“Is it nice out?”

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“Is it nice out?” is a question that my mother asks me many times when I visit her.  She lives in a Seniors Assisted Living community as she has developed Moderate Alzheimer’s.  She is a happy 85-year-old woman who has filled her life with love for her family.  But she cannot live by herself any longer.  She is mobile, she gets into her routines of when to go to the cafeteria and the many activities they have, but she cannot take her meds without assistance.

At least twice a week I visit with her while my wife Linda goes through her apartment, looking for dirty clothes, gives her a shower, washes and sets her hair.  When the hair dryer isn’t blowing, mom will look out the window and say, “Is it nice out?”  She will comment that ”the sky is so blue and there isn’t a cloud in the sky.”  I will tell her that the temperature is in the seventies and the wind is blowing.  Mom doesn’t like the wind to blow.  It is perfect weather in Texas for January.

As she sits in the chair while Linda is styling her hair, she will ask me, “Is it nice out?”  I have already answered this question several times since we have been here, but have learned to treat each question as it is the first time it has been asked.  “Yes mom, it is nice out.  Would you like to walk us out when you are done and you can see for yourself?”  She smiles and says she would enjoy that.

We go through this every time we visit.  But on one visit, it hit me.  Every time she asks me the question, it is like it is the first time she has noticed.  How many times do I just slow down my busy schedule and just take in God‘s wonder?  How many times going from one appointment to another do I look at the sky as if seeing it for the first time?  As a child I used to lay in the grass and look up at the sky and try to make out pictures in the clouds.  A cow, a dragon, a flower or just the beauty of the blue sky spotted with fluffy white clouds.  No I don’t do this anymore.  I am grownup now.

So my 85-year-old mother continues to teach her 62-year-old son and I love the experience.  Momma still causes me to wonder.

One day, my mother will go to be with her beloved husband where they will spend eternity together.  I can almost hear her ask my dad, “Is it always this nice here?”

Let Freedom Ring

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On Monday we celebrated the 4^th of July for the two hundred and thirty-fifth time.  This holiday is celebrated in towns and  cities all across America with parades, picnics, barbecues, fireworks and concerts.  It is on this date that the United States commemorates Independence Day.
It is a federal holiday, celebrating the writing of the Declaration of Independence, declaring our desire for independence from Great Britain signed on July 4, 1776.

John Quincy Adams is quoted as saying, “You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you make good use of it.”

Have you ever taken your freedom for granted?  The greatest sacrifice is one laying down his life for another.  We should remember the importance of Independence Day as a struggling group of people were united into a nation as they declared their Independence from Great Britain.

Our freedom has been purchased by the blood that has been shed by the men and women who have defended our country, some paying the greatest price with their own lives.

Today’s military is manned by some of the most interesting people.  They love the US so much that they will leave it and go to foreign lands to defend it.  They revere freedom so much that they will give up their own freedoms and serve this nation in the military.  And finally they love peace so much that they will go to war in order to have peace.

As citizens of the United States of America, we have a responsibility to be thankful to those who have served our great Nation.

However, we will never truly have freedom until we accept Jesus into our lives.  Jesus declares freedom for mankind in the eighth chapter of the Gospel of John.  “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:31-32, 36.  Little did those within hearing distance of Jesus realize that their freedom would cost Jesus His life.

The Apostle Paul wrote to his protégé Timothy and explained what Jesus did for mankind; “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all…” (1 Timothy 2:5-6)

Just as the military man will lay down his life for the defense of freedom for our nation, about two thousand years ago, Jesus was the ultimate example when he willingly gave up his life for mankind.

As you remember and celebrate Independence Day, remember those who gave so that this nation is still free today.  Also be thankful to God for sending His Son as a “ransom for all.”

A Red Letter Bible and My Dad

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Do you remember your first Bible?  I do.  My Sunday School teacher gave it to me after I attended Sunday School three times in a row.  The Bible was a small King James Version with a zipper cover with a gold cross dongle.  He wrote my name in it with the date and the name of the church.  I was so happy to have a Bible of my very own.  I still have that Bible.  That Bible had some of the most beautiful pictures I had ever seen.  I remember two in particular, Moses receiving the Ten Commandments and Jesus walking on the water.

The Bible was called a “Red Letter Edition.”  When you got to the New Testament, some pages had words printed in red
ink.  I asked my dad why and he told me that the Bible that I had was very special.   The words typed in red ink were the words that Jesus spoke.  My dad encouraged me to read my Bible every day.  I set out to read the words written in “red” rather than all those in black.  Reading it this way did not seem as intimidating as there were a lot fewer verses.

But where do I begin?  I found that the red letters began in the third chapter in the Gospel of Matthew.  Jesus met with John the Baptist and wanted John to baptize him.  That is exactly what my teacher told me.  “Bobby, after you profess Jesus as your savior, you should follow Jesus’ example by being baptized.”  I continued reading the fourth chapter and
found that Jesus was tempted of Satan three times in a wilderness.  And each time Jesus was victorious over the
Tempter.

This was so exciting.  All the stories that I had heard in Sunday School and from my parents were right there in my own Bible.  In rapid succession I read about Jesus calling his first followers by saying, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  Peter, James, John and Andrew left their work and followed Jesus as his disciple.  Oh this was so thrilling until I turned the page and found that the next few pages in my Bible were all written with words in red ink.  I thought that maybe there was a mistake and took my Bible to my dad.   I said, “Dad, there must be something wrong with my Bible”.  “Why do you say that?” he responded.  “Well I have found that there are just a few words written in red on some of the pages, but all of a sudden there are page after page full of red letters.”  I remember my dad was pleased with my question.   He took the time and said, “This is one of Jesus famous teachings.  It is called the Sermon on the Mount.”  Then my dad painted the most amazing and beautiful image about the scene of Jesus teaching on the mountain side that I will never forget.

Father’s Day is June 19^th.  My dad has been with the Lord since 1984 but I still fondly remember that first Bible study with my dad.  Each year when Father’s Day rolls around I journey back in my mind and joyfully remember the study of the “words written in red” with my dad.

Birth Certificate

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A birth certificate is one of the most important documents you own.  If you were born within the last hundred years, you have one.  This official document contains the important data of your birth, including your name, sex, date, place, delivery doctor, witnesses and parents.  This document was filled out after you were born and is kept on record.

There have been a number of times that I had to prove “who I was”.  In order to obtain a driver’s license, a Social Security card, enlist in the United States Coast Guard or apply for a passport, I had to show my birth certificate to prove my age or that I was a United States citizen.  This document is so important that I keep it in a secure place where I have easy access.

Today the government is responsible for the task of safeguarding birth certificate information.  What would it be like to prove who you were before birth certificates?  I believe it would be an overwhelming task.  In Old and New Testament times everyone simply took the word of the family and community.  Genealogies were very important to the Jewish  nation as proof  of the family and which tribe they belonged to.  It was in the time of Jesus that the Roman government attempted to control the Jews by announcing a “taxing of all the people”.  Everyone had to return to the town of their  father’s place of birth, to be taxed and counted.

In order to be eligible for the highest office in the United States, the applicant must prove that they are a natural-born citizen, but no other requirements of their birth are mandatory.  The “requirement” to be the Messiah of the Old Testament on the other hand is entirely different.  In the Bible the proof of birth of the Messiah; the King of the Jews was painstakingly detailed beforehand.

There were no public records of birth, but if we were to fill out the birth certificate for the Christ, it would have to  include his name, sex, date, place, delivery doctor, witnesses and parents.  The birth would have to fulfill all of the prophecies concerning the Messiah.  First the baby would have to be male.  His name would be Immanuel (“God with Us”; Isaiah 7:14).  He would be of the seed of Abraham (Genesis 12:3) and more specifically that He was of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10).  His birthright would include being eligible as the Heir to the throne of David (Isaiah 9:6-7).  His place of birth would be the town of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).  His birth certificate would include that His mother was a virgin (Isaiah 7:14).  Jesus didn’t need a doctor at the time of delivery and the witness to his birth was by the angels to the shepherds.

All this was foretold by the prophets of God centuries before Jesus was born.  Jesus not only fulfilled the the prophecies concerning his birth, but every other prophecy about the Messiah in the Old Testament as well.  He is the Christ!  In Jesus case, his birth certificate wasn’t written the night of His birth.  Instead the ink had been dry on His birth certificate for two thousand years before He was born in a stable in the little town of Bethlehem.

A Cement Boat

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Recently my grandson Cody was tasked with a science project to design and build a boat made out of cement.  The boat couldn’t just be designed out of cement, it had to float.  We discussed some of the design possibilities.  I have a scientific background and understand that anything can float as long as the weight of the water it displaces is greater than the weight of the object.  For example the aircraft carrier, Nimitz, displaces about 100,000 tons of water.  So if a steel ship can float, then it just makes sense that a boat made of cement should float as well.

We agreed that Ships are designed to float and ride out the most severe storm.  The waves may be raging and the winds howling, but as long as the water can be kept out, the ship will remain afloat.

My grandson was not daunted by the experiment, instead he welcomed the opportunity.  Later I started thinking how his science project applied to the life of a Christian.  When a person becomes a Christian things change.  The Apostle Paul, in writing to the church at Corinth told them that when they became followers of Christ they were; “…a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  In the next chapter Paul taught them to; “come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,” (2 Corinthians 6:17).  So the instruction from the Apostle Paul is that when we become Christians, we are a new creation,  a new “ship” so-to-speak.  But Paul also made the point that they were to separate themselves and not have anything to  do with the ways of the world.  The bible speaks of the “world” as being opposite of God and must be separate from the  Christian just as the ship and the water must be separate if the ship is to remain float.

Just as a ship taking on water will eventually sink, a Christian who takes in the world will eventually become useless to God.  The guiding principle of buoyancy is what keeps a ship afloat.  The guiding principles of the bible will keep the Christian afloat.  Both the ship and the Christian share the same problem of keeping out the wrong elements; water out of the ship, and the world out of the spiritual life of a Christian.  The daily storms of the world will bombard the Christian on the seas of  life.  To keep a Christian afloat, they must be filled with the Holy Spirit of God rather than the world.  The immoral, unspiritual or wrong decisions will allow the world to break through the “hull” and replace the Holy Spirit with worldly pleasures.

The Gospel of John discusses these life decisions; “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (1 John 2:15-16).

The problem, as I see it, isn’t the quality of Christians in the world; as much as it is the quantity of the world in the Christian.  Those things in your life that take your focus off of Jesus, or compromises your daily walk or morality must be removed just like water is pumped overboard from the bilges of a ship.

So for the Christian each decision in our lives comes down to; “To float or not to float.  That is the question.”

Atheism, Polytheism, Materialism, Evolution and Creation. Which concept is correct for the Christian?

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For the follower of Jehovah or Jesus Christ, the theological message of the first book of the Bible is, there is a God and God is responsible for all creation.  Beginning from the first verse of the Genesis we find the evidence of a supreme being that is the creator of all things; including the much debated creation of man.  Genesis 1:1 clearly encapsulates the whole of scripture; “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  In this very simplistic but all-inclusive verse, we are presented with the evidence of one God for all to see.  God exists.  There is an implied absolute beginning and the God of the Bible brought all creation into existence.  “In the beginning God…”  The clarity of God being “in the beginning” sets the foundational stone that God was at the beginning.  Therefore God was before the beginning for He was the Creator. It is a stated fact

The Bible introduces us to God in Genesis chapter one.  The Hebrew word ‘God’ as used in verse one and thirty-one times in the first chapter of Genesis is Elohim.  Elohim is used over 2,500 times in the Old Testament.  Elohim emphasizes one supreme God stressing His power and quite often used when in the context of the Supreme Being in the act of creation.

Chapter one of Genesis is one of the most hotly debated chapters in the Bible.  Satan’s attack on the infallibility, inspired Word of God begins at the first verse.  Those against special creation, in six twenty-four hour days, form the battle lines between the forces of evil and of God.  If Satan can focus man’s attention away from creation, then he can also cause doubt on every other doctrine in scripture; atheism, polytheism, evolution, materialism and sin.  Is there a God?  Were the worlds created?  If Satan can cause uncertainty at this very fundamental point, Satan can cause doubt for every other fundamental doctrine in scripture.

Throughout the whole of scripture there is a consistent declaration of the creation and that God was the Creator.  (Exodus 20:11, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 90:2, 96:5, 148:5, Isaiah 45:18, John 1:3, Hebrews 11:3)

It is my intent to discuss the various theologies that are located in chapter one of Genesis.

The first will be the idea of atheism.  Atheism, according to its definition and etymology, declares a denial of the being of God.  Atheism, affirms the nonexistence of God.  An atheist is someone who rejects belief in any form of deity, not just the traditional Judeo/Christian God.  It is also interesting that there seems to be no consensus on the definition of atheism.  The atheistic theology is denounced in the very first verse of Genesis.  ”In the beginning, God.”  There is no room for debate or even discussion in the Bible concerning whether there is a God or not.  The statement carries with it the most profound and yet simple statement ever made there is a God. So therefore atheism is opposed.  In Psalm14:1, the psalmist David declares, “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God…”

In every aspect of our life, there is a Cause and an Effect.  The one argument the atheist cannot answer is where the first ‘cause’, creation, came from.  The ‘effect’ is the solar system, animals, plants and man.  Who was the first Cause?  Genesis tells us it was God who started all creation when He spoke and said;

“Let there be light”

“Let there be a firmament”

“Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind”

“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night;”

“Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven”

“Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth”

Atheism does not present a viable solution in lieu of creation; therefore it is not a viable theology as God created the heavens and earth.

Another theology to explore is polytheism.  Polytheism by its very entomology means – poly – many and theism – god.  It is the belief of numerous personal deities, called gods or goddesses.  These gods are finite as they had a beginning as the result of sexual union or created from natural forces.  Each deity has its own belief system and rituals.  Their rule is normally over a particular domain such as the earth, sky, sea, love, etc.   Polytheists do not always worship all the gods equally, but can center their belief and worship of one particular deity.  Other polytheists can worship different deities at different times according to their need.

Polytheism then is in direct contradiction to the scriptures, particularly in Genesis chapter one.  Over and over again we see that Elohim was the creator and the only God.

The next point to discuss is materialism.  Materialism is a human philosophical invention.  Materialism is the belief system that matter is the only reality.  The main tenet of the materialist is that matter, left to itself, produced all things.  The universe was randomly formed by the organizing of materials already in the cosmos.  Life was eventually formed by purely natural means.  Materialism continues that since matter produced all things that includes man and his brain.  Over time this brain then imagined the idea of things supernatural, which includes the idea of the spiritual realm, of God, gods, of eternal life, and so forth.

Materialism is unavoidably atheistic.  The theory of materialism is its own enemy and is fatalistically flawed because it denies any purpose; everything is reduced in importance to mere chance.  The only source for understanding materialism is human thought.  Therefore materialism is only defined by the brain which was formed by random materials. 

The final point of discussion is evolution.  Evolution is defined from the Latin term evolution meaning “unfolding”.  Evolution first appeared about 900 BC so it is a late theory.  There are many different fields of evolution, but in considering evolution in light of Genesis, this discussion is centered on biological evolution.  From the evolutionist point of view life came from the non-living (materialism).  Life was not there then suddenly all materials came together and life appeared.  That is called spontaneous generation.  The evolutionist will not define where the materials originally came from, just that it did and it became an accepted fact.  This is the point of beginning for the evolutionist.  Life just started and then began evolving.  In order to have an evolving species life must have begun.  There is no stake in the sand, just the idea that life happened by natural means not through a supreme being.

Evolution and Genesis are in direct opposition to each other.  On the one hand the evolutionist believes life came from non-life materials that were already in the cosmos.  The creation account in Genesis chapter one defines that God created everything ex nihilo, out of nothing.  No materials floating around for God to use.  God spoke the worlds into space and time.  God spoke and plants, animals and man were created, ex nihilo.  Creation says there is a supreme being that created.  Evolution says there was no creator, just material.

Conclusion

In the first verse of the first Book of the Bible we have the confirmation of God.  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  This first verse rebuts atheism because it explains the existence of God.  It rebuts polytheism as it explains that there is one God.  It rebuts materialism, for it shows that God created the materials in creation.  And finally it rebuts evolution as God created the animals and man.  God did not leave it to chance.

Should we take the six days of creation literally as twenty-four hour days?

There are several theological and scientific views concerning the creation of all things; cosmos, earth, animals and man.  The two foundational stones in each of these theories centers on; (1) the time it took for creation; billions of years to six literal days, and (2) who or what was the force behind creation.

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The point of the argument is this; “Does God really mean what He says?”  A “face value” reading of Genesis chapter one, in context and without any preconceived external ideologies, would lead the reader to believe that God created all things, including the first two human beings in six literal days.  Each day is defined with the phrase “and the evening and a morning were the (first, second, etc.) day”.  Moses, the author of Genesis, was writing in the language of his day to be understood, most importantly through the inspiration of God, and concluded that each day of creation was an “evening and morning”.  Six days of creating and then one day of resting.  By accepting the six literal days of creation, the earth then is not billions of years old, but instead just thousands or a young earth compared to an old earth.  There is no need to insert time gaps into the creation model unless it is to force another theory into Genesis chapter one.

The word “day” can have many meanings and uses.  A day can mean “a period of time”, or “daylight hours”, or “a twenty-four hour period”.  It is important to understand how the word is being used in Genesis One, in context, just as it would to be for someone today to understand when they said, “Back in my dad’s day” or “let’s meet one day next week” or “two days from now”.  Each use of the word “day” has a specific meaning that can only be truly understood when used in the context of the sentence.  The Hebrew word for day is “yom” and like the English word “day”, according to a typical concordance, has many different meanings including;   a specific point of time, a period of light as contrasted to darkness (Genesis 1:5; 14-16, 18), a 24-hour period, a chronology, a year or an indefinite period of time (Psalms 90:10. 

 Considering the different uses of “yom”, the only way to correctly define what God meant when he signified “evening and morning were the (first, second, etc.) day” is to look at the context and structure of the sentence.  In hermeneutics there is a statement that says; “A text without context is pretext.”  In other words if we take the text out of the context in which it is written leads one to have a pretext of the meaning outside of the meaning of the writer.

In each instance of the days of creation (Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31), the phrase “evening and morning” are used with the number of the creation day.  If we look at the other uses of “yom” outside of the creation of Genesis chapter one, there are over three hundred times where a number and “yom” are used that mean a literal twenty-four hour period.  Looking at the phrase “evening and morning” with “yom”, there are over sixty times they are used together and each time is an ordinary day.  Why would the usage of “yom” in Genesis chapter one be different than all these other verses?

Therefore on this one point, in the usage of the words of our language, in the context they were written and their definitions, without having outside influences, the word for “day” as used in Geneses One as used with a number, must mean an ordinary day of about twenty-four hours.

Theistic Evolution and the Day-Age Theory

Evolution and Theistic Evolution requires two crucial elements; long periods of time and life out of no life (materialism).  Atheists and evolutionary theists generally agree on these two elements, but go about it differently.  The atheists do not believe in God, so there is no special creation in six days but taking six billion years for creation.  Theistic evolutionists profess a certain belief in the Scriptures and attempt to harmonize the biblical account of creation in Genesis, while inserting the evolutionary scenario into the mix.  The theistic evolutionist therefore, does not believe in special creation in six days, but that through six periods of time, God moved on matter and the creation took place.  Their definition of the term “day” is allegorical and represents the definition of “day” that is a period of time instead of a single solar day of twenty-four hours.  The theistic evolutionist’s model is the “Day-Age” theory which says that each day of creation was an age (period of time).  In this way they attempt to harmonize “Special Creation” and “Evolution” into one theory.

Theistic evolutionists will give one of their proof texts as 2 Peter 3:8 where Peter, referring to Psalms 90:4, says, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”  Of course this verse is taken out of context.  Peter was trying to illustrate that in the last days there would be those who would say that since Jesus had not returned yet, He was not coming back at all.  Peter focuses their attention to the flood and to those who scoffed at Noah.  Peter then pens the words of the eighth verse which was never intended to be a mathematical formula, but that God is the creator of everything including the universe and time itself.  Peter’s point was not that a day equals one thousand years as a standard of time for man to use in understanding God’s time, but that God is above time itself.  The LORD defines time, not man (Hebrews 1:2)

There are many problems with this theory.  One is that they take special creation of Genesis One out of the mix.  Instead their premise is that God got everything started then let nature take over.  They also work so hard on proving their point about the definition of “day”, that they totally disregard the use of “evening and morning”.  The “Day Age” theory would be rendered “and ‘thousands/millions/billions’ of evenings and mornings” are the first day.  To prescribe to this theory would be analogous to saying that when Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights that he was actually in the fish for three thousand years until he was vomited out on dry land.  A greater miracle than the creation of the world in six days would be that Jonah and the fish would live for thousands of years.  The word in Jonah 1:17 for the number of days in the belly of the fish is the same day as used in Genesis 1:5, 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31; “yom”.

There are those that say that a literal twenty-four hour day could not have been until day number four when the sun, moon and stars were created.  Genesis 1:14  says; “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:” (emphasis mine).  This point is not convincing one way or another.  God could have created in the first three days of creation, by design, twenty four hour days into the solar system.  When the “lights in the firmament of heaven” were made on the fourth day, they could have been in sync with the definition of “time” that God had originally intended.

Those are my thoughts.  What are yours?

THE SPACE OF ETERNITY

This week is what many proclaim as Holy Week.  It is the time when Jesus of Nazareth triumphantly entered into Jerusalem as the people shouted hosanna, placing palm fronds and their outer garments along the entry way into the city, unto the time of Jesus last days on this earth until his trials, torture and His murder.  Holy Week culminates in the event of the resurrection from the dead of Jesus on that first Easter morning.

Easter is found only one time in the Bible and that is in Acts 12:4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.  The person being put into prison was Paul.  The word “Easter” is of Chaldean origin and is translated everywhere else (28 times in 26 verses) as Passover.  We derive our current holiday name of Easter  from this Chaldean word for Passover.

Last Sunday, Palm Sunday, I preached a message titled “Conversations at the Crucifixion”.  As I was studying the last sayings that Jesus spoke while enduring such pain on the cross, I was drawn to all the other conversations taking place as three men were dying.  There were conversations from the crowd of onlookers there to viewf the agonizing death of crucifixion that day.  There were conversations and accusations from the religious crowd, Chief Priests and Scribes.  The soldiers carrying out the punishment even got in on the discussions.  The two thieves surrounding Jesus each had something to say and then the man tasked with carrying out the deaths, a Centurion, made the most profound statement after Jesus died.  And of course we have the statements of Jesus as His final hours of life were being drawn to a close.

As I marveled at all the activity that was going on around the crucifixion of Jesus, I also made a note of something else that I had never noticed before.  I was given a glimpse through the eyes of Jesus of what He saw and the unbelievable truth that day.

There wasn’t a battle going on at Golgotha that day, but a war!

There were people on both sides of the issue that brought Jesus to this death sentence.  There were those that believed that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, the Christ and the Son of God, and those that did not.  There were two sides.

There wasn’t a battle going on at Golgotha that day, but a war.  Soldiers from two different sides had taken their positions, raised their banners and captured in word and deed which side they were on.  While there wasn’t an arrow shot, a swing of a sword or a javelin tossed, the battle was real.  There was a spiritual war going on and in the balance was the hope of man.  God had a simple plan of salvation for mankind and His Son was the perfect offering and sacrifice that God would accept.  It was not in the sacrifice of animals but with the GOD-Man, Jesus.  The Son of God “became flesh and dwelt among us.”  Man could never be good enough to merit Grace, so in the greatest love story of all time, God gave.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16).

The distance between the crowd and Jesus was more than just space.  It wasn’t measured in feet and inches, but in eternity.

The scene at the crucifixion of Jesus was more than an execution of a man.  The Romans went about the business of death; they had slain many in this same manner in many different locations.

Sides were taken that day.  A line was drawn in the sand.  On which side would the people choose?  On the one side, the crowd, one thief, the Chief Priests and Scribes and the soldiers did not choose Jesus.  On the other side of that line, the other thief and those there to worship Jesus made their choice that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.

Jesus had to endure the torments, both mental and emotional, as well as the death of the body.  The distance between the crowd and Jesus was more than just space.  It wasn’t measured in feet and inches, but in eternity.  For those that chose to be on the side that denied Jesus as the Messiah, the eternity that awaits them is in hell.  A place of torment that was prepared as punishment for Satan and his demons.  For those that accepted that Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior, they would be on the side of God’s salvation plan for mankind and the eternity that awaits them is in heaven.

So on this second day of April, 2010 I would ask the same question that has echoed through the canyons of time; “Today, which side of that line drawn in the sand are you on?  With whom do you associate?  The mockers or the Redeemed?”

Is there ‘life after life’?

 Revelation 21:1-2 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

Many people will read the title and pass on the blog. They will do this because they already have an opinion about whether there is ‘life after life.’ There are those who believe that when you draw your last breath, that life, in all forms, is over. There is nothing else, no afterlife whatsoever. While others believe that if they are good in this life that they will come back as another being on this earth. Mainline Christianity believes that there is ‘life after life’. For those that follow Christ’s teachings and accept Him as their Savior, ‘life after life’ is known as heaven.

As a boy, I often wondered about what the afterlife would be like. I thought of what I would do in heaven. What would heaven be like? What would I do all day? Would I be allowed to play baseball or football or tetherball? Would we have baseball trading cards in heaven? Would I spend my time just gathered around the throne of God? What does a boy do around the throne of God anyway? Could I run, jump, skip, play tag with all the other children or would I not be allowed to make any noise at all? Would I have chores that I would need to do, make my bed, carry out the trash and even have to take a bath? Would I be given tasks by the angels or God Himself? And how long does it take you to get used to flying with those wings?

Those were some of the thoughts I pondered as a young boy. When the subject comes up, I find that everybody has a different opinion about what heaven would be like. After all, if heaven is supposed to be this utopia, then you would think it would be centered on your greatest wishes of what that life would be. Right?

For some heaven would be sitting out on your wooden patio deck, sipping on a large sweetened tea while listening to the wind rustling through the pine trees. In the background you can hear the sounds of a babbling brook. The sun would be bright, a perfect 75°F with a slight breeze. As you look beyond the trees surrounding your mountain property, you can see the ocean on the horizon with its waves and whitecaps. And all day, you would relax and enjoy your surroundings. No alarm clock going off at 5:30 AM. No deadlines to meet. No boss yelling at you, just a wonderful comfortable bliss.

Others may picture heaven as that early-morning walk through the dewy grass. You are surrounded by the beauty of trees and shrubbery. You are accompanied by great friends. The morning sun is just breaking through the trees as you bend over to firmly place your golf ball on the number one tee. Through the day, every swing of the driver would be down the middle of the fairway. Every iron you use would be the perfect shot. Your short game will put the ball just inches from the cup. Every putt would be a single putt. Every round would be perfect. No need for mulligan’s here.

As I talk with others, they believe heaven will be like walking to the shore of your favorite lake, getting into your boat and shoving off from the dock. The temperature would be in the low 80s and the sun will be shining. As you make your way to your favorite “honey hole”, you are filled with excitement. You make your first cast and as the lure hits the water you hook your first 5 pound largemouth bass. The bass leaps out of the water, shaking his tail and head, letting you know you’re in for a fight. Every cast, you catch a fish. Every fish is a record breaker. As you make your way back to the dock, the thought comes to your mind that tomorrow will be exactly the same.

Many things have changed since I was a small boy. My thoughts of heaven are no longer centered on me, but on Jesus sitting on His throne.

The Bible describes the New Heaven and New Earth like this;

 • No more tears

• No more death

• No sorrow, crying or pain

 • The beauty of the twelve gates of pearl

• The walls of the new Jerusalem are made of jasper stone and the city is made of pure gold

 • There will be no need of the sun as Jesus will be the light

• There will be a pure river running from the throne of God

• The Tree of Life will be in the city

I long to sing with the four beasts in Revelation 4:8 “…Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”

Is there ‘life after life?’   I would really like to know what you think the afterlife will be like.

Please leave your comments.

What is in a Name?

Matthew 1:21   ”And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

I subscribe to many email newsletters.  I admit that I don’t read every one but sometimes an article catches my eye.  This morning I found an eNewsletter with the interesting title, “A Famous Trio.”

The article started out listing many famous trios and I read on.  It was then that the author of the article broke one of my all time taboos.  He used the demonic names of a famous bible trio instead of their God honoring names.

Of course I refer to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  I would guess that in any church, those names would be very Recognizable, but their God honoring Hebrew names would only be known by a small number.  Why is that?

There are many people who’s names were changed in the Scriptures that are well known with.  For example:

• Abram’s name was changed to Abraham
• Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah
• Simon’s name was changed to Peter
• Saul’s name was changed to Paul

These are changes that God made, defining their character.  We use their names interchangeably and do not lose the meaning.

My beef comes when we refer to four young men in the Bible by their Babylonian names rather than their given names.

Look in your Bible in the opening chapter of Daniel and you will see this story.  Many young men were swept into bondage when Babylon captured the nation Israel.  These young men were the brightest of the nation.  But in order to “brain wash” them into the new surroundings and culture, they were given new Babylonian names.

Daniel was one of them and his name was changed to Belteshazzar.  The name Daniel means “God is my judge,” but his Babylonian name of Belteshazzar, means “Bel Protect the King.”  Bel is a god of the Babylonians.  We do not refer to Daniel by his Babylonian name but by his Hebrew name that has such power; “God is my judge.”

Why then does the world only remember the names of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego?  These three young men deserve much better than this.  I would not want to be remembered by the name a conquering nation gave me.  I would want to be remembered by the God honoring name my parents gave me.

I must confess that I grow weary when people use the Babylonian name instead of their Hebrew names.  Names were so important in the Bible.  When you look at the Babylonian meanings of these three, perhaps you will understand my opposition.

• Shadrach means “Command of Aku,” Aku was a Babylonian god.
• Meshach means “Who is what Aku is?”
• Abednego means ““Servant of Nego,” which was the Babylonian god of vegetation.

So what were these young men’s names?  I am glad you asked.

• Hananiah, “the Lord is Gracious,”
• Mishael’s Hebrew name meant “Who is like the Lord?”
• Azariah, “the Lord is my Helper,”

Look at the powerful Hebrew names compared to the demonic names given and decide how you will remember them in the future.

• Hananiah – “the Lord is gracious” to Shadrach -”Command of Aku”
• Mishael – “Who is like the Lord” to Meshach – “Who is what Aku is?”
• Azariah – “The Lord is my Helper” to Abednego – “Servant of Nego”

Daniel 1:7 7 Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.

Those are my thoughts.  What are yours?

Bob Crowder