Dealing with Death

I woke up a little after five this morning. I couldn't sleep because I dreamed that a family member died. Truthfully, there are some people that one expects to die more than others, but no matter what death is a hard, cold reminder of what Adam's fall eventually leads into.

When my father died it was a real blow to me. I mourned his death for over a year. Now we're coming upon four years since he died, and I do not quite feel the same about it. My spirit within is resolved about his death, and more so death in general. I was with my father a few minutes before he died. I aided the funerary in moving and releasing the body from Hospice. That may sound alarming, but it was part of my mourning. I remember telling the attendant what my father did during his life. I shared through tears how I fully expected him (and all the funeral home preparers) to respect his body.

I remember that before he died, my mother and I had been sitting in the room with my father for a very long time. My father had not responded for most of that day, but he would look at each of our faces through his thin grey eyes. Death is no pretty business. Hospice even had a pamphlet on the stages of dying. It was very eerie to me. I didn't want my father to die, and I kept talking to my siblings like he might somehow pull out of it. But by the brochures account, he was in the last stages of death. It was just as it said, but just a little too callous to me.

My mother asked me to take her home. She was just worn out. When we got to the car, I remember that she told me things about my father I had never heard, and about his family. I felt like something was going to happen that day, and so did mom. We talked in the car for about thirty minutes. When we got to her house, she poured herself a bowl of soup, and she answered the phone. She dropped it. It was "the call." We turned right around and went back to Hospice.

I kept feeling so sad for my father, wanting so much to be there with him when he died. Mom did too. We didn't want him to die alone. We wanted to be there. My father's sister Jettie later told me that we had probably not even left the building before he breathed his last. It was just after both mom and myself had left his room after telling him goodbye and that we loved him and that we would see him later. We meant later that evening, but I truly think he took it as a final farewell. The day before he had pulled me close to himself and told me all that was in his heart. "I love you very, very much," was all he said.

He died the evening before my 30th birthday. That was the most bitter of birthdays. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could have made it any different. I wondered how I was to ever enjoy my birthday again. In many ways it will never be the same.

Joyce had gotten me two small pine trees for my birthday. I broke off one of the branches and placed it in my fathers hand. He always was more of an outdoorsman and loved Colorado more than any other place. My nephew Bo made his casket of unfinished pine. Dad always wanted to be buried in just a plain pine box. He had said it many times. He thought it was a waste of good money to spend a fortune on a box that would be seen only for a few days and that would in the end be buried with the dead. Also he wanted to be buried like they were buried in the Old West.

I still dream about my father all the time. In my dreams, we will talk as if he had never died. Sometimes we will talk about his death. It is okay with me though. I know that death is something we must all face. I feel like as we grow, we face death a little at a time. I am fine with dying whenever God calls me. I am not afraid because I know that Jesus took death on for me, and He promised me the resurrection. My body may perish, but I will not be dead because I am just a spirit trapped inside this sinful flesh. My death will be my release from sin, and my resurrection will be my gift from God.

Paul said that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and so I'm not worried about my spirit being trapped somehow inside a dead decaying body. The very instant I die, I will be in the spiritual world with my Saviour. The spirit world is all around us, and we will one day see it all plainly with our spiritual eyes. Jesus is all the Life we need both in the body and in the spirit.

All of us will die, and we don't get to pick how that happens. It is the painful reminder that the curse of physical death is still alive in the world. But dealing with death is a choice we are faced with continually. Our mortality stares us in the face on a regular basis until it our time to go. Seeing death is a bitter pill. But more bitter is the soul that never deals with his own mortality at all the opportunities that God gives us in dealing with death.


--Johnie

Thankful Giving

Today is one of those holidays best known by the foods we eat. Turkey, stuffing, sweet potato pie. Pumpkin pie. Pecan pie. Pies in general. Cranberry jelly in the shape of a can. So food oriented this day has become, most weathermen call it "Turkey Day." Even the President is expected to pardon a turkey from his eminent execution meant for his lunch. (I do wonder what he eats if not turkey? Maybe he only pardons one turkey from a whole bunch of death-row turkeys, so that way he can still eat some.)

I hope that this day has more meaning to you than just food and football. I just watched the Pixar movie "Wall-E" where all these people on a spaceship don't have to lift a finger to do anything, and they're all just grossly fat. They were born on the spaceship and so were their parents and grand-parents going all the way back 800 years. They just laid around on these floating mats and let robots do all the work. Maybe if I hadn't just celebrated Thanksgiving I would never have thought about connecting today's feast with how those folks lived on board the BNL spaceship (Buy in Large - yeah, pretty gross, huh?).

I have never known hunger, and that is a fact for which I am thankful. There really are children who die every day from starvation in harder parts of the world. It's hard to even imagine. Today while we were feasting, cries went up to heaven for precious lives lost because they had no food or water.

I encourage you to free up your mind from the commercialized aspect of the approaching holidays. It's something hard to shake free when we've grown up with the "holiday spirit", but lights, music and food can hypnotize us straight through the next month if we let it. We'll be going through the motions and getting into the mood of the season. For businesses it is big bucks. Advertisements entice and tempt. We'll start to want things that we otherwise wouldn't have wanted because we saw it on TV or the web, just because it's being promoted. We'll start buying things for the people we know and love, just because we would feel guilty for not getting them anything. We don't want to hurt their feelings. Are you planning on charging a lot of your Christmas this year? Don't do it! Give what God has enabled you to give! Even if it is only your time! Build friendships and help others. Buck against the purchasing for the sale's sake. I'm not saying don't buy anything. Just ask God what he wants from you. Could He want you to pay someones water bill? Could He want you to help them in a tangible way? Are you a handy man? Are you a good cook? Build and bake and fix with your own two hands, and build friendships.

There is a story that Jesus told that I have always found fascinating. Here it is:

He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’ “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

When Jesus says that we should use unrighteous mammon (wealth) to make friends, He is telling us to plan for the future. The steward brought favor on the master from the debtors for reducing their debts. In the same way we can bring favor towards our God by spending our wealth (and time) in ways that bring them to Christ. A good rule of thumb is to look at all your wealth as God's spending account He has hired you to manage in order to bring more people into His family - His kingdom. It's all about motives. I hope that as the red and green pre-wrapped presents stare you down in the aisles of Walmart and Target, you don't get caught up in the "it's Christmas season so I've got to buy something" mindset. Before you go the store, take the time to shrewdly plan out how your investments will yield the most for your Master. And think outside the retail box. Don't just count your blessings - share them!

--Johnie

Is There Truth?

In Ben Stein's documentary "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed", Mr. Stein addresses the fact that many professors have been fired from universities or high ranking positions in science, just for mentioning intelligent design as a plausible possibility. Then he interviews many high profile evolutionists and asks them many questions about the controversy. Most of them, if not all, said that there could never be anything else besides evolution, and they believed it whole-heartedly, too, but with reservations. They did not want evolution questioned. They saw it as a step backwards, and commented repeatedly that they saw intelligent design as nothing more than a mere attempt to reconnect church and state.

In the documentary, Ben Stein asks Richard Dawkins, a self proclaimed atheist converted by evolution, about the origins of life, and Dawkins admitted that there could have been an intelligent force behind it all - maybe aliens from space! My, how Richard Dawkins has a strange way of being open minded. I guess since he has already closed his mind to God, he can't go there anymore. He just cannot bring himself to face the possibility that he might be wrong. Open to aliens and closed to God, and all to defend his precious faith in evolution.

So, that is the background for today's blog. And now I offer a challenge: Ask yourself why you believe what you believe, and how can you know that you believe the truth?

Now you might be thinking, "How can anyone really know what is true? Truth is relative." Well, I will ask another question for you to ponder: Have you ever been angry at anyone? Why? Did they hurt you? Were they mean to you? What did they say or do that got your blood to boiling? I hope you're not boiling now that I asked you to remember it, but I asked for a reason. What made what they did "wrong"? Couldn't it have been right for them? You remember the old song, "...feels so right, can't be wrong...." We have been told that some things are absolutely wrong, but what makes what any of us believes "the truth"? What makes something right or wrong?

I will illustrate the difficulty in determining right from wrong with two scenarios.

Is it wrong to steal?
Scenario 1-A: Is it wrong for a poor street child who grabs a piece of fruit from a marketplace stand? If you were the child, you would justify your stealing because you were hungry. You would be inclined to excuse yourself for stealing. If you owned the fruit stand however, you would want to be justified and would seek the offender because if you let one go, he would spread the news and soon you would be the most robbed fruit stand in the city.
Scenario 1-B: Is it wrong for two teenagers to shoplift Christmas presents at the mall? If you were the teens, you would feel justified because you deserved to give good gifts to those you loved. You would also feel justified because the prices the stores charge are like highway robbery anyway. You're just doing to them first. If you were the store being robbed, you would feel the injustice, and would have those children, once caught, prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law to set a harsh precedence to discourage others from stealing. If you did absolutely nothing, you would eventually be known to all who had it in their hearts to steal.
Question: Are you inclined to justify either of these thieves? If so, why not justify those being robbed? You would be hard-pressed to convince those robbed that they were not wronged.

Is it wrong to murder?
Scenario 2-A: Is it wrong for a brother to a kill a sibling out of jealousy? If you were the murderer, you would justify your murder because it made you feel powerful to put your sibling lower than you. If you were the sibling, you would feel the pain of the hatred as well as the injustice of having someone end your life. You only wanted to be liked.
Scenario 2-B: Is it wrong for a man to kill a foreign soldier after seeing his young daughter killed by a ground assault on "an insurgent stronghold"? If you were the man, you would feel justified because of the immense anger at the undeserved death of your little girl. If you were the soldier, you would have felt justified for throwing the grenade in the direction of the gunfire.
Question: Are you inclined to justify either of these murderers? If so, why not justify those being murdered? You would be hard-pressed to convince those murdered that they were not wronged.

Either there is a God or there isn't. But whether you believe in God or not, you will no doubt continue to cherish the God-given knowledge of injustice. There are some universal things that, no matter who they happen to, the recipient feels the injustice, where the heart cries out for justice. Rape, murder, abuse, being spit upon, torture - these are all things that bring out the worst in the perpetrator. They are known by their hatred and disregard for life. They flaunt their self-fulfilled sense of superiority over another. They defame and tear down. But more than anything else they are known by their justification of their..., what should we call it? How about sin?

The Creator of you and me established Himself as God and Judge of all mankind. It is amazing how it always comes back to God. If you do not accept God's authority as your Judge and Creator, then you will no doubt be one of those people who justifies their sin; maybe not to the extent of Richard Dawkins, but on the same path. It is for those who try to disprove and dismantle God, that He Himself gives the gift of the knowledge of injustice. Although they wish truth were relative, and regardless of how they have convinced themselves how right they are, their clock is still ticking down, and they have to work ever harder to justify their beliefs, actions, and choices. What they have is not true relativism. Instead what they have is only "relativism on demand": Quick to justify their own actions, but feeling superior to those they disagree with.

Take to heart where you stand in all this. Do you justify your sin? Are you avoiding church? If so, why? Have you been adopted by the living God? Are you angry with him for something from the past? Don't just trust your feelings. Question your beliefs. God wants to free you from the chains that bind you. Jesus chose to take your place on the cross. He really does care about you.

Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?"

Psalm 44:20-22: "If we had forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a foreign god, would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart."

Proverbs 16:4: "The LORD has made all for Himself. Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom."

Psalm51:6: "Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom."


--Johnie

Politics: From Rare to Well Done

Since the election this last Tuesday, I think some people have walked away with a few battle scars. Scars that were inflicted by friends, relatives, and co-workers of the opposite political party. I'm sure both sides have been pretty nasty and often over-zealous, so let's just go ahead and clear the air now. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Do that for a while until your blood pressure is down and then read further.

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Putting partisan politics aside is hard to do, especially when there is always a loser, and let's face it, America is pretty much split down the middle now-a-days. So how can we live with each other now after all the arrows have been flung and lots of judgments have been cast? Whether you personally like it or not, Barak Obama is about to be the next President and our national congress is a little more Democrat heavy than it was before. So what are we to do?

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Well, I'm glad I put the question in your head, and I also have an idea. In order to bring about a little more peace to your election weary mind, treat politics like steak. Some people like their steak so well done that its like a thick piece of beef jerky when it's taken off the grill. Others like their steak just barely seared on each side, nice and bloody and very pink. And either way we like it, we still manage to put up with seeing it eaten the other way - by our friends, relatives, and co-workers. The sight of it, either way, may make you cringe, but you just grin and bear it. For your own peace of mind, just chew your steak and not theirs!

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I liken a well done steak to conservativism, and a medium rare steak to liberalism, and then there are lots of medium-well independents in between. If you're a eat it while it's mooing kind of person, and happy that your steak just got voted favorite in 2008, please don't gloat. Be humble at the dinner table. And if you've been wounded during the steak flinging battle of the year, practice forgiveness, and if you really want to see change, or not so much change, then pray for those you differ with. And remember that God isn't into getting political converts. He's into changing hearts. So as you go back to the grill, no matter who you voted for, work on charity, humility, and caring for others, especially those you disagree with.

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Matthew 22:34-40 says, "...a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?' Jesus said to him, '‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.'”

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--Johnie

My Own Personal Mr. Miyagi

I always wished I had my own personal Mr. Miyagi, from The Karate Kid movie. He's the kind of person who takes the underdog under his wings and teaches him everything he knows. You know, the true wisdom of life. Wax on-wax off! Paint the fence up! Paint the fence down! Catch fly with chopsticks! I watched the movie. I learned from Miyagi. At least I thought I learned.

After that movie came out, I'm sure every boy in America thought they had found the best thing since apple pie. Me and my friends had to try out the things we learned from Mr. Miyagi. We waxed on, and waxed off. Painted the fence up and painted down. When we wanted to show our power and our knowledge, it was customary to raise our hands in the air and assume the stork kick position. If you could do the famous stork kick while balancing on something sticking out of the ground then you were the man!

But what every boy really wanted was their own Mr. Miyagi. A man that took the time to teach them how to be a man. Someone who would teach by example. A leader who would challenge to go well beyond mediocre, to the point where there was satisfaction that you were doing your best and upholding a great tradition. I just knew in my heart Mr. Miyagi would have done the same for me and for anyone else. And I was right. He went on to make many more less famous Karate Kid spinoffs where he took others under his wing and taught them the art of Karate.

Now I'm 33, married with four kids, and I still sometimes find myself wanting my own personal Mr. Miyagi. Someone that makes the time to include me in developing my character. I think most guys hit adulthood feeling pumped about getting out in the world, but find that after a while it's a lot harder than they thought. Also not a lot of guys really ever experience friendship like Daniel-san and Mr. Miyagi had. Mr. Miyagi had maturity, and I wanted it too.

Well, I'm sure I have a point in all this. It's not good to try navigating life all by yourself. You'll sink your ship for sure. Also understand that while you may long for a mentor like Mr. Miyagi to help you deal with whatever stage of life you're in now, it might just be that you can be the Mr. Miyagi in someone else's life where they are. Look around everywhere you go, and these are the people that God has placed in your world where you have something to offer. Don't just spend all your time and all your energy on yourself, which is the norm. Invest yourself in others and you will have a full life. If you feel really alone and wish you had your own Miyagi, then talk to God about it. Hebrews 4:15 says, "We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses." Jesus, our High Priest, knows what you're feeling, and beckons us to ask God to supply us with what we need. The Bible says, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" and again it says, "whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." In the book of James we are warned, "you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."

Do you need a friend or a mentor? Ask God specifically for one. Also ask Him to teach you how to be a true friend and mentor to someone else. No one can trick God into doing what they want, so we must examine our motives for what we ask. God never promised us a Mr. Miyagi, but He does promise, "I will never leave you nor forsake you, " and He is looking out for our best interests, so trust Him.


--Johnie

Pray for Your Leaders

Well there was a lot of cheering and a lot of worry going on this week across the country. Some people are just ecstatic that the first black president got elected. Others are worried that he is a democrat. I didn't vote for Obama because he is pro-abortion. I voted for the most pro-life candidate I could. I feel like Obama will do lots to undermine the rights of the unborn, just like Clinton did. Should we hate him though? No way!

God told us to submit to those in authority over us. Romans 13:1-7 says, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor."

Even if John McCain got elected he would still be a fallible man capable of immense amounts of evil. The same holds true for all leaders, even Barak Obama. He needs our prayers more than anything, especially since he is for some pretty immoral things. Just like with Saul, the people got what they wanted, and now we will all live under his rule. It is comforting to read the passage above though, and know that God is over Barak Obama. I'm not saying that God approves of everything that he does or says or wants to do. But Obama is subject to the kind of disciple that God gives to all the leaders of the world.

In 2 Samuel 24, David is given three choices of punishment for wanting to take a census of the people. He chooses God's judgment, but He says, "Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” The ultimate judge will always be more compassionate and merciful than any man. God then relented in His anger, when man would not have stopped.

Pray for not only the president, but all the leaders in your life, from spouse to boss to pastor, and on up the leadership chain. They are all prone to fall, and fall they often do. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is an old hymn that fits us all, but I wish our leaders would sing it as a prayer in public everyday: "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it - seal it for Thy courts above." Lots of republicans were glad when Bush got elected, but he disappointed many of those who elected him, especially with the torture issue and people losing civil rights. It will be the same thing for Obama and his supporters once he starts his job. He is not "The One" or "Messiah." He is a man who now has a tremendous responsibility and a huge opportunity to mess up. Even if you didn't vote for him, pray for him. That's really trusting God.


--Johnie

Beyond Mediocrity

When my days on earth are done, I wonder what my first experience in heaven will be like. Will I see "the tunnel of light" that many near-deathers have reported? Will it be like the cartoon where you just appear at the outskirts of heaven waiting in line at the pearly gates? Or will I have to endure the heavenly movie "This was Your Life"? That would be depressing.

I do periodically reflect on if I am wasting any of my time. Is this blog really making a difference? Am I actually connecting to the people God has placed around me. Am I stuff focused or spirit focused? Temporal or eternal?

I think that the searching out of the heart is like a wake up call to shake off all those things that don't matter. Once I spent more than ten hours over five days trying to deal with a bank over the phone. What great memories! I'm sure my wife thinks back to that week and says to herself, "Oh, what a great week that was, cooking supper, chasing children, and watching Johnie shuffle bank statements while pressing a phone to his ear." Shirley Dobson wrote a book called Let's Make a Memory. When I remember that week I want to say, "Let's make up a memory! That one's pitiful!"

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I know from experience that just getting up, going through the motions, and then kissing that day goodbye just isn't good enough! Lately I've been trying to connect with the people around me, whoever they are. And I'm finding myself caring about them! Some of these same people were the reason I wanted to quit my job a couple of years ago. Now I want them to find the hope that I have found!

I try to make the most of the time with my kids, too. When they ask me to look at their drawings, it's not an annoyance - it's a blessing! I mean, when I weigh "paying the bills" against "making my daughters day", it's not really a hard decision. Which one will have more of an impact? The bills will always be there, but my kids won't. My oldest is 7 years away from the age Joyce was when we got engaged. I'm not saying it will happen the same way, but I can't take that risk. I sure don't want to be whispering "rosebud" on my deathbed. I want NO regrets.

The main reason I write this blog is that I want to see others discover their Creator, and to see that He's is working all around us! Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21) That is where God wants to sit as king. I just see it as beneficial to share what God has been teaching me. I sure don't write it because I'm all that.

This life is about God. God wants us to look for Him, find Him, and become His friend. And if we spend our time doing anything else, we miss out and we wonder when we'll find OUR calling and OUR purpose. I don't care if you clean the floors at a nursing home, which by the way is a really grungy job, even there God wants us to look for Him. Do you see Him in the eyes of others?

"Give and it will come back to you, pressed down shaken together and running over."


--Johnie

God's People, Work, and Inheritance

I still remember the first time I read Isaiah 19, and how it rocked my world. I grew up always hearing my father say how he wished our government would just drop "the bomb" on all those "Arab countries", and then the world would be a better place. They were nothing but trouble, and deserved it. Well, I too thought that way for a long time, until three things happened.

First, my sister who was living in Ecuador told me about a lot of Palestinian Christians that lived in Quito had a tough time getting out of the Palestinian territory because they were suspected terrorists. But inside the Palestinian territory they were persecuted because they were Christians and not Muslims. I had never thought about Christians being stuck in the Palestinian territory and facing double persecution from the Muslims they were neighbors with and from Israel who treated them all the same.

Second, I heard a news story about the same thing. It was a radio interview of a Palestinian Christian family who was having an unbelievably hard time existing because of the ostracizing, the death threats, and the shutting off of the borders from the outside world. I couldn't believe that at one time I had honestly agreed with my father about wiping them off the map.

Third, I read Isaiah 19, and I heard God say these words,

"In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. Then the LORD will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the LORD and perform it. And the LORD will strike Egypt, He will strike and
heal it; they will return to the LORD, and He will be entreated by them and heal
them. In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the
Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians
will serve with the Assyrians."

And then in verses 24 and 25 it says, "In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, 'Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.'"

God says right there that He loves these two Muslim extremist nations, Egypt and modern day Syria. Now it says before this that He will break them with suffering, and make them His own, but He would only bring tough times on them to change their hearts.

I hope you can see the lesson I learned. Who am I to cast a God judgement on a people. God is God, and I am not. Even Michael didn't try to throw an accusing word at Satan when disputing the body of Moses. Instead He said, "The LORD rebuke you!" (Jude 1:9) For God is the Judge; not me - not you.

Now, let me ask you, is there any skin color, nationality, pedigree, social class, lifestyle or faith that you have ever wished was erased from the earth. It's hard to look at the ugly in us, but if it's there, deal with it. Throw out your pride, pray for your enemies, and confess your hatred to your Creator. If you choose to keep it, you will shut out any chance of finding joy or peace in the tough times. It will control your life.

Trust God, who prophesies of some of the evil people around you, calling them, "My people, the work of My hands, and my inheritance." Do you doubt it. Well, if you're a Christian, don't you see it? That's exactly what He did for you.

--Johnie

Fireproof - The Movie

Always stay with your partner, especially in a fire.

Joyce and I watched Fireproof the movie tonight, and it was great! It made me think a lot about how love is interested in the other person's best, and that without expecting anything in return. Love is a verb, and is not just something spoken. Love is shown by our choices and our actions.

It's hard to describe a movie that actually has a moral. Watching it really made me want to take action. What are the things I expect out of my spouse that I have no control over. I mean the only thing I really have any control over is what I do. I can't change anyone but me. I can show the love for my wife and kids by how I spend my time and money. If I spend on me, then I guess I am showing love to only me. But if I sacrifice some of my "me time" then I then have time to spend on others.

Here's a test: If you truly care about your spouse, then they should know it. Ask them:

• Do you think we have a great marriage?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, what would you rank our marriage?
• Do you think I care about you more than anything else?
• Is there anything you wish I would give up for us?

How well do you know your spouse? Well, you may think "too well," but if you want a strong marriage then by your actions you need to show them that they are important to you. Even if it doesn't reciprocate. Love is a gift that you can give by caring about someone besides yourself.

If you haven't seen the movie, go see it. You'll be glad you did.

--Johnie

Letting Go is Hard to Do

"Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” - Luke 18:15-17

What does it mean to be in control? Is it if someone has all their debts paid off and has a healthy savings account? Are they financially "in control"? If someone always keeps the house spotless and dresses nice, does that make them "in control"?

Often we think we have everything under control when circumstances fall in our favor. You know: All the bills are paid on time, the car is running good, no family members are sick, and your boss likes you. Things are going good, so everything is under control.

But what about when things are not so good. Your boss doesn't like you, your parents are in the nursing home constantly sick, the belt on the car is about to break again, but you are still driving it around because you don't have the money to get it fixed. Yikes! Life is spinning out of control!

We all want to think ourselves capable, but how important is it to God if we are capable? How does God feel about beggars? Well, its pretty easy to judge them as "do nothings", but God freely accepted Lazarus the beggar when he died. He was loved by God as a beggar just as much as when he was resting in Abraham's bosom.

To be honest, I think we all have trouble contemplating total submission to God. We work to provide for our families - don't we? We are strong and healthy, probably because we are eating oh so right - aren't we? We stay busy with work, church, organizations, hobbies, and our kids activities, so we're productive - right? What could we possibly do to earn God's favor? The answer is nothing!

A child knows how to enjoy life and not worry about the fine details about how things happen. Just like children, we need to accept God's free gift for what it is - Free. Also children believe what they hear, and their belief is unshakable because they trust adults as caregivers. Those who trust in Christ's forgiveness are new creations and adopted children of the Living God. We have to face the fact that He is our provider and we are not. We really don't have anything to offer God. But He wants us to let go of thinking that we are in control. He wants us to trust Him. You may have a good paying job right now, but if you lose it will you worry because you are no longer in control? If you lose your house or your car, does that make you a bad person? No, but if you think it's all up to you, then you'll be down on yourself.

There is nothing we can do to earn God's favor. God just wants us to trust Him in the big things and in the little things. He wants us to then be amazed at what He does and to praise Him for it.


--Johnie

The Burning Embers

Here is a poem I wrote two winters ago that I wanted to share. It reminds me of my ancestors and how much I have in common with them. In the end the people of the past are peers to the people of the future. We all must deal with our sin before our Creator.

The Burning Embers
By Johnie W. Levell, 12/26/2006


Drawn by the warmth – constrained by the same;
Enchanted by the glow;
With the wind the embers dance,
They move as those who live.

Both rise and fall of sun is there
In remnant of the flame.
Speak now in tongue of blowing leaves,
And gently sprinkled rain.

Through this window, time’s erased,
Deep thought in those who gaze –
All men equal around the fire,
Searching out their ways.

"Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the LORD; Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven." - Lamentations 3:40-41


--Johnie

Should Have Bought Crackers

I think the whole world knows that this last week the stock markets took a tumble. I really feel for all the people who have been getting ready to retire soon. I have heard many of them say that they "lost" a fortune. Yes it is still true that money has wings and flies away!

I went grocery shopping the other day and I was equally shocked by the cost of food. I think Walmart must be planning on not selling a good deal of their "stuff", so instead they raised the price of food. I've never really played the stock market, but oh if I only knew that Great Value brand crackers were going to go from 69 cents 2 weeks ago to $1.09 this week, boy could I have made a killing! I could have cashed my whole paycheck and bought a couple thousand boxes of Great Value Saltines and then sold them again this week and made a few hundred dollars! Oh, why was I not born with market savey intuition!! But I bet not many people in America have even thought too hard about playing the cracker market.

Hind sight is always 20/20, and if we only knew a month ago what we know now.........oh, well. Jesus told us not to store up our treasure here on earth, but to store it up in heaven. Hopefully we are thinking more about that now. It doesn't matter how much we think we have because it can disappear so quickly. And there's not even a really good explanation for it either!

Trust God because it was all His before the "financial crisis" and it is still ALL HIS today. He is our provider and we should never feel secure because of money. If you still feel worried or uptight, ask God to help you let go of it and just trust Him.


--Johnie

Women's Rights All the Way

I believe in women's rights more than most people. Really, I do. I don't believe men are superior to women, and I sure don't believe the other way around. Women should get paid the same as men for the work they do, and should be appreciated just like men in the workplace and for the work they do at home. I believe in a woman's right to choose, too.

Right about now, you might be saying, "Huh?" Well, you heard right and that is what my focus is on today: Standing up for a woman's right to choose.

You see there are some people in America that want to make decisions for women and what they do with their bodies - decisions that go against their will. They adamantly defend putting a woman's life in danger, and they stand in the way of that woman living out a happy life. These same people tout women's rights, but they don't really mean it. I mean how can someone mean it if they would rather see women suffer at the hands of oppressive laws that keep women from being and doing whatever they want in life. How could they really mean it?

Join me in standing up for a woman's right to choose. Why should we stand up for them? Why not just leave it for them to stand up for their own rights?

Because they can't. These poor women are weak and don't have a voice. They might have been doctors and lawyers and senators and leaders, but they really don't have it in them to stand up and speak on their own behalf. Will you just sit by and let corrupt politicians make laws for people who don't believe the same as them. It takes all of us to stand up for a woman's right to choose.

Yes, they are prominent women - women of their own time, making a difference in their world. But that is only if their rights are defended. Would you take away these women's rights to choose?

The women I am speaking about live in a world of darkness and trust. Will you help them into the light?

Once again, won't you help me in standing up for a woman's right to choose. These are the unborn women of today, and of tomorrow. These unborn women have no voice and they live in the darkness of their mothers' wombs, in total trust that mommy loves them and will take care of them. They cannot defend themselves, but that is why we must defend their right to choose life.

Stand up for the voiceless because you have a voice! Should they really suffer a brutal attack while all the world sits by? Should one woman's rights to live and maintain a certain lifestyle cause another to die? Since when is it right for an innocent person to be punished for another person's mistake? Did the unborn child sin? No, it didn't! Why snuff out the same hopes and dreams that were afforded to you? Trust me - two wrongs don't make a right.

If these words cut you, just ask yourself why? Maybe you made the mistake and took it out on your child. Maybe you forced such a decision on your girlfriend or on your daughter. Stop trying to justify your mistakes or those of someone close to you. Instead cry out to the Creator of us all and ask for forgiveness. It's not the unforgivable sin. He will forgive you!!! He will forgive them!!! Jesus died for even those sins. In the book of John, chapter 3, Jesus Himself said, "For God didn't send His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

I will forever take this stand as long as I live: SPEAK OUT FOR THE UNBORN. There must be a defense for the helpless. Maybe its time for you to stand with me for the rights of all men and all women, even the unborn. Speak out. Now it's your turn. Live out love.

---Johnie

Fellowship [koy nohn ee' ya]

This morning's sermon was about how to be a part of the family of Christ. The early church cared about each other so much they spent time with each other. They sold their possessions and had all things in common. They met daily in the temple and prayed together. They met and ate together in each others houses. They supported each other.

All selfish ambition was replaced with regard for others. They were looking out for each other and growing closer to each other as they became more like Christ.

If you are lonely and leave the church service feeling like you don't fit in and don't know anyone, then bust out of your isolationism and individualism. It's not about how much you can get, but instead how much you have to offer. If the sponge only soaks up, it stagnates. It must be emptied to be able to soak up anything new. Are your gifts stagnating inside you because you aren't using them? If you were saved then you received a gift or gifts from the Holy Spirit. Those gifts were not intended for you to use to gain socio-economic status in the current world system. Your gifts were given to use for the edification of the entire body of Christ. If you are feeling alone, reach out and be a friend. Invest your gifts in others. Esteem others more highly than you do yourself. Don't wear your feelings on your sleeves. Have a forgiving attitude and pray for wisdom.

The goal is not to see who has more friends in the end. But if you grow close to several other Christian families you will find that the family of God is a real family and that those friendships will be a big part of your life.

Pray for other Christians. This is a selfless act that draws us closer to our Maker and teaches us the heart of our Saviour. We have to look out for each other and not just be all about promoting ourselves.

The greek word for fellowship is koinania [koy nohn ee' ya] and it is the type of fellowship that represents a family that gets along really well. It is true to its members and spiritually deep. It is looking out for its weakest link and helping them up when they fall.

When Jesus returns and establishes His kingdom, it will be like that! Pray and ask God to soften your heart and renew your mind and help you to be the child of His that builds up His body.


--Johnie

City Lights

"A city set on a hill cannot be hidden."

Have you ever thought, "I wonder what kind of plan God has for my life?" I have thought that so many times, wondering if God wanted me to be a missionary or if I was somehow missing out on what He had planned for me. Well, I'm not a missionary in Africa, but I contact many people every day. I wonder if they see Jesus in me. Do I shine for Him?

When I was heading to work very early the other morning, I was going over a tall overpass and I thought of Jesus' words, "A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." The lights of the city were everywhere almost as far as I could see. It made me think of all the believers that were being lights right where they are. Are you waiting for God's big plan for your life? We don't have to wait for official "ministry" opportunities for us to be lights. Where does your day lead you? Shine there! Do you deliver chips to a bar? Shine! Do you lead a team? Light their way! Are you surrounded by nurses and doctors? They need the light, too!

GOD CALLED YOU OUT OF YOUR PAST DARKNESS!!!!!

HE WHO HAS BEEN FORGIVEN MUCH LOVES MUCH!!!!!!!!!

Don't wait for the sweet by and by. Invest in today right where you are in those you're around. Run this race like you really want to win it.

--Johnie

Family Fortress

Go out of your way to to make your family know how special they are and build a family fortress of love. Everyone needs to know that they are loved and they need a hug.

Husband, hug your wife. Tell her she is beautiful. Take her in your arms and dance with her. Ask her what her dreams and goals are? Hire a sitter and take her on a date. Talk with her and seek to understand her.

Wives, hug your husbands. Be your husband's number one fan. Appreciate him and encourage him in his endeavors. Pray for him everyday.

Parents, hug your children. Give them piggy back rides through the house. Wrestle them in the floor. Tell your girls how pretty they are. Tell your boys they are handsome. Play their games and stories and enjoy their company. Give them attention. Be tender and lead with kind words. Teach them God's ways and God's word.

The devil wants to destroy our families. If he can divide, he can conquer. I encourage you to shore up the weak areas in your family. Love. Hug. Laugh. Pray. Play.


--Johnie

Time Traveler, Part 4

What would it be like to travel back in time? What would you see? Who would you meet? What would they think about meeting you? Well, we cannot travel through time, but there is one who can. Jesus Christ is the Great Time Traveler. He is ever-present in past, present, and future. But what of man? Will man ever be able to leave the time frame he is carried along by?

Ponder some of your life experiences. Do you really think that you are the only person to feel what you feel, to have known what you know? In the 1500's one of your fore-fathers was a child, a teen, an adult. The same goes for the 2nd century. Same for the 5th century BC. All throughout what we call history, are people who were just like we are. They had fear, had courage, had rejection. They had to go through the awkwardness of growing up just like us too.

When you think about how much you have in common with all of mankind, then you begin to see the equality of the ages. We are all eternal spirits dwelling in aging flesh. We were there in Adam and Eve from the beginning. We are equals with our fathers from generation to generation.

My father died at 79 years, but he was once 33 like myself. He died frail, but was once strong like myself. If I were to know my father and my grandfather, my great-grandfather, even going back to the first generation, and met all my forefathers at my age, we would have so much in common. They would be working to support their families, dealing with aging parents and small children just like us. But they all died just like we will. In heaven however there will be no age. We will all be together then. Dying, aging flesh is bound in time, but our redemption goes beyond time.

Life is all about our personal relationship with our personal Maker. That has never changed throughout all history. The thing that will carry us from this life into eternity is that our relationship with God will not be interrupted. He is our Friend. What a peaceful and secure feeling knowing His love and forgiveness and knowing that it wasn't you who chose Him as much as Him who chose you! He surpasses time and predestined those he chooses, from all generations, to be His children!

Our brother Paul encourages with these eternal words of God, saying, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." (Romans 8:28-30)


---Johnie

Time Traveler, Part 3

Before anything existed, the Trinity was. The Father was always the Father. The Son was always the Son. The Holy Spirit was always the Holy Spirit.

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness....'" - Gen. 1:26 Father, Son, and Spirit were working together from the very beginning.

Before anything existed, all things were known by God. He knew that you would sit down at your computer now. He knew that you would turn the key in your car today. He knew that you would flip the light switch earlier. All this He knew before you were born. All this He knew before "The Beginning." And Jesus is all throughout the old testament just as much as the new. Usually whenever "the Angel of the Lord" is mentioned in the Old Testament, it is referring to an appearance and working of Jesus before He was born.

He talked to Hagar in the wilderness about submission and promise and He saved her and Ishmael. He sent Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and He stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac on the mountain. He appeared to Moses as a burning bush. He was ready to kill Balaam on the road.

Het met Gideon at the wine press and told him to go after the Mideonites. He accepted Gideon's sacrifice on the rock. He met with Minoah and his wife and told them they would have a son, and He accepted their burnt offering.

He gave food and drink to Elijah under the broom tree in the wilderness. He killed 185,000 Assyrians in the night after Hezekiah prayed and asked the Lord for deliverance. He stood before the high priest, Joshua the son of Jehozadak, to rebuke the devil there beside him, and to support Joshua and take away his sin.

These are all events in the life of Jesus, the Son of God, but they happened superior to time before He was even born, showing us that He was before His own birth. It is hard for us to understand that all these things are co-existent to our omnipresent, all-knowing, never-aging, eternal Creator. He is eternal, meaning He fills all time and overflows time with Himself. When the scripture says "in the last days" certain things will happen, it is because God has already experienced it and has revealed it to men. I used the past tense, but time is no constraint to our Eternal God.

He is there in the past. He is here in the present. He is there in the future. And He never changes. Praise our God and Saviour for calling us before the foundation of the world to be His children!

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

(to be continued) ---Johnie

Time Traveler, Part 2

Jesus never changes. In the Revelation given to John, Jesus states four times His supremacy over time.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” - Rev. 1:8

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” - Rev. 1:11

“It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End." - Rev 21:6

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” - Rev 22:13

Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter, like our English A and Z. How can someone exist before existence of all? That person would have to be the Creator of all.

In John 8:56-59, the Holy Spirit led John to record a conversation between Jesus and some Jews. The Jews were accusing Jesus of having a demon and Jesus had just finished telling them that He was not a liar like they were. The story picks up with Jesus talking: "'Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.' Then the Jews said to Him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.' Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by." Here Jesus told them He was the God of their father's by using for Himself the name that the Lord told Moses to tell the children of Israel who He was, I AM. He was not in the past. The past is in Him. He is not in the future. The future is in Him. The same even applies to the present and what lies beyond the whole span of Creation.

This is reiterated in both Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," and "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."

I actually began to think about this topic during an engineering club where we were watching a movie about string theory. That theory seems to be changing still, but it basically states that the time-space continuum is like a fabric with folds. The folds could bring two close "timelines" together. They were very pro "parallel universe" saying that there were endless realities with us living in each and choosing all the possibilities that could happen. Primarily it states that there is something that holds the universe together like thread. They are calling the thread "dark matter." Now, I'm not saying that I whole-heartedly believe string theory, but I couldn't help but think of all these verses about Jesus while they were talking. I kept saying to myself, "How can they not see that what they are talking about is Jesus?" Jesus is the thread that holds the universe together. He is what they are searching so hard to find.

Paul wrote in Colossians 1:15-17, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist."

Jesus is sovereign in all things. In Him all things consist. He is the thread holding our lives together. Time is non-existent to Him because all time is simultaneous in Him. He has stepped into time at His will as the pre-incarnate Christ many times, and quietly inhabits every moment of existent time, even future time. Take some time and thank Him for His sovereignty over all, past, present and future.

(to be continued) ---Johnie

Time Traveler, Part 1

I have often wondered what it would be like to be a time traveler. Visit the past, explore the future. I've never seen the Butterfly Effect, but what might I accidentally change were I to be out of my time. Who wouldn't be born? What countries would cease to exist now if I were to accidentally give "the past" technology from today? I am thankful that God has constrained us to time, but could there be a real time traveler? I say YES!

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." I love that verse out of Hebrews. Everything and everyone around us ages and decays, but Jesus never changes. Now tuck that away for just a moment.

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him." (Ephesians 1:7-10) Jesus is the time traveler, spanning all time and space. All history is spread out before Him with only Himself able to enter it and change it. This is the mystery of His will, that He entered our time and chose us and bought us out of our depravity.

Are we living in the past? Or are we just planning for the future? How are we living in the here and now? If all we do is remember or plan, is that really living? Take a minte and write down how you spent your time today. Did you live life to the fullest or did you just get by? Did you let Jesus into your day?

Now remember the verse out of Hebrews. If He's not our foundation, then how are we going to find life and find it more abundantly? Focus on what never changes.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

(to be continued) ---Johnie

Penelope Epiphany

I just watched a show called Penelope about a girl that was born with a pig snout. I thought the movie was ho-hum - one of those bubblegum type shows that gave me just enough to chew on, but not enough to make a meal.

One thing I really liked in it was that there was a major change in one of the characters, a photographer who had been stalking the girl's family for years to get a photo of the girl and had even lost an eye trying. Finally Penelope sells her own picture to him, and then once he's got what he's wanted for so long, he doesn't seem to like what he's become and he stops pursuing his life-long obsession.

I know the movie is about many things (accepting others for who they are, liking your imperfect self, liking your kids for who they are), but this photographer is probably my favorite character. He had an epiphany that changed his life, and woke him up to see reality. That is the kind of change I think we all need. I know I fantasize about making a difference in the world, but I always tend to think of big change. I solve the world's problems single-handedly, while showing everyone how humbly I'm taking it.

My ego embarrasses me whenever I think of what Jesus did during His life and what He was actually capable of doing. He really could have brought tons of advancements to the world thousands of years before they happened, but that wasn't in His plans. He could have taken a trip of healing around the world picking up followers wherever He went, but He didn't. He could have even taken the world by force, but not Jesus. God's ways are truly higher than mine! Oh, how I want to be like Jesus!

I won't show Penelope to my kids because it made light of drinking and getting drunk and there were a few mild profanities and some strong emphasis on "kissing='I like you'" towards the end. But if you decide to watch the movie then look for the guy I'm writing about. Maybe you'll catch a glimpse of the same hope in him that I did. It's a hope I also have for myself.


---Johnie

The Young Earth Before Sin

Whenever I read about creation in Genesis, I like to take what I read and try to make it tangible. I try to imagine being there. Creation itself is very difficult to do this with because there is not enough detail and I don't have the ability to accurately imagine some of it. But when God's Spirit led Moses to write about the pre-flood earth, many details were included. So let's open it up and take a little trip into the pre-sin, pre-flood earth.

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The land was all one mass, namely a super-continent we call Pangea, and the terrain looked very different. If you look at a current world map you can easily see how some of it fits together, for example, the western coast of Africa fits the contours of North and South America's east coast.

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A foggy mist kept everything watered instead of rain. Yes, it didn't rain on the earth until the great flood 1656 years from Adam's 1st year. Imagine a land where most everything grew freely without human intervention. God did not give Adam the task of tending the whole earth. Instead He gave him a garden to tend from which he and his wife would get food.

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Now Eden was a large mountainous country. For simplicity, let us imagine two mountain ranges in Eden, with a river running between them to the east. On the eastern border of Eden was where God planted the garden. The whole of Eden was not the entire garden. Whether the garden was flat or rolling terrain, we know that in the garden or toward the eastern edge of it the great river divided into four out-going riverheads.

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The Pishon skirted the whole land of Havilah. The Gihon goes around the whole land of Cush. The Hiddekel (or Tigirs)travels towards the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

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Considering that the flood totally wiped out any remembrance of the Pishon and the Gihon, it is logical to assume that the modern Tigris and Euphrates are not the same rivers that existed in the garden of Eden. However, they could be in the general locality of the pre-flood rivers. The origins of both rivers are in the Turkish mountains today, which makes me wonder if that was the region of the garden. What Moses writes about the lands bordered by these rivers is very specific, but the flood appears to have erased the signs of these early lands.

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The garden was special because God cultivated it personally, planting in it things for the man and woman to eat. We do not know how far apart the Tree of Knowing Good and Evil and the Tree of life were, but I imagine that they were not side by side. Apparently both trees were recognizable, possibly even set apart by themselves with boundaries. The fact that they had not eaten from the Tree of Life makes me also think they were not in the garden very long.

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The trees and plants were all super-grown by God on that first week, so that the garden was ready for man on the day he was created. Also all living things were created with some physical age. Adam and Eve were not infants the day they were created. I imagine they were created in the prime of their youth. However, I believe Adam's age of 130 years at Seth's birth, was his relative age from creation.
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Since death entered the world through sin, this world was totally free from death. Adam could have gone below the water to decide what to name the fish and not have died. The world was also free from pain. Having children would have been a pleasure for Eve. Thorns, thistles, briers, and stickers did not exist. Neither did poisonous animals. The closest thing to death was the consumption and digestion of the fruits and vegetables and plants that Adam and Eve ate. But no blood was shed.

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God's whole plan for putting the "forbidden" tree in the garden is hard for me to understand. By the time God had rested on the seventh day, satan had already been cast down from heaven. Since we know that satan is always accusing and slandering God's ways, it is possible that satan was trying to disqualify God by coaxing the man and woman to eat the forbidden fruit. Whatever the case, the forbidden fruit is not the the only odd-ball in the garden. The legged serpent, fallen cherub, satan himself, was also in the garden. I am still not sure of God's ultimate plan for allowing satan in the garden, unless the Lord was going to show the devil after the first angelic judgment that He would have a free-will creature that would choose to worship Him alone.

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We know that the climate must have been temperate for Adam and Eve to have been naked in the garden and to not have cared. Also, neither of them seemed the least bit concerned about the serpent talking to them. Did other animals also talk, or did they just not know to be suspicious when this one did talk? There were also what we call dinosaurs alive back then. How could they be extinct when death entered the world through Adam?

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We must also remember that this is just a piece of our past. Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:4, "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world." So we were in God's mind even before creation. The innocence of the pre-sin earth did not last very long.

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---Johnie

From Darkness to Light

Yesterday afternoon I changed the brake pads on the van. When I pulled off the first wheel, to my surprise, I had uncovered a large black widow spider living on the brakes. I called the kids over there and showed it to them, warning them of black widows. Attached is a photograph I took of this unwanted traveling companion just before I killed it.

Now I never would have dreamed that a spider could have lived in such a place, especially since it gets so hot there from the friction, but there it was! It was apparent that it was pretty well off from its size and extensive web works. Hidden from the world behind a wheel, it lived out its mission to kill lost and unsuspecting bugs. Before I finally knocked it to the ground and squished it, I just watched it for a while. Even while I was taking its picture, it was oblivious of my presense and kept working on strengthening its web.

There is no telling how long we have been driving around with a black widow. My youngest daughter asked me if it could have laid eggs in the van. That is a scary thought! Darkness is a magnet for creepy things. If you roll over an old log, you will find roaches, centipedes, and scorpions. But the light repulses these creatures and they flee from it.

We, too, were once hiding in the darkness just like this black widow. Peter wrote, "proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." John said in 1 John 1:5, "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." Before the light of God shone in our hearts, we loved the darkness, but we know the hope of God's grace and have passed from dead to living, from blind to seeing.

Now as much as I don't like black widows I have to remember that God created them and that our God is a redeeming God. I believe that one day in the future, closer and closer it comes, that Jesus will shine a special healing light on the poisonous spiders and heal them from their treachery. Romans 8:21 says, "creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." This is the time when babies will play with the once poisonous serpent, and the lion will sleep with the lamb without attacking it. This is the long-awaited 1000 year reign of Christ, in which the devil is bound and He is the sovereign ruler of the earth.

Praise God who conveyed to us his heart transforming love and will one day also heal this earth!


---Johnie

Belief vs. Truth

Farfour the mouse was a very loved children's TV character. His dying grandfather bequethed him with a deed to some land along with the key to the land. Grandfather warned Farfour that the terrorist Jews would try to get the deed and the key, but he made him promise to never give it to them. That's right. Farfour, known as Martyr Mouse, is a real Palestinian muslim children's show character. He is eventually interrogated and beaten by a hard-hearted Jew who wants the deed and key to the Palestinian land. But Farfour obeys his grandfather and doesn't give it to them. A young girl narrator then informs the viewers that Farfour died in prison a martyr. Throughout the show the Israelis and Jews are called terrorists.

There are brainwashed people all over the world that believe all sorts of strange things. Farfour stands out as a warning to all of us that it is very easy for people to believe something that is not the truth. It is okay to question what we are taught and to personally understand the meaning of the scriptures. Let me give you two examples.

1. The lie: God made homosexuals the way they are it is normal. The result: Some churches are letting them flaunt their lifestyle in the church, even ordaining homosexual priests. The Truth: Romans 1:26-27 "For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due."
2. The lie: Keeping women out of the pulpit is wrong. The result: Men are giving up their leadership rolls to women and are becoming spineless, quiet and passive instead of spiritual leaders. The Truth: 1 Timothy 2:12-14 "And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression."

Now it doesn't matter what we believe if it is contrary to the word of God. The church has taught many bad things in the past to justify sinful behavior. In the 1400's it was that you could buy forgiveness from the church. In the mid-1800's it was to justify slavery of heathens.

Paul admonished us in 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified."

Are you reading the Bible? Are you checking out what you are taught? Take a deep look inside yourself and ask the hard question, "Are the things I believe truth or lie." Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see any area in you that is false and to expose it to the light.

---Johnie

Plumbing Woes

Today has not been a fun day. Last night the shower backed up. I thought it was because of too many things draining at the same time. This morning I thoroughly cleaned it. Right after I cleaned it, it backed up again with the flush of a toilet. The toilet also backed up. So did the bath tub. I decided to try the other toilet just to see if it would work. Nope! I needed a royal flush, but the cards were stacked against me.

I sent Joyce and the kids on to church so that I could take care of this situation like a man. "How does a man take care of a situation like this?" you may ask. Well, that's a good question. A man's not afraid to get his hands dirty. A man will face the enemy face to face. A man recognizes that it was for such a time as this that he has made a thousand tool purchases because a man's motto is "Be Prepared." Well, okay, it is the Boyscouts' motto, but it is a motto that resonates in my mind every time I walk into Lowe's or Sears.

All my tools were very easy to find because yesterday I needed to change the brake pads on the van. I was just positive that I had an extra set out in the shed (be prepared). However, I could not locate them on account of my shed's personal problem. It isn't really big enough to hold everything that's in it, but all of which is totally necessary (be prepared). So everything just kind of got piled into it in a rather random, chaotic way. It was so full that it was dangerous to enter. So how were my tools easy to find?

I entered the dangerous version of the shed to find the brake pads. I kept tripping over things that were in my way, but I could not find the brake pads. I finally decided to take everything out of the shed and reorganize it, that way I could find what I needed. I emptied the floor of the shed which was a monumental task, and stacked it around the backyard, also a monumental task. That is how I so easily found my tools. I can clearly see now that the backyard is about the right size of the shed I need to hold all my stuff.

First I plunged with my super-sucker plunger for a while. Since everything was backed up I just went around and plunged this for a while, and then plunged that for a while, but when nothing drains, you know you have to advance from the plunger to the sewer snake!

The sewer snake is my least favorite plumbing tool because it goes deep into the sewer lines to do its job, and then you have to handle it. But a real man won't shy away from the really dirty stuff. This also did not work, and now I stink.

To make a long story short, it took a real plumber to clean out the main sewer drain line. The problem: Roots. Good indoor plumbing is one of the most cherished possessions in all the world. Once you've used indoor plumbing, you have a tough time even using a port-a-potty.

I can think of several scriptures that this whole plumbing crisis brings to mind. In Mark 7:18-23, Jesus tells his disciples, "whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” I can hardly wait for heaven where we won't have to deal with stinky toilets anymore. Now that I have gotten dirty and smelly, does God get repulsed by me? No, but I believe that our plumbing and sewer is a good reminder of how repulsive and stinky our sin is to our holy God.

Sin is not some force that we cannot fight that therefore overtakes us. To sin or not to sin is a choice that we have to make. A follower of Christ doesn't have to sin. Paul wrote to the messed up church in Corinth, "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." Pray that God will help you be holy and that you would recognize and use all of the escapes He provides for you to get out of temptation without sinning. So flush out that mind as often as you shower or bathe, and wash your heart from evil as often as you thank God for your plumbing.

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."
-Philippians 4:8


---Johnie

Test the Spirits

Mardel Christian Bookstore was my first full-time employer, and while there I learned that there are a lot of different Bibles to choose from. I also quickly learned that there are impromptu Bible teams that have transcendent translation wars.


"Don't shoot the messenger - or the stockboy!" I often felt like an easy target putting different Bible versions on the shelf. In fact, just having a Mardel name badge on my shirt was as good as an invitation to a Bible Awareness Confrontation. (My own words for an uninvited argument.) I was often subject to hearing why one version was "superior" and the others were Satanic. It didn't do any good to argue with them. That would only get them impassioned with some "in your face" tactics.


Usually they were promoting the Authorized 1611 King James Version Bible. Once it was a local pastor's very own "superior" translation. That was what he encouraged his congregation to use because he knew it was right. Then there were those who had to have an Apocrypha in their Bible. They usually were quiet and sincere without making a big fuse that there were only two shelves dedicated to Catholic Bibles.


We had a very large poster hanging over the Bible section that had John 3:16 written out in about 12 different Bible versions. Just having that poster on the wall might have been the instigator of some of the confrontations that happened, but it made me wonder, "Why do I trust the Bible that I read?" In 1 John 4:1, we are told to "test the spirits" and to be cautious of who to believe. Some are false prophets, but is my Bible one of them! These are good questions that are okay to ask.


I am by no means an expert on all the different Bibles, but I can tell you that all Bibles written in English are translations, revisions, paraphrases, or inventions.


A translation is one that tries to be as true to the early texts as possible, word-for-word (ex. KJV) or thought-for-thought (ex. NIV).


A revision works off of a translation with the goal of making it more understandable while still referring back to the manuscript(s) to keep it consistent (NKJV). However, even some revisions get revised to keep up with the times, so keep that in mind.


A paraphrase is an easy-to-read interpretation of a translation or a revision. The Living Bible and the English Bible fall into this camp as they often get tagged for inaccuracies. This type of Bible often compromises the translation in order to keep the attention of the reader or hearer. I say hearer because it often targets children. (I remember how much I personally enjoy the English Bible version of Elijah challenging the prophets of Baal.)


An invention Bible, if you can really call it a Bible, is usually a paraphrase or revision that does not intend (on purpose) to keep the original intent of certain scriptures so that their particular "agenda" is advanced. The New International Version rewrites gender specific verses to be gender neutral. "Sons" becomes "children" and so on. Another invention is entitled "An Inclusive Version". I will just quote a promotion statement about the AIV from the innvista website:

As the church does not believe that God is literally a father and understands "Father" to be a metaphor, "Father" is rendered in this version by a new metaphor, "Father-Mother." When Jesus is called "Son of God" or "Son of the Blessed One," and the maleness of the historical person Jesus is not relevant, but the "Son's" intimate relation to the "Father" is being spoken about, the
formal equivalent "Child" is used for "Son," and gender-specific pronouns referring to the "Child" are avoided. This version uses "the Human One" as a formal equivalent to "the Son of Man."

I think I'll back away from this quote so that I don't get hit when the lightning strikes! I could go on, but just remember that invention Bibles twist the Scriptures for their own perverted uses.


The Bible I always quote from is the New King James Version, but I will grab the concordance and look up the original text as I study, too. Also I use the Interlinear Bible which has the King James version translation next to the original Hebrew or Greek right next to an English "word-by-word" translation. I will also read a verse or passage in several different versions (KJV, NIV, NASV) to get a better idea of what is meant. I will study larger passages to get a contextual understanding of what is happening in the story line.


"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world." So look on the spine of your Bible or on the title page and see which type of Bible you are using. You may be surprised by what you find!



---Johnie

Campfire on the Shore

I really like going to the lake and watching the waves lap up on the shore. But what beats that is going to the lake in the early morning! The killdee will scurry along the edge of the water pecking at bits of food. The doves' cooing song is serenading the sunrise while a white crane relaxes near the cat-tails.

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Off in the distance a boat's silhouette rides the gentle waves. The sound of the lapping waves and the crisp breeze refresh my spirit. One of my favorite things to do is think on how much Jesus loved mornings on the shore, too. That's right! John gives us a glimpse of what Jesus did in His spare time.

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Let me set the stage for you. Look at the picture above and imagine a boat in the foreground and you are squatting on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius (Galilee) next to a campfire. The smell of smoke and grilled fish is in the brisk air. Now if you listen, you can hear a few disgruntled voices traveling across the water as if they were just a few feet away. Seven men with zero fish still casting their nets in the ninth inning. The last thing they want is for someone to ask them, "Have you caught anything?"

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Now you hear the voice of a man calling out to the boat, "Children, do you have any food?"

"No," is their sad response. A dove coos as the light of dawn paints the eastern horizon. The crackling fire is sending up waves of mouth-watering fragrance out to the boat. The men pull in their nets despairingly apparently one last time.

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The beachman's voice then speaks words that would only stir the souls of certain men, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." Then you see why Jesus spent the night on the beach fishing by a nice fire. They cast out the hundredth time, expecting another empty net, and this time they couldn't pull it in it was so full!

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One of the men excitedly drops the net he was holding and grabs his tunic and pulls it over his head. The other six keep pulling and fighting the bulging net. Unflinchingly, he jumps into the water and swims to shore. This wasn't about food anymore. This was about purpose.

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Peter felt like he was worthless to Jesus since he denied Him during Jesus' trial. And when was the last time he went fishing? Since he had been following Jesus, he had left his father's nets. Wholeheartedly he followed Jesus. But now he was struggling within his soul. He was no hypocrite. He knew what he was and he wasn't going to make any excuses. He was a backstabber and unfit to be included in any post-resurrection plans Jesus wold have.

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Go on and read the rest of this beautiful story. It's in John 21. This isn't just Peter's story. No, it is also yours. This is the story of second chances for us. We must remember that we don't really have anything to offer God. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) God doesn't look around and say, "What I need are some perfect people so that I can use someone I approve of." No, instead he looks around and says, "They are so lost, mixed up and messed up! Son, you know what is the only way we can save them," and Jesus nods in solemn agreement.

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This is the mighty love of our God! It is the kind of love that we don't work for, and that will wait all night on the beach just for us, and cook up a breakfast just for us. It is the forgiveness that is mixed with unbudging truth. It is a teaching love that helps us understand that it is all about thanking God for what we could never do, and then living out what we've come to know.

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So where are you in this picture really? Are you still pulling in empty nets, or are you walking along the beach with Jesus? Are you just now jumping in the water, or are you having the most wonderful fish breakfast you've ever had?

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Read this story and let Jesus ask you the questions. You will find a true friend in Jesus.

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---Johnie