Turn On The Light

Colossians 1:13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness,and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

I knew of a young teenager traumatized by the death of a dear friend. Depression soon began. Her school work plummeted. Friendships were being ended. Soon she was waking up with a "presence" in the room. She recognized the 'ghost' of her friend. Something had to change.

Darkness had descended.

She and her mom visited a Christian counselor. He suggested two answers.

1. a consistent bed time with a Tylenol pm.
2. Turn the light on. Let her sleep with a small light on.

Three days after the lights were 'Turned on', changes were evident. Improved attitude. Friendships restored. Interested in school. And no 'presence' in the well-lit bedroom.

Her mother described it her daughter as "coming home."

She had been transferred from darkness to light.

When we commit ourselves to Christ and are baptized to have our sins removed, Jesus 'Turns on the Light.' By faith we can now:

• navigate life.
• see sin's reality.
• See the 'coffee table' on life's dark nights.

What changes should be noticed?

• Thank God for turning on the light -- his son (LINK TO KOHN 8:12)
• Reinstate right.
• Give up greediness.
• Cancel covetous cravings. Be satisfied with what you have.
• Strike strife. Work out the differences.
• Divert deceit. Tune-up transparency.
• Give up gossiping. Slay slander.
• Make humility happen. Arrest arrogance.
• Obey parents.
• Turn trustworthy.
• Love.
• Mold mercy.
• Do not approve of others sins.

Another Pine Box

Maybe I am beginning to grasp the grief Jesus felt. Maybe.

The charter plane landed. Me and 25 others, flags unfurled, formed a semi-circle of commendation to an already-aching family. The door opened. A lieutenant and a Sargent came down a short ladder. Immediately, a color guard made another pine box stable.

Cringing, the family crossed the runway. Assistance was given the thin, fragile grandmotherly woman. Some made strides to the casket. Others, distressed, had no longing to draw near, having been schooled in grief.

I am acquainted with a family member. She is inconsiderate, oblivious, and a throw-everything-to-the-wind soul. The family towed her to the pine box. Grief took charge. The wails were prolonged, perpetual, and, piercing.

The chaplain prayed. More tears and additional mourning flowed. A family member prayed. “Lord,” he said, “You tell us this is to be a happy day. All I am praying for is the strength to endure this adversity.”

The family turns to leave. The one I know is drug away. She struggled with them, loudly wailing. Family members restrained her.

I remembered Paul's words to the Thessalonians. “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorry as others who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). He was preparing believers for the inevitable pain.

Jesus knew the pain. He cared. “Now as he drew near, He saw the city and wept over it...” (Luke 19:41). John records Jesus' emotions when He visited Mary and Martha, Lazarus' family. “Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.”  (John13:33). Later John added, “Jesus wept.” (John 13:35).

Today, I think I suffered a sadness like Jesus did.

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Have you had a similar experience? Would you share it in the comment section?

Fort Sieged

My wife finished a historically accurate book. This is our synopsis. It is morbidly depressing.

WARNING: This is not for the easily stunned. Some depictions are disturbing.

Enemies have it easy, according to the author. All the countryside is captured or controlled. Designated magistrates have been brazenly lynched. Arrested elderly leaders are not esteemed. The apprehended youth are heartlessly worked as slaves. "It is like we have been condemned by God," he said.

Anyone braving to exit the fort breathes their last. All the farms surrounding the fort have been raided and robbed. Everyone is voiceless about the barbarity done to our wives and teenage daughters. 

But it is no better inside the fort either. A mystifying epidemic, like the plague, is everywhere. It exterminates so many. Beside the doctor's office is a pile of people, young and old. There is no boot hill for burial. Others agonize from an unidentified torment. Survivors call it "famine fever".

And where are the attorneys? There is no one to uphold order. 

The book's author illustrates a people 'beat down'.  "My prayers are quarantined in a brick box -- never getting to heaven. I am so lost. I don't know which way to go. It feels like a bear has pounced on me, or I have been gut-shot with a double barrel shotgun. I am numb," he wrote.

"I have forgotten what happiness is," he added.

Inside our outpost, hunger dominates. The enemy is starving us into surrender. Those who came from 'back east', who often ate steak and lobster tails, are now ready to eat a horse. Many trade their treasures for vittles. A lady trades pearls for pickles. Others spend 20 bucks for bread.

Hunger controls the fate of children. Kids have no vitality. Vigor is gone. Skin is purely a bag for their bones. 

The children from wealthy political families now dig down through rubbish for something to nibble. Beggarly parents are more cruel than coyotes. Coyotes suckle their young. Parents give children zilch to drink or eat. Mothers hold their children and let them die. What do you do with your dead child? "Better to be a dead soldier than a mother about to eat her child," the author commented.

In spite of the extreme tragedy, the author asserted God's kindness. His kindness has not ceased, nor His mercy consumed. "God's grace is sufficient. The Lord is my portion. I will hope in Him."

The author characterized everyone as appearing as orphans or widows. He prayed, "God, I don't know why You have forgotten us. You have rejected us. Please put us back. Let us come back. Renew us."

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You have just read a synopsis of the Book of Lamentations, set in an American fort under siege in the 1870s. It was penned by Jeremiah. It was the total of Isaiah's and Jeremiah's predictions. Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah, stripped the land, raped the women, tormented the old men, exploited the young men as slaves, and starved the people into surrender. God was disciplining His people for their idolatry. The Jews experienced God's wrath.

If God treated His people like this, is it so hard to believe He will hurl people into hell for a lack of dedication to following orders from his sacrificed Son?

Dear Diary

(From Tom's diary we read...)

Today, we geared up for a 'retreat' in the mountains. We gathered food and bedding. But He didn't want anyone to know where we were going. 

It seems strange to me. For three years, we have tried to gather crowds so the Rabbi could teach them. Now He does not want any crowds. We are going to stay away from Chorazin, Gennesaret, Magdala, and Cana. We will be in the mountains of Northwest Galilee. 

All day I wondered why. Why are we going there? Few people live there. Why all the supplies? We normally stay in people's homes. 

Well, on this trip, He started talking about things that didn't make sense. He talked about betrayal. Don't all twelve of us believe in Him? Who would BETRAY him?

He spoke of people KILLING him. He is the most popular man in Israel. People think He might deliver them from Roman tyranny. ALL He does is help people, and teach them. Why would ANYONE want to kill him?

And then, there is this nonsense of Him rising from the dead. I have seen Him raise a few folks from the dead, but they are just going to die again. He's talking about being raised and never dieing. Have you ever heard of someone being raised and never dieing? Me neither. 

Over the past 3 years, I have worked hard to be a good disciple. I have gone where He has gone. I understand most of His teachings. I believe only what I have seen. I am reasonably convinced He is God's son. 

But on this trip, I just don't get it. I just can't see Him being betrayed. I can't believe anyone would want to kill him. And being raised in three days never to die again, well.., it is just not going to happen.

I think I have Him fooled. He thinks I understand all this. He thinks I believe everything. But I don't understand any of it.

And I am scared to ask him about it. He may fuss at me. He might embarrass me if he finds out I don't understand. He has chided me and my buddies before about our 'little faith'. And that was not fun!

I'll keep it a secret, just between me and you, dairy. No one will ever know. 

What I write in my diary, stays in my diary.

It Could Mean...

When was the last time you watched a news station that only REPORTED news stories? Today, most recite the key facts in the first minute, then babble seven more 'discussing' it. "It could mean... (expound on one possibility). Or it might mean.... (further expounding on conjecture #1). Still, another choice is... (blah, blah, blah...)." It is vital to correctly comprehend and appreciate any factual statement or event. But discussing possibilities does not create an authority. Pete, Jimmy and Johnny have seen Jesus as He was before there was man. Jesus tells Peter James and John to be tight-lipped. There will no sharing their 'mountain-top' experience. At least not until the Son of Man had risen. They dismissed the fact that Jesus would, by necessity, die. But they seized the phrase 'rising from the dead'. And, like our news organizations, started hashing the matter. What did they know about the dead rising? They had seen Jesus raise a couple, but not sufficient to establish a pattern. And they did not quiz Jesus for more information. And, like our news services, offered no definitive conclusion. So, what does the phrase mean? Can you solve their dilemma without the New Testament, or historical hindsight? As a minimum, it is hard. But we do have historical hindsight. And our vision can be 20/20. Jesus is telling them AGAIN, within a week, he would die and be raised. The first time Peter got hung up on Jesus dying. Now he struggles with 'rising from the dead'. Are we like Peter? Or do we know just enough to bluff our friends into thinking we are an authority. Why not investigate biblical subjects with your friends, and let God be the authority.

Mom And Dad Are Going To Kill Me…

“Mom and dad are going to kill me…”

Statements like these point us beyond definitions to our next factor: selfishness.

Selfishness

A third factor looks at a biblical concept: selfishness. Every case at the beginning of the post is indicative of selfishness. All the statements point to one person’s reckless impulse for something,  You find no concern for how it affects others.

The New Testament uses the word ‘selfish’ only four times. The references are: Galatians 5:20; 2 Corinthians 12:20; Philippians 1:16 and 2:3. That is it. Strong, known for his many word definitions, said the Greek word is “found before the New Testament times [being used] only by Aristotle, where it denotes self-seekers pursuits of political offices by unfair means. Paul exhorts Christians to be one in mind of Christ, not putting self forward, being unselfish (Phil 2)” Putting one's own interests before the interests of others (selfishness) is diametrically opposed to Christianity. Christians place the needs of others before themselves, just as Jesus did.

A fourth factor, also biblical, is what God has said regarding these key words previously defined.

Individuals with immoral behavior are lead to “death,” and they do not “regain the path of life,” according to Proverbs 2:18-19. In the New Testament, James wrote how ripened sin “brings forth death.” All sex outside of legitimate marriage is called fornication. Fornication is a sin. When men participate in sexual 'adventures' with a woman who is not their wife, they sin (fornicate). The consequence is death. A woman has a 'fling' with a man who is not her husband. She, too, is fornicating, sinning, and a death will follow.

When God spoke of killing in the Old Testament, He was plain. “Whoever kills.... shall be put to death,” Leviticus 24:17 says. Exodus 21:14  says premeditated killing should not happen. Exodus 23:7 directly says the Jews were not to kill the innocent and righteous.

Murder is a stronger term and is employed frequently. The Old Testament writings expose God’s view of murder. In the 10 Commandments, Exodus 20:13 says people should “not murder.” This is echoed in Deuteronomy 5:17. Anyone using implements, stones, or wood to kill “shall surely be put to death,” according to Numbers 35:16-18. The New Testament, under which we live, declare a higher criteria for living. Matthew 5:21-22 reports Jesus saying “You have heard you shall not murder...But I say to you whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” In Mark 7:21, Jesus indicates the heart produces evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, and murder. Paul is clear in Romans 1:28-32. Those who “do not retain God in their knowledge,” He has given them over to do unfit things, including sexual immorality, wickedness, and murder. People living this addiction are “haters of God... violent, ...unloving.” Galatians 5:21 indicates murders will not “inherit the kingdom of God.” Murderers will not go to heaven. Peter tells his audience no Christian should be spoken of as a murderer (1 Peter 4:15). Why would Cain murder Abel? John’s answer is because his works were evil (1 John 3:12). Three verses later John adds hating our brother makes us murderers. Finally, in Revelation 21:8, murderers are grouped with the sexually immoral. They will be in the second death (sent to hell).

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What would you like to add to selfishness?

Do you have an example or a story of selfishness? Please, share it here. Click on the ‘comments’ link below.

For the first post on abortion, click here. The third installment will be posted shortly.

Abortion

"Mom and dad are going to kill me when they find out.”

“I'm not ready to be a parent.”

“We already have too many children. We can't support any more!”

“It's only birth control.”

“Let's abort it while it is still tiny, and it won't hurt. It will hurt when it gets big, and I have to give birth then.”

“He raped me. I don't want any part of that man. Get it OUT of me, now!”

Abortion has divided our country. It should not. One grouping believes it is a 'thing' – not living, and definitely not a person. Discarding ‘IT’ from their body is like removing their appendix – no harm, no foul. The other body disdains the former grouping and believes anyone who aborts is killing a person and is doomed to hell.

In this series of posts, I wish to examine multiple factors influencing opinions and decisions, recommend a better idea, and then, summarize.

FACTORS

To discuss abortion necessitates examining key terms. All parties must consent to common definitions in order to discuss this divisive force intelligently.

What is abortion? Merrian-Webster Dictionary defines abortion as “The spontaneous or induced termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus.” The key terms in the definition are spontaneous, induced, termination, and death.

Webster says Death is “1: the end of life. 2: the cause of loss of life. 3: state of being dead. … 5. slaughter.”

The verb form of Kill means “1: To deprive of life. 2: to put an end to. Synonyms: slay, murder, assassinate, execute.” The noun form is defined as “the act of killing.” In killing, there is an implied direction, an intent.

Murder, as a noun, is defined as “1: the crime of unlawfully killing a person esp. with malice aforethought...” The verb form states, “1: to commit murder: also: to kill brutally  2: to put an end to  ….”  By strict definition, abortion cannot be murder. Why? It is not “unlawful.” Due to the decision of our highest court, in Roe v. Wade, it is not unlawful, and therefore not a crime against the state.

We are NOT talking about MISCARRIAGE. The same dictionary defines miscarriage as, “spontaneous expulsion of a fetus before it is capable of independent life.” Many women have miscarried their desired child. It is radically and fundamentally unlike abortion, where an “induced termination” is desired.

Connotation of Abortion

Another factor is the connotation of 'abortion'. Connotations are not found in dictionaries. It is that commonly understood meaning. The commonly understood meaning of  'abortion' is a willful choice based on incomplete information, a premeditated decision and action to remove life from an embryo or fetus.

An “induced termination of a pregnancy” cannot occur unless the female first learns she is pregnant, then follows with the “death of the embryo”, or “slaughter” of the “fetus.” Did you see the sequence? How much complete information was present? First, she learned of being pregnant, then decides to cause the death of the organism. This implied meaning, or connotation, indicates there was a WILLFUL CHOICE to “induce termination” of a living organism.

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What could you add to the definitions and applications?

Can the Connotation of Abortion be expanded? How?

Please add your comments by clicking the link below.

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If you would like to read more, please click this link for the next in the five-part series.