Friday, December 21, 2007

Death in the Mirror

This is an excerp from an article called "Death in the Mirror: Real Meaning in Life is to be Found Beyond Life" by Timothy K. Jones:

"Christian faith has always argued that meaning in life will be found beyond life...Despite the richness of this world, the New Testament reminds us that we are on our way to a reality even clearer and more substantial than we presently experience, 'Here we do not have an enduring city,' the writer of Hebrews wrote, 'but we are looking for the city to come' (Heb. 13:14). Or, as Paul put it, 'We look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen' (2 Cor. 4:16,18).

Indeed, we will never live fully if we think we can exhaust the meaning of the moment without reference to the longer stretch...We cannot live rightly until we aim past life. Eternity provides the only goal that makes the ultimate sense of each moment. Awareness of death, and of its opening to a life beyond, has not only framed how I look at life. It has also begun to work a change in how I walk through life. It has, in other words, brought not just new meaning to my moments, but changes to my behavior. As Samuel Johnson reportedly said, 'When a man knows he is going to be hanged in fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.' Our awareness of the transitoriness of this life, find, concentrates my priorities, helps me refashion my daily choices.

To know that life is not a destinationless journey helps me live more completely for a final good, an ultimate end...To know that 'we have such a hope,' as Paul says, makes us 'very bold' (2 Cor. 3:12). God's gracious assurance and promise of eternal care helps us 'incline to our proper center.' Our daily decisions become oriented around something more profound...A conviction about what lies beyond is giving me courage to live more fully and more faithfully...God can take even my frailty and mortality and invest it with eternal significance."

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Instruction

I believe GOD has an agenda. I believe this agenda is the only agenda that will allow Heaven to function. It's not that GOD is a tyrant, its just that His agenda is the only way things will and can work in Heaven. It's not a choice because there is no other way. So if there is only one way things can work, this must mean there are instructions.

This must mean its all in one instruction manual. As tough as life is, it would be seemingly impossible to try and figure out the truth from multiple books. How can the most important thing in our life not be written down for all to read under one cover? Each product I buy has the manual under one cover. It never tells me the intricate workings of the product, but it does tell me how to operate it. At work, if something isn't documented I get multiple stories. Along the way my experience can be misleading when I believe I have fixed the issue only to find out 5 hours later I had only band aided the problem.

Life is extremely complex. I'm bombarded with different philosophical ideas and perspectives each day. Even my closest co-workers disagree on ways of dealing with situations and how to fix the same issue. Ultimately how do we know we are living life the way we should? How do I really know? How do I judge what goes through my mind each day? What if my life is supposed to be different when it appears I am doing just fine? What if I'm not even supposed to be living my life the way I am? What if I'm supposed to be living my life for something else? What if I'm supposed to be living my life for someone else, so they can slowly change me into the person I was created to be? How can I know? I can only know if its written down, or the one who knows is somehow giving me the message in some form or another.

What happens if I need to change in order to be able to function correctly in Heaven? There has to be a process. There has to be a manual. There has to be an easy way to get the manual. I'm guessing its right in front of my face. When you purchase a product the creator makes sure the instructions are included with the product. Many of you believe we just came to be through the big bang and evolution theories. Well, I guess that would mean there couldn't possibly be a manual and that means you are on your own to do as you wish and will, it's just as simple as that. But what about those of us that believe we were created. Logic and common sense tell us that like a company including the instructions with its product, GOD would likely do the same, otherwise the product would have to be figured out how to use and repair. I guess thats simple with some products, but I've watched a professor get extremely frustrated trying to put together a diaper changing table and we even had the instructions. He had even already put it together before and from what I heard became extremely frustrated. We all can agree things get complicated when dealing with those seemingly easiest of tasks. What would happen if we had to reinvent the wheel each time building houses, cars, airplanes, computers, a magnetic particle separator. If a company created it there is always a manual. I believe GOD made man in His image. How could GOD not include the manual with the most complex product on earth?

If you believe GOD created us, then you have to believe he left us some instructions. Whatever we believe, we need to continually challenge and test its strength. One day we come to know the truth. What will you say when GOD says it was written down your whole life right in front of your face? You even had people tell you the truth, but you wouldn't listen for whatever reason. Will you be able to say I'm sorry I was wrong. What if GOD forgives you and says that isn't the problem that you decided to live your life the way you wanted, but that the problem is all your life He was trying to tell you that you needed to be a certain way at this moment in order for you to function correctly in Heaven. That as you dwelt on your physical and material well being throughout your whole life, the change He needed and tried to make in you was a spiritual birth that would slowly renew your mind on earth to prepare you and be ready for a life of eternity in Heaven. The Bible says man focuses on the outer appearance, but GOD focuses on the heart.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Typosquatting

I was a victim of typosquatting today as I typed in www.gmail.com. I'm not sure how I mispelled it, but I did and a typosqautter got me. Below is an explanation, if you haven't already been struck by this evil that is now among us on the internet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typosquatting