Seeds For Thinking

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

* Change
* Scripture: Jesus said, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:17, NKJV)

Did you set your clock back as the calendar rolled over from 2005 to 2006? No, they haven’t been playing with Daylight Savings Time - this time, anyway. The keepers of the official universal clock added a leap-second at the end of 2005.
That’s right - your year just became longer by one second, according to the folks who keep track of such matters. The truth is, the solid old earth under our feet gets a bit wobbly sometimes, and the speed of rotation shifts a little. Over time, that tiny bit of change adds up, throwing off the precise calculation of celestial affairs.
You wouldn’t want the clock to gradually creep ahead until it didn't become daylight until nearly noon, would you? Granted that it will take a while for that to happen, but even a few seconds is too much for rocket scientists and astronomers, people who talk billions of miles and millionth parts of seconds.
While the clock may be brought into alignment with the universe and bring order out of chaos, so to speak, not everyone is thrilled with such precision. Many people still haven’t figured out how to get the clock on their VCR to quit flashing "12:00" let alone synchronize every clock and watch for which they are responsible. That’s why inventors are building devices, such as cell phones and GPS systems, that automatically set themselves to the universal standard clock.
But what about those gadgets that are not set up to be automatic? Think about the brouhaha about Y2K - you know, the end of time as we know it, because all those ancient devices built for the 20th Century couldn’t cope with - Gasp! - a millennial leap.
Messing around with things like clocks and calendars can create a lot of problems. Even little things, as small as a second, cause some people to get their ire up, mostly, as it turns out, over needless worries.
So imagine what happens when one generation tries to change something that previous generations consider to be sacrosanct. Absolute; untouchable! Like the order of the church’s worship service. Or new people in the church leadership group.
Yes. I’m talking about the birth of Jesus. A millennial change of the first order. Not everyone liked the changes His coming brought about; many still refute both the event, and the rationale for such a drastic modification of the way people relate to God.
As with the leap second, the problem was not a celestial one. The Heavenly standard is quite precise, thank you. It’s an earthly problem. Some adjustments needed to be made. Somebody had to do it.
So God sent His Son into the world that the world through Him might be saved.
January 1, 2006

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: Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; . . . I am going there to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2, NIV

Do you have a “warm fuzzy?” You probably don’t think of it in those terms, but we all probably have a time, place, or memory that gives us a feeling of security and comfort. A retreat from the distress of the day, the worries of the world.
For the little ones, it might be a thumb and a blankie. I’ve seen many high-schoolers tote a teddy bear on band trips. A cushy chair may help melt away the cares, soothing soul and body.
I sometimes recall a morning from my childhood, lying snuggled in bed on a June morning, listening to the birds outside the open window, feeling the cool morning breeze waft through the house, and hearing Mom stirring around in the kitchen. No homework or even ‘here-work’ to burden the thoughts. Secure in the knowledge that I was loved and cared for - how can it get better than that?
Ah, paradise! That place or state of bliss, felicity, or delight. Considering all the evil and tribulations we encounter in this life trip through the world, nirvana, a place or state of oblivion to care, pain, or external reality, at times is extremely inviting.
The Judeo-Christian concept of a heavenly after-life is based on Biblical promises that those who are saved (carefully served the Most High) will “see with great rapture the glory of (God): (cf. 2 Thes. 1:5-10.)
The author of 2 Esdras (The Apocrypha. 7:88-99) offered this teaching concerning the experience of those who are saved. They will rest (with God) in “seven orders:”
They know they have striven to conquer all that would lead them away from life to death.
They see the ungodly wander astray, and the punishment that awaits them.
They see God’s testimony, and know they faithfully observed the Law.
They understand the ‘rest’ which they now enjoy. (cf. Hebrews 4:1-11; Mt. 11:28-29.) See also “SABBATH: Gen. 2:2; Ex. 20:8; 20:11; 31:14; Lev. 19:30; See also Jesus’ teachings: Mt. 21:1-8; Mt. 12:10-13; The Christian and the Sabbath: Col. 2:16.)
They exult that they have inherited immortality.
Their faces will shine like the sun, like stars, incorruptible forever.
They will exult boldly, trust confidently, rejoice fearlessly, to see the face of God.
The ultimate ‘warm fuzzy,’ and it can be yours, if you “carefully serve the Most High.”
July 27, 2003