What's Next?

 

Moving scene, Montreal, 1st May, frontpage of L'Opinion publique, Montreal, 

vol. VII, no 20, 1876, 18 mai, p. 1.

Our Assistant Pastor is on the road today, moving to another state. His sermon Sunday morning was entitled "What's Next? You can watch it on YouTube, just search for First Baptist Church of Cottondale, Texas. Oddly enough, there are two other FBC Cottondale, and I've been blessed to take photos of both. We were not there on a day services were being held, or I would have attended. I am very glad to attend services where the Bible is taught and discussed.

However, losing an Assistant Pastor is actually traumatic is many cases. It is always a sense of sadness to stop seeing him at work or calling with questions, and it increases a pastor's job until a new one is selected. However - it is also a very happy occasion because there's another church that has requested him as pastor. It is an opportunity for growth, and a continuing of what came next for him years ago.

"What's Next" is one of the first questions in every Christian's life. It certainly jumped to the forefront in AP's sermon this morning from Acts 1. Jesus' disciples most definitely had experienced trauma in their lives over the past three years.

Jsus took twelve men away from their everday work. We know Matthew was a tax collector, and there were at least four fishermen: Peter, Andrew, James, and John. There new job was to follow Him, listen, apply the lessons, and share the good news. The twelfth, Judas Iscariot, died the same day Jesus died. The next three days were spent in a combination of despair and mourning for all who followed Jesus. 

But that third day!!! And, the next 40 days with Him!!! Those were fulfilling. However, the disciples didn't understand any more than they did they time He gave the parable about the sower (see Mark 4.)

When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6)

Forty days of being with their resurrected miracle worker who explained parables - and they asked "What's Next?' with a question not related to Jesus' previous instructions:

And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. (Acts 1:4-5)

Don't think you've done better, yet. This is often what new Christian believers run into. "Wow! My whole world has changed. People I ran around with won't speak to me now, and the people at church expect me to know what to do next. I don't!"

Trust God. Trust that reading your Bible with prayer will teach you what you need to do next.  After that verse six questions, the disciples did exactly what Jesus told them to do. The rest of chapter one tells us they obeyed by staying in Jerusalem. They gathered in the Upper Room where the Last Supper was held and prayed. Then Peter referred (Acts 1:20) to scripture in Psalm - which comes close to:

Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents. (Psalms 69:25)

The disciples then prayed and filled the empty leadership position.

So - for the new Christian and the established church members - the answer is always: obey God's instructions.

Where are the instructions? In the Bible. How will we know which one applies? Begin with two commands:

Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:36-40)

Any decision should be predicated by beginning with the first, and continuing with the second, before taking action. Love God enough to read His words in the Bible:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The simplicity of Christianity is accepting Jesus as God's Son, His plan of salvation. But saying it is so doesn't necessarily mean that one believes it. Fortunately, the Bible was written so that we can be certain of its essential truth, even when we have questions:

He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:10-13)

Everyone Gets the Same Question

 

Question Mark Trio

Recently on X a member continued a conversation with me after an exchange about Pascal's Wager. I've written about it before, so you can either do a search here or Google if you are not familiar with it. 

Everyone answers the question "Does God exist?" Even if it is a lower-case deity, humans choose to believe, or not, in their own mind. 

What I do not understand are those who accept the outward signs of belief - marriage, funerals, Christmas, Easter - and participate in those out of civic duty. 

One sweet mother describes her own mother as being in heaven. It gives her a sense of peace. But she has denied believing in the one book that uses that word for a specific place. How does she think her mother got to heaven, and what did she teach her own children for their comfort. 

Lots of questions - but every individual who lived or is now living on this planet faces it because we all know death comes to each one of us. 

For believing Jews and Christians the question is answered in:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

Simple - belief in this verse to be considered either a believing/practicing Jew or Christian. You see, anyone can take the title, but the Bible decides whether they are telling the truth. When a person tells someone else they are a Jew or a Christian, the assumption should be they believe in God, YHWH, LORD, the most used names applied to the deity we worship.

To be considered a Christian, it is necessary to add:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3)

Christians do not believe in multiple Gods - there is  only one and we see that deity in many ways - one of which was when He became human, and there is much to learn from that. Our reference is called a Bible. It contains books the Jews consider scripture, plus the writings of Jesus' apostles who worked directly with Him while He was here on earth, then returned to the heaven we all wish to see.

The question about God's existence isn't new, and the relationship between God and mankind goes back to the oldest book in the Bible - Job.

How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? (Job 25:4)

Yes - even though it isn't one of the first books, it has been studied and is believed by scholars to have been written about the same time of Abraham, introduced to us in the book of Genesis. Reading Job takes time and study. It is his friend Bildad speaking in Chapter 25. Bildad and Job's three other friends never questioned the reality of God, nor the need to do right and not wrong. Their ethics are clear throughout the book. Even Job asks:

For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? (Job 27:8)

Which Jesus rephrases:

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36)

Please - if you chosen there is not a deity, reconsider. Then add the Bible to your reading. Never leave the life of Jesus out of your life without being able to explain the reason for your choice. Some day, an explanation will be required. That's a promise.

Pascal's Wager does not go beyond deciding whether or not a deity exists. When a person make the choice that one does, it is necessary to be certain you have chosen wisely. There is a huge difference for the Christian believer, given in John 3:16-18:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-18)

I started this subject, and was interrupted. Didn't get back to it until today. Good thing! Our lesson was on Job, which gave me the Job 25:4 verse. Then the sermon this morning gave me the next blog. 

The Bible Explains the Bible

 

Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Boulder, Colorado

I looked in Wikimedia Commons for graphic with the Greek Alpha and Omega letters because of four  verses - and this one is my favorite:

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. (Revelation 21:6)

I like the difference between "It is done," and "It is finished."

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (John 19:30)

Which word do you use when you've completed a significant part of a project, as opposed to when the entire project is complete? 

When Jesus died on the cross, several prophecies were fulfilled, but there was much more coming down the road. John outlined Jesus life and death on earth, then was given the task of showing the completion of God's plans for Earth, the entire planet and every soul who had ever been on it. 

It is impossible to put the whole story in one verse, though John 3:16 comes close:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

It is important to have read the full discourse Jesus had with Nicodemus beginning with John 3:1 and running through John 3:21 to understand the outline of the discussion. Entire sermons have been written on John 3:16-18, and entire study cousrses on all 21 verses. No one gets it in one reading without finding out who Nicodemuis was and why this discussion was important.

Nicodemus is mentioned in other verses. He was a Pharisee. Pharisees are mentioned in many verses, and when you know them, you understand how different this discussion could be. Verses may appear to be important when they are quoted alone, but it is how they fit into the entire biblical story of God that we can see their importance.

Never allow your salvation - or any one else's - to stand on a single verse. Find where the subject or the person is through the entire Bible, being certain you get the full picture that you are shown.

The majority of people who have lived on Earth believed/believes in a deity. Some do not, but tend to "worship" something all of their lives. They have an earthly goal while not believing there is more to living. Christians are consistent - there is life after death. God, the name applied to the deity that created the seeable universe we live in, supplied the book that introduces Him to mankind. He also supplied all the information to reach Him and accept living with Him eternally. 

I've written of Pascal's Wager - most recently three years ago - and you can Google about it and find tons of information. Each one of us must determine what we will bet our lives upon. I have deliberately (see the freedom to do so in the middle of that decision?) chosen to put my faith in God's merciful love. Have you? If not, would you be kind enough to tell me why not? It can be done anonymously, right here.

Can We Talk About Goals?

 

This was just sketched on a wrinkled piece of paper that I had used heaven only knows when. Doubting it came from a work meeting (but it could have), I prefer thinking it came from some Ladies Meeting, or a weekend of fellowship thinking about God's word (or Word.)

Frankly, my five-year goal is to celebrate my 90th birthday five years from next Friday. A weekly goal is getting to next Friday - but we worked pretty hard at that this past year, so I'm feeling comfortable. It's the "Someday" goal from the above list that's on my mind.

My "Someday" goals have changed over the decades. Too many decades to really look at the changes, but I made one "Someday" goal back when I was a young teen and decided I was being taught correctly and needed to make a decision. Some day, I wanted to be in heaven with most of the people I knew. There is a God who both created and still cares about u, who provided an eternal home for His creation. Simple and unbelievable unless you find Him.

I not only knew the Roman's Road that outlines the reasons for and ability to achieve salvation. These verses in the Bible do not stand alone, but they encompass the wording needed to understand we live in an imperfect world, why that affects everyone. At one time I had it memorized and marked in my New Testament. Back then I was eager to share that information.

Life decisions moved my path into creating a family. I fell in love in a week, and married a year later. Together we made and met several awesome goals. Missed a few along the way, too, but none of them were earth-shattering. This year we celebrated our 65th wedding anniversary. We feel grateful and blessed - many of our dear friends did not make that. Our own son-in-law missed his 37th, and they would have been an awesome couple at 50th, 60th, or 70th. 

Not everyone gets to complete a goal, but we should set them. The heavenly one I set is available to everyone I know, and many have turned it down. I would love to know the specifics on those that have. Where/when did they make the specific decision to turn down what Gof has for them?

Oh, I do ask that question. The older I get, the stronger is my desire to believe I have done what I could to explain why I am interested. You see, the offer of a heavenly eternity is open to every one, to whosoever, all mankind. And yet many turn it down. The answer I do get is the same as many celebrities, "I don't believe there are any gods. Science proves the universe is simply a natural occurrence."

Can it be that it's simply a matter of having an open mind and using prayer as a companion to reading the Bible?

As the Bible teaches, all mankind has sinned - that's a problem, but is true:

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (Romans 3:10)

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)

In spite of our willfully damaging other people's lives, God loves us all:

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Willfully continuing to reject God has only one solution, accepting God has the other:

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

The needed action is simple and life changing:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9)

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)

Of course these aren't the only verses. They are a convenient way of getting to the center of "what is wrong and how to set it right." There are tons of other verses - Romans 3:10 is a quote from the Old Testament. Prophets before Christ were specific in where men were sinning. If we look with truth in our own lives, we know where we have fallen short of truth with those we love, much less those we don't.

The Bible is full of truth. However, single verses can carry falsehoods, so it is best read in context. Read through Romans. Better yet, read through the four Gospels and see what you find in Jesus. Then read Acts to meet Paul and why he was involved with Jesus' followers. Then read Romans.

Of course, then you'll need to read the Old Testament to find out where Jews came from, why their religion is important, how promises made to God were not kept, but promises made by God were kept. Never skip the Prophecies! Every book of the Old Testament speaks of God's promise of a coming savior. Can you see Jesus there? If not, please let me show you what you've missed.

Come, set your goal. Read with me, and learn of our Lord and Savior. One God who is always with mankind.

Take Note, or Heed Words

 

File:Taking Learning Seriously by Lee Shulman

Thursday, October 4, 2012, I published my blog "I Love Our Members." Neither of the men mentioned in the first two paragraphs are with us today, but I am firm in my belief I will see both of them again. They, among many others, kept notes, as I do. 

I keep notes from Sunday sermons in notebooks which fit into back pockets of blue jeans. They were designed by a constructor worker who needed them, adopted by the company who hired him, were used for decades as a tool by all employees for decades, and called "Homer Books" after the man who cut down stenographer notebooks to fit into his jean's pocket. What do you use to take notes?

Some might use a digital device. I have one of those and can type almost as fast on one as I can a keyboard. However, I keep a Homer Book in my church bag for sermon notes, and have several in my work area here, filled with notes. Many have shown up in blogs over the years. None of them are expected to last as long as notes written that became scripture.

We don't know who took notes as King David spoke to his son, but we do know the advice given:

That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel. (1 Kings 2:4)

The "if-then" statement is the basic decision-maker in programming. It tells the computer to check a defined condition. If that condition is true, then the computer perform a specified action. If the condition is false, then the computer skips that action and performs a different action.

God often spoke to prophets and people with "if-then" statements.  In this particular story, David is passing along the promise God made David about his children. If you are familiar with I Kings, you know David had a rather disfunctional family, with a couple of adult children working to make themselves his replacement.

I've given all that background just to be certain it is important to know when to heed the words in the Bible, and to take notes when they are being explained. David was carefully explaining to Solomon that it was necessary for his own children to note, to take heed of what was written generations before:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

It is of that very verse, the oneness of God, that Jesus said:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38)

Just in case you didn't get it when Matthew wrote his note, Mark wrote his:

And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. (Mark 12:29-30)

Solomon did not do what Israel was told to do:

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

Just in case you haven't take note, nor heeded the words, scripture repeats important information:

Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Deuteronomy 11:18-19)

There were Israelites then, and today, who physically wore scripture. However, we serve a spiritual being and we need to have these in the center of our lives, in the center of our heart, our very soul, the essence of who and what we are. We need to have the love we hold for God so evident that people who know us also know our love of God is the reason we take note and pay heed.

I've made "notes"  here on this blog for literal decades. People I will never meet in my lifetime here have read and heeded them. I pray for my readers to understand God's good news for all mankind. For those who do read and understand, we will have time in eternity to meet, and rejoice. Looking forward to seeing you there, too, because you noted and heeded God's message.

Send A Philip

 

Detail from: Aelbert Cuyp - Saint Philip Baptising the Ethiopian Eunuch

Recently I was requested to pray for a person I did not know. My favorite verse when an unknown request is made, or one that is noted to be unspoken, is:

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

I don't need to know the person nor the request, because I know who God sent following Jesus' resurrection:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26)

John is the only gospel writer to speak of the Comforter, but Luke also wrote of the Holy Ghost, and whether it is Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, the remainder of the letters connect the three aspects of our God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I know that has been taken to mean that Christians worship three different God's, but the example I like best is me.

I am a daughter, a wife, and a mother. I interact differently with people depending on the individual aspects required. I also am a woman, an employer, and an employee. Depending on the situation, I make a wide range of decisions based on those attributes. I am bound by physical limitations and can be in only one place at a time, and one time or place. But that simplicity should give you a clue.

God is not limited. Not by time, not by place, not by flesh - except when He appeared here on earth as the child of Mary and Joseph. That was His choice. Jesus was limited by flesh and somewhat by time, but the spirit that is the God we worship was not. Nor is He now. Nor is He divided into three separate beings. The name He gave to Moses is good enough for me: I AM.

God provided the Holy Spirit as the Comforter. He remains with us. My favorite story about the Holy Spirit includes the disciple, Philip and is found in Acts:

And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. (Acts 8:26-35)

Spend some time thinking about the two men in this story. One walked with Jesus for three years, watched Jesus die, spent time with Him after the resurrection, and has been talking about it for years. The other is reading scripture from another language, a different people, and only God knows why it was that the two of them were brought together for such a time as this, but neither hesitated to converse.

After thinking about the prayer request, and reading Acts 8:26-27, I had a suggestion form in my mind. "Lord, send a Philip. Send someone who will allow the Holy Spirit to work through them, as Philip did. Let the person open their heart to be receptive to the Holy Spirit and understand the gospel message is for them."  Yes, a prayer. Amen - may it be so.

There are Philips in our world today. I know a couple of them - ready to answer the questions "... of whom speaketh the prophet ..." In fact, both you and I can be the Philip for someone. I actually have been, I believe, speaking with someone at a specific time when they were open to the Holy Spirit's message. I spoke without thinking about what I was saying, and frankly I was surprised at what I said, and it wasn't exactly the same each time. It fit the moment. 

No, I was not requested to baptize anyone. That certainly is not my calling. But I am called to tell others about Jesus. All Christians know this:

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11)

Simply share it and you can be a Philip, too. 

LAD The Widow Maker

 

This is one of the reasons I haven't spent time on the computer - I was 90+% blocked and needed angioplasty and a stent before experiencing the actual heart attack. Fortunately, I found a great cardiologist who listened to me and my symptoms. Be certain they are clear to you to - it happens to both men and women, at differing ages. Pay attention to the symptoms your body shares. If your doctor isn't responsive to your questions, see another doctor.

There were three other reasons from as far back as the fall of 2024 that have slowed me down during that year - treatments and body reactions to Atrial Fibrillation, a fall with a small bone break, and a parathyroid gland that decided to work overtime and mess up several body functions that hadn't been part of the heart, bone, bruises issues. It has taken over a full year and a half to see enough doctors, hospitals, and I'm still in cardio rehab three times a week along with physical rehab twice a week, plus a family that fluctuates between "You need to be active," and "Don't do too much." There is a fine line and I stumble across it often.

However - it is my own responsibility to own up to the fact that one of the things I let slip was sharing the Bible. It is one thing I should have been doing through the entire period, and I didn't. The Bible has lots of examples of people that didn't do what they were supposed to do according to God's planning.

We could begin with Adam and Eve - but we know their story all to well. Or Abraham - who lied about his wife - kind of - and made a king unhappy. Or Joseph's brothers - who carried sibling rivalry way too far, yet God used the circumstances to create a nation. But my favorite example is a man who is described by the Lord as "a man after his own heart," and is yet known as a sinner - King David:

And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee. (1 Samuel 13:13-14)

We all sin. From Eve down to me and everyone in between and around, we're all sinners - as recently as this moment. David committed several before the first of the sons Bathsheba bore him by adultry with her and planning the death of her husband. Yet God saw David as a man after God's own heart. I believe that is shown in the Psalms he wrote about his relationship with God, but mostly in Psalm 51 where he shows contrition over both sins that cost him their son:

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. (Psalms 51:10-14)

There was no sacrifice that came to David's mind that could cleanse his guilt, the blood guilt of taking lives. However, David had a personal relationship with God, was inspired by God to write:

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (Psalms 51:17)

I firmly believe that forgiveness was open to even Judas Iscariot. Instead of turning his broken spirit into a contrite heart to be healed of God, Judas took his own life while retaining the bloodguilt he had taken.

Don't keep guilt. Keeping it in our hearts and mind helps it grow and can remove any room for God's forgiveness in our hearts. "If" truly is an illusion. There is nothing different to be done in the past. Nothing can change that has been done. However, everything in the future can be different with God's acceptance of a broken and contrite heart. Take it to God. He is ready to heal.

He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. (Psalms 147:3)