A Devotional Corner

I’m a little confused

I’ve been reading a catholic website where it answers questions by its critics. One bit talked about salvation. It said that we are not guaranteed salvation, cos if we were, then it doesn't matter how much bad things we do, we'll still go to heaven. The site contains certain passages that confirm their belief.

I was also reading Christian website that claimed that we are guaranteed salvation. The churches I go to teach: "once saved, always saved".

Both true Christians and true Catholics love God. They both believe that salvation is through Jesus.

If God loves both Catholics and non catholic Christians. God loves all man too, I think. But I know that not everyone is going to heaven.

Do you have to believe that you are guaranteed salvation to be saved? What if you don't believe that God guarantees you salvation?

I think we have Holy Spirit. Now. And Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit will stay with us and not leave. If we are willing to give up our desires and if we are willing to desire God's desires, then we have the Holy Spirit and our desires will be fulfilled by God.

How can we lose eternal life? We can lose it if we no longer desire God's desires. How can that happen if you had the true desire for God in the first place, and if God is there to make sure that your desire's are fulfilled?

Posted by Jot.. at 11:44 pm | Permalink | Comments

God loves us. He wants to give us freedom. While we are His creation, He surely does not want us to resemble robots in any way. He gives us the freedom of choice. But of course, we know that our ability to do evil, to go against God's will are some of the 'by-products' of God's love for giving us the freedom to choose.

Being responsible Christians, we would want to lead a life and try and walk closer to God each and everyday. While we are sinners, we would want to try and do things that will please Him. Being the children of God, God has plans for us to do certain things for Him. With this in mind, we would not want to act in a way that will go in contrary with God's will.

So, where is the line drawn? How do we know that we are acting in accordance with God's will, and when is our free will merely just selfishly satisfying ourselves first?

Take laziness for example, it may not sound detrimental at all. But what is laziness? Isn't it just selfishly letting go of everything that you are supposed to do, which may include letting go of God's will as well, and satisfy yourself ahead of anything else by letting yourself relax and not care about anything? On the note of putting yourself first then, aren't you sinning then?

What about decisions that we make in life? If we make decisions that are selfish in nature, where we may not take into account of what others would feel, is that going against God's will?

Some may say, we are sinners, God will just forgive us. But surely, that is just being irresponsible and say that we can do what we like, which is completely wrong if you submitted yourself to Christ. So what is the right choice?

Posted by Ivan at 11:09 pm | Permalink | Comments

Near Earth Objects

( NASA Ames Research Center http://128.102.32.13/impact/intro_faq.cfm )

Have you seen Armageddon or Deep Impact? They are movies about humans discovering an asteroid a few days before it hits earth. They are big enough to “end life as we know it”. Imagine that you are the president of the US and a big rock is going to flatten your country in a few day’s time. Imagine that the news is now available to the public. Life is ending in a few day’s time.

What’s the probability that tomorrow, some astronomer (:P) at NASA finds that an unidentified asteroid is heading for Earth? I don’t think you can attach a probability to that. There is just too much unknown stuff out there in space.

Luke 21:25-28 NIV

Posted by Jot.. at 1:20 am | Permalink | Comments

What is hell like? Is there fire in hell? I’m not sure if there is fire in hell.

People often ask why nice and good people go to hell. God must be cruel. What if you don’t get the opportunity to hear about God?

A lot of people don’t like the “Christian religion” because they hate the idea that whoever doesn’t believe in what Christians believe in will go to hell. I kinda understand them. It’s like saying: “Believe in what we believe in or else you will go to hell!” (muhaha) I am afraid that a lot of them don’t understand why we would make that claim.

The following, I think, is the claim that non-Christians are disgusted to hear: People who reject God go to hell; People who reject Jesus as their LORD and master go to hell; People who reject Jesus as their Saviour go to hell.

I’m not sure that hell is really a punishment. It’s more like a consequence.

On the day we die, either we will have made up our mind to submit to Jesus as the rightful ruler of our life or we have decided to ignore and reject Him (we will not talk about those who have not heard of God here). This decision clearly reflects what our hearts desire, and so, when we die God gives us exactly what we desire.

For those that choose to submit to Jesus, God allows them to stay with him for eternality. On the other hand, for those who desire to have God out of their lives, God grants them their desire and God abandons them forever.

“What is so bad about a place without God?” you may ask. The answer is this. God is the source of all Love and Everything that is Good. A world without God is a world without all Love and Goodness.

Back to all the fire now. There must be a lot of wood or gas or something in hell (probably not…). Hell is described as a fiery furnace. It is also described as a dark place. We then know that hell is not a comfortable place. Imagine in a place where you can’t see anything because it’s so dark. Or inside an oven. There sure is going to be “weeping and gnashing of teeth”. That’s what it’s like to be in a place without all Love and Goodness. A place that God has left.

Does what I say help? Or is it leading people astray…

Posted by Jot.. at 10:43 pm | Permalink | Comments

I was watching a TV series last night and there was a scene where a little young girl has learned the news of the death of her parents. She asked questions like will her parents be in Heaven and whether they will recognise her when she is all grown up and eventually enter Heaven as well?

Questions that will most probably be raised some time in our walks of Christian life will be:

• "What would we look like when we are in Heaven?";

• "If I die as a 20 year old, would I look like a 20 year old in Heaven, and If I die as a 60 year old, would I have a wrinkly face when I reach Heaven?"; and

• "What about babies then, will they just be crawling eternally?"

However, is this the right mode of thinking? I have no authority to say its wrong, but it doesn't sound logical. If that's the right way of thinking, I just don't see why people are not dying 40 years earlier so that they could have a 20 year old look and have a better figure in Heaven that will last forever. I'm not trying to suggest in anyway with any intentions that we should all die now to have a better look, but that's just not the way things work. So Live On, and Read On!

Lets focus on two ideas:

1. God is not restricted by time. A thousands years in our eyes could well only be a flash in God's eyes. So if time is not a restriction to God, then would the concept of age, which is a concept that relies on time, relevant in Heaven at all?
2. The focus is on the Spirit. Jesus told Nicodemus that "No one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit." (John 3:5) Everyone will be physically born (that is, born of water), but Jesus emphasises that you have to be Spiritually reborn in order to make yourself eligible to enter Heaven. So the importance is not on our physical selves, but our Spiritual selves thats more important.

So what does that mean? Does that mean 'physical' is only an earthly concept, and there is no such concept in Heaven? Or more correctly, the concept is known in Heaven but is obsolete, or just irrelevant in Heaven? Does that mean we wouldn't have some "physical" body in Heaven and we'll just be "floating spirits" in Heaven?

Well maybe not just floating spirits. There should still be some kind of 'shell' or body where our Spirit will stay, but a better shell, call it "super-physical" (I am very creative aren't I? :P). But this something "better" is something that we cannot visualise with full understanding. Let me explain why I think this 'super-physical' concept may exist:

• In Genesis, we are told that we are like God and we resemble Him (Gen 1:26). We know that our wisdom is no where near comparible to that of God's wisdom, so obviously, we can't be like Him in that respect. So that leaves us with the physical characteristics that we all have in common that could really compare and resemble God.
• Further, our physical bodies are described as 'tents' on earth and when it is time for it to be torn down, 'God will have a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself has made, which will last for ever' (2 Corinthians 5:1).

We know that God has something wonderful in store for us, but we just wouldn't know how great it is by just using our wisdom and eyes to try and visualise how good it is. It's like trying to imagine what a sky scrapper looks like when all you have seen in your life is a straw hut.

Any other views on this?

Posted by Ivan at 10:18 am | Permalink | Comments

The kingdom of God is near.

How often do you think about that? Do you even think that it's true?
I saw on the news that terrorists will sooner or later get hold of a nuclear device. I think 99.99% of people will believe that terrorists will get hold of a nuclear device before the kingdom of God comes. What do you think? ( do you see the irony?)

When a nuclear device finally detonates in your city, it's going to be too late. Too late for those who have not repented. Too late for those who have not turned away from their faithlessness. I know that there are many out there who have said " i want to enjoy more of my life before i turn to god".

Do you find it surprising that a lot of the parables that Jesus tells actually refer to these people?

Do you have friends or relatives that will not be joining you in the kingdom of God? What are you doing about it?

Will you be in the kingdom of God on that day? What are you doing about it?

Posted by Jot.. at 10:19 pm | Permalink | Comments

(A Continuation from The Jigsaw Puzzle: Part I - Prelude)

The gift of God finally came to me. God sent a girl into my life. A young, intelligent, pretty looking girl. Being an ethical blogger, I believe that at this point, rather than to continue and build up a climax but end it with disappointment, I should be honest to tell you folks that this story doesn't develop into a sweet love story. haha!

She seemed like God to me. I do not mean that she had the power to perform miracles. Nor was it that she had the authority like God to rule anybody (well I hope she doesn't try to rule anybody! :P). She seemed like God to me in the sense that the relationship between me and her almost mirrored the relationship that I had with God at the time. I always knew of this girl's existence through my network of friends during my high school years, however throughout these years, I only knew of her existence and nothing more than that she is just some friend's friend. It was after hearing the name for several years, that I finally actually get to know who she really is when I met her in person. Just like God, I always knew His existence, but I have never actually had the opportunity to well and truly know God Himself personally.

Being introduced to this wonderful young lady was like my first handshake with God. She began just like my other friends who asked whether I was a Christian. However hearing my "model" answer, she didn't give that usual shrug, nod, or "oh" that I was used to seeing; she actually bothered looking into this 'problem' that I had, offering to find a way to help me find that answer that I always have been procrastinating about. God finally wanted me to know. He offered me the opportunity to walk the journey to see what it takes to be a Christian.

One of the first problems that was brought to attention was to obtain some form of human justification of all those stories that I have heard back in Sunday School. All the stories that I have heard, such as Jesus feeding thousands of people with a few fish and a couple loaves of bread, Jesus walking on water, Jesus dying on the cross and coming back to life were snippets of stories that always stayed in my mind. But after so many years of learning science, I have begun to develop questions of how all this can be scientifically justified? Then the next question was, how do we know all this is true? Is all this historically accountable? Was there really this guy who actually did all of this?

I guess I have a simple mind. Naive may be a term that one may use. But I do thank God for not clouding my mind with too many things to consider. I only wanted a logical answer. I didn't give those who wanted to help me discover a hard time by making them show me evidence to support what they have said. One may say that sounds too risky to believe in anything you hear in such a dangerous world today, all those cults out there trying the best they could to control your life, but I wasn't really worried about that. I have developed many reasons justifying that it wasn't worth the worrying. Firstly, I didn't get answers from any organised bodies, but merely my friends, so if they wanted to cheat me, they had a million other ways of cheating me into doing something rather than to use God's name! Secondly, questions that were answered came from totally unrelated friends. Most importantly, they all pointed towards the same answer! Thirdly, I wasn't conned into doing anything. I wasn't being forced. I ask a friend a question, I get an answer, then we both get on with life. No obligation. Most importantly, I initiated the conversation, so if there was any conning involved, I would have been the first one to con myself into all this!

Basically, I took up the view that I'll accept any logical answer until proven wrong or false; unlike those who starts off taking everything as false and requiring all evidence to convince them that it is true. I just believed that my Christian friends had no reason to lie, so why would they keep me from the truth?

Most of my answers were cleared by now. God has built the foundation in me. It was time to begin the visible constructions ...

-- To Be Continued --

Posted by Ivan at 9:07 pm | Permalink | Comments

Peace is a fruit too
It's a gift of the Holy Spirit if you didn't already know.
I was driving home late tonight. Raining. No cars on River Rd ( remind you of something?... http://jotland.blogspot.com/2004/10/his-life-or-mine.html#comments)

No.. no cute possums in this story.
I had been at a friend's place. We were discussing God and how much my friend had been growing in Christ. I was filled with Joy, and driving home, I was filled with peace.
Now usually, at night with no cars in sight, I'd be driving pretty fast but not tonight. Even thought the speed limit is 50 on River Rd, the generally agreed speed limit for motorists is about 75. I was crawling along tonight,.. at about 50something. Just before entering River Rd, I was thinking about cops. I thought about the chances of being caught. My sister has often warned me about cops on River Rd, but don't recall having ever seen much.

I was recalling how my sister would sms me and tell me that there were cops at the Xth intersection. I alway seem to miss them though... Tonight, I didn't have to be on the look out for cops. I was being a good boy.

As I approached the bit where the road slopes steeply down, I was still crawling along, enjoying the rain outside. My head lights carelessly reflected the shiny letters P O L I C E off the side of a police wagon as it slowed down, about to enter River Rd.

I need this fruit more often

Posted by Jot.. at 11:36 pm | Permalink | Comments

We should respect other people and their decisions, right? And we respect other people's believes too?We must if we are to win them over from Satan...
But we should have no respect for other people's gods right? Do you think that Jesus respects those other gods and statues...?

What would Jesus say to those people who are leading His sheep too hell? Should we take on the same attitude that Jesus would take?

Posted by Jot.. at 1:06 pm | Permalink | Comments

People often ask me what kind of people we meet at SHUM. Not many people think about what homeless people are like. I guess it is easy to take on the view that homeless people are just homeless, dirty, want your money and failures of society. hmm yeah some.

Gary was brought up in a foster home. He's thirty something now. He said he had been living on the streets since he was 14. He's never worked before, and don't have much education. Gary was different from most people that I have talked to at SHUM. He didn't say much. I spent the whole of that night talking to him about God, Sin , and Jesus. I am pretty sure he's heard it dozens of times, but I doubt that he really understood. The whole time he had a pleasant smile on his face. He didn't say much at all and I always wondered if he caught hold of any of what I said.
My tactic was to ask him questions. Questions, the answer to which I had given moments before. I noticed that he'd always smile and say " umm... I don't know." I adapted to that. I would say things like " God created the whole world." and then straight away ask him "What did God do?"
mean?
I hope he learnt something... Something about God. I continued to say heaps and ask heaps. So happy :D
He had a brand new bible which he was very proud of. He seemed very happy when I asked him to read Mark. He agreed to read it by next SHUM... unfortunately I won't be there... hope he finds someone to share his reading with. Hope that he has read it!

Posted by Jot.. at 6:58 pm | Permalink | Comments