Are You on the Right Track?

Psychologists and psychiatrists use a variety of methods to delve into what makes us choose one decision over another. They help us to understand why we take unnecessary risks, why we refuse to follow the herd, and why we refuse help when a dangerous addiction overpowers us. By asking the right questions, they can unlock patterns of behavior that may turn destructive or start an individual on the road to self-confidence. If you are not a trained professional in the art of deciphering human behavior, where do we begin? The Bible records several instances of people acting inappropriately and later finding their moral compass. Would you believe that one such person was Paul the apostle? Someone who wrote nearly one third of the New Testament? That he would sum up his feelings of inadequacy, rise above them, and help us in the process? In Romans 7 Paul says, “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual”. “When I want to do good evil is right there with me”. Paul tries to get us to understand that ‘his’ struggle is ‘our’ struggle. This intensely personal perspective is his diagnosis of the human condition. Paul makes us aware that in this body of flesh, we contain a sinful nature, but at the same time, we may possess the Holy Spirit who can control that nature—if, we will only let Him do so.

A keen observer should see their life—in the universe—in perspective. In the picture above, do you see yourself traveling on the right track, headed for blue skies and greener pastures? What if the proper perspective is that you’re on the right track, but you’re coming ‘out’ of the tunnel, ‘out’ of the green grass, ‘out’ of the forest and into the unknown? Paul told us how to be prepared. Do you see Paul’s world perspective? Can you write down three things—three things you’re dead sure of, and three that you must do before you die? Does this indicate which track you’re on?

Regardless which track you’re on Christ is the only way. Paul says in Romans 7:15-20 “For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but, I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” Paul recognizes he’s a wretched man and needs rescued from this body of death. He clearly states “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Hence there can be no condemnation for those who are in Christ for the Law of the Spirit of life sets us free from the law of sin and death. In the Book of Romans Paul knows we cannot do it on ‘our’ own. The Book of Romans is like a legal document and shows us that the law can show us the way to live but cannot live it for us. If, you’re on that train, choose the right track carefully.

What is really on the inside?

Appearances are deceiving. Some mushrooms sautéed in butter are quite delicious and leave a delicate lingering aftertaste, and some mushrooms will have you in the graveyard with lingering aftertaste of, “How foolish could I have been”! 

Some snakes are exquisitely detailed with vibrant colors and patterns that are very pleasing to the eye and some are the color of dirt. The difference is that some snakes are harmless and some can kill with a single drop of venom. Seeing what’s on the inside can be a terrific advantage. People are often the most challenging specimens. It’s not easy to discern whether someone’s a ‘new friend’ or wants to rob you and leave you for dead.   

Everyone has to learn to be a good judge of another’s character. Politicians have always been under suspicion because of their proximity to money and power. What lies just under the surface can suddenly swallow a person whole. Just ask Jonah. In Jesus’ day there were many who appeared to be one thing but in reality were something totally foreign. Common people had some difficulty with discernment, but not Jesus. He looked at their hearts and intentions. And some were revolting!   On one particular occasion Jesus called a spade a spade and the crowd loved it, but those He addressed weren’t so impressed with His description of them. Jesus was talking to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. 

In Matthew 27, He let the people listening see what was really on the inside of these ‘holy’ men. Jesus said that everything they do is done for men to see. He said they are full of pride and love the attention of others. Jesus said they were hypocrites, blind guides, and blind fools! He said they were full of greed and self-indulgence. Jesus said they were like whitewashed tombs, which looks beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. He said they were snakes; a brood of vipers!   

 Jesus sees what’s on the inside of everybody. If you started peeling, what would the world see?   “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask.” Matthew 6:7

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Work This Puzzle Brainaics

People the entire world over simply love puzzles and games. Kids love them because they are both fun and intellectually stimulating. Adults love them because they are fun and intellectually stimulating and a challenge to their mental prowess. Businesses love them because of the money that cascades in from their manufacture. Let’s be honest, everybody loves a good puzzle! Everybody thinks they can outsmart, solve, or cheat it. Rubik’s cube was invented by the Hungarian professor and architect, Enro Rubik in 1974. The picture here is a mild distortion of the actual device. The toy was an instant success and a commercial gold mine. Many think it has been the World’s best selling toy. It was all the rage in the 1980’s. The game consisted of eight corners, twelve edges, and 54 individual squares. The game was advertised as having a billion combinations. Wrong! Because most people didn’t understand higher mathematics they didn’t tell the whole truth. The game actually had over 43 quintillion possibilities. Thaaaat’s right! What does that look like: 43,252,003,273,489,856,000? Check the research—the numbers align. In so many words, it was a brain teaser and a brain twister. It is widely believed that dozens of insane asylums opened up shortly after the game was introduced to house those who couldn’t crack the winning combination. This completes our take on game theory and invites you to ponder another mystery. This mystery is taken straight out of the Bible and has baffled scholars, theologians, seminary students, professors, the laity and many others in almost every country for two thousand years. By the way, all you geographers, archeologists, mathematicians, paleontologists and other professions interested, you’re welcome to apply all your inductive and deductive skills in solving this mystery. Good luck. “Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow; in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11 The question for puzzle lovers is: Where exactly is "under the earth"?

What’s After The Big Ol’ Bango Theory?

Are you an Evolutionist or a Creationist or an I-don’t-give-a-hootist? Charles Darwin was a keen observer of life on this planet. His “general theory of evolution” contains some genuine original thought, and some genuine original observations on “His” theory of evolution. It’s like going to Disneyworld with your kids. As long as you go there “knowing” it’s an entertainment Mecca meant solely for amusement and profit, you won’t drag home disappointment that mice, dogs, and duck’s can’t talk, sing and dance. Many Super Bowl players after winning the big game are asked what they are doing to do next. Say it with me, you’ve heard it over and over, “I’m going to Disney World”. Hopefully, those millions who hear that realize that there’s a big difference in “The Magical Kingdom” and “The Heavenly Kingdom”. Just once, I’d like to hear one of these skillfully trained professional athletes who deserve the recognition for winning the “big” game say, “Thank you Lord for all the abilities you’ve given me, and one day I want to be deserving of visiting ”The Heavenly Kingdom”. Just remember one kingdom belongs to man and one Kingdom belongs to God. Let’s get back to those tricky molecules.

Molecules. Every living thing in the universe has them and even the stuff that doesn’t have life has them, too. If you’re an animal, mineral, or vegetable you’ve got molecules. There’s a little debate whether organic or inorganic molecules came first, but that’s a different horse race. Let’s focus on where those first molecules came from. Where ‘exactly’ did those first building blocks of life come from? Did they come from the roly-poly innards of the Big Bang Theory? Were they spawned from exploding stars and wayward meteors carrying ice crystals with indeterminate molecules as a hitchhiker? Could they have come from something that slithered out of the ocean deep carried by a current deposited on a sandy beach? Did they come from spewing volcanic particulates?

Whatever brand of primordial soup that caused comets and asteroids and planets and moons to be in existence and to be fixed in a determined orbit around a perpetual burning star may never be uncovered. But one thing is certain, as long as all the great minds across the planet continue to theorize and hypothesize about these unfathomable details on the creation and its subtle nuances, God will continue to get a chuckle a day. And who said God didn’t have a sense of humor?

  

If you believe the first sentence of the Bible, everything else falls into place. If you are determined to ferret out all the minute mysteries of the universe, you better start with the Book of Genesis, because that’s where the very first Genes are found.

The Only Way To Heaven?

 

Ever been lost? When exactly was the moment you knew it to be a certainty? Did you try and bluff yourself into believing you were almost lost, or did you admit you really needed directions? We know when something’s wrong, but don’t always have the good sense to admit it and seek corrective action. This behavior is not only dangerous, its borderline foolish, and can prove fatal if not corrected in time.

Everyone has been “geographically” lost at some point in time. Some people are “spiritually” lost at this point in time. Finding your way in both situations is important but one happens to be a tiny matter of life-and-death! The main difference is that one direction has ‘unchangeable’ consequences.

You have heard people talk about how you get to heaven. If you’ve heard ten people discuss the issue, you’ve heard at least eleven different points of view. Is there really one way to heaven? For a question this serious, the only way to resolve it absolutely is to go straight to the source. Jesus was asked about the kingdom of heaven and how to obtain it. This is his answer:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21

Does that settle the matter? Are the words of Jesus enough? No? Try this.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Why won’t you believe someone who came back from the dead on his own? If you don’t believe Jesus is the only way to heaven, who would you pick? What does the future hold for you? Well, that’s simple enough. Here are some Biblical scriptures that will answer your questions.

• “But we know that when he appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is”. 1 John 3:2
• “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
• “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus”. Ephesians 2:6
• “I tell you the truth; whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life”. John 5:24

I would like to think that heaven with its streets of gold, gates of pearl, foundation of chalcedony and sardonyx, might be absolutely happy, and our eyes will experience complete darkness (for a bit), to protect us from the blazing brilliance, omnipresence, omnipotence and gloriousness of God. After you get up from being on your knees…well, you can fill in the rest for yourself.

He Nailed the Money Changer's Club

It doesn’t matter what dispensation you refer to, money is a #1 priority. Don’t believe it? Have you noticed that the Bible speaks volumes about money? And not very much of it is favorable. The money changers seem to warrant special attention from the majority of people and Jesus too.

Where there’s money, there’s always someone trying to ease your burden of carrying it! The money changers reputations weren’t too favorable. Maybe that’s why their names are omitted. Don’t you think it’s bad enough that nobody is named Judas or Jezebel anymore?

A couple instances in particular stand out in history. One special event occurred immediately after Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the people spread their coats and palm branches on the road when Jesus rode that donkey into the city. The Scripture in the Bible records what happened when Jesus visited the Temple.

“Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “My house will be called a house of prayer,” but you are making it a den of robbers.” Matthew 21:12-13

There was another instance where Jesus drove out money changers in the Temple. (John 2:13-16) Jesus was very upset that God’s temple was again being misused by people who had turned it into a marketplace. These marketers had forgotten, or didn’t care, that God’s house is a place of worship, not a place for making a profit. Jesus was obviously angry at the merchants who exploited those who had come to God’s house for worship. Jesus made a whip and chased out the profiteers. He took the evil acts in the temple as an insult to God, and did not deal with them halfheartedly. He was consumed with righteous anger against such disrespect for God.

The money changers were doing the visitors at the Temple a favor—or so it seemed. You see, ordinary coinage had to be exchanged for ancient Hebrew or Tyrian shekels, which were of standard weight and without blemish, as an offering to God. Maaaybe they made a tiny profit in the exchange! But there is something bigger under the surface here. Did you notice Jesus combines parts of the Old Testament verses together? (Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11) That’s warning two birds with one rebuke!