heaven

  • Saved

    Thirty years ago, November 29, 1989, I was lying in bed listening to a preacher on the radio talk about the importance of being "saved" by the Lord Jesus Christ... how to have one's sins forgiven, and receive eternal life guaranteed as a free gift from God, because of Jesus' death in which Jesus paid for our sins.

    The preacher said that this was extremely simple to do - simply ask Jesus to save me. I realized that I had never done this, and that it was something everyone should do.

    So that night I asked Jesus to save me. I don't remember the words, but I understood that I was a sinner and that He offered free forgiveness to me, and I just asked Him for it.

    Afterward, for the first time in my life, I had peace and confidence about my eternal status before God and about life after death. I was no longer trusting in my own goodness to make me acceptable in His sight, but trusting in Jesus' goodness. I had been "born again", adopted into the family of God.

    I've since learned more about Him, and more reasons to believe in Him and trust Him. I've seen my own sin more and more clearly, but His promise of forgiveness still holds. I've learned that God never lets go or gives up on His adopted children.

    "...He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:11-12)

  • Uncool Prof

    I've been thinking recently about two of my math professors in college. One was extremely popular, witty, funny, young, energetic, (married), etc. Another was extremely unpopular, frumpy, elderly, awkward, (single), etc.
    CoolProf was in high demand from students and others. UncoolProf was avoided, and even mocked behind his back.
    While CoolProf had a great influence on me, I have been realizing over the years that UncoolProf also had a good influence on me.... and even more now in this period of my life than at that time. While his style of teaching was not flashy/witty/cool, his steady plodding, shaky whiteboard drawings, and grading taught me what I needed to know in those calculus courses.
    Furthermore, his persistence in faithfully teaching students within that Christian college environment has born good fruit. He set an example of teaching faithfully despite year-after-year unpopularity (and perhaps loneliness). I look back and see his life as a powerful testimony and example for my life. At the time it seemed that he was a loser (especially compared to the CoolProfs). In hindsight, his work bore good fruit and he will receive a far bigger reward directly from God than any earthly popularity could match.
  • Endgame

    Good article! (no movie spoilers)

    https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-only-satisfying-endgame

  • Until

    Good sermon about Jesus the Messiah, and the coming day of justice...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybaMWLkL6ig

  • book reviews

    Here are some recent reviews.  For more, see this link: http://tim223.xanga.com/category/book-reviews/

    Spacecraft Earth, by Henry Richter and David Coppedge
    This book summarizes information from many different domains of science, related to how Earth is optimized for life and how living creatures display optimal design. It discusses cosmology, including the Big Bang theory, multiverses, etc. It discusses biology, including the complexity of life and the difficulties with the commonly-accepted theories of evolution and abiogenesis. It discusses the evidence both for and against evolution. At the end, Dr. Richter shares his own life story, including his career of developing Explorer I (USA's first satellite) and how he became a Christian in his 40s.
    The book has a perfect balance of concise information and readability, with a few stories and pictures thrown in too. It might be slightly too science-oriented for some, but it is perfect for anyone interested in science/engineering/tech/biology. It is great to read for learning more information, and great to give away to others.

    God's Crime Scene, by J. Warner Wallace
    Wallace, former detective, takes a "crime scene" approach to looking at the evidence for God's existence, such as the fine tuning of the universe and the existence of objective morality. The book is very easy to read, and has great clear lay explanations of the latest quantum physics arguments and how they relate to the debate (e.g. can things pop into existence spontaneously out of 'quantum vacuum'? Did Stephen Hawking's imaginary time remove the need for the universe to have a beginning?) He agrees with William Lane Craig's explanations. On the down side, he accepts a multi-billion-year-old universe and evolution, like Craig. Possibly useful (with caveats) for some people (e.g. atheists).

    Escape from North Korea, by Melanie Kirkpatrick
    This book tells about the underground railroad of people helping North Koreans escape their country. It is very well researched and documented, and very well written. It presents many facets of the issues and is very informative. It has many testimonials from North Korean refugees. It is a bit dated now, since it was published in 2012, but is still very worth reading.

    Hope Heals, by Katherine and Jay Wolf
    This is the true story of a couple who experienced a terrible medical tragedy, a brain stroke. They together (back and forth) write about their experience, and how God and their family/friends sustained them through it. It is powerful and beautiful - well worth reading.

    Mideast Beast, by Joel Richardson
    This book presents more of the Biblical side of the prophecies about the Antichrist and the end times. As presented in his old article "Will Islam be our future?" (http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/JR/Future/index.htm ), Richardson believes that the end-times government described in the Bible will be a Muslim government, a renewed Caliphate/Ottoman empire. This book answers objections that people have presented to his view (i.e. from people who believe in a renewed Roman empire as the end-times government) He presents many interesting and persuasive interpretations of the relevant Bible passages, including Daniel, Revelation, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Isaiah, etc. His conclusion is that we should love Muslims, by seeking to bring the gospel of Christ to them and show them the way out of the darkness of Islam.

    The Great Omission, by Steve Saint
    The main point of this book is that western missionaries should seek to help the people with whom they are ministering become self-sufficient in terms of financing, leadership (especially church leadership), missions-sending, and technological skills. Missionaries should 'work themselves out of a job' in a particular place, empowering the indigenous church and local community to become self-sufficient and sending out other missionaries. It presents excellent points, although it gets a little like a 'rant' occasionally. Worth reading.

  • Reposting

    Reposting this article... I still believe exactly this, 7 years later.

  • Mr. Rogers... was he a sheep? Are you?

    What was Mr. Rogers' relationship with God like?
    Fascinating article - https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/jared-c-wilson/mister-rogerss-deathbed-confession/

    Are you a sheep?

  • The Gospel - a life and death matter

    The Gospel ("Good News") - a life-and-death matter...
    Great article from Greg Morse...

    https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/over-our-dead-bodies

    Also, here is a great brief explanation of Christianity and the gospel of Jesus, from NFL player Benjamin Watson at the 2018 Superbowl breakfast.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkfQuA0Y7II

  • Two good articles

    Here are two good articles, the first about contentment and the second about marriage.

    https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/do-you-wake-up-discontent

    https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/matrimony-no-more

     

  • "Pastor, am I a Christian?"

    Nicholas Kristof interviews Tim Keller.  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/opinion/sunday/pastor-am-i-a-christian.html
    Interesting questions and answers!

(I use 'tags' and 'categories' almost interchangeably... see below)

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