Jesse's birth was Christmas day.
What and honor for a sweet girl!
In honor of this irony let me say...
a Christmas message to unfurl.
God desired a gift from us!
His desire was a bargain indeed.
He never wanted a birthday fuss -
he came to stop mankind's greed!
Love is the only gift he wanted.
Love for him and each other too!
His Glory was spittled and taunted.
But Jesus never had thoughts of rue.
His gift to us is what he wanted.
The desire was for love unrequited.
Without that love Jesus was undaunted.
Our cloak of love remained unfitted.
The gifts we gave were gifts of fate!
Those gifts man gave to the Messiah...
were sorrow, agony, ridicule and hate.
Our gifts to him were so defiant!
But now Jesse born the same day...
still receives God's gift of love.
A reward she can never repay...
The gift of the ascended Dove!
Born with Jesus, someday she'll arise!
She'll receive an eternal gift from God!
Jesus birth and death to reprise...
because she gave Jesus the loving nod!
Such an honor to share God's birth!
We smile on Jesse this special day.
We hope she has much joy and mirth...
and remember the Man who is the Way!
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Friday, December 12, 2014
Hate: The Love of Evil
There's a word which words defy
A word which makes evil men die.
Four letters despicable you see.
A word hated by our deity!
YHWH a tetragrammaton of love.
The name of our Lord God above.
He's offended by his antonym.
A word used by many vile men!
Guessed that awful word yet?
A little more time - don't you fret.
But hurry now it's getting late.
The word to avoid is surely HATE!
Worse than that is the emotion.
Hate drives men from devotion.
Hate damns others to eternal hell.
Hate is the ring of Satan's bell!
Hate rings hollow when love is there.
Hate is the word so really unfair.
It judges others awfully harsh.
Damning souls to the fiery marsh.
Hate for mankind is a disease.
Hate is the offering to appease.
Hate is the love of Satan you see.
It's love of the one we are to flee!
Strange that hate is the word.
Hate is the name of evil's Lord.
Hate is the love of what's so evil -
hate is the love of the devil.
Grace can change hate into love.
Grace is from the messenger Dove.
Belief is the salve from the Way -
changing hate into love for JWHW!
A word which makes evil men die.
Four letters despicable you see.
A word hated by our deity!
YHWH a tetragrammaton of love.
The name of our Lord God above.
He's offended by his antonym.
A word used by many vile men!
Guessed that awful word yet?
A little more time - don't you fret.
But hurry now it's getting late.
The word to avoid is surely HATE!
Worse than that is the emotion.
Hate drives men from devotion.
Hate damns others to eternal hell.
Hate is the ring of Satan's bell!
Hate rings hollow when love is there.
Hate is the word so really unfair.
It judges others awfully harsh.
Damning souls to the fiery marsh.
Hate for mankind is a disease.
Hate is the offering to appease.
Hate is the love of Satan you see.
It's love of the one we are to flee!
Strange that hate is the word.
Hate is the name of evil's Lord.
Hate is the love of what's so evil -
hate is the love of the devil.
Grace can change hate into love.
Grace is from the messenger Dove.
Belief is the salve from the Way -
changing hate into love for JWHW!
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Living Water from a New Jawbone
Samson fought the Philistines and killed 1000 single-handed. God had supplied a new jawbone of an ass. Samson had satisfied the thirst of vengeance by shedding blood in battle. The blood of animals can never satisfy. That type of blood can only appease!
Priests of God went into the tabernacle periodically and paid for the sins of the Hebrew people with the sacrifice of lambs, rams and bullocks. This blood was presented to God as a sin offering. It would do for an ancient moment, but merely pointed toward the blood which satisfies:
Was it named for Samson who cried or was it named for God who cried? Scripture does not say that Samson cried, but maybe he did! He "called out". Who did the works of Samson? God. Who cried? We know for sure who did:
Samson drank of the water provided by God. His thirst was quenched. Blood of others didn't satisfy, but the living water supplied by Jesus did!
Samson's spirit returned and although he died, Samson yet lives. He's there with the source of that water who supplied at Enhakkore. He's with Jesus right now! They meet again.
The blood and water of Jesus is what it means to be saved. Samson saved himself and his people powered by God by the shedding of blood, and that shed blood was "sealed" by the drinking of miracle water! Sinners are saved by the blood of Jesus and we're "sealed", so to speak, by salvation. With baptism the tears of the old person are replaced by the joy of the new! Baptism is also "miracle water"!
Always ask yourself "What's this got to do with Jesus?" You'd be amazed that almost everything in the Old Testament is all about Jesus!
Priests of God went into the tabernacle periodically and paid for the sins of the Hebrew people with the sacrifice of lambs, rams and bullocks. This blood was presented to God as a sin offering. It would do for an ancient moment, but merely pointed toward the blood which satisfies:
Hebrews 9:12 "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his (Jesus') own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."Satisfaction is only by the blood of Jesus and salvation is by his name only:
Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name (Jesus') under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."Now, lets look back at Samson. He had done wrong to his wife and displayed his anger against the Philistines who ruled over the Hebrews. His own people were in the process of sacrificing Samson, as judge, to the Philistines to appease them in their revenge. God loosened the bonds of Samson, he picked up the jawbone and slayed the 1000. For an instant Samson took the glory before he caught himself and gave that glory to God. After the battle Samson, from his toil in battle, had a great thirst. God satisfied that thirst through a miracle:
Judges 15:19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.Samson avenged himself and initially took credit for his own salvation from the Philistines. He was to be the scapegoat or sacrifice for the Hebrew people to save themselves. He stood tall, but it was God who erected him! In the end he and the Hebrews were saved, but it wasn't Samson. It was God! Samson called out to God to satisfy his thirst. The place was called "En-hakkore" which is to say "the well of him that cried" and at the time of the writing was still called "Lehi" meaning "jaw".
Was it named for Samson who cried or was it named for God who cried? Scripture does not say that Samson cried, but maybe he did! He "called out". Who did the works of Samson? God. Who cried? We know for sure who did:
Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.""The well of him that cried", I contend, was not named for Samson, but for God! The salvation of Samson pointed toward Jesus who was born to die to save, not only Samson, but all mankind! It was named Enhakkore in honor of Jesus who cried as he "gave up the ghost". Scripture is not about Samson; it's about all about Jesus!
Samson drank of the water provided by God. His thirst was quenched. Blood of others didn't satisfy, but the living water supplied by Jesus did!
John 4:10 "Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he (Jesus) would have given thee living water."What is the "living water"? It's not the blood of animals, but is the blood of Jesus. It's the water which satisfies! Drinking of "the living water" is a requirement for salvation. As Samson drank of the free flowing water and his spirit revived, our own spirit will be revived with acceptance of Jesus' living water!
Samson's spirit returned and although he died, Samson yet lives. He's there with the source of that water who supplied at Enhakkore. He's with Jesus right now! They meet again.
Revelation 7:17 For the Lamb (Jesus) which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.Yes, it would appear that when he "called out" to God, Samson cried. He cried for himself, but when Jesus cried, it was for all of us! When Samson drank of the "living water" which sprang from the jaw bone, we have the opportunity to drink of the "living water" which comes from the body of Jesus whose bones were unbroken as he died for us!
John 19:36 "For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him (Jesus) shall not be broken."Jesus gave Samson a fountain of "living water". It gushed from the jaw bone of a donkey. It was a new jawbone. Time had not broken it. Jesus gives us "living water". It too gushed, but it was from the unbroken bones of nail-scarred hands and gushed profusely from the hollow of his abdomen. Jesus shed blood for us, but he also provided water from himself... living waters!
The blood and water of Jesus is what it means to be saved. Samson saved himself and his people powered by God by the shedding of blood, and that shed blood was "sealed" by the drinking of miracle water! Sinners are saved by the blood of Jesus and we're "sealed", so to speak, by salvation. With baptism the tears of the old person are replaced by the joy of the new! Baptism is also "miracle water"!
Always ask yourself "What's this got to do with Jesus?" You'd be amazed that almost everything in the Old Testament is all about Jesus!
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Trip to Hell (Part 2 - In Hell)
Pride was just getting a little taste of hell! He thought back on his life and all the mistakes he had made. Thoughts of "what I could do over" filled his spiritual mind. "If only", "If Only", "IF ONLY" kept repeating itself. We've all been there when in trouble. "If only" we had listened! "If only" we had obeyed! "If only" is the monkey on the back of the reluctant!
Suddenly Pride thought back to the funeral. Of course in more normal circumstances his soul would have long departed, but thanks to Death's shenanigans, the soul hung around for the funeral just so Pride could see firsthand, how... well... how prideful he had been. After all a soul in possession of a dead body isn't something to brag about!
Scene 3 - Act (A lot - at the funeral)
The funeral went well! Pride, living up to his name had planned it all! The obituary in the Daily Journal was lengthy. Pride had been on nearly every charity board, had many prestigious jobs, had served honorably in Viet-nam in the Air Force, was on the school board and was a Sunday School teacher at his church. Pride was thoughtful enough that he had written his obituary in advance, not wanting anything to be missed, and he even paid extra for the two full columns! He had thought "I did much good! I want everyone to know how much I loved the community!" Pride had forgotten an important point! He had heard this in Sunday School as a kid and filed it under "irrelevant":
Having a moment now... an eternal moment, Pride remembered his funeral. He picked good people for his eulogy and sermon. His family and friends were to make it a celebration service. "Oh, only if it was!" he thought.
Jackson, his golfing buddy read the obituary... nodding in solemn agreement. Pride knew himself well. He had been comprehensive. The crowd nodded as his accomplishments were read. Many cried into small white hankies and snorted their sorrow without shame. "Truly a good man had died!" Pride's daughter, Mimic (not her real name) had been dad's favorite. She idolized the man! Now he's gone and a hole will be where her dad, Pride, had once been. She screamed loudly, not because he was dead, but because now she's alone!
Jackson went on and on. He knew Pride well! He told a few off-color stories about Pride. They were funny and people laughed. "We all do silly things at times." was the corporate thought. "Pride was just one of the boys!"
The preacher was next. He did a good job honoring Pride. It was easy for Pride was honorable! He told of Pride's support for the church, charities, his teaching and the 'love' that he showed for everybody. "Surely", he said, "if anyone is in heaven right now, it's Pride!"
I think often at funerals: "Did the preacher even know this guy?" I remembered a bumper sticker, "Become a Christian so the preacher won't have to lie at your funeral!" That's so true at times. We each only know our own heart. The preacher knows only what he sees, and after all, how many people sin their worst when they are with the preacher?
Pride saw everybody come by and look into the casket. Some were crying, others smiling and "some" he thought, "were laughing inside!" Poetic justice has come for those who he had crossed! Eyes were swelled with tears and Mimic cried loudly. His son, Rebel (again, not his real name) just stared listlessly as he moved by. "Little will change for me!", he thought. "What a grand day!" he remembered. .
"I'm nothing others had thought me to be! "If only..." Pride kept right on thinking.
Scene 4 - No Act (Hell)
Pride came to his senses, well not the five senses, but the sense the soul has in its doom. He shuddered (caught in my VIG and displayed on my video monitor). For what he was born he was now! "Born to die!" he had seen on motorcycle jackets... and now his goal was met. "It's scary!" His soul vibrated as a cosmic scream wailed out. The demons screamed with him and taunted "Sinner... sinner... sinner... boo hoo!" "Sinner... sinner... sinner... boo hoo!" "Who are you, who are you... sinner, sinner, sinner boo hoo!"
As he cried out in agony he fell through an abyss. As he did it got hotter and hotter and the derision became more frequent and taunting. Suddenly it was as if he'd hit a glass wall. The chasm stopped him short. A big demon came forth. His black wings were wide spread, his gate rapid and his breath of rotten meat. "Who sent you here?" asked the entry demon? Pride stammered "God did!" The demon wailed with laughter! "That's what they all say! Ha! Ha! Ha!" "Can't you even understand the filth you teach Mr. Pride? Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Pride remembered Death. Death had just ended his life a few long minutes to ago. "Ten minutes down... infinity to go!" was the taunt as the demon laughed at his thoughts! Pride had chosen Death and Death never disappoints. He's always there at the door ready to open it to any who has chosen him. Death is sure. We can always depend on him!
Pride thought of the gifts he's received when he lived. He'd never refused any... except one. God had offered him eternal life, but Pride rejected it. "Oh, to have it offered again!" Pride reminisced!
Finally, Pride admitted to the demon, not out of honesty, but that he had no other place to go "I got myself in this mess!" and as the demon screeched a loud bovine bellow and the acrid smell of rotten meat filled the air, the demon opened the window of the chasm. Pride entered into spiritual death. Once through the chasm, hell became worse, but "not as bad as the 'lake of fire' will be", the demon screamed harshly as Pride meekly entered
There was a tour guide for those in their first day in hell. He called himself "Evil". Evil read the rules and said "Do you finally understand? Is this getting real to you?" Pride tried to put truth from his mind. He no longer needed it here. "This aint real!" he lied and smirked at Evil. Truth doesn't exist in hell anyway. Pride was beginning to see why he was so easily deceived in life. He only wanted to hear what he wanted to hear!
God's rules are few: love him and love others! The rules here were stringent. Twenty-three hours each day Pride was to remain in his own personal chasm. On three walls were a constant replay of his sins. He would view them in isolation today, tomorrow and forever. He got the "gift" on "retrospect" as Evil handed him his certificate from Satan himself. "Master Satan wants you to relive this forever and ever!" snorted Evil with a wicked laugh!
Evil went on. "On the 4th wall is the door to the chasm. It remains locked at all times. You can't get out unless we unlock it, but you will be able to see your friends and relatives in the world. You will rejoice when they do evil", as Evil laughed at the double entendre! "You will hate those you loved every day for eternity.You will despise your children and your wife." It was clear that Pride would never see what's pleasant ever again. Neither will he experience love. Hate is the watch word! Pride will be isolated and by himself except for "hate-hour" each day!
Pride thought (pridefully I might add), "But I have friends here!" "So you do! So you do!" said Evil. "Let's go meet them now! That's what hate hour is all about!"
As Pride and Evil approached a river bubbling with steam, the wails of the inhabitants were deafening. This is the river Styks. It runs into the "lake of fire". Pride wasn't to the lake yet, but he could see the blue flames licked by yellow banners. He could smell the acrid smoke of sulfur even from this distance:
"Phhhyzzzz... phhhyzzz.... phutttt..." My high-temperature optical sensors, although designed for extreme temperatures, were beginning to show the effects of the extreme heat. Fortunately, I could change this lens by remote control. I'll lose a little of the tour, but not much. "There. That's better! A new lens now and we'll resume!" Pride asked "What happened there?" Evil said "The heat is too hot for host's camera lenses." "How hot is it here, Evil?" Pride asked. This ugly little demon had the audacity to quote scripture!
Pride still argued. That was his M.O. "Then why didn't they burn up?" Evil mumbled something about that awful impostor Jesus who was in the heat with them and then went on with his tour. Evil was told never ever to credit God with anything and he's afraid now that Master Satan will make him stoke the fires of hell. It's much worse than tour guide for newbies!
Scene 5 - No Act (The Hate Hour)
Evil said "see that roped off area there? That's all your so-called .friends, ha! ha! ha! from the world who faced Death before you. All your cohorts are here, but we never use the word "friend" except on Day 1. It gets messy explaining all the time that evil never has true friends." Evil vaguely remembered his list of those he hated were mostly earthly 'friends'"
Evil said "We're there now. Do you recognize anybody yet?" Pride say "There's my girlfriend! I see her!" as he waved with both hands, but he felt nothing toward her now except hate! Lust (not her real name) flashed an obscene gesture and Pride spit toward her as he ducked. He remembered that she was the one! Oh, how he hated her! She had worked in his office, casually flirted and before you know it, Grace, his wife, was forgotten in the moment of passion. He had felt guilty, but guilt wasn't powerful enough to stop the pleasure. Now he hated that memory. "Why can't you undo breach of trust?" thought Pride, but Evil stepped forward and sprayed sulfur in his eyes! "You can't feel remorse here. You can only feel anger! That's a rule and never break it again."
Many in the roped off area now glimpsed Pride. They yelled epithets at the newbie, cursed him and spit as far as they could. Pride recognized many people he had worked with and several from church. All were blaspheming God and cursing each other. As Pride approached the vehemence escalated. Screams, as if they were in pain, came form the mouths of these acquaintances form the past. His long dead son, "Druggy" yelled out to him "It's your fault I'm here you $$$#####@@@$$$ blank. I hate you &&&%%%%$$### guts! You were always about yourself!"
Pride puffed up really big. "How dare him! I bought him all that he ever wanted. The ungrateful %%$$#####@@@!!!" Druggy replied "It only took time and love! Now it's too late. I hate you and you're dung between the devils toes!"
Apologies are seldom made on earth and don't exist in hell. Pride could only fend for himself. Druggy said "Are you worshiping your God still? The God of Self? Pride knew that he was, but pride still had him in chains!
I thought I saw on the VIG screen, a tear come to the eye of Pride, but that never was and never can be. There are no tears of sorrow in hell and hell is "never having to say your sorry"! It was merely the burn of sulfur in the eyes of this damned person. There is no vestige of sorrow in hell.
Hate hour continued on and on. Hundreds who knew Pride on earth spat sulfuric vomit at him and cursed profanely. Above the roped off area was the sign "Hate Always Succeeds". That seemed strange to Pride because he had memorized as a child:
It was difficult for Pride to understand! Why was Evil having "love" slogans played in the hate hour? It didn't make sense until he realized that "love" had never been more than a slogan to him. "As Jesus said" he remembered:
Satan had rewritten that scripture and posted it as he did on the invisible wall of deceit on earth:
Pride said "I thought 'hate hour' is for an hour!" Evil smirked and said, "That was a lie! Hate goes on forever. You're disgusting and those in the hate area thrive on hating yo:u. They resent how you compromised them in life and hate you for it. Hate is eternal and punishment is infernal!"
Scene 6- Act Up (The Awakening)
Pride felt something. Someone got his attention. His skin wasn't burning and he was lying down. "What's happening Evil? he asked in confusion. Evil failed to speak, but he heard a sweet voice. Grace said "Are you ready for bed?" Pride, (real name - John) was awake now. He had been dreaming! "John and Grace... John and Grace..." he kept thinking until it began to show significance "John and 'grace'... John and 'grace'...".
John had been given a warning. He had not died, but dreamed that he did. God does that! He allows us to live out future events as a warning to change the future! God is graceful. John's not dead and he can change. His belief can be made faith. His doubt can become trust. His works can show his love. John is forewarned by a realistic dream. Yes, it's fiction, but life's a fiction anyway. Today's fiction can become tomorrow's reality.
It took a dream for John. The dream took away his Pride. He is now receptive, remorseful, accepting and faithful. His name shall be in "The Book of Life" and as long as the silver cord remains unbroken, he can change. John will know he's a Christian when change occurs. He shall become a new person in Christ and Pride shall be no more!
Perhaps this story will make someone consider Death. He is real and he happens twice for the person who fails to be born-again. We fear Death, but when he comes the second time, it shall be horrible. Rational people know that this can be. Saved people have hope that it's not!
Suddenly Pride thought back to the funeral. Of course in more normal circumstances his soul would have long departed, but thanks to Death's shenanigans, the soul hung around for the funeral just so Pride could see firsthand, how... well... how prideful he had been. After all a soul in possession of a dead body isn't something to brag about!
Scene 3 - Act (A lot - at the funeral)
The funeral went well! Pride, living up to his name had planned it all! The obituary in the Daily Journal was lengthy. Pride had been on nearly every charity board, had many prestigious jobs, had served honorably in Viet-nam in the Air Force, was on the school board and was a Sunday School teacher at his church. Pride was thoughtful enough that he had written his obituary in advance, not wanting anything to be missed, and he even paid extra for the two full columns! He had thought "I did much good! I want everyone to know how much I loved the community!" Pride had forgotten an important point! He had heard this in Sunday School as a kid and filed it under "irrelevant":
Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags..."God couldn't mean that! Surely God recognized and honored all the good things he'd done! His obituary pointed it out. How cheated Pride felt when he thought of this! He did remember something the preacher hammered on a lot. It was "grace". "I always believed that funny!" he thought. Grace is my wife's name! The word "grace" seemed, well... canned. It was the jargon of a preacher and outside of being a joke on Grace, grace meant little. "What was that verse? he tried to recall?
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God..."Too late now. This refrain kept repeating itself in his mind:
" Grace, grace, God's grace,He had heard it all his life, but never listened to it! Only if he had! (That tune will saturate his mind forever and ever and each time, he'll hate himself because he heard, but failed to hear!)
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin! "
Having a moment now... an eternal moment, Pride remembered his funeral. He picked good people for his eulogy and sermon. His family and friends were to make it a celebration service. "Oh, only if it was!" he thought.
Jackson, his golfing buddy read the obituary... nodding in solemn agreement. Pride knew himself well. He had been comprehensive. The crowd nodded as his accomplishments were read. Many cried into small white hankies and snorted their sorrow without shame. "Truly a good man had died!" Pride's daughter, Mimic (not her real name) had been dad's favorite. She idolized the man! Now he's gone and a hole will be where her dad, Pride, had once been. She screamed loudly, not because he was dead, but because now she's alone!
Jackson went on and on. He knew Pride well! He told a few off-color stories about Pride. They were funny and people laughed. "We all do silly things at times." was the corporate thought. "Pride was just one of the boys!"
The preacher was next. He did a good job honoring Pride. It was easy for Pride was honorable! He told of Pride's support for the church, charities, his teaching and the 'love' that he showed for everybody. "Surely", he said, "if anyone is in heaven right now, it's Pride!"
I think often at funerals: "Did the preacher even know this guy?" I remembered a bumper sticker, "Become a Christian so the preacher won't have to lie at your funeral!" That's so true at times. We each only know our own heart. The preacher knows only what he sees, and after all, how many people sin their worst when they are with the preacher?
Pride saw everybody come by and look into the casket. Some were crying, others smiling and "some" he thought, "were laughing inside!" Poetic justice has come for those who he had crossed! Eyes were swelled with tears and Mimic cried loudly. His son, Rebel (again, not his real name) just stared listlessly as he moved by. "Little will change for me!", he thought. "What a grand day!" he remembered. .
"I'm nothing others had thought me to be! "If only..." Pride kept right on thinking.
Scene 4 - No Act (Hell)
Pride came to his senses, well not the five senses, but the sense the soul has in its doom. He shuddered (caught in my VIG and displayed on my video monitor). For what he was born he was now! "Born to die!" he had seen on motorcycle jackets... and now his goal was met. "It's scary!" His soul vibrated as a cosmic scream wailed out. The demons screamed with him and taunted "Sinner... sinner... sinner... boo hoo!" "Sinner... sinner... sinner... boo hoo!" "Who are you, who are you... sinner, sinner, sinner boo hoo!"
As he cried out in agony he fell through an abyss. As he did it got hotter and hotter and the derision became more frequent and taunting. Suddenly it was as if he'd hit a glass wall. The chasm stopped him short. A big demon came forth. His black wings were wide spread, his gate rapid and his breath of rotten meat. "Who sent you here?" asked the entry demon? Pride stammered "God did!" The demon wailed with laughter! "That's what they all say! Ha! Ha! Ha!" "Can't you even understand the filth you teach Mr. Pride? Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.""You read that many times! My fellow demons saw you teach that to the kids, but you failed to hear yourself! Pride was silent as the demon went on "We laughed and spat at you when you failed to heed what you were spewing to others!" "You, Pride, made the choice and you chose Death!"
Pride remembered Death. Death had just ended his life a few long minutes to ago. "Ten minutes down... infinity to go!" was the taunt as the demon laughed at his thoughts! Pride had chosen Death and Death never disappoints. He's always there at the door ready to open it to any who has chosen him. Death is sure. We can always depend on him!
Pride thought of the gifts he's received when he lived. He'd never refused any... except one. God had offered him eternal life, but Pride rejected it. "Oh, to have it offered again!" Pride reminisced!
Finally, Pride admitted to the demon, not out of honesty, but that he had no other place to go "I got myself in this mess!" and as the demon screeched a loud bovine bellow and the acrid smell of rotten meat filled the air, the demon opened the window of the chasm. Pride entered into spiritual death. Once through the chasm, hell became worse, but "not as bad as the 'lake of fire' will be", the demon screamed harshly as Pride meekly entered
There was a tour guide for those in their first day in hell. He called himself "Evil". Evil read the rules and said "Do you finally understand? Is this getting real to you?" Pride tried to put truth from his mind. He no longer needed it here. "This aint real!" he lied and smirked at Evil. Truth doesn't exist in hell anyway. Pride was beginning to see why he was so easily deceived in life. He only wanted to hear what he wanted to hear!
God's rules are few: love him and love others! The rules here were stringent. Twenty-three hours each day Pride was to remain in his own personal chasm. On three walls were a constant replay of his sins. He would view them in isolation today, tomorrow and forever. He got the "gift" on "retrospect" as Evil handed him his certificate from Satan himself. "Master Satan wants you to relive this forever and ever!" snorted Evil with a wicked laugh!
Evil went on. "On the 4th wall is the door to the chasm. It remains locked at all times. You can't get out unless we unlock it, but you will be able to see your friends and relatives in the world. You will rejoice when they do evil", as Evil laughed at the double entendre! "You will hate those you loved every day for eternity.You will despise your children and your wife." It was clear that Pride would never see what's pleasant ever again. Neither will he experience love. Hate is the watch word! Pride will be isolated and by himself except for "hate-hour" each day!
2 Thessalonians 1:9 "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power..."Pride will be 100% isolated from "the presence of the Lord". Pride never again will have hope. God will not help him now! Death ends mercy. There is no rewind button on death. What's more Pride will be isolated "from the glory of his power". Any good, because God is good, will be out of reach for Pride. Pride will be isolated from any joy, hope, friendship, love or anything else of God! Loneliness for eternity will be his existence.
Pride thought (pridefully I might add), "But I have friends here!" "So you do! So you do!" said Evil. "Let's go meet them now! That's what hate hour is all about!"
As Pride and Evil approached a river bubbling with steam, the wails of the inhabitants were deafening. This is the river Styks. It runs into the "lake of fire". Pride wasn't to the lake yet, but he could see the blue flames licked by yellow banners. He could smell the acrid smoke of sulfur even from this distance:
Revelation 21:8 "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.""You're not allowed to swim in the lake yet!" said Evil, "but when God judges, you will die again and you will be cast into this fiery lake along with Master Satan. This infernal heat will be your death, but you'll never die! As your flesh burns, stinks and disintegrates in the heat, you'll get a new layer, and the torture will be repeated. Your repeated death by fire will go on forever! You'll burn, but never be consumed!"
"Phhhyzzzz... phhhyzzz.... phutttt..." My high-temperature optical sensors, although designed for extreme temperatures, were beginning to show the effects of the extreme heat. Fortunately, I could change this lens by remote control. I'll lose a little of the tour, but not much. "There. That's better! A new lens now and we'll resume!" Pride asked "What happened there?" Evil said "The heat is too hot for host's camera lenses." "How hot is it here, Evil?" Pride asked. This ugly little demon had the audacity to quote scripture!
Daniel 3:19 'Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated."Evil said "It is seven times hotter than fire! Ha!" Pride was feeling up to the challenge as was his nature when he quipped "But that refers to the fiery furnace of Shadrack and his brothers!' Evil replied "You fool! God didn't write that for nothing! The fiery furnace was symbolic of what a real hell is."
Pride still argued. That was his M.O. "Then why didn't they burn up?" Evil mumbled something about that awful impostor Jesus who was in the heat with them and then went on with his tour. Evil was told never ever to credit God with anything and he's afraid now that Master Satan will make him stoke the fires of hell. It's much worse than tour guide for newbies!
Scene 5 - No Act (The Hate Hour)
Evil said "see that roped off area there? That's all your so-called .friends, ha! ha! ha! from the world who faced Death before you. All your cohorts are here, but we never use the word "friend" except on Day 1. It gets messy explaining all the time that evil never has true friends." Evil vaguely remembered his list of those he hated were mostly earthly 'friends'"
Evil said "We're there now. Do you recognize anybody yet?" Pride say "There's my girlfriend! I see her!" as he waved with both hands, but he felt nothing toward her now except hate! Lust (not her real name) flashed an obscene gesture and Pride spit toward her as he ducked. He remembered that she was the one! Oh, how he hated her! She had worked in his office, casually flirted and before you know it, Grace, his wife, was forgotten in the moment of passion. He had felt guilty, but guilt wasn't powerful enough to stop the pleasure. Now he hated that memory. "Why can't you undo breach of trust?" thought Pride, but Evil stepped forward and sprayed sulfur in his eyes! "You can't feel remorse here. You can only feel anger! That's a rule and never break it again."
Many in the roped off area now glimpsed Pride. They yelled epithets at the newbie, cursed him and spit as far as they could. Pride recognized many people he had worked with and several from church. All were blaspheming God and cursing each other. As Pride approached the vehemence escalated. Screams, as if they were in pain, came form the mouths of these acquaintances form the past. His long dead son, "Druggy" yelled out to him "It's your fault I'm here you $$$#####@@@$$$ blank. I hate you &&&%%%%$$### guts! You were always about yourself!"
Pride puffed up really big. "How dare him! I bought him all that he ever wanted. The ungrateful %%$$#####@@@!!!" Druggy replied "It only took time and love! Now it's too late. I hate you and you're dung between the devils toes!"
Apologies are seldom made on earth and don't exist in hell. Pride could only fend for himself. Druggy said "Are you worshiping your God still? The God of Self? Pride knew that he was, but pride still had him in chains!
I thought I saw on the VIG screen, a tear come to the eye of Pride, but that never was and never can be. There are no tears of sorrow in hell and hell is "never having to say your sorry"! It was merely the burn of sulfur in the eyes of this damned person. There is no vestige of sorrow in hell.
Hate hour continued on and on. Hundreds who knew Pride on earth spat sulfuric vomit at him and cursed profanely. Above the roped off area was the sign "Hate Always Succeeds". That seemed strange to Pride because he had memorized as a child:
1 Corinthians 13 "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. ..."I remember now, the slogan was "Love Never Fails"! thought Pride, but Pride never understood love. He did good, but it was for him. Evil said "We've arranged for that slogan to be repeated over and over in your chasm booth! You'll hear that for ever and ever and angry and hateful you will be!"
It was difficult for Pride to understand! Why was Evil having "love" slogans played in the hate hour? It didn't make sense until he realized that "love" had never been more than a slogan to him. "As Jesus said" he remembered:
John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."Pride had never kept any of the commandments. Uninspired preachers had told him that The Ten Commandments are "works" and he no longer had to follow them. He was never told that was the saved person's way to show God love. Hence, "love" was merely a slogan!
Satan had rewritten that scripture and posted it as he did on the invisible wall of deceit on earth:
Satan 14:15 "If ye love Satan, forget God's commandments."Pride remembered how he'd tried at first, but alas, he listened to the majority. What the crowd said became the new "truth". Truth was relative in his circle and it was flexible. Pride just now realized that he is in hell because of trickery. The good-natured prankster himself had been "out-pranked" and now he hates them all! Hate! Hate! Hate! is all Pride was now capable of feeling and he loved that here!
Pride said "I thought 'hate hour' is for an hour!" Evil smirked and said, "That was a lie! Hate goes on forever. You're disgusting and those in the hate area thrive on hating yo:u. They resent how you compromised them in life and hate you for it. Hate is eternal and punishment is infernal!"
Scene 6- Act Up (The Awakening)
Pride felt something. Someone got his attention. His skin wasn't burning and he was lying down. "What's happening Evil? he asked in confusion. Evil failed to speak, but he heard a sweet voice. Grace said "Are you ready for bed?" Pride, (real name - John) was awake now. He had been dreaming! "John and Grace... John and Grace..." he kept thinking until it began to show significance "John and 'grace'... John and 'grace'...".
John had been given a warning. He had not died, but dreamed that he did. God does that! He allows us to live out future events as a warning to change the future! God is graceful. John's not dead and he can change. His belief can be made faith. His doubt can become trust. His works can show his love. John is forewarned by a realistic dream. Yes, it's fiction, but life's a fiction anyway. Today's fiction can become tomorrow's reality.
It took a dream for John. The dream took away his Pride. He is now receptive, remorseful, accepting and faithful. His name shall be in "The Book of Life" and as long as the silver cord remains unbroken, he can change. John will know he's a Christian when change occurs. He shall become a new person in Christ and Pride shall be no more!
Perhaps this story will make someone consider Death. He is real and he happens twice for the person who fails to be born-again. We fear Death, but when he comes the second time, it shall be horrible. Rational people know that this can be. Saved people have hope that it's not!
Monday, December 8, 2014
Trip to Hell (Part 1 - death and the grave)
Bill O'Really has interviewed several people in hell in his special equipped capsule. He's able to be shielded from the elements, intense heat and viciousness of the inhabitants there. Greata Than Sufferin has done follow-up interviews with Jimi Hendrix and Karl Marx.
Today you're in for a special treat! I personally have invented an imaginary virtual tour of hell itself! There you will see people you love and admire. You'll see what your loved ones go through each day; a hellish routine if you will. My special lenses are fitted to the eyes and the camera is mounted to a head-like automaton traveling through the chasm into the vilest of climates and will move through the most hated people from history! Put on your glasses, sit back in your recliner and ready yourself for a real treat! We will start on the death bed of someone who you loved and respected.
To protect the identity of your loved one, his (or her real name) will not be used. Anonymity is important to allow real events to be as actually experienced. Your loved one will make no effort to over dramatize or minimize the death experience nor the trip to the eternal home! Now relax and pay attention.
Scene 1 - No Act (On the Deathbed):
Pride (not his real name) has cancer. It came on for awhile and got more painful as time went on. Today is the day for which Pride was born. Yes, the minute Pride was born his destiny was death. Throughout life Pride was dying, even as he grew from a toddler, to a middle-school student, on to college and finally, throughout his adult working years. Death was imminent at his birth, when he had a bicycle crash, his first car wreck, the first date, his marriage, his first child and even doing what he loved to do most! Death was with him as he listened to bands play, watched parades, fished, golfed and even as he begot children! Death spied on Pride all his life... waiting... just waiting. Death's chance was coming!
Death considered for quite a while what means of dying to use on Pride. Normally the worst death is readied for the worst sinner, or the most obedient to Satan if you wish; but Pride was sort of in the middle of the road. He believed in God, but never really submitted. You see, Pride thought it was weak to admit dependency, and he had a mild secret relationship with God. The deal was that if God allowed Pride to pleasure, have wealth, his health and power; then someday Pride would follow Jesus. Pride always intended to submit someday, but someday was never convenient! There was always some other thing that appeared more fun or interesting.
In this case Death chose cancer - not just a mild case, but the worst lymphoma the devils could conjure. This cancer not only stole Prides health, but made him nauseous and Pride itched constantly. He thought himself to be in a living hell! Not so!
Every day in the beginning the Holy Spirit beckoned Pride. That's what God's Spirit is primarily to do:
Pride got really good at pushing the Holy Spirit away! He told himself "Someday, but not now!" Pride got good at isolating God. He could sit in church and not even consider God! "Perhaps", he thought, "I'll get some credits for just being here!" Besides that, his family wanted him to be a Christian and he certainly didn't want to disappoint them! He could act the part as good as anybody else and he did just that!
Now, here lies Pride on his death bed and Death stands by patiently waiting. There is no hurry! Death has waited more than fifty years. What's a few more minutes?
"Oh, no!" thought Death. "Here comes that do-gooder preacher with the fat man." "I'll just wait while they try once more."
"Will you go to heaven if you die right now?" asked the preacher as the fat man wiped sweat from his brow.
"I don't know preacher. I expect to be here tomorrow." he started to say, but he decided to lie his way out again! "Pray for me if you will. I'll appreciate it." he feigned, but as the preacher prayed he knew "Pride's heart is too hard. He'll never submit!" And submission he faked.
Just as the preacher and the impatient fat man were leaving, Death had had enough. He conjured a demon to come in and weaken the heart. He was getting a little impatient with Pride so Death decided to speed up the process. The heart died first, but Pride's brain still lived for a short spell. Pride panicked! "I'm dead!" he thought and there's no turning back." Pride's body leaped in agony as he felt Death hover over him and smother. He felt an elephantine pressure on his chest and a hot knife pierce his heart. A surge of boiling blood sped to his brain and then Death smiled. It was over! Death was the winner. Pride now belonged to him!
Scene 2 - No Act (At the Grave):
"I'm in a coffin!" thought Pride. "It's cold! Somethings missing!" Pride's soul had fled. His body was alone. He was only vaguely aware of his once stately body. Now it was cold and lifeless, but from a vantage point above the grave his soul could "see" his lifeless body!
I must admit, it took much thinking to figure out how to view the soul leaving the body. Within the virtual imaging software, I installed an ultra-sensitive aura meter. It worked by a disturbance of the wavelengths of light. The sensors, using an algorithm complied by me, took the soul-shaped disturbances and created a "picture" of the soul. It wasn't a true picture, but it did surprise me how much it resembled ghost pictures I had seen. At any rate, the image appeared in my virtual imaging glasses (VIG's) and I could actually see the soul rising from the body!
I suppose that Death played along with me! I wasn't ready to catch this on camera and I believe Death stalled the separation until the grave so that the public could see the consequences of Pride!
Pride now had a new view of himself. Looking at himself from above, he hated what he once loved. He remembered how he'd comb his wavy hair and dress fit to kill and how he'd flex his muscles. He once lived for those things! Now he despised his own body. It looked so pale and weak as he hovered above it, hating his own self... the Self that he worshiped just a few days ago! Pride once lived in this body; now Pride had nothing! He remembered:
Yes, "dust to dust and ashes to ashes" as they say! Pride, as he looked down, could see Death grinning in expectation. "In only a short time your 'self' will become dust again! Your body will fertilize the fields if the rodents don't get there first! It's a shame! What once you preened and worshiped will shortly become mere dung in a buzzard's feces! However, you still have your soul!"
"That's true!" thought Pride. "I've still got my soul!" Pride's soul, unknown to him, is a mere cup. It has form, but it is the container for one of two things: The Holy Spirit (for Christians) or it's filled with evil (for those who belong to the devil). The "Prince of the Air", Satan resides in the soul of the unbeliever. The soul lives on until the second death. We don't know much about the "waiting place" Hades, where the soul resides until the judgment day, but it, according to the rich man, is just a little taste of hell!
We'll have to close the curtains so to speak for a time. Tomorrow we will actually take our cameras into hell. We'll see what everyday "life" is about and what "friends" do for damned amigos. For now, though, we'll let Pride consider his life for a spell. We'll let him think about his children and how he misled them; how he failed to set an example and punish and teach. If only he could go back and warn people! The rich man preceded him with those thoughts:
Today you're in for a special treat! I personally have invented an imaginary virtual tour of hell itself! There you will see people you love and admire. You'll see what your loved ones go through each day; a hellish routine if you will. My special lenses are fitted to the eyes and the camera is mounted to a head-like automaton traveling through the chasm into the vilest of climates and will move through the most hated people from history! Put on your glasses, sit back in your recliner and ready yourself for a real treat! We will start on the death bed of someone who you loved and respected.
To protect the identity of your loved one, his (or her real name) will not be used. Anonymity is important to allow real events to be as actually experienced. Your loved one will make no effort to over dramatize or minimize the death experience nor the trip to the eternal home! Now relax and pay attention.
Scene 1 - No Act (On the Deathbed):
Pride (not his real name) has cancer. It came on for awhile and got more painful as time went on. Today is the day for which Pride was born. Yes, the minute Pride was born his destiny was death. Throughout life Pride was dying, even as he grew from a toddler, to a middle-school student, on to college and finally, throughout his adult working years. Death was imminent at his birth, when he had a bicycle crash, his first car wreck, the first date, his marriage, his first child and even doing what he loved to do most! Death was with him as he listened to bands play, watched parades, fished, golfed and even as he begot children! Death spied on Pride all his life... waiting... just waiting. Death's chance was coming!
Death considered for quite a while what means of dying to use on Pride. Normally the worst death is readied for the worst sinner, or the most obedient to Satan if you wish; but Pride was sort of in the middle of the road. He believed in God, but never really submitted. You see, Pride thought it was weak to admit dependency, and he had a mild secret relationship with God. The deal was that if God allowed Pride to pleasure, have wealth, his health and power; then someday Pride would follow Jesus. Pride always intended to submit someday, but someday was never convenient! There was always some other thing that appeared more fun or interesting.
In this case Death chose cancer - not just a mild case, but the worst lymphoma the devils could conjure. This cancer not only stole Prides health, but made him nauseous and Pride itched constantly. He thought himself to be in a living hell! Not so!
Every day in the beginning the Holy Spirit beckoned Pride. That's what God's Spirit is primarily to do:
John 6:44 "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me (Jesus) draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."While Jesus was here, he was the one who drew men to God. In his absence in heaven, the Holy Spirit was left behind to draw men. Being the Comforter, part of his comfort is providing hope. He convinces us, if we listen, that we shall have eternal life, if we choose, through Christ.
Pride got really good at pushing the Holy Spirit away! He told himself "Someday, but not now!" Pride got good at isolating God. He could sit in church and not even consider God! "Perhaps", he thought, "I'll get some credits for just being here!" Besides that, his family wanted him to be a Christian and he certainly didn't want to disappoint them! He could act the part as good as anybody else and he did just that!
Now, here lies Pride on his death bed and Death stands by patiently waiting. There is no hurry! Death has waited more than fifty years. What's a few more minutes?
"Oh, no!" thought Death. "Here comes that do-gooder preacher with the fat man." "I'll just wait while they try once more."
"Will you go to heaven if you die right now?" asked the preacher as the fat man wiped sweat from his brow.
"I don't know preacher. I expect to be here tomorrow." he started to say, but he decided to lie his way out again! "Pray for me if you will. I'll appreciate it." he feigned, but as the preacher prayed he knew "Pride's heart is too hard. He'll never submit!" And submission he faked.
Just as the preacher and the impatient fat man were leaving, Death had had enough. He conjured a demon to come in and weaken the heart. He was getting a little impatient with Pride so Death decided to speed up the process. The heart died first, but Pride's brain still lived for a short spell. Pride panicked! "I'm dead!" he thought and there's no turning back." Pride's body leaped in agony as he felt Death hover over him and smother. He felt an elephantine pressure on his chest and a hot knife pierce his heart. A surge of boiling blood sped to his brain and then Death smiled. It was over! Death was the winner. Pride now belonged to him!
Scene 2 - No Act (At the Grave):
"I'm in a coffin!" thought Pride. "It's cold! Somethings missing!" Pride's soul had fled. His body was alone. He was only vaguely aware of his once stately body. Now it was cold and lifeless, but from a vantage point above the grave his soul could "see" his lifeless body!
I must admit, it took much thinking to figure out how to view the soul leaving the body. Within the virtual imaging software, I installed an ultra-sensitive aura meter. It worked by a disturbance of the wavelengths of light. The sensors, using an algorithm complied by me, took the soul-shaped disturbances and created a "picture" of the soul. It wasn't a true picture, but it did surprise me how much it resembled ghost pictures I had seen. At any rate, the image appeared in my virtual imaging glasses (VIG's) and I could actually see the soul rising from the body!
I suppose that Death played along with me! I wasn't ready to catch this on camera and I believe Death stalled the separation until the grave so that the public could see the consequences of Pride!
Luke 16:22 "And it came to pass, that the beggar (Lazarus) died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame."The pyrotechnics were remarkable! Just as the soul left the body there was an intense heat. A bluish flame immediately enveloped Pride just as his soul emerged from his body. It hovered wistfully for just a moment, for any time at all is a "moment" in eternity! Pride, just as the rich man, was cognizant of everything. His body was dead and lifeless, but his soul suddenly "knew". All Pride's life flashed into his mind's eye for he still had a spiritual mind. He saw every chance now blown, where he successfully rejected the Holy Spirit. He wasn't aware yet that for eternity, this vision would be repeated and repeated time after time for eons and eons!
Pride now had a new view of himself. Looking at himself from above, he hated what he once loved. He remembered how he'd comb his wavy hair and dress fit to kill and how he'd flex his muscles. He once lived for those things! Now he despised his own body. It looked so pale and weak as he hovered above it, hating his own self... the Self that he worshiped just a few days ago! Pride once lived in this body; now Pride had nothing! He remembered:
Genesis 3:19 "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
Yes, "dust to dust and ashes to ashes" as they say! Pride, as he looked down, could see Death grinning in expectation. "In only a short time your 'self' will become dust again! Your body will fertilize the fields if the rodents don't get there first! It's a shame! What once you preened and worshiped will shortly become mere dung in a buzzard's feces! However, you still have your soul!"
"That's true!" thought Pride. "I've still got my soul!" Pride's soul, unknown to him, is a mere cup. It has form, but it is the container for one of two things: The Holy Spirit (for Christians) or it's filled with evil (for those who belong to the devil). The "Prince of the Air", Satan resides in the soul of the unbeliever. The soul lives on until the second death. We don't know much about the "waiting place" Hades, where the soul resides until the judgment day, but it, according to the rich man, is just a little taste of hell!
Luke 16:24 "And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame."Pride thought "I'm in the Devil's bosom! Me, Pride, is getting initiated. I'm in hell, but not the eternal hell yet! Is there another chance!" I'm afraid not Pride. Purgatory is a myth! You had your chances.
We'll have to close the curtains so to speak for a time. Tomorrow we will actually take our cameras into hell. We'll see what everyday "life" is about and what "friends" do for damned amigos. For now, though, we'll let Pride consider his life for a spell. We'll let him think about his children and how he misled them; how he failed to set an example and punish and teach. If only he could go back and warn people! The rich man preceded him with those thoughts:
Luke 16:27 "Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment."But that was not meant to be!
Our Own "Thorn in the Flesh"
Thorns hurt! I know. I poached by accident and the landowner shot at me several times. As I heard bullets whizzing by my head, I was forced to run speedily across the creek on a log where I lost my shoes. Without shirt already and in cutoffs, to escape death, I ran through a blackberry patch. Due to the adrenalin I felt little pain, but afterwards thorns had scored my skin from head to foot! My entire body was bloodied and due to all the rips in the skin, it looked as if I had been tortured!
I had thorn wounds all over! For those who never picked blackberries, thorns are the fishhook-like barbs on the wood of the plant. They are extremely hard and sharp! When they puncture the skin the sting due to the sap on some bushes irritate the skin even more than the barb itself. Furthermore, the sting is lasting!
The blackberry patch was a "thorn in my flesh". That's in a literal sense! However, as with many words, thorns have tertiary definitions. From a biblical standpoint the expression "thorn in the flesh" means something which irritates or causes great distress. Of course that includes blackberry thorns, but the bigger thorn in my flesh was the irritated landowner! I'm sure he wasn't so concerned about a few blue gill in his strip mine, but he was worried that we would poach his marijuana patch which was surely there! Hence, not only was the briers and the landowner "thorns" but so were the evil influences driving the landowner! My thorns were real briers, another man and the devils motivating the man. They were all irritants to me and stressful!
But that's not what Paul was suffering from:
Jesus had a "thorn in the flesh". His thorn was the devil himself. Jesus was tempted for forty days, Satan offering him the entire world, which Satan knew that Jesus would someday own anyway! During his entire ministry, the devil taunted Jesus and drove others to persecute him. The devil caused people to humiliate, flog and murder Jesus. Even the temptation of Jesus was a "thorn" although Jesus never budged! He felt the same desires which we have, but he dealt with them through God.
I would believe that we all have a "thorn in the flesh". For most men who are honest, the visual stimulation of an appealing woman has confounded the souls of many otherwise pure men from King David and Solomon to Samson. Jezebel was a thorn in many men's eyes and still is today. However, not to blame women entirely, men have desired women for thousands of years; even chaste women.
My own dad, a godly man, when he was around eighty when I asked "When does this go away?", replied "It never does!" The fair sex is a thorn in the flesh of most normal men. It's something men deal with through prayer, scripture and the help of good and dutiful wives. It may be that women have a similar "thorn in the flesh" since it seems to me that they battle the same principalities! They can judge themselves!
The thorn is the temptation. It pricks and irritates. The poison on the thorn can only be treated by spiritual salve. Of course, if folks give in to temptation, another thorn appears: guilt! Guilt is God's way of making people uncomfortable in sin. The fear of guilt is a great deterrent to sin, but people must still deal with the thorn of temptation regardless
Jesus, having the temptation, didn't sin. When we're tempted, it's not sin. Both are, however, thorns in the flesh. The thorn digs deeper when people submit to the thorn and become guilty! Never blame a person for the temptation, but only the submission to the temptation! That's the true meaning of "Thou shalt not judge!" It's as if one is implying that they are never tempted!
In addition to this common "thorn" the bush is full of many others hybrids. For some it's alcohol; for others gambling. Any sin or even temptations which we deal with on a daily basis is a "thorn in the flesh". Paul never sinned as far as we know with his thorn. It's likely that he was tempted to give up his ministry, but he didn't! The thorn was still real to him. Likewise, with our own temptation can be a thorn, although we never sin with it! The devil was still a thorn to Jesus although Jesus not one time even considered sinning!
The devil is always behind "thorns in the flesh". Even as I write this, Satan is saying "Don't publish this! You know that others may be thin-skinned and even angry. (as they always are at truth)." The devil this instant is my thorn, but I won't cave to the temptation. I'll publish anyhow and suffer the consequences. Some may even be angry that I, a Christian, sometimes am tempted with impure thoughts! I wish that it wasn't true, but all righteous men have the same plague which I have. It's called "original sin" and is inherited from my forebears.
Examine your own thorns in the flesh. What are you constantly tempted with? Do you sometimes fail God? Do you sometimes feel guilty for sinning? Guilt is a sure sign that God still guides you. Those who never feel guilty are reprobate. They are the the psychos who are beyond caring. I thank God that I have a weapon against my thorns and that I'm still able to feel guilt and sorrow! My weapons are God-given:
Dust off the armour and put it on! Get out the sword and fight the spirits of the dark. God stands with you. Who, other than Satan, can be against you?
I had thorn wounds all over! For those who never picked blackberries, thorns are the fishhook-like barbs on the wood of the plant. They are extremely hard and sharp! When they puncture the skin the sting due to the sap on some bushes irritate the skin even more than the barb itself. Furthermore, the sting is lasting!
The blackberry patch was a "thorn in my flesh". That's in a literal sense! However, as with many words, thorns have tertiary definitions. From a biblical standpoint the expression "thorn in the flesh" means something which irritates or causes great distress. Of course that includes blackberry thorns, but the bigger thorn in my flesh was the irritated landowner! I'm sure he wasn't so concerned about a few blue gill in his strip mine, but he was worried that we would poach his marijuana patch which was surely there! Hence, not only was the briers and the landowner "thorns" but so were the evil influences driving the landowner! My thorns were real briers, another man and the devils motivating the man. They were all irritants to me and stressful!
But that's not what Paul was suffering from:
2 Corinthians 12:7b "...there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me."Paul was struck hard (buffeted) with his "thorn in the flesh". The nature of the thorn was a "dark angel"; a principality or an evil presence! Hence, Paul's "thorn" from which he was distressed was a spiritual battle within. Someone or something was ripping and tearing his spirit, and it was something worldly. From "Paul's Thorn in the Flesh" written earlier today, I proposed that Simon the Magician was Paul's thorn. The success of Simon's foolery was effecting the ministry of Paul. It made it harder for him to minister the word. Paul was likely in stress and discouraged!
Jesus had a "thorn in the flesh". His thorn was the devil himself. Jesus was tempted for forty days, Satan offering him the entire world, which Satan knew that Jesus would someday own anyway! During his entire ministry, the devil taunted Jesus and drove others to persecute him. The devil caused people to humiliate, flog and murder Jesus. Even the temptation of Jesus was a "thorn" although Jesus never budged! He felt the same desires which we have, but he dealt with them through God.
I would believe that we all have a "thorn in the flesh". For most men who are honest, the visual stimulation of an appealing woman has confounded the souls of many otherwise pure men from King David and Solomon to Samson. Jezebel was a thorn in many men's eyes and still is today. However, not to blame women entirely, men have desired women for thousands of years; even chaste women.
My own dad, a godly man, when he was around eighty when I asked "When does this go away?", replied "It never does!" The fair sex is a thorn in the flesh of most normal men. It's something men deal with through prayer, scripture and the help of good and dutiful wives. It may be that women have a similar "thorn in the flesh" since it seems to me that they battle the same principalities! They can judge themselves!
The thorn is the temptation. It pricks and irritates. The poison on the thorn can only be treated by spiritual salve. Of course, if folks give in to temptation, another thorn appears: guilt! Guilt is God's way of making people uncomfortable in sin. The fear of guilt is a great deterrent to sin, but people must still deal with the thorn of temptation regardless
Jesus, having the temptation, didn't sin. When we're tempted, it's not sin. Both are, however, thorns in the flesh. The thorn digs deeper when people submit to the thorn and become guilty! Never blame a person for the temptation, but only the submission to the temptation! That's the true meaning of "Thou shalt not judge!" It's as if one is implying that they are never tempted!
In addition to this common "thorn" the bush is full of many others hybrids. For some it's alcohol; for others gambling. Any sin or even temptations which we deal with on a daily basis is a "thorn in the flesh". Paul never sinned as far as we know with his thorn. It's likely that he was tempted to give up his ministry, but he didn't! The thorn was still real to him. Likewise, with our own temptation can be a thorn, although we never sin with it! The devil was still a thorn to Jesus although Jesus not one time even considered sinning!
The devil is always behind "thorns in the flesh". Even as I write this, Satan is saying "Don't publish this! You know that others may be thin-skinned and even angry. (as they always are at truth)." The devil this instant is my thorn, but I won't cave to the temptation. I'll publish anyhow and suffer the consequences. Some may even be angry that I, a Christian, sometimes am tempted with impure thoughts! I wish that it wasn't true, but all righteous men have the same plague which I have. It's called "original sin" and is inherited from my forebears.
Examine your own thorns in the flesh. What are you constantly tempted with? Do you sometimes fail God? Do you sometimes feel guilty for sinning? Guilt is a sure sign that God still guides you. Those who never feel guilty are reprobate. They are the the psychos who are beyond caring. I thank God that I have a weapon against my thorns and that I'm still able to feel guilt and sorrow! My weapons are God-given:
Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."The "wiles of the devil" are the scoring of my soul by the barbs of Satan. "What is the full armour of God"?
Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.You see we are protected and have our own weapons! Me, studying the word, considering it and applying it are some of the weapons of which Paul spoke. I fight Satan by writing these words. It's not coincidence that Paul had a "thorn in the flesh", but dealt with it using this armour! The thorns are even mentioned in these passages: "be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked". Those fiery darts of the wicked are what's "thorns in our flesh"!
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints..."
Dust off the armour and put it on! Get out the sword and fight the spirits of the dark. God stands with you. Who, other than Satan, can be against you?
Paul's "Thorn in the Flesh"
We were pondering, as many have, what Paul's "thorn in the flesh" actually was. Many say it was his poor eye-sight. Although the Bible does speak of Paul's weak eye-sight he had scribes who actually wrote many of his inspired words. Having poor eye-sight is not a "thorn in the flesh". I had uncorrected poor eye-sight until I was an adult and it was a nuisance at most!
Herrin hypothesis: Simon the Sorcerer was Paul's "thorn in the flesh". Simon converted to Christianity under Philip who baptized him. Simon tried to buy works of the Spirit from Peter, now called Simonism. Simon was in apostasy at that time. We know from early writings of church fathers that Simon Magus (the Sorcerer) was certainly a thorn in Paul's flesh:
Wikipedia (I've seen this in the actual writings mentioned) "Surviving traditions about Simon appear in anti-heretical texts, such as those of Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Hippolytus, and Epiphanius, where he is often regarded as the source of all heresies. Justin wrote that nearly all the Samaritans in his time were adherents of a certain Simon of Gitta, a village not far from Flavia Neapolis. Irenaeus held him as being one of the founders of Gnosticism and the sect of the Simonians. Hippolytus quotes from a work he attributes to Simon or his followers the Simonians, Apophasis Megale, or Great Declaration. According to the early church heresiologists Simon is also supposed to have written several lost treatises, two of which bear the titles The Four Quarters of the World and The Sermons of the Refuter.
In apocryphal works including the Acts of Peter, Pseudo-Clementines, and the Epistle of the Apostles, Simon also appears as a formidable sorcerer with the ability to levitate and fly at will."
Here we have Simon, who the people believed could fly at will, shadowing behind Paul and preaching gnosticism, the "false gospel" which was the major opposing religion to orthodox Christianity at that time in history (During Paul's journeys. Paul spoke often against the heresies propagated by Simon!).
Hence, I rest my case. Simon was Paul's "thorn in the side". Without Simon, however, Paul's preaching would not have been as fervent and Simon could have won the battle for people's souls! Has anyone else ever espoused this? Not as far as I know, but it is viable and likely. Likely because Paul confirms that the thorn was "the messenger of Satan". Simon was certainly Satan's messenger!
Scripture (Paul's own writings)
Herrin hypothesis: Simon the Sorcerer was Paul's "thorn in the flesh". Simon converted to Christianity under Philip who baptized him. Simon tried to buy works of the Spirit from Peter, now called Simonism. Simon was in apostasy at that time. We know from early writings of church fathers that Simon Magus (the Sorcerer) was certainly a thorn in Paul's flesh:
Wikipedia (I've seen this in the actual writings mentioned) "Surviving traditions about Simon appear in anti-heretical texts, such as those of Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Hippolytus, and Epiphanius, where he is often regarded as the source of all heresies. Justin wrote that nearly all the Samaritans in his time were adherents of a certain Simon of Gitta, a village not far from Flavia Neapolis. Irenaeus held him as being one of the founders of Gnosticism and the sect of the Simonians. Hippolytus quotes from a work he attributes to Simon or his followers the Simonians, Apophasis Megale, or Great Declaration. According to the early church heresiologists Simon is also supposed to have written several lost treatises, two of which bear the titles The Four Quarters of the World and The Sermons of the Refuter.
In apocryphal works including the Acts of Peter, Pseudo-Clementines, and the Epistle of the Apostles, Simon also appears as a formidable sorcerer with the ability to levitate and fly at will."
Here we have Simon, who the people believed could fly at will, shadowing behind Paul and preaching gnosticism, the "false gospel" which was the major opposing religion to orthodox Christianity at that time in history (During Paul's journeys. Paul spoke often against the heresies propagated by Simon!).
Hence, I rest my case. Simon was Paul's "thorn in the side". Without Simon, however, Paul's preaching would not have been as fervent and Simon could have won the battle for people's souls! Has anyone else ever espoused this? Not as far as I know, but it is viable and likely. Likely because Paul confirms that the thorn was "the messenger of Satan". Simon was certainly Satan's messenger!
Scripture (Paul's own writings)
2 Corinthians 12:7-10: "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."
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