Burning Quest - Part 54

"Curiosity killed the cat," so reels the proverbial saying.  In the end, satisfaction brought the cat back.  Wouldn't you know it, people are very 'cat-like', cuz, they too, "want to know".

They want to know what's 'out there'; what's beyond our world and universe's beyond?  Are there other world systems with beings of equal, superior and/or inferior intelligence?  What are they like?  Dangerous?  Friendly?  Just as curious about us?...

Maybe there are.  Only our Creator God knows.  Maybe it also seems like a narrow focus then to only concentrate on our own "patch" of cosmos.

It is certainly intriguing to cogitate on and stretch our minds to their outer limits to exploring space in our imaginations, space ships and shuttles or with mega-telescopes!  Yet, to where and to whom did our Creator God come?  Where was His focus?

It was to us!  We 'earthlings' had Almighty God, come to earth at our beck and call: for us; for our benefit!

Doesn't that rock your launching pad!?

He wanted to commune with us, here on earth.  Commune and have relationship with us.

"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 KJV)

It was to us He demonstrated His love and the lengths of sacrifice to which He would go for those of us human creatures He'd created.

One could argue...maybe He did the same for "the other worlds" too.  Maybe.  Take note that the John 3:16 verse says, "the world", not "a world" or "our world".  "The" implies only one of it's kind like "the sun," or "the earth".  

Despite that and the magnitude of outer space, do not ignore or avoid God our Maker Who did come to us.  This we know for sure.

"...Immanuel...God with us" (Matthew 1:23 NIV)

God is truly amazing in all He created.  Totally amazing.  The vastness of it all is massively incomprehensible.  Yet in all of that see His handiwork.

Our own world system is so immense the apostle John chronicles the following about the Creator, Who made it all, in John 21:24-25.  He writes, Jesus had done so many things during His years of ministry on earth that he supposed that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written" about it all (John 21:25 NIV).

That was just about what Jesus had done while on Earth.  Think about all of the holistic creation.  Think of all the textbooks, scientific journals, magazines (such as National Geographic), encyclopedias, the internet which gorges on such knowledge, etc--there is no limit, no end to it all.  More and more of nature is being discovered and recorded, even, what would it be, about 4000-5000 years later, since the beginning of the time of Earth's creation...you get the picture.

Truly awesome.  Truly breathtaking.  The wonderful wonders of our world.  No one wants it destroyed.

Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda who wrote the book What Buddhists Believe avows Gautama Buddha taught that a,

 "...beginning and an ending of the universe is inconceivable" (Page 386).

They do not believe any such thing happens only that it gets renewed section by section in a never ending ongoing process.  God has nothing to do with it either as there is no God--so they believe, therefore He can neither create nor destroy.

Nevertheless, as deliberated in Burning Quest - Part 53, there was a beginning and there will be an end, and one must prepare for it.  The world has been in decline and decay since The Fall of mankind.  The good news is that there will be a new heaven and earth.  The warning is:  Be Prepared.

Accept salvation through Jesus Christ.  

If you say there is a god, Buddhists then ask the legitimate question,

"...Why can't this god use that same power (of creating) to influence people...to wipe out all immoral practices"  (Page 386)?

The answer is, because of free will.  God didn't create robots.  He gave people the ability to choose.  A person either chooses from a willing heart to accept the existence of God Who is, Who creates, and with whom each and every human being needs to acknowledge and accept His gift of salvation.  This would in turn help people to choose morally right choices with the help of God's Holy Spirit and guidance from God's Word, the Bible.

The end of Time is coming (refer again to Part 53).  The end of the world is coming.

It is true this world we are in (and any other world system if they exist) is impermanent right along with our own bodies.

It is our spirit and soul that will live on forever.  They do not get transferred to another body that will decline, decay and die, but to our very own imperishable body in time to come (1 Corinthians 15:53-55).  This new, improved, imperishable body is equal to the task of living forever in God's new heaven and earth which will also then be imperishable; permanent.

Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ will enjoy that and Christ's presence forever and ever, to never ever more experience suffering or tears.

The bad news is, that those who are not followers of Jesus Christ will go to the permanent place called Hell which, do take note, was NOT originally prepared for human kind, rather for the devil and his minions.  Please read this in all solemnity.  Matthew 25:41 (KJV).

"Then shall He say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

Due to Adam and Eve's Fall (the first man and woman; see Genesis 2 and 3) there has been a curse on the people and the earth ever since.  "The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23; see also Romans 3:23).

If God is so loving and caring why would He let that curse, death, and Hell-going, happen?  People have the freedom to choose.  God gives multiple chances during a person's lifetime to learn and decide about these things.  Free will, remember.

There's the example of Pharoah (Exodus 1-14) way back when.  Moses, on behalf of Israel, asked to go into the desert, a three day journey, to worship God.  Pharoah said, "NO" and kept saying, "No!"  God brought many plagues upon Pharoah, but still he would not relent, rather he hardened his heart.  He made his determined decision.  God gave him so many chances to choose to do what was right.

I speculate that if Pharoah had said, "OK" (and perhaps even that he'd like to go along) there would have been an epically happier story for him and his Egyptians.

You will discover, however, that he lost his firstborn son and he, himself, drowned along with his mighty army and champion war horses.  Exceedingly tragic all round (Psalm 136:10-15).

Whether or not there are other worlds and creatures out there, or how much knowledge one can glean, Buddhists come back to their main point, that knowing all about such worlds, will not,

"...ultimately free mankind from the pain of existence" (Page 387),

...and the only "cure" is to apply one's time, energy and mind, to,

"...conquering the mind and destroying the illusion of self" (Page 387).

From the perspective of the follower of Jesus Christ, and of God Himself, of great crucial importance is the choosing of ones' eternal "world" to come; be it Heaven or Hell.  Those are all the "other world systems" we absolutely need to know about and choose wisely for, for our own personal end of Time on Earth time.

OH that you all would be so very curious about that!

                                                              ~ERC  2019~


This song "He's Everything to Me"  written by Ralph Carmichael comes to mind again.

Lord's Day Devotion - Voluntary Community Service

Communism's collectivism, Israeli communal kibbutzim, and early Christian community...similar yet different.  What's the common thread?  Is there a common thread?

One of Stalin of Russia's mandates was collectivism.  The farmers and others sent to the farms were supposed to work together and even share equipment, food, etc.  Smaller, family owned farms were to be put together into big operations (collected into one, so to speak).  The farmers balked and resisted.  By much violence and force and brutal enforcement the gears of collectivism ground into action, often with the laborers doing jobs not suited for that particular individual.  It was NOT peaceful nor did the collective plan pan out very well.

In Israeli communal kibbutzim (plural for kibbutz), according to internet articles on the subject, members joined voluntarily and on approval of the kibbutz community.  The members would work at jobs suited to their individual ability and talent.  Of course this does not preclude someone learning something new.

Apparently there are now several different types of operating specs for kibbutzim such as:  Integrated model, renewed kibbutz and privatized kibbutz.  However the one I'm using for comparison here is the style more generally applied, communal kibbutz.

For the communal kibbutz there is no correlation between a person's job description and the amount of salary earned.  Each individual receives equal portion remuneration.  

There is "solidarity and mutual assistance".  It is a "society dedicated to mutual aid and social justice; joint ownership" (as opposed to 'forced by the government' in collectivism); "of property, equality, cooperation of production, consumption and education".

I especially like this following quotation,

  "...from each according to his ability, to each according to his need for those who have chosen it." [emphasis mine].

That is ideal kibbutz living.

I suppose one could visit Israel and check this out first hand and observe how well this works out.   The news is there are many flourishing kibbutzim.

When you look at the book of Acts in the Bible you'll discover a very similar way of life.  After the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit came upon the followers of Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit indwelt each one.

The fire of the Holy Spirit sparked and galvanized the early Christian community into a communal way of living.

Acts 2:44-47 relates,

"all believers were together (>3000) and had everything in common."  

They sold their possessions to give assistance to the needy people.

Acts 2:32-37 esp vs 32 tells us,

 "all believers were one in heart and mind".  

No one claimed his possessions were his own.  They shared what they had and that willingly, of their own accord, and from the heart.

They sold land and houses and gave the money to the apostles for the needy of their time.

The result was that there were no needy persons among those believers.

Amazing.

There was an example of this in a man named Barnabas who sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money to the apostles (Acts 4:37).  Given from the heart.

There was another example of a couple named Ananias and Sapphira.  They too sold some property but their gift, although voluntary, was not from the heart.  They grudgingly gave.  They had donated as if they'd given all but had kept back part of the price.

They did not have to sell and/or give but they wanted to "look good" so they did what they did  (Acts 5:1-10).

It was a lie to God and the Holy Spirit and it affected the whole community of believers.

Although the kibbutz style of living and the early Christian church community were/are voluntary and ideal, the human nature wrench can, and does, wreck havoc.  We followers of Jesus Christ have the aid of the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, direct us even in this day and age.  He convicts us to go and do what's right but we still have the leeway to chose.  We are free to grow in our Jesus life, fruit of the Spirit, to live godly lives thinking and doing God's way and to bring help and aid to those within God's family and beyond, or not.

Take a look at what Galatians 6:10 encourages us to do.

"And let us not grow weary of doing good. for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.  So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."

As you read more throughout the New Testament you'll discover just how well the Christian community, for the most part, did help each other.

Those of us who have life in Christ can remember to do this each Lord's Day as we gather together to remember our dear Savior's death and resurrection by passing the emblems of the bread and wine one to another.  Remember too that He made it possible through His sacrificial death, bringing atonement for our souls, and bringing the Holy Spirit's indwelling and uniting.

He gave new birth into His family.  He also gave us a worldwide family of God to nurture and help as the need arises.  There is not exactly a common thread among the three "ideologies"; only to the point of the belief folks work together for the common good.  What the "common good" was, needs to be examined specifically.  However, I venture to say that voluntary community service, in the service of God our King and Heavenly Father, is the one with the furthermost reaching benefits that stretch across time and into eternity to come.

                                                 ~ERC  27 December 2018~


Note:

I neglected to preserve the website addresses from where I got some of my quotations.  Please forgive me.  If anyone can supply the link I'd be grateful.  However following are some sites that may be of help.  They may be the same as where I gleaned my info.

The Kibbutz and Moshav

Kibbutz - Wikipedia

The Kibbutz - Commemorating 100 Years

Burning Quest - Part 53

Time is a parenthesis.  There was eternity past where God existed forever and always into infinity past  (Talking from Time's perspective).  Then, open parenthesis where 'Time' began; "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1).  Time is still ongoing but its parenthesis will be closing soon.  Then there will be eternity future, forever and always into infinity which followers of Jesus Christ will share gloriously with Him.

Focus in this entry of Burning Quest (Part 53), is of Time, more specifically, some of  the nitty-gritty of the origin of the world.  I'm not going to elaborate since much of apologetics can get technical.  Suffice it to say that as a follower of Jesus Christ I believe God is.  I believe He created the heavens and the earth and all that are in them, including human beings.  I believe there was a time that the world, inclusive of the whole universe,  did NOT exist and then a specific point in time that it did.  There was/is a beginning and there will be an ending.

Read...

"In the beginning..."

"In the beginning God..."

"In the beginning God created..."

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."  (Genesis 1:1 NIV).

God created the heavens and the earth then filled it with light; separated waters above and below making the sky and dry land; vegetation "according to their various kinds (Genesis 1:11 NIV); sun, moon, stars; birds in the sky, fish in the sea; living creatures on land, and last, but sure as your're born, not the least, human kind!  

God saw it all as being "very good". (Genesis 1: 1-31).

Buddhists, however, do not believe God exists.  Therefore, how was there a beginning of the world, etc?  Their thought follows parallel to that, as for the continuance of their "mental continuum"; that is, when a person or creature dies, at that very instant, their "mental continuum", with its accumulation of:   knowledge, credits & demerits of their good/bad behavior all bundled up, gets delivered to another human being or creature at the moment of their conception of the corresponding split second moment of respective death, and conception.

And so, the "spirit," as I call it, goes on and on at infinitum until the striving for Nirvana has been achieved.  This repeated cycle of repeated births and deaths for earth's creatures, if you'll recall, is referred to as, "Samsara"  (Page 382 What Buddhists Believe by Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda).

Coequal to that is how the world has similarly "gone round" for infinity.  Sri Dhammananda interestingly enough, uses the term, "created".  He writes,

"Buddhists believe...the world has been created millions of times every second and will continue to do so by itself and will eventually by itself." (Page 381).

He further notes,

"...world systems always appear, change, decay and disappear in the universe in a never-ending cycle." (Page 381).

Sri Dhammananda announces that modern scientists and intellectuals do not accept God and the creation idea.  However, he says, these are explanations that we need not trouble our heads over as apparently Gautama Buddha did not waste his time on this issue.  One does not gain any...

 "...religious value for gaining spiritual wisdom..." (Page 382).

...with such deliberation and investigations. 

What is more meaningful, Sri Dhammananda explains, is what Gautama Buddha taught, which is,

"...man's task was to liberate himself from suffering...attain Nirvana, not to worry about the beginning or end of the world" (Page 383).

It is a necessity for a mortal creature to...

 "...escape rebirth into a suffering existence" (Page 383). 

 This then, I suppose, relates also to the origin of the world--how the world and all creation therein  keeps at the cycle or rebirth but can also escape and stop creating itself by itself once Nirvana is secured.   If people and creatures must go on and on; so, I presume, does the earth. 

Regardless of that, bring your attention to God's Word.  We started out with, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" and that He saw it was "very good".  We also know from Scripture that there will be a "new heaven and a new earth" (Revelation 21:1; 4).  Bang!  Somewhere between the two events of "very good" and "new heaven and new earth" something monumental occurred necessitating the need for the new heaven and earth.

From reading further in the book of Genesis we know what that "something" was:  The Fall of mankind (Genesis 3).  Sin entered the world and put everything out of whack causing the decay, suffering, death and the inevitable perishing eternally in Hell.

Depressing thought except that there was an additional monumental intervention of even greater import in that interim time:  Jesus's birth towards the purpose of his death and resurrection.  God demonstrated His love for mankind in providing them a way of salvation through His Son Jesus (Romans 5:8).  

If a person desires to focus on eradication of suffering, know that Jesus suffered in his/her place.  He offers this gift to one and all members of His human creation.

Accept His gift so that the consequences of bad and unwholesome thoughts and actions which have been paid for in full, at His expense, are all blotted out.  What's left is an eternity which will be spent with Jesus free of all suffering and tears (Revelation 21:1, 4) in His new Heaven and Earth.  It will last forever and ever--no endless renewal or rebirth.

What a wonderful gift!

Knowing this, points us to the Creator, God, Who is;  Who exists.  If one believes this then it follows he/she can believe and trust His Word and that He is the Originator of the origin of the present, and only, world, of which there was a beginning and there will be an end.

Consider these verses from 2 Peter 3:5-10, esp vs 7, 10 (NIV)...

"By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly....But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.  The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare."

The conclusion being, be ready for that end.  It is coming.  Accept God's gift of salvation.  I want to see you in the new heaven and earth, with Christ.  It does matter.  It is imperative that an individual takes time out to contemplate this issue of the origin and end of the world; that God exists; that He is the Creator, and that each and every human being will meet Him at the  beginning of the end of this world.  It will determine his/her eternal end:  that of life with Christ spending eternal life in Heaven, or without Him in eternal living death & unending suffering, in Hell.  That is the stark truth... 

What's more...Time is almost up.

                                                  ~ERC   January 2019~


I'd like to share the Hillsong, So You Would Come.  Close your eyes and listen as the song plays.  God loves you so much.  Look what He did for you.

Lord's Day Devotion - The Hour of Incense

"And the whole multitude of people were praying outside at the hour of incense." (Luke 1:10 ESV)

The priest Zechariah was doing his priestly duty in the temple of the Lord:  he'd gone in to burn incense.

I'm wonder-struck by what the "whole multitude of people" were doing simultaneously.  They were outside the temple,

"praying...at the hour of incense"!

Zechariah was burning incense on the altar of incense inside and the people were praying outside, the temple.  The two were in agreement before the presence of God.

That's what the altar of incense was all about...prayers...communion with God.  That's God's heart's desire...connection and communion with Him in community.

And Zechariah, and get this...not just a pathetically pitiful handful of people praying but a "whole multitude" were in tune with what was going on inside.  The priest wasn't left alone to "do his duty" because that's his job.  NO!

The people were not "forsaking the assembling of themselves together" (Hebrews 10:25).  This was coming from the heart.  Not the hearts of a handful but of the whole multitude!

Awesome!

The offering up of incense on the altar of incense inside the temple came only after the sacrifice of atonement was offered up.

Atonement for the soul, only then could there be communion with God, when the hearts were "right with God".

Incense released a sweet aroma that went up and was acceptable to God.

As children of God, followers of Jesus Christ, we too can spend time "releasing" sweet aromas up to God.  Spend time communing with Him in our prayer closets but also of great import, God wants His children to be together, the "whole multitude", to send up heartfelt prayers as if coming from "one heart".  People in communion with each other and with God.

This was all made possible by the atonement sacrifice God made through His one and only begotten son, Jesus Christ.

As we remember this sacrifice, remembering Jesus' death and resurrection, as often as possible especially on Lord's Day by partaking of the bread and wine-symbols of Jesus' sacrifice-let us also remember the sweet hour, or more, of prayer.  Remember to commune with your Lord and Savior, solo, and with the whole congregation of God's people with whom you generally rub shoulders.

This will truly be a sweet sacrifice and aroma going up to God at "the hour of incense".

                                                   ~ERC  25 December 2018~

Burning Quest - Part 52

Marching along from such topics as euthanasia (mercy-killing) and self-defense in previous entries, we now look at capital punishment, or to term it otherwise, "the Death Sentence".  By now it is not hard to remember that the Buddhists do not subscribe to the killing of human beings nor of animal kingdom life.  Sanctity of life for all, as they believe the "mental continuum" of one being gets passed on to another at the point of physical body death of a living being, and "transferred" to another living being which is at that instant, at the instant of conception of another, be it human or animal in nature.

On the other hand, Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda, author of What Buddhists Believe, says on page 374,

"We [meaning Buddhists], must not only respect the law of the country  but...strictly obey it..."

A little further on, Sri Dhammananda informs...

"Any Buddhist who chooses to defy the law of the country by committing serious crime will have to be punished by the laws of the country and not by the religious body." (Page 375).

Again from page 375, we read...

"If law stipulates that for committing a serious crime you must pay for it by having your life taken away from you, then the process of law must take its course.  Buddhism cannot interfere with normal enforcement of the law."

Human nature being what it is, there were just as many good and bad guys away back when as there are in this day and age (2019).  In God's Word, in Deuteronomy 19:21 (NIV), we find God's take on justice...

"Show no pity:  life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."

Sounds harsh, right?

The idea of a death sentence is very bluntly put there.  Yet God did take mercy on the first murderer ever; Cain, the first born of the first ever man Adam and his wife Eve.

Cain whined a bit and God allowed Cain to live, yet with a mark and a "curse" upon him that kept others from harming him.  The curse being if others should kill Cain they themselves have to...

"...suffer vengeance seven times over" (Genesis 4:1-16, esp 4:15 NIV).

I suppose then the people would stay far away from such a man as possible, not wanting to get 'contaminated' or even unintentionally have the curse brought down upon them.  This life sentence upon Cain then would ostracize him, putting him effectively in 'isolation'.   Lonely existence.

God has more to say on the subject.  Take a look at Genesis 9:3-6, esp vs 5 and 6...

"...and for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting from every animal.  And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.  Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man" (NIV).

These verses indicate a difference between human kind and animal kind.  It's the human being who was formed in the "image of God".  Therefore those human beings who die at the hand of man or beast are justified in the "life for life" (Deuteronomy 19:21).

The beast that attacks and kills mankind is to be put to death. The man that kills mankind must also face the death sentence. Exodus 21:28-32 is explicit in this.  Even the owner of the bull known to have a habit of wanting to gore people and if it actually gores and kills a man, or woman, the bull and the owner of the bull must be put to death.

Yet God in His mercy allows that that owner could redeem his life by paying whatever was demanded by, I assume, the victims' relatives.

Actually, the following verses of Exodus 21:33-36, detail what must happen if the habitual goring bull injures another bull unto death, that 'gorer' needs to be put to death.

God's intent is obvious.

In the previous entry about self-defense we learned of the Cities of Refuge that an alleged murderer could flee to until the death of an individual human being could be ascertained as having been accidental or intentional.

This leads to how justice was served, and one of the criteria of that involved necessitating having witnesses.  In Deuteronomy 19:15, God said there had to be two or three witnesses for the crime to be established.  There are stern warnings given in Deuteronomy 19:16-19 to false witnesses.  Judges had to prove then whether the witnesses were true or false.  If false, then what the witness intended against his fellow man, came upon him.

There are further words of remonstrance from Proverbs 19:5...

"A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free."

There is such a thing as "the heat of the moment" that happens to people and they do things they deeply regret later.  People get killed.  

Another word of wisdom, also from Proverbs 19, and verse 19, gives additional caution...

"A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty; if you rescue him, you will have to do it again."

Beware you are not the hot-tempered person.  Beware of keeping company with one.

Can you get a glimpse of how unfair Jesus's trial and crucifixion was?

There were many false witnesses instigated by the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin.  Read Matthew 26:59-60; Mark 14:53-61; and Luke 23:1-5.

Jesus the Righteous One; He did no sin neither was any deceit found in Him (1 Peter 2:22).  And just think of this...

"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV)

This is similar to saying our (human kind's) sin killed Jesus.  We should then have the death sentence upon our own heads for that.  Nevertheless, God in His grace and mercy keeps us alive, offers us the life sentence--to spend eternity with Him forever upon our physical death on earth.  Praise God for His righteousness and gift of salvation.

Another aspect of the death sentence that Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda calls attention to is that...

"Religion cannot sentence a person to death for any fault but the law can." (page 376).

This is an excellent demarcation to note.  God gave the children of Israel the rules and regulations for living to please Him (Read Exodus through Deuteronomy for concurrence) .  These were given to keep them healthy and law-abiding.  God gave them so as to encourage a relationship with Him.  He greatly desired that.  Yet over time this way of life became a ritual religion and by the time we arrive at the New Testament Jews (Read the four Gospels:  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), human beings, added so many burdens to be borne.

This had become a religion for them and the religious leaders of the day judged Jesus by their standards.

Religion sentenced Jesus.

Religion needed the law on their side to carry out their nefarious deeds; to give Jesus the death sentence and carry it out.

Yes it was the chief priests and Sanhedrin who arrested Jesus and carried out His arrest, trial and judgement and sentencing but they needed the Romans to carry it out to it's conclusion.

The Romans, Pilate and Herod, were more 'just' then the Jewish leaders.  The two Roman rulers found no fault in Jesus (Luke 23:6-12 esp vs 15).  Yet out of their own pride and arrogance they acquiesced to the Jewish leaders.  The Roman soldiers were given authority to crucify Jesus.  Yet Jesus's punishment, due to false witnesses, did not fall upon any of them.

How unfair.  How unjust.

Rather, Jesus took the punishment for them and for the sins and deceit of every single last one of them and of all human beings.  Jesus did not interfere with the normal enforcement of the law even though He could have especially in light of the unjust circumstances surrounding His arrest, trial and sentencing as we already saw (Matthew 26:53).

To reiterate what Sri Dhammananda said and that was cited earlier,

"One of the important moral codes of Buddhism is to obey the laws of a country...and we have no choice but to obey the law" (Pages 376, 377).

He further explains...

"If we choose to remain in society then we must be prepared to sacrifice ourselves for the good of that society" (Page 377).

Jesus did that very thing!  His death and resurrection benefited not only the society of His earthly walk of his day but all the ages put together.  Praise His Holy Name!

If we are to live in our society we too need to abide by the rules of the land that line up with God's Word.  We followers of Jesus Christ shouldn't simply go about condemning folks to death and need to be sure that we do not falsely accuse or excuse another.  However, when the due course of law is justly enforced we do well not to interfere.

For Christians, we would not want to send anyone to Hell.  Our God is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish.  Those brave enough, by God's grace, who are involved in prison ministries need our prayers on their behalf to be able to have opportunities to speak to inmates, particularly those on death row.  Pray that the inmates would have hearts and minds willing to hear the message of God's love and to accept the salvation Jesus won for them.  May the message of Jesus go forth until He calls us Home to be with Him forever.

Finish off by reading this verse from 2 Peter 3:9 NIV, 

"The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

Amen.

                                                         ~ERC  January 2019~

Lord's Day Devotion - The Woman of the City

The woman did "good works" for Jesus which were commended but it was her faith which saved her.

The weeping woman wet His feet with her tears then wiped them with her hair.  She kissed his feet.  She anointed them with her alabaster flask of ointment.  She loved Jesus much for she had been forgiven much.  Her deep gratefulness overflowed with works of  love and appreciation.

The Pharisaical house host should have provided those basic acts of etiquette:  water to wash His feet; a kiss of welcome and friendship; and anointing oil for anointing of Jesus' head.  He should have but didn't.

Jesus turned to the woman and tells her her sins are forgiven!  Was it because of those good "works" of love?  NO.  Jesus continues, 

"...your faith has saved you..." (Luke 7:36-58 ESV).

Due to Jesus' work of forgiveness, her "work" of faith in believing that Jesus was/is the Son of God, the One with the power to forgive and Who did forgive, absolved her,  that "woman from the city, who was a sinner".

Do we followers of Jesus Christ, made so through accepting God's gift of salvation, personally remember Jesus with such love and devotion?  Do we thank Him from the bottom of our hearts with works of love & gratitude on His behalf?  As we remember the Lord Jesus on Lord's Day through the passing and partaking of the bread and drinking fro the cup of wine of remembrance, let us remember to show His love and forgiveness to others throughout the week and days ahead.  

Shed some tears here.  Use your resources, there.  Reach out and touch someone's life in a meaningful way.  Show your gratitude to your Lord and Savior with genuine works of hospitality and care to His people and beyond, all the while remembering His forgiveness and your faith in Him.  Trust Him; the woman of the city did.

                                                      ~ERC  December 2018~

Caste System Outdated

You'd a thought "the caste" system was outdated, frowned upon and done for but wouldn't you know, it is still very much alive and well.  Just try to board a plane.  Check your boarding pass and you'll see the zone code with which you've been "branded".  All this because money talks.

This is the economy "end" zone speaking here.  No, I'm not jealous.  Not really.  We are still getting to go to the same place at the same time.  Well maybe those in Zone 1 get to disembark from the plane and go through immigration earlier but really?  Oh, yeah, sure,  I'd likely think differently if I had the chance to fly in style and comfort.  Ha, ha.

Come to think of it, my husband and I did experience the privilege once when we were bumped up to what, way back when, was called "business class".  That was nice.

Pull this picture to God's world.  Interestingly enough, there is no scheme of superiority or advantage of one member of humankind over another.  The gift of salvation God offers is for one and all who wish to receive it.  We all receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life (Romans 6:23; John 3:16) and many blessings in Christ (Ephesians 1) here and now and into the future at the end of our earthly lives.

The parable of the laborers getting the same pay at the end of the work day no matter the time of day each began work that day (morning, noon, late afternoon), illustrates this.  They each had agreed to a certain wage (which so happened to be exactly the same as everybody else) and were granted it.  God in His love and wisdom grants equally to those who accept Him; no matter what (Matthew 20:1-16).  

Whether a person became His child in their youth, or in old age on the brink of death, each will inherit eternal life the moment they say "yes" to God through Jesus Christ.

Human beings don't work to earn salvation.  There's absolutely nothing to do.  It's not, if you've been baptised and or you've 'X' # of good works under your belt that you'll be more likely to be received and get a better seat with perks.

NO.

It is come as you are, wherever you are, however you are, whoever you are, whatever you've done, but not whenever.  Now is the time to accept!  

"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 5:2 KJV).

Don't miss the flight.

Get your "boarding pass" for Heaven through Jesus Christ.  Whether it is physical death or through the rapture of all believers at once, we followers of Jesus Christ will soar and whoosh up to Heaven one day soon, irregardless of the dollar # on your paycheck or  # of good deeds done.   One and all will be treated equally.

"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.  For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together [emphasis mine] with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."  (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 KJV).

Ladies and gentlemen please fasten your seat belts and put your chair back and chair table in their upright positions and prepare for take-off....

                                                       ~ERC  January 2019~

Moments With Mom

We were 1/2 a world apart, physically, but in touch, verbally-so to speak; thanks to modern technology and that something called 'Messenger'.  Half a world also meant 1/2 a day's time difference so we'd have to catch each other at that certain sync'ed hour.  We valued that time even if it was only for 5 minutes at a chat time.  We could do this daily, and at times morning and evening.

BUT...then the snatched moments would slip; perhaps, miss a day or two here and there, eventually petering out to maybe once a week, or every other week, to not at all....

Cuz, Mom was not well but is now conversing with her Lord and Savior in Heaven.  I do not begrudge her that communion at all.  However, I do miss her and those times of connection.

Tonight, I can't sleep.  I've talked to my heavenly Father, God, oh maybe for 1/2 an hour or more.  That was nice.  It dawned on me, I can talk with Him ever as much as I could with Mom.  In fact, He is ever able to hear and listen to me and that without ever having to sync our timing or utilize technology.

"Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."  (Jeremiah 33:3 ESV).

I'm grateful for that.  He'll hear, listen to and answer you too.

Catch the moments.

                                               ~ERC  January 2019~