Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....March 4, 2018
We continue this week with our look at Heaven and what awaits us....
What makes Heaven great is not only what's there, but also what's not there! In order to fully understand what God has planned (in Eternity), we've got to understand what God had first planned (in Eden). The way it will be - will be the way it was originally. What makes Heaven great is not only what's there, but also what's not there!
In order to fully understand what God has planned (in Eternity), we've got to understand what God had first planned (in Eden). The way it will be - will be the way it way originally intended. Revelation 22:3 is clear: God will reverse the curse and restore creation back to its former glory. There was perfection in every way... Unity in nature between animals and man. Peaceful productivity. Beauty unhidden. Total harmony. But sin shattered that world into a million tiny pieces, and since that moment sin and its curse have caused pain for all of humanity.
Paradise Lost
Sin always brings a curse. In Eden, God pronounced a curse upon each one participating in the sin - a snake, Satan, Eve, the tree, & Adam (Gen. 3:15). First, the serpent (and all snakes) was cursed to crawl on its belly and be despised, and Satan was promised ultimate defeat by the Messiah. Then God cursed Eve (and all women) with painful pregnancies and delivery and a subservient role to her husband. Next, God cursed nature with thorns, weeds and a destructive, competitive chaos (law of atrophy). Lastly, God cursed Adam (and all men) with a long, unproductive life of hard work that will end in premature aging and death.
Jesus, the Curse
Since then, we have been feeling sin's consequence and trying to figure out how to deal with the curse in our broken world. We often try to avoid and circumvent the curse - but find that it's quite impossible to escape pain and sorrow in this life. Many have thought to come up with solutions and answers - only to discover small 'systems' to deal with the troubles we experience. There is no way to avoid the curse, there is no answer to the consequences of sin ... that is, without Jesus!
Everything sin has touched, God will redeem & cleanse. If redemption doesn't go as far as the curse, then God has failed. Redemption will be perfection, complete, and forever.
A Holy God demands that sin's debt be paid. His justice demands that the curse die the death it deserves. That's why Jesus is so important. His death on the cross wasn't just a martyrs death for a good cause, it was exactly what His Father demanded as the only possible way to reverse sin's curse. On the cross just before His death, He became the curse (Gal. 3:13). Jesus was not mistaken when he likened Himself to a serpent in John 3:14. He was referring back to when Israel complained and was plagued with poisonous serpents in their camp. Their bite would cause a pain like fire inside of every victim. There was only one antidote: look at the brass serpent on the pole that Moses held high. Looking at the brass snake, they were hoping (trusting) in God to judge the snake and take away their pain. In the same way, Jesus was lifted up on a cross. If we will look at Him, trusting in God to judge sin (as it was laid on Jesus), then He will reverse the curse and take away our pain. Even though we have been bit by the Serpent of sin, we can be sure of Heaven by looking to (trusting in) what Jesus has done for us. (He didn't deserve death - but He took our death upon Him).
Paradise Regained
Normal life for us is cursed, broken, dark, troubled, and difficult. It's all we've ever know. It's all we understand - so God describes Heaven in terms of what's NOT there so we can get the picture! There will be no sin. Nothing dirty, disgusting, or deceitful (Rev. 21:27). There will be no consequence of sin (no harmful side-effects) and no earthly systems for trying to deal with sin (worldly response mechanisms). For example: There will be no immorality or fornication, so there will be no STD's or painful divorces, so there will be no pills to take or psychiatrists to see. There will be no murder or death, so there will be no funerals or sorrow, so there will be no jails or morgues. There will be no greed or selfishness, so there will be no hunger or jealousy, so there will be no courthouses or orphanages. There will be no drunkenness so there will be no bruised wives or roadside crosses, so there will be no rehab or support groups.
You won't see tears, death, funerals, caskets, cemeteries, hospitals, medicines, disease, crime, poverty, lawsuits, courtrooms, politicians, addictions, fighting, prisons, night, darkness, injustice, divorce, orphans, widows, war, tsunamis, earthquakes, fires, or sin of any kind!
You won't feel sorrow, sadness, heartbreak, pain, fear, hunger, thirst, small, outcast, separated, guilty, regret, hated, condemned, conflicted, worry, stress, greed, or lust for anything you don't already have!
You won't be weak, tired, sick, scared, alone, manipulated, defeated, self-righteous, bitter, jealous, frustrated, angry, anxious, unhappy, unhealthy, or tempted any more!
Take courage - this life is short! Don't invest too much in this world, it will soon pass away. Know that what you are dealing with is the curse of sin and, through Christ, it will soon be conquered. If you're saved, then you're on the winning side!
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
Over the many years I have been on Earth, I have steadily learned that my way of doing things is not always the way God wants me to do them. I have some Words of wisdom for you this week:
I've learned that ......
I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.
I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.
I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.
I've learned that it's not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life that counts.
I've learned that you can get by on charm for about 15 minutes. After that, you'd better know something.
I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do, but to the best you can do.
I've learned that it's not what happens to people that's important. It's what they do about it.
I've learned that no matter how thin you slice it, there are always two sides.
I've learned that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
I've learned that it's a lot easier to react than it is to think.
I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
I've learned that you can keep going long after you think you can't.
I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I've learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I've learned that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place. (Amen to that!)
I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
I've learned that learning to forgive takes practice.
I've learned that there are people who love you dearly, but just don't know how to show it.
I've learned that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I've learned that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.
I've learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.
I've learned that I'm getting more and more like my grandma, and I'm kinda happy about it.
I've learned that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
I've learned that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.
I've learned that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
I've learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
I've learned that you should never tell a child her dreams are unlikely or outlandish. Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it would be if she believed it
I've learned that your family won't always be there for you. It may seem funny, but people you aren't related to can take care of you and love you and teach you to trust people again. Families aren't biological.
I've learned that no matter how good a friend someone is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
I've learned that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I've learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.
I've learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
I've learned that sometimes when my friends fight, I'm forced to choose sides even when I don't want to.
I've learned that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
I've learned that sometimes you have to put the individual ahead of their actions.
I've learned that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
I've learned that if you don't want to forget something, stick it in your underwear drawer.
I've learned that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.
I've learned that the clothes I like best are the ones with the most holes in them.
I've learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
I've learned that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the process.
I've learned that there are many ways of falling and staying in love.
I've learned that no matter the consequences, those who are honest with themselves, get farther in life.
I've learned that many things can be powered by the mind, the trick is self-control.
I've learned that no matter how many friends you have, if you are their pillar, you will feel lonely and lost at the times you need them most.
I've learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.
I've learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.
I've learned that writing, as well as talking, can ease emotional pains.
I've learned that the paradigm we live in is not all that is offered to us.
I've learned that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I've learned that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon.
I've learned that although the word "love" can have many different meaning, it loses value when overly used.
I've learned that it's hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people's feelings and standing up for what you believe.
I pray one or two of these things I have learned will help someone today:)
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
This week we delve into the Book of Isaiah
Who wrote the book?
As is the case with nearly all the books of “the prophets,” the book of Isaiah takes its name from its writer. Isaiah was married to a prophetess who bore him at least two sons (Isaiah 7:3; 8:3). He prophesied under the reign of four Judean kings—Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (1:1)—and he likely met his death under a fifth, the evil King Manasseh. Christian tradition as early as the second century identifies Isaiah as one of the prophets whose death is described in Hebrews 11:37, specifically the prophet who was “sawn in two.”1 Isaiah likely lived in Jerusalem, given the book’s concern with the city (Isaiah 1:1) and his close proximity to at least two significant kings during the period of his prophecy (7:3; 38:1).
Much of scholarship for the past two centuries has assigned multiple writers to Isaiah, dividing the book into three sections: 1–39, 40–55, and 56–66. However, these divisions come out of a scholarly denial of predictive prophecy. This position not only limits the power of God to communicate with His people but also ignores the wide variety of specific, predictive claims about Jesus Christ scattered throughout the book.
Where are we?
Isaiah prophesied from 739–681 BC to a nation that had turned a deaf ear to the Lord. Instead of serving Him with humility and offering love to their neighbors, the nation of Judah offered meaningless sacrifices in God’s temple at Jerusalem and committed injustices throughout the nation. The people of Judah turned their backs on God and alienated themselves from Him, which created the need for Isaiah’s pronouncements of judgment—declarations made in the hope that God’s chosen people would return to Him.
Why is Isaiah so important?
The book of Isaiah provides us with the most comprehensive prophetic picture of Jesus Christ in the entire Old Testament. It includes the full scope of His life: the announcement of His coming (Isaiah 40:3–5), His virgin birth (7:14), His proclamation of the good news (61:1), His sacrificial death (52:13–53:12), and His return to claim His own (60:2–3). Because of these and numerous other christological texts in Isaiah, the book stands as a testament of hope in the Lord, the One who saves His people from themselves.
What's the big idea?
Isaiah’s overall theme receives its clearest statement in chapter 12: “Behold, God is my salvation, / I will trust and not be afraid” (Isaiah 12:2). This echoes the meaning of Isaiah’s name, which means the “salvation of Yahweh.”2 Having read the book, one might wonder about the strong presence of judgment that runs through the first thirty-nine chapters when the theme is salvation. How can the two coexist? The presence of judgment indicates its necessity for salvation to occur. Before we can have salvation, we must have a need for it!
So the bulk of those early chapters in Isaiah detail judgments against the people who have turned their backs on the Lord, showing us that those who persist in their rebellion will receive judgment. On the other hand, we also see God’s faithfulness to His promise. He will preserve a small remnant of faithful believers, those who will continue on into the glorious renewed world He has prepared for His children in the end times (65:17–66:24).
How do I apply this?
Because of its scope, Isaiah contains one of the clearest expressions of the gospel in all the Old Testament. Even from the first chapter, it is clear that the people have turned away from God and failed in their responsibilities as His children (Isaiah 1:2–17). Yet God miraculously holds out hope to this unrepentant people, offering cleansing of sins and the blessing that comes with faith and obedience in Him (1:18–20). Salvation lies only in God—the only question is whether or not we will accept His offer.
In addition to its gospel message, the book of Isaiah clearly articulates the sins of God’s people—dealing with others unjustly which resulted in their offering hypocritical sacrifices to God. Do you see anything in your own life that might fall under Isaiah’s critique of injustice—treating family, colleagues, or even strangers with unkindness or even disdain? Isaiah’s message is also a call for believers to come back to purity in our love for God and for our neighbors (Luke 10:26–28).
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
Ho'omaikaʻi ka Pua iā kākou