The Real Question!

 

“To be or not to..."NO!

“Here & Now” or “Forever”

IS the question!

Most people when asked if they would take one billion dollars now or a penny doubled every day for a year would take the billion dollars. However, here is the dollar amount for a penny doubled every day for a year: 

$375,766,813,243,813,000,000,000,000
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000.00

I realize that we all like to know what our past is and where we came from, just look at the time and money spent on genealogies. Knowing your heritage has some important elements to it, especially for health. Yet, when I consider the lack of balance I am dismayed by the short-term vision! Every one of us has a
beginning that goes back to a certain time. Even if you believe you are only flesh and came from evolution we are talking “thousands” of years. But how long do we go on?
 
Matthew 19:23–26 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”  When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
 
There is a subtle Truth in this section of Scripture that we need to pay attention to. Riches are something a person must pursue; most are not born rich. So, a most important question arises that we need to ask ourselves: What are we pursuing? Worldly riches will end, burn, or be taken by someone else. God’s riches are eternal and are given to those that seek them.

Ro 1:21–23.21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

Let me “cut to the chase” here: What if this whole eternal life thing is a sham? I have lost nothing! Endeavoring to love everyone, trying to be the best at whatever I do, and praying for good to happen to others, even if all false, made me a better person and more sensitive to people around me. There is very little I would change in my life if I found out Jesus was not Who He claimed to be…maybe where I lived on this planet for most of my life might change, but that is all.

However, if
someone has rejected Christ and made themselves "god" of their life, and they are wrong…they will experience eternal regret, which is a tragedy! Christ has paid for their sin, but they never accepted the forgiveness, so they remain separated from God forever! Terrible!

The So What: What are you pursuing? How much time have you invested in your soul, versus your flesh? Do you desire to be known for what you have, or what you are? 

Can the impossible be made possible?

Consider what we once thought was impossible: Human flight; sinking to the bottom of the sea and resurfacing alive; traveling thousands of miles in hours; landing on the moon and returning…the list could go on! Some might think – Nathan Leigh not talking for at least an hour! NOT TRUE! I sleep at least 5 hours every night and I do not talk or even snore in my sleep! How do I know? I use a CPAP machine.:)

BTW, Husbands…if you snore, and love your wife, swallow your pride, and get on a CPAP. Not only will she sleep better, you won’t be a walking zombie due to exhaustion. Just a challenge! 

Also – I spend 1-2 hours every morning not talking out loud preparing these devotionals…I think slow! 

Considering what is impossible, think about life on Earth. Science, claims a cosmic accident caused this and for it to repeat, the chances of intelligent life emerging are – less than 0.01 percent over four billion! 

I believe that a Sovereign God created this universe, with such a variety of life, including one unique life (Man & Woman) that is so far superior in thought, possessing an ability to advance so far, and I am called ignorant or superstitious.

The other view is that a cosmic "fart" took place and began a process that finally made it to a monkey, which we then came from.

I find myself believing that we may need to redefine "intelligent" life! Accepting the theory that nothing started all this with a Big Bang, which made another thing happen, that made another thing happen...ad nauseam! I find the second requires more Blind faith. 

I know of lots of people that have the talent to make up worlds, i.e. JRR Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Roald Dahl, Edgar Allan Poe, J.K. Rowling – But none have ever claimed their stories were anything more than fantasy or science-fiction. Believing the “impossible” is possible is not crazy, it is faith! Real “faith” has evidence, so it is not blind. 

Remember this – “theories” have disproved the Scriptures, NOT facts! In Fact, every turn of an archeologist's shovel proves the Scriptures. The fact of the Resurrection of Jesus historically has more evidence than any other “historical” fact based on an unbiased and honest examination. (More on this next Devo)

Jesus made many incredible statements in the gospels, many that seem impossible, but He performed the works and signs to prove He spoke Truth.

Matthew 19:23–26 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”  When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 

I am going to park here for a couple of devotionals because there is much to cover. 

First, God is not against the rich! Some use a passage like this to say He is. What God is against is basically two things. Life, independent of Him, and misguided love.
 
Let’s deal with misguided love this time. God is Love. True Love is expressed in 3 ways:


1. Toward our Creator. 2. Toward His creation, including each other. 3. Toward ourselves. Misguided love leads to idolatry, which leads to murder and then suicide.
 
The So What: Do you attach conditions to your love? Make a list in order of the priorities for your life. What does it say about what you love? Can a “thing” love? On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, how important are things in your life?