Lent 2020 | Day 26: “Live”

The great challenge of life on this world is discovering early that while life on this earth may come to to an end, there is still another chapter to be opened.

There are times in life when we are confronted with the realization that life has an expiration day. However, unlike the products we buy in the supermarket or the cars we drive, we know that eventually our trips around the sun will come to an end.

The great challenge of life on this world is discovering early that while life on this earth may come to to an end, there is still another chapter to be opened. As a Christian, I believe that life does not end. I believe that on the other side of death there is another life. A life that will either be lived with God or without him. And the time I have been given to make how I will live is now.

As I was thinking about this reality, the words “choose life” came to mind. So I did a quick search and found that these words are found in the book Deuteronomy. Let’s look at them now.

11 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” (Deuteronomy 30:11-20 ESV)

God is calling his people to obedience. He is reminding them that he has made promises and that to reap the benefit of those promises we had to recognize what was at stake. What is interesting is that God puts the choice in terms of “life” and “death”. It is not comfort and suffering. Not peace or war. Not riches or poverty.

From God’s perspective (and his is the only one that really matters!) the choice we all will make will be between obedience and disobedience. Between life and death. This just mind-boggling. And yet, this is the reality we have to confront today.

Do you want to live? Then obedience is the only wise and prudent choice.

Do you want to enter into the land of promise? Then obedience is the only wise and prudent choice.

Do you want to experience the experience the fullness of God’s blessing? Then obedience is the only wise and prudent choice.

To live is Christ. That’s what the Apostle Paul said.

To live eternally is to die to self and surrender to the purposes of God.

As we draw ever closer to the glorious commemoration of Jesus’ resurrection, I am challenged by the fact that in the end, there is only one choice we must make. Will we choice life? Will we choose to live?

Easter 2010 (Pt. 7) | “Father, into your hands…”

Easter 2010 Meditations

The Seventh Word

⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. ⁴⁷Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” ⁴⁸And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. ⁴⁹And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. (Luke 23:44-49)

Meditation on the Seventh Word

Death, the final enemy, no longer has the power to terrorize or torment us. The only power death has over us is the power we give it. Those who have placed their trust in Christ can follow His lead into the presence of God. These are words of comfort; words of peace; words of instruction. The journey that Jesus has traveled has been long and, at times, difficult. But we see here in the final moments that the reward is worth the cost. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” Jesus is dead. The hope of Glory seems to have been lost. We are left now with the heavy charge to contemplate these things.

Easter 2010 (Pt. 2) | “Today you will be with Me…”

Easter 2010 Meditations

The Second Word

³⁹ One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)

Meditation on the Second Word

The promise of eternal life is not something we have to wait for. At the moment that we put our trust in Jesus, He promises that we have entered into the family of God. Too often we make the terrible mistake of thinking that it is our knowledge of Jesus that will matter. No, dear friends. It is not whether you remember Jesus in those moments of fear, confusion or despair. What will matter when we are confronted with our own mortality will be if He remembers you. The only thing that causes Jesus to remember us is faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6) and when Jesus returns Luke tells us that there will be a question asked. It is this, “…When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8). Do you want to be remembered? Than place your faith in Jesus.

Joy’s Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven

Have you ever wondered what Heaven would be like? I know I have. It is so hard to describe a place no one has ever been to. I have often wondered what we would do in Heaven? Will I get bored? Will I spend all of my time singing to God? That is great, and God is worthy of it, but that seems less interesting than the time I have now, here on Earth with my family and with my friends. I don’t mean to for this to sound like Heaven will be a great let down because it won’t be. But how can I have joy about a place I will never experience or can clearly understand until I get there?

I came across this sermon by Dr. Sam Storms. He is the pastor of Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, OK. He is also the founder of Enjoying God Ministries which exists “To Proclaim the Power of Truth and the Truth about Power.” Enjoying God provides Biblical Studies, Theological Studies, Historical Studies and even Recommends books, sites and other personal reflections for reading. It is a useful site.

The following sermon was given during the Desiring God National Conference in 2003. It takes a look at how Jonathan Edwards understood Heaven. This is probably the best (to date) exposition and explanation of what Heaven will be like and possibly is like. Dr. Storms argumentation and presentation is quite passionate and has made looking toward Heaven something wonderful.

You can download the audio, but I would recommend watching the video. It’s about an hour-long and will be worth every minute. The first one-third of the sermon is about Jonathan Edwards himself and then Dr. Storms jumps into Edwards understanding of heaven. Hope you enjoy! I did.

Joy’s Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven.

Book Review | Life After Death: The Evidence

Author(s): Dinesh D’Souza
Publisher: Regenery Publishing
Year: 2009
Rating: (Out of five)

To say that life after death is not an interesting topic would be an understatement. What makes this discussion even more challenging is the fact that most who do not hold to a faith system of some kind would dismiss any religious attempt to defend the proposition of life after death as superstition or wishful thinking. This is where Life after Death: The Evidence comes in. While not shying away from his own personal faith Dinesh D’Souza embarks on the near impossible. He asks the question of whether life after death is a probable hypothesis and goes about the task of looking in every direction, except religion, to see if there is sufficient warrant for such a belief.

In the end what the reader discovers is that there is ample evidence to bring the claims of the non-theist into question, i.e., that there is no life after death. D’Souza first unmasks the self-defeating arguments of atheism and shows that as a philosophical system it has no legs upon which to stand. Or put another way, the basis of “belief” in atheism is the same as that of any other religious system. In both cases there is an element of “blind faith” that one’s system better represents the facts of our experiences.

After dismantling the arguments of the “Vendors of Unbelief” the author looks at the two overarching conceptions of life after death – The Western and Eastern views. This provides some insight to what people have believed over time. Following this is an investigation and analysis of near death experiences and what they tell us about the connection between the body and the mind, and provide some basis to continue the process of investigation. Don’t lose heart because this can be difficult territory, but the rewards of continuing on are worth the time spent reading.

Over the course of the book D’Souza looks at physics, evolutionary suppositions in the sciences and philosophy and the newly overturned earth of brain chemistry. The questions about where the mind resides within the brain and the implications of epistemological arguments from philosophy are brought to bear on the overall argument that is being shaped. Finally, D’Souza wraps up by looking at the issues of justice, societal order and the development of virtuous living as a result in belief in life after death to tie all of the strings of thought that were analyzed throughout the book.

All-in-all this is a good read and is worth the investment in time and mental effort to see that the case for life after death can be made and that a belief in this life should inform the choices and direction of our lives here and now. The implications of life after death are far-reaching and have ramifications of an eternal nature.

I will cite D’Souza near the end of his text in summation.

Some people may respond to this data by saying, wonderful! Let others believe, but not me. This is the position not of belief but of “belief in belief,” and it is held by quite a few people who like to think of themselves as sophisticated and above the popular multitude. This position, however, is quite irrational. If others stand to benefit from lives full of hope, purpose, and charity, why not you? Given the weight of the evidence in favor of belief, there is no room for unbelievers to claim that their position enjoys a superior claim to rationality. On the contrary, unbelief is neither intellectually plausible nor practically beneficial. [217]