Never and forever. These two words make Christianity very interesting, in fact, amazing. Christ promises to forever love those who believe in him, not just here on earth but in heaven as well. “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” the apostle John tells us in his book, 1 John 4:16. Who can fathom being continually, genuinely loved forever? We’ve never experienced that on earth. And we’ve not yet experienced heaven.

If you are not familiar with Christianity, Christ often portrays Himself in the Bible as the sacrificial lamb who conquers death and sin by dying for us and rising from the dead. In the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, Christ tells us:

“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. … ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 7:17, 21:4

Think on that for a good while: “… for the old order of things has passed away.” Heaven is not at all like earth. There’s no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. None. Ever. Never.

Don’t you think that’s worth investigating for yourself?

One Saturday when I was about 12 years old my dad wanted to take me to a Detroit Tiger’s baseball game. He must have asked me kindly about ten times. For some reason I can’t remember, I took an attitude and stubbornly refused to go. He did not berate me at all for my stubbornness. Eventually he went to the game without me.

As I look back on my refusal now nearly sixty years later and Dad having passed away twenty-nine years ago, I think of the wonderful time I could have had with Dad at the game. I would remember eating a hot dog, tracking the score in the program book, watching my favorite players on the field, sitting next to dad. Fortunately, others times we did go to a game together. They were such good times.

Don’t lose the opportunity to enjoy eternal joy with God. He wants us to realize that although He is the only and all-powerful God, He loves thinking of us as His children and we thinking of Him as our Father.

What have you got to lose? If you think your future is simply annihilation and return to cosmic dust, an eternal life or joy should sound so much more appealing. We don’t simply become cosmic dust. Test God. Take Him up on His offer as He prompted Jeremiah to do. “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13. Search with all your heart.

We had a wonderful time with our daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren in Texas this summer. One Saturday morning we all took a ride in the hill country and enjoyed the rolling, curving roads through the massive ranches.

The sun was out. The grandchildren were well behaved. The air was pure and the scenery was gorgeous in its own rugged way. The parched soil and rocky terrain makes one wonder how people survived there generations ago.

We stopped on a curve of the gravel road miles into ranch land. Rocks of all sizes peppered the hillside where even desert vegetation could hardly take root.

All my life I have hoped to pick up a rock and find it is a geode with beautiful crystals inside, the type often used as book ends when polished. Today was my day. As we all turned over stones on the hillside, I picked up a non-descript rock the size of my fist. I turned it over and found it cracked in half. Staring at me for the first time in my life was the geode I’ve hoped for decades to find.

It wasn’t polished and was pretty rough looking but I had finally found my geode. I forget exactly what I said with surprise to the others as I treasured this rock in my hand. They were as thrilled as I was. My grand daughter immediately said with a wonderful, joyful smile, “Grandpa, can I have it?”

“Sure, Emily,” I replied, her innocence and love in two nanoseconds overcoming my grudging bit of selfishness as I placed it in her hands.

I laughed at myself over the whole situation. The stone really wouldn’t have added anything of value to my life, certainly not in comparison to Emily’s love. A few days later Emily wrote me a birthday card and gave me a present made by her beautiful two hands. Her card and gift on my desk convey a lot more joy than the geode would have. I laugh at myself to think that a part of me balked for a nanosecond when Emily politely requested the stone.

If innocent pure love overcomes momentary selfishness, how much more can continued love overcome even harder hearts? Thank you, Jesus, for this lesson.

When trying to defend the religious and moral heritage of the US Constitution, one often hears that reply that nothing in the US Constitution states it is based on the bible. Alexander Hamilton made some interesting comments on this topic. Hamilton discussed national laws relation to the creator. He did not mention the bible itself.

“The Rev. Samuel Seabury wrote an article in the New York press on January 5, 1775. The ‘Westchester Farmer’s” A View of the Controversy between Great-Britain and her Colonies . . . ‘

“Hamilton struck back within two weeks of the first appearance of Seabury’s essays in Rivington’s Gazetteer, … , The Farmer Refuted, printed by Rivington as a tract, appeared on February 23, 1775.”

Part of Hamilton’s response to Seabury reads:

“The fundamental source of all your errors, sophisms, and false reasonings, is a total ignorance of the natural rights of mankind. Were you once to become acquainted with these, you could never entertain a thought, that all men are not, by nature, entitled to a parity of privileges. You would be convinced that natural liberty is a gift of the beneficent Creator to the whole human race, and that civil liberty is founded in that, and cannot be wrested from any people without the most manifest violation of justice. Civil liberty is only natural liberty, modified and secured by the sanctions of civil society. It is not a thing, in its own nature, precarious and dependent on human will and caprice, but it is conformable to the constitution of man, as well as necessary to the well-being of society.

“The Sacred Rights of Mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the Hand of the Divinity itself, and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.”

While Hamilton does not explicitly mention the bible, he explicitly mentions that our creator is the basis for the natural law from which civil law is derived.

The above quotes were taken on July 11, 2017 from: http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/hamilton-the-revolutionary-writings-of-alexander-hamilton#lfHamilton_head_008

I can remember back to 1950 when I was five years old. My first friend was Jackie Dominski. Jackie’s dad built a fort in his backyard that Jackie and I would play in. It was a lot of fun, as I recall it.

We lived on the same street, Syracuse, in Detroit.

I can still recall the day – even though it was 65 years ago – that Jackie walked down to my house to tell me something. I can still picture him telling me as we stood eye to eye on the sidewalk on a nice summer’s day.

In a very friendly tone, Jackie said, “My father got a new job and we have to move away. I can’t be your friend any more.”

I understood and said, “Good bye, Jackie.” Jackie turned around and walked back to his house. I can still picture him with his back to me walking down the street. I had just lost my first good, close friend.

Amazing, isn’t it, that I recall that day so well. Good friends are so important. They are the building blocks of our hearts, love, and strength. I think what I missed most back then was losing the joy of playing and having fun with Jackie in that rickety, wooden structure we called a fort.

I have had a lot of close and wonderful friends since then. And so fortunate for me, I still do, very precious friends with whom I’ve shared the deepest parts of my heart, only not in a rickety fort. Now it’s restaurants and accountability groups, over coffee or lunch. Lots of laughs and sometimes looks of exasperation. All encased in love, God’s love, now.

So why is it then, that as we mature, those early years still have such a bearing on us. I just had lunch this week with another guy, who in the past three years, I’ve only have had a few one-on-one lunches with. He’s a busy guy, yet the kind of guy you just want to get to know deeply and by whom you want to be known deeply. He’s a tender hearted, mature man of God who will enable you to grow in Christ’s love as you share laughter and life together. My friend, Norflette.

Norflette told me that he is taking another job on the other side of town. As Norflette was talking, my mind rushed years back and I thought to myself, “I’m having another Jackie Dominski experience. I don’t want this.”

It’s so hard to establish a good friendship. It takes time. Distance makes it difficult to keep that relationship growing. Yet, all I have to do is drive a little further now to have lunch with Norflette. I will surely miss his wonderful sermons, his love for the Lord, his enthusiastic praise of God as he leads worship. And with Norflette gone, we will miss his wonderful wife, Shenay. If one thought Norflette loved the LORD, you should meet Shenay. What a powerhouse of God’s wisdom and love she is.

As I think of my loss, my heart still breaks for a fellow I met in 1970 while in Long Bihn, Vietnam. We both happened to be walking outside my barracks one day. I had never seen him in our company area before. I struck up a conversation with him and he told me he was on temporary duty assignment. He was to be a liaison with other companies.

It was midday. Having nothing to do, I asked him to come down to the company lounge area, have a drink, and meet some of the guys. He said, “No.”

I asked him, “Why not?” His answer burned into my memory.

He calmly said, “I’ve been in country three months. The first month, I made a friend and he died. The second month I made another friend and he died. The third month I made another friend, and he died. I don’t want another friend.”

With that, he turned around and left our company area. I was speechless. I didn’t know how to answer him. I can still picture him walking away with his back to me in his green army fatigues. He had lost all his friends. How heart breaking that had to be.

Over the years, I have thought to myself, I should pray more regularly for him. Did he ever make a friend for himself after Vietnam? Has he spent decades in loneliness for fear of losing more friends?

At church service today, the LORD gave me an insight that lightened this load of a lost/changing friendship. When we lose a close friend, we can feel like we are treading water. The LORD helped me realize that He trusts us enough even when treading water that we can do the work he calls us to do. He has faith in us. I need to maintain my faith in Him. It brings to mind Peter walking on the turbulent waters of the Sea of Galilee. As long as Peter had faith in Christ, he had no trouble walking on turbulent waters.

Cherish your friends. Pray for our veterans. Be a friend. Walk on water with Christ.

Every moment of our life, we are an example. We may not want to admit that we are always an example to someone, but we are.

To my knowledge, there are only three stories about naked people in scripture. The first is of Adam and Eve. The second concerns Ham seeing his father, Noah, naked and drunk. The third story concerns Jesus crucified.

To hide Adam and Eve’s shame and sin, God clothed them. But when Christ died for us, God the Father allowed us to see what sin really makes us look like.

David prophetically writes in Psalm 22, “But I am a worm, and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.” And Isaiah writes, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. Isaiah 53:2b NIV

Sin is ugly. It makes one feel wormy. I know from experience. Thank God He is forgiving. Thank you, Jesus, for taking my stripes for me, for all of us.

Phil

Sometimes I hesitate giving a piece of good advice to people because I wonder how they are going to take it. Will they appreciate it? Will they slough it off? Will they think, “I don’t need this guy. Why am I hanging with him?” Yet from my own experience, I have found that just a few words of advice can change or protect a life.

When I was drafted into the Army in 1968, my boss, Tom Cavanaugh, told me as I left his office one day, “Be sure to tell them you can type.” At the Army induction center, I remembered Tom’s advice. The clerk wrote “Types 33 word per minute” on the back of my personnel folder.

During my two years in the service, I served at two stations: Fort Monmouth, New Jersey and Long Bihn, Vietnam. I walked into the headquarters and presented myself to the sergeant in charge to find out where he would assign me. The first thing each did was look at the back of my personnel folder. When they saw I could type, they asked me, “You can type, Matous?”

“Yes, sergeant”, I replied.

Both said, “You’re not going anywhere, Matous. Sit down right there.” And they pointed to a nearby desk.

I spent my Army career typing even though I had become an excellent marksman in basic training. Due to Tom’s advice, I wasn’t sent out into the fields and rice paddies of Vietnam for combat. I am so thankful for his few short words of advice.

Now, when I think about whether I should give someone some advice, I picture myself standing on a street corner with him or her, waiting for the traffic to clear. I see a bus coming down the road towards us. I picture my friend or the stranger not seeing the bus and stepping off the sidewalk in front of it. Do I say to myself, “I don’t want to hurt his/her feelings. I’m not going to warn him/her about the bus.” Or do I give the warning and save him/her from the bus?

While some people may at first feel I have no right to interfere with their lives, I hope they will come to appreciate that the advice I gave led them to a better life, or may have even kept them from death as Tom’s advice could very well have done for me.

I have to maintain the courage to warn others and not worry about their feelings. I have to “Love one another. As I have loved you, so must you love one another” as Jesus said. Have courage and take the risk.

This seems like such an incredulous question to ask. One would answer, “Where else would they go? They certainly wouldn’t go to hell. They haven’t done anything wrong.” That’s what common sense tells us, but those of us steeped in Christian faith sometimes wonder about that answer because we know that those who believe in Christ go to heaven and the babies and innocent children haven’t had the opportunity to believe in Christ. Consequently, sometimes troubling doubt may come to our minds.

I stand on the side of common sense that innocent babies and children who die early are indeed in heaven and I think scripture backs this up.

In Deuteronomy 1, just before the Israelites are to enter the Promised Land, Moses recounts to Israel the history of their forty-year travel in the wilderness. He reminds them that other than Caleb and Joshua, God swore, “Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to your fathers.”[1] The Promised Land is a foretaste of heaven.

Then Moses continues, “Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.”[2]

The children and those who had no knowledge between good and evil were allowed to enter the Promised Land. Heaven is our promised land. God’s guide for allowing people into heaven is the same today: Do they have knowledge between good and evil?

Christ said, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.”[3] Those who are guilty of sin do not get into heaven until they believe in Christ and accept salvation from Him.

Moreover, Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”[4]

Jesus himself says that heaven is populated with people such as these children. In fact, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”[5]

Yes, innocent children get into heaven.

[1] Deuteronomy 1: 35 NKJV

[2] Deuteronomy 1:39 NKJV

[3] John 15:22 NIV

[4] Matthew 19:14 NKJV, also repeated in Mark 10:14 and Luke 18:16.

[5] Matthew 18:3 NIV

A. Because His Father is real and is a real Father, a caring Dad. God the Father cares for us.

Would Jesus have gone out alone so often to pray if His Father brushed Him off when Jesus came with a request and problem?

Like Christ, we have to appreciate that Our Father is real. He really cares. He demands the respect a Father deserves and gives the love a loving child needs. Even at thirty plus years of age, Jesus went to His Father as His Father’s child, as His Son humbly, not as a know-it-all, even though Jesus really did know it all!

My Dad is real and a real Dad. Let Him adopt you too.

Wow! The Holy Spirit’s name took on a completely new meaning for me today.

I knew that the Holy Spirit’s Greek name is parakletos. Some bibles translate that as counselor or comforter.

Studying Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance this morning, the root meaning of parakletos is “to call near  … be of good comfort.”

Imagine that. The God of the universe calls me to be near Him. I have never seen it put this way before, but I think His name could be translated Come Near to Me for Comfort.

Boy, who couldn’t use some comfort in life? All the troubles that we have to deal with; and here, the third person of the Trinity says, “Come to me for comfort.” I love it. I love Him. Who can imagine that God calls us to be near Him but He does! Imagine the strong arms of the Holy Spirit wrapping you in comfort. Wow.