In Summary:
The question isn’t: will we face adversity? We shall. “Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward” Job 5:7. Israel lived in safety, prosperity and pleasure under Moses by obeying God. Christ’s people live in spiritual transport, however wickedly life afflicts them; in routine symmetry, however confusing and disorderly society becomes; in perfect peace, however nerve-wracking circumstances become. The question isn’t, can mortals without faith in God heroically rise above negative experiences? They can,
The question isn’t: can we have a successful life without God? We can, for the same reason as above. The question isn’t: can we by refusing to accept failure as final, find a way past bad times to good? We can, for the same reason as above. The question IS: will our success in rising above adversity without God prepare us to face God; to be so honorable that God makes a place for us based on our effort to morally win back all that our humanity loses by sin: to survive death to live again? In short, The question IS: can any effort we make to survive in this world
Absolute NOT in either case! For it’s only by Christ’s Grace that his forgiven people inherit God’s favor, whatever their sins. Read Romans 8:28-39 and Revelation 3:21-22 for God’s promise how we can overcome the world…and we’ll find it has nothing to do with our effort but ALL with the Christ, his suffering and his victory over death! Fini
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Of the five accounts of adversity experienced in I Survived, only two considered GOD as their STRENGTH and HELPER. They answered the question: where was God when the tragedies occurred?
Where God has always, eternally, been:
Now, from His Throne, beside the Father’s, Revelation 3:21, Jesus governs history and its events, intercedes to protect those he chooses, such as the young man who survived a shot to his spinal column that should have killed him, but didn’t; such as the time a young woman, bowed low by the burden of regret and fear, remembered again John 3:16. As she read it, off her mind and out of her heart fell all the weight, and she stood tall, shoulders back, face alight, as God’s love and empowerment filled her. End Part II Judy handed me a story from her AARP magazine. Titled I Survived, it detailed the story of five people who endured but survived five tragedies,
It included a summary, The Power of Survival. The stories emphasize the human heroism possible in adversity. What didn’t surprise me was the omission of God’s help in three of the five cases, with none mentioned in the summary. One lady remembered begging God to give her a second chance—but no mention of a follow-up gratitude when he did. One survivor remembered going into depression that nearly caused his suicide and found that talking about the tragedy with another mortal lightened his burden and gave new meaning to life. One lady learned from her German dad’s tough talk to “get over it,” because bad things happen to good people. End Part I The Greeks postulated the location of Hesperides—Islands of the Blessed—a region of felicity and plenty, where souls of good people went after death. They didn’t know the location, so they put it in unexplored geography. Since their discoveries stopped at the Canary Islands, they placed the Islands in the Vast Ocean beyond. However, when Europeans opened Atlantic and Pacific geography, no one found it anywhere they went either, however distant the places discovered: Ponce de Leon in Florida to Ferdinand Magellan in the Philippines.
It should have occurred to them, as by now to us: humans won’t find paradise anywhere on earth since it doesn’t exist within our constructs! Which doesn’t mean an after-life doesn’t exist or we can’t know where it exists or how it’s found. We’ve simply looked for it in the wrong places—whether the death pits of Sumerian Queen Shuh Ad; the terra cotta figures guarding the grave of Ch’n Shih Huang Ti; the pyramids of Egypt equipping dead Pharaohs with all possible resources for another life—or any of the earth-bound hopes and plans of mortals. Heaven – not Hesperides; with eternal life—not in any mortal’s image, does exist. In a PLACE where a PERSON dwells as the center of life beyond death: God in Christ the PERSON, New Jerusalem the PLACE:
To be worthwhile, a future life must offer a TRUE resurrection, not merely immortality. Greek religion believed in a spirit-immortality, wandering forever in a dark underworld. The new, resurrected body God promises, with an equally new brain, PROVIDES:
Where we live forever and: never grow older. Where we powerfully exert our energies and: never weaken or tire. Where all mysteries are solved and: all secrets studied, explored and understood. Where our eyes: see all and miss nothing. Where our brains: retain all and lose nothing. Where our spirit grows increasingly: beatific and holy, luxuriating in the beauty of grace. It’s where we will:
It’s where:
It’s where:
It’s a life that’s:
Whose:
We know that “man born of woman is of a few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure” Job 14:1-2. While Job spoke his despair of our mortality from pain he couldn’t escape, death and its graves had already, by his time, proved the truth of his words.
The many more deaths and deaths and deaths, with their graves and graves and graves since, hasn’t, and never shall, keep us from wanting more FROM life…like our inconsistency of:
Despite the medical practitioner’s forecast that 150 year-lifespans seem possible, all that medical advances have provided is better health, not perpetual life. And cannot yet surpass the lifespan promised by Moses in Psalm 90:10. And, true enough, Solomon, for all his wisdom, questioned the feasibility of human resurrection—Ecclesiastes 3:19-21, based on a lifetime of denying himself no pleasure he desired Ecclesiastes 2:1-11. Much later, philosopher David Hume expressed his refusal to live again by it being a “most unreasonable fancy.” Historian Will Durant revealed modern skepticism of a resurrection by a life of study without God. When you exclude GOD, even what you read will be dangerous to you. All three skeptics expressed a common ignorance: they know neither “the Scriptures” nor “the power of God”, as Jesus said in Matthew 22:29. For humanity as a WHOLE, rejecting the pessimism of the FEW, the question of life beyond death knocks, as Emerson said in another regard, “for answer at every heart.” End Part I In Luke 21:12-13 Jesus warned of obstacles Christians would face and the opportunities each offered. The obstacle would be the suffering entailed being a witness for him. The opportunity being the chance to be a bold witness whatever they experienced.
The book of Acts presented a series of obstacles and opportunities we'll call Problem: Solution. For example, the loss of Judas posed a Problem. While the selection of Matthias offered a Solution Acts 1:15-20, 26. Thus, while Judas failed as a disciple, Matthias succeeded in an ongoing mission. For example, the Jewish leadership created a Problem by rejecting Christ's Messianic Presence. God's Solution declared him both Lord and Christ by his resurrection Acts 2:36. Sinners can interfere with God's plans. They can never overcome them. For example, the Jewish leadership posed a Problem when warning the apostles not to speak "at all" in Christ's name. God's Solution empowered Peter to declare they couldn't stop speaking in Christ's name Acts 4:18-29. Servants of Christ can be harmed. His message can never be stilled. For example, Ananias and Sapphira desired the reputation Barnabas enjoyed as a financial blessing to the church, Acts 4:36-37, while harboring greed—the Problem—that made them lie about the size of their contribution Acts 5:1-2. God's Solution: protecting the integrity of Christ's apostles—who as his Vicars could not be deceived—came by striking both sinners down Acts 5:5, 9. Evil people die, God's work proceeds! In Acts 6:1 burgeoning growth in the Jerusalem church posed the Problem of favoritism in the distribution of food. The widows of Judean Christians received more attention than those of Grecian ancestry. A possible split coming, at the very start of Christianity? No...for God's Solution through the apostles was the selection of 7 Grecian men to represent the interests of Grecian widows in the distribution. And these are but a few of the Problems Posed, Solution Offered in the first six chapters of Acts. The point for us is: life will never stop creating problems; enemies of grace will never stop corrupting it into license; weak Christians will always find ways to increase problems in the fellowship. BUT...thank God...the Holy Spirit will always have a Solution, whatever the Problem. We won't stop the former. Will we pray for insight to find and implement the latter? How many PROBLEMS that arise in congregations, resulting in church fights and splits, could be avoided if God's people PRAYED to see the SOLUTION available to maintain unity, not experience division? A lady, graduating from Marquette University, entered the Peace Corps in 1965. She served two years in India, learned the language, loved the people and taught subjects ranging from nutrition to building a latrine. Sixty years later she regretted only that she hadn't done more with greater knowledge and energy. Reminisce Magazine, April/May, 2021, p. 39
This writer understands the lady's regret. As he surveys his Christian life some 67 years after baptism by H. Leon Appel, his only regret is: he didn't do it sooner and didn't live more successfully and energetically for Jesus. With all other Christians, however, he shares the welcome intercession of Jesus Christ denied all secular pursuits: his perfect life compensating for all our good intentions but flawed actions. Scripture calls it GRACE—the very gift of God that Christ's life freely provides, that couldn't be earned, merited or achieved by ANY effort. It inspires us to keep going when we feel like stopping; to try again when we've repeatedly failed; to accept the Spirit's surge of energy when we feel ours depleting. It's a love that "will not let us go"—if we seek refuge in it. It's a grace that in Jesus Christ brings to perfection any service we offer, but fail to complete and leads to God DECLARING us SAVED, FORGIVEN, RIGHTEOUS! This blog is written from a Christian, Bible-based, Christ-honoring perspective. All human life matters, not just black life. Every human life, of every race. Not because they’re black or white, or whatever: that elevates one race above another in importance. And not IF, but SINCE...once born, every person is destined to live forever as either SAVED or LOST, either in HEAVEN or in HELL.
Black lives matter is the favorite mantra of those who complain about police brutality—which is real, if only in isolated instances, and should be nearly non-existent since policemen are trained to use only the force needed to induce compliance. However, when a person stopped by officers runs, he guarantees a chase. If arrested, and fights the officer, he invites a struggle, and that engenders violent confrontations between mortals equally concerned with dominance and survival. And...should drugs or alcohol be involved, the risk becomes exponential for both. And if, in the situation, the officer uses force recklessly or exceeds the force required, he becomes the judge of the person. That makes him accountable to the law. With these rules practiced, incidents of abuse by policemen would be fewer, though still recorded by the ubiquitous cameras present in daily life. Since all human life matters, it’s incumbent on people of every race to assume responsibility for their own lives. That will have several positive impacts. First, responsibility for begetting new human life will be limited to the marriage relationship, where both fathers and mothers model behavior expected of the child. That will vastly reduce the production of children by serial fornicators, who leave pregnant women to claim welfare for their unborn while they seek cohabitation with new partners. Second, it will encourage all races to pay the price of getting solid educations in chosen fields. That equips them to claim well-paying business and tech positions. That will reduce black men especially from relying on sports for a livelihood. While professional sports makes a few of them incredibly wealthy, education in chosen fields will bring significantly-compensated careers for many. Third, maturing in a family with a responsible male leading will provide security and stability for children. When a man leads his family in serving God, disciplines them according to God’s will and punishes them when discipline fails, it reduces to near-extinction the dependence on drugs, alcohol or fornication males of every race will otherwise use to fortify their self-esteem. In learning to serve others the need to satisfy self decreases. Jesus personified service to others, even to degrading himself as a condemned criminal to offer forgiveness of human sin. Fourth, self-earned incomes will increase the spread of every race into integrated neighborhoods. That essential to peaceful race relations will hasten community efforts to resolve conflicts, and expect armed policemen and national guardsmen only in catastrophes. It will certainly reduce rioting and looting in neighborhoods that profit only a few hooligans while it costs responsible people their hard-earned livelihoods. I invite comments from those who feel I’ve fairly represented the issues involved. I also invite debate with anyone disagreeing with my perspectives. I ask only to conduct the debate in objective good-will and with the understanding that God’s truth in the Bible is the final authority on all issues. A January 12, 2020 Parade Magazine featured some of the healthiest places in America to live. They included small-population Breckenridge, Colorado, approximately 5000 people; big-population Minneapolis, Minnesota, approximately 432,000 people; and middle-sized population Charleston, South Carolina, approximately 130,000 people. They even listed five ways people anywhere can increase their life span, including better diets, walking as a habit and living away from sea level to higher elevations.
Longevity...adding a few month or a few years to the average life spans...the siren call of the age. Ignoring the certainty of mortality—the fixation of modern medicine—we seek to keep everyone alive LONGER, even at the expense of a quality-life. Just keep ‘em breathing! We have become so mired in this world that we CAN’T, not just WON’T, look to the next world. We’re like Simon Peter’s generation, having become so obsessed with, and accustomed to, this world—“the empty way of life handed down from your forefathers” I Peter 1:18—that we don’t find it possible to see up from the rut we’re in, or even think any other way but our rut exists. Why are we so obsessed with living longer with SO little interest in living eternally? How can we make a good life on earth but disbelieve God can make a PERFECT one in his Heaven? Can we be so spiritually impoverished to believe that? |
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