#lentenramblings

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Dinosaurs and the Bible.

Friday, March 23 - Day 35 of Lent.

I am not going to try and find the answer to this, but I will share my thoughts on it from my Bible-reading and research. One theory supporting dinosaurs in the Bible is that dinosaurs were created by God, became corrupt and then were wiped out in the flood. Another theory is that they even went onto the ark with Noah, but were wiped out afterwards.

The traditional depiction of dinosaurs as gigantic and ferocious lizards makes it hard to believe that God would have included them in the garden of Eden. Yet, before sin corrupted life, isn’t it possible that dinosaurs might have been peaceful?

Isaiah 11:6-7 shares this picture of heaven:

   “ The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,      The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,      The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;      And a little child shall lead them.      The cow and the bear shall graze;      Their young ones shall lie down together;      And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. "

Perhaps animals were always made to be peaceful, but when the forbidden fruit was eaten and sin was introduced, so was death and corruption. After all, we have proof that serpents could walk and climb trees before the fall of mankind. So anything could have been possible.

Here is an interesting set of verses from the book of Job, which is deemed one of the oldest books in the bible. He describes a creature, the “behemoth” that fits the description of a dinosaur (brackets are added by me):

15 “Look now at the behemoth,which I made along with you; he eats grass like an ox. 16See now, his strength is in his hips, and his power is in his stomach muscles (big stomach). 17 He moves his tail like a cedar (big tail); the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. 18 His bones are like beams of bronze, his ribs like bars of iron. 19He is the first of the ways of God (biggest thing that God has created, big as He is); only He who made him can bring near His sword (only God can come near him). 20Surely the mountains yield food for him, and all the beasts of the field play there. 21 He lies under the lotus trees, in a covert of reeds and marsh. 22The lotus trees cover him with their shade; the willows by the brook surround him. 23 Indeed the river may rage, yet he is not disturbed; he is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth, 24 Though he takes it in his eyes, or one pierces his nose with a snare."

Some think that this description matches that of a hippo or an elephant. However, neither a hippo nor an elephant match the description of the tail moving like a cedar tree, as elephants’ and hippos’ tails are tiny! Furthermore, the phrase, “He is the first of the ways of God”, in the original Hebrew translates to “he is the BIGGEST animal that God created”. Although the elephant and hippo are large, they are not even one tenth of the size of a Brachiosaurus, the largest dinosaur ever to exist. Take the Brachiosaurus and try to apply it to the above description. It works! Furthermore, the phrase, “Only He who made him can bring near His sword” directly states that no mere human can approach this creature with a sword. Ask yourself, how easy is it to go near an elephant? Granted, it’s not the simplest thing, but don’t tell me that no human could possibly ever near one with a sword. A dinosaur makes more sense here.

There’s another similar description of a dinosaur-like creature in Job 41:1-2,7,12-32. This description is interesting because it references the Leviathan, a creature who is of the sea and breathes fire. The history books of many cultures refer to ‘fire-breathing dragons’ in their ancient tales. It’s a wonder why, across  many different cultures, it was always a dragon, and not like, a lion or something. That is because the fire-breathing dragons are likely based on truth. The Leviathan also has armour that makes iron look “like straw”, and arrows “cannot make it flee”. The descriptions indeed do not fit any earthly creature that we know of, and could reference dinosaurs that existed before the flood.

Remember, only after sin was death created! You cannot have death before sin, and sin only came in the Garden of Eden.

The common belief of how dinosaurs became extinct is that a large object from space (meteor or the like) hit the earth, and raised enough dust to block out the sun for months. Plants and animals died. But this doesn’t explain why some life-forms survived and others didn’t. Why was extinction selective?

From a biblical perspective, a likely reason for the extinction of the dinosaurs is the worldwide flood detailed in Genesis 6-7. After the flood, mankind changed from being able to live about 900 years, to gradually only living 80-120 years. It was possible that God made a class of very large animals perish in the flood, because He knew that the strength of man would decrease, and that such animals would not be able to be controlled by feeble man anymore. 

Alternatively, a theory in which the dinosaurs survived the flood is still biblically sound. I mean, consider this: If the flood drowned the dinosaurs, it certainly would never have drowned the sea dinosaurs. Everything that exists in the sea before the flood still exists today. But the fact is that approximately 95% of the world’s seas have not yet been discovered. Let that sink in for a moment. Who knows what could still be down there?

If dinosaurs escaped the ark, the dramatic change in climate due to the falling of the “waters from above” that are referenced in Genesis 1:6, would have caused many dinosaurs to perish in the sudden heat, as well as being an explanation for the drop in the life-expectancy for humans (because the sun was now shining directly on them, without the water blocking the sun from above). So, dinosaurs started dropping like flies. Furthermore, in the same way that hunters kill bears and other wild beasts who are a threat to their families, in a world where dinosaurs and man co-existed, it is only natural to assume that man hunted dinosaurs for thousands of years (according to this theory). 

How many bears, crocodiles and tigers are on suburban land today? Zero! And how many bears, crocodiles and tigers were on suburban land 100 years ago? Many! Dinosaurs were hunted and endangered as men continued to hunt them, as our very own familiar beasts are.

There are even theories to suggest that small dinosaurs (the unhunted), as well as the deep sea dinosaurs, still exist today! There have been numerous sightings of ‘sea serpents’ ‘monsters’ (Loch Ness, for example, a beast that has been sighted individually over 9000 times), and dinosaur-like creatures in countries all over the world. There is a swamp in the African Congo, which remains approximately 80% undiscovered and is the home to many natives. Scientific expeditions out there have recorded the natives reporting many sightings of ‘Mokele-mbembe’, a water-dwelling creature that looks identical to a dinosaur. 

I don’t believe it to be mere coincidence that the different monsters sighted in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the Congo and many other countries are all of similar size, shape and likeness to a dinosaur. More specifically, a chilling amount of them, from report, bear specific similarity to a Plesiosaurus. How can that be coincidence? Or anything else, especially given that the natives in the Congo -- who drew pictures of a Plesiosaurus when asked to produce an image of what ‘Mokele-mbembe’ looked like -- have literally zero communication with any other country in the world.

If this stuff interests you, please watch the first link provided below, as I can assure you there are hundreds of stories of similar sightings all over the world.

Another theory is that in God’s 7 days of creating the earth, the story did not mean��literal days. After all, as Peter says in 2 Peter 3:8:

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”

By this logic, the ‘day’ in which God created “the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind,” (Genesis 1:21) could have lasted a lot longer than our 24 hours of a day.

If you have time and would like to dive into the theory of creationism+dinosaurs, this lecture is an excellent one to watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsQIF7Yh3hI

Nobody was around to see what actually happened to dinosaurs. I wasn’t. You weren’t. Even Charles Darwin wasn’t. It seems that prior to the 19th century, the oldest historical text to follow was the Bible, and other reliable texts such as ancient wall-paintings, texts, myths, legends and stories (a lot of which included ‘fire breathing dragons’ or creatures of the like). For this reason, before the 19th century it is probable that many subscribed to the theory of creationism, or whatever was taught/proved as fact by these texts. After 1801, the beginning of the 19th century, technology made enough progression to welcome in other feasible theories based on what radioactive and carbon dating could ‘prove’ (please see link below for dispute on this by evolutionist-turned-Christian John Mackay). Is it possible that Satan used this technological development to plant incorrect theories in our minds about dinosaurs, so that we and our children would doubt the Bible? 

These are all very interesting questions. I have recently been listening to John Mackay, a man who used to be a devout evolutionist, but now devotes his life to disproving common theories of evolution. His interview below is definitely worth a watch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24T7ebvjdq4

And here is a clip of him debating Richard Dawkins casually! :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH2_j7bpsLo

Regardless of when or for how long dinosaurs existed, there is certainly support in the Bible that dinosaurs did, in fact, exist, and perhaps even in the time of mankind. Whether their extinction was by a meteor or the great flood, the integrity of the Bible does not suffer. If, for some reason, someone found a little dinosaur running around in some deep forest TODAY, it would not really affect our understanding of the Bible or our faith. Whereas, evolutionists would have to redefine and change their whole system of thought if they found a dinosaur in today’s world. 

The importance is, it doesn’t matter! Our faith is still the same! And it’s great!

[seeking-his-plan-blog]

Test the Spirits

Thursday, Feb 22 - Day 9 of Lent

1 John 4

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 

So we are onto Chapter 4 today. I figure I’d better speed things up if I hope to get through a few books this Lenten season. Although Lent is 46 days this year! So there’s a wee bit of extra time there.

We may be able to say that there are no literal false prophets, claiming to be God, in our immediate lives, but I can promise you they’re out there. What’s more, it is important for us to recognise that spirits exist, both of the good kind and the evil kind. I truly believe that the Devil will stop at nothing to win our souls.* And, given that he is a non-human being with intense powers, he, too, has the power to grant us “every wish that we could ever dream of” here on Earth. I believe that if we are self-serving enough, we could end up being blind to the fact that our ‘gifts’ might be coming from either God or Satan. Satan can give us everything that we want here on Earth: fame, success, money, fortune. But at a price. (That price is, sorry to say, your soul.) That is why it is important to ask for all things through Jesus, and through prayer, so that there can be no... crossed telephone lines.

There are supernatural occurrences happening frequently on this planet. You may be able to use the term ‘miracle’ for a lot of these happenings. But that doesn’t mean that they are coming from God. It’s important to know your enemy, and to know that he is capable of much more than our human brains could imagine. Recognise the enemy, but pray daily for the wisdom to distinguish between a spirit from God and that from the Devil.

5 (The evil spirits) are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

The nature of the Devil -- and of all spirits who come from him -- is selfish. He does not care for you, and he will cast you aside for eternity the moment he wins your soul. If you claim to know otherwise, you are wrong. Do not let the Devil trick your, quite frankly, basic, human brain into thinking that he cares about you. He doesn’t, and he never will. His entire existence is filled with stronger feelings of hatred than we could possibly imagine. We need to make sure that he gives up on even trying to win our souls, by proudly speaking the name of Jesus, and professing our faith in Him.

“Whoever is NOT from God does NOT listen to us. (Or care about us) By THIS we know the Spirit of TRUTH and the spirit of ERROR.”

* If anyone hasn’t read ‘The Screwtape Letters’ by C. S. Lewis, please do so!

[seeking-his-plan-blog]

Mark 9

Tuesday, March 13 - Day 26 of Lent

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39  But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40  For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.

It is no secret that charity is a virtue expected of us as Christians. I mean, throughout the New Testament, Jesus gave water multiple times to those who were thirsty, and food multiple times to those who were hungry. Of course, this water is symbolic of the water of life that only comes through believing in Jesus. But I think, more simply, it literally means that we should give water to those who are thirsty.

Whilst we are called to do something as big as spread the water/food of life (the Gospel) to other people, we must not forget to also be charitable to those in need. This is one of our callings as Christians. This could be through an act as small as giving a glass of water to someone. I think a lot of us can agree that we can certainly do a lot more of that type of thing, especially in a society that encourages serving of the self first and foremost.

This small segment of Mark is awesome because it reminds us that anything done in the name of God, is good. Anything done with pure intent, for the sake of His will, is good. Anything done with the purpose of living a Christlike life, is good. And anyone doing such things is unquestionably our brother or sister in Christ.

[seeking-his-plan-blog]

The Intercession of the Saints.

Tuesday, March 6 - Day 20 of Lent

11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

- Thesalonians 1: 11

The importance of praying for one another. Make no mistake, it is extremely important that we pray for one another. The words “pray for us” can be counted in multiple prayers for a reason. It is why we ask the Saints to pray for us, and in turn why we ask our Blessed Mother to pray for us. We read about the importance of praying for one another in Thessalonians 1. The chapter talks about how praying for one another naturally strengthens our love for one another. “3 ... because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” The chapter also talks about “suffering eternal destruction” for those who “do not know God” and “do not follow the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” - a subject about which I cannot seem to avoid reading, no matter which book I open.

On this, I thought I’d muse briefly about the importance of speaking to our Mother Mary and the Saints; a notion which is misunderstood by many. It seems a common misconception that we Catholics pray to the Saints and the Blessed Mother, as if they are some deity or equal to God in some way. I’ve had this discussion with quite a few people lately. 

As I noted above, it is important to pray for one another. We pray for one another, so that “the name of the Lord Jesus may be glorified within us”, according to the grace of the Father. Now, at this point I bring your attention to James 5: 16-18:

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is effects.

The prayer of a righteous man - one who is at peace with God, knows God and seeks God - is a very powerful one.

Consider this: The Christians IN HEAVEN are a lot more righteous than us, as they have been made PERFECT to stand in God’s presence. It is ludicrous and narrow-minded to suggest that we should refrain from asking our fellow Christians in Heaven to pray for us, something which we already know they are anxious and completely capable of doing. 

Our Blessed Mother and the Saints stand in the presence of our Father in Heaven. They are far closer to Him than we are. We know that they can pray for us, and that they want to pray for us. The prayer of two men is more powerful than one. Our hearts cannot be purified and ready for the glorification of God, unless we have the help of others praying for us. We can’t get there alone. As well as the prayers of our brothers and sisters on Earth, we need the intercession of the Saints and those in Heaven.

So, let’s continue asking those blessed Christians in Heaven to pray for us, down here on Earth!! If we don’t, it is a waste of an opportunity to grow even closer to our Father.

[seeking-his-plan-blog]

Diving further into...

Thursday, March 22 - Day 34 of Lent.

Bible study is awesome. I spend my days wondering about things of the past, and last night I stayed up just contemplating a whole bunch of things that I just wished I could jump up and Google (lol). Studying the history of the Bible is nothing short of fascinating. I thought I’d include some more of my recent questions that I had whilst reading the book of Genesis.

What was the mark that the Lord put on Cain? “Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.” (Genesis 4:15) God put a ‘mark’ on Cain, so that any man who saw him would know not to kill him. What was this mark? There is no biblical evidence to suggest what exactly the mark was. Some people think it was a tattoo, others think it was changing the entire colour of his skin (there is no evidence to suggest this). The Hebrew word used in this context translates  to the word ‘sign’, from what I’ve read. This, therefore, doesn’t necessarily mean a physical mark. It could have been a giant hovering sign saying “DO NOT KILL THIS MAN!” for all we know! Regardless of what it was, the intent was clear, and more important than the appearance of the mark itself, is its meaning.

Why didn’t God wipe out the entirety of humanity again? (As He did in the flood.) In Genesis 6, God sees that the first generations, from Adam to Noah, have corrupted His land.

12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”

As a result, God chooses to wipe out the entirety of humanity, because they have caused Him great sadness and do not live for Him. So then, seeing how bad our society has become once again (a world once again filled with hatred and corruption), why did God not wipe us out again? By His logic the first time, it would make sense.

The answer is that God made a covenant with Noah:

11 “I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

Because of Noah's devotion to the Lord and the fact that he did all that the Lord commanded, God made the vow to never wipe out the whole of humanity again. It might be because of Noah that we are all still here! For who knows what would have happened had Noah failed to do what the Lord instructed.

A cute additional piece of information, is that God made a sign of the covenant in Genesis 9. He wanted to create a sign to remind all of humankind of His covenant with them. The sign that God chooses is a ‘bow’ in the sky:

13 “I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

What was God’s sign of the covenant? The rainbow! ^.^

Have a read tomorrow, as I attempt to wrap my head around dinosaurs in the Bible!

[seeking-his-plan-blog]

Thursday, March 9 - Day 22 of Lent

I was speaking recently with a friend about having made my promise to study the Bible every day. I told him how previously, I would only get my peace of heart and full, spiritual happiness from my Sunday church service, or the odd occasion on which I would pick up or discuss the Bible with a friend. You go to church, you listen to God’s word, you leave happy and then you have a great Sunday. The next day, you ride that high for a little while. But by Tuesday, that feeling is gone, and the world is ready to drag you down again.

In studying God’s word every day, I spend at least an hour reading and writing about the love of our Father, and His will for me. I learn about righteousness, salvation, loving my brothers and sisters, and all other good things. It makes me very happy, and gives me peace of heart for the day. It instills patience, understanding and level-headedness in me for the rest of the day. And instead of the feeling dying, I reignite it the following day by diving into these wonderfully complex chapters once again. In reading every day, I allow myself to have epiphanies about life and love on a whole new level. Not only have my levels of happiness increased, but so have my levels of peace, as well as my capability to love others. There is more room in my heart for love, and my wisdom is growing. I can feel it. (So is my humility, clearly.)

It’s no wonder or surprise really. As Jesus says in John 14, “the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give”, or in the King James version, “27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

The peace that we can get through God, is peace that the world cannot give us. If you, my fellow brother or sister in Christ, take one thing from this blog, let it be this:

If you read and reflect on God’s word in study or prayer, you will feel a transformation of your heart. He is waiting to give you the peace you have been yearning for. This I can guarantee you.

So just try picking up your Bible and reading for half an hour every day. And feel the difference.

[seeking-his-plan-blog]

Money means nothing.

Money means nothing, unless used to get closer to Him.

Monday, March 5 - Day 19 of Lent

I suppose I ought to have some systematic rule of how I tackle these Bible chapters. I should do them in order, or perhaps by topic. Alas, I only have 42 days of Lent and I want to make sure that I revise and study the books that have always intrigued me the most. Towards the end, perhaps I will function on more of an ‘open-the-Bible-to-a-random-page-and-point’ system. For now, I read based on what has inspired me that particular day, or what philosophical thought happened to enter my mind that day. For example, today, a friend of mine broke his phone, and lost all of his photos and data, which upset him (as it would any of us!). Whilst trying to find the words to comfort him, I looked up ‘possessions/attachment’ in my Bible index, and found Timothy 1!

2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.

This verse quite simply teaches, I think, that we ought not to consider our fellow Christian as our equal brother/sister and treat them accordingly; the way in which we might treat our biological brother/sister when they annoy us, for example. If my brother/sister in Christ seems to have a closer relationship with God than I do, or works for Him more openly than I do, or seems to have more room for love in his/her heart than I do, I should not use “well, we are still equal in the eyes of God anyway” as a reason to continue to be complacent, or slack, in those areas. In fact, we ought to use this as a reason to show them love, charity and kindness even more. For one who serves God well, deserves love and reward from his fellow brother. After all, in these times, it is very hard to openly and proudly serve God, and to say the name of ‘Jesus’ proudly. So, we ought to encourage our brothers and sisters who do so, where we can. Gosh, I hope that made sense.

3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 

This, right here, is basically a verse that can be used against any person who tries to bend the Word of God. Person trying to bend the Word of God: “See, look, God said ________________, but we are living in a society where the times have changed, and surely He understands that, and so I don’t think that this rule really applies in the same way anymore.” Well, guess what mate. Unless God came to you in your sleep and said, “Hey yeah look, I’ve decided to officially change the rule mate”, then the rules ain’t changing. What we have is His Word in the Gospel, and that is the most recent and concrete proof that we have of His word for the time being. So it stands. And it won’t change until He changes it Himself. 

Timothy 1: 3-5 states this quite clearly. If God had meant for it to be easy, then it wouldn’t mean as much. It isn’t easy, and that’s the point.

9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

I do believe that this verse is relevant for all of mankind, even the non-believer. A love for money promotes a mentality of self-service, which eliminates room in one’s heart for love of others. Idolising money is a recipe for disaster, because humans were made to love each other, not possessions. There’s a reason why the phrase “money doesn’t buy happiness” has circulated the Earth 100+ times.

7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 

...The most lovely and true verse, which I do not believe needs further commentary from me. I will only say this:

God will provide.

Love to you all!

[seeking-his-plan-blog]

Tuesday, Feb 27 - Day 14 of Lent

I’ve chosen to include this whole section from Isiah, as I think it is just so beautiful:

16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.  18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

One of the biggest problems I have, personally, is forgiving myself for my own sins. I sometimes will think about a memory of the past, by accident, and then spend a while dwelling on it; and as it becomes clearer and clearer, crisp and more vivid in my mind, I allow myself to get down and sometimes freak out about it. “What would people think if they found out what I said about that person that one time? What would people think if they knew that thing that I did five years ago?” (Intentionally vague examples.) 

Well, the funny thing is, that in letting myself get worked up about my past sins, I am mentally voiding my own confessions. Even though I asked God to forgive my sins – with, at the time, full remorse and intention to not commit that sin again – I still choose to think about it, years or months later. This is wrong, and a habit that I wholeheartedly intend to shake.

Why?

Well, quite simply, if the Lord God, who is literally perfect and without sin, can forgive my sins, wipe my slate clean and allow me to start again whenever I choose, then literally WHO AM I to not forgive these sins myself? Do I have a right to lose sleep over sins that my God and Father has already forgiven? Do I have a right to get down about sins that Jesus has cast aside, fully and lovingly welcoming me into his arms again?

The answer is no.

If you have asked Jesus for forgiveness, and He has forgiven you (which He did, if you meant it), then it should go without saying that you are also choosing to forgive yourself. God is the Father and creator of everything. He is all-powerful and all-knowing. We are His children and just as importantly, His servants. We ought to shake and forget the past, so that we might adequately and more heartily serve Him better. If you cling to hate or bitterness, you are clogging a space in your heart that is reserved for love. And you can therefore, not be the kind of Christian that you are called to be in the 21st century.

To sum up: Forgive yourself. God did. That’s right. GOD, THE FATHER OF ALL, FORGAVE YOU. You have a spot next to Him in Heaven, if you want it (which you should?) So take a deep breath, swallow the past, and move on, so that you may become the brilliant and powerful witness that He is waiting for you to be.

[seeking-his-plan-blog]

Jesus never lies: How we know the Old Testament is true.

Wednesday, March 28 - Day 39 of Lent.

Today I’m studying the points at which Jesus mentions the book of Genesis in the New Testament. As Christians, we trust the Word of God above all else, yet we sometimes have trouble accepting those crazy stories from the book of Genesis. I mean, the instance in which Jesus turned water to wine is believable because it was actually Jesus’ hand that was doing it, and He was a miracle worker. Also there are four different accounts of His miracles in the four gospels. But Genesis? That was 6000 years ago, and am I expected to believe that humanity was restarted from an ark? Or that the Red Sea was parted by one man? Or that a huge fish swallowed Jonah for three days?

If you consider God’s majesty, his omnipresence, the fact that He is not bound by space nor time and the fact that He is in a dimension that we would never be able to fathom, then it is quite easy to accept thats these things could have actually happened. For God, the One who created every tiny thing in our world and universe, getting a whale to swallow a man is not a big deal at all.

Thankfully, if we have faith in Jesus Christ, we don’t even need to think that big. For Jesus literally references the book of Genesis many times in the New Testament. Such references overlap in different accounts of the Gospels. I have provided just a few instances below.

Jonah and the Whale

Matthew 12:

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 

Matthew 16:

4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

Luke 11:

29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Moses

There are actually so many references to Moses in the New Testament that it is impossible for me to reference them all. Please take a look at the link below for a full list: http://www.jesuswalk.com/moses/appendix_3_nt_references_to_moses.htm

Noah and the Flood

Matthew 24:

37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 

Luke 17:

26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 

The apostle Peter also mentions the flood numerous times, as does the writer of Hebrews, and St. Luke in his gospel.

Jesus could not have paid the penalty for our sins if He had been sinful Himself. Had He lied even once, His death on the cross would not have meant as much as it did. This means that all of His words were truthful. We cannot selectively trust the Word of God. If He says it, then it is true. Therefore, we must trust that all of these stories actually took place.

“For whatever was written in former days (ie the Old Testament Scriptures) was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. “ (Romans 15:4)

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John 17: We are one.

Wednesday, March 7 - Day 21 of Lent

This evening, I encounter another wonderfully dense chapter in John 17. The chapters that I study every day are completely random, and yet God seems to point me in the right direction every time. He seems to know exactly what it is that I need to read on each specific day; that which eases my mind, puts me at peace, and addresses the specific troubles that I am having that day.

Today, I’ve had a weird disturbance and sadness within me. I am not sure why, perhaps it was because I was exposed to a few scenarios today in which I saw the inherent flaws of man. I had a few nice meetings with people, but my head wasn’t straight. Today lacked the crystallising moments that seem to hit me a few times a week, in which I realise the pointlessness of everything on Earth except LOVE. More specifically, usually on a day-to-day basis, I can maintain my peace and happiness -- even in seeing disturbing things -- through prayer or mentally remembering that nothing on this Earth matters except loving one another. Well, today, I was a human of the world. I felt alone, and I lacked peace in my heart. Some days are harder than others. And today was a struggle.

John 17 spoke to me, and I feel calm as I write this. The chapter is about Jesus’ undying love for us, and the sacrifice that He endured on this Earth to save us. The chapter states, in the words of Jesus Christ, the reason why He came to us in human form: to confirm His existence and the Word of the Father. This act was done only through love, and to ensure our salvation. The chapter is beautifully emotive, and expresses the beauty of the Lord’s divinity, incarnate in His Son, who was made in His image. We are not of this world, and this is clear in John 17. To include the verses that stood out to me:

11 ...Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction.

“...that they may be one, even as we are one”. The very allusion here is that all humankind are one. We are one with our brothers and sisters. This is the same concept that causes me sadness on a daily basis, when I see people treating others with disrespect; insulting them, chastising them, sharing neither a smile nor a ‘hello’. I have a soft heart at times, and am affected by the people around me too easily. This is my weakness. I have love for them, but I need strength. Strength to stand proud and tell them that I care for their souls. Strength to interject when I see injustice. Strength to not be a push-over.

The Lord’s own words here are that we are ONE, in the same way that He and the Father are ONE. Just stop and think about that for a moment. 

The beautiful, majestic, holy, divine Lord left us these words to ask us to treat our neighbour with LOVE. How DARE we ignore these words. Even for a second.

As Christians, we have to be mindful of the way in which we treat people. How we interact with each other, as brothers and sisters in Christ, will be a reflection to the world of God’s love. We are messengers of God’s love in our words and in our actions. Because of salvation, we are already at peace with God, but it is now our responsibility to exercise the love of God in our hearts, by treating everyone around us right. We should be quick to apologise and forgive our brothers and sisters, and slow to cause arguments.

******PRAYER***** Lord, grant me the strength to stand tall in your name. Do not allow my heart to fade at the sound or the sight of mistreatment of others. Help me to know that everything on this Earth is simply a means to an end. And above all, help me to see the beauty over the evil in this world. With your grace, my heart will not grow weak as the world around me crumbles. **************

14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

The Lord has given us this same wonderful message more than once. Heck, I’ve written about it already numerous times and I’ve only studied 21 chapters so far. 

“THEY ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD.”

As C.S Lewis said, far better than I can say it: “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

That world is Heaven, next to God. In case you didn’t get that. How flippin’ beautiful is that?! And how exciting is it?! So, let’s get cracking, kids!

25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

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1 John: 5: 19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

Saturday, Feb 24 - Day 11 of Lent

It is easy to deny the existence of both God and Satan, because neither one has given us indisputable proof of their existence. We know that God could appear in front of every single person on Earth, right this second, and say, "Hey, yeah look mate, I exist." Satan could do the same. And perhaps they have, to certain people. But it is the mystery of their existence that gives our faith value, and Satan power. For how many people would change their ways, if Satan appeared to them, purely just to escape Hell? And how many people would proclaim Jesus' name if He appeared to them, just to guarantee themselves a spot in Heaven?

Well, Satan appeared to Adam and Eve. As did the Lord. And still, they, as humans, turned from grace and gave into temptation. You see, it means a lot more if we resist temptation, in order to follow the Lord, WITHOUT even seeing Him.

God did give us the proof. He sent His Son as proof of His Kingdom and our salvation. That was enough, and should be enough for us, as Christians, to follow Him until the end of time. God didn't have to send His Son. But He did, as a nod to us. "Hey, I'm here. I love you. Come and follow me, and I will bring you rest."

We take this, we accept it, and it should be all that we need to drop everything and 'blindly' follow Him. Indeed, we can see the work of the Devil everywhere. His immense power has taken this world. And sometimes, we may feel a pull towards him. But we must stand together and resist. For what is a moment's suffering, really, in exchange for an eternity of perfection with God?

[seeking-his-plan-blog]

The Armor of God.

Saturday, March 10 - Day 24 of Lent

Yesterday was one of those bizzarre days where I had company all day and was moving from place to place. I’m preparing to leave Korea, so there are about a hundred different errands that I have to run at the moment. Thankfully, I got my reading in transit, and managed to make notes on my phone:

Today, I read Ephesians 6:10-20. There was no specific reason for my choice. I read this passage purely because Jacob, an awesome man with whom I study the Bible, recommended it. The verses present this powerful image of ‘The Whole Armor of God’, a metaphor which takes Christian qualities and applies them to different sections of a knight’s armor. It’s a very strong metaphor that succeeds in highlighting the importance of each facet of our faith.

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

It’s funny that on a daily basis, we consider our hardest problems to be worldly things: paying rent, saving money for the new iPhone, finding time to do Christmas shopping, struggling to find a new job, paying off the mortgage. While some of these things are necessary for getting by in the world, they are not the real enemy. It’s hard to forget that sometimes, but I mean, which of these things will get you closer to Heaven, whether you win or lose them? They don’t matter. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers... the cosmic powers over this present darkness... the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” It is clear as day what this means. To sum up: “Don’t worry about earthly things. You are fighting against the demons that exist in the spiritual realms. Those are the ones who are really going to take your soul.”

Oh, but how on earth do we fight demons from the spiritual plane?  Well, fear not, children! God has, as always, provided the answer!

14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

So here we have the concept of truth in the belt, and righteousness in the breastplate. Well, given that a breastplate is what protects you from blows to the chest, we can argue that righteousness (meaning virtue and morally upright conduct) will stand strong against the evil words and actions of the world around us. Therefore, moral convictions will be the certainty of our safety and strength in the eyes of God. The belt, I believe, is symbolic of truth holding everything together. Absolute truth can not be disputed; it just is. It’s presence at all is the reason why every other element of the armor can function well as an individual piece coming together to make a team. (That’s cheesy but I’m sticking with it.)

15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

What I got from this is that shoes = a symbol of us being ready to spread God’s word, having been given the Gospel as our guide. The reason why readiness is embodied in the shoes is because when we dress ourselves, we typically put on our shoes last, when our outfit is almost complete. Once we have the Word of God, we are able to put on that final piece of armor. In this, the shoes represent action.

16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 

In a similar way as the breastplate being used for protection on the battlefield, the shield works in conjunction with it to deflect shots and arrows that are fired. In this verse, the shield represents faith. The shield is strong, agile and enduring. But alone, it cannot protect a man. In order to move mountains, faith needs to work hand-in-hand with truth, righteousness and willingness to spread the Word of the Father.

7 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

Finally, the armor is complete with these small, but arguably most important pieces. The sword -- the only part of the mentioned armor that is an actual weapon -- can inflict harm on the evil spirits through God’s written and spoken word. This signifies that the Holy Spirit will be our weapon against evil, as we allow Him to speak through us. This is the weapon with which we Christians will defeat the devil.

Secondly, and I love this one: The helmet protects the head, which is one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body. If a gun shoots you in the hip, the knee, the shoulder etc, you will most likely live. But if it shoots you in the head, you will most likely die, right? So, what does the knight use to protect his head? A helmet. Well, the helmet represents salvation. In the same way that the helmet protects us from dying at the hands of a gunshot, Jesus’ salvation protects our souls from perishing in eternal fire. How beautiful is this entire metaphor?

I am so happy that I read Ephesians today. This has got to be one of my favourite metaphors in the Bible! Thanks for the recommendation, Jacob!

PS: To all the Australians who are reading this, sorry for writing ‘armor’ several times, instead of ‘armour’.

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There is no comparison.

Saturday, March 3 - Day 18 of Lent

16 All the animals in the forests of Lebanon are not enough for a sacrifice to our God, and its trees are too few to kindle the fire. 17 The nations are nothing at all to him.

Yes, we are still on Isaiah 40. A wonderfully dense chapter, as I’ve said before. Juxtaposed with yesterdays comparison of human beings to blades of grass, comes todays comparison: that of God to the world. Furthermore, that God is bigger than the world. The world is nothing compared to God. The world is not important enough or perfect enough to be compared to God.

So we’ve got: Humans = measly pieces of grass. God = incomparable to our Earth.

Can we even fathom how amazing and awesome God is? The fact that the Bible, which was written yonks ago, has made this comparison, blows my mind. We still know, today, that God is unfathomably wonderful. But the Bible proves that He has always been known as so. His majesty and might has stood the test of time and He still is unconditionally there for us when we need Him, and loves us just as much as His chronologically first children.

These verses are great, and the whole chapter is just rich with similar comparisons. Go have a read for yourself!

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“Human beings are like grass.”

Friday, March 2 - Day 17 of Lent

Today was my first day as a free woman. On Wednesday, I finished my second year-long contract as an ESL teacher here in Korea. And now, I have a glorious and well-deserved month long period off, in which I am hoping to explore Korea a bit more, do a wee bit of shopping and most importantly, throw myself more fully into my Bible study.

Whilst briefly touching on Isaiah 40 yesterday, I came across a number of interesting verses that I wanted to explore and study further. Here is one that includes a metaphor that I quite appreciate:

6 A voice cries out, “Proclaim a message!” And I said, “What message shall I proclaim?” “That all human beings are grass; and that all their beauty will last no longer than the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

Human beings are blades of grass. 

What does this mean? Let’s think about it. Blades of grass are all the same. Yes, they have their small differences in size and their imperfections, but inherently, they all bear the same approximate shape, size and colour. We, too, are all the same in God’s eyes. Imagine the human race as a large field full of grass. This is how God sees us. Some of us may be ‘more beautiful’ than others, or ‘richer’ than others. But our beauty and possessions do not matter to Him. Nor do our sins, if forgiven. We are all the same; completely equal in God’s eyes.

Blades of grass can be cut, picked or damaged. But they always heal and grow back. They are blown by the wind, but their roots stay the same. We may fight to stand out and be different; we may be eaten, picked or blown away. But at the end of the day, we all get blown in the same direction by the same wind. That is God, and His power over us. He has never lost power, not for a second. He knows everything that has happened and that will ever happen. He is the wind that blows us all, and we can’t escape our Father. It is who we are.

Our beauty will fade, like the flower’s does. A flowers beauty lasts a week at most. That is comparatively how tiny our life is against the scale of eternity. A flower fades and dies within a week. So, too, will we fade and die within a hundred years. That’s all that we have. The end is inevitable. There’s no escaping death. No matter what we do, we can’t overcome God’s power and the way He has designed this world. We are utterly powerless against that. All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that He has so generously given to us.

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Hey, Jude.

Wednesday, Feb 28 - Day 15 of Lent

Depending on how you look at it, Jude can be quite a daunting chapter. The Bible has it’s Psalms and Corinthians, and then it has it’s Revelations. Jude is somewhere in between. There are several important messages within Jude, but they are vague enough so that they speak to each person in a different way. My reading on Jude is as follows.

The chapter goes on, at first about ‘ungodly people’ who ‘ pervert the grace of our God into sensuality’, ‘indulge in sexual immorality’ and ‘pursue unnatural desires’. It also touches on angels who ‘left their proper dwelling’ and are now ‘kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day’. It is quite scary stuff. But these chapters are highly necessary in reminding us that God is just, as much as He is merciful. The technical meaning of the aforementioned sins is not the topic of my post today. But I do believe that terms such as ‘sexual immorality’ and ‘unnatural desires’ are used because we all very well know to what they are referring, and they are intentionally vague because they are all-encompassing.

14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

Make no mistake, the unforgiven sin is the most grave. God’s mercy and grace is exemplified in His unconditional forgiveness, but His service of justice can not be disputed when reading the letter of Jude. These words are given to us as a reminder of the importance of turning to God in all situations, and forgiveness of the self in living for Him. 

I believe that one of the easiest ways to clear the head and the heart is by changing the ways in which we speak to and about others. Hidden within the words of Jude is a clear message:

9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

The verse clearly paints a picture in which the archangel Michael and the devil are fighting: one, a clear symbol of goodness, and the other, the stark definition of evil. The devil is arguably the most worthy being of being scrutinised, insulted and hated to no end. Furthermore, God literally judged him and condemned him to an eternity of darkness and misery. He is the biggest proof and example of banishment from Heaven, and the definition of “the worst”. Yet still, Michael withholds his judgement, and merely says “The Lord rebuke you.” Why? Because the Lord did rebuke him. It is the truth that God rebuked the devil for his crimes against him. And make no mistake, He will do the same to us, if we do not repent.

Further, the message I take from this is that, if a literal angel is not allowed to judge the literal devil, then who the HECK are we to judge our fellow humans?

That’s right, kids, we are no one. So quit talking about others and get working on yourself. That way, we Christians can band together, the way God always wanted it!

20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 

22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

As we have found in every book so far, here are the clear instructions to love your brother, and to do what is in our power to save him from the fateful judgement that is coming. God wants all of us. To lose even one of His children is utterly devastating to Him. So, He has generously given us this time on Earth to find Him, and the free will to choose Him. To tie this post together and to remind us of the ultimate winning point, Jude does, of course, end with the promising verses:

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time8 and now and forever. Amen.

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“When I was brought low, He saved me.” - Psalms 116

Monday, Feb 22 - Day 13 of Lent

I thought I would reflect on the Responsorial Psalm from yesterday’s Mass, on the second Sunday of Lent, as I feel it ties in nicely with what I have been reading in 1 John.

Psalms 116 is a beautiful chapter that tugs on the heart strings through wonderfully emotive language, such as:

8 For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. 9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

It bears a perfect example of the freeing, unconditional love that we ought to have for the Lord, and in turn, our brothers and sisters. When I read Psalms, I yearn to feel the love that is described; an all-knowing, un-doubting, stronger-than-iron love that sometimes seems hard to come by down here on the earth that we walk.

14 I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. 15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. 16 O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant.

How inspiring are these words? Rest assured, this kind of love does exist. We can find it, because we are made in His image, and are therefore capable of feeling it. All we need to do is yearn for it so much that we seek it with our whole heart. It seems quite a large task, but from my experience (in meeting people who seem to have a high level of love for God), it is utterly freeing, and the only means through which we can achieve true peace.

We don’t have to hide. What are we scared of? Of course, I know the answer. We are scared of society, potential discrimination or death. We are scared of losing what we have worked so hard in this life to achieve (money, fortune, success, possessions). But friends, we are going to lose it all one day anyway. The earthly things, and I cannot stress this enough, do not matter. And here, in Psalms and many other books of the Bible, we have the promise that God will reward those who proclaim His name openly and without shame or reservation. So, what are you allowing to hinder your proclamation of love for your Father?

I do want to be God’s servant, but I do sometimes feel immediate attractions toward other things of this world. That’s why this Lenten promise is so important to me. I will not fail in my promise to reflect on God’s word every day. I cannot be holy unless God’s Word lives inside of me. My promise to reflect on His word each day, is just a small thing that I can do - which, quite frankly, I should have started doing a long time ago - to continue and strengthen the transformation of my heart. And truly, since making this promise, I have found there to be a change in the way I see others and the world around me.

More on that soon!