Monday Morning Humor:

If you are watching from a phone here is the link: Monday Morning Humor

Monday Morning Humor:

If you are watching from a phone here is the link: Monday Morning Humor

Preparing for Sunday:

The Christian life is lived from Lord’s Day to Lord’s Day. Corporate worship is the high point of our week and the constant rhythm of our lives. We dare not “neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some” (Heb. 10:25), because there is nothing as meaningful, rich, and glorious on earth as the church gathering together with its Lord and Savior in worship. Most Christians believe this, but does it translate to our practice? Or is the moment we are sitting in the pew or the auditorium chair the first time we think about corporate worship in our week?

I would suggest that if corporate worship is as significant as the Scriptures portray it to be (Ex. 19;Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 11:17-34; 1 Cor. 14:26-39; Heb. 10:25) then we should prepare for it. We count preaching as significant, so we expect our pastor will prepare his sermon before he enters the pulpit. We consider worship songs important, so we expect our music teams, pianists, and organists will appropriately prepare before sitting down at their instruments. We believe our engagement in corporate worship is essential, so we should also expect to prepare even as we expect the pastor and musicians to prepare for their participation in the Sunday morning service. How can you prepare for worship? Here are a few ideas:

• Seize the Rest of the Week: Practice family worship and secret worship throughout the week knowing that this will inform and encourage your experience in corporate worship.
• Be Boring: Go to bed early on Saturday night. Friday nights can be filled with late-night activity, but Saturday nights should routinely be safeguarded. Sleepy heads make for drowsy worshippers.
• Right Attitude: Cultivate a spirit of joy on Sunday mornings in your home. If this is the highlight of our week, then let’s act like it. Talk about how wonderful the day is going to be, wake the kids up with excitement, turn on good Christian music for the whole family to listen to, and put a smile on your face.
• Media Blackout: Refrain from turning on the television, watching Netflix, or catching up on Facebook Sunday mornings. Our minds are so easily distracted. Safeguard your mental space.
• Plan Ahead: Lay out your Sunday morning clothes on Saturday night, so you don’t have to change ten times on Sunday morning before finding an outfit that fits well, looks right, or is ironed (of course, this point was not intentionally directed to any particular sex!).
• Don’t Be Surprised: Read and think through the Sunday morning text earlier in the week. We should seldom be surprised at the passage we hear preached. Working our way through a passage throughout the week provides more fertile soil on Sunday morning.
• Early Bird: Rise early on Sunday morning and spend time reading the Word, praying, and meditating to prepare your heart for worship.
• Talk & Drive: On the car-ride to church talk about the passage that will be preached, sing a hymn together, and converse about the things of God.
• Timing it Right: Give yourself enough time on Sunday mornings. Rise early enough that the morning isn’t rushed. Leave home with plenty of time to spare. Try not to arrive at church late or even a few minutes before the service. Rushing out the door at home and rushing in the door at church has stymied many worshippers.
• Collect Your Thoughts: Sit-down, read through the bulletin (if you have one), think through the songs, meditate on the Scripture readings, and pray before the service begins.

 For the Christian, there is no sweeter moment in the week than Sunday morning. How good it is to meet with God and His people! Because it is part of our weekly activity, there is a temptation to treat it as common and routine. May it never be! One of the ways to ensure that this is not the case with us is to prepare our hearts, minds, and souls for corporate worship each week. Take the time and effort, your soul will be the beneficiary.

Original Article: Preparing for Sunday Worship

Ezekiel 16: A Stunning Portrait of Grace

This morning I was reading threw my Bible and came to Ezekiel 16 and was stopped in my reading. I was struck with the "semi-pornographic" way Ezekiel 16 rebukes sin. The offensive language that Ezekiel uses is intended to shock the Israelites out of their complacency and send a wake-up call shivering up their spines. Most of all Ezekiel 16 is a stunning portrait of grace. Inasmuch as the Israelites resemble human nature as a whole, this allegory reveals God's love for you and me. So let's read Ezekiel 16 as if it were our autobiography. In many ways it is. But in order to get inside the story and make it our own, we'll have to contemporarize it a bit. So here's the allegory of Ezekiel 16-remixed.

Your father was a pimp and your mother was a prostitute. Your mom found a lucrative way to fund her drug habit by having sex with multiple men, until your father took her in (and a few others) to live under his roof. When a pimp lives with a prostitute, one thing leads to another, and that's where you came in. With the help of some crack and a bottle of Jack, you were conceived and immediately unwanted. Too scared to have an abortion, your mother waited until you were born, then casually dumped you-her newborn daughter-in a nearby garbage can.

Minutes later, a stranger walked by and heard the squalling from inside the bin. He opened the lid and found you-squirming in your blood, expelling your last breath of life. The stranger's 911 call miraculously summoned an ambulance within minutes, and you were saved. But still unwanted.

The stranger couldn't bear the thought of sending you to a foster home, so he signed some papers and took you into his home. But "home" is an understatement. Your new father was the CEO of a multimillion-dollar business. Your new home was a small castle, and your future life would be paradisaical. And he was a good man too. Humble, strong, generous, and honest. Your new father possessed an unusual joy, which he never failed to shower on you. His time, his money his affection, his attention-they were all yours. There was nothing you lacked. All the storybook tales combined could not compare to your Utopian life. You were the envy of all your friends and the prized possession of a father who had it all. From his perspective, though "having it all" meant having you. You were the source of his uncanny joy.

But something snapped when you turned sixteen. The boys at school started noticing your body and didn't hide their stares. Stares turned to comments. Comments turned to caresses. And caresses opened the floodgates of a different kind of love-one that was both exhilarating and empty, but too addicting to resist. So at the age of sixteen, you moved out of your father's house, leaving him in pools of tears. You didn't hide the fact that you were happily leaving him in order to fornicate with your new boyfriend. The more he wept, the more you laughed, as you skidded off in your boyfriend's Camaro.

Your adolescent love affair was only the beginning. Before long, your boyfriend's buddies took a liking to you, and the flirtatious cycle was revisited. Soon, mere sex with your boyfriend became boring, so his friends were added to the mix. But even orgies became dull over time, and drugs, alcohol, and other men -older and creepier- joined in the hellish dance. Your dream of freedom and love had turned into a nightmare.

But nothing can compare to the pain of the day when your boyfriend decided to mail a picture of you to our father's house. Delighted to catch a glimpse of his princess, your father laid his eyes upon a sullied whore. Your once silky hair was frayed and knotted. Your eyes-the windows to your soul-were dark and sunken. Devoid of life. And the bruises on your face revealed that your boyfriend's love had run dry. Daddy's baby girl was the not-so-prized possession of half a dozen drug-infused teenagers. And there was nothing he could do.

Sex, drugs, and imaginative acts of depravity piled up as you lived the next two years satisfying your misguided lust for life on nameless boys who used and abused you. Yet you still used them to satisfy your craving to be loved. You gave one boy the car Daddy bought you on your sweet sixteen. Your boyfriend's other girlfriend took the dress your father made. And you sold the necklace that belonged to your grandmother to buy heroin for another man. Yet the beatings continued. Soon your bank account ran out, and you took to the streets to sell your body in order to keep a steady flow of heroin pumping through your veins.

And heaven began to rumble with furious excitement.

Now you're sitting in your room. Your "friends" are gone and you are all alone. Coming down off a high, you begin to feel depressed and lonely; your humanity is slipping away. So you head for another hit to numb the pain. Just then, someone kicks open the door and a burst of fear squeezes your heart. The bruises on your body are tender reminders that your new home is never safe. Kicked-in doors are a regular occurrence, and they lead only to pain. Or sex. Both, actually.

The fear runs deep. Maybe it's the suddenness of the blast. Or maybe you just need to feed your starving addiction. Your pale quickly changes as you see the man standing at the threshold. It's your father. Your fear intensifies. You recall the day you sped away from his house laughing as he stood on his lawn weeping. How did he find you? Why has he come? Is he, too, going to beat you after all you've done?

His tears speak otherwise. His face glistens with joy. His hands tremble. You can hear his heart thump through his chest. Tears cascade down his cheeks, but now they look different. These are tears of adoration and triumph. And they are flowing because your daddy has found his baby girl. The one who found you wailing in a Dumpster has once again taken the initiative to redeem you and enjoy you again.

Confused, enthralled, terrified, overjoyed- you can't move.

But your father can. He races across the room to swallow you with an embrace-the first nonsexual touch you have felt in years. A touch that radiates more love than all your sexual encounters put together. You finally feel safe. Loved. Forgiven instantly, as your dad gathers your face in his hands and declares:

"I'll restore the relationship we had when you were young, only this time it will be better. It will last forever, and nothing will lure you away from me again. You'll remember your past life and face the shame of it, but when I shower you with the good life you had as before, it will make your shame fade from your memory. Don't try to fix it. I'll fix it for you. I'll make everything right after all you've done, and it will leave you speechless." (Ezekiel 16:60-63).

Help With Evangelism:

I have had the privilege of engaging in hundreds of Gospel conversations. I have shared with atheists, agnostics, and individuals from every major world religion. I have been asked to leave malls, talked to by police officers, and even escorted off a college campus. Needless to say I love sharing my faith. I have found though, that a lot of Christians do not share my excitement when it comes to evangelism. Most would love to share their faith but they simply don't know how. Below is the RCCR method of evangelism which I keep in mind when sharing my faith...

Relate: Most of us can strike up a conversation with a stranger in the natural realm. It may be a friendly "How are you doing?" or a sincere "Good morning!" If the person responds with a sense of warmth, we may then ask, "Do you live around here?" and from there develop a conversation.

Create: This involves mentioning the things of God. This will take courage. We may say something like, "Did you go to church on Sunday?" or "Did you see that Christian TV program last week?" If the person responds positively, the question "Do you have a Christian background?" will probe his background. He may answer, "I went to church when I was a child, but I drifted away from it." Another simple way to swing to the spiritual is to offer the person a gospel track and ask, "Did you get one of these?" When he takes it, simply say, "It's a gospel tract. Do you come from a Christian background?"

Convict: Jesus, Paul and others in the Bible use the Law to bring "the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:19-20). We can do the same by asking, "Do you think you have kept the Ten Commandments?" Most people think they have, so quickly follow with, "Have you ever told a lie?" This is confrontational, but if it's asked in a spirit of love and gentleness, there won't be any offense. This is because the "work of the Law is written in their hearts" and their conscience will also bear "witness" (Romans 2:15). Have confidence that the conscience will do its work and affirm the truth of each Commandment. Don't be afraid to ask, "Have you ever stolen anything, even if it's small?" Make sure you get an admission of guilt. Then ask the person, "If God judges you by the Ten Commandments, do you think you will be innocent or guilty?" If he says he will be innocent, ask, "Why is that?" If he admits his guilt, ask, "Do you think you will go to heaven or hell?"

Reveal: Once the Law has humbled the person, he is ready for grace. The Gospel is for the humble. Only the sick need a phyician, and only those who will admit that they have the disease of sin will truly embrace the cure of the gospel. Learn how to present the work of the cross-that God sent His Son to suffer and die in our place, and that Jesus rose from the dead and defeated death. Take the person back to civil law and say, "It's as simple as this: We broke God's Law, and Jesus paid our fine. If you will repent and trust in the Savior, God will forgive your sins and dismiss your case."
Ask him if he understands what you have told him. If he is willing to confess and forsake his sins, and trust the Savior with his eternal salvation, have him pray and ask God to forgive him. Then pray for him. Get him a Bible. Instruct him to read it daily and obey what he reads, and encourage him to get into a Bible-believing, Christ-preaching church.

I pray these principles will help you feel more comfortable and will result in a passion for reaching the lost. Now, GO and share your faith while there is still time.

Immanuel: God With Us

If you are watching from a phone here is the link: IMMANUEL

Monday Morning Humor:

If you are watching from a phone here is the link: Monday Morning Humor

A Prayer for Piper:

If you are watching from a phone here is the link: A Mother's Prayer:

The True Story of Santa Clause

The larger-than-life myths surrounding Santa Claus actually emanate from the very real person of Saint Nicholas. It is difficult to know the exact details of his life with certainty, as the ancient records are sparse, but the various pieces can be put together as a mosaic of his life.

A Gift-Giver
Nicholas was born in the third century in Patara, a village in what is now Turkey. He was born into an affluent family, but his parents died tragically when he was quite young. His parents had raised him to be a devout Christian, which led him to spend his great inheritance on helping the poor, especially children. He was known to frequently give gifts to children, sometimes even hanging socks filled with treats and presents.

Perhaps his most famous act of kindness was helping three sisters. Because their family was too poor to pay for their wedding dowry, three young Christian women were facing a life of prostitution until Nicholas paid their dowry, thereby saving them from a horrible life of sexual slavery.

A Bishop and Saint
Nicholas grew to be a well-loved Christian leader and was eventually voted the Bishop of Myra, a port city that the apostle Paul had previously visited (Acts 27:5-6). Nicholas reportedly also traveled to the legendary Council of Nicaea, where he helped defend the deity of Jesus Christ in A.D. 325.

Following his death on December 6, 343, he was canonized as a saint. The anniversary of his death became the St. Nicholas holiday when gifts were given in his memory. He remained a very popular saint among Catholic and Orthodox Christians, with some two thousand churches named after him. The holiday in his honor eventually merged with Christmas, since they were celebrated within weeks of one another.

Misnomer
During the Reformation, however, Nicholas fell out of favor with Protestants, who did not approve of canonizing certain people as saints and venerating them with holidays. His holiday was not celebrated in any Protestant country except Holland, where his legend as Sinterklass lived on. In Germany, Martin Luther replaced him with the Christ child as the object of holiday celebration, or, in German, Christkindl. Over time, the celebration of the Christ child was simply pronounced Kris Kringle and oddly became just another name for Santa Claus.

Folklore
The legends about Santa Claus are most likely a compilation of other folklore. For example, there was a myth in Nicholas' day that a demon was entering people's homes to terrorize children and that Nicholas cast it out of a home. This myth may explain why it was eventually believed that he came down people's chimneys.

Also, there was a Siberian myth (near the North Pole) that a holy man, or shaman, entered people's homes through their chimneys to leave them mushrooms as gifts. According to the legend, he would hang them in front of the fire to dry. Reindeer would reportedly eat them and become intoxicated. This may have started the myth that the reindeer could fly, as it was believed that the shaman could also fly. This myth may have merged with the Santa Claus myth, and if so, explains him traveling from the North Pole to slide down chimneys and leave presents on fireplace mantles before flying away with reindeer.

These stories of Santa Claus were first brought to America by Dutch immigrants. In the early twentieth century, stores began having Santa Claus present for children during the Christmas season. Children also began sending letters to the North Pole as the legends surrounding an otherwise simple Christian man grew.

In conclusion, Saint Nick was a wonderful man who loved and served Jesus faithfully. He reminds us of what it looks like for someone to live a life of devotion to Jesus as God.

Never Underestimate the Power of Thanksgiving:

There are days when I wish I was an African American Preacher. I wish I was an African American preacher because then I could stand before a group of people and in a loud booming voice say, "Never Underestimate the Power of Thanksgiving!"

However,

I am not an African American preacher but rather a "slightly" over-weight white boy who dreams to tell people to "never underestimate the power of Thanksgiving!" Giving thanks is an important concept in the Bible and is used over 40 times by the Apostle Paul, alone. From these uses we learn that thankfulness is a mental and/or verbal expression of one’s acknowledgement and appreciation of God’s person, His grace, blessings, and sovereign work in one’s life and the world.

The power of thanksgiving is important because it focuses our attention from all that we do not have to all that we do have. I repeat, the power of thanksgiving is important because it focuses our attention from all that we do not have to all that we do have. What are you thankful for this year? Below, is a list of the things I am thankful for:

1) My relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.

2) My wife, Julia.

3) My daughter, Piper.

4) My church family who edify, encourage, and equip me.

5) The teens and their parents who make up the greatest youth group in NC.

God has blessed Julia and I in numerous ways this year. I encourage you to take a moment this Thanksgiving season and thank God for all He has given you and remember to never underestimate the power of Thanksgiving!

The Day I Encountered Ebola:

America is stricken with Ebola fear. Listen quietly to any conversation and eventually the conversation will turn to Ebola. In fact right down the road from where I live a middle school will not allow a teacher to return to work after her mission trip to South Africa because of fear she might encounter Ebola. I'm not sure if anyone has realized this but South Africa is 3,000 miles away from West Africa approximately the difference between California and Maine. In fact those of us living in North Carolina are closer to West Africa and the Ebola outbreak than she will be when she travels to South Africa. At any rate, the fear is real.

Whenever Ebola comes up in conversation I typically sit quietly and nod my head while people verbally express their fear. I may look like I am paying attention to their conversation but my mind is going back to April 2014 when we had an Ebola scare in Ghana...

As many of you know Julia and I spent the last two years working at a Baptist Hospital in Northern Ghana which is located in West Africa. Our hospital was staffed by Ghanaian doctors and nurses, full-time doctors from the IMB and Samaritans Purse and volunteer doctors, residents, and medical students. In April, a possible case of Ebola was discovered in Kumasi, Ghana which is located six hours south of where we lived. Medical schools in America received word of a possible Ebola case and contacted all of the volunteers serving at the hospital and told them they had to leave Ghana. Six medical students stricken with fear woke up the volunteer coordinator and his family in the wee hours of the morning and insisted on being driven three hours over bad roads to the airport. A team of fifteen volunteers from the University of West Virginia who were waiting in the capital city of Accra canceled their trip up North because of the Ebola fear and all volunteers left because it was "too dangerous". When the volunteers left, they left behind four families including ours to pick up the slack. Julia, Piper, and I woke up the next morning to a mass exodus of volunteers leaving the hospital because it was "too dangerous" for them to serve at the hospital. I remember looking at my wife and four month old baby daughter and realizing that we had to stay. We couldn't pack up and leave because it was "too dangerous". We had to stay. Never in my life had I felt so alone and afraid, but at the same time comforted by God. I went to the hospital and prayed over the wards with the patients and while I was nervous I knew that God would be with us. I remember leaving the hospital for the day, holding Piper in my arms and talking with Julia about our plan if the Ebola patient's test came back positive. We walked through several scenarios but in the end we decided that we would/could not leave. Whatever happened we would stay the course. Thankfully, a few days later the test came pack negative and there was no Ebola in Ghana. We rejoiced with the other families who lived on the compound and thanked God for his provision and sustaining grace.

Ebola is scary. Most diseases which the average person knows little to nothing about are scary. As Christians though, we need not fear Ebola and should be the voice of calm and reason in the midst of a stressful situation. As Christians there are four responses we should do before we begin to fear Ebola....

1) Education: We need to educate ourselves about the disease. We need to understand that most of the cases of Ebola are transmitted from person to person through contact with secretions of an infected person. Some transmissions have occurred by accident in medical staff with staff working with patients infected with the disease. Ebola is not an air-borne disease so we do NOT need to panic. Here is a great blog to help educate yourself (What Christians Should Know About the Ebola Crisis:)

2) Pray: Please be in prayer for West Africa. Please be in prayer for those infected both at home and abroad. Please be in prayer for medical workers and missionaries who put their lives on the line everyday to help serve others. Pray God uses this crisis to spread a supremacy for His name among all peoples.

3) Remember: Please remember those serving on the front lines. Julia and I may be home in America but we left friends and co-workers behind who are giving their lives to minister to the least of these and show/share the love of Christ. Please remember our missionaries serving in West Africa.

4) Minister: Encourage those you know who are serving in the medical field. Pray for the countries affected by this disease. Do NOT add to Ebola hysteria. Guard your tongue when speaking about the disease. Please attempt to be a voice of reason and calm in the midst of a stressful situation.

Ebola is a scary disease. Most things unknown are. I fear; however, that as Christians we are becoming known for what we fear rather than being known for showing love and serving the least of these. Christians should not be running around scared but should remain calm in the midst of a stressful situation. While this outbreak may have been a surprise for the world, it was not a surprise for our God. His unstoppable will continues under His inscrutable wisdom. Not one inch of the universe escapes the control of our Lord. For those of us who believe in a sovereign God, we know we're called to remain calm in the midst of the storm. We find confidence not primarily in the belief that science will control this outbreak or that we will not be affected. Rather, we hope in the Lord.

In conclusion, let believers be the voice of peace amid the confusion. While much of this disease is still unknown, it is equally true that panic will not help us. The unbelieving world needs to see our trust in God amid this difficulty. We must educate ourselves, pray for Nations and individuals afflicted with the disease, remember our missionaries in West Africa, and minister to others.

Halloween: To Celebrate OR Not to Celebrate

Halloween is controversial for Christians, and especially for Christian parents. There are blog posts on why you should celebrate Halloween and blog posts on why you shouldn’t, and on and on it goes.

I am not going to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. Nor am I going to go into the origins of the holiday. What I am going to do is make a simple request: Can we please stop judging each other and breaking fellowship over a simple day?

A SIMPLE DAY

I know even using the words “simple day” is going to make some people uncomfortable. I am aware of all that is at stake if you celebrate Halloween and all that you could miss out on if you don’t. But I am calling everyone out there to remember for just a couple minutes that your standing before God doesn’t change depending on what you do on October 31. To be honest, it doesn’t change no matter what you do any day of the year.

You could throw the biggest block party, and hundreds of people could get saved because of the light you were to your community—and God loves you exactly the same way he loves the other family who listened to the convictions of her heart and stayed home.

NOT A MATTER OF TRICKING OR TREATING

It is often said that some of our best obedience is laced with our worst sins, and this is true of the “how we do Halloween” question. We believe we are being obedient, and then we self-righteously judge everyone who doesn’t believe the same thing we do. God uses us all differently, and he convicts us of how to raise our families differently. Can we please stop pushing each other into our own little boxes?

Your standing before God doesn’t change depending on what you do on October 31.

I am sure you could find verses that back up whatever your position is. Great! Be sure you know why you believe what you believe.Romans 14:5 says, “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” So yes! Know why you do what you do on Halloween, but now hear the words that come soon after that verse, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of [tricking or treating] but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17, my paraphrase).

WE ARE A FAMILY

Beloved, can we please remember that we are all made righteous before God because of the work of Christ? Can we recall that we have peace with God because our Savior removed every obstacle to our relationship with God and with each other? Can we meditate on the joy that the Holy Spirit brings as he reminds us of these truths? And can we please stop trying to find our righteousness, peace, and joy in our own traditions?

We are a family, and we don’t have to agree about all the little details of daily life. We can be different from each other, have different convictions, and work out those convictions in different ways.

Whatever you do this coming Friday, in word or deed, do it for  God’s glory, not your own. 

Original Article: Halloween is not important:

Tough Question: What Happens To Animals When They Die?

Question: What Happens To Animals When They Die?

This is not a frivolous question. We know that people get very attached to animals, particularly their household pets. The little girl with her kitten or the man and his dog illustrate the affection that passes between humans and animals.

Traditionally, many have been persuaded that there is no future life for animals. The Bible does not explicitly teach that animals go to heaven. One of the key arguments against the idea that animals do not survive the grave is the conviction that animals do not have souls. Many are convinced that the distinctive aspect that divides humans from animals is that humans have souls and animals do not. Some locate the image of God in man in the soul.

Likewise it is assumed that animals cannot think as we do. Their responses are explained by instinct rather than lower forms of cognition. However, the term instinct is a study in ambiguity. When does instinct become thought? Animals can display what we call emotion. They surely respond to external stimuli.

The Bible doesn't say that animals think. But neither does the Bible deny these things. To be sure, the Bible says he donkey knows his master's crib (Isa. 1:3). Here "knowledge" is assigned to animal. However, the passage could be interpreted metaphorically or poetically, so we remain uncertain.

One thing we are sure of: biblically, redemption is spelled out in cosmic terms. Just as the whole creation was plunged into ruin by the fall of man, so the whole creation groans together, awaiting redemption: "For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Rom. 8:19-21).

Images of heaven and future redemption include animals. The lamb, the lion, and the wolf are all mentioned. Again, these images may be only metaphorically illustrative. But coupled with the promise of cosmic redemption, they lend some real hope to the future redemption of man's animal companions.

In her excellent book about Heaven, Joni Eareckson Tada says, "If God brings our pets back to life, it wouldn't surprise me. It would be just like Him. It would be totally in keeping with His generous character...Exorbitant. Excessive. Extravagant in grace after grace. Of all the dazzling discoveries and ecstatic pleasures heaven will hold for us, the potential of seeing Scrappy would be pure whimsy-utterly, joyfully, surprisingly superluous...Heaven is going to be a place that will refract and reflect in as many ways as possible the goodness and joy of our great God, who delights in lavishing love on His children."

In conclusion, the question of whether pets will be in Heaven is not, as some assume frivolous or stupid. Animals aren't nearly as valuable as people, but God is their Maker and has touched many people's lives through them. It would be simple for him to re-create a pet in Heaven if he wants to. He's the giver of all good gifts, not the taker of them. If it would please us to have a pet restored to the New Earth, that may be sufficient reason. The Bible lends real hope that you will see your pet again if it means that much to you.

He Is Alive:

In the year that Kind Uzziah died I saw the Lord...-Isaiah 6:1

Today, people all over the United States of America will cast their vote for the next President. Many people are afraid for the future of this country. This election season has divided Americans like none other. Many are afraid; however, regardless of who wins we should not be afraid. 

We should not fear because God is alive! God was the living God when the universe was created. He was the living God when dinosaurs roamed the earth. He was the living God when the English arrived in America and established the Plymouth colonies and He will be the living God long after all of us have departed from this planet. John Piper says, “God will be the living God ten trillion ages from now when all the puny potshots against his reality will have sunk into oblivion like BB’s at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.”

We are living in the midst of a scary time but regardless of who is in the White House; GOD will still be on His throne. God will still be ruling and reigning from Heaven. In a brief 110 years this planet will be populated by a brand new set of people and all seven billion of us alive today will have vanished off the earth like Uzziah. But not God! He never had a beginning and therefore depends on nothing for His existence. He always has been and always will be alive and on His throne.

My Response to Brittany Maynard's Story:

Yesterday, my Facebook news feed was filled with individuals re-posting a story about a 29 year old female who was diagnosed with a terminal illness and moved to Oregon to end her life on November 1st. Here is a link to the article if you would like to read it (Choosing the Day You Die:) The article has opened up a discussion on euthanasia, suffering, and the sovereignty of God. Below is my response to the article...

Watching anyone, especially a loved one, suffer is extremely difficult. Suffering is a result of the fall, and it is natural to want to avoid it. Wanting to end suffering through euthanasia, however, opposes two of God's principles.

The first relates to the importance of suffering. InPhilippians 1:19-26, Paul writes,

for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

When he wrote this, Paul was under house arrest in Rome. His movements were limited, although he could receive guests. He would have welcomed death—a heavenly euthanasia. But he understood how little suffering mattered compared to God's plan in his life. Several years later, Paul was imprisoned again. He was not under house arrest this time, but in a stone cell. Most of his companions had deserted him. His closest friends were miles away, ministering to others. Despite these horrible conditions, he wrote to Timothy, "Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory" (2 Timothy 2:10). Again, Paul knew God had a plan. In order to fulfill that plan, Paul needed to be in a dark, dank prison cell. That being the case, Paul was willing to suffer.

We, too, need to have faith that God's plan for those who suffer is in their best interests. They may have to live through difficult seasons of pain and disease and exhibit great humility as others care for them. They may even have to stay on this earth longer than they'd wish to. Even in the midst of the suffering, God is working, and will continue until we draw our very last breath (Philippians 1:6).

The second truth euthanasia opposes is the sovereignty of God in His creations. God ordains the days of our lives (Psalm 139:16). Death is inevitable (Psalm 89:48), but it is also controlled (Hebrews 9:27). And active euthanasia is murder. Even when motivated by the most selfless desire to end someone's suffering, active euthanasia is still sin because it is done in rebellion to God's will and in rejection of His plan.

But causing a death and allowing a death are not the same. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we are to go to extraordinary measures to save a life if the person wishes otherwise. It is not unbiblical to shut off machines that keep a person alive. If the person has made his or her wishes known in a living will, or is in a persistent vegetative state, it may even be the duty of a loved one to make that call. Reluctance would be natural. Death was not God's plan for His creation (Genesis 2:17).

Death is inevitable, but it is not our place to actively seek death for a loved one. Like Paul, we need to believe God when He says, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9). God has control over the timing of our death (Psalm 89:48). Until then, "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!" (Psalm 150:6).