Eternity is a Long Time

  Pentecost (Greek for 50 th day) is a celebration too many Christians overlook. For many, they are uncomfortable with the “speaking in tongues” aspect of it. For others, it is hard to appreciate what other day could be as important as Good Friday and Easter/Resurrection Day. Yet Pentecost, or better said, the celebration of “The Most Special Pentecost”, should be almost as high on our list as the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Before we begin, there are two things to keep in mind. First, redemption without revelation leads to regression back to condemnation and bondage. Secondly, what happened in the Old Testament is so often a foreshadowing of greater fulfillment depicted in the New Testament. Why do we keep going back to the Old Testament? Because Jesus is the fulfillment of scripture – ALL scripture. The only scripture at the time of His death and resurrection is what we now call the Old Testament. If you don’t understand or appreciate the connections, you lose out on the gre...

  Some years ago, I had a singular event happen which has been coming to mind a lot recently. It seems fitting, then, to put the incident on paper and let others read about it since it may be an encouragement to them and, quite possibly, to me as well. Without mentioning actual names, I had known Amanda who, along with her husband Peter, was part of the same social club I was involved in a few years before. She was a very pleasant woman in her 30s who was quite active and had given birth to a little girl about two years before. Unfortunately, she developed a fast-spreading cancer and within months was on death’s door. I was aware of the situation as a good friend of mine was a close acquaintance of the couple. He told me that she was about to go to a Hospice House where she was not expected to last more than a few days. I was taken aback at this since she was such a young and strong woman.  At the time I was a life insurance agent and the discussion of death and its consequenc...

  Shakespeare's 29th Sonnet - When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries And look upon myself and curse my fate, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd, Desiring this man's art and that man's scope, With what I most enjoy contented least; Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising, Haply I think on thee, and then my state, Like to the lark at break of day arising From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate; For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings That then I scorn to change my state with kings. William Shakespeare’s 29th sonnet is a wonderfully concise picture of a person who is mournful about their situation and then realizes, probably not for the first time, that there is great joy in the Lord.   This was not what I expected when I first read the sonnet.  I had never considered Shakespeare to be religi...

God is love . We know this not only because the Scriptures explicitly tell us but they also show us. God provided ways to come to Him even when we had turned our backs on Him. Yet the pride people have in themselves or their fear in trusting God cause them to not take advantage of God’s generous mercy. When we do not take advantage of what God offers, then the natural consequences of the condemnation we live with is the result. It started with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden listening to Satan rather than God. Yet God provided for them even as He evicted them from the Garden not only materially but with the  promise of ultimate salvation by one of their posterity . It continued with Cain ignoring God’s desire to be worshiped with a whole heart and becoming jealous of his brother Abel’s close relationship with God. This ultimately lead to Cain’s murder of Abel even after  God encouraged Cain to do what he knew was right . It reached its first wide scale demonstration of Go...

Things that make you go hmmm... In 2008 I was deployed to Kuwait. While there, I walked past two guys who were sitting at a table outside the barracks where I lived. The Holy Spirit made it extremely clear that I was supposed to go over and talk with those guys - I didn't go. I've always wondered what would have happened if I had obeyed God instead of me. Today, I was reminded of how I used to climb through the window of the chapel of Norwich University at night just to sit there and ponder life. I wasn't a born again Christian in those days - that came 20 years later - but I was certainly open. Was someone supposed to come and talk with me during that time and, like I did years later, ignored the direction of the Holy Spirit? If so, what would have been different - for me and others - if I had given my life to Jesus in 1982 rather than 2002? In the end, it is what it is. God's ultimate plan will happen despite his children not obeying Him all the time. That being said,...

  Manger of Jesus (right) below the Church of the Nativity In late 2013, I had the opportunity to visit Israel while I was stationed with the Army in Jordan. During our swift, 60-hour tour of numerous sites in the Holy Land, we visited the Church of the Nativity. This church, like so many in the area, was built on top of an historic site in order to protect the site. In this case, it is the manger where Jesus was born. At least, that is what is believed. The site is in Bethlehem, it is a manger, Jesus was born in Bethlehem in a manger, so it is close enough for me! The entrance for the manger is behind the alter in the church and there was quite a line the day we went. I was at the back of our group and, for a few minutes, we were the last folks in line. Then, a group of nuns came in. It was obvious they were nuns from the habits they wore, but theirs was a very different color — almost a lavender. There were about 25 or so and they were in four neat rows that would make a drill se...

  As we enter this Advent season we naturally focus on the birth of Jesus. However, Luke’s story of the birth does not start in chapter 2 but in chapter 1 of his Gospel and it highlights one of the most vivid contrasts of “heart attitude” among the faithful.   This is represented in the responses of Zecharias and Mary to the angel Gabriel. A quick read of what each of these people said to Gabriel seems similar. But when you look at the way it is worded, and what God expects from His people, you see why the Gabriel deals differently with them.   Zecharias was an older man who had been a priest in the Temple for many years. His knowledge of Scripture was immense – easily dwarfing our own. Mary was a teenager who, likely, had no formal training in the Scripture . Knowledge, as we will see, does not equal faith.   When Zecharias went into the Holy of Holies to exercise his priestly duty, Gabriel appeared to him with an appearance that must have almost stopped Zecharias’...