No one is without sin. We all have failed, and will continue to fail, while trying to do God’s work of profiting his kingdom. Some of these failings seem to be minor instances that appear to have little impact upon others or ourselves while others often create a ripple effect that impact many people in many different negative ways. Regardless of the “severity” of the sin it still is sin if it does not profit God. But the good news is that, as Christians, we have accepted Christ our Lord as our Savior and Redeemer of our sins and, as long as we ask for forgiveness Jesus Christ will forgive us, right? Well, sort of.
John 3:16 -- ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
Yes, it is true that, as Christians, our sins are forgiven when we humbly bring them to the cross and ask for forgiveness. However, there seems to be a catch. We must bring our sins to the cross as “Christians” living a “Christian Life” and profiting God’s kingdom. So what if we are falling short of living a Christian Life. Well, maybe we won’t be forgiven, particularly if we are falling short in the forgiveness department ourselves.
My Trespasses Against Others
I know that I have done some major trespassing against others during my life that has caused many people much grief, pain, and suffering. My intent was never to do so, but because of my selfish, earthly life style I was blinded to the effects my actions would ultimately have. And still it seems that each day I say something hurtful or do something that I ought not do that has a negative impact on someone at that moment. These usually have a minor impact; yet, it is a trespass that fails to profit God’s kingdom. I can only pray that those people who I have trespassed against can find it in their hearts to forgive me. I can ask for their forgiveness, but it is their decision to make. I have no power as to whether or not they forgive me. What I do have power over is whether or not I can find it in my heart to forgive those people who have trespassed against me.
Others’ Trespasses Against Me
I tend to let little things bounce off of me. Maybe it’s because I’m a private kind of person, maybe it’s because I always try to avoid confrontation, or maybe it’s because I’m simply insensitive. Whatever the reasons, little trespasses against me affect me for a very short period of time (moments, minutes) and then I forget them. I don’t know if this is good or bad. I would like to think that this happens because I can understand what led to the trespass and “forgive and forget” quite easily. Yet, there has been what I consider to be some major trespasses against me from others that, in one way or another, have affected my life in a not so pleasant way. Some of these are decades old. There aren’t many of them, just a few, but I can recall each one and lament over the impact they have had on my life since they occurred. I carried a grudge with me over each one. These people remained unforgiven.
Forgiving Those Who Trespass Against Us
Since I was diagnosed with my cancer I began to turn my studies toward salvation and earning eternal life in Heaven with God. As you might expect, my first “action” was to rush to our Lord Jesus Christ and beg for forgiveness of all of my sins and trespasses. I tried to recount them all. Impossible. But those I could recall I lay at His feet and prayed. I thought all was well. I believed that the slate was cleaned and that I could start living a Christian life with no record of my offences. Since that time, after more study, I know I was wrong. The record still existed.
I am sure you are familiar with the phrase, “Don’t ask anyone to do anything you are not willing to do yourself.” Well, that is exactly what I had done. I asked the Lord Jesus Christ (of all people) to forgive me, while at the same time I could not find it within myself to forgive those few who had trespassed against me. Man, how self-centered, self-absorbed, and self-righteous could I have been to do that! Yet, I had done it. Not really understanding what a hypocrite I was and not realizing that perhaps I was not the Christian I thought I was. What is really ironic is that the first standard prayer that I learned as a small child over half a century ago contains the explicit command to forgive others. You know the prayer. “The Lord’s Prayer.”
Matthew 6:12 -- And forgive us our debts (trespasses), as we also have forgiven our debtors (those who trespass against us).
Jesus is really serious about this one. He gave us this prayer Himself when asked by His Disciples how they should pray to the Father. They are the words of Jesus. I think I had better pay attention to them. Here are a few more of the words of Jesus.
After giving his disciples this entire Lord’s Prayer he went on to say:
Matthew 6:14-15 -- For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
The Disciple Peter, always the one to “push” Jesus a bit, then asked a question and Jesus responded:
Matthew 18:21-22 -- Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church* sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven* times.
Luke, in his Testament, quotes Jesus as saying:
Luke 6:37-38 -- ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you...
Forgive Then Ask for Forgiveness
So there it is. It’s pretty clear. If we expect forgiveness for our sins and trespasses we must first forgive those who have sinned or trespassed against us. You can bet I have now. I no longer carry that grudge against those few who have, in my opinion, done some major trespassing against me. I have forgiven them (and I feel much better for it). No, I haven’t told them. What’s really funny is that they likely wouldn’t know what I was talking about anyway. Once I had forgiven these folks I returned to Jesus and humbling asked once again for his forgiveness of my sins. I pray that my record is now clean.
.
May 31, 2010
God’s Laws, Sin, and the Consequences of Sin
I have struggled for some time with the whole notion of being deemed worthy of heaven by my works on earth (my behavior, what I do and don’t do, how much I help other people, etc.) versus simply accepting Christ as my Savior. It is pretty clear in the bible that, in order to inherit God’s Heavenly Kingdom, the only thing we needed to do is accept Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. Yet, there is so much in the Bible that focuses on behavior and laws and commandments. I had a tough time separating the two paths. I think I finally understand and would like to share my thoughts with you.
As I look back over my life I am shamed by some of the acts I have committed. I cannot believe the things that I had done or said or tolerated. My heart was hardened and I was living the life of the flesh rather than a spiritual, Godly life. I was living for me, not for God. I wanted it all. I wanted wealth and recognition. The only thing that mattered to me was personal happiness. Thankfully, God softened my heart and I let Him in. My perspective on life began to change and, as a result, I changed. I know that since I now have accepted Christ as my savior and that He was sacrificed for my sins they have been forgiven. There is no record of the man I was in God’s book. Thank you Lord for softening my heart and giving us your Son as our redeemer.
John 3:16 -- ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.’
1 Timothy 1:14-17 -- The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever.* Amen.
So what about sin? What is sin? How do we know that a sin is a sin? If we don’t know something is a sin and we do it is it really a sin? If we sin and know we sin does God punish us for our sin and, if so, how? (For as horrible a man I was, and sometimes still am, a lightning bolt has never been sent down by God to strike me.)
The Ten Commandments and the New Testament Covenant
Every one of us who has ever spent any amount of time in a Christian church are aware of the Ten Commandments handed down to Moses by God (Exodus 20). We may not be able to recite all ten from memory but we know what they are and we know when we break them and, if we have a Christian conscious (or for that matter, any moral conscious), we consider that breaking of the commandment to be a sin. We are all most likely familiar with the New Testament Covenant to love your God with all your heart and soul and to love thy neighbor as yourself.
Matthew 22:37-39 -- “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” and “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
So is that it? The “Big Ten” with the new one thrown in for good measure? If we obey these are we assured a place in heaven? The answer is no. Simply obeying the Ten Commandments and the New Testament Covenant will not in itself assure eternal life. Oh yes, disobeying them is a sin for which we should ask our Lord and Savior for forgiveness, but simple compliance to them is meaningless without the grace you receive by your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is, simply living by a set of rules isn’t going to get it. We must embrace these rules not as just rules but rather as instructions from God to use to guide us in living a righteous life. The real issue is not are we following a set of rules, but are we living according to the flesh, focused upon earthly things, or are we living our lives according to the Spirit, focused upon doing God’s work? If we are living according to the Spirit we view these rules as commandments from God and, since we strive to do God’s work, we eagerly strive to obey them.
Romans 1:16-17 -- For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’*
Romans 8:5-11 -- For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit* set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
613 Laws
The Ten Commandments plus the New Testament Covenant are only the well-known laws. Actually, there are 613 laws of God provided to us in the Bible. (No, I didn’t count them. Once again the Internet is a marvelous resource.) It’s sort of fun to take a look at them. Here are a few examples.
To be fit for consumption, clean animals must be slaughtered. (Do not eat what dies of itself or is killed by wild beasts.) (Deuteronomy 12:21)
When we give testimony in a lawsuit, we must speak the truth. (Exodus 23:2)
Build a guard rail around a roof (if it is flat and used as living space), and remove potential hazards from the home. (Deuteronomy 22:8)
Pay the hired worker his wages on time. (Deuteronomy 24:15)
Help a stranger who has a fallen animal. (Exodus 23:5)
A woman's father may utterly refuse to give his daughter to a man even though he pays the bride price. (Exodus 22:16-17)
Monetary restitution must be paid in cases involving bodily damage. (Deuteronomy 25:11-12) (Exodus 21:18-25)
Do not follow teachings other than the Law of Yahweh taught by the sanctuary of Yahweh. (Numbers 15:39)
Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it; neither eat any meat not fully cooked. Only when meat is cooked until it is white inside with no tinge of red or pink whatsoever insures that all blood had been removed. (Deuteronomy 12:23)
Do not judge a matter until it has been fully investigated. (Deuteronomy 19:18)
The camp of Yahweh must be equipped with the necessary implements to keep it in a sanitary condition, and each must do his part. (Deuteronomy 23:12-14)
Drunkenness of any sort is prohibited. (Deuteronomy 21:20)
And believe me, there are hundreds more just like these. Notice the common thread? Yep, they sound more like instructions than laws. What is really interesting is that most of them have, since they were written, been adopted 3,500 years later as common knowledge in our current day through experience as necessary in order to maintain a clean, wholesome life style and an organized, well functioning society. “Do not eat what dies of itself or is killed by wild beasts.” “Remove potential hazards from the home.” “Keep the camp in a sanitary condition.” Well duh. We all know this stuff. So is it a sin to eat a dead skunk that’s been lying on the road for three days in the hot sun. I don’t know, maybe. I’m not going to do it. What are the consequences of eating it? You will get sick, of course. So why are these common knowledge “instructions” in the Bible? We have to remember that God provided most of these laws around 1500 B.C. after the Israelites fled Egypt and while they were wandering around in the desert preparing to enter the Promised Land. These folks had been slaves in Egypt their entire lives and did not have a clue what it meant to be free, let alone how to go about establishing their own civilized culture that will allow them to flourish. They needed to be taught so God provided them with the instructions and called them laws so they would be obeyed. God is good.
Punishment
Many of the laws/instructions deal with moral issues or behavioral matters. “Pay a hired worker his wages on time.” “Help a stranger who has a fallen animal.” “Do not judge a matter until it has been fully investigated.” These laws/instructions are a little easier to break than not eating road kill. Have I always helped a stranger who needed help or have I always waited to judge someone or something until all the facts are available? I am ashamed to say no, not always. So the laws/instructions are not all common sense things that we all know intuitively to do or not to do. Many of them are just so easy to ignore when it is convenient to ignore them or when it is to our benefit to ignore them. (“I could have stopped to help him but I really wanted to get there before the movie started.”) So is it a sin to break these laws? I don’t know, maybe. Am I doing God’s work by driving by the stranger who needs help because I have something else I would rather be doing? No. (Wow, just thinking about the number of times I have driven by someone broken down along the side of the road assuming that they can take care of themselves makes me shudder.) Will God punish me for ignoring this law/instruction? No, I don’t believe God will punish me. But I do believe that life will.
Consider the law/instruction “Drunkenness of any sort is prohibited.” Why should this be prohibited? Well, drunken people do stupid things that can be harmful to themselves or others. Suppose I decide that having those couple extra drinks at the party won’t really affect my ability to drive home after the party. I have them and, on the way home, I run off the road, hit a tree, and, as a result, become crippled from the waist down. Is this God’s punishment for breaking the law/instruction? No. I don’t think so. It is the consequence for breaking the law/instruction that punishes me. I would live with my crippled condition the rest of my life. God didn’t have to do a thing to punish me. I did it to myself by breaking his law/instruction.
Consider this, given to the Israelites by God prior to entering the Promised Land:
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 -- If you will only obey the Lord your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth; all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God.
What God is telling His people is that, as long as the Israelite nation obeys His laws/instructions, all of the blessing they need to thrive will overtake them. I think the word “overtake” is important here. To me it implies that, with adherence to the laws/instructions, over time good things will happen. There is no immediate reward, but if you are living a righteous life then life itself will reward you. Likewise, the consequences of breaking the laws/instructions and not living a righteous life shall overtake you. You will have to live with the consequences of your behavior and life itself will punish you. Again, God doesn’t have to do a thing. You did it to yourself.
So, is it sinful to break one of the 613 laws/instructions? I don’t know, but by breaking them I am punished. Is it God who is punishing me? Wow! I just had a thought that contradicts what I wrote earlier. I was about to write, “No, God does not punish me but life will. The consequences of breaking them are what punish me.” But I just realized that God, in his infinite wisdom, created the system so maybe He is punishing me after all. (I’ll have to think about that one.)
Countless Instructions
One Internet source indicates there are 66 Books, 1,189 Chapters, 31,173 Verses, and 807,361 words in the Bible. (Each source varies the numbers a bit but the order of magnitude is the same, regardless of the Bible version used.) Beyond the 613 Laws provided in the Bible there are countless instructions, tips and hints on living a righteous life contained in all of these chapters, verses and words. Go to any chapter and you will likely find instructions from God. That’s a lot of stuff. These countless instructions are given to us as a guide to doing God’s work here on Earth. They are given to us so that we can profit God’s Kingdom and, as Christians, that is (or should be) what we strive to do.
The book of Proverbs overflows with instructions on living a righteous life and profiting God’s Kingdom. Some of my favorites are:
Proverbs 3:5-8 -- Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body.
Proverbs 3:11-12 -- My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves the one he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
Proverbs 15:1 -- A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 18:2 -- A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing personal opinion.
I find it comforting to browse Proverbs and I often do during my study. I seem to always find something there that, because of what happened that particular day or what my thoughts had recently been, has meaning to me and, very often, reminds me that I really should have done this or said that rather than what I did do or say. God has given us these instructions to help us live a righteous life and profit His Kingdom. It would be foolish not to pay attention to them.
So, in order to live a righteous life and profit God’s Kingdom and have good things overtake me I must follow, to the best of my ability, the laws/instructions God has given us in the Bible. But there are probably thousands of them! Yes. Impossible for a mere mortal to do! Yes, but, as Christians we are called to profit God’s Kingdom so we must strive to do so. But there are so many laws/instructions, how in the world are we supposed to know them all? STUDY THE BIBLE. They are all there, in one book, provided by God. Think about all of the books on self-help, on how to improve this or that in your life, on how to make you happier than you currently are or how to make you popular or more satisfied with you life. Yet, one book, the Bible, contains it all. It can be thought of as “Life’s Users Manual”.
Once I realized what all of these laws really were and began to become familiar with them through study (and I still have a lot to learn) I discovered something really neat. The Holy Spirit could now do its work. In an earlier rambling I wrote about how the Holy Spirit both convicts (corrects) and comforts me. Since I am beginning to learn what I should be doing and how I should behave in order to do God’s work the Holy Spirit can correct me by smacking me across the back of my hard head when I step out of line. Yes, the more I learn the more I get smacked but I welcome the correction. The bottom line: If our work does not profit God’s Kingdom, further our faith, strengthen a brother, or provide a testimony to the world then it is not something we should be doing in the first place. (I shamelessly stole this last sentence from someone on the Internet. I don’t think he or she will mind.) If we are doing something that we ought not be doing we should be corrected. “Thank you Lord for giving us instruction and the Holy Spirit to guide us.”
Psalm 119:97-105 -- Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on our statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
Eternal Life
Okay. So does all this mean that, as long as I try, to the best of my ability, to follow all of God’s countless instructions I will be judged worthy at the Great White Throne Judgment to enter God’s heavenly kingdom? No. As Christians we strive to live a righteous life because that is what God has instructed us to do. But simply following these laws, that is, doing the work that God has called us to do, will not deem us worthy. What God wants from us is a personal relationship with Him. He wants us to understand and know Him.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 --- Thus says the LORD: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the LORD.
We will always fall short of adhering to all of the laws. Every day I can look back and spot more than one occasion where the Holy Spirit smacked my head (often more than once for the same offence). God wants us to place him in our hearts so the Holy Spirit can do its work. God asks that we accept his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as our Savior and Redeemer and that through His grace we are saved through that faith, that our sins will be forgiven and then, and only then, will we inherit a place in God’s Heavenly Kingdom. God tells us in the Bible that the rewards we receive in Heaven will depend upon our work here on earth, but those works have no influence upon being deemed worthy of heaven.
Galatians 2:21 -- I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
Galatians 5:19-26 – The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Ephesians 2:8-10 -- For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
Ephesians 4:22-24 -- You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 6:10-17 -- Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Lord, thank You for softening my heart and letting You in and thank You Lord for giving me the Holy Spirit to correct me when it is so often needed.
.
As I look back over my life I am shamed by some of the acts I have committed. I cannot believe the things that I had done or said or tolerated. My heart was hardened and I was living the life of the flesh rather than a spiritual, Godly life. I was living for me, not for God. I wanted it all. I wanted wealth and recognition. The only thing that mattered to me was personal happiness. Thankfully, God softened my heart and I let Him in. My perspective on life began to change and, as a result, I changed. I know that since I now have accepted Christ as my savior and that He was sacrificed for my sins they have been forgiven. There is no record of the man I was in God’s book. Thank you Lord for softening my heart and giving us your Son as our redeemer.
John 3:16 -- ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.’
1 Timothy 1:14-17 -- The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever.* Amen.
So what about sin? What is sin? How do we know that a sin is a sin? If we don’t know something is a sin and we do it is it really a sin? If we sin and know we sin does God punish us for our sin and, if so, how? (For as horrible a man I was, and sometimes still am, a lightning bolt has never been sent down by God to strike me.)
The Ten Commandments and the New Testament Covenant
Every one of us who has ever spent any amount of time in a Christian church are aware of the Ten Commandments handed down to Moses by God (Exodus 20). We may not be able to recite all ten from memory but we know what they are and we know when we break them and, if we have a Christian conscious (or for that matter, any moral conscious), we consider that breaking of the commandment to be a sin. We are all most likely familiar with the New Testament Covenant to love your God with all your heart and soul and to love thy neighbor as yourself.
Matthew 22:37-39 -- “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” and “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
So is that it? The “Big Ten” with the new one thrown in for good measure? If we obey these are we assured a place in heaven? The answer is no. Simply obeying the Ten Commandments and the New Testament Covenant will not in itself assure eternal life. Oh yes, disobeying them is a sin for which we should ask our Lord and Savior for forgiveness, but simple compliance to them is meaningless without the grace you receive by your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is, simply living by a set of rules isn’t going to get it. We must embrace these rules not as just rules but rather as instructions from God to use to guide us in living a righteous life. The real issue is not are we following a set of rules, but are we living according to the flesh, focused upon earthly things, or are we living our lives according to the Spirit, focused upon doing God’s work? If we are living according to the Spirit we view these rules as commandments from God and, since we strive to do God’s work, we eagerly strive to obey them.
Romans 1:16-17 -- For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’*
Romans 8:5-11 -- For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit* set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
613 Laws
The Ten Commandments plus the New Testament Covenant are only the well-known laws. Actually, there are 613 laws of God provided to us in the Bible. (No, I didn’t count them. Once again the Internet is a marvelous resource.) It’s sort of fun to take a look at them. Here are a few examples.
To be fit for consumption, clean animals must be slaughtered. (Do not eat what dies of itself or is killed by wild beasts.) (Deuteronomy 12:21)
When we give testimony in a lawsuit, we must speak the truth. (Exodus 23:2)
Build a guard rail around a roof (if it is flat and used as living space), and remove potential hazards from the home. (Deuteronomy 22:8)
Pay the hired worker his wages on time. (Deuteronomy 24:15)
Help a stranger who has a fallen animal. (Exodus 23:5)
A woman's father may utterly refuse to give his daughter to a man even though he pays the bride price. (Exodus 22:16-17)
Monetary restitution must be paid in cases involving bodily damage. (Deuteronomy 25:11-12) (Exodus 21:18-25)
Do not follow teachings other than the Law of Yahweh taught by the sanctuary of Yahweh. (Numbers 15:39)
Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it; neither eat any meat not fully cooked. Only when meat is cooked until it is white inside with no tinge of red or pink whatsoever insures that all blood had been removed. (Deuteronomy 12:23)
Do not judge a matter until it has been fully investigated. (Deuteronomy 19:18)
The camp of Yahweh must be equipped with the necessary implements to keep it in a sanitary condition, and each must do his part. (Deuteronomy 23:12-14)
Drunkenness of any sort is prohibited. (Deuteronomy 21:20)
And believe me, there are hundreds more just like these. Notice the common thread? Yep, they sound more like instructions than laws. What is really interesting is that most of them have, since they were written, been adopted 3,500 years later as common knowledge in our current day through experience as necessary in order to maintain a clean, wholesome life style and an organized, well functioning society. “Do not eat what dies of itself or is killed by wild beasts.” “Remove potential hazards from the home.” “Keep the camp in a sanitary condition.” Well duh. We all know this stuff. So is it a sin to eat a dead skunk that’s been lying on the road for three days in the hot sun. I don’t know, maybe. I’m not going to do it. What are the consequences of eating it? You will get sick, of course. So why are these common knowledge “instructions” in the Bible? We have to remember that God provided most of these laws around 1500 B.C. after the Israelites fled Egypt and while they were wandering around in the desert preparing to enter the Promised Land. These folks had been slaves in Egypt their entire lives and did not have a clue what it meant to be free, let alone how to go about establishing their own civilized culture that will allow them to flourish. They needed to be taught so God provided them with the instructions and called them laws so they would be obeyed. God is good.
Punishment
Many of the laws/instructions deal with moral issues or behavioral matters. “Pay a hired worker his wages on time.” “Help a stranger who has a fallen animal.” “Do not judge a matter until it has been fully investigated.” These laws/instructions are a little easier to break than not eating road kill. Have I always helped a stranger who needed help or have I always waited to judge someone or something until all the facts are available? I am ashamed to say no, not always. So the laws/instructions are not all common sense things that we all know intuitively to do or not to do. Many of them are just so easy to ignore when it is convenient to ignore them or when it is to our benefit to ignore them. (“I could have stopped to help him but I really wanted to get there before the movie started.”) So is it a sin to break these laws? I don’t know, maybe. Am I doing God’s work by driving by the stranger who needs help because I have something else I would rather be doing? No. (Wow, just thinking about the number of times I have driven by someone broken down along the side of the road assuming that they can take care of themselves makes me shudder.) Will God punish me for ignoring this law/instruction? No, I don’t believe God will punish me. But I do believe that life will.
Consider the law/instruction “Drunkenness of any sort is prohibited.” Why should this be prohibited? Well, drunken people do stupid things that can be harmful to themselves or others. Suppose I decide that having those couple extra drinks at the party won’t really affect my ability to drive home after the party. I have them and, on the way home, I run off the road, hit a tree, and, as a result, become crippled from the waist down. Is this God’s punishment for breaking the law/instruction? No. I don’t think so. It is the consequence for breaking the law/instruction that punishes me. I would live with my crippled condition the rest of my life. God didn’t have to do a thing to punish me. I did it to myself by breaking his law/instruction.
Consider this, given to the Israelites by God prior to entering the Promised Land:
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 -- If you will only obey the Lord your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth; all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God.
What God is telling His people is that, as long as the Israelite nation obeys His laws/instructions, all of the blessing they need to thrive will overtake them. I think the word “overtake” is important here. To me it implies that, with adherence to the laws/instructions, over time good things will happen. There is no immediate reward, but if you are living a righteous life then life itself will reward you. Likewise, the consequences of breaking the laws/instructions and not living a righteous life shall overtake you. You will have to live with the consequences of your behavior and life itself will punish you. Again, God doesn’t have to do a thing. You did it to yourself.
So, is it sinful to break one of the 613 laws/instructions? I don’t know, but by breaking them I am punished. Is it God who is punishing me? Wow! I just had a thought that contradicts what I wrote earlier. I was about to write, “No, God does not punish me but life will. The consequences of breaking them are what punish me.” But I just realized that God, in his infinite wisdom, created the system so maybe He is punishing me after all. (I’ll have to think about that one.)
Countless Instructions
One Internet source indicates there are 66 Books, 1,189 Chapters, 31,173 Verses, and 807,361 words in the Bible. (Each source varies the numbers a bit but the order of magnitude is the same, regardless of the Bible version used.) Beyond the 613 Laws provided in the Bible there are countless instructions, tips and hints on living a righteous life contained in all of these chapters, verses and words. Go to any chapter and you will likely find instructions from God. That’s a lot of stuff. These countless instructions are given to us as a guide to doing God’s work here on Earth. They are given to us so that we can profit God’s Kingdom and, as Christians, that is (or should be) what we strive to do.
The book of Proverbs overflows with instructions on living a righteous life and profiting God’s Kingdom. Some of my favorites are:
Proverbs 3:5-8 -- Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body.
Proverbs 3:11-12 -- My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves the one he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
Proverbs 15:1 -- A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 18:2 -- A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing personal opinion.
I find it comforting to browse Proverbs and I often do during my study. I seem to always find something there that, because of what happened that particular day or what my thoughts had recently been, has meaning to me and, very often, reminds me that I really should have done this or said that rather than what I did do or say. God has given us these instructions to help us live a righteous life and profit His Kingdom. It would be foolish not to pay attention to them.
So, in order to live a righteous life and profit God’s Kingdom and have good things overtake me I must follow, to the best of my ability, the laws/instructions God has given us in the Bible. But there are probably thousands of them! Yes. Impossible for a mere mortal to do! Yes, but, as Christians we are called to profit God’s Kingdom so we must strive to do so. But there are so many laws/instructions, how in the world are we supposed to know them all? STUDY THE BIBLE. They are all there, in one book, provided by God. Think about all of the books on self-help, on how to improve this or that in your life, on how to make you happier than you currently are or how to make you popular or more satisfied with you life. Yet, one book, the Bible, contains it all. It can be thought of as “Life’s Users Manual”.
Once I realized what all of these laws really were and began to become familiar with them through study (and I still have a lot to learn) I discovered something really neat. The Holy Spirit could now do its work. In an earlier rambling I wrote about how the Holy Spirit both convicts (corrects) and comforts me. Since I am beginning to learn what I should be doing and how I should behave in order to do God’s work the Holy Spirit can correct me by smacking me across the back of my hard head when I step out of line. Yes, the more I learn the more I get smacked but I welcome the correction. The bottom line: If our work does not profit God’s Kingdom, further our faith, strengthen a brother, or provide a testimony to the world then it is not something we should be doing in the first place. (I shamelessly stole this last sentence from someone on the Internet. I don’t think he or she will mind.) If we are doing something that we ought not be doing we should be corrected. “Thank you Lord for giving us instruction and the Holy Spirit to guide us.”
Psalm 119:97-105 -- Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on our statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
Eternal Life
Okay. So does all this mean that, as long as I try, to the best of my ability, to follow all of God’s countless instructions I will be judged worthy at the Great White Throne Judgment to enter God’s heavenly kingdom? No. As Christians we strive to live a righteous life because that is what God has instructed us to do. But simply following these laws, that is, doing the work that God has called us to do, will not deem us worthy. What God wants from us is a personal relationship with Him. He wants us to understand and know Him.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 --- Thus says the LORD: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the LORD.
We will always fall short of adhering to all of the laws. Every day I can look back and spot more than one occasion where the Holy Spirit smacked my head (often more than once for the same offence). God wants us to place him in our hearts so the Holy Spirit can do its work. God asks that we accept his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as our Savior and Redeemer and that through His grace we are saved through that faith, that our sins will be forgiven and then, and only then, will we inherit a place in God’s Heavenly Kingdom. God tells us in the Bible that the rewards we receive in Heaven will depend upon our work here on earth, but those works have no influence upon being deemed worthy of heaven.
Galatians 2:21 -- I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
Galatians 5:19-26 – The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Ephesians 2:8-10 -- For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
Ephesians 4:22-24 -- You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 6:10-17 -- Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Lord, thank You for softening my heart and letting You in and thank You Lord for giving me the Holy Spirit to correct me when it is so often needed.
.
Death, Resurrection, and Eternal Life
I want to ramble on a bit about what I know about death, resurrection and eternal life. The intent is not to be morbid but rather to be just the opposite; to be joyous about the eternal life promised to us by the Lord our God. Yes, I know that it is easy for the one who is dying to be joyous about eternal life while loved ones left behind are mourning and sorrowful, but I hope that the promise of eternal life with God will provide comfort to those loved ones.
I used the term “what I know” rather than “what I believe”. To me this is an important distinction. “I believe” implies that I have studied, processed the information, and come to some conclusion that feels “comfortable” to me. Almost like some theory that has not been proven but seems to fit the world as I believe it is. (Okay, okay. I’m an engineer, what do you expect? There is little gray in my thinking, I think in black and white.) Since I know that the Bible’s scripture is truly the word of God then I take God’s word from scripture as truth. After all, if God says it is this and that then who in the heck am I to question it. God knows everything, right?
When I first began my Bible studies I focused on understanding who God is, what He thinks, and what He wants from us and for us. Basically, building a relationship with God.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 --- Thus says the LORD: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the LORD.
Once I was diagnosed with cancer my focus shifted a bit. Oh, I still work toward understanding and knowing God, but as you might expect, I began turning my attention to what follows this earthly life, how the transition is made to the spiritual life, and what the spiritual life is like. Maybe I need to back up a bit here. There is a spirit world. In the book of Daniel there is a clear reference to the spirit world and a glimpse of what goes on there. (Daniel 10:1-20) What is revealed to Daniel by the Archangel is not the peace and tranquility of Heaven but rather a reference to the battle between good and evil. Of course, that does not mean that is all that goes on in Heaven, but that is what is revealed in this instance.
Where or how this Spirit world exist along side the Earthly world I have not a clue, but it is there. Somewhere in this Spirit world is what we have traditionally called “Heaven”. God, Jesus, the Archangels and angels exist in this Spirit World (as does Satan and his demon angels). God has crossed over to the Earthly world. Archangels have crossed over to the Earthly world. But Jesus Christ, the only perfect man, is the only person in “uncorrupted” human form to cross over from the Earthly world to the Spirit world, so far.
It seems as though the popular belief is that a person dies and, if found worthy, immediately passes into the spirit world (heaven) where he or she spends eternity with God in a joyous and peaceful existence. Meanwhile, life goes on as normal in the Earthly world with the person who has passed looking down upon the rest of us. Sounds great. But there is nothing in the Bible that suggests this.
Unfortunately, there is not one place in the Bible to go to in order to get a clear understanding of death and resurrection. Verses are scattered around both the Old and New Testament that refer to death and resurrection that beg to be pieced together into one coherent explanation. Fortunately we have the Internet at our disposal where many folks have pieced the thread of verses together for us. I have shamelessly compiled the following versus from others’ labors (thank you for your work).
What God Tells Us About Death, Resurrection and Eternal Life
A Peaceful Sleep, No Sense Of The Passage Of Time
"For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing" (Ecclesiastes 9:5 RSV)
"For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again." (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 RSV)
"Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.... For David did not ascend into the heavens" (Acts 2:29,34 RSV)
"No one has ascended into heaven but He who descended from heaven, the Son of man." (John 3:13 RSV)
The Millennial Kingdom and Later The Resurrection (White Throne Judgment)
"But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:20-23 RSV)
"We shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, ... and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. ... For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
"Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!" (Isaiah 26:19 RSV)
"But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet The Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with The Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 RSV)
"Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years." (Revelation 20:4-6 RSV)
"for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment." (John 5:28-29 RSV)
"And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:2 RSV)
"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it; from His presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and if any one's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:11-15 RSV)
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." (Revelation 21:4)
Okay, let me try to summarize what God is telling us.
We have all experienced deep sleep. Our head hits the pillow and the next thing we know it is morning. It seems like an instant while indeed it was hours. Figuratively, time stopped for a period of time. Those hours of sleep appeared to pass in an instant. So it will be when we die. We will fall into a deep, restful sleep and then awake for the Great White Throne Judgment. Every person since Adam and Eve who have died are right now in a deep sleep, unaware of the passing of time. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, King David, the Apostles, everyone. Suddenly, when the time comes for the White Throne Judgment, they will all awaken without the sense that time has passed. One moment they are alive and the next they are looking Jesus in the eye, being judged as either a sheep (worthy of Heaven), or a goat (not worthy of Heaven). It seems like an instant to them but in fact many years have passed. Pretty neat. I look forward to looking into the face of Christ in what will appear to me to be the instant I die.
What is the Rapture?
There are many Christians who believe that, just before the seven years of Tribulation, all true Christians will be carried off into heaven with God so as not have to experience the agony of the Anti-Christ’s reign on Earth. Those “Left Behind” will, during the Tribulation, be forced to either worship the Anti-Christ or accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Those who make the conversion to Christ during the Tribulation, as well as those Christians already raptured prior to the Tribulation will join Christ during His reign in the Millennial Kingdom. I have searched the Bible looking for God’s word about a rapture and can find nothing that suggests that a rapture will occur. Many Theologians who are much smarter than me conclude that scripture supports a rapture. I find it hard to agree. Maybe, maybe not.
The Millennial Kingdom
The Millennial Kingdom will be really neat. For a thousand years Satan and his demons will be locked up, unable to influence those in the Kingdom, and Christ will reign as King over the earth. It will be a period of peace, harmony, and tranquility. Can you imagine? Think of all of the chaos around the world today. Think of dirty politics, crime, injustice, deceiving, immorality, and wars. These will not exist in Christ’s Kingdom on earth. I would love to live long enough to experience the Tribulation and either survive it or be martyred so that I could experience Christ’s reign on earth for a thousand years. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful time to be alive? Since no one knows when it will occur perhaps I will be able to experience it. Who knows, maybe tomorrow!
White Throne Judgment
At the end of Christ’s Millennial Kingdom Satan and his angels will be let loose for a short period of time during which Armageddon will occur and Christ will defeat Satan once and for all. This is when all of the dead will instantly wake up from their timeless sleep for their final judgment. Jesus will place those who are found worthy of Heaven (the sheep) on His right side and those not found worthy (the goats) on His left. Those found worthy will inherit a place in Heaven.
Matthew 25:”31-34 -- "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”
Oh how I want to be a sheep. I long to look Jesus in the eye while he tells me, “Come Paul, who is blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”
Ongoing prayer: “Please Lord. Help me to live the rest of my life such that you can judge me worthy to join you in Heaven for eternity.”
My Thoughts on Eternal Life with God in Heaven
What is Heaven like? I don’t really know. There is little in the Bible about what eternal live in Heaven is like other than those there spend eternity worshipping God and doing His work. As the popular Christian song by Mercy Me goes, “I can only imagine.” Okay. Here is what I imagine. Think about what really makes you happy. Think about the jobs that you have had or the tasks that you have performed or the recreation you have enjoyed or the relationships that you have had that really brought joy to your life. Now imagine experiencing that level of joy all of the time with no distractions from the toils or disappointments in life. I imagine Heaven to be like that. I imagine that those in Heaven will be busy doing God’s work whatever that may be. Those in Heaven will be tasked with doing what they do best and what they really enjoy doing, all in the glory of God. Wow.
My Thoughts on Non-Christians Being Deemed Worthy for Eternal Life In Heaven
I know some really good people who admit to me that they simply cannot accept Christ into their lives. Not because of not wanting to, but rather because they just have a hard time believing in the whole concept of Jesus as the only begotten Son of God who was made the perfect man and who was sacrificed for our sins so that we can be justified and accepted into God’s kingdom for eternity. I mean, these are really, really good people who, in my humble opinion, would be otherwise found worthy of Heaven. Now I am not about to second guess what God tells us in the Bible, but I can’t help but think that there is some sort of loophole that will allow Jesus to judge these people worthy.
All Christians know that the only way to the Father is through our Lord Jesus Christ. When asked by his Disciples how they will know the way Jesus told them:
John 14:6-7 -- ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also.
This has always implied to us that the only way into heaven is by accepting Christ as our Savior. But is that really what he is saying? Yes He does say, “If you know me, you will know the Father also.” But he also says, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Does this imply that, as long as Jesus believes that you are worthy, for whatever reasons, He will allow you to know the Father? (Okay, I am going way out on a limb here, but I can’t help but wonder. No lightening bolts yet.)
Consider this:
Deuteronomy 29:29 -- The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children for ever, to observe all the words of this law.
In this verse, God tells us that what is written in the Bible is everything we need to know in order to live a righteous earthly life and then to inherit eternal spirit life in Heaven. He is also telling us that He has secrets that we don’t need to know about. These secret things are for Him alone to know. I pray that one of these secrets things will allow Him to make room in Heaven for those Non-Christians who are really, really good people. Imagine one of these really, really good people who is not a Christian looking Jesus in the eye at the final judgment. Jesus then says, “I have known you since you were conceived in the womb. I know that you have not yet accepted me as your Lord and Savior but you lived a really, really good life. I also know that once you experience me as your Lord you will be a faithful servant and will contribute to the building up of our Heavenly Kingdom. Since I am the only judge and the way to the Father I judge you worthy. Welcome to Heaven.”
(Still no lightening bolt.)
I know. This may be a stretch. There is absolutely nothing in the Bible that would support this. It is only my wishful thinking. But you know, I want to spend eternity with these really, really good people.
.
I used the term “what I know” rather than “what I believe”. To me this is an important distinction. “I believe” implies that I have studied, processed the information, and come to some conclusion that feels “comfortable” to me. Almost like some theory that has not been proven but seems to fit the world as I believe it is. (Okay, okay. I’m an engineer, what do you expect? There is little gray in my thinking, I think in black and white.) Since I know that the Bible’s scripture is truly the word of God then I take God’s word from scripture as truth. After all, if God says it is this and that then who in the heck am I to question it. God knows everything, right?
When I first began my Bible studies I focused on understanding who God is, what He thinks, and what He wants from us and for us. Basically, building a relationship with God.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 --- Thus says the LORD: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the LORD.
Once I was diagnosed with cancer my focus shifted a bit. Oh, I still work toward understanding and knowing God, but as you might expect, I began turning my attention to what follows this earthly life, how the transition is made to the spiritual life, and what the spiritual life is like. Maybe I need to back up a bit here. There is a spirit world. In the book of Daniel there is a clear reference to the spirit world and a glimpse of what goes on there. (Daniel 10:1-20) What is revealed to Daniel by the Archangel is not the peace and tranquility of Heaven but rather a reference to the battle between good and evil. Of course, that does not mean that is all that goes on in Heaven, but that is what is revealed in this instance.
Where or how this Spirit world exist along side the Earthly world I have not a clue, but it is there. Somewhere in this Spirit world is what we have traditionally called “Heaven”. God, Jesus, the Archangels and angels exist in this Spirit World (as does Satan and his demon angels). God has crossed over to the Earthly world. Archangels have crossed over to the Earthly world. But Jesus Christ, the only perfect man, is the only person in “uncorrupted” human form to cross over from the Earthly world to the Spirit world, so far.
It seems as though the popular belief is that a person dies and, if found worthy, immediately passes into the spirit world (heaven) where he or she spends eternity with God in a joyous and peaceful existence. Meanwhile, life goes on as normal in the Earthly world with the person who has passed looking down upon the rest of us. Sounds great. But there is nothing in the Bible that suggests this.
Unfortunately, there is not one place in the Bible to go to in order to get a clear understanding of death and resurrection. Verses are scattered around both the Old and New Testament that refer to death and resurrection that beg to be pieced together into one coherent explanation. Fortunately we have the Internet at our disposal where many folks have pieced the thread of verses together for us. I have shamelessly compiled the following versus from others’ labors (thank you for your work).
What God Tells Us About Death, Resurrection and Eternal Life
A Peaceful Sleep, No Sense Of The Passage Of Time
"For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing" (Ecclesiastes 9:5 RSV)
"For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again." (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 RSV)
"Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.... For David did not ascend into the heavens" (Acts 2:29,34 RSV)
"No one has ascended into heaven but He who descended from heaven, the Son of man." (John 3:13 RSV)
The Millennial Kingdom and Later The Resurrection (White Throne Judgment)
"But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:20-23 RSV)
"We shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, ... and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. ... For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
"Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!" (Isaiah 26:19 RSV)
"But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet The Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with The Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 RSV)
"Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years." (Revelation 20:4-6 RSV)
"for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment." (John 5:28-29 RSV)
"And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:2 RSV)
"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it; from His presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and if any one's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:11-15 RSV)
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." (Revelation 21:4)
Okay, let me try to summarize what God is telling us.
- Dead is dead. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.
- The dead have no memory, no thoughts, and no activity. Just a long, peaceful sleep.
- Time stops for the dead.
- There is a seven-year period of tribulation where the Anti-Christ rules over the earth and many Christians are martyred for not worshipping the Beast. During this period many non-believers will find Christ and accept Him as their Lord and Savior.
- After the tribulation, the martyred Christians and those Christians still alive at the time who survived the tribulation will enjoy the Millennial Kingdom on earth with Jesus as their king. This is a period of peace and tranquility on this earth.
- After the 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth the final battle between good and evil will occur and Jesus will defeat Satan (Armageddon) once and for all.
- After the battle Earth as we know it will end and all of the dead, since the beginning of time, will rise for the final “White Throne Judgment”.
- The final judgment will separate those who are worthy to enter God’s kingdom from those who are not (sheep and goats).
- Those found worthy will be resurrected and join God in Heaven and those who are not found worthy, well, they won’t.
We have all experienced deep sleep. Our head hits the pillow and the next thing we know it is morning. It seems like an instant while indeed it was hours. Figuratively, time stopped for a period of time. Those hours of sleep appeared to pass in an instant. So it will be when we die. We will fall into a deep, restful sleep and then awake for the Great White Throne Judgment. Every person since Adam and Eve who have died are right now in a deep sleep, unaware of the passing of time. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, King David, the Apostles, everyone. Suddenly, when the time comes for the White Throne Judgment, they will all awaken without the sense that time has passed. One moment they are alive and the next they are looking Jesus in the eye, being judged as either a sheep (worthy of Heaven), or a goat (not worthy of Heaven). It seems like an instant to them but in fact many years have passed. Pretty neat. I look forward to looking into the face of Christ in what will appear to me to be the instant I die.
What is the Rapture?
There are many Christians who believe that, just before the seven years of Tribulation, all true Christians will be carried off into heaven with God so as not have to experience the agony of the Anti-Christ’s reign on Earth. Those “Left Behind” will, during the Tribulation, be forced to either worship the Anti-Christ or accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Those who make the conversion to Christ during the Tribulation, as well as those Christians already raptured prior to the Tribulation will join Christ during His reign in the Millennial Kingdom. I have searched the Bible looking for God’s word about a rapture and can find nothing that suggests that a rapture will occur. Many Theologians who are much smarter than me conclude that scripture supports a rapture. I find it hard to agree. Maybe, maybe not.
The Millennial Kingdom
The Millennial Kingdom will be really neat. For a thousand years Satan and his demons will be locked up, unable to influence those in the Kingdom, and Christ will reign as King over the earth. It will be a period of peace, harmony, and tranquility. Can you imagine? Think of all of the chaos around the world today. Think of dirty politics, crime, injustice, deceiving, immorality, and wars. These will not exist in Christ’s Kingdom on earth. I would love to live long enough to experience the Tribulation and either survive it or be martyred so that I could experience Christ’s reign on earth for a thousand years. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful time to be alive? Since no one knows when it will occur perhaps I will be able to experience it. Who knows, maybe tomorrow!
White Throne Judgment
At the end of Christ’s Millennial Kingdom Satan and his angels will be let loose for a short period of time during which Armageddon will occur and Christ will defeat Satan once and for all. This is when all of the dead will instantly wake up from their timeless sleep for their final judgment. Jesus will place those who are found worthy of Heaven (the sheep) on His right side and those not found worthy (the goats) on His left. Those found worthy will inherit a place in Heaven.
Matthew 25:”31-34 -- "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”
Oh how I want to be a sheep. I long to look Jesus in the eye while he tells me, “Come Paul, who is blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”
Ongoing prayer: “Please Lord. Help me to live the rest of my life such that you can judge me worthy to join you in Heaven for eternity.”
My Thoughts on Eternal Life with God in Heaven
What is Heaven like? I don’t really know. There is little in the Bible about what eternal live in Heaven is like other than those there spend eternity worshipping God and doing His work. As the popular Christian song by Mercy Me goes, “I can only imagine.” Okay. Here is what I imagine. Think about what really makes you happy. Think about the jobs that you have had or the tasks that you have performed or the recreation you have enjoyed or the relationships that you have had that really brought joy to your life. Now imagine experiencing that level of joy all of the time with no distractions from the toils or disappointments in life. I imagine Heaven to be like that. I imagine that those in Heaven will be busy doing God’s work whatever that may be. Those in Heaven will be tasked with doing what they do best and what they really enjoy doing, all in the glory of God. Wow.
My Thoughts on Non-Christians Being Deemed Worthy for Eternal Life In Heaven
I know some really good people who admit to me that they simply cannot accept Christ into their lives. Not because of not wanting to, but rather because they just have a hard time believing in the whole concept of Jesus as the only begotten Son of God who was made the perfect man and who was sacrificed for our sins so that we can be justified and accepted into God’s kingdom for eternity. I mean, these are really, really good people who, in my humble opinion, would be otherwise found worthy of Heaven. Now I am not about to second guess what God tells us in the Bible, but I can’t help but think that there is some sort of loophole that will allow Jesus to judge these people worthy.
All Christians know that the only way to the Father is through our Lord Jesus Christ. When asked by his Disciples how they will know the way Jesus told them:
John 14:6-7 -- ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also.
This has always implied to us that the only way into heaven is by accepting Christ as our Savior. But is that really what he is saying? Yes He does say, “If you know me, you will know the Father also.” But he also says, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Does this imply that, as long as Jesus believes that you are worthy, for whatever reasons, He will allow you to know the Father? (Okay, I am going way out on a limb here, but I can’t help but wonder. No lightening bolts yet.)
Consider this:
Deuteronomy 29:29 -- The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children for ever, to observe all the words of this law.
In this verse, God tells us that what is written in the Bible is everything we need to know in order to live a righteous earthly life and then to inherit eternal spirit life in Heaven. He is also telling us that He has secrets that we don’t need to know about. These secret things are for Him alone to know. I pray that one of these secrets things will allow Him to make room in Heaven for those Non-Christians who are really, really good people. Imagine one of these really, really good people who is not a Christian looking Jesus in the eye at the final judgment. Jesus then says, “I have known you since you were conceived in the womb. I know that you have not yet accepted me as your Lord and Savior but you lived a really, really good life. I also know that once you experience me as your Lord you will be a faithful servant and will contribute to the building up of our Heavenly Kingdom. Since I am the only judge and the way to the Father I judge you worthy. Welcome to Heaven.”
(Still no lightening bolt.)
I know. This may be a stretch. There is absolutely nothing in the Bible that would support this. It is only my wishful thinking. But you know, I want to spend eternity with these really, really good people.
.
Time to Prepare
When I was 17 years old my father suddenly died of a massive heart attack (July 8, 1969). One moment life was “normal” and the next my family’s world was turned upside down. To say the least this was quite a shock. I guess I was too young to truly understand what my mother had to deal with but looking back I am sure that confusion, despair, fear of the unknown, and dozens of other things clouded her mind. One moment she had a husband, a provider, a partner, a stable life and future and the next she was left alone not knowing what the future held for her socially and financially. When I have the opportunity I want to talk with her about it, what she went through, and how she dealt with it.
I have often thought about “how I want to go”. Quickly like my dad or slowly with some sort of disease? Selfishly I concluded that as quickly and painlessly as possible would be good. Spare my family and me the gruesome task of dying. Make it quick so no one suffers. I felt that way until April of 2006 when I was first diagnosed with a pretty ugly type of cancer, which, I knew, would eventually take my life. Fortunately God gave me time. With the initial round of surgeries and therapies we were able to extend my life. During this time we knew that we had a bunch of loose ends to tie up and a bunch of planning to do, but we had time. After December 2008 when the cancer spread we began to think very realistically about the situation but, over the following 12 months, focused our energy on more chemotherapy in order to beat this thing. Finally, in late 2009 I took a medical leave from work and in early 2010 began to seriously put our “ducks in a row”.
Financial
Our immediate concern was the financial stability of the family. I never (foolishly) really planned for retirement. I always figured that my retirement would take care of itself and we never really worried about it. I was concerned, but not worried. Fortunately, I do have a pretty solid life insurance policy, a not so bad retirement account, and fortunately our home is gaining equity so there is a base from which to work. Unfortunately, our debt burden is quite high. God provided. (God is good). We have been able to surround ourselves with a team of wonderful professionals who, I truly believe because of the Holy Spirit in them (God, bless these people), have come to our aid. We have an Accountant, a Lawyer, and a Financial Councilor who are working toward securing the family’s financial future. As of right now, it looks as though the family will be okay after I am gone. Might be a little tough for them financially and they will have some sacrifices, but God has told me not to worry about them, and, with the resources He has provided, I don’t worry now. Thank you God for your help. God is great. God is good.
Luke 12:22-24 -- He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
Spiritual
I continuously thank God for softening my heart and letting Him in before I was diagnosed with cancer. I was a latecomer. I am not exactly sure when I accepted Christ as my savior and was, as some would say, “born again”, but I believe it was in 2003 or 2004. It was a gradual process but when it happened it was a powerful, life-changing event. From that time until the time I was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 I had the time to, at my own pace, study, learn, and build my faith in God and Christ as my redeemer. I stumbled along the way. At times I thought I understood more than I really did. And I am sure that I still think I know more than I do. The bottom line is right now, when I need it most, my faith is unshakable. I trust God. I will follow God wherever He leads me. I know what awaits me. I continue to study and learn. Since I know that scripture is God’s word I use scripture to find answers and guidance from God (which is why God has given us the written word). I find great comfort in God’s words and continue to build a better understanding of who God is and what He wants from me and for me. As a result of having strong faith prior to my diagnosis as well as having the time to continue my “spiritual journey” after diagnosis I believe that I have been able to face this challenge without fear. I would obviously prefer that this not be happening to us but I believe that God has given us this challenge to endure for a reason, and I trust God and will follow Him where he leads me.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 -- All scripture is inspired by God and is* useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
Romans 8:28 -- We know that all things work together for good* for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
Joshua 1:9 -- 'I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’
I do not want to die, at least not for a long, long time. I have a lot of stuff I want to do. I do not look forward to the “process” of dying (what will it be like?), but I do not fear death. My eternal life is assured.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 -- ...so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.
Dear Lord, thank you for giving us the time to prepare, both financially and spiritually.
Lesson Learned
Okay, I have to put my trainer hat on here and spew some words of wisdom from someone who has been there. (When I used to train adults I always ended with a “Lessons Learned” segment to sort of cement the knowledge into the heads of the participants. Old habits are hard to break.) Here it is. Get your ducks in a row and tie off those loose ends now, both financially and spiritually. It scares me to death that, if not for God’s mercy and guidance and the work of the Holy Spirit, we might have been caught off guard and my family would have been left in a state of shock and disarray. If you don’t already, gain an understanding of your financial future and make the adjustments that are needed. If you haven’t already done so, open your heart to God, let Him in, build your faith, and secure eternal life.
Revelation 3:20 -- Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.
Luke 11:9-10 -- ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.'
Be prepared.
.
I have often thought about “how I want to go”. Quickly like my dad or slowly with some sort of disease? Selfishly I concluded that as quickly and painlessly as possible would be good. Spare my family and me the gruesome task of dying. Make it quick so no one suffers. I felt that way until April of 2006 when I was first diagnosed with a pretty ugly type of cancer, which, I knew, would eventually take my life. Fortunately God gave me time. With the initial round of surgeries and therapies we were able to extend my life. During this time we knew that we had a bunch of loose ends to tie up and a bunch of planning to do, but we had time. After December 2008 when the cancer spread we began to think very realistically about the situation but, over the following 12 months, focused our energy on more chemotherapy in order to beat this thing. Finally, in late 2009 I took a medical leave from work and in early 2010 began to seriously put our “ducks in a row”.
Financial
Our immediate concern was the financial stability of the family. I never (foolishly) really planned for retirement. I always figured that my retirement would take care of itself and we never really worried about it. I was concerned, but not worried. Fortunately, I do have a pretty solid life insurance policy, a not so bad retirement account, and fortunately our home is gaining equity so there is a base from which to work. Unfortunately, our debt burden is quite high. God provided. (God is good). We have been able to surround ourselves with a team of wonderful professionals who, I truly believe because of the Holy Spirit in them (God, bless these people), have come to our aid. We have an Accountant, a Lawyer, and a Financial Councilor who are working toward securing the family’s financial future. As of right now, it looks as though the family will be okay after I am gone. Might be a little tough for them financially and they will have some sacrifices, but God has told me not to worry about them, and, with the resources He has provided, I don’t worry now. Thank you God for your help. God is great. God is good.
Luke 12:22-24 -- He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
Spiritual
I continuously thank God for softening my heart and letting Him in before I was diagnosed with cancer. I was a latecomer. I am not exactly sure when I accepted Christ as my savior and was, as some would say, “born again”, but I believe it was in 2003 or 2004. It was a gradual process but when it happened it was a powerful, life-changing event. From that time until the time I was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 I had the time to, at my own pace, study, learn, and build my faith in God and Christ as my redeemer. I stumbled along the way. At times I thought I understood more than I really did. And I am sure that I still think I know more than I do. The bottom line is right now, when I need it most, my faith is unshakable. I trust God. I will follow God wherever He leads me. I know what awaits me. I continue to study and learn. Since I know that scripture is God’s word I use scripture to find answers and guidance from God (which is why God has given us the written word). I find great comfort in God’s words and continue to build a better understanding of who God is and what He wants from me and for me. As a result of having strong faith prior to my diagnosis as well as having the time to continue my “spiritual journey” after diagnosis I believe that I have been able to face this challenge without fear. I would obviously prefer that this not be happening to us but I believe that God has given us this challenge to endure for a reason, and I trust God and will follow Him where he leads me.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 -- All scripture is inspired by God and is* useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
Romans 8:28 -- We know that all things work together for good* for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
Joshua 1:9 -- 'I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’
I do not want to die, at least not for a long, long time. I have a lot of stuff I want to do. I do not look forward to the “process” of dying (what will it be like?), but I do not fear death. My eternal life is assured.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 -- ...so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.
Dear Lord, thank you for giving us the time to prepare, both financially and spiritually.
Lesson Learned
Okay, I have to put my trainer hat on here and spew some words of wisdom from someone who has been there. (When I used to train adults I always ended with a “Lessons Learned” segment to sort of cement the knowledge into the heads of the participants. Old habits are hard to break.) Here it is. Get your ducks in a row and tie off those loose ends now, both financially and spiritually. It scares me to death that, if not for God’s mercy and guidance and the work of the Holy Spirit, we might have been caught off guard and my family would have been left in a state of shock and disarray. If you don’t already, gain an understanding of your financial future and make the adjustments that are needed. If you haven’t already done so, open your heart to God, let Him in, build your faith, and secure eternal life.
Revelation 3:20 -- Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.
Luke 11:9-10 -- ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.'
Be prepared.
.
Ongoing Prayer
Ever since the cancer began to spread in December 2008 we have not lost our faith or our strength or hope; however, we have begun to prepare ourselves for when the battle is over. We don’t know what God has in mind, but we trust him. Just before Jesus was arrested that night before his crucifixion He prayed to His father, asking that, if it is possible, to not let happen what was about to happen but that he would willing yield to God’s will. This is a perfect example of a perfect man’s humanity.
Matthew 26:39 -- ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want (Your will be done).’
Everyday, several times a day, I pray these exact words and I ask God, if it is his will, to give me more time. Time to raise Chris, time to help others who need help, time to grow old with my beautiful wife. Time to hold Chris’s children in my lap. Time to complete God’s work in this world. Does He hear my prayer? Yes, he does. Has he given me more time? So far he has. God is good. Will He continue to give me more time? I don’t know. Every day I am alive is God’s gift to me. I am thankful for the time He has given me. Yet, I trust God and gladly accept that his will will be done.
.
Matthew 26:39 -- ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want (Your will be done).’
Everyday, several times a day, I pray these exact words and I ask God, if it is his will, to give me more time. Time to raise Chris, time to help others who need help, time to grow old with my beautiful wife. Time to hold Chris’s children in my lap. Time to complete God’s work in this world. Does He hear my prayer? Yes, he does. Has he given me more time? So far he has. God is good. Will He continue to give me more time? I don’t know. Every day I am alive is God’s gift to me. I am thankful for the time He has given me. Yet, I trust God and gladly accept that his will will be done.
.
Family, Friends, and the Holy Spirit
Over the last four years I have been humbled by the huge number of people in our lives that have provided love and support to us and during this time I have come to understand the Holy Spirit. I had always struggled with the role of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity. I knew that it placed God in our hearts and in our lives but so what? What does that mean? I read somewhere, perhaps a C.S. Lewis book, that once we accept Christ as our savior and redeemer in our hearts, he places the Holy Spirit in us to both convict us and to comfort us. I now understand.
The Holy Spirit Convicts Me
I think a better word than “convict” would be “correct”, implying that the Holy Spirit “corrects” us when we begin to stray from God’s word. It is really our Christian conscious kicking in when we do, say, or think something that God disapproves of. The moment this happens to me I get a figurative slap against the back of my head from the Holy Spirit telling me to stop, think about what I am doing, saying or thinking, and correct it NOW! But how do we know what God approves or disapproves of? The only source we have for this is the Bible. The Bible is what God has given us for the purpose of understanding “who” He is and “what” He expects of us and why He expects it of us.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 --- Thus says the LORD: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the LORD.
So, once I began to understand and know God and his expectations, the Holy Spirit could go to work in me as a “corrector” or “convictor”, constantly guiding me through a Christian life toward a better understanding of God. These things the Lord “delights” in.
The Holy Spirit Comforts Me
The Holy Spirit as a “comforter” comes from two sources: From the Holy Spirit within me and from the Holy Spirit in those around me.
From within me there is a great deal of comfort in knowing that the Holy Spirit is there as my guide. I have learned to trust the Holy Spirit without question. It is my compass, constantly leading me along the path God wants me to follow, slapping me across the back of the head when I stray from the path. Sometimes I don’t listen and I screw up. The Spirit smacks me again and sometimes again. Eventually I get it, ask and receive forgiveness, and get back on the path. Thank you Lord for the Holy Spirit. (I may have had brain surgery but my head is pretty tough. Keep on smacking.)
From those around me the Holy Spirit provides comfort through their love, support, prayers, and interventions. I cannot count the number of people who have given of themselves for our family in our time of need. I am truly humbled by them. The Holy Spirit works within the Christian community, providing the desire to reach out to each other in time of need, opening hearts for the purpose of helping, inspiring, intervening, loving and providing comfort. I do wonder though if the Holy Spirit is at work only within the Christian Community. I know that once you accept Jesus into your heart He gives you the Holy Spirit as a guide, but is that the only way to get the Holy Spirit? I have seen a lot of love and compassion poured out on us from a lot of people. Are they all “Christians”? Do they all have Jesus in the hearts? I don’t know. I know that God can do his work however he darn well pleases and most of what he does he doesn’t tell us about. In fact, the only thing he has told us is in the Bible, which is all we really need to know. God has secrets. But I can’t help but wonder.
Deuteronomy 29:29 -- The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children for ever, to observe all the words of this law.
I worry that during my life I have not comforted others as I should have. During this journey with cancer I have seen example after example of the Holy Spirit at work from those around me. As I look back over my life I am hard pressed to remember when I have acted unselfishly and reached out to others for no other reason than to help them because it is the right and Christian thing to do. Forgive me Lord for my selfish ways. Please give me the time to comfort others.
Matthew 25:31-45 -- ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'
.
The Holy Spirit Convicts Me
I think a better word than “convict” would be “correct”, implying that the Holy Spirit “corrects” us when we begin to stray from God’s word. It is really our Christian conscious kicking in when we do, say, or think something that God disapproves of. The moment this happens to me I get a figurative slap against the back of my head from the Holy Spirit telling me to stop, think about what I am doing, saying or thinking, and correct it NOW! But how do we know what God approves or disapproves of? The only source we have for this is the Bible. The Bible is what God has given us for the purpose of understanding “who” He is and “what” He expects of us and why He expects it of us.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 --- Thus says the LORD: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the LORD.
So, once I began to understand and know God and his expectations, the Holy Spirit could go to work in me as a “corrector” or “convictor”, constantly guiding me through a Christian life toward a better understanding of God. These things the Lord “delights” in.
The Holy Spirit Comforts Me
The Holy Spirit as a “comforter” comes from two sources: From the Holy Spirit within me and from the Holy Spirit in those around me.
From within me there is a great deal of comfort in knowing that the Holy Spirit is there as my guide. I have learned to trust the Holy Spirit without question. It is my compass, constantly leading me along the path God wants me to follow, slapping me across the back of the head when I stray from the path. Sometimes I don’t listen and I screw up. The Spirit smacks me again and sometimes again. Eventually I get it, ask and receive forgiveness, and get back on the path. Thank you Lord for the Holy Spirit. (I may have had brain surgery but my head is pretty tough. Keep on smacking.)
From those around me the Holy Spirit provides comfort through their love, support, prayers, and interventions. I cannot count the number of people who have given of themselves for our family in our time of need. I am truly humbled by them. The Holy Spirit works within the Christian community, providing the desire to reach out to each other in time of need, opening hearts for the purpose of helping, inspiring, intervening, loving and providing comfort. I do wonder though if the Holy Spirit is at work only within the Christian Community. I know that once you accept Jesus into your heart He gives you the Holy Spirit as a guide, but is that the only way to get the Holy Spirit? I have seen a lot of love and compassion poured out on us from a lot of people. Are they all “Christians”? Do they all have Jesus in the hearts? I don’t know. I know that God can do his work however he darn well pleases and most of what he does he doesn’t tell us about. In fact, the only thing he has told us is in the Bible, which is all we really need to know. God has secrets. But I can’t help but wonder.
Deuteronomy 29:29 -- The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children for ever, to observe all the words of this law.
I worry that during my life I have not comforted others as I should have. During this journey with cancer I have seen example after example of the Holy Spirit at work from those around me. As I look back over my life I am hard pressed to remember when I have acted unselfishly and reached out to others for no other reason than to help them because it is the right and Christian thing to do. Forgive me Lord for my selfish ways. Please give me the time to comfort others.
Matthew 25:31-45 -- ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'
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Update: God's Work - May 2010
It’s been four years since I was first diagnosed and it has been quite a ride. During 2006 and into 2007 we went through surgery, radiation, and a ton of chemo. I truly believe that we did the right thing by hitting this head on as hard as we could. I do believe that it bought us time. Early on I asked God to give me enough time to finish raising Chris. We are getting close to finishing that. I currently pray that I can see him into college and on his way to adulthood. God’s will be done, whatever it is. I trust in God.
In December 2008 we discovered that the cancer had spread to the lungs, abdomen, liver and leg. We again endured chemo from February 2009 through August 2009. Again, God provided me with the best possible medical care and, as a result, his gift of more life. Then, just last month (April 2010), the cancer spread to my brain. Not good. Once again, God provided and the tumor has been removed. I am currently undergoing whole brain radiation. Lord, if it be your will, give me more time.
God’s Command to Me: “Endure and Let Your Light Shine”
Very soon after I was first diagnosed with cancer in 2006 I asked God how I could best do his work with the life I have left. He quickly responded to me, “Endure and Let Your Light Shine.” This command came to me so quickly and clearly I had no doubt that this is what God wanted of me. All I could say in response was “Yes, Lord.” Through all of this I have been true to what God has told me to do with the time I have, “Endure” and “Let my light shine”. God has given me the strength to endure all of the therapies and their side effects as well as the now emerging symptoms of the cancer. He has allowed me to maintain a positive and optimistic attitude about my condition. I have not failed, whenever given the opportunity, to tell people that every day is God’s gift to me, that my faith is strong, and that I trust God and will follow Him wherever He leads me.
Over the past four years I have had many people tell me that I am an inspiration to them. Perhaps that is why God has instructed me so: to provide an example of faith and trust in Him. I continuously pray that my situation, my attitude, my strength, and my words help bring people closer to God. If so, I am doing God’s work. That is what He wants of me before I die. Yet, I have not followed his command perfectly and unfortunately I have fallen away from my instruction with the people who are closest to me, Patty and Chris. At times I get grouchy, confrontational, have personal pity parties, and can get downright mean. I forget that I am not the only one fighting this disease and that they are also in this battle. I try very hard to “snap out” of these destructive moods as soon as I am made aware of them. I do not want to waste a single day that God has given us.
1 Corinthians 10:13 -- No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
Hebrews 10:36 -- For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
Proverbs 13:9 -- The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.
Matthew 5:14-16 -- let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Matthew 10:32-33 -- ‘Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.”
Strength and Support From My Family
During the last four years Patty has been a complete angel and source of strength by my side. God has given her strength, hope and courage and she has given me strength, hope, courage, support, love, care and everything else I need to move on. I hope that she is receiving the support from me that she needs. Chris is quiet about it, yet I see strength in him. He’s a great young man. I no longer worry about Pat and Chris. Yes, they will suffer and have hard times. There will be pain and sorrow. But when I prayed to God to take care of them He told me quite simply, “Don’t worry”.
Luke 12:22-24 -- He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
Patty’s sister, Mary Katherine, has always been there for us. Her dedication to my family and me is unshakable and I thank God for her. She has helped all three of us along this journey in countless ways. I will never be able to thank her enough.
God’s Miracles
I know God has worked miracles. Most of them are transparent. I really don’t recognize them as miracles at the time but as I look back that is exactly what they were. The positive effects of chemotherapy. The easy access to top quality medical care. Financial situations falling into place in my family’s favor. And on and on and on. I have experienced some miracles that I know God provided to simply let me know that He is there with His hand on our shoulders guiding us, helping us, providing for us. Once I was reading the Bible. At the time my allergies were bothering me and my eyes where fogging up so badly that I couldn’t read. I closed my eyes, and prayed a simple prayer. “Lord, please clear my eyes so I can read your word.” When I opened my eyes I could see clearly. Wow. Another time, I believe it was after the fifth round of Chemo in 2006, I was sitting in my chair and my temperature began to rise. It hit 100 deg and, if it hit 101 we would call the doctor and he would have likely admitted me to the hospital as he had twice done when this happened before. Again, I closed my eyes, and simply prayed, “ Please God, not this time.” I then immediately took my temperature and it had fallen to 99 and then continued to fall to normal. God is great. God is good.
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In December 2008 we discovered that the cancer had spread to the lungs, abdomen, liver and leg. We again endured chemo from February 2009 through August 2009. Again, God provided me with the best possible medical care and, as a result, his gift of more life. Then, just last month (April 2010), the cancer spread to my brain. Not good. Once again, God provided and the tumor has been removed. I am currently undergoing whole brain radiation. Lord, if it be your will, give me more time.
God’s Command to Me: “Endure and Let Your Light Shine”
Very soon after I was first diagnosed with cancer in 2006 I asked God how I could best do his work with the life I have left. He quickly responded to me, “Endure and Let Your Light Shine.” This command came to me so quickly and clearly I had no doubt that this is what God wanted of me. All I could say in response was “Yes, Lord.” Through all of this I have been true to what God has told me to do with the time I have, “Endure” and “Let my light shine”. God has given me the strength to endure all of the therapies and their side effects as well as the now emerging symptoms of the cancer. He has allowed me to maintain a positive and optimistic attitude about my condition. I have not failed, whenever given the opportunity, to tell people that every day is God’s gift to me, that my faith is strong, and that I trust God and will follow Him wherever He leads me.
Over the past four years I have had many people tell me that I am an inspiration to them. Perhaps that is why God has instructed me so: to provide an example of faith and trust in Him. I continuously pray that my situation, my attitude, my strength, and my words help bring people closer to God. If so, I am doing God’s work. That is what He wants of me before I die. Yet, I have not followed his command perfectly and unfortunately I have fallen away from my instruction with the people who are closest to me, Patty and Chris. At times I get grouchy, confrontational, have personal pity parties, and can get downright mean. I forget that I am not the only one fighting this disease and that they are also in this battle. I try very hard to “snap out” of these destructive moods as soon as I am made aware of them. I do not want to waste a single day that God has given us.
1 Corinthians 10:13 -- No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
Hebrews 10:36 -- For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
Proverbs 13:9 -- The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.
Matthew 5:14-16 -- let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Matthew 10:32-33 -- ‘Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.”
Strength and Support From My Family
During the last four years Patty has been a complete angel and source of strength by my side. God has given her strength, hope and courage and she has given me strength, hope, courage, support, love, care and everything else I need to move on. I hope that she is receiving the support from me that she needs. Chris is quiet about it, yet I see strength in him. He’s a great young man. I no longer worry about Pat and Chris. Yes, they will suffer and have hard times. There will be pain and sorrow. But when I prayed to God to take care of them He told me quite simply, “Don’t worry”.
Luke 12:22-24 -- He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
Patty’s sister, Mary Katherine, has always been there for us. Her dedication to my family and me is unshakable and I thank God for her. She has helped all three of us along this journey in countless ways. I will never be able to thank her enough.
God’s Miracles
I know God has worked miracles. Most of them are transparent. I really don’t recognize them as miracles at the time but as I look back that is exactly what they were. The positive effects of chemotherapy. The easy access to top quality medical care. Financial situations falling into place in my family’s favor. And on and on and on. I have experienced some miracles that I know God provided to simply let me know that He is there with His hand on our shoulders guiding us, helping us, providing for us. Once I was reading the Bible. At the time my allergies were bothering me and my eyes where fogging up so badly that I couldn’t read. I closed my eyes, and prayed a simple prayer. “Lord, please clear my eyes so I can read your word.” When I opened my eyes I could see clearly. Wow. Another time, I believe it was after the fifth round of Chemo in 2006, I was sitting in my chair and my temperature began to rise. It hit 100 deg and, if it hit 101 we would call the doctor and he would have likely admitted me to the hospital as he had twice done when this happened before. Again, I closed my eyes, and simply prayed, “ Please God, not this time.” I then immediately took my temperature and it had fallen to 99 and then continued to fall to normal. God is great. God is good.
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My Spiritual Journey So Far - May, 2006
“My Spiritual Journey So Far” was written to my sister Ann in an email shortly after I was first diagnosed. She had asked me about my “spiritual journey” and this letter was my response to her. It seemed to me that this was a good starting point for the collection. I hope, Ann, that you don’t mind me sharing it.
My faith has changed my life. More specifically, I guess, my personal relationship with Jesus Christ has changed my life. Let me try to explain the path I followed to get to where I am today, and again, where I am today is only a few short steps along the journey. I will probably begin rambling a bit... I hope you can follow me....
I have routinely attended Sunday School... not so much because I wanted to, but rather I make Chris go to Sunday School and so I figured I better set the example. Last year the Sunday School class I attended was about the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. Pretty interesting stuff but then again, how much can you believe... after all, the Old Testament is thousands of years old and how can what it has to say apply to me today? But something just sort of "clicked" one day and I began to accept that, in fact, the Bible is the word of God. I guess that my logic went something like this...... I have always accepted the virgin birth of Christ.... for whatever reason that was never up for debate, I simply accept it. Now if I can accept that part of the Bible without question it is not a great leap to accepting that the whole Bible is truly the word of God. And once I accepted that the Bible is the word of God you know darn well I started paying attention to it. After all... If the Creator of all things is trying to talk to me through the prophets and apostles it would be pretty stupid of me to ignore him.
So I guess the first real step for me was accepting that the Bible, in its entirety, is indeed the word of God.
Okay.... now what? I began searching for what God is trying to tell me but there is a lot of stuff in the Bible so where to begin? I do not believe it matters where you begin but for me it made a lot of sense to begin at the end.... in the New Testament in the book of Revelations..... Revelations is a very complicated book to understand and every bible scholar has a different exact interpretation of it. But they all agree that Revelations describes the end times and the second coming of Christ and the final battle with Satan. All the details about this second coming and the final battle with Satan are what is argued... but there is no doubt that Christ is coming, will defeat Satan, and Christ will reign on this earth for 1,000 years with his church of believers and then on to heaven for eternity. "With his church of believers" is the key phrase here... this is where you raise your hand, start jumping up and down, saying "Pick me, Pick me". Revelations has some pretty scary stuff in it and, if you believe that the bible is the word of God then you have to believe that the Book of Revelations describes what is to come. What I found in Revelations was the motivation to learn more about what God expects from me because I want my name in "The Book of Life"... I want to be picked.
The second step for me was motivation. I want to spend eternity with Christ.
The next part was pretty hard for me.... up to this point it was all pretty much academic and heady kind of stuff.... but now the rubber was about to hit the road. It is one thing to accept the Bible as the word of God and to be motivated to giving my life to God. But giving my life to God is an entirely different issue. This is where it starts getting hard. Just what does it mean to give your life to God and how do you go about doing it? I struggled with this for some time. I continued to struggle with it until I truly understood and completely accepted that the spiritual world truly exists and that there is an ongoing battle between good and evil (God and Satan). There are many versus in the Bible that refer to the spiritual world, how the angel Lucifer fell from grace because he wanted to be equal to God, and how Lucifer (Satan) reigns over the earth. Okay... this is where you either believe or you don't believe that the Bible is the word of God. If you don't believe it then this is where you can simply say that this is all fantasy, was written thousands of years ago and does not, cannot, apply to me today, and you can ignore the whole thing and go about living your life the way you always have. If you do believe that the Bible is the word of God then this is where you learn what it means to give your life to Christ. Here is my take on it based upon my studies.... Satan rules over the earth. For whatever reason, God gave him that authority... I think it was a bad idea but who am I to second guess God. God rules over the spiritual world and Satan is constantly trying to expand his control into the spiritual world. Satan's mission on earth is to pull man away from God and toward himself, to distract us from having a relationship with God... to force us to focus our lives on things not of God but rather on worldly things. There are "worldly" things and there are "Godly" things. Worldly things are all the stuff that we have or have had or want to have. Worldly things are things that dictate whether or not we have a good day. They dictate our mood and consequently how we feel about the people around us. We try to find happiness in worldly things only to discover that we really are not all that happy when we have them. We tend to keep searching for that worldly thing that will satisfy us and make us happy once and for all. We find something, it feels good for a while, but we feel something is missing. We are never really satisfied. Worldly things distract us from God. The bottom line is that God is not of this world. Satan is of this world. If you want to get closer to God, you have to get further away from the worldly things because these are controlled by Satan. Again, if you believe the Bible is the word of God you have no choice but to accept this. The good news is that we are assured an eternal life with God in the spiritual world that he reigns over if we give our worldly life to Him and accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. Okay... so what does it mean to give your worldly life to God? What does it mean to take on a spiritual life? To me it means not trying to find happiness in worldly things. Things are neat, but will not make you happy. It means turning to God to find the reason for your life. It means searching for what God's plan is for you. It means dedicating every day to God's work. I have my job at the hospital. I believe God placed me in that job to do his work. Every day as I do my job I do it knowing that I am doing it in the Glory of God. That this is the work he wants me to do (he put me there) and expects me to do. I will do the best job I can because He expects it. God gave Christopher to Pat and I. God expects me to raise Christopher in His glory. I am doing God's work by raising my son to become good Christian man. Everything I do I try to do because it is God's work, not because I want something of this world. God gave me life to do his work. I will do the best I can.
My third step... Accepting Christ as my Lord and savior and dedicating my life to doing God's work. Do what I do for God, not for worldly things.
Once I got to this point I became obsessed with learning more. I simply could not get enough. It is sort of strange. I never would have thought that I would hunger for knowledge about the word of God. But now that I am I can't imagine not wanting the knowledge and ignoring what is in the Bible. The Bible is a strange book. The first time I picked it up and read a verse or two at random it made little sense to me. If someone in Sunday School interpreted a verse for me then it seemed okay. But i just could not get it on my own. One day last fall I told myself that I was going to read the Bible, cover to cover. I was determined to to do it. I started with the New Testament and found that it does make sense. Each book of the New Testament either told me the story of Christ or told me how to build a relationship with Christ. As I read from book to book it all began to fall together. (Before I started reading the New Testament from the beginning I had already studied the last book, Revelations. I think that understanding how it all ends helped me to put the pieces together as I read through the entire New Testament.) Once I finished the New I moved on to the Old Testament. This, of course, is where you find all the old bible stories but more importantly begin to learn how God thinks. I know, sounds strange, but I can't think of a better way to state it. By reading the Old Testament (purposely from beginning to end rather than various versus at random) I am learning how God thinks and how he communicates with us. I can read the Bible and actually understand most of what I read. This was a huge breakthrough. By understanding how God "thinks" and knowing how he communicates with us I can build a personal relationship with Him. It's funny how it all starts coming together. Of course, the Internet has been a wonderful resource for me.
My fourth step... Study the word of God and build a personal relationship with God.
This sort of brings me to where I am now in my "Journey". I am trying to learn more and more and am consciously working on building my personal relationship with God. It's funny. I don't pray so much but I talk quite a bit with God. Sure, I say my prayers.... but that is just because that is what you are supposed to do. I accept that God is always next to me. All I have to do is whisper something to him and he hears it. All I have to do is whisper a "thank you" for something and he takes joy in my thanks. All I have to do is ask him for something and, if it fits his plan, he will gladly provide it. All I have to do is ask him for guidance on something and he shows me the way. I am constantly walking with and talking with God. What a warm and comforting feeling this is.
My fifth step... Walk and Talk with God
I don't know if the way I have gone about my journey is the most efficient but so far it has worked for me. I am happier than I have ever been in my life. Go figure, I have just been told I have a very rare form of cancer that does not respond well to treatment and I have never been happier in my life. Either I am a complete idiot or I have successfully established my relationship with God. Either way, I am happy... scared to death, but happy. I guess I am comforted in knowing that God has a reason for my cancer. I do not understand it but there is a reason. I will accept it and use it to do God's work. It makes no sense to ask God why I have cancer and how could He do this to me. He has a reason. He knows what is best. I accept it. I remind myself of something that happened several years ago. Chris got sick with something and we took him to the doctor. The doctor needed to give Chris a shot. Chris took one look at that needle and panicked. The doctor asked me to hold Chris down so he could give him the injection so I put my arms around Chris and by brute force made him be still. As I was doing that, just before the needle went in, Chris looked up at me with the most confused look in his eyes and I could read his thoughts.... "Why are you letting him do this to me??? Why are you not protecting me from him???" He didn't understand. And I could say nothing that would make him understand. I don't understand why I have cancer. God understands.
At any rate, that's the story of my journey so far. I have a long way to go but I am loving every minute of it.
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My faith has changed my life. More specifically, I guess, my personal relationship with Jesus Christ has changed my life. Let me try to explain the path I followed to get to where I am today, and again, where I am today is only a few short steps along the journey. I will probably begin rambling a bit... I hope you can follow me....
I have routinely attended Sunday School... not so much because I wanted to, but rather I make Chris go to Sunday School and so I figured I better set the example. Last year the Sunday School class I attended was about the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. Pretty interesting stuff but then again, how much can you believe... after all, the Old Testament is thousands of years old and how can what it has to say apply to me today? But something just sort of "clicked" one day and I began to accept that, in fact, the Bible is the word of God. I guess that my logic went something like this...... I have always accepted the virgin birth of Christ.... for whatever reason that was never up for debate, I simply accept it. Now if I can accept that part of the Bible without question it is not a great leap to accepting that the whole Bible is truly the word of God. And once I accepted that the Bible is the word of God you know darn well I started paying attention to it. After all... If the Creator of all things is trying to talk to me through the prophets and apostles it would be pretty stupid of me to ignore him.
So I guess the first real step for me was accepting that the Bible, in its entirety, is indeed the word of God.
Okay.... now what? I began searching for what God is trying to tell me but there is a lot of stuff in the Bible so where to begin? I do not believe it matters where you begin but for me it made a lot of sense to begin at the end.... in the New Testament in the book of Revelations..... Revelations is a very complicated book to understand and every bible scholar has a different exact interpretation of it. But they all agree that Revelations describes the end times and the second coming of Christ and the final battle with Satan. All the details about this second coming and the final battle with Satan are what is argued... but there is no doubt that Christ is coming, will defeat Satan, and Christ will reign on this earth for 1,000 years with his church of believers and then on to heaven for eternity. "With his church of believers" is the key phrase here... this is where you raise your hand, start jumping up and down, saying "Pick me, Pick me". Revelations has some pretty scary stuff in it and, if you believe that the bible is the word of God then you have to believe that the Book of Revelations describes what is to come. What I found in Revelations was the motivation to learn more about what God expects from me because I want my name in "The Book of Life"... I want to be picked.
The second step for me was motivation. I want to spend eternity with Christ.
The next part was pretty hard for me.... up to this point it was all pretty much academic and heady kind of stuff.... but now the rubber was about to hit the road. It is one thing to accept the Bible as the word of God and to be motivated to giving my life to God. But giving my life to God is an entirely different issue. This is where it starts getting hard. Just what does it mean to give your life to God and how do you go about doing it? I struggled with this for some time. I continued to struggle with it until I truly understood and completely accepted that the spiritual world truly exists and that there is an ongoing battle between good and evil (God and Satan). There are many versus in the Bible that refer to the spiritual world, how the angel Lucifer fell from grace because he wanted to be equal to God, and how Lucifer (Satan) reigns over the earth. Okay... this is where you either believe or you don't believe that the Bible is the word of God. If you don't believe it then this is where you can simply say that this is all fantasy, was written thousands of years ago and does not, cannot, apply to me today, and you can ignore the whole thing and go about living your life the way you always have. If you do believe that the Bible is the word of God then this is where you learn what it means to give your life to Christ. Here is my take on it based upon my studies.... Satan rules over the earth. For whatever reason, God gave him that authority... I think it was a bad idea but who am I to second guess God. God rules over the spiritual world and Satan is constantly trying to expand his control into the spiritual world. Satan's mission on earth is to pull man away from God and toward himself, to distract us from having a relationship with God... to force us to focus our lives on things not of God but rather on worldly things. There are "worldly" things and there are "Godly" things. Worldly things are all the stuff that we have or have had or want to have. Worldly things are things that dictate whether or not we have a good day. They dictate our mood and consequently how we feel about the people around us. We try to find happiness in worldly things only to discover that we really are not all that happy when we have them. We tend to keep searching for that worldly thing that will satisfy us and make us happy once and for all. We find something, it feels good for a while, but we feel something is missing. We are never really satisfied. Worldly things distract us from God. The bottom line is that God is not of this world. Satan is of this world. If you want to get closer to God, you have to get further away from the worldly things because these are controlled by Satan. Again, if you believe the Bible is the word of God you have no choice but to accept this. The good news is that we are assured an eternal life with God in the spiritual world that he reigns over if we give our worldly life to Him and accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. Okay... so what does it mean to give your worldly life to God? What does it mean to take on a spiritual life? To me it means not trying to find happiness in worldly things. Things are neat, but will not make you happy. It means turning to God to find the reason for your life. It means searching for what God's plan is for you. It means dedicating every day to God's work. I have my job at the hospital. I believe God placed me in that job to do his work. Every day as I do my job I do it knowing that I am doing it in the Glory of God. That this is the work he wants me to do (he put me there) and expects me to do. I will do the best job I can because He expects it. God gave Christopher to Pat and I. God expects me to raise Christopher in His glory. I am doing God's work by raising my son to become good Christian man. Everything I do I try to do because it is God's work, not because I want something of this world. God gave me life to do his work. I will do the best I can.
My third step... Accepting Christ as my Lord and savior and dedicating my life to doing God's work. Do what I do for God, not for worldly things.
Once I got to this point I became obsessed with learning more. I simply could not get enough. It is sort of strange. I never would have thought that I would hunger for knowledge about the word of God. But now that I am I can't imagine not wanting the knowledge and ignoring what is in the Bible. The Bible is a strange book. The first time I picked it up and read a verse or two at random it made little sense to me. If someone in Sunday School interpreted a verse for me then it seemed okay. But i just could not get it on my own. One day last fall I told myself that I was going to read the Bible, cover to cover. I was determined to to do it. I started with the New Testament and found that it does make sense. Each book of the New Testament either told me the story of Christ or told me how to build a relationship with Christ. As I read from book to book it all began to fall together. (Before I started reading the New Testament from the beginning I had already studied the last book, Revelations. I think that understanding how it all ends helped me to put the pieces together as I read through the entire New Testament.) Once I finished the New I moved on to the Old Testament. This, of course, is where you find all the old bible stories but more importantly begin to learn how God thinks. I know, sounds strange, but I can't think of a better way to state it. By reading the Old Testament (purposely from beginning to end rather than various versus at random) I am learning how God thinks and how he communicates with us. I can read the Bible and actually understand most of what I read. This was a huge breakthrough. By understanding how God "thinks" and knowing how he communicates with us I can build a personal relationship with Him. It's funny how it all starts coming together. Of course, the Internet has been a wonderful resource for me.
My fourth step... Study the word of God and build a personal relationship with God.
This sort of brings me to where I am now in my "Journey". I am trying to learn more and more and am consciously working on building my personal relationship with God. It's funny. I don't pray so much but I talk quite a bit with God. Sure, I say my prayers.... but that is just because that is what you are supposed to do. I accept that God is always next to me. All I have to do is whisper something to him and he hears it. All I have to do is whisper a "thank you" for something and he takes joy in my thanks. All I have to do is ask him for something and, if it fits his plan, he will gladly provide it. All I have to do is ask him for guidance on something and he shows me the way. I am constantly walking with and talking with God. What a warm and comforting feeling this is.
My fifth step... Walk and Talk with God
I don't know if the way I have gone about my journey is the most efficient but so far it has worked for me. I am happier than I have ever been in my life. Go figure, I have just been told I have a very rare form of cancer that does not respond well to treatment and I have never been happier in my life. Either I am a complete idiot or I have successfully established my relationship with God. Either way, I am happy... scared to death, but happy. I guess I am comforted in knowing that God has a reason for my cancer. I do not understand it but there is a reason. I will accept it and use it to do God's work. It makes no sense to ask God why I have cancer and how could He do this to me. He has a reason. He knows what is best. I accept it. I remind myself of something that happened several years ago. Chris got sick with something and we took him to the doctor. The doctor needed to give Chris a shot. Chris took one look at that needle and panicked. The doctor asked me to hold Chris down so he could give him the injection so I put my arms around Chris and by brute force made him be still. As I was doing that, just before the needle went in, Chris looked up at me with the most confused look in his eyes and I could read his thoughts.... "Why are you letting him do this to me??? Why are you not protecting me from him???" He didn't understand. And I could say nothing that would make him understand. I don't understand why I have cancer. God understands.
At any rate, that's the story of my journey so far. I have a long way to go but I am loving every minute of it.
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So What is This “Our Journey” All About?
As of the time I am writing this (May 2010) it has been four years since I was first diagnosed with a very rare, hard to treat, most likely terminal cancer. Over these past four years my family and I have battled the disease as intensely as we can with surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy. It has been a tough few years for each of us but we have unshakable faith in God and He has provided us the strength, courage, and blessings to fight on.
For quite a while my family had encouraged me to journal about my cancer, describing how I felt, what I thought, what the experience is like, etc. But I never really felt comfortable talking about myself (deep down I am really a very private type of person) so I resisted their request and, well, put it off. It has been a while since anyone has mentioned it but journaling of some type has always been in the back of my mind.
Since before I was first diagnosed in April 2006 I had begun building my relationship with God and, thankfully, by the time I was diagnosed I had already accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. It is this relationship and acceptance that has sustained me. Through all of this I believed that God has given us this challenge for a reason and that reason is to provide an example to others on how God is guiding us through this journey, provided for us in so many ways in our time of need, and how he continues to bless us as we continue our battle.
I recently decided to take my family’s advice and journal, sort of. I don’t really consider this to be a journal as much as a collection of thoughts and information that is important to me with respect to my spiritual journey woven into our experiences during our journey with cancer as it unfolds before us. It is written first and foremost for my family. I find it easier to write about how I feel rather than talk about how I feel (although recently I have consciously tried to begin to “open up” to them) and I hope that this collection provides some insight to them about me. But I don’t want it to stop there. If indeed God is asking that we provide the example of the power of God’s love and grace through our journey then I would hope that this collection be shared with anyone who would like to take the time to look it over, consider what it contains, and perhaps pick up a nugget or two of information or inspiration that will bring them closer to God. Again, this is what God has asked us to do and, if as a result, just one person who reads this Blog takes one step closer to God than we have been successful in doing the work that God has asked us to do.
This collection is a work in progress. I don’t believe I will ever really finish it until God tells me it is finished. As long as I can I will continue to contribute to it, praying that it yields fruit.
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For quite a while my family had encouraged me to journal about my cancer, describing how I felt, what I thought, what the experience is like, etc. But I never really felt comfortable talking about myself (deep down I am really a very private type of person) so I resisted their request and, well, put it off. It has been a while since anyone has mentioned it but journaling of some type has always been in the back of my mind.
Since before I was first diagnosed in April 2006 I had begun building my relationship with God and, thankfully, by the time I was diagnosed I had already accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. It is this relationship and acceptance that has sustained me. Through all of this I believed that God has given us this challenge for a reason and that reason is to provide an example to others on how God is guiding us through this journey, provided for us in so many ways in our time of need, and how he continues to bless us as we continue our battle.
I recently decided to take my family’s advice and journal, sort of. I don’t really consider this to be a journal as much as a collection of thoughts and information that is important to me with respect to my spiritual journey woven into our experiences during our journey with cancer as it unfolds before us. It is written first and foremost for my family. I find it easier to write about how I feel rather than talk about how I feel (although recently I have consciously tried to begin to “open up” to them) and I hope that this collection provides some insight to them about me. But I don’t want it to stop there. If indeed God is asking that we provide the example of the power of God’s love and grace through our journey then I would hope that this collection be shared with anyone who would like to take the time to look it over, consider what it contains, and perhaps pick up a nugget or two of information or inspiration that will bring them closer to God. Again, this is what God has asked us to do and, if as a result, just one person who reads this Blog takes one step closer to God than we have been successful in doing the work that God has asked us to do.
This collection is a work in progress. I don’t believe I will ever really finish it until God tells me it is finished. As long as I can I will continue to contribute to it, praying that it yields fruit.
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