For thought and meditation [Archive]

rl69

01-16-2017, 07:28 AM

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."—John 14:1–2 (http://harvest.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=4f108f827aed8d503b5fca9fa&id=d7e10f0a49&e=3dd732485b)The late Isaac Asimov said, "I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing Hell, or fearing Heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of Hell, I think the boredom of Heaven would be even worse."

Trust me. Heaven will not be boring. Some people think of Heaven in a mystical way, with clouds and more clouds and people floating around. Others think of Heaven as a really long church service.

But what is Heaven really like? I'll begin by saying that Heaven is an actual place. Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). A place—that is very important for us to remember. Heaven is a real place for real people to do real things. We need to think of it that way.

Heaven is also described as a paradise. When the thief on the cross said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom" (Luke 23:42 (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/x-apple-data-detectors://2)), Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise" (verse 43).

The apostle Paul said the same thing. He died and went to Paradise. That is an interesting word, because in the original language, it's actually a word to describe a walled garden like the king of Persia would have had.

Think of a palatial estate with a manicured garden that goes on forever, with every kind of fruit and flower. That is the word Paul used to describe Heaven after God brought him back. Paul was thinking of the best thing he could imagine, saying it was like paradise to him.

That doesn't mean it can't be beautiful on this planet. We see God's glory on display in His creation, even in a fallen state. But Heaven is a paradise

Blackwater

01-16-2017, 12:06 PM

I've never read whether Asimov finally came to the light or not, but I hope he did. For myself, I've come to conceive of Heaven as a simple place of thankfulness and appreciation, of joy we can't now understand because of all the evil in our world that keeps us so wary (hopefully!). It's a place where there's no evil, so there's no need for wariness, or apprehension, or hard labor. We'll just commune with each other and the Lord, and worship Him as He's always deserved to be worshiped. We'll know the answers to all the mysteries that we now feebly try to comprehend or guess at. There'll be constant and unending satisfaction, joy and peace. Who would find THAT "boring?" I certainly don't.

People who find the concepts of Heaven "boring," have no idea what it is. Satan has convinced them that they don't want it, all so he can take their souls with him to hell. He's always been a deceiver, often called "the Great Deceiver." And he's EARNED that title, in spades, too! His contempt for us is even grater than his contempt for God, that caused him and his minions to be cast out. Now, he's out for nothing but simple and unending revenge, by taking as many souls with him as he can. And he has no other tool available to him BUT trickery, lies, deceit and cajoling contempt. And he has spread it thickly in our world today. He has no hope, no promise for tomorrow, no joy, just a lot of excuses for his error. No greater "meanness" has ever existed than his. And that can't be allowed in Heaven. If it was, it could no longer be a real Heaven, but something else entirely. So there was nothing for God to do BUT cast him and his minions out. They put their own conceptions above God's realities, and thus, earned being banned forever from Heaven. Thank God he is! But the consequences are, he's at work in our world today, and VERY busy, as are his minions, that we now call "demons." And he and his demons are as real as Christ is. They just do very different works, and we all here on earth are constantly choosing between following one or the other, and those that follow Satan are always making up excuses for what they do, and what they claim to believe. But it's their choice, given to them by God, and we cannot have any control over these decisions by others at all. All we CAN do is witness to them, and hope some tidbit will strike them the right way, and penetrate that thick, hard shell they keep themselves covered with, and help them see the light. But ultimately, it's up to each one of them as individuals, whether to let the light and Truth in, or not.

So ultimately, it all works itself out, and WE choose who we'll follow and why. Today, even science has come right up to the doorsteps of proving that God, as described in the Christian Bible, MUST exist, but where do we see that info published or aired? Not very often! It seems that Satan and PC have taken much of the air out of the Christian message, because they don't WANT Truth to be accessible to more people. The media surely don't think much of REAL answers. There's no "story" in them. Just a simple, "boring" report of what is, and why it's the way it is. So .... they continue to cover all the ills and "problems" in the world, to keep people cynical, pessimistic and "bored" with all the evil in it. When folks get bored with evil, evil grows and spreads, and eventually, does what evil always does - takes souls from having a chance at Heaven.

This world IS coming to an end, just as was prophesied so long ago now. And there's nothing we can do to prevent it. Our only and greatest hope and assurance is that after this world, we'll have Heaven, if only we've made a judicious choice, and sought to understand and execute all we can of Christ's good advice and instruction. It's just that simple and concrete. Folks who deny it have simply been overcome by the cynicism, pessimism and haughty contempt for everything, including their own selves!!! And yet, they don't believe in Satan??? You'd think it would be very obvious what's at work, how it's working, and that there MUST be a more desirable alternative, wouldn't you? But Satan puts scales over people's eyes, and makes them deaf to the Words and thoughts and plans of our Creator and Redeemer, so .... they either can't or won't hear His words. And there are consequences for that, and they've been clearly outlined for us, and seem to be undeniable and inevitable, if we'll just consider the matter seriously.

And that's the key to Satan's methods. He tries in any and every way he can to get people to NOT take anything seriously. And has he ever more succeeded in that these days!!! It has NOT "always been like this." Yes, Satan's always moved amongst us, but never with the force and effect we're seeing today. I suspect that Sodom and Gomorah didn't start out to be what they wound up being. Somehow, Satan got a good foothold there, and .... it was off to the races ... for him. And to perdition for the people who succumbed to his temptations.

And we in the US have been tending toward that for a long time now. We've allowed, and even encouraged and sometimes demanded, that evil be allowed to flourish amongst us! And for this, like it's always been, there's going to be a price we'll have to pay, and we'll ALL pay for what we've allowed to be fraught upon us by our own collective demands and foolishness, and lack of discipline. But the faithful cannot be fearful, for they will have their place in Heaven, no matter what transpires around them in this world. It's getting harder to be a real Christian, with all the rules of PC saying essentially that we believers are supposed to "keep quiet" and let "the people" have their way. PC may well be the most powerful and damaging tool that Satan has ever used against us! And I'm serious in that. It doesn't just constitute "another approach and set of beliefs" as its proponents suggest. It strikes at the very heart of all that we've been commissioned to do as followers of Christ.

And it's been said that "All that's necessary for evil to overcome good, is for good people to sit and do nothing." No greater Truth has ever been spoken! For when good people sit and fail to carry out our Great Commission, and sit meekly and silently while evil grows all around us, what COULD happen other than for evil to flourish? Can you think of any other possible result? Its as certain as night following the day. And THAT is the battle we have always fought. God help us to NEVER cease that battle, and to learn how to become better and better soldiers for our Lord. And the irony of it all, seems to me to be that the best way to fight that battle, is just to show a confident but humble strength of our Faith. People learn more from seeing what people DO, than from what they SAY. So one's attitude in witnessing often matters more than what is said.

If a non-believer sees before them a person who clearly shows they are fearless of anything they can do, they have more reason to realize their own shortcomings in that area. Most non-believers are based in fear, really, but Satan has tried to cover that up with false and mock "pride" and "confidence," which really just boils down to a specific type of arrogance and contempt, mixed together. We see it all around us today. It's like we're swimming in a sea of it sometimes!

And yet, the Word, when it's really heard, can melt all that idoicy away like a blowtorch on an ice cube! Truly, there has NEVER been anything on this earth like the Christian Faith. Nothing. Not EVER! And how so many tend to bat it away is a paradox that I'll never understand, really. God help those who have succumbed to Satan's story. But there's another in this world that is FAR more than just a "philosophy." It's really REAL, and it's right there in front of us, awaiting our decision, for as long as we have breath in our bodies, to simply reach out our hand, and take Christ's outstretched hand in ours, and in so doing, change our lives SO tremendously for the better! How could there be a greater contrast of decisions, than between Heaven and Hell? Satan may have many convinced that belief is "boring," but nothing could be further from the Truth! They've just accepted Satan's lies and pretensions, rather than solid Truth.

And the battle will continue to rage until the trumpet sounds. But then, it's like Kenny Rogers sang, it'll be time to count it all up, when the dealing's done. But until that day, we are to continue to do all we can learn how to do, to win as many souls as WE can. It's us against Satan, and Satan is, after all, supernatural, so we're at a bit of a disadvantage it would appear. But even Satan can be overcome by us if we use the right weapons, and that's simply knowing and understanding what Christ so wondrously gave us to work with. Those tools also are "supernatural," and CAN defeat Satan if applied diligently and lovingly and consistently, and with confidence and humility. All we really have to do, is just "do it" as Nike says. If that's "boring," I'd hate to see what REAL boring is!!!

So let's all reaffirm our resolve to do more and better, and to learn more about HOW to approach the unbelievers, so we CAN win more souls. It goes on every day, across the whole, wide world, and we are and always have been meant to be a part of that. God help us to be the best we can at it. It matters, and it matters a LOT!