THE EMPTY TOMB AND THE SKELETON

God has a lot of ways He uses as examples to point us back to the same place… Jesus.  One of those ways is the Easter celebration.  Ever wonder why this became such a hit and then became a tradition?  The doubters of the world should really think hard about this.  Billions of people can’t possibly get this wrong.  Something huge happened after Jesus’ death and burial that such event was cemented in those who witnessed that the story passed on for generation after generation.  Can you imagine the whisperings and the hustle and bustle that went on when everyone heard the news that Jesus, the innocent man that was murdered only three days ago, buried, with a huge stone to block the tomb all of a sudden disappeared?  I would certainly be in a daze, just putting myself in the position of one of those who heard that news.

When a big event happens, it is usually remembered for quite sometime but not as much time as the empty tomb of Jesus after His death.  That is how powerful God is, He did not and will not allow us to forget that.  The same is true with the bible stories.  Sure, doubters will tell you that they are just stories by human beings.  This is true but how else can God manifest His greatness?  Have you ever really meditated on the bible stories that you’ve read?  What method could He have used to make us believe more than we already do?  Remember, God doesn’t force us to love Him, He loves those who love Him on their own accord.  So let’s get past that.

There is a parallel between the empty tomb and our empty vessels (skeletal remains) when we die.  The empty tomb contained God, a God whose body cannot decompose and leave a skeleton behind because He is God, everything must stay intact.  It is what sets Him apart from us humans.  Jesus’ survival on earth can be likened to our earthly bodies.  At the time of earthly death, our souls detach from our bodies and only has one of two destination, heaven or hell.  That’s because while alive, we were given a choice whether to be in God’s Will or satan’s will.  Nothing in between.

Easter is plainly and simply a yearly reminder for us to make that decision, heaven or hell.  The example that has been given to us, the same story that has been passed down from the time of Jesus’ resurrection hasn’t changed.  Eternal life or eternal damnation.  Manifested in the flesh through Jesus, the same God that was whipped and murdered, suffered such unbelievable pain as a sacrificial lamb just for our salvation.  I know you’re probably saying, “Well, why would a God do that for me?” My answer is, EXACTLY!  You and I don’t deserve it but just because we don’t understand the intensity of God’s love for us, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

I hope you all think about how you would leave your empty tomb, your skeletal remains, after you die.  Where will your soul go?  I suggest you give it to God, NOW, while you are alive. 

Until my next rant… LOVE ONE ANOTHER!  HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY!

Stay Firm Like An Oak

Now that the country is ready to put in place a new president, ready to see some real changes, not the empty promises of the past, the political climate is reaching its fever pitch in its selection process.  It seems the whole country is committed to exercising the role for their one vote to count that will at least for four years, be a voice for real change.

The way things are going, it seems there is one man who represents the flavor of the people's frustration about how the country has been run the past 8 years.  Make no mistake though, because along with that, and for the next 8 months, the candidates and their pundits will strive hard to sway our decisions one way or the other.  The final voice of the people will result in who the next president of the U.S. will be.  Despite all the noise, we, as Americans, have to make the decision according to our values and our morals.

One of the ways that is advisable to do is to do our own research about the people vying for the position.  Not only should we objectively analyze each of them, we should also listen to how the other side are portraying them.  Sometimes it is very easy to just go with the flow and adopt a mob mentality without really listening to the rhetoric that one presents.  This is not an easy task, however, because we are all so busy with our own lives that we sometimes don't have time to do the research ourselves so we tend to believe what we hear, from wherever and whomever, as the truth.  We have to be careful about such nonchalant process, because eventually, it could break us.

The other way, and the best way for me is to bring God into the decision-making.  God has a way of intervening His will into the mix.  As long as we are in line with His will, it is very easy to understand what surrounds us because God gives wisdom to those who are in line with His will.  satan on the other hand will feed your head with confusion, lies and deceit.  It is his forte to do so.  he loves to frustrate us because he likes the chaos. Unless we ignore his wiles and his agenda, we will be in the right path.  Be like an oak tree, unwavering, unmovable, sturdy in your truth!

We have to decide whether we love our country enough and each other to shut off the noise and ask for God's guidance.  God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  He is a consistent God.  He unites not divides.  

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

Get Led by the Spirit

So you've turned your life around and accepted Jesus, now what?  There will be people in your life ones you seek and the ones who volunteer their values and methods on you.  They are usually people who mean well but still influenced by their past behavior and character traits.  If you are not careful, you can fall into a groove that may lead you out of the will of God because you took their teachings to heart.  That is why when you are a baby Christian, it is a process.  You won't instantly get rid of your past life, because remember, we were all born with Adam and Eve's original sin.  But do not fret, as long as you are Spirit-led, you will be just fine.

This situation wasn't a stranger to God's special guy.  The Apostle Paul.  Paul could have fallen into a man-pleaser groove.  However, he adapted the God-pleasing method instead.  He could have been what the present day name for fundamental Christian, a bible thumper, and started acting like the Jews.   He fit the bill but God had another plan for him.  He wanted Paul to become a new man.  He could have been the disciple of all disciples, following their teachings to a tee, and although he listened and honored their counsel, he did not let them fully lead him.  He listened to the Holy Spirit and let the Holy Spirit lead him, enjoying the liberty of being himself, just as how God wanted him.  

We can all be cloaked in the ideals of the churches we attend, immersing ourselves in like-minded people but with that, caution has to be taken that we don't try to conform into something man-mandated under the guise of God's will.  We have to recognize ourselves under the power of the Holy Spirit, and our freedom under it.  

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

THE BEAUTY OF ETERNAL LIFE

If I had an opportunity to ask someone who has passed away some questions, I would ask them if they had experienced any indication that their life is about to end.

Majority of the human race is afraid to die.  We protect our lives and the lives of our loved ones simply as a matter of course.  The initial response to hearing news that someone has passed away is that of shock and gasps.  It is just human nature.  When we were born, we were a blank canvas.  We are the sum total of people that surround us.  People who were influenced by those around them when they were born in turn pass those influences to us.  So most of our instincts are taught based on what we have come to know.  We have no control over that any more than a wild and vicious pit bull trained by an irresponsible dog owner does.

So why are we so afraid to die or even to be diagnosed with a terminal illness?  The answer is simply that we aren't sure about whether there really is life after death, and if so, where we will end up?  Will it be up or down.  Even for an unbeliever, there is that innate notion of the unknown, a doubt as to whether there is a heaven or a hell.  We were born with that instinct because whether we believe in the bible or the big bang theory, we can't help but doubt or believe the existence of another life.

I've always attacked a doubt head on.  Before I understood the after life and the reality of it, I too, was a skeptic.  Looking back, I realized how incredibly irresponsible I was with my own life and my own eternal life.  This life, because I did nonchalantly go through it by occasionally putting myself in danger whether it be walking alone at night or partying with perfect strangers.  I never thought about death and where my future would be. However, my relationship with God, even as a young child, got me through it all.  

Now that I am halfway through my days, I can say that I truly do not fear death.  As a matter of fact, if not for my loved ones, who would be sad if I did pass away, I would prefer it.  Knowing for a fact what is in store for me after this worldly life excites and inspires me.  I look forward to the day I get to see God's face!  You see, when you have a deep understanding of God's love, it is not difficult to wish an earthly death to this temporary vessel.  The alternative is such that would bring so much joy to an eternal life.  A word of caution.  I don't know what is in store for those who turn away from God, and I certainly could not even consider thinking about it.

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

THREE IS BETTER THAN NONE

Imagine if you will, just for a moment that we were still existing in the days before Jesus was born.  When there was no Jesus or the Holy Spirit yet.  The days when the wrath of God was like a looming dark cloud over our heads, careful not to anger the God that is so powerful that He can cast some punishment on us like the people of the great flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, etc.

It is no wonder that today, most people who started reading the Bible feel that God is too strict with life.  They use the Old Testament in their own church doctrine for some odd reason to scare others away from turning back to God.  In my own humble opinion, this is not fair to the God that I have known since I have come to an awareness of Him ever since I was a young child.  The God I grew up knowing was a true father to me, yes invisible, but felt.  He was a true father in a sense that my own father was an absentee father, and when he was around he was mean.

So there we have it.  They were all, in those days before Jesus and the Holy Spirit afraid of the angry deity which was somehow used to pass down to current days to inject fear or nonchalant rebellion into people's hearts.

Enter Jesus.  Jesus was God in the flesh.  One can only surmise that God sent His son, not so much as to punish Him by letting Him get whipped and murdered on purpose, but with purpose.  God thought of a way to connect with us by putting Himself in our position in order to feel what we feel since He won't or will ever impose His love on us.  How can someone so powerful humble Himself in such a way?  I mean, the Guy is God Himself!  He could have done anything at all with His powers but instead chose to sympathize with us by subjecting Himself as if He was one of us!

Furthermore, after Jesus left the world, He gave us the Holy Spirit as a gift.  The Holy Spirit who is a Godhead, again Himself, to live in each and every one of our hearts!  How generous of Him to give us a mentor, a confidante, a guide, a protector, a healer, a liaison not only for Him but for others.  As if he doled Himself out like Oprah and said, "You get the Holy Spirit, you get the Holy Spirit, you get the Holy Spirit, EVERYBODY gets the Holy Spirit!"

God is amazing.  If there is another word above amazing or the most amazing word over amazing, that would be Him.  Moreover, all of these blessings He gave us was motivated by love.  Such a love that we can never understand no matter how we try.  Giving one's own child to die on the cross so that we can be residents of a wondrous life eternal is a kind of love that no one on this earth can ever give.

It is easily explained like this.  Three in one, it's like an egg, made of yolk, white and shell.  One cannot do without the other.  Personally and honestly, I would rather have Three in one, than none.

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!  Why? Because this is the greatest of all commandments which encompasses all Ten given in the old testament.