On a recent trip to Berkley Springs WV my wife and I attended a ministry conference there. It has been a couple of years since the last time we went, and so we were really looking forward to going again this time. We were not disappointed!
There were a couple ministers who preached who we have heard before, but most who we have not. I got something out of every message preached that impacted my Spirit, and one particular point from a message by Mark Sanchez that I want to share in this post.
Mark tells of someone that goes to his church who's boss is an open homosexual. One day this boss calls the Christian guy into his office and closes the door, and says: "Jesus appeared to me last night!" The boss goes on to say, "Jesus stood there and said, 'I want to have a relationship with you.'
'I said, you can't I am a homosexual.'
Jesus said, 'What does that have to do with My Love for you?'
The boss responds, 'But I hate your people'
Jesus said, 'What does that have to do with My Love for you?'
The boss then says 'And I hate you!'
Jesus said, 'What does that have to do with My Love for you?' And then He vanished. The boss tells the Christian, 'Tell me about this Jesus!'"
Isn't that the whole message summed up right there that we should be bringing to the world? What does your sin, and failings and short comings have to do with Jesus' Love for you? I cannot tell you the amount of sermons that I have heard over the years that dictate the do's and the don't's of what is permissible and what is not! We are told that God's love for us depends on our actions. God loves you, but only if you clean up your act!
Oh, you might be told to come to Jesus, and he will wash your sins away, but once that happens, it is like it is up to you to make sure He doesn't have to wash your sins away again! Of course once you are saved, then it is possible to look down your noses at all those other people who don't live a righteous life like you do, and you can warn them of the fiery torment that is waiting for them when they might die any moment, and loose their chance to repent. Then it will be too late! NOT! (I hope you can read the sarcasm in this previous paragraph).
All of this is focusing on your efforts to keep the law; to obey the Ten Commandments! When in fact, the purpose of the 10 commandments is to show you how futile your efforts really are! And just to make sure you know it, in the sermon on the mount, Jesus points out the intent of the heart is enough to condemn you if you are trying to justify yourself by your own efforts!
But Jesus was not sent into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him would be saved! (John 3:17)
II Cor. 5:19 "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."
Take note of the bold words. Not imputing. Not laying to their charge, is how one translation puts it. Not imputing their trespasses against them! Well, if Jesus is not holding their sins against them, then who is? The dead letter of the law has no power to change a persons heart or nature or condition.
The NLT version puts it this way in Romans 2:4 "Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?"
The biggest complaint I hear from Christians when they hear such a message of Grace is: "So are you saying that you can live however you want, and sin all you want and God will just forgive it all and let you into heaven?" To which I reply, "How do you want to live? Didn't you ask Him into your heart? Isn't His nature within you? Don't you want to please him , or are you just living by what ever rules you think you need to in order to avoid going to some hell you have devised for sinners?
Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? Don't you know that you have been bought with a price? When Christians wonder why they should witness if everyone is going to be saved anyway; the short answer is because we know by experience the love of God, and they don't until you tell them!
This message even works for Christians, who have put themselves under condemnation because of their own short comings, and sins, and failures! How wonderful to have such burdens lifted, and freedom restored when you take it to Jesus and His forgiveness reminds you: what does all of that have to do In Light Of His Love For You!
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Saturday, October 5, 2013
God Is Not Mad At You
Perhaps you have seen this sign before. "What's missing from CH--CH?" and then it would say "UR". as if it was saying "you are" missing from church. Cute, and catchy sign for sure, but it is also cute and catchy if I say that the two letters can also stand for Universal Reconciliation! What really is missing from Church is the message of the reconciliation of all mankind! And I am of the firm belief that if U. R. were proclaimed within their walls, then not so many "You Are's" would be missing from church! The world is waiting for someone to tell them the Truth!
"And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to US the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given unto US the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be reconciled to God" (II Cor. 5:18-20).
It is hard to fathom that such a concept is so foreign to the so called preaching of the Gospel by most churches. I say so called Gospel, because if you put a condition on the good news by suggesting that the Love of God is conditional on the actions of a persons mortal life on this earth, then it is NO Gospel at all!
The LOVE OF GOD FOR ALL MANKIND IS THE GOSPEL!! If you are preaching anything else but that; if you are hearing anything else but that preached; if that is being said with any kind of condition on the part of mankind to merit it, then it is NOT the Gospel, but rather a LIE
There is a singing ministry couple from Lake City Tenn, that Cindi and I met a few years back by the name of Gerald and Kathy Hovater. They sing a lot of their own songs, and they have a couple of CD's available to purchase. One of the songs that they composed and sing is called "God is Not Mad at You". This song has touched the hearts of many, many people that have heard it; saved and unsaved alike! Just the title alone is enough to cause joy and relief at the sound of it, and for some even disbelief, that it could be true based on what the church system has been telling them!
Think about it. God is NOT mad at you!! Is that the message you hear from the church you go to? Is that the message you hear from other Christians? Is that the message of the Gospel you share with others? God is not mad at you IS the message of the Gospel! Unfortunately, most Christians preach the kind of message that says God is not mad at me, but He is mad at YOU! I earnestly hope that as the reader of this post, you would make sure you do share the full measure of the Love of God for ALL creation, and that His Love is NEVER ending!
Meditate on this verse from the Phillips translation of Ephesians 3:14-19
14-19 When I think of the greatness of this great plan I fall on my knees before God the Father (from whom all fatherhood, earthly or heavenly, derives its name), and I pray that out of the glorious richness of his resources he will enable you to know the strength of the spirit’s inner re-inforcement—that Christ may actually live in your hearts by your faith. And I pray that you, firmly fixed in love yourselves, may be able to grasp (with all Christians) how wide and deep and long and high is the love of Christ—and to know for yourselves that love so far beyond our comprehension. May you be filled though all your being with God himself!
I believe many Christians put a limit on the Love of God for themselves, which is why they can also think that there is more of a limit on the Love of God for the unbeliever. They attach conditions to their own salvation, (conditions that do not exist in Scripture!) so that the same conditions and more can be attached to non believers, limiting God's love to their own carnal understanding.
I am persuaded by personal experience that if you ever got a momentary glimpse of the Love which God has for you, where Paul describes as "so far beyond our comprehension" that you then could not imagine such immutable Love could ever be overcome by the evil actions of any person, no matter how great. In other words, to the same measure you understand the Love God has for you, is the same measure you believe God could have for another. And if such Love is beyond your comprehension for yourself, then it is much more likely that you cannot believe such Love is extended beyond comprehension for All Creation. Truely you would need a revelation of the Love of God for yourself, to see that not only would you believe that God is not mad at me, but indeed you can freely tell the world: God Is Not Mad At You
"And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to US the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given unto US the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be reconciled to God" (II Cor. 5:18-20).
It is hard to fathom that such a concept is so foreign to the so called preaching of the Gospel by most churches. I say so called Gospel, because if you put a condition on the good news by suggesting that the Love of God is conditional on the actions of a persons mortal life on this earth, then it is NO Gospel at all!
The LOVE OF GOD FOR ALL MANKIND IS THE GOSPEL!! If you are preaching anything else but that; if you are hearing anything else but that preached; if that is being said with any kind of condition on the part of mankind to merit it, then it is NOT the Gospel, but rather a LIE
There is a singing ministry couple from Lake City Tenn, that Cindi and I met a few years back by the name of Gerald and Kathy Hovater. They sing a lot of their own songs, and they have a couple of CD's available to purchase. One of the songs that they composed and sing is called "God is Not Mad at You". This song has touched the hearts of many, many people that have heard it; saved and unsaved alike! Just the title alone is enough to cause joy and relief at the sound of it, and for some even disbelief, that it could be true based on what the church system has been telling them!
Think about it. God is NOT mad at you!! Is that the message you hear from the church you go to? Is that the message you hear from other Christians? Is that the message of the Gospel you share with others? God is not mad at you IS the message of the Gospel! Unfortunately, most Christians preach the kind of message that says God is not mad at me, but He is mad at YOU! I earnestly hope that as the reader of this post, you would make sure you do share the full measure of the Love of God for ALL creation, and that His Love is NEVER ending!
Meditate on this verse from the Phillips translation of Ephesians 3:14-19
14-19 When I think of the greatness of this great plan I fall on my knees before God the Father (from whom all fatherhood, earthly or heavenly, derives its name), and I pray that out of the glorious richness of his resources he will enable you to know the strength of the spirit’s inner re-inforcement—that Christ may actually live in your hearts by your faith. And I pray that you, firmly fixed in love yourselves, may be able to grasp (with all Christians) how wide and deep and long and high is the love of Christ—and to know for yourselves that love so far beyond our comprehension. May you be filled though all your being with God himself!
I believe many Christians put a limit on the Love of God for themselves, which is why they can also think that there is more of a limit on the Love of God for the unbeliever. They attach conditions to their own salvation, (conditions that do not exist in Scripture!) so that the same conditions and more can be attached to non believers, limiting God's love to their own carnal understanding.
I am persuaded by personal experience that if you ever got a momentary glimpse of the Love which God has for you, where Paul describes as "so far beyond our comprehension" that you then could not imagine such immutable Love could ever be overcome by the evil actions of any person, no matter how great. In other words, to the same measure you understand the Love God has for you, is the same measure you believe God could have for another. And if such Love is beyond your comprehension for yourself, then it is much more likely that you cannot believe such Love is extended beyond comprehension for All Creation. Truely you would need a revelation of the Love of God for yourself, to see that not only would you believe that God is not mad at me, but indeed you can freely tell the world: God Is Not Mad At You
Sunday, September 8, 2013
God Is Still Speaking! I Am Still Listening
This is a picture of the pilot examiner on the left handing me my private pilot certificate after successfully completing my flight test.
For the past 2 1/2 years I have had flown with what is called a Sport Pilot Certificate. An earlier blog post details that event. It enabled me to fly a two seat airplane with certain conditions attached, including limited gross weight, day time flying, etc. And now I am able to fly bigger faster airplanes, and carry more passengers, and at night lifting most of the restrictions of the Sport License.
Another reason for not writing lately, has been because I am doubting there is any interest in what I have been posting. I suppose it is because blog posts do not generally get much feed back from casual readers. I do invest a lot of time and effort into each post I write, and also write a lot of drafts, that I do not post until I am happy with the result. Perhaps I have lost sight of a higher purpose?
We often hear people say, that if one person is helped by what we do, then it is all worth it. And that can be true to some extent, but I also think that it is a way of saying that we want our efforts to matter. A higher purpose is to write what God has placed on my heart to write, and leave the results up to Him! Even if a result is that I can read my own posts from the past, and be reminded of the truths I have learned in the past. Besides that; just maybe God has purposed a blog post or two, to matter to a casual reader or two.
While the overtime I have been working does not show any immediate indication of slowing down, and I still will have limited free time to write blog posts for a while; I will still try to be more frequent than I certainly have been till now. My goal is still to be obedient to what He would have me do. God Is Still Speaking! I Am Still Listening.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Living In A Mansion?
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2
When ever a big lottery win is announced, whether people buy a ticket or not, everyone always imagines how they would spend the money if they won. Most people would quit their job. Some people would plan on how much they would give away and to whom. Most plan to buy the house of their dreams, and travel, and live a life of ease in luxury; and why not; it doesn't cost to dream. But notice that the dream of winning the lottery is so that we can spend it on tangible things, because we are a tangible thing gathering society! This is not a judgement, just an observation. I would buy things too! (An airplane!)
Consider what a native in an uncivilized village would do with a big lottery jackpot winnings. I think it would not hold much value to them because their existence is not based on an accumulation of materialistic things. Since we are a modern civilized consumer society, money holds great value for an exchange of goods and services, and success is often measured by an accumulation of materialistic items. That is just the way it is.
One of the drawbacks to that; and the main point now; is that, for the Christian, all of this focus on materialism comes with a conflict in priorities and values, and it "colors" the way we interpret Scripture, and the way we live our lives.
One day a couple of weeks ago the Spirit of the Lord placed a thought in my mind I had never considered before. "What kind of furniture would be in the bedroom of the mansion that most Christians believe they would receive in heaven?" Wow! For that matter, what kind of kitchen would we need unless we still had to eat? What about the living room? Do we need a sofa, and lazyboy, a coffee table, and TV? How many bathrooms should there be?
I got to thinking of how often Christians sing "I've got a mansion just over the hill top in that bright land where we'll never grow old.... walk on streets of purest gold". Everyone is all excited about winning the spiritual lottery, and living in a mansion in heaven, and walking on streets of gold, not realizing that such a description is a metaphor for a spiritual life.
I have read books, and heard stories of many people who would tell of how they died and went to heaven, that would describe the mansion that they were going to have, and the opulent lifestyle they would live in heaven. It seems to attract the selfish materialistic desires of church people who are more interested in bringing earth to heaven rather than bringing heaven to earth!
The fact is that God is Spirit! Heaven is a Spiritual realm! These descriptions are symbolic. Gold is a symbol of Divinity, and streets of gold is talking about your divine walk, or lifestyle. A mansion (better translated "dwelling place") is not a brick and mortar building but a spiritual dwelling place in God.
Think about it for a second, do you believe for one minute that God is confined to and lives in a physical house in heaven? Well, read the verse. "In my Father's house.." In my Father's what? House! Well, if the verse is not talking about a literal house for God, why would the "mansion" be literal?
"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27)
Consider what God said in Isaiah: Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool; what is the house which you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things are mine, says the LORD....." (Isaiah 66:1)
"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16)
If you think that the bible needs to be taken literally, then are we to assume that some will be made into a pillar with graffiti on it?
"He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name." (Revelation 3:12)
I guess one might say that all of this talk about mansions over the hilltop is pretty harmless, but it really is not harmless to the Christian who wants to mature in the things of the Lord! No different than someone older than a small child should believe in Santa or the Easter bunny! All of this focus on material riches and wealth, and prosperity leads to greed and selfishness, and spiritual impotence!
Look what Paul says: "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." I Tim. 6:8. Food and clothing should be enough to make you content; not riches, or mansions, or even a house to live in or a bed to sleep on!
Does all this mean that it is somehow wrong to win a lottery or to have lots of money and have a big house and fancy car? Absolutely not, as long as these things don't possess you! And here is the test. I will call it the Job Test! Can you lose everything you own, and start from scratch and not curse God?
Perhaps that is the defining factor for a deep spiritual life here on earth? To fully know what Jesus meant when He said: "And he said unto them, Take heed , and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" Luke 12:15. Can we say that?
I like this quote from Kipling's poem "IF" If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss;...Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that the heavenly realm of existence is not beautiful, on the contrary, consider what Paul says in I Cor. 2:9 "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." However, don't stop reading there, or you will miss what he says in the next verse! "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."
You see, I think we set our sights way to low if we take that which is gloriously spectacular in the spiritual sense, and reduce it to the tangible earthly interpretation of confining our existence in heaven to the natural carnal understanding equal to the lottery winning ability of Living In A Mansion.
When ever a big lottery win is announced, whether people buy a ticket or not, everyone always imagines how they would spend the money if they won. Most people would quit their job. Some people would plan on how much they would give away and to whom. Most plan to buy the house of their dreams, and travel, and live a life of ease in luxury; and why not; it doesn't cost to dream. But notice that the dream of winning the lottery is so that we can spend it on tangible things, because we are a tangible thing gathering society! This is not a judgement, just an observation. I would buy things too! (An airplane!)
Consider what a native in an uncivilized village would do with a big lottery jackpot winnings. I think it would not hold much value to them because their existence is not based on an accumulation of materialistic things. Since we are a modern civilized consumer society, money holds great value for an exchange of goods and services, and success is often measured by an accumulation of materialistic items. That is just the way it is.
One of the drawbacks to that; and the main point now; is that, for the Christian, all of this focus on materialism comes with a conflict in priorities and values, and it "colors" the way we interpret Scripture, and the way we live our lives.
One day a couple of weeks ago the Spirit of the Lord placed a thought in my mind I had never considered before. "What kind of furniture would be in the bedroom of the mansion that most Christians believe they would receive in heaven?" Wow! For that matter, what kind of kitchen would we need unless we still had to eat? What about the living room? Do we need a sofa, and lazyboy, a coffee table, and TV? How many bathrooms should there be?
I got to thinking of how often Christians sing "I've got a mansion just over the hill top in that bright land where we'll never grow old.... walk on streets of purest gold". Everyone is all excited about winning the spiritual lottery, and living in a mansion in heaven, and walking on streets of gold, not realizing that such a description is a metaphor for a spiritual life.
I have read books, and heard stories of many people who would tell of how they died and went to heaven, that would describe the mansion that they were going to have, and the opulent lifestyle they would live in heaven. It seems to attract the selfish materialistic desires of church people who are more interested in bringing earth to heaven rather than bringing heaven to earth!
The fact is that God is Spirit! Heaven is a Spiritual realm! These descriptions are symbolic. Gold is a symbol of Divinity, and streets of gold is talking about your divine walk, or lifestyle. A mansion (better translated "dwelling place") is not a brick and mortar building but a spiritual dwelling place in God.
Think about it for a second, do you believe for one minute that God is confined to and lives in a physical house in heaven? Well, read the verse. "In my Father's house.." In my Father's what? House! Well, if the verse is not talking about a literal house for God, why would the "mansion" be literal?
"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27)
Consider what God said in Isaiah: Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool; what is the house which you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things are mine, says the LORD....." (Isaiah 66:1)
"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16)
If you think that the bible needs to be taken literally, then are we to assume that some will be made into a pillar with graffiti on it?
"He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name." (Revelation 3:12)
I guess one might say that all of this talk about mansions over the hilltop is pretty harmless, but it really is not harmless to the Christian who wants to mature in the things of the Lord! No different than someone older than a small child should believe in Santa or the Easter bunny! All of this focus on material riches and wealth, and prosperity leads to greed and selfishness, and spiritual impotence!
Look what Paul says: "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." I Tim. 6:8. Food and clothing should be enough to make you content; not riches, or mansions, or even a house to live in or a bed to sleep on!
Does all this mean that it is somehow wrong to win a lottery or to have lots of money and have a big house and fancy car? Absolutely not, as long as these things don't possess you! And here is the test. I will call it the Job Test! Can you lose everything you own, and start from scratch and not curse God?
Perhaps that is the defining factor for a deep spiritual life here on earth? To fully know what Jesus meant when He said: "And he said unto them, Take heed , and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" Luke 12:15. Can we say that?
I like this quote from Kipling's poem "IF" If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss;...Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that the heavenly realm of existence is not beautiful, on the contrary, consider what Paul says in I Cor. 2:9 "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." However, don't stop reading there, or you will miss what he says in the next verse! "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."
You see, I think we set our sights way to low if we take that which is gloriously spectacular in the spiritual sense, and reduce it to the tangible earthly interpretation of confining our existence in heaven to the natural carnal understanding equal to the lottery winning ability of Living In A Mansion.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
This Is The Day!
"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
I know of a great many Christians that know this verse by heart, but I do no know of any (except my wife now) who knows what this verse is in reference to; and the reason I say that, is because it is always quoted to indicate their thoughts about that particular present day; and it is not.
Now, am I objecting to anyone who would quote this verse in a sort of spontaneous reflection to God on any particular day they are happy about? Why certainly not! I think that any reason, or no reason at all is always a good time to turn your thoughts toward God! It is only that there is a higher meaning with what the verse is saying, that if was known would cause one all the more to lift their voice in praise, "rejoice and be glad in it!"
There is a Jewish tradition called the Hallel, or is sometimes referred to as the Great Hallel, which is: "A chant of praise consisting of Psalms 113 through 118, used during Passover and on certain other holidays." These Psalms are read together as one, and there is much that can be said about it, which would put this post "into the weeds" and detract from my main objective.
Notice this verse from Matt. 26:30 "And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives." This verse comes at the point when Jesus and the disciples have finished the "last supper", or Passover meal, and were on their way to the garden of Gethsemane! They were singing hymns! What were they singing? Why the Great Hallel of course! Psalms 113-118. And where do we find the verse that this post is about? In Psalm 118, which is part of the Hallel.
Jesus would be singing "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." all the while knowing that He was going to be betrayed, and face torture, and death on the cross.
At first glance it would seem contrary to sing a song with a verse in it like that knowing full well that His death was soon to follow, but it is my conviction that there was no greater time to sing this! I am convinced that this occasion was what this verse was written for!
This is the day the Lord hath made! What day? Not the 24 hour day, but rather the Day of Salvation! The fact that the Lord Jesus was about to die on the cross, was what was purposed from before the beginning! It is Plan A in action!
Right from Genesis and all throughout the Old Testament there are subtle and overt verses that indicate God's plan to restore His relationship with man. Not just some men, but all of mankind, and more than that, all of creation! And creation will be restored when the sons of God are revealed as per Romans 8:19 in the NIV says: "For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed" .
In Gen. 6:3 it says: "And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man,..." I believe is a promise of restoration. The strife will end, and the relationship shall be restored!
To me, the whole of Psalm 90 speaks of restoration. Look at verse 3 "Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men." In verse 13 the Psalmist asks "Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants." (the word repent here does not mean for God to be sorry and change His mind) Verse 12 the concern is to make good use of the time now. "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." A whole post could be written showing how each verse of this Psalm speaks of God promised restoring of creation back to Himself.
Oh, when your eyes are open to look for it, you can see many more examples in the Old Testament of verses that speak not only of the restoration of creation, but pointing to the coming of Jesus, and His death bringing Salvation of the sin of the world. That of course would be a day to look forward to taking place, and a reason to rejoice and be glad in it!
So, perhaps the next time you say the words to Psalm 118:24 "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." not only can you feel free to rejoice because it is a beautiful day indeed, but you will have a higher purpose for rejoicing, knowing that the day of Salvation is the day meant when saying This Is The Day!
I know of a great many Christians that know this verse by heart, but I do no know of any (except my wife now) who knows what this verse is in reference to; and the reason I say that, is because it is always quoted to indicate their thoughts about that particular present day; and it is not.
Now, am I objecting to anyone who would quote this verse in a sort of spontaneous reflection to God on any particular day they are happy about? Why certainly not! I think that any reason, or no reason at all is always a good time to turn your thoughts toward God! It is only that there is a higher meaning with what the verse is saying, that if was known would cause one all the more to lift their voice in praise, "rejoice and be glad in it!"
There is a Jewish tradition called the Hallel, or is sometimes referred to as the Great Hallel, which is: "A chant of praise consisting of Psalms 113 through 118, used during Passover and on certain other holidays." These Psalms are read together as one, and there is much that can be said about it, which would put this post "into the weeds" and detract from my main objective.
Notice this verse from Matt. 26:30 "And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives." This verse comes at the point when Jesus and the disciples have finished the "last supper", or Passover meal, and were on their way to the garden of Gethsemane! They were singing hymns! What were they singing? Why the Great Hallel of course! Psalms 113-118. And where do we find the verse that this post is about? In Psalm 118, which is part of the Hallel.
Jesus would be singing "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." all the while knowing that He was going to be betrayed, and face torture, and death on the cross.
At first glance it would seem contrary to sing a song with a verse in it like that knowing full well that His death was soon to follow, but it is my conviction that there was no greater time to sing this! I am convinced that this occasion was what this verse was written for!
This is the day the Lord hath made! What day? Not the 24 hour day, but rather the Day of Salvation! The fact that the Lord Jesus was about to die on the cross, was what was purposed from before the beginning! It is Plan A in action!
Right from Genesis and all throughout the Old Testament there are subtle and overt verses that indicate God's plan to restore His relationship with man. Not just some men, but all of mankind, and more than that, all of creation! And creation will be restored when the sons of God are revealed as per Romans 8:19 in the NIV says: "For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed" .
In Gen. 6:3 it says: "And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man,..." I believe is a promise of restoration. The strife will end, and the relationship shall be restored!
To me, the whole of Psalm 90 speaks of restoration. Look at verse 3 "Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men." In verse 13 the Psalmist asks "Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants." (the word repent here does not mean for God to be sorry and change His mind) Verse 12 the concern is to make good use of the time now. "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." A whole post could be written showing how each verse of this Psalm speaks of God promised restoring of creation back to Himself.
Oh, when your eyes are open to look for it, you can see many more examples in the Old Testament of verses that speak not only of the restoration of creation, but pointing to the coming of Jesus, and His death bringing Salvation of the sin of the world. That of course would be a day to look forward to taking place, and a reason to rejoice and be glad in it!
So, perhaps the next time you say the words to Psalm 118:24 "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." not only can you feel free to rejoice because it is a beautiful day indeed, but you will have a higher purpose for rejoicing, knowing that the day of Salvation is the day meant when saying This Is The Day!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
The KinderGarden of Gethsemane
After writing my last post on the KinderGarden of Eden, and how it is that most Christians have an immature understanding of what the beginnings in Genesis is all about, I also think the same can be said of what most believe about death of Jesus on the cross, starting with the Garden of Gethsemane. Thus I hope to share some thoughts to challenge those still with a Kindergarten mentality.
Trust me when I say that I am not casting judgment on any reader of this post! In my last post I said I was caught up in the same childish understanding, and it is only by the revelation of the Spirit of God that allows anyone to see any Truth at all, and it is by His Grace and His choosing! If you find yourself sensing such an interest in learning more of Him, then follow Him where He leads, even if it seems like you are alone; because you are not alone. Trust Him to correct you.
In my last post, I said that if we got it wrong in Genesis, it would mess up our whole theology, and I believe that to be true. If we don't know what the plan and purpose of God is, then how do we know if His plan is in effect or not? If we believe that Jesus is an afterthought to save some of humanity, then it is clear that our view of God is not clear. It is plain to see that we do not see the Truth plainly! (Forgive my play on words).
I have even heard it told that when God sees sin, He is so angry that He would take all His wrath and anger out on man, were it not for Jesus to step in between, and show the Father the nail prints in His hands and feet.... then God is appeased by that, and calms back down! Good Grief!!
If you have come out of the KinderGarden of Eden, into some mature understanding, then you will know that Jesus was always plan A. God's purpose is the New Creation Man, and that plan is for ALL of His Creation, not just a select few!
In John 1:29 it says: "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" It does not say who takes away the sin for some people, or who takes away the sin of believers, it says who takes away the sin of the world!
So, let me tell you what I think the biggest hurdle to understanding the extent of what was accomplished on the cross for all creation. That is that religion teaches there is a limited time offer to the love of God! That time limit lasts only as long as your breath in these mortal bodies! That is it! People quote John 3:16, and stop there. God so loved the world. But if you asked those same people what happens if you don't believe the same as they do, well God's love must come to an end when your life ends, because there is no hope for you!! Really?? Is that what we believe??
Okay, so I have been wanting to get this off my chest in one of these posts, so I will say it here. If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you are probably familiar with the verse "It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgement." Do you know what the next verse is that comes after that? Ask anyone who quotes that verse to you what the next verse is, and I can almost guarantee they do not know. Did you know that if you read it in context it means completely the opposite of what they think it means?! Lets look it up.
Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" and now the next few words... "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation." Do you see that?! SO CHRIST!! It is all Him not you! Now, don't get all worried about that word "many" used here, it is the same many that have sinned. You have read, the wages of sin is death, and this verse tells you that Jesus died your death. He paid your wages for sin! Oh, and He took your judgement too!!
Just as you had no part in Adam bringing the world into sin, so also you had no part in Jesus freeing the world from sin! Read what Paul says in Corinth. 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." The same all that die in Adam are the same all that are made alive in Christ!
Look what it says in Romans 5:18,19 "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." The same "all" and the same"many" applies here too!
Once you begin to see this truth, then you will be amazed as to how many verses support this, what you never saw before! The Bible is full of them!! Grace and Mercy and Love and a perfect plan of Redemption! What about your loved ones that died without believing? Let me assure you, that God's love does not end when their life or your life ends! God is responsible for your birth, and your death, and every moment in between, and before and after! God reconciles ALL creation unto Himself!! Isn't THAT Good News??
What about the Muslim? God reconciles All creation unto Himself! What about the uncivilized natives? God reconciles All creation unto Himself! What about Hitler? God reconciles All creation unto Himself! If God cannot or does not reconcile even one person He has created, He is not God!
If God failed in the Garden of Eden, He also failed in the Garden of Gethsemane! No wonder the world has such a poor view of the Christian God, because Christians have presented such a poor view of God to the world! It is time to mature, and grow beyond a Kindergarten mentality of Eden, and to mature and grow beyond The KinderGarden of Gethsemane!
Trust me when I say that I am not casting judgment on any reader of this post! In my last post I said I was caught up in the same childish understanding, and it is only by the revelation of the Spirit of God that allows anyone to see any Truth at all, and it is by His Grace and His choosing! If you find yourself sensing such an interest in learning more of Him, then follow Him where He leads, even if it seems like you are alone; because you are not alone. Trust Him to correct you.
In my last post, I said that if we got it wrong in Genesis, it would mess up our whole theology, and I believe that to be true. If we don't know what the plan and purpose of God is, then how do we know if His plan is in effect or not? If we believe that Jesus is an afterthought to save some of humanity, then it is clear that our view of God is not clear. It is plain to see that we do not see the Truth plainly! (Forgive my play on words).
I have even heard it told that when God sees sin, He is so angry that He would take all His wrath and anger out on man, were it not for Jesus to step in between, and show the Father the nail prints in His hands and feet.... then God is appeased by that, and calms back down! Good Grief!!
If you have come out of the KinderGarden of Eden, into some mature understanding, then you will know that Jesus was always plan A. God's purpose is the New Creation Man, and that plan is for ALL of His Creation, not just a select few!
In John 1:29 it says: "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" It does not say who takes away the sin for some people, or who takes away the sin of believers, it says who takes away the sin of the world!
So, let me tell you what I think the biggest hurdle to understanding the extent of what was accomplished on the cross for all creation. That is that religion teaches there is a limited time offer to the love of God! That time limit lasts only as long as your breath in these mortal bodies! That is it! People quote John 3:16, and stop there. God so loved the world. But if you asked those same people what happens if you don't believe the same as they do, well God's love must come to an end when your life ends, because there is no hope for you!! Really?? Is that what we believe??
Okay, so I have been wanting to get this off my chest in one of these posts, so I will say it here. If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you are probably familiar with the verse "It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgement." Do you know what the next verse is that comes after that? Ask anyone who quotes that verse to you what the next verse is, and I can almost guarantee they do not know. Did you know that if you read it in context it means completely the opposite of what they think it means?! Lets look it up.
Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" and now the next few words... "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation." Do you see that?! SO CHRIST!! It is all Him not you! Now, don't get all worried about that word "many" used here, it is the same many that have sinned. You have read, the wages of sin is death, and this verse tells you that Jesus died your death. He paid your wages for sin! Oh, and He took your judgement too!!
Just as you had no part in Adam bringing the world into sin, so also you had no part in Jesus freeing the world from sin! Read what Paul says in Corinth. 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." The same all that die in Adam are the same all that are made alive in Christ!
Look what it says in Romans 5:18,19 "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." The same "all" and the same"many" applies here too!
Once you begin to see this truth, then you will be amazed as to how many verses support this, what you never saw before! The Bible is full of them!! Grace and Mercy and Love and a perfect plan of Redemption! What about your loved ones that died without believing? Let me assure you, that God's love does not end when their life or your life ends! God is responsible for your birth, and your death, and every moment in between, and before and after! God reconciles ALL creation unto Himself!! Isn't THAT Good News??
What about the Muslim? God reconciles All creation unto Himself! What about the uncivilized natives? God reconciles All creation unto Himself! What about Hitler? God reconciles All creation unto Himself! If God cannot or does not reconcile even one person He has created, He is not God!
If God failed in the Garden of Eden, He also failed in the Garden of Gethsemane! No wonder the world has such a poor view of the Christian God, because Christians have presented such a poor view of God to the world! It is time to mature, and grow beyond a Kindergarten mentality of Eden, and to mature and grow beyond The KinderGarden of Gethsemane!
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
The KinderGarden of Eden
As I was listening to a talk radio station today, there was a guest who had written a political book called "The KinderGarden of Eden" The title of which struck me rather funny, and I immediately began to think of the Garden of Eden from Scripture of course, and then I thought that same title would make an interesting title for a post, so here we are.
Kindergarden brings to mind something of a very basic level of learning. It is the first step in our education process, learning the very fundamentals from which most every thing we will learn after that comes from. The idea that kindergarden, and Eden are put together in this title brings to mind the thought that it describes those Christians that have the most basic fundamental understanding of the beginnings of Genesis. And while we would consider it very strange to see an adult sitting in a kindergarden class room, we think nothing of those who have been Christians for many many years with the same kindergarden mentality about what the story of the Garden of Eden is really all about!
I am convinced that if we get it wrong with what Genesis, and the Garden of Eden is all about, then we will have an almost impossible time with getting any other part of our theology right until we go beyond such a kindergarten mentality.
If you are like me and most Christians, you would have been taught that God created Adam in a garden out of the dust of the ground, and then He took a rib from his side, and made Eve. Then the two of them romped about naked in the garden until Eve was tempted by a talking snake, to eat an apple from a tree that God told them not to eat, and then Eve gave it for Adam to eat as well. God found out, and was very mad, and kicked them out of the garden, and made them toil and sweat in the wilderness. And now we have to live a hard life and risk the possibility of going to hell as punishment because of it; unless we believe in Jesus and then we can go to heaven when we die. Sound familiar?
So then, lets get this straight. God puts a tree in the middle of the Garden, and tells Adam not to eat from that tree, or there are fatal consequences, in order to test Adam's love for God right? Supposedly God gave Adam a "free will" to choose to obey. But, since God is all knowing, then He must have know that Adam would disobey before He created him of course. Since that is true, then what kind of God is it who would do such a thing? He builds a perfect Garden Paradise, He puts man in it to enjoy, then He puts a deadly toxic tree right in the middle, and makes sure that it is desirous; like chocolate cake to a weight watchers client. Then He tells the man not to eat it, knowing full well that he is going to eat it anyway, all to "test" his love and then we blame Adam? How do you think you would fair with such a test?
Would you do such a thing to your children? Put them in a room filled with toys to play with, but then put the most tempting toy right in front of them; which you have poisioned; and then tell them not to play with that toy; and then walk out of the room to see if they would obey you out of love? Of course not! You would do everything you could to protect them with your life! Yet, we accuse God of such a heinous act! Not only that, but that He knew the end result before He began, and did it anyway! Is this making you feel all lovey and worshipful of God yet?
No wonder we have such a screwed up theology about God! I did not realize how screwed up it was until a number of years ago, I heard a sermon about the plan and purpose of God, that completely changed my whole Christian understanding and walk! And believe me when I tell you, that when your understanding is changed, your walk will change right along with it! It has to change since we act according to what we believe, not what we say.
There is so much truth to uncover in just the first few chapters of Genesis it is impossible to do any indepth study in a blog post, so I encourage you to question the things you were told with a kindergarten mentality about what really was going on between God and man in the Garden of Eden. Consider the possiblity that God really does have a plan, and that such a plan was not thwarted whatsoever in the Garden, but rather carried out perfectly in every detail!
I covered some of these points in earlier posts, but let me start the ball rolling with a couple of points here. I believe that when God said, "Let us make man in our image and after our likeness" that the man He was talking about was NOT Adam! He was talking about the New Creation Man! You see, the whole story in the Garden is not a patching up of mistakes, using the death of Jesus as plan B. The fact is that Adam had to fall. God set him up to fall. and when it was done, there are a couple verses that show the plan is in motion. Gen 3:22 "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:" Well, isn't that what God wanted for man to become made in His image and likeness? Well, this was only step one in the process. Don't worry, God knows what He is doing, and He has everything under control. As a matter of fact He goes on to promise this will all work out when he says "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years." Gen.6:3 The strife will end, and creation shall be restored!
In fact, He does not lose even one of His creation as we find out more details in the New Testament! The death of Jesus ends the Adamic race, and begins a whole New Creation of beings! We are all Spiritual beings on this human journey! (say, what a neat title for a blog:-)) The fact is that each one of us is at a different point in this journey, with a specific detailed plan designed by our creator Himself, to bring us to a place where these momentary troubles will not be worthy to compare with the Glory that shall be revealed in us!
We are training for reigning, and there is much more to learn. Lets start with a better understanding of God's purpose, and not falsely accuse Him of failure. He did not fail, it is us who failed to grow up and graduate from The KinderGarden of Eden
Kindergarden brings to mind something of a very basic level of learning. It is the first step in our education process, learning the very fundamentals from which most every thing we will learn after that comes from. The idea that kindergarden, and Eden are put together in this title brings to mind the thought that it describes those Christians that have the most basic fundamental understanding of the beginnings of Genesis. And while we would consider it very strange to see an adult sitting in a kindergarden class room, we think nothing of those who have been Christians for many many years with the same kindergarden mentality about what the story of the Garden of Eden is really all about!
I am convinced that if we get it wrong with what Genesis, and the Garden of Eden is all about, then we will have an almost impossible time with getting any other part of our theology right until we go beyond such a kindergarten mentality.
If you are like me and most Christians, you would have been taught that God created Adam in a garden out of the dust of the ground, and then He took a rib from his side, and made Eve. Then the two of them romped about naked in the garden until Eve was tempted by a talking snake, to eat an apple from a tree that God told them not to eat, and then Eve gave it for Adam to eat as well. God found out, and was very mad, and kicked them out of the garden, and made them toil and sweat in the wilderness. And now we have to live a hard life and risk the possibility of going to hell as punishment because of it; unless we believe in Jesus and then we can go to heaven when we die. Sound familiar?
So then, lets get this straight. God puts a tree in the middle of the Garden, and tells Adam not to eat from that tree, or there are fatal consequences, in order to test Adam's love for God right? Supposedly God gave Adam a "free will" to choose to obey. But, since God is all knowing, then He must have know that Adam would disobey before He created him of course. Since that is true, then what kind of God is it who would do such a thing? He builds a perfect Garden Paradise, He puts man in it to enjoy, then He puts a deadly toxic tree right in the middle, and makes sure that it is desirous; like chocolate cake to a weight watchers client. Then He tells the man not to eat it, knowing full well that he is going to eat it anyway, all to "test" his love and then we blame Adam? How do you think you would fair with such a test?
Would you do such a thing to your children? Put them in a room filled with toys to play with, but then put the most tempting toy right in front of them; which you have poisioned; and then tell them not to play with that toy; and then walk out of the room to see if they would obey you out of love? Of course not! You would do everything you could to protect them with your life! Yet, we accuse God of such a heinous act! Not only that, but that He knew the end result before He began, and did it anyway! Is this making you feel all lovey and worshipful of God yet?
No wonder we have such a screwed up theology about God! I did not realize how screwed up it was until a number of years ago, I heard a sermon about the plan and purpose of God, that completely changed my whole Christian understanding and walk! And believe me when I tell you, that when your understanding is changed, your walk will change right along with it! It has to change since we act according to what we believe, not what we say.
There is so much truth to uncover in just the first few chapters of Genesis it is impossible to do any indepth study in a blog post, so I encourage you to question the things you were told with a kindergarten mentality about what really was going on between God and man in the Garden of Eden. Consider the possiblity that God really does have a plan, and that such a plan was not thwarted whatsoever in the Garden, but rather carried out perfectly in every detail!
I covered some of these points in earlier posts, but let me start the ball rolling with a couple of points here. I believe that when God said, "Let us make man in our image and after our likeness" that the man He was talking about was NOT Adam! He was talking about the New Creation Man! You see, the whole story in the Garden is not a patching up of mistakes, using the death of Jesus as plan B. The fact is that Adam had to fall. God set him up to fall. and when it was done, there are a couple verses that show the plan is in motion. Gen 3:22 "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:" Well, isn't that what God wanted for man to become made in His image and likeness? Well, this was only step one in the process. Don't worry, God knows what He is doing, and He has everything under control. As a matter of fact He goes on to promise this will all work out when he says "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years." Gen.6:3 The strife will end, and creation shall be restored!
In fact, He does not lose even one of His creation as we find out more details in the New Testament! The death of Jesus ends the Adamic race, and begins a whole New Creation of beings! We are all Spiritual beings on this human journey! (say, what a neat title for a blog:-)) The fact is that each one of us is at a different point in this journey, with a specific detailed plan designed by our creator Himself, to bring us to a place where these momentary troubles will not be worthy to compare with the Glory that shall be revealed in us!
We are training for reigning, and there is much more to learn. Lets start with a better understanding of God's purpose, and not falsely accuse Him of failure. He did not fail, it is us who failed to grow up and graduate from The KinderGarden of Eden
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Conflicting Evidence
For those of you who have been following my blog posts, you already know that I am a licensed sport pilot. A sport pilot is sort of a step below a private pilot, in that there are certain limitations with the gross weight and performance of the airplane, and some limits to the airspace I can fly in; also I can only carry one passenger. Anyway, my reason for bringing this up is to explain why I was reading a recent flying magazine article which caught my attention; and how the factors presented in an article related in my mind to a spiritual application, which I thought I would share in this post.
A brief synopsis of the article is about an accident that took place in Alaska with a high time experienced pilot who was familiar with the area he was flying. He had flown the route many times before, and on this particular day, he mistakenly entered the wrong destination into two GPS tracking devices in his plane. Not knowing this, he followed the GPS route at an altitude which was safe enough for his intended destination, but not so for the route he was mistakenly taking. The weather was obscured, and he crashed his plane into the side of a mountain that would not have been there if he was on the right course.
The writer of the article warns that pilots must maintain "situational awareness, unfortunately you can be highly aware of your situation,...and yet be operating in some mistaken conception about what that situation actually is." He goes on to say (and the point that I want to emphasise is) : "Something built into our brains inclines us to ignore evidence that conflicts with expectation." This truism was evident in this pilot's accident, and it also applies to many other areas of our lives, including that which is spiritual.
We all have an expectation of believing the truth, and once we are convinced of that, we are prime candidates to ignore conflicting evidence to what we believe. An atheist believes that there is no God. He expects that he or she is right in that belief. Therefore, any contrary evidence that conflicts with what he believes will be ignored. It is possible to "win the argument" with enough facts to contradict their belief, and to show them they are wrong beyond reason, and yet they still will ignore those facts to continue in their belief or unbelief so to speak. Another way of saying the same basic idea is the axiom, "A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still."
Such a thing will continue until God intervenes with a revelation of Himself! And it must be so! To become a believer in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is a spiritual accomplishment! One is not to be convinced by reason, for if someone convinces you to believe with reasoning words , then someone else with more eloquent reasoning words can convince you otherwise!
Of course words are often what is used to convey the truth, whether written such as this or spoken, such as preaching or witnessing. "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. I Cor. 1:21 So we see that it is always the Spirit of God acting in concert with the words being spoken. However we must understand that it is not the natural man that is being acted upon, nor convinced of Truth, but rather the seed of God is being germinated within, thus the "born again" or "born from above" experience.
"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." I Cor. 2:14
I am always in wondrous awe at the creative ways in which God will act upon a person to reveal the truth of Himself to them. One such story that I want to share came to my attention in a newspaper interview of a Dr. Eben Alexander who wrote a best selling book called "A Proof of Heaven; A Neurosurgeon's Jouney into the Afterlife."
He describes that while doctors will sometimes explain near death experiences (NDE) as an experience of a dying brain, in his case his brain for all intents and purposes was completely dead! He describes his NDE experience, with more spiritual truth than I have heard from many Christians. Perhaps because most Christians relate what they have been told rather than experienced for themselves.
One part stands out to me in particular where he says he "now believes the brain is similar to a reducing valve that dumbs down consciousness to what we need to function in the here and now. And that when the valve is removed by death, our consciousness is freed to expand to its full capacity." I suggest that what he calls a reducing valve might be better termed the Adamic man.
The article continues to say that "his NDE has changed everything about him. He now sees everyone as eternal spiritual beings who are in their present forms only for this act of an incredible play... I now see the hardships, difficulties and hurdles in life... as opportunities for growth,... and that has everything to do with our purpose for being here."
While I do not agree with some of the conclusions he comes to, I think that some of it is a result of his trying to make sense of the reasoning for what he experienced, not from the experience itself. In other words, he believes "the evil in the world is necessary in order for humans to have free will." I think that is a conclusion he formed based on his experience, not something that was explained to him during his experience. I am convinced that we do not have free will. And for more of an explanation on that, you can read earlier posts.
Anyway, this doctor, like all of us have a tendency to ignore evidence that conflicts with expectation. As a medical doctor, he could explain away many of the NDE of other people, and until his own experience that went beyond any medical explanation. Funny thing is that even the truth of this doctor's experience is not enough for most people to resist ignoring the evidence that conflicts with their own expectation of truth which they have come to believe.
The great part of our dealing with an Infinite and Sovereign, Loving and Merciful God is that our experience with having a born again spiritual relationship with Him, far exceeds any conflicting reasonable explanations or other so called contrary- Conflicting Evidence!
A brief synopsis of the article is about an accident that took place in Alaska with a high time experienced pilot who was familiar with the area he was flying. He had flown the route many times before, and on this particular day, he mistakenly entered the wrong destination into two GPS tracking devices in his plane. Not knowing this, he followed the GPS route at an altitude which was safe enough for his intended destination, but not so for the route he was mistakenly taking. The weather was obscured, and he crashed his plane into the side of a mountain that would not have been there if he was on the right course.
The writer of the article warns that pilots must maintain "situational awareness, unfortunately you can be highly aware of your situation,...and yet be operating in some mistaken conception about what that situation actually is." He goes on to say (and the point that I want to emphasise is) : "Something built into our brains inclines us to ignore evidence that conflicts with expectation." This truism was evident in this pilot's accident, and it also applies to many other areas of our lives, including that which is spiritual.
We all have an expectation of believing the truth, and once we are convinced of that, we are prime candidates to ignore conflicting evidence to what we believe. An atheist believes that there is no God. He expects that he or she is right in that belief. Therefore, any contrary evidence that conflicts with what he believes will be ignored. It is possible to "win the argument" with enough facts to contradict their belief, and to show them they are wrong beyond reason, and yet they still will ignore those facts to continue in their belief or unbelief so to speak. Another way of saying the same basic idea is the axiom, "A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still."
Such a thing will continue until God intervenes with a revelation of Himself! And it must be so! To become a believer in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is a spiritual accomplishment! One is not to be convinced by reason, for if someone convinces you to believe with reasoning words , then someone else with more eloquent reasoning words can convince you otherwise!
Of course words are often what is used to convey the truth, whether written such as this or spoken, such as preaching or witnessing. "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. I Cor. 1:21 So we see that it is always the Spirit of God acting in concert with the words being spoken. However we must understand that it is not the natural man that is being acted upon, nor convinced of Truth, but rather the seed of God is being germinated within, thus the "born again" or "born from above" experience.
"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." I Cor. 2:14
I am always in wondrous awe at the creative ways in which God will act upon a person to reveal the truth of Himself to them. One such story that I want to share came to my attention in a newspaper interview of a Dr. Eben Alexander who wrote a best selling book called "A Proof of Heaven; A Neurosurgeon's Jouney into the Afterlife."
He describes that while doctors will sometimes explain near death experiences (NDE) as an experience of a dying brain, in his case his brain for all intents and purposes was completely dead! He describes his NDE experience, with more spiritual truth than I have heard from many Christians. Perhaps because most Christians relate what they have been told rather than experienced for themselves.
One part stands out to me in particular where he says he "now believes the brain is similar to a reducing valve that dumbs down consciousness to what we need to function in the here and now. And that when the valve is removed by death, our consciousness is freed to expand to its full capacity." I suggest that what he calls a reducing valve might be better termed the Adamic man.
The article continues to say that "his NDE has changed everything about him. He now sees everyone as eternal spiritual beings who are in their present forms only for this act of an incredible play... I now see the hardships, difficulties and hurdles in life... as opportunities for growth,... and that has everything to do with our purpose for being here."
While I do not agree with some of the conclusions he comes to, I think that some of it is a result of his trying to make sense of the reasoning for what he experienced, not from the experience itself. In other words, he believes "the evil in the world is necessary in order for humans to have free will." I think that is a conclusion he formed based on his experience, not something that was explained to him during his experience. I am convinced that we do not have free will. And for more of an explanation on that, you can read earlier posts.
Anyway, this doctor, like all of us have a tendency to ignore evidence that conflicts with expectation. As a medical doctor, he could explain away many of the NDE of other people, and until his own experience that went beyond any medical explanation. Funny thing is that even the truth of this doctor's experience is not enough for most people to resist ignoring the evidence that conflicts with their own expectation of truth which they have come to believe.
The great part of our dealing with an Infinite and Sovereign, Loving and Merciful God is that our experience with having a born again spiritual relationship with Him, far exceeds any conflicting reasonable explanations or other so called contrary- Conflicting Evidence!
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