The True Sacrifice

In a recent episode of House, Small Sacrifices. The team has to decide between faith and science. A man is admitted to Princeton Plainsboro after reenacting the Crucifixion. The patient stated he crucified himself as bargain he made with God for curing his daughter's brain cancer. Doctors break into the patient's apartment to see what could be causing the symptoms of illness and see he has been starving himself. The patient refuses the treatment because it used embryonic stem cells and did not want to break the promise he made to God to save his daughter. Later House visits the patient and tells him that the yearly CT scans that his daughter received were unable to detect tiny spots of remaining tumor and the PET scans he did revealed them. He stated that the patient should receive the treatment because God had already broken the bargain. Resentful, the patient agrees. Later on, House reveals that he lied about his daughter PET scan, but that the patient is still recovering. Instead of losing his faith, the patient uses that as proof that, even after accepting stem cell treatment, God did not punish him proves that God is merciful and all about love.

When I first started watching this episode it started to make me nervous because lately television has been very anti- Christian. It helped me feel a little bit reassured that not all shows are fully anti-God. I did not fully agree with the man crucifying himself because the Bible states that when Jesus was on the Cross he paid for everyone’s sins. I wonder how this episode of House will make people think of Christians. More importantly how will this episode affect Christians? Are we strong enough to trust God when friends or family or even us are in near death situations? God may not always give us what we want but he gives us what we need. We need to be strong in the truth.

The Truth Found the Ark Encounter

I was looking at the abc news website the other day and found news that actually made me happy. Now days watching the news can be so depressing because of all the crime and the anti-Christian talk, but this story reassured me that some people do still believe the truth. This story was about a theme park that was going to be built in Kentucky called the Ark Encounter. This parks main attraction is going to be a real life Biblical scale of Noah's Ark. There will also be stage shows, museums, theaters a petting zoo and a Tower of Babel. This is going to over seen by Answers In Genesis and is to be completed in the Spring of 2014.

This is so incredible. I was so excited to read this story because the United States seems to be so anti anything Biblical now-days. As a Christian I am proud and eager to see how this is going to come out and how it is going to affect people. People are so used to hear what is taught in most schools, about the world being over 4 billion years old. I am interested to see how this museum will affect those who visit the museum and were only taught the earth being over 4 billion years old. I hope that this museum will open the eyes of some people to the God’s truth about the world.

Jonah in the counseling office

Jonah is a very interesting character that we all loved since we were kids. For those who are not familiar with his story I have attached a video that presents his life in a satiric and funny way. But what it’s even more interesting … it’s God’s way of counseling him in his depression episode.

God is having one of the best counseling session in the history of mankind with his servant Jonah. Here is the story in few words: God is asking Jonah to go to one of the biggest city of his times, Nineveh, (about 500 miles from his home town Goth Hepher) the capital of Assyrian Empire, and tell the people that God’s wrath is about to come over them because of their sins (Wilson, 1995). Probably Jonah would have gone straight to them but the fact that the Assyrian Empire was the biggest enemy of his nation made it really hard for him and not just that he didn’t go, but he ran in the opposite direction to Tarshish. After God is teaching him that he can not stay against His plan and His call, Jonah finally gets to Nineveh and walk through the city announcing God’s wrath over the city. His message was a simple one: "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" (NKJ) and the people believed it and repented starting with the king and till the last one. Then “Jonah went out of the city, yet remained near at hand, as if he expected and desired its overthrow” (Henry, 2009). Now Jonah gets mad and angry because God used him and made him an instrument to bring salvation to the worst of his enemy. In this episode of anger God is asking Jonah only one simple question: “Have you any right to be angry?" Jonah’s anger and bitterness slowly makes him become depressive. When the plant that was giving him shade dies, he becomes even angrier, so angry that he wishes to die. “But God said to Jonah, ‘Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?’ ‘I do,’ he said. ‘I am angry enough to die.’ Jonah 4:9 (NIV)

God has a really interesting approach in counseling Jonah. He is asking him a question then gives him a practical lesson. By killing the plant that was providing Jonah with shade and comfort he is challenging Jonah to think how much sorrier must God feel or a whole city if he (Jonah) is so sorry for a plant. After Jonah is faced with this fact, God is revealing to Jonah His compassionate heart not only for the people from the city but also for animals too. A practical lesson followed by God disclosing his heart makes Jonah repent and it heals his anger and depression. How do we know that he was healed and repented for his anger? We can not really be 100% sure but we can conclude that, because he wrote the story and the book that bears his name.
It is so interesting how we can see both attributes of God in the way he is counseling Jonah. We can see him as an Advocate for the people of Nineveh with a lot of compassion and love. Even Jonah says: "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” Jonah 4:2 (NIV) The love and compassion it’s not just towards Nineveh but also towards Jonah.

The most wonderful gift for Christmas…

I just wanted to write few thoughts, as Christmas is so close, about a gift that cost the giver everything he loved the most, his only son. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)

The word Counselor in the original Hebrew language is "yaw-ats" meaning: to advise, consult, give counsel, counsel, purpose, devise. This is a primitive root; and it is used 80 times in The Old Testament most of the time describing the king’s advisers or the advice a king would receive or related to plans or planning done by a king or a leader. This word has no meaning of a counsel that is done one on one on personal issues. This word was never used by the author of Job Book. The word was not intended to be a word used in a personal setting in a comforting or empathic way. The closest this word is used to describe a personal intimate relationship is in Psalm 16:7-8 “I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (NIV). But even here God is seen by David as his right hand. For a king the “right hand” was the most important person in the kingdom after the king himself. In this position would be the most important person of all counselors and the most sought after from all the king’s counselors. Joseph and Daniel, in The Old Testament were both a “right hand” in the biggest empires of their time. Today the equivalent is a prim-minister. So again the Psalm 16:7-8 show the connotation and the basic meaning of the word. We can say with no mistake that the word’s meaning is a combination of advice, wisdom and teaching.

It is interesting that Jesus is described by Isaiah using this word with aprox. 700 years before he was born. The Jews had another word that they used for counseling, a word that involves a more personal an intimate counseling. The word is: cowd {sode}. Isaiah could have used this word but It seems that the type of counseling was announced to be done by Jesus was more a ministry of teaching, advising and wisdom and not neceswsary a personal intimate one that we have in mind today when we think of counseling. I think we can say now, 2000 years after Jesus ministered in this world, that his ministry was really well characterized by the word Isaiah chose to use when he was presenting “the child given” to us. Jesus indeed came to save and to show us “the Way … the Truth … and the Life”. What a wonderful gift !!!!

The Spirituality of Exercise

In this article, Dr. Reginald Cherry gives a list of practical ways to engage in physical activity and the benefits of doing so. He mentions that it is a great way to shed the extra pounds that tend to accumulate from holiday festivities. Exercise is also a great way to manage stress and increase energy.

Dr. Hart also extols the many virtues of physical activity in his book “The Anxiety Cure”. In it, he talks about the importance of causing some muscle fatigue through physical activity in order to prolong the need for non-dream sleep (which increases REM dream sleep). Exercise stimulates the body’s natural pain killers and also improves blood circulation, digestion, and elimination. In addition it helps to metabolize excess adrenaline, the presence of which can lead to stress and anxiety. Hart also mentions that when our body and minds are fighting with constant anxiety and stress, they don’t have the energy or time to connect with God.

I believe that in order to maintain a healthy spiritual life it is crucial to learn strategies, such as getting enough physical exercise, that help to counteract the deleterious effects of stress. I have found exercise to be quite meditative. It is a good time to disengage from my cares and listen to good music or a sermon while burning off excess stress and tension. Move a muscle, change a thought.

Get It Right! Only One Road Leads to Heaven!

I read an article with an appalling statistic that said, "nearly two-thirds of evangelicals under 35 believe non-Christians can go to Heaven vs. 39 percent of those over 65." What is the reason for this? Why, especially when the Bible is so clear on this subject, are there still evangelicals who believe that there are other ways to Heaven? The author describes how a new precedent is being set by liberal Protestantism. She closes her argument by telling readers not to worry because the younger evangelicals are going to put the belief that there is only one way to get to heaven behind them. If this happens, we are in for a spiritual battle much more difficult than ever before because we will be fighting against our own to clarify that there is only one way to get to heaven.

I seriously do not understand how some Christians have the audacity to proclaim that there are other roads that lead to God. True Christians know in their hearts that there is only one way to God, and that is through Jesus Christ. Jesus was clear when He said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and NO MAN comes to the Father but THROUGH ME." How is it possible that there are still Christians out there who "misinterpret" this verse? Jesus could not be any more clearer or straightforward than this. Yet, we have supposed Christians who are willing to bend the truth to be accepted by the world. In Romans 12:2, God's Word tells us that "we are not to conform to this world..." This means that we are not to adapt our biblical values to those of the world, but rather the world needs to adapt their values to those found in the Scriptures. For some odd reason, there are Christians who would rather be on good terms with sinful people than with the eternal God who created us? I truly cannot understand this kind of logic and reasoning.

The statistic above is very sad and disheartening because if we Christians do not know what the Bible says about salvation, how can we expect for non-believers to understand how to be saved? One of the reasons why we have so many wishy-washy Christians is because we care more about what the status quo thinks than what God thinks. I could care less what the status quo thinks. The status quo can take a hike! Today, they believe in God, tomorrow they can become atheists. To put my trust in the instability of humanness is to send my own self to hell. I am concerned, as well as many of you, about what God commands us to do, and that is to preach the truth of the gospel. I am so tired of seeing flaky Christians who are deathly afraid to proclaim the truth of the gospel, yet they live a life with reckless abandon to do whatever makes them happy without including God in their lives.

Two-thirds (66%) of evangelicals UNDER the age of 35 believe that there are other roads to God. This statistic should shock every single evangelical that is growing up in this generation. What can we do to change this statistic? We need to stand up and start speaking the truth of the gospel. All people are sinners. All are destined to go to hell, BUT we do have hope. Jesus made Himself a man, and came to earth to die for our sins. He died on the cross, and rose on the third day, and now lives eternally in heaven. We all need to receive Jesus Christ in order to get to Heaven and be with God. Without Jesus, there is no other way to God. This is the gospel in a nutshell. If this generation, 35 and under, can begin to proclaim that Jesus loves them so much that He died for them, and that without Jesus there is no other way to get to heaven, then we can rest assured that we are doing what God has commanded us to do. I want to carry out every responsibility that God gives me, and do it the way He wants me to do it. I want for God to tell me when I get to heaven, "Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!

Ms. Parker, you are sadly mistaken about there being other roads to heaven. Get it right! Only One road leads to Heaven!

Betrayal Leading to Anxiety

Asia Bibi a 45 year old Pakistani Christian woman was arrested and placed in prison and has been there awaiting her execution for a crime she did not commit. CNN reports that Mrs. Bibi was accused of blaspheming the name of Mohammad in front of her co-workers, but it was later reported that a misunderstanding led the women to accuse Bibi falsely. Bibi states that the women do not like her and wanted to take revenge upon her.

Shahbaz Bhatti was assigned to assess the case and report his findings back to the president. Upon the conclusion of the initial assessment Bibi was found to be innocent and falsely accused. Bibi’s family has been fighting for her release for 15 months in hopes of a release before an execution.

Asia Bibi could benefit from reading a chapter or two from William Backus’ book Telling Yourself the Truth. After being in a situation of being falsely accused, spending 15 months in prison, and pleading for her life Asia Bibi has gone through anxiety, fear, and possible depression. Although I do not know and cannot empathize with what Asia has gone through I know that restoration and healing is possible with Christ (Matt 4, 8,9,12, etc; Ex 15:26). Asia has been through a traumatizing experience that has the potential to go down one of two paths: restoration or destruction. We should pray that she chooses a path of restoration mapped out for her by Christ himself.

Filled with Despair

An explosion at a mine in New Zealand caused the cave to collapse locking 29 miners inside with limited supplies of food and water. The authorities assimilated a small robotic device to search for the miners but found themselves frustrated as the device malfunctioned at 550 meters into the mine. CNN reports that due to extremely harmful gases promenading in the atmosphere of the mine, human exposure to such gases could be lethal. Thus no rescuers have been permitted to enter the mine thus far.

Miner rescuers find themselves at a place of extreme frustration because of the gaseous hindrance that forbids aid for the miners. Family members have begun to lose hope and chose to memorialize their family members with flowers and cards filled with love. Many of their hopeless hearts must be filling with the heaviness of depression and sorrow. While some choose to grasp to an inkling of hope, others are preparing themselves for devastation. What is the difference between the two groups?

William Backus and Marie Chapian speak of depression in their book Telling yourself the truth. The authors express that two misbeliefs undergird the despair of depression: first that God is not the source of life, Man is; and secondly, since X has been lost the world no longer has significance. If these are in fact true it causes me to ponder these two questions. Do these people believe God to be the source of life? Can they still find significance in life?

Cure or Care

I am a science guy. I love everything about science and I and enjoy reading articles about it. I was on the worldmag website when I found this article about cure or care. The article talks about how why the government and the new healthcare plan is not putting more effort to funding more programs to find cures for diseases like cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's. We live in a world where there is constant drag for power and who possess the best technology, but when it comes to funding more programs for diseases that have plagued us for a long time, we are satisfied with just caring for the afflicted. I do not agree with this. A lot of resources are being wasted. I do not like the way healthcare is being treated not only in this country, but around the world. People are dying from the most common and basic diseases. I can only hope and pray that we as a society will step up and start setting our priorities straight.

How Much is Enough?

This article demonstrates the value that America places on money. It used to be that a million dollars was a substantial sum, but this is rapidly becoming obsolete. In fact, one million dollars is an expected minimum amount that would make an adequate cushion for retirement. Exactly how much money does it take to impress society today? The article suggests a billion dollars. A billion dollars has become the standard set as a suitable success at the box office. It is also mentioned in latest hit songs on the radio such as "Billionaire." I think it is safe to say that this number will only increase as time goes on. Individuals will invariably be expected to earn more and spend more-according to the world's standards. As Christians, we are taught that we cannot serve both God and money. We are called to handle money responsibly and to acknowledge the significance of tithing. In addition, we are encouraged to give away to others. God is extremely generous with us and we must return the favor. My pastor has recently given a series of sermons about living a simpler life and finding contentment with what one has. In a nation full of substantial spending and debt, Christians should lead the way in respecting money without worshiping it. This is something that we should consistently be cognizant of. Truth be told, if we follow what the world says regarding money...we will never have enough.