By Rob Cook

YOU WANT MUSTARD WITH THAT?

If you don’t believe in God, don’t worry. I’m not here to bash you with the Bible or tell you that you are going to hell. I won’t tell you that you are going to heaven, either.

I am hoping that, since you are reading this, you are searching for the truth.

Welcome, oh great seeker of the truth. Now that you have found me at the top of this snow-covered mountain, I will now reveal all the secrets of the universe.

OKAY, MAYBE NOT

Maybe you have a little faith in God, but you aren’t really sure what this whole Jesus thing is all about.

So you haven’t walked on water, but you’ve gotten your feet a little wet in this Christianity thing.

HAVING JUST A LITTLE FAITH IS OKAY

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).

You ever see a mustard seed? If not, use a magnifying glass.

JUST THE FACTS

I’m an extremely skeptical person by nature. Just ask my wife. She’ll tell you I believe none of what I hear and only half of what I see—and that’s not far from the truth.

So, I get it if you have trouble with the whole God and Jesus thing. I did too.

What got me thinking about the possibility that Jesus really did come back to life were his disciples.

THEY WERE YELLOW-BELLIED CHICKENS

When Jesus died and was buried, the disciples ran away. They were scared. Peter, the big tough guy, lied and said he didn’t even know who Jesus was.

They all scattered and went back to their old lives. Jesus wasn’t the king who was going to make everything right for the Jewish people. The disciples threw in the towel and figured they’d wait on a new savior.

BUT THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED

If you read the New Testament (that’s the part of the Bible that was written after Jesus was born), you will find that these same cowards not only regrouped, but eleven of the twelve eventually died for their faith in Jesus.

I couldn’t stop thinking about what made the difference. What made them come out so boldly in the name of Christ?

I put myself in their sandals. What would make me believe? Only one thing: seeing Jesus come back from the dead, just like he said.

A band of yellow-bellied cowards became an unstoppable force that started a movement that is still in existence today—over 2,000 years later.

THAT GOT ME THINKING

What else might be true? It started out as curiosity. I was just dipping my toe in the water. A mustard seed faith.

The more I learned, the more I became convinced that the Bible is true and everything in it happened just as it is written.

We are going to look at facts in the Bible that will hopefully grow your mustard seed into a tree with deep roots.

Now where did I put that hot dog?

Robert Cook is the Pastor, Founder, and Executive Director of 252 Underground Youth Ministry.