Many Convincing Proofs

The good doctor Luke, personal friend of the Apostle Paul, wrote a couple of books to his friend Theophilus. In those accounts, Luke’s aim was to present many convincing proofs that Jesus had risen from the dead. And, though the canon of Scripture is closed, during Sunday morning’s session of The Jubilee Conference, speaker Bob Goff encouraged participants to continue to look for convincing proofs that Jesus is alive.

Goff’s work is one of those convincing proofs.

Throughout the course of the conference, speakers explored the themes of creation, the fall, redemption, and restoration. Goff, an attorney, is President and founder of Restore International, an organization committed to rescuing and rehabilitating victims of forced prostitution and slave labor, and of bringing the perpetrators of those crimes to justice.

Taking the stage while carrying a bunch of balloons, Goff told the crowd he had no idea how helium kept the balloons in the air. Likewise, he said, he had no idea how forgiveness worked. But, he said, forgiveness is real and it’s powerful.

Because of Christ, said Goff, we get to introduce people to forgiveness.

Restore International pursues justice for the needy in some of the poorest countries of the world. Goff worked with the judiciary in Uganda to resolve a backlog of court cases which had kept nearly a hundred young men imprisoned. At the end of one day, almost all were restored to their families.

Because of the nature of the crimes of which they had been accused, they faced the likelihood that they would be rejected by their families upon their release. Restore worked with the families, emphasizing their need to forgive their children and welcome them home. And, the young men were encouraged to forgive their captors.

During the course of his work in Uganda, Goff learned of an eight-year old boy who was mutilated and left to die, having had his genitalia cut off by a local witch doctor that trafficked in body parts. Restore International was able to prosecute the case against the perpetrator, a man who will spend the rest of his life in an overcrowded, windowless prison.

Goff, convinced that Christ’s message of forgiveness extends to all, visited the witch doctor in prison, shared the gospel, and prayed with him.

The young boy accompanied Goff to the United States where he was invited to visit theWhite House. And, through a generous donation and the skill of a surgeon at Cedars Sinai Hospital, this young boy has now undergone restorative surgery.

Throughout the course of the conference, I heard many stories, like this one, which bear witness to the reality of forgiveness and restoration through the living Christ. Have you seen them, the many convincing proofs that Jesus is alive? Where?

Linking with Laura @ The Wellspring, with whom I got to play during Jubilee:

And with Michelle @ Graceful:


And Jen and the sisterhood @ Finding Heaven: