Seeds For Thinking

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Seeds For Thinking
by Leland Hubbell

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Scripture: For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. (Hebrews 9:24, NKJV)

Welcome to Fluffy Cloud Heaven! Mess up a little bit in your earthly life, and when you get to heaven you will get:

A rusty old halo, skinny white cloud
Second hand wings full of patches
A rusty old halo, skinny white cloud
Robe that's so wooly it scratches.

This is the heaven often depicted in art, story, film and song. People become angels when they die, complete with wings. They wear a long, white robe, sport a halo, and float around on clouds. Entrance is via Pearly Gates, guarded by St. Peter. He will check his big book of naughty and nice records, and as noted in the song, “A Rusty Old Halo,” reward you accordingly. The rich and stingy have to travel “Coach” class.
However, if;

While you're on earth you should shine like a star
Brighten up the corner wherever you are
Doing each day the best you can do

then you receive “First Class” accommodations. Non-smoking section.
If you really mess up Big Time, then you are sent to the nether regions, “smoking,” of course, with flames and pitchforks. Well, not really a pitchfork, but an ancient weapon called a trident. Think Roman gladiators. Greek gods. Get the point?
When the first Soviet cosmonauts orbited the earth, the Soviets took the opportunity to score a point for atheism by declaring that there was neither God nor heaven to be seen. Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to orbit the earth, apparently never said such words; the phrase originated from Nikita Khrushchev's speech at the plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, where the anti-religious propaganda was discussed. Actually, they affirmed that a “Fluffy Cloud Heaven” doesn’t exist. God’s Eternal Kingdom lies beyond time and eternity, not over the rainbow nor in the clouds.
Author C. S. Lewis states in “Mere Christianity,” “All the scriptural imagery (harps, crowns, gold, etc.) is, of course, a merely symbolical attempt to express the inexpressible. . . . People who take these symbols literally might as well think that when Christ told us to be like doves, He meant that we were to lay eggs.”
(See Matthew 10:16)
What is the true heaven like? According to the scriptures, it will be filled with the glory of God. It will be inhabited by God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, angels, and the Just. There will be peace, joy, rest, and righteousness.
Nothing perishable will exist there. There will be no sorrow, no pain, no weeping or wicked people. People will neither marry, nor give in marriage. Night and death will not exist.
Heaven - God’s Heaven - is a place of everlasting bliss. “For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”

Seeds for Thinking (©) 1996 - 2010 by Leland Hubbell

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: For the man who uses well what he is given shall be given more and he shall have abundance. But from the man who is unfaithful, even what little responsibility he has shall be taken from him. (Matthew 25:29 - from the Parable of the Talents; Living Bible) See also Luke 19:11-26.

Use it or lose it! That credo certainly applies to the servant who hid his money rather than use it profitably in this parable. We would do well to understand the meaning of this parable lest we fall into the errant way of those who shirk responsibility and suffer the same fate as the unfaithful servant.
The master, or ruler, in the parable wasn’t just giving the servants money to have and to hold until his return. Each of the three men was given a responsibility in accordance with his ability. Two of the men understood that they were to invest the money, and had double the initial amount when the master returned. They were praised for their good work, and rewarded with both greater responsibility and an invitation to ‘enter into the joy of your lord.’ (vs. 21)
Do not be distracted by the use of money as an example in the parable. They were given an opportunity to work for the master. They were simply to carry on some work that the master would have done, had he been there. The faithful servants have taken what they were given and gained double for the kingdom!
Note also that it is not the size of the task that matters, nor rank or standing. Rather, each was given opportunity in accordance with their perceived likelihood of successfully completing the assignment. Two of them fulfilled their master’s trust. The third had the same opportunity, but failed.
Keep in mind that Jesus is showing us something very important about the kingdom of heaven. In fact, Psalm 16:11 states:
“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (NKJV)
I think that Jesus is trying to show us the “path of life” in this parable. We all have been given opportunities to become one of the “laborers sent into His harvest.” (Mt. 9:37-38) The ‘harvest’ is the vast number of the unsaved in the world, people who have either not heard the Good News of Jesus, or have been distracted by the pleasures of the World and its prince, Satan.
Unfortunately, many who are given the opportunity to labor for Christ emmulate the unfaithful servant; they ‘hide’ the opportunity that they have been given, and gain nothing for the kingdom. That unfaithful servant will be denied the invitation to enter the joy of the Lord. The future does not hold joy for those who do not make the most of their given opportunity.
Read it again: “For the man who uses well what he is given shall be given more and he shall have abundance. But from the man who is unfaithful, even what little responsibility he has shall be taken from him.” Substitute the word “opportunity” for responsibility in this passage, and you will gain a better sense of the importance of using what you have been given.
Don’t ignore the little things. A prayer, a kind word, a smile for those who most need it might fill a need in their life. Something as simple as passing on a Bible tract may be your opportunity, your ‘assignment’ from the Master for the day.
Each step we take in the direction of the kingdom of heaven takes us closer to sharing forever in the joy of the Lord.
Any other step, including no steps at all - well, you think about it.
April 1, 2007

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Failure
* Scripture: But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached (Jesus) and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." (Luke 10:40, NKJV)

One would think that holiday seasons would be the happiest times of the year. Not so, many researchers suggest. Rather than times of relaxation and rejoicing, remembrance and celebration, holidays are periods of intense stress for many people. Why so?
For one thing, there are many Marthas in this world, "soul kindred," distracted with much serving. This is one of those 'tight rope' areas, I know. We walk a very narrow line, here, between duty and dereliction. Balance is a key word. Should Mary have helped Martha? Probably. Would Jesus have severely criticized Martha if something wasn't perfect, like if the towels didn't match, or if the table cloth had a spot on it? Probably not. It's all about friendship, not fatigue!
Martha doesn't seem to share in the joy of this occasion. She appears to be rather stressed out, fearing failure as a good hostess. Was Jesus perhaps there to be pampered, or to critique Martha's hospitality for a five-star rating? I doubt it. Perhaps He was instead thinking, "Hey, I came for a visit, let's enjoy it."
Failure is "laboring for the wind," claims the 'Preacher" of Ecclesiastes, to eat in darkness, with much sorrow and sickness and anger. (Ecc. 5:16-17)
There is likely little that you can do to make an old grouch satisfied. The grouch is longing, expecting to eat in darkness, with much sorrow and sickness and anger, and will go to extremes to obtain his goal. Like a pig, if you wallow in their mud, you will both end up 'dirty.' So move on down the street; let the pig - er, grouch, wallow in bitterness and self-pity.
Life is too short to wallow in bad things when there are so many good things to celebrate.
Many people have the "movie set syndrome." On-screen, the camera shows perfection, the perfect house, the ideal standard to strive for. It is instead just a front, a sham, a wall with nothing but props behind it to hold it up. You wouldn't, you shouldn't want to live there. Do you have four walls - and a roof? Be glad!
I recall the quotation:

"A man's reach must exceed his grasp,
else what's a heaven for."

It is one thing to be inspired, to strive, yet,

"Ideals are stars to guide us,
not clubs with which to beat ourselves."

Striving, reaching is not by itself our downfall, but to be consumed by striving for the truly impossible without rejoicing in the possible - that is failure.
We are, perhaps, at times like the mice that I sometimes find in my barn. They have acquired the food supply of their wildest dreams - at the bottom of the grain barrel, from which there is no escape.
Failure is like climbing a mountain, only to be stopped by an impassable obstacle, then, to gaze dismally at the peak, out of reach, rather than turning and rejoicing in the view from the height that you have attained.
Failure is to worry, worry, worry about your next breath, when you should be rejoicing about the breaths that you have already taken.
True failure is to wallow in despair over what has not been done, instead of rejoicing over what has been accomplished.
Failure is anger at what has been lost, rather than joy at what has been found.
Failure is like standing at the door, frustrated, with a dead battery in your radio car keyset, when all you need to do is to insert the key in the lock, the old fashioned way.
Rejoice! It shall be opened.
Do not be distracted by much serving and striving for the winds of the world.
Seek ye the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.
December 31, 2006

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Gardens
* Scripture: Paul wrote: So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up." (Gal. 5:9, NRSV)

My garden was really looking good. The temperatures and rainfall were ideal, and the seeds responded by sprouting and growing well. I put a fence around it, just over knee high, using a type of wire that promised to keep rabbits from doing the Peter Cottontail thing.
It turns out that the fence was false security. The deer jumped over it, rabbits went through it, and groundhogs dug under it. Goodbye lettuce, adieu peas, farewell cabbage. Apparently they aren't keen on chowing down on onions and horseradish, leaving those untouched, but that beautiful sweet corn, hip high by the 4th of July, became a disaster zone of bare cobs and broken stalks.
Fences won't stop weeds, of course, so the usual variety of unwanted vegetation made its appearance. That, too, is part of gardening. Thistles made their annual visitation, thanks in part to immigration from the unmowed neighboring field. They are easy to pull, but I actually left some because of the service that they provided. Guardians of the goodies! Yes! Spinach. I did get several meals of spinach, because that was where I let the thistles grow. I'm still pondering that lesson.
In a sense, our entire lives are as a garden. We 'plant' many different things over the course of time. Just as the produce from my vegetable garden is true to the seed that I plant, so are the fruits from my spiritual 'garden' true to my lifestyle.
More of Paul's insight: "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up." (Gal. 5:7-9, NRSV)
Should I expect weeds and animals to respect my long experience as a gardner, and not visit me? Of course not! They simply see my garden, or any garden, as a place to grow, or as a food source. Likewise, my Spiritual garden will be attacked by earthly impulses if given the slightest chance. Works of the flesh!
According to Paul, "the works of the flesh are obvious: Fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these." (Gal. 5:21a)
Will I plant another garden? Certainly! I know now that my simple fence was not adequate to the task. Nor can I be casual about my Spiritual fences, either. Like Paul, I desire to reap at the harvest. I will do what is right.
"The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control." (Galations 5:22-23, NRSV)
Grow for it!
August 6, 2006

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Advent
* Scripture: Paul wrote, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18, NKJV)

Come, Thou long expected Jesus, . . .
Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart. (C. Wesley)

Longing, anticipation, and expectation, the root of hope, the expectation of future good. Looking back, we find many peoples living in times of trial and suffering, typified by the words of the Lord to Moses at his calling; “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters.” (Exodus 3:7)
It is the cry of those who have experienced the tyranny of injustice in a world under the curse of sin, and yet who have hope of deliverance by a God who has heard the cries of oppressed slaves and brought deliverance!
It was such a time, oppressed by brutal rulers, dominated by a foreign empire, that moved the Apostle John to write of a light coming to illuminate the darkness, the ‘True Light,’ “which gives light to every man coming into the world.” (John 1:9) John is only one of many bearing witness to that Light.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . .full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) The ‘Incarnation’ - the union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ. The coming into being, The Advent. For many Christians, Advent marks the beginning of the church year, the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas and observed by some Christians as a season of prayer and fasting.
John makes an important distinction, affirmed by Paul, who wrote that all creation groans for its redemption as we witness the evil that so dominates our world (Rom 8:18-25). The sufferings of oppression and injustice, the systemic evil of the world expressed in evil empires and tyrants “are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us.”.
The Word became flesh, that as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God. And as children of God, heirs of the glory to come.
While some church traditions focus on penitence during Advent, for others, Advent is celebrated as a time of joy and happiness awaiting the coming of the King.
November 27, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Heaven
* Scripture: Jesus said, “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20, NKJV, NIV

The Sunday School teacher asked her students to raise their hands if they wanted to go to heaven. Instantly, enthusiastic hands shot up and were waving all over the class - all except one boy who was sitting on his hands.
“Don’t you want to go to heaven when you die?,” she asked.
“Oh! When I die, sure,” he replied. “I thought you were getting up a trip right now.”
I think most of us are like that. We want to go to heaven - someday, but not right now.
However, in the words of an old spiritual song;
“Everybody talkin’ ‘bout Heaven ain’t goin’ there.”
Jesus Himself affirms this, saying, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Mt. 6:21, NKJV)
Jesus speaks often of heaven, including the model prayer, which begins,
“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.” (Mt. 5:9-10, NKJV)
Heaven - the place of everlasting bliss - might more properly be called “paradise” to distinguish the abode of God, Christ, The Holy Spirit, Angels and The Just from the firmament (heavens) containing the sun, moon, stars, planets, and other heavenly objects. Hebrews 1:11 and 2 Peter 3:10
note that the heavens (firmament) will pass away, but the abode of God will endure for eternity. God created the heavens and earth to declare His Glory, Righteousness, and Wisdom. (Ps. 19:1; Ps. 50:6; Prov. 8:27)
The redeemed can look forward to Joy, Rest, Peace, Righteousness, Service, Reward, Inheritance, Glory, and the Authority of God’s Word. (Luke 15:7, 10; Rev. 14:3; Luke 16:19-25; 2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 7:15; Matt. 5:11, 12; 1 Peter 1:4; Romans 8:17, 18; Ps. 119:89)
Some things are indeed lacking in Paradise. You won’t find Marriage, Death, Flesh and blood, Perishable things, Sorrow, Pain, The Curse, Night, Weeping, and Wicked people, End. (Matt. 22:30; Luke 20:36; 1 Cor. 15:50; 1 Cor. 15:42, 50; Rev. 7:17; Rev. 22:3; Rev. 22:5; Isaiah. 65:19; Rev. 22:15; Matt. 25:46, Rev. 22:5)
The alternative to ‘Paradise’ is not a nice place, described as a place of eternal torment, everlasting fire, punishment, destruction, of Outer Darkness and a Lake of Fire. (See Matt. 25:41, 46; 8:12; 2 Thess1:9 and Rev. 19:20)
So - you need to be certain your name is recorded in heaven. (Luke 10:20) You must be saved, born again, of water and the Spirit. (John 3:3-6, 3:16, 5:24; Acts 16:31)
That’s a lot to read, I know. (I also know many won’t take the time!) Well, add one chapter more, from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 15. There will come a day when you will be glad you did, and you, too, can exclaim, “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? (1 Cor. 15:55)
June 19, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Paul wrote, “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Romans 14:19, NIV.
Woe to pedestrians who traverse uneven pavement! The Romans, who contributed the word for foot travel, tried their best to build perfect roads.
Alas! Neither then or now do roads stay perfectly flat, and a block that projects above its neighbors is destined to catch the toe of those of us who walk upright on two pedes - er, feet. It becomes a stumbling block.
The writers of the Bible were well aware of the stumbling block, and often used the expression as an example of obstacles in our walk with God/Jesus. Paul speaks of stumbling in his letter to the Romans, 14:13. He is speaking to Christians, there! A Christian as a stumbling block? Oh! Yes, read Romans 14, and learn what Paul was finding in the churches. He is writing specifically about eating practices, what was acceptable and what was not. Read between the lines a little. Consider 14:10. Judging others is a tricky business; the Lord will be the ultimate judge of us all.
Yet judge we do. Special practices; sacred do’s and don’ts. Thy way and my way make for an uneven pavement for another trying to follow us.
The topic of church attendance came up at our Bible study. It seems that not everyone who is asked to come to church with us is willing to do so. Why not? What can we do or say that will bring in the lost, the lonely, and the seekers. Let’s face it - every institution of worship should be filled! We should not have to drag people to church. They should be so desirous of filling their souls with God that our world would be bubbling with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Ro. 14:17b).
Is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit what people see and think when they see us; our/the ‘church’? If not, then are we a stumbling block? Sure sounds that way, to read about stumbling blocks in the Bible.
Check out Isaiah 8:11-17. Here, God is a stumbling block! God?
We are “Resurrection People” if we believe the message of Easter. Jesus, the Christ/Messiah, became the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, each and every one in the whole world. He died on the cross, was buried, and rose again. Resurrection!
Do you believe that? Many believe in Jesus, but not in the Resurrection. It has become their stumbling block.
We’ve heard the call: Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. (Mk. 1:3)

Be on the lookout for stumbling blocks. Neither create them, nor allow them to remain as a trap that others might stumble.
March 3, 2002