS >>>

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.”
[ Abraham Lincoln ]

“I would spend 55 Minutes defining the problem and then five minutes solving it.”
[ Albert Einstein ]

“Half of the problem is solved, if we know exactly what the problem is.”
[ Ash Saini ]

“He who asks questions cannot avoid the answer.”
[ Cameroonian proverb ]

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
[ Peter Drucker ]

“My greatest strength as a consultant is to be ignorant and ask a few questions.”
[ Peter Drucker ]

“The 5W1H method allows you to discern the information needed to better understand, encompass, clarify, structure, frame a situation; as this way of thinking allows you to explore all the dimensions from different perspectives.”
[ Jean-Pierre Giraud ]

“He who has a WHY can endure any HOW.”
[ Frederick Nietzsche ]

“I keep six honest serving men. They taught me all I knew. Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who.”
[ Rudyard Kipling ]

“Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.”
[ Marcus Aurelius ]

“In much of society, research means to investigate something you do not know or understand.”
[ Neil Armstrong ]

“Although nature commences with reason and ends in experience it is necessary for us to do the opposite, that is to commence with experience and from this to proceed to investigate the reason.”
[ Leonardo da Vinci ]

“Good writing is often about trying to investigate something you feel is missing and trying to put it back.”
[ Abi Morgan ]

“The power to investigate is a great public trust.”
[ Emanuel Celler ]

“I investigate more directly. I tend to ask a lot of questions and don’t feel satisfied until I have the answer.”
[ Lisa Lutz ]

“Until every soul is freely permitted to investigate every book and creed and dogma for itself, the world cannot be free.”
[ Robert Green Ingersoll ]

“I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world—and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”
[ Chuck Colson ]

“I believe God did intend, in giving us intelligence, to give us the opportunity to investigate and appreciate the wonders of His creation. He is not threatened by our scientific adventures.”
[ Francis Collins ]

“I think it’s very healthy to use journalistic and legal techniques to investigate the evidence for and against Christianity and other faith systems.”
[ Lee Strobel ]

RELATED SCRIPTURE VERSES:

INVESTIGATION

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

1 Peter 5:7
Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 40:31
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Ecclesiastes 3:1
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

Ecclesiastes 1:13
And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.

Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Deuteronomy 17:4
And it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently, and if it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel,

Revelation 1:1
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Acts 17:11
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Acts 17:10-11
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

John 5:39
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Mark 10:18
And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

Malachi 3:6
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:11
The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.

Ecclesiastes 12:10
The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

Ecclesiastes 7:25
I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness.

Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Ecclesiastes 3:9
What gain has the worker from his toil?

Ecclesiastes 3:7
A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

Ecclesiastes 2:3
I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 23:1-6
A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. …

Esther 9:1-32
Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s command and edict were about to be carried out, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them. The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples. All the officials of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and the royal agents also helped the Jews, for the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them. For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces, for the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful. The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. …

Esther 5:1-14
On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.” And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.” Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked.” So the king and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared. …

Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

RESEARCH

Proverbs 25:2
It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Proverbs 19:2
Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.

Proverbs 2:2
Making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;

Proverbs 12:17
Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit.

Proverbs 18:13
If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.

Acts 17:11
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Jeremiah 33:2-3
“Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Proverbs 14:15
The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Acts 4:20
For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

1 Corinthians 1:26-29
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

John 5:39
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

Proverbs 3:13
Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,

Psalm 35:11
Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know.

Job 31:13-14
“If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant, when they brought a complaint against me, what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Deuteronomy 8:18
You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

2 Peter 1:20-21
Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 11:14
Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

Leviticus 19:13
“You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; …

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

“A quick summary of the Christian “Gospel”:
JESUS’ PROPITIATION made our SINS FORGIVEN and IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS to us so that we have GOD’S ACCEPTANCE into His Heaven and receive ETERNAL LIFE.”
[ Mark Besh ]

Hope you enjoyed some of these insights—share them with your friends and colleagues—so we can have a larger ’pool’ to receive from, and more to share with! Also, remember to include your name as the “source,” if some of this wisdom is of your doing. I would like to give credit where credit is due!

<<< FOCUS VERSES >>>

“Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
[ Psalm 37:4 ]

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.”
[ Psalm 37:5-6 ]

“As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.”
[ Psalm 103:15-16 ]

“Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it’—when you have it with you.”
[ Proverbs 3:28 ]

“As iron sharpens iron, so one individual sharpens another.”
[ Proverbs 27:17 ]

Seek the Lord while you can find Him. Call upon Him now while He is near.”
[ Isaiah 55:6 ]

“Therefore thus says the LORD: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them.”
[ Jeremiah 15:19 ]

“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem.”
[ Joel 3:1 ]

“Again, the Devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me’.”
[ Matthew 4:8-9 ]

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
[ Matthew 6:19-20 ]

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’.”
[ Matthew 7:21-23 ]

“Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell.”
[ Matthew 10:28 ]

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
[ Matthew 11:28 ]

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.”
[ Matthew 24:30 ]

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of Heaven, but My Father only.”
[ Matthew 24:36 ]

“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.”
[ Matthew 24:42 ]

“And cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth… these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
[ Matthew 25:30, 41 ]

“His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.”
[ Matthew 28:13 ]

“Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight’.”
[ Mark 1:2-3 ]

“But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers.”
[ Luke 12:45-46 ]

“…born again of the water and the Spirit.”
[ John 3:5b ]

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
[ John 3:16 ]

“All judgment is given unto Him.”
[ John 5:22 ]

“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
[ John 14:2-4 ]

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”
[ John 14:6 ]

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
[ John 15:5 ]

“It is finished.”
[ John 19:30 ]

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
[ Acts 1:8 ]

“This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into Heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into Heaven.”
[ Acts 1:11 ]

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
[ Acts 3:19 ]

“God visits the Gentiles and calls out a people for His name.”
[ Acts 15:14 ]

“After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it.”
[ Acts 15:16 ]

“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
[ Acts 17:30-31 ]

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”
[ Romans 8:1 ]

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
[ Romans 8:38-39 ]

“Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”
[ Romans 11:25 ]

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”
[ Romans 12:1 ]

“The Day Is Near
Besides this, you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
[ Romans 13:11-14 ]

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
[ 1 Corinthians 1:4-7 ]

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
[ 2 Corinthians 5:10 ]

“Now is the acceptable time and now is the day of salvation.”
[ 2 Corinthians 6:2 ]

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
[ Philippians 1:6 ]

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
[ 1 Thessalonians 5:18 ]

“These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”
[ 2 Thessalonians 1:9 ]

“I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.”
[ 2 Timothy 4:6 ]

“Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.”
[ Titus 2:13 ]

“But as it is, He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”
[ Hebrews 9:26 ]

“It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
[ Hebrews 10:31 ]

“So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.”
[ Hebrews 9:28 ]

“What does it profit my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? Thus faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
[ James 2:14,17 ]

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
[ 1 Peter 5:6-7 ]

“Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”
[ 2 Peter 3:4 ]

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
[ 2 Peter 3:9 ]

“Beloved, now are we the children of God. But we know one thing; when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
[ 1 John 3:2 ]

“Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen.”
[ Revelation 1:7 ]

“And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.”
[ Revelation 20:12 ]

Mark

If you have a ‘neat’ story or some thoughts about an issue or current event that you would like me to try to respond to, I would be glad to give it a try…so, send them to me at: mbesh@comcast.net

Disclaimer: All the above jokes & inspirations are obtained from various sources and copyright are used when known. Other than our name and headers, we do not own the copyright to any of the materials sent to this list. We just want to spread the ministry of God’s love and cheerfulness throughout the world.

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LIFE'S DEEP THOUGHTS

‘Investigating’ Something [v277]

1: Who is my audience?

2: What is my audience looking for?

3: When should I publish?

4: Where should I publish and promote?

5: Why Should My Audience Do What I Want them to Do?

6: How will I measure success?

Lee Strobel spent two years of his life studying, researching, learning everything he could in order to disprove the resurrection and deity of Christ. What he found instead changed his life forever.

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LIFE'S DEEP THOUGHTS

‘Investigating’ Something [v277]

1: Who is my audience?

2: What is my audience looking for?

3: When should I publish?

4: Where should I publish and promote?

5: Why Should My Audience Do What I Want them to Do?

6: How will I measure success?

Lee Strobel spent two years of his life studying, researching, learning everything he could in order to disprove the resurrection and deity of Christ. What he found instead changed his life forever.

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PREVIOUS ‘THOUGHTS’:

Recent Comments