“The man who views the world at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” ~ Muhammad Ali I wish older Christians told me these five lessons when I was in my 20s. It would have saved me a lot of aggravation, frustration, discouragement, [fill in the blank]. Here they are … 1) Things aren’t always what they seem. In my youth, I quickly drew conclusions without hearing the whole side of a story from all parties involved. Regrettably, I still see this happen today, even among “seasoned” Christians. Someone hears a rumor or reads an attack against a fellow Christian online. Instead of going to the person being attacked (Matthew 7:12), countless Christians believe the rumor. But if I’ve learned anything in life, it’s this: There is always more than one side to a story, and things aren’t always what they seem. I learned this lesson the hard way a long time ago. (I wrote about it here.) Proverbs 18:13 says, “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him.” 2) The greater the spiritual impact you will have, the greater your sufferings will be. This is God’s way. It takes a good amount of breaking for God’s light to penetrate the dark places and create a clear way for that light to seep out. Put another way, it’s a seismic task for the Lord to clear the pipes so the sludge can get through. As I put it in Revise Us Again, “As high as God is going to elevate you is as deep as He digs to lay the foundation.” It would have been nice to know what to expect when I put my hand to God’s plow. But as a young believer, all I heard was how glorious it was to serve the Lord. No one told me the heights, depths, and lengths to which God goes to break His servants! (My chest just tightened typing that.) 3) Jealousy is at the root of most divisions, conflicts, and persecutions. I admit my naivety here. I used to think that jealousy and envy were things that went with middle school and high school drama. I thought, “adults don’t engage in that kind of juvenile behavior.” Man, was I wrong. Jealousy is pervasive among adults, in business, education, and also in the world of ministry. Have you ever wondered why some of the most gifted and anointed speakers aren’t ever invited to speak at certain Christian conferences? Jealousy is often at the root (the fear of being upstaged). Ever wonder what’s behind so many personal attacks in the Christian world? Jealousy is almost always at the root. The meanest people in the world are those who are drowning in the rip tide of their own egos. The human ego has a voracious appetite, and the more its fed, the hungrier it becomes. Jealousy rears its ugly head whenever a person’s ego hasn’t been crucified. Years later, I discovered that religious jealousy is what incited the murders of Abel, Jesus, and Paul. 4) Transformation is a (really) slow process. Spiritual transformation is real. God changes people. And conformity to Christ is an essential aspect of God’s ultimate purpose. However, it takes time. Years. It’s not a sprint, but a marathon. As a young man at the age of sixteen, living on the momentum of a new Christian, I made the mistake of equating knowledge with experience. “If you know it, you’ve got it.” Equating knowledge with experience is like dropping a rose pedal down the grand canyon and waiting for it to echo. It takes years — and a lot of breaking — for God to translate any spiritual insight you have into experiential knowledge. If you’re in your 20s, measure the space between the top of your head and your heart in inches. Someone once said that it takes at least that many years to move what’s in your mind to your spirit. I think that’s pretty accurate. 5) When someone imputes evil motives to another person’s heart, they are merely revealing what’s in their own. I can multiply examples of this, but let me give you one. I once heard a “Christian” (we’ll call her Sally) judge another Christian (we’ll call her Sharon) of being “full of pride” simply because Sharon regularly employed humor. Not only does that calculation not compute (Jesus often used humor and irony), but it only reveals one thing. Sally was exposing herself to be a prideful individual. You see, when people read intentions and motivations into another person’s words, they are merely exposing what’s in their own hearts. Few things throw sand in the gears of one’s spiritual growth faster than adopting a critical, judgmental attitude. Therefore, never judge another person’s motives. Always think the best. If you have a concern about someone, ask them directly (“Why did you say or write or do such and such?”). So there you have it. Five more things I wish older Christians told me when I was younger. I’ve left out a lot more. But again, this isn’t a book. If you’re in your 20s or 30s, I trust this helps. If you’re older, do me a favor and share this blog post with those who are younger — assuming you agree. (Which if you don’t, we can still be friends. It will be awkward and all, but still friends. ) www.frankviola.org . Used by permission of the author.

Share 0 In many cases, drugs in the 21st century have become more potent than they were a generation ago. Access to drugs in schools has also gotten easier, now ubiquitous on campus grounds and at teen social events. Several commonly abused drugs among teens are even found in their own households and may even be prescribed to them by their doctor. In fact, 20 percent of parents say they’ve given their teen a prescription drug that wasn’t prescribed for them. And sometimes, a seemingly casual act like this can carry many long-term implications. A drug problem may be something your teen never has to go through, but history has proven that drugs can affect anyone at anytime. In fact, the teen drug use statistics are hard to ignore. Studies have shown that 40 percent of 12th graders, 30 percent of 10th graders and 13 percent of 8th graders have used a drug in the past year. This adds up to millions of young people. Even if your teen doesn’t use drugs, it’s likely they at least know someone who does. What Are the Most Common Drugs Among Teens? Drugs are everywhere. They can be in natural and synthetic forms and it seems that every year we hear of a new one that’s all the rage among teens. Some of the more popular drugs have been around for decades or even centuries, while some others have just cropped up in recent years. Treatment centers see teenage patients struggling with all kinds of drugs, from the “big names” you hear about your whole life, to lesser known substances that can be equally as addictive and dangerous. As a parent, it’s important to stay informed of the drug landscape. Stay aware of what’s out there and how it might affect your teen if they experiment with it. The most commonly abused illicit drugs among teens include: Marijuana Synthetic marijuana Cocaine Heroin Ecstasy (also known as Molly) Inhalants LSD (also known as acid) Mushrooms Prescription drugs are commonly abused by teens and are worth keeping an eye on. If these medications aren’t being taken from your medicine cabinet at home, your teen can score these pills from drug dealers just like they would illicit drugs, can steal them from friends or family members or can even develop a problem after being prescribed them straight from a doctor. Some of the most commonly abused prescription medicines include: Adderall Ritalin Vicodin Xanax Oxycodone Codeine Ambien Drug use is starting earlier than ever and the variety of drugs being used is expansive. Statistically speaking, among 12th graders, 35 percent have smoked weed in the past year, and 7 percent have used Adderall. Among 8th graders, while the percentages drop to 12 percent and 1 percent respectively, it’s still representative of a large group of teenagers across the country who are at least familiar with addictive drugs. There’s also an added danger when it comes to drugs that are adulterated. Drug dealers often try to improve the potency and make other cosmetic modifications to their supply by lacing their drugs with substances that can have devastating effects on a teen when combined with the original drug. How Are Drugs Used? Drugs can enter the body in many ways and some even have multiple methods of delivery. How your teen might take their drugs depends on the form of drug (e.g. powder, liquid, pill, plant, etc.) and personal preference. Marijuana is smoked or baked into food. Cocaine is snorted up the nose or formed into a rock material to then be smoked (i.e. “crack”). Pills are typically swallowed or crushed into powder and snorted. Heroin is injected into the veins via a needle and can also be snorted. Psychedelics (e.g. LSD and mushrooms) are ingested. Inhalants — household items like cleaning products containing noxious chemicals — are breathed in, or “huffed.” Naturally, the differing types of drugs and methods of use have varying effects on the body, all of which can cause harm in unique ways. Just because someone avoids needles or snorting chemicals up their nose doesn’t put them at any less at risk for the hazardous side effects of drug use. Why Would My Teen Use Drugs? While teen drug use is difficult to predict, by studying the research gathered over the years, we’re able to identify some underlying causes that may increase the likelihood of use. These factors can include: Genetics Abusive parents or lack of parental involvement Traumatic family events (divorce, death, etc.) Choice of friends Mental or emotional disorders Gender Nationality Family income level Location Males are more likely than females to be drug users, although not by a substantial amount. Growing up in neighborhoods where more drugs are present — or in parts of the country (or world) with high rates of drug abuse — will increase a teen’s exposure to drugs. According to one study, teens in high school that are from wealthy families are more likely to abuse drugs than their less well-off peers. This could be due to disposable income, disconnected family structure and added pressures to succeed. Kids using drugs in middle school, however, tend to come from less wealthy families. Regarding race, drug use statistics for those aged 12 or older demonstrates the breadth of drug use: · 17.4% identify as mixed race persons · 14% are Hawaiian or Pacific Islander · 12.3% are American Indian or Alaska Native · 10.5% are black · 9.5% identify as white · 8.8% are Hispanic · 3.1% are Asian A teen’s decision to experiment with drugs is often a perfect storm of these various factors. But in some cases, even the least likeliest of teens will dive into drug use, simply for the thrill or to stoke their curiosity. Little do they know that one night of “trying something new” can potentially trigger a lifetime of problems. What Are the Effects of Drug Use? Drugs can destroy a life, making short order of it in many cases. The harder the drug and the longer your teen abuses it, the more extensive the risks. There is no simple drug problem. Even the “lesser” drugs carry a serious weight and can have a domino effect in many areas of your teen’s life. Young people may feel invincible and immune to the dangers of substance use. The truth is that they’re not. The risks of teen drug use can include: · Serious illness or injury · Suspension or expulsion from school · Being fired from jobs and having trouble getting hired in the future · Being arrested and/or sent to juvenile detention · Losing friends and excommunication from family · Going broke and getting deep in debt · Deviant sexual behavior, rape and sexually-transmitted diseases · Birth defects in cases of pregnancy · Overdose · Death These things happen to teens — and pre-teens — each and every day. In 2009, there were nearly 4.6 million ER visits in the U.S. related to drugs, 19 percent of which involved patients in their teens. How Do Drugs Affect the Brain? Different drugs impact the brain in different ways. Certain substances cause the brain to release chemicals, such as dopamine, which plays a role in pleasure. Other substances block the brain from receiving certain signals, essentially numbing signals like pain. These effects tweak the brain in unnatural ways. Over time this can permanently alter the way your teen’s brain works. Drug use can have an especially profound effect on the brain during youth, because the brain is still growing rapidly and is malleable to change during this time. When teens experience a high from drugs, it impacts the reward and pleasure centers of the brain, which typically respond to positive life experiences and produce happiness. With prolonged drug use, the brain can come to expect drugs as a reward, causing a physical demand for the sensation when they aren’t present. When this switch flips on, a drug dependence develops. In these instances, teens become depressed and difficult to please unless drugs are somehow involved. In many cases, heavy drug use — especially at a young age — can do permanent damage to the brain that can’t be undone, even if they eventually go sober. What Are Signs That My Teen Is Using Drugs? A telltale sign of a drug problem is paraphernalia — the tools or objects used to store, prepare or take drugs. Catching any of these in your teen’s bedroom, laundry, car or backpack should be a red flag. Common objects associated with drug use include: · Pipes · Bongs · Rolling papers · Plastic baggies · Aluminum foil · Pill bottles · Needles · Lighters · Small glass vials · Empty aerosol bottles (spray paint, household cleaners, etc.) You can also look for physical evidence of the drugs themselves, which is often left behind from being used. Bits of marijuana, white powder, individual pills and other curious materials should not be ignored. Remember not to assume the worst if you notice any one scrap of evidence, but it should certainly put you on alert. Along with the more obvious signs, there are behavioral and physical signs you should pay attention to. While the teenage years are bound to bring about personality shifts and it’s not uncommon for young people to go through awkward phases or have a bad attitude from time to time, if you notice any combination of symptoms and suspect drugs might be in play, don’t let it pass by unaddressed. Possible behavioral and physical signs of a drug problem can include: · Suspicious or troublesome behavior · Health issues, such as constant sickness · A change in appearance and/or hygiene, smell · Problems with school, work or authority · Financial trouble, asking for money or even stealing money · Neglecting responsibilities such as class or family · Hanging out with a new group of friends · Lying or being increasingly secretive about their life www.therecoveryvillage.com/teen-addiction/ How Can I Tell If My Teen Is Suffering From Withdrawal? When the human body becomes dependent on a drug, it will react violently when it doesn’t receive these drugs. This is called withdrawal. Withdrawal is a common result of teens attempting to escape their drug addictions. Signs of drug withdrawal are especially violent when the body tries to rid itself of harder drugs. These symptoms might include: · Sickness or fever · Nausea and vomiting · Sweating · Shaking · Restlessness · Fatigue · Irritability · Loss of appetite · Depression Don’t waste any time if you think your son or daughter is experiencing withdrawal. Get them medical attention. If they won’t admit their drug problem directly, the doctor can determine if an addiction is involved. Is a Drug Problem Treatable? A drug problem is treatable under the right conditions. Teen drug use is often, in lesser cases, a behavioral problem — a response to their stressful personal life or a product of curiosity and sensation-seeking. In other cases, it’s a deep-seated biological problem that can be tricky to overcome — casual use can quickly snowball into a much deeper issue. Approximately 2 million U.S. teens between the ages of 12 and 17 currently qualify as needing help for their substance problem. Tragically, only about 150,000 — less than 10 percent — get the help they need. What works for your teen may be unique to them — and that’s okay. A drug habit can be difficult to break, but with the help of rehab professionals, together you can help them break away from drugs and get on the road to recovery. Thousands of clinics and specially-trained practitioners offer treatment for teens battling drug abuse or addiction. Treatment options for substance abuse implement therapy, counseling, medication and other proven tools designed to retrain an addict to live without drugs. If you’ve done all you can, and your teen’s drug problem shows no signs of slowing, it may be time to consider professional treatment. Doctors and treatment specialists have spent decades working on and perfecting their methodologies and they can help addicts defeat their illness. While there’s no guarantee your son or daughter will respond well to rehab, research shows that teen drug addicts who receive treatment are far more likely to beat their addiction than those who don’t. Does My Child Need Professional Treatment? If you see signs that your child is abusing drugs or alcohol, you need to take action now. Too many times, we at The Recovery Village have spoken with brokenhearted parents who wished they had acted when they first noticed signs of potential substance abuse, before the problem spiraled into addiction. Avoid that outcome by taking steps today to stop this behavior in your teen now. Your first step is to reach out to a professional. This could be your child’s doctor, guidance counselor, or one of our addiction specialists at The Recovery Village, whose help is free of charge and confidential. A professional can help you assess the situation, and determine any next steps that should be taken. If it turns out that your child needs help, a professional can go over substance abuse treatment options with you. Don’t wait until tomorrow to give your child what they need today. Just call us — we can help you take it from there. If someone close to you is suffering with addiction, go to https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/ for help!

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Genesis 4:6-7 NIV Through the years, many people have regarded Bible stories as falling short of essential details needed to draw more appropriate conclusions about the authenticity of the stories, which might lead to making better decisions in believing and trusting God. Suppose one’s desire for the details had been fully appeased, would he or she still make the right decision at those appropriate and precise moments in their life? Poets do not provide all the necessary details in their poetry, but a story is still concluded and the reader tends to be satisfied with their esteem of the poems. However, what is present in the Bible stories is mankind’s transparency of self-incriminations, the results of such exposures, plus being honest enough to relay the story down through infinite generations. The primary details are there: 1. Man’s relationship with God and how man interacts or fails to interact God. 2. The results of those relations between man and God. 3. How all mankind interacts with God through the principles revealed in those stories. Today, the stories are still relevant because of the nature of man’s behavior has not changed all that much; thereby, contemporary man can learn well from the mistakes of his past ancestors so many centuries removed, while simultaneously discovering he makes the same errors in his present life; and warns those in his future about making the same mistakes he once made. Already, one easily envisions the limitless revolutions of the revolving doors to the history of mankind’s life on earth. Because the story teller moves quickly from the exile of the Garden to the apparent adulthood of Cain and Abel, what seems to be missing in the story is the parental guidance of Cain and Abel’s childhood, just as one has no idea how much time passed in their relationship with God, before Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the knowledge of Good and Evil. Naturally, one wonders, Did Adam and Eve tell Cain and Abel about their disobedient behavior towards God? One finds it easy to think, Surely, they must have told Cain and Abel something about God. It is also easy to think that Cain and Abel must have known about God in some realistic way, such as walking and talking with God as did their parents, because Cain and Abel offer a sacrifice to God. (Genesis 4:3-5) What one can take away from the Genesis story is: God created first human man and woman, who knew God personally and disobeyed him. They were exiled from the Garden of Eden into the world because of their disobedience. The children interacted with God and offered a sacrifice to God. Adam, Eve, and their children were the original human family to represent God to the world. A point vastly overlooked or simply not thoroughly grasped as much as it should be. Cain and Abel should be considered as adults, not children. Cain worked the land as did his father, Adam. Abel was a herdsman. Both men were ready for marriage, so they were, at least, at the age of accountability for their day; and in all probability had already established their own dwellings. The story comes from a preliterate time and place, meaning it was first presented orally and many years before the written story, which was very probably passed down through numerous generations, perhaps many civilizations shared this story, and before there were any actual customs set for worship and offerings to God, as well as any set requisites for story telling. Many speculations about Adam and Eve’s parenting skills, or the lack thereof, have more than run rampant through history. Many speculations have been made about the probable causes for Cain killing his brother, Abel. Throughout history all sorts of literature has been developed about why Cain murdered Abel. Unfortunately, what is easy to derive from the story is the first human child, became the first murderer in this world, when he decided to kill his brother. Cain was apparently the first human person to answer God with a question instead of a straight and positive statement. Regardless of all the speculation, the lesson one can take from this story is a principle by which everyone lives; and that is, the obvious attitude exhibited in their relationship with God and how they offer sacrifices to God. As some people envision Cain and Abel engaged in the simplicity of human sibling rivalry, others will see the spiritual problem that exists between the two brothers. Both cases are perpetual among all humans even to this day. The question would be: Which of the two situations is more problematic, and therefore, more important to address? In God’s eyes, both may be equally important because at some point in history, God gave the commandments Not To Kill, but to love God; and to love each other as oneself; along with seven other primary commandments. (Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:4-21) Each man brought to God an offering from his labors. Cain offered something he had grown in the ground. Abel brought the first of his flock. When God looked upon the two offerings, he chose the one given by Abel. As the story goes, Cain became angry and jealous. It might have been that Cain felt God should have favored his offering more than Abel’s because he is the first born male child, which might have been a custom practiced in his day. Nevertheless, anyone today could easily empathize with Cain, if he had actually thought that way. It could have been that God was reading the mind and spirit of the two men and Abel’s mind and heart was more pure than Cain’s. Was it a matter of their faith more than the type of sacrifice? The fact that God spoke to Cain about his thoughts and even told him, “if you do right, you will be accepted” strongly indicates that God spoke to Cain as only a loving father or God would be expected to teach his child. Even if the child is an adult! Apparently, this may not have been the first manifestation of Cain’s attitude and spirit towards God. Nevertheless, Cain allowed the jealousy and anger to dictate his behavior and killed his blood kin, then, lied when God inquired about Abel’s whereabouts. (Genesis 4:6-8) Of course, God knew that Cain had killed his brother, but was curious as to what Cain would say. (Genesis 4:10) This encounter between God and Cain is reminiscent of God’s encounter with Adam and Eve, after they ate the forbidden fruit and God found them hiding from him. (Genesis 3:8-9) How often do people come before God hoping to be blessed more than others, only to walk away wondering what they did wrong? How many people want to be blessed by God, but do as Cain did? Instead of being like Abel, just giving God his best, apparently, Cain gave God according to his selfish desires, and feeling rejected by God, even set out to destroy the life of his brother. How many people give lots of money to the church just to buy status with God and the church members, even desire recognition for their “great sacrifice” or “buy their way into the leadership”? God was teaching Cain, it is not what one brings to the altar, but who is coming to the altar. God desired that Cain offer himself completely to God, as person, who is willing to listen to God, follow his instructions and wisdom for life, fully trusting God and being obedient to him. God had a special purpose for Cain and he wanted Cain to achieve that purpose in his earthly life. God blessed Abel’s offering because it was Abel’s desire not only to give God his very best sacrifice, but Abel desired to be pleasing to God, to trust and obey him at all times. It is not about finding honor among men, but to find favor with God. Abel did that, but Cain did not give himself to God as he could have, as God was hoping he would. Apparently, Abel lived as God had intended for mankind to live, in the image and likeness of God. (Genesis 1:26-27) God wants everyone to have the spirit and attitude of Abel. However, God’s love for Cain was so strong that he placed a mark on Cain, when he punished Cain for killing his brother, which showed Cain mercy and the opportunity for repentance, when God stated that: No one could kill Cain, even though he was banished to live in the land of Nod, east of Eden. (Genesis 4:11-17) God has a specific purpose for everyone in this world; and only God controls how a person lives, when, and how that person dies. (Jeremiah 29:11-13; Psalm 100:2; John 5:21-23; James 4:11-12; I Timothy 6:12-14) Just as the Bible teaches, every man should live according to his inherited image and likeness of God, every one will live and die according to his attitude, spirit, and relationship with God. (Hebrews 9:26-18) Just like Cain, all too often, at one time or another, a human will walk and talk with God, but at some point in their life, they fall short of God’s expectations and purpose for them. Yet, God avails that person the opportunity to repent by faith, receive his forgiveness and salvation, and start afresh as though they had never disobeyed him. (II Chronicles 7:12-16) Prayer: Our Holy and Heavenly Father: We thank you for this lesson about Cain in the Bible. May we apply it in our life so that we will live with an attitude and spirit of total obedience to you; and enjoy the blessings of being your presence daily. May all we say and do be pleasing and bring honor and glory to you. In the Name of Christ, we pray. Amen! Suggested Readings: Carlson, Randy. The Cain and Abel Syndrome: Getting Along With Your Adult Siblings. New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers. 2009. Moltmann, Jurgen. Theology and Joy . London: SCM Press. 2013. Moore, Jonathan. Cain and Abel: Sin’s Story . Akron, Ohio: E-Book Time, LLC. 2008. Morrice, William G. Joy In the New Testament. The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia: The Attic Press. 1983. Woofenden, Lee and Annette. “Curses or Consequences: Did God Really Curse Adam and Eve?” February 12, 2013. Spiritual Insights For Everyday Life . Leewoof.org. February 12, 2013. February 25, 2015. Woofenden, Lee and Annette. “The Cain and Abel Story: Does God Play Favorites?” September 29, 2013. Spiritual Insights For Everyday Life. Leewoof.org. September 29, 2013. February 27, 2015. Sasso, Sandy Eisenberg. Cain and Abel: Finding the Fruits of Peace . Illustrator: Joani Keller Rottenberg. Shelton, CT: Longhill Partners. 2013. Yardley, Ilexa. Cain and Abel: The Metaphor Called Nature. Seattle, WA: Create Space Publishing. 2014.

Evidence does, indeed, show that Jesus lived. The question is, will you believe it? At this point we’re not even addressing the question of whether Jesus was God in human form. There’s no point in doing so, if we don’t first show, through historical record, that Jesus did, in fact, live and have a ministry in and around Jerusalem before He was crucified. Some critics say that Jesus was a fictional character, nothing more than a myth developed by zealots who wished to start a new religion. Dr. Robert Price, for example, an atheist and mythicist, appears to find it far easier to believe in aliens than he does Jesus. Critics like Price view historical documents as having been clearly manipulated for one purpose: to gain the church legitimacy and authority over others. Historical writings, they say, can’t be trusted. Christianity, they assert, is nothing more than a knock-off religion that stole from other religions and mythical figures such as Hercules. Price goes so far as to equate Jesus to the fictional comic book character, Superman. Argues Price: “Which is more likely: that a man walked on water, glowed like the sun and rose from the dead, or that someone has rewritten a bunch of well-known miracle stories?” Historian Bart Ehrman, who also rejects Jesus as God, still counters that Price and other scholars skeptical of Jesus the historical person are simply choosing to disregard clear evidence. Both of these skeptics are entrenched in their position, though they do admit that their continued research continues to tweak their thinking. Phrases common with both of them — “It seems to me…” and “In my mind…” — stood out to me as, perhaps, the crux of the issue. Many people simply refuse to believe in Jesus because they can’t wrap their brain around a figure who can’t be proven, 100 percent, to be who He said He is. “I have’t met Jesus,” they say, “So I simply can’t know for sure that he lived, much less resurrected.” But can we? ~Trusting Quality Sources ~ Can we trust the multitude of old writings that contain information about Jesus? Definitely. It is critical, however, to evaluate the quality of any source that mentions Jesus; not every ancient mention of Jesus aids an investigation into whether He really lived. The “lost gospels,” for example, offer a version of Jesus that totally differs from the four biblical Gospels, which is why they remain excluded from the Bible. Gnostic in nature, these 2nd or 3rd century texts suggest that Jesus came with a secret message of “inner knowing” for a select few. Wrong. Jesus’ message is open to everyone. Most scholars do not view these texts as credible sources on Jesus. In contrast, leading New Testament scholar Richard Bauckham presents the Gospels as eyewitness testimony, pointing to the short distance between their writing and the people who would have seen Jesus in person: “The Gospels were written within living memory of the events they recount. Mark’s Gospel was written well within the lifetime of many of the eyewitnesses, while the other three canonical Gospels were written in the period when living eyewitnesses were becoming scarce, exactly at the point in time when their testimony would perish with them were it not put in writing.” What about Christian sources such as Paul or the authors of the General Epistles (letters) included in the Bible? What about the writings of 1st- and 2nd-century Christian leaders such as Ignatius and Clement of Rome? Or must we exclude them because they are pro-Christ? That’s akin to asking experts not to have an opinion on a topic they know well! Are the writings of highly esteemed Roman historians Tacitus and Josephus quality resources? What about facts discovered during archeological digs? Do they support the case for a historical Jesus? Ehrman, who is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, routinely lectures on the validity of Jesus the historical figure. He has authored numerous books on the topic. Though he rejects the divinity of Christ, he is fully convinced that Jesus did live and was crucified. “Did Jesus exist is a historical detective story,” he says. “I invite you to look at the hard, cold facts and judge for yourself.” Space constraints prevent us from having an in-depth examination of these facts. For that you might read one of Ehrman’s books. But we can cover some of the highlights. Let’s get to it! ~Roman Historians Tacitus and Josephus ~ Flavius Josephus was a Jewish politician, soldier, and historian who lived around AD 37-100. He was born in Jerusalem shortly after Christ’s crucifixion. As his father, Matthias, was a highly respected priest, Josephus was born into a family that would have been acutely aware of the early Jesus followers, a movement that would have been viewed as a threat to Judaism. He may have even heard some of the apostles preach in prison. Scholars view Josephus as the single most important Jewish historian of the ancient world. Among his works, Josephus penned Antiquities of the Jews, to explain the Jewish people and their beliefs to the Romans, in an effort to reduce anti-Jewish bigotry. Antiquities is important in our investigation of the historicity of Jesus. In Antiquities 20.200, for example, Josephus writes about the death of James, at the instigation of the Jewish high priest Ananus. Josephus clearly labels James the brother of Jesus “who was called Christ.” By including these details, he offers us a clear, non-Christian attestation of the historicity of Jesus. Cornelius Tacitus, another important Roman historian, lived approximately between AD 56 and 120. Modern historians view his Annals (which covers Roman emperors Augustus to Nero) to be the best source of information about this period in Roman history. It is from Tacitus, for example, that we know that Nero blamed a devastating fire that happened in Rome in AD 64 on Christians. Wrote Tacitus: “Therefore, to squelch the rumor, Nero created scapegoats and subjected to the most refined tortures those whom the common people call ‘Christians,’ hated for their abominable crimes. Their name comes from Christ, who, during the reign of Tiberius, had been executed by the procurator Pontius Pilate.” Though scholars do not know where Tacitus obtained the information he used in Annals, they know he had access to the Acta Senatus, the Roman Senate’s archives of its activities. Those Roman records could have contained reports of Jesus’ crucifixion, and he could have retrieved the details from there. Or he could have learned the facts while he was proconsul in Asia. Tacitus’ writing confirm the New Testament accounts that Tiberius and Pilate were in power when Jesus was crucified. Tacitus also points to the continued growth of Christianity in the years shortly after Jesus died, as reported in the New Testament book of Acts. His report clearly demonstrates the remarkable resolve of Jesus’ earliest followers, and the growth of the movement Jesus founded. It is because Tacitus is held in such high esteem by modern historians that his Annals carry such weight. Professor Casey Elledge of Gustavus Adophus College holds this view of early non-Christian sources, including Tacitus, Josephus, and Seutonius: “The testimonies of ancient historians offer strong evidence against a purely mythical reading of Jesus. In contrast to those who have denied the historical evidence of Jesus altogether, judging him merely to have been a mythological construct of early Christian thought, the testimonies of the ancient historians reveal how even those outside the early church regarded Jesus to have been a historical person. It remains difficult, therefore, if not impossible, to deny the historical existence of Jesus when the earliest Christians, Jewish and pagan evidence mention him.” ~Paul ~ Paul’s writings are important because they are the earliest Christian documents and the earliest writings we have concerning Jesus as a historical person. Within two years of Jesus’ death, Paul was actively hunting down His followers. But Paul did a complete about-face: from passionate persecutor of the early church to radical apostle for Jesus. So convinced was he of Jesus as Christ, that he helped to spread the Good News far and wide. Did Paul meet Jesus personally? Historians suggest no. Did Paul personally know anyone who personally knew Jesus? Historians say yes. Three years after his “blinded by the light” conversion, Paul spent time with the disciple Peter, as well as James, the brother of Jesus, both of whom would eventually die for their faith. Paul is often faulted by skeptics for not laying out the history of Jesus’ life in the 13 letters (Pauline Epistles) that bear his name (scholars believe he wrote perhaps half of them). Yet to expect Paul to do so is ridiculous; his letters primarily focus on calling out specific concerns happening at specific churches. Yet Paul clearly based many of his arguments on the assumption that Jesus did exist as a real person. We know that Paul saw Jesus as a Palestine Jew, a teacher/preacher, the son of a woman, and brother to siblings — and both fully human and divine. Paul was fully convinced that Jesus was the crucified messiah (a Hebrew word that translates to “anointed one”). Jews, we must remember, were looking for their long-expected “messiah” to be a high and mighty figure, someone who would overthrow the enemy and set up God’s kingdom on earth. To invent such a demeaning death would have done Paul no favors in his attempt to grow a community of Christ-followers. Says Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:22-23: “Jews demanded signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” As Ehrman says so matter-of-factly, “You can’t explain the crucified messiah as something that was made up. If it is hard to imagine Jews inventing the idea of a crucified messiah, where did the idea come from? It came from historical realities. There really was a man Jesus …. no Jew would have invented him.” N.T. Wright, a leading English New Testament scholar, elaborates on the challenge for Gentiles to see Jesus as divine: It flew in the face of all Hellenistic wisdom: part of the point of crucifixion was that it completely degraded the sufferer. It denied him any chance of a noble death, a considerable preoccupation among pagans. It also, in the normal run of things, denied him a proper burial as well, since the body would have been eaten by birds, rats, or other carrion and any final remains dumped in a common pit. The complete helplessness of crucifixion stood in sharp contrast to the Stoic, and indeed Socratic, ideal of the person who, perhaps through committing suicide, remained in control of their own fate. Critics often use this argument to show just how “preposterous” it is to believe that God would come to earth and die. Logically, we humans can’t wrap our heads around it. I’ve been a Christian a long time and I still struggle with understanding why God would use this format to express His great love for us. But to imagine that my puny brain is capable of understanding God’s choices is what’s really preposterous. How, in any way, can I equate myself to the supernatural being who created DNA, much less sweet puppy kisses? ~ General Epistles ~ The Epistles found in our modern Bible were letters written to early churches and believers. It remains a mystery as to who authored some of them. But most scholars agree that the Epistles with known authors were written by an apostle or family member (James, Jude) of Jesus. That makes these letters very important for our study of the historicity of Jesus. James makes no explicit reference to the person of the historical Jesus. But his references to “the wisdom …. from above” and “the righteous man” make it clear that he knew Jesus to be both human and God. Peter writes as one who had first-hand physical knowledge of Christ. Peter, you will remember, was a witness to the sufferings of Jesus, whom he wrote “suffered in the flesh.” Among New Testament writings, the letter to the Hebrews perhaps most clearly proclaims the gospel with the reality of Jesus as a historical figure. The book’s unknown author (perhaps Barnabas or Paul) writes repeatedly of Jesus’ obedience to God, including his painful, sacrificial death. Per biblical scholars Richard Burridge and Graham Gould: “Clearly, the debate here was not about what it means to call Jesus God, or Lord, or Christ, since that is taken for granted. Instead in these letters the question was the extent to which Jesus was human. …. It was the recognition that Jesus came ‘as a human among us’ which is crucial.” The New Testament books would make no sense if they were written about a figure who did not historically exist. The Bible writers clearly and firmly believed that Jesus lived, died, and resurrected. ~Early Church Writings ~ The collection of writings from 1st- and 2nd-century Christian leaders, known collectively as the Apostolic Fathers, also prove helpful for our study. Let’s look briefly at two of these early leaders: Clement of Rome and Ignatius. It is widely believed by historians that Clement personally knew the apostles, including Peter and Paul. After they were martyred, Clement became a leader of the church in Rome. Not much detail is known about Clement, but some of his writings provide valuable insight into the early church. His letter to the church at Corinth, for example, may be the earliest document we have outside of the New Testament. Clement is best known for the letter ascribed to him, written to the church in Corinth, known as 1 Clement. The letter stresses the importance of the Corinth church to humbly interact with each other, in order to remain unified. To give power to his letter, Clement reminded his readers of his direct connection to Christ’s disciples. His teachings could be trusted, he was saying, because he personally learned from the disciples the teachings that Christ had personally given them. The Corinthians obviously agreed: Clement’s letter was read in the Corinthian church as part of the liturgy for many years. Ignatius, a bishop of Antioch, was condemned to death in Rome in the early 2nd century. In several of his letters, he references the historical Jesus. In one letter to the church in Tralles, he writes: Jesus Christ who was of the race of David, who was the Son of Mary, who was truly born and ate and drank, was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate, was truly crucified and died in the sight of those in heaven and on earth and those under the earth; who moreover was truly raised from the dead, His Father having raised Him, who in the like fashion will so raise us also who believe in Him. Ignatius was clearly attempting to place the events of Jesus in the realm of history, in part because of the growing threat of Gnosticism, which I mentioned earlier. Gnostics refused to believe that Jesus was human, as they viewed physical matter as evil. They deemed the idea of God becoming human to be outrageous. This is one reason the writers of the New Testament so often described Jesus as “manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit.” They stress that He was buried, then “came in the flesh” to the disciples, that they might exam his physical wounds — which Scripture says they did. The cross is critical to Christian belief. Not because Jesus hung there, but because He overcame death. If we downplay the severity of the torture Jesus endured on our behalf, or even suggest that Jesus didn’t really suffer, we cheapen His selfless act. God’s gift was costly. But because of it, we can know how far He is willing to go to reconcile us to Him. To be honest, I rejected this gift for many years because I hated the thought of Jesus humiliated and suffering in agony for me. But if we refuse to accept the cross, we will never fully love Jesus back with our whole heart. Contemplating his own death, Ignatius rightly believed that if Christ had died only in appearance, his own willingness to sacrifice his life for Christ would have no meaning. It would be wasted effort. The early church grew because of this shared commitment to willingly follow in the footsteps of Christ. They were sold out for Jesus. Are we sold out, too? ~ Archeological Discoveries ~ So here’s the thing about archeology: it continues to validate Scripture! Every major city listed in the Gospels and Acts, for example, has been located and excavated! Scholars have recovered a number of amazing inscriptions, including one that mentions Pilate, the Roman governor who condemned Jesus to the cross. Think about how important that is! Archaeological support of the Bible can’t be ignored. While no archeological evidence clearly points us to proof that Jesus existed — scholars have yet to discover any “Jesus slept here!” signs, for example — significant evidence does support cities and people described in the Bible. Therefore, we should give weight to the Bible’s claim that Jesus did exist. It is exciting that each new discovery helps us to more clearly see the early church and how Jesus changed the lives of those who heard and accepted His message of grace and forgiveness. ~ Decide for Yourself if Jesus Lived ~ The bottom line: both Christian and secular scholars from a large cross-section of theological schools have concluded that we can have confidence that Jesus really lived — just as the Bible tells us. Ehrman is just one scholar that asserts that too much evidence exists for anyone to say Jesus wasn’t born and crucified: “The reality is that every single author who mentions Jesus — pagan, Christian, or Jewish — was fully convinced that He at least lived. E ven the enemies of the Jesus movement thought so; among their many slurs against the religion, His nonexistence is never one of them…. Jesus certainty existed.“ Ehrman gets sufficient push-back from modern skeptics on the validity of this “certainty,” but his point is well taken: those who were closest to Jesus the man tell us that He did exist. If we choose to think them wrong, that’s on us. Adds religious scholar and writer Reza Aslan, “The great Christian theologian Rudolf Bultmann liked to say that the quest for the historical Jesus is ultimately an internal quest. Scholars tend to see the Jesus they want to see. Too often they see themselves — their own reflection — in the image of Jesus they have constructed.” If that’s the case, who do YOU say Jesus is? Myth? Man? Teacher? Savior? What makes you think so? https://www.josh.org/evidence-jesus-lived/ www.josh.org/product/evidence-demands-verdict-life-changing-truth-skeptical-world/

Almost every sector of culture is hit right now with revelations about long-admired people revealed to have secret, disgusting lives. Almost every one of you will face just such a revelation about someone you have admired, maybe even someone you thought was a godly Christian. By this, I do not mean seeing an admired Christian fall into sin (every Christian does). I mean the public unveiling that what you knew about the very basic character of this person was false: that he or she is a predator or a fraud. If that happens, how should you react? AVOID DENIAL. For years many have warned about “moral relativism,” about the dangers of an eclipse of objective morality. These warnings were right, and moral relativism is now visible almost everywhere, including in the rhetoric of some who spent a lifetime warning about its dangers. Notice how, inside and outside the church, people are loudly denunciatory of the evil behavior of their political, religious, or cultural opponents, and yet, when the same thing is true of their allies, they are muted or even found attempting justifications for the behavior. Whenever this is the case, you can be sure that these people don’t believe in morality or truth or justice, but in their allies. They believe in power. They believe in themselves. Many who come in Jesus’ name are frauds. Jesus is not. That’s not the way of Christ. We should not cover over dangerous injustice out of some desire to protect “the cause,” whatever that cause is. The way of Christ does not advance by deceit or by hypocrisy, but by bearing witness to the truth—even when that truth is ugly. If you make apologies for predatory behavior because the predator is “one of us,” then you are not standing for truth, and you are potentially sacrificing countless other lives, no matter what you tell yourself. AVOID SHOCK. This is easier written than done, of course. You will be shocked to find that someone you trusted is someone other than the person you knew. Do not, though, be shocked that this happens, or that this happens within “our tribe.” Predatory people thrive on that very illusion: that such behavior won’t happen among people who know all the right buzzwords and who have all the right stated beliefs and practices. In fact, just the opposite is the case. Jesus and his apostles warned us, from the very beginning, that ravenous wolves would seek to destroy the sheep from within (Jn. 10:8-13; 2 Tim. 3:1-9; 2 Pet. 2:1-22). To be shocked that predatory people would seek to use the authority of God to destroy is to assume that somehow Jesus’ warnings do not apply to us. It also robs us of our responsibility to guard diligently our people from charlatans. AVOID CYNICISM. Again, this is not easy. You may look back on something you learned from this person—perhaps he was your pastor or she was your discipleship leader. Maybe you came to Christ hearing this person’s testimony at a youth camp, or you learned how to stop abusing drugs reading this person’s book. You may then wonder, since the person you learned these things from is now seen to be a fraud, if the things you learned from that person are fraudulent too. They may be, of course. Test everything, as the Scripture says (1 Thess. 5:21). But this is not necessarily the case. Predators often move forward by hiding behind mimicked truth. Predatory filmmakers proceed by learning how to make good films. Predatory politicians go forward by honing political skills. Fraudulent religious leaders often peddle false doctrine, but some of them also traffic in true doctrines by which they have not personally been transformed. Yes, wolves often come with false doctrine. But that does not mean that wolves are limited to the flocks that tolerate false doctrine. In infiltrating a sheep pen, a wolf will come in the skin of a sheep, not that of a goat. To be shocked that predatory people would seek to use the authority of God to destroy is to assume that somehow Jesus’ warnings do not apply to us. Judas Iscariot, after all, preached the gospel of the kingdom for some time. Imagine if you had heard the gospel from him, embraced it, and then discovered his end result. You would probably be shaken. What you responded to, though, was not Judas Iscariot, but the words he echoed from somewhere else. Test the message you received, even if you’ve learned to reject the messenger who carried it to you. The Apostle Paul recognized that some were preaching the gospel out of pretense and rivalry. He withstood them, but rejoiced that the gospel went forward. Your salvation and discipleship are not dependent on whether the preacher from whom you heard the gospel is genuine, but rather on whether the gospel itself is genuine. It is. After learning about someone fraudulent, you may then wonder whether you can ever trust anyone again. “Who else might be lying to me?” you might ask. It is good to be skeptical, again testing every message and messenger. But do not grow cynical, protecting yourself from future love or trust. Even in the darkest situations, we can always see the goodness of God, often in those who are rescuing the hurting. When someone you admire does something disgusting, don’t admire what is disgusting. At the same time, don’t let your disgust turn you to despair. Many who come in Jesus’ name are frauds. Jesus is not.

How does a man move on with his life after losing his wife and daughters to two ruthless home invaders who tortured, then killed them? Our nation is torn by senseless violence. One example impressed me deeply. For years, a nation both disgusted and captivated by a chilling crime in prototypical suburbia has wondered that. Dr. William Petit, the sole survivor now is piecing together the fragments of his shattered life. William said these words: “My only hope is for justice to be served and to do my best to honor the lives of my family, who should all still be here to share their gifts and love with the world… I hope to continue to honor my family,” Petit survived being beaten with a baseball bat and tied up by the home invaders who murdered his family right before his eyes. “I push forward in the hope that good will overcome evil, and feel the need to tell the world that evil lives among us and we need to rid the world of it.” I was gripped by this heart breaking story. How can these types of atrocities happen especially to a productive and loving family? The wake up for all of us is that we live in a world at war. It is a war between evil and good; between all that is dark and light; between Satan and God; and the object of the war is your heart, your service and your soul. This war is not just for you and your life but also the lives of those that you love. Satan will hit you where ever and how ever he can. If the enemy can rob you of your life, he will. If he can take you from your family, your wife, your husband, your children, and the God ordained spiritual leadership and influence you have in their lives… he will. If he can snatch you away from the work that God has given you to do… he will. Don’t be fooled, this world is at war. Note: This is not an article about gun control or vigilante justice. Of course, one of Jesus’ key teachings was to turn the other cheek. Please make your own decisions about retaliation or defending yourself and your family. But here are a few valuable safety tips from Dr. Waggoner. Abductions, assaults and home invasions are commonplace, especially in war-torn countries. But they can occur near you! One interesting report points out that many of these attacks occur during daylight hours when most people are at work, going about their routines, and least suspecting. Families, even good Christian families are invaded, abused, and murdered by those who abide darkness and evil in their hearts. Many modern day Christians are conflicted about protecting themselves and their families. A prevailing thought is “If I’m Christ Like I need to turn the other cheek”. Somehow, the idea is that Jesus wants us to sit back and allow ourselves to be abused. The thought is that Jesus was an effeminate, pasty, punk who allowed others to walk all over him. Nothing can be further from the truth. Jesus is the warrior King (Revelation 19). He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5)… not the kitty cat of Judah . Jesus freely gave his life (John 10); no one took it from him. Christ fulfilled his father’s will (John 3) on the cross to save a sinful world. He did not allow a depraved attacker to kill him or any one of those he was responsible for simply because of criminal intent. It is also our responsibility to defend our families and ourselves. This does not mean we look for fights or go off on cruel crusades. It does however mean that we must protect ourselves so that we may continue in God’s plan for us and our families. We are the teachers and perpetuators of God’s truth. Keeping ourselves safe and sound to spread the Gospel is a no brainer. I have trained in martial arts and self-defense for over 25 years. Below are some basic concepts I and my closest colleagues have learned about how to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. A portion of the below information is thanks to Mr. Fred Weeks from ATF. 1. Have on-hand some means of defense: Arming yourself gives you an advantage. However, all the weapons in the world do no good if you cannot access them. Any weapon for self-defense must be out and deployable. If you cannot access your weapon or if you do not have one then you must be prepared to protect yourself with what ever resources you have. Find weapons to use. Everyday objects, your purse, items in your purse, car antenna, newspapers, basically everything can be used to aid your defense. If you must utilize your body, remember to head butt, elbow, knee, bite, spit, scratch, punch, and kick every where you can. Try to be cognizant of the fact that while using your body as a weapon, soft tissue makes the best targets. The groin, eyes, throat, ears, and neck are places to aim for. Its not a boxing match… This is for your LIFE! Carry foaming pepper spray with ultra violet indicators. Cans of wasp/hornet spray work terrifically, especially when at home, just beware of wind direction. Aim for the face. Keys woven through your fingers make great deterrents… they really hurt when pressed into and through the skin. Use your overall surroundings. Dirt, rocks, sticks, pencils and pens are all wonderful projectile weapons that can give you precious moments to run away. Shopping carts are great tools to keep attackers at bay. Even though I may not look manly, I always shop with a cart when I can. 2. Make a break for it: If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you….Chances are he is more interested in your money than you. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION! The key is to get and keep as much distance between you and assailants as possible. Hopefully, you will never have to use close quarter combat. If you must fight, this means that you are already too close and the level of escalation has jumped off the charts. If you are in someone’s grasp, your life IS IN DANGER! Do everything possible to be released and get away! Self-defense classes are available almost everywhere. I highly recommend them. Never allow yourself to be surrounded. Walking through a crowd may seem like the best opening for an exit. However, if you allow attackers to surround you, your defense ability just fell through the floor. If approached by suspicious people (trust your gut – God has given you that little 6th sense, especially to women… listen to it) always walk to the outside so they all are grouped together. Get out of there as quickly as possible even if it means running back into the store, leaving your grocery cart, and making a scene. 3. Never get into a vehicle for an assailant: Statistics show that the majority of individuals who are abducted are never seen again alive. RUN!!!! Get away from a would be abductor. You have a better chance of surviving if you even attempt to get away. Chances are you will. Make noise (Scream with all your might and don’t stop!) and run where there are people (back into the store, etc.). If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car get out as soon as possible. On most newer automobile models there is a glow in the dark pull knob that opens the truck lid. Get it open and get out as soon as you can. You may have to feel around for the knob or the cable if the handle has been removed. Keep Trying! If you cannot find the trunk release, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out of the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won’t see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives. If you are tied up, it’s not the end. Struggling will loosen your bonds. Duct tape, zip ties, ropes, even hand cuffs are escapable. Never, NEVER GIVE UP! 4. Don’t tarry in your car: People have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit talking or texting. DON’T DO THIS! Also, do not bend over conspicuously while you buckle your children in. If at all possible, get in the car with your child, lock the door, and buckle them in. The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU CAN, GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes, bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location. 5. How to be aware: A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage: Be aware: look around you; look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat. It goes without saying: Keep your head up. Be observant and orient yourself to what is going on in your surroundings. This is the best way to be clear minded so you may make quick and correct decisions to act appropriately when the time comes. Avoid “Auto Pilot”! So many of us operate on automatic when we are super busy, distracted and in a hurry. How many times have we forgotten where we parked our car? Wondering around in the parking lot looking like a lost puppy attracts predators like chum draws sharks. Take note where you park. Many major department stores have their parking isles marked with letters and/or numbers. Being able to quickly and efficiently walk with confidence to your vehicle is automatically a deterrent to criminals. Don’t be caught dead with a “victim posture”. If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Many serial killers have attacked their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. Look at the car parked on the driver’s side of your vehicle, and the passenger side… If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.) 6. Elevators instead of stairs: If possible take the elevator instead of the stairs. Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. Always be smart about entering an elevator. Stand back and allow those exiting to clear away. Look into the elevator before entering. If someone “icky” gets on… you leave! Try to never enter an elevator or stairway alone! 7. A gun does not mean death: If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; and even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital shot. RUN, preferably in a zigzag pattern! 8. Not your job: Women, tend to be sympathetic: STOP! If you are alone, with your children, or in a compromising situation, it is NOT your responsibility to intervene. Getting out of your vehicle and checking on someone may get you raped, or killed. Many unsuspecting and caring women have been ambushed when they were simply trying to help. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked ‘for help’ into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim. 9. Its Better to be Safe then Sorry: There are many, schemes and tactics designed to compromise your protection and safety. – Baby Crying Scam: Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her ‘Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door…’ The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, ‘We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.’ He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby’s cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby’s cries outside their doors when they’re home alone at night. – Water scam: If you wake up in the middle of the night to hear all your taps outside running or what you think is a burst pipe, DO NOT GO OUT TO INVESTIGATE! These people turn on all your outside taps full ball so that you will go out to investigate and then attack. – Authority scam: Research shows that we simply overlook someone who appears official. Just because they are wearing a uniform does not mean they are legitimate. Police officers should have a warrant. If you know you haven’t committed a crime, then the chances are they are not real cops. You have the right to ask for assistance and representation. If they insist, call 911 (always do this in every emergency) and leave the house before they come in. Cable guys, plumbers, telephone men, mail men, all of them wear a uniform and project the image of authority. Do NOT be alone if they come to your house for even a scheduled appointment. Be smart! There have been many people raped and murdered because of uniformed scams. Also be aware that after a legitimate house call, workers have often returned to the home appearing to follow up, only to scope out the property for their next robbery or assault. 10. Be Smart: Keep lines of communication open and make sure you are aware of your surroundings. Carry a cell phone, program an “ICE” (in case of emergency) contact numbers into your phone, teach everyone to call 911 in emergencies, have plans for escape including areas of refuge and neighbors to go to, keep your house locked and secure, invest in a home alarm system, travel with a buddy… the list goes on and on. The key is to be smart and be alert.

Focus on being ungrateful. Compare what you have to people who have more. Pursue temporary possessions over eternal treasures. Develop and attitude of entitlement. Preached at LifeChurch.tv/open. Used by permission.

I ran over my son last year. I still can’t believe it. Rhett, my baby boy, escaped massive injuries and only suffered a broken hand, a bruise or two and a few scratches. I could have blamed my older kids for not shutting the three doors from the house to the outside. I could have blamed my wife for letting Rhett walk outside unsupervised. I could have blamed God for letting this horrific accident happen, but there was only one person behind the wheel. Only one person put the gearshift into drive. Only one person pressed the accelerator. That person was I. I learned that terrible morning what it meant to confess, truly confess. I had to acknowledge wounding my son when I called the hospital to tell them we were coming. The nurse had to ask me four times what was wrong. I didn’t want to admit it, but I finally relented. “I ran over my little boy,” I said. Those words still choke me. I can’t speak those words without a stutter. Without tears and heartache. The pain of that admission is incredible. But it is important for me to say, “I ran over Rhett.” If I deny what happened, if I fail to grieve, I can’t move past my sin. The past will destroy my relationship with God and with my family. Regret, guilt, bitterness, anger and resentment all stem from pride, from self-justification. I must confess my sin. I can’t truly blame anyone else, but my flesh wants to assign Rhett’s accident to someone else for my selfish benefit. Confession frees the inner self and abolishes guilt. David writes in Psalm 32:1-5: “It is a great blessing when people are forgiven for the wrongs they have done, when their sins are erased. 2 It is a great blessing when the Lord says you are not guilty, when you don’t try to hide your sins. 3 Lord, I prayed to you again and again, but I did not talk about my sins. So I only became weaker and more miserable. 4 Every day you made life harder for me. I became like a dry land in the hot summertime. Selah 5 But then I decided to confess my sins to the Lord. I stopped hiding my guilt and told you about my sins. And you forgave them all!” ERV Pride and shifting blame ends marriages, causes suicides, addictions, job loss and self-loathing. Our family barely escaped tragedy. The best of all scenarios played out. Even the nurses told me the outcome was miraculous. My son left the hospital with a splint, virtually unscathed. That day changed my life forever. The visions don’t go away. The knowledge of what I did is ever-present. Rhett will never even recall that morning. He was just 22 months old. I still remember the gravel in his cheeks when I picked him up. I sometimes awaken with a jolt. I get anxious backing up in parking lots. I park so I can just pull forward. School zones make me nervous. Self-doubt frequently creeps into my thoughts. I’m blessed to have a wife who comforts my fears and anxieties. I wonder how our marriage would have survived if I blamed her for that morning. I truly believe confessing and owning my part has been the difference in the emotional recovery for both Mary Beth and for me. It’s only been a year. My eyes still well up with tears. Confession has become a huge part of my faith. That tragic moment taught me how to truly face my failures, my careless choices and my broken promises. I can’t hold onto my sins no matter how horrible they seem. I must not become angry, bitter or resentful. I must open my heart to God, admit my iniquities and let Christ take the burden of my sin. I know Christ is real because He has taken my guilt away. I know Jesus forgives me. But I must receive that forgiveness and forgive myself too. I’m still working on deep-rooted secret sins. I really don’t want to acknowledge my wicked heart to God. I have skeletons hiding in my closet of memories. Confession is the only way to overcome my guilt and shame. Confession to God is the key to my healing. I can be vulnerable before Him and He meets me with welcoming arms. It’s humbling to confess. More importantly, it’s freeing. “If we say that we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. We can trust God to do this. He always does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrong things we have done.” ERV

Parents let schools teach the A B C’s- but what about “the birds and the bees?” In recent weeks, several Texas school districts have been in the news because of community controversy over sexuality education. This is not a new controversy- but perhaps one we will see more of as the gap between school districts and parents grows on this important life issue. A dangerous misstep school districts can make is not involving, informing, and including parents as key partners in the rearing of healthy young people. Parents matter especially in sex education- and in several important ways. The opinions of parents matter. Sex education is a personal and sensitive issue, bringing about many different personal, sensitive, medical, moral and religious opinions. And while everyone has a different opinion about what should be taught to whom and at what time, those opinions matter and should be considered when implementing local sex education policy. The Texas Legislature affirmed this when they established School Health Advisory Councils in 1995 “ensuring that local community values are reflected in the district’s health education instruction.” Texas Education Code 28.004 requires “a majority of the members must be persons who are parents of students enrolled in the district and who are not employed by the district.” The opinions of local parents are to be considered when choosing local instruction. The values of parents matter. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” is true about our behavior choices. When asked who most influences their decisions about sex, a large majority of teens ages 12-19 say their parents do (Campaign to Prevent Unplanned Pregnancy). What parents believe and expect of their children are quite likely to be what their children choose. Values are determined by both knowledge and experience. Parents, then, need good knowledge (coupled with their experiences) to have good values related to sex and relationships. Parent education is key for successful school sex education. Children’s relationships with parents matter. “Parent connectedness”- a term used by researchers to describe the closeness a child feels to their parent- has consistently been shown to be a protective factor. The Centers for Disease Control uses the term “parent engagement” to talk about parents and schools working together, which “makes it more likely that children and adolescents will avoid unhealthy behaviors, such as sexual risk behaviors.” Schools can work to grow this connectedness, especially in fostering parent-child communication about sex. A family that talks about sex can talk about anything. And lastly, the trust of parents matters. Everyday caring parents place the care of their children in the hands of the school system. Anyone who knows the heart ache of dropping off their precious five-year-old on the first day of kindergarten can relate likewise to the parent who’s entrusting the sexuality education of their older child to the hands of the school system. Like the kindergarten parent, their lack of trust comes largely from understandable fear, and that fear can be overcome with disclosure. More communication is needed on this subject perhaps more than any other. Parents should be given multiple opportunities to see and hear every word, picture, and video their children will receive. When parents clearly understand that their opinions, values, and relationships matter, and are informed by the school district as vital partners in the sexuality instruction of their children, they will be best equipped to serve in that partner role. While some may still exercise their parental right to “opt-out” their child from the school instruction, they will have been empowered as the primary sex educator of their child. When schools show that parents matter in sex education, they will be better able to fulfill their role of educating the next generation and preparing children to make the best choices for their health- and for the health of the community.

Theological conclusions depend more on our biography than most of us admit. We’d like to think we reached our views through an unbiased approach to the biblical text, but self-reflection reveals many complications. The best writers and thinkers understand this influence and use history, community, and prayerful dependence on the Holy Spirit for correction. Thankfully, the three authors (John Dickson, Kathy Keller, and Michael Bird) in Zondervan’s recently released three-book series, Fresh Perspectives on Women in Ministry, all recognize and confess this dynamic in their own positions. You won’t have to fear while reading these books that emotions and grievances will trump biblical arguments. John Dickson, senior research fellow in the Department of Ancient History at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and Michael Bird, lecturer in theology and New Testament at Crossway College in Brisbane, Australia, have moved from a complementarian (unique, but different than men) view of women in ministry and preaching toward an egalitarian (same as men) view—though neither would call himself an “egalitarian.” Dickson doesn’t argue for women’s ordination but merely the ability to fulfill a preaching ministry in the local church. Bird argues for women’s ordination but hesitates to allow women to hold senior roles like bishop or senior pastor. Interestingly, Bird maintains a complementarian view of headship in the home. As he puts it, authority in the home is based on gender, whereas in the church it’s based on calling. However, Kathy Keller, wife to Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in New York City, has moved from an egalitarian position to a complementarian one. Keller sought ordination in the PCUSA before questioning and then abandoning her egalitarian views. Interestingly, she is the only one of the three comfortable with being labeled a “complementarian” or “egalitarian”—though her views of what kinds of activity women are permitted to do in the church may make more restrictive complementarians nervous. As she states, whatever a non-ordained man can do in the church, a woman can also do. It’s worth noting at the outset that each approach has been deeply affected by the author’s context: Keller, in a highly educated and secular environment; Dickson and Bird, in a seminary and academic one. I’ll address each contribution in turn. The Gender Issue Is Primarily a Theological—Not Justice—Issue (Kathy Keller) In Jesus, Justice, and Gender Roles: A Case for Gender Roles in Ministry, Keller approaches the textual questions of 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2 not as a critical scholar, but as a theologically trained practitioner up-to-date on both cultural and scholarly debates. She focuses on the inadequacy of William Webb’s redemptive-movement proposal and lucidly argues for a classical complementarian understanding of these texts, answering objections those in her environment commonly face. If you’re looking for a fresh approach to a complementarian understanding of Scripture, you won’t find it. However, the strength of her book lies in the section addressing the question, “If Paul does indeed prescribe a complementarian understanding of authority in the local church, why?” In other words, she’s responding to the voice that cries, “Gender issues are justice issues! And if the Bible does forbid female ordination and preaching, then isn’t the Bible unjust?” Keller provides a winsome framework for approaching these objections. She begins by showing that, no, Scripture’s teaching concerning gender is not primarily a justice issue; it’s a theological one. “Justice, in the end, is whatever God decrees,” she writes. “So whether or not you are able to see justice in divinely created gender roles depends largely on how much trust you have in God’s character.” Here we see Keller isn’t talking primarily to the seminary student at Gordon-Conwell, where she and her husband studied, but the grad student at Columbia University who volunteers on the weekends at Habitat for Humanity. “If trust must be earned,” Keller observes, “hasn’t God unequivocally earned our trust with the bark on the raw wounds, the thorns pressed into the brow, your name on the cracked lips?” And if God can be trusted, then “gender roles, with all of God’s gifts to human beings, are to be rejoiced in and enjoyed, not endured and resented.” In Bourgeois Babes, Bossy Wives, and Bobby Haircuts: A Case for Gender Equality in Ministry, Michael Bird’s case for equality in ministry is not as equal as egalitarians would like. For one, Bird holds to male headship in the home. And although he believes the Bible allows for women’s ordination and preaching in the local church, he stops short of supporting women in senior roles of bishop or senior pastor. His arguments concern the following: Phoebe, Junia, and Households If Romans was Paul’s magnum opus, so to speak, then why not entrust delivering and reading his letter to one of his male fellow-laborers? Why Phoebe instead? She must have been “a woman of great abilities and good character in Paul’s mind,” Bird concludes. Also, if there were questions about the “righteousness of God” or the identity of the “wretched man” halfway through his letter, “then who do you think would be the first person that [the recipients] would ask?” Bird wonders. Also Junia, being “outstanding among the apostles” and another letter carrier for Paul, could possibly have fielded questions as well. So she raises the same speculative questions surrounding Phoebe. But these questions are just that: speculative. Did Phoebe and Junia “teach” Paul’s letters? Well, we could speculate. But, then again, if given the time we could speculate a whole host of alternatives. Bird continues the speculation. He argues that, at least in Corinth, “church leadership and household leadership went and hand in hand,” since “Paul never mentions elders in his Corinthian letters.” Therefore, “the de facto church leaders were the recognized household heads.” And since at least one household in Corinth belonged to a woman, Chloe, we have our example of a woman in an elder role. However, if you must repeatedly use phrases like, “I am admittedly inferring this” or “This is admittedly speculative,” it begins to detract from the rhetorical thrust of your argument. Contextual Norms and Biblical Norms Bird proceeds to look at the two major texts: 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2. He argues 1 Corinthians 14 likely refers to Paul’s concern about how wives relate to their husbands during public worship. Or perhaps, even, women in Corinth tended to interrupt or question authority. If women speak up too much in a service, Bird argues, the church may be in danger of “being mistaken for one of the secret and orgiastic mystery cults that had reputations for feminine excesses.” Again, with 1 Timothy 2—”I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man”—Bird argues Paul had a situational concern with the Ephesian church, where dominating women propounded false doctrine and aggressively assumed the mantle of authority in the church. The prohibition against teaching, then, is not a biblical norm but a prohibition against the authoritative teaching of aggressive women in the Ephesian church. Bird’s conclusion depends on syntactical decisions concerning the words “teaching” and “authority” in the Greek text. However, there’s a striking absence of any interaction with the flood of complementarian arguments against his conclusions. Most glaring, he makes no mention of Andreas Köstenberger and Thomas Schreiner’s Women in the Church: An Analysis and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9-15. Two essays in particular, Köstenberger on “A Complex Sentence: The Syntax of 1 Timothy 2:12” and Henry Scott Baldwin’s “A Difficult Word. In 1 Timothy 2:12,” challenge Bird’s syntactical arguments. Moreover, S. M. Baugh’s “A Foreign World: Ephesus in the First Century” undermines Bird’s speculations about feminine mystery cults in first-century Ephesus. But let’s assume for a moment Paul only had contextual concerns with the Corinthian and Ephesian churches and did not set biblical norms. If that’s the case, why doesn’t he mention men lured by this heresy? Were there none? Were only women lured by this heresy? If women were not the only ones lured, why prohibit only women? And if only some women were enticed, then why silence all women? On Bird’s reading, how can we avoid judging Paul guilty of sexism or capitulating to merely cultural norms? Neither conclusion seems to be in step with the rest of the Pauline corpus, nor the gospel. (Note: see also chapter 6 of D. A. Carson’s Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14.) Finally, on what basis does Bird see women as apostles but not senior pastors? And how do we explain the seeming inconsistency that authority in the home should be based on gender and authority in the church be based on calling? that men and women have different but complementary roles and responsibilities in marriage, family life, religious leadership, and elsewhere. In Hearing Her Voice: A Case for Women Giving Sermons, John Dickson says we should rethink whether Paul had our modern understanding of sermon-giving in mind when he forbade women to teach in 1 Timothy 2. He argues that modern evangelicals have inappropriately universalized the biblical word “teaching” to refer to “all kinds of Bible-based talks in the church.” Dickson suggests that “teaching” has a more particular meaning in the NT, which Paul did indeed forbid women to do. However, he avers, our modern understanding of sermon is closer to the biblical word “exhort” or even “prophesy,” which Paul did not forbid women to do. So what does “teaching” mean in the NT? Here’s Dickson’s definition: Historical and exegetical considerations combined make clear that “teaching” for Paul means preserving and laying down the fixed traditions of and about Jesus as handed on by the apostles. Teaching is not explaining a Bible text, nor is it applying God’s truth to congregational life; it is making sure that the apostolic words and rulings are well known and maintained. Dickson is adamant throughout: “teaching” cannot mean “preaching” in the way we understand it today, nor can it be any particular kind of biblical exposition—whether explaining or applying. It merely means preserving and laying down apostolic tradition. So what is the modern-day equivalent of this “teaching” office? Since the apostolic tradition has already been laid down, technically speaking, it doesn’t continue in the same form. For another example of something biblical that doesn’t exist in the modern church, Dickson gives the example of the “widows roll/roster” in 1 Timothy 5. “But no one today frets about the absence of this ministry in our church structures,” he writes. “We happily acknowledge that the thing Paul is mandating here—care for the elderly and vulnerable—has been absorbed into the various social services of the church.” The “teaching” office is greatly improved on today, Dickson says, “whenever the New Testament is reproduced and read out.” In other words, the “teaching” office no longer exists in the local church (and never included preaching in the first place). What, then, should we say? First, it’s difficult to see how “teaching” cannot include “explaining or applying” since that almost entirely empties the word of any meaning. What do we mean by “teaching” if we mean something other than “explaining and applying”? Peter Bolt gives a better explanation: It would be more accurate [contra Dickson] to say that the “handing over” and “receiving” of tradition gave the content that was then taught. Thus the relationship between “laying down and transmitting tradition” and that of “teaching” is not one of equivalence, but the first enables the second by providing the teachers with their body of knowledge. Second, let’s assume for a moment Dickson is right, that “teaching” is laying down and preserving the apostolic tradition. We need to reach some conclusions about how to identify that apostolic tradition. Surely, that tradition would derive from Jesus’ teaching on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24). Therefore, the apostles laid down and preserved what Jesus taught, since he promised the Spirit would come and remind them of everything he said (John 14:26; 16:13-15). However, if Jesus’ teaching on the Emmaus road is apostolic tradition, then we have something different from Dickson’s definition of teaching, since what Jesus taught was fundamentally expositional and explanatory. And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself (Luke 24:27, emphasis mine). Then he opened their minds [explained] to understand the Scriptures, saying to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead” (Luke 24:46, emphasis mine). If you take away exposition, interpretation, explanation, and, I would argue, application, you take away the very apostolic tradition Jesus handed down. And what is the apostolic tradition but showing how Christ fulfills all of Moses and the Prophets? Third, and building off the previous point, when the elders in Acts 6 were compelled to appoint deacons so they could fulfill their ministry of the Word, what else was their ministry but explaining (teaching!) Christ as the fulfillment of all God’s promises—the apostolic tradition? Moreover, the apostolic letters themselves are expositions and interpretations of the OT promises, complete with exhortations and applications. Many interpreters even believe the letter to the Hebrews was a sermon. This makes it very difficult to distinguish “teaching”—not only in 1 Timothy 2 but throughout the NT—from sermons and public expositions. Dickson’s case is further undermined by the Pastoral Epistles themselves, as Paul exhorts Timothy and Titus about right “teaching” and the necessity of appointing elders who “teach” correctly. But in Titus 1:9, for example, this charge involves the need to promote sound teaching and refute false teaching—a duty obviously demanding explanation and application of the apostolic message. How could the false teachers be refuted without explanation and application? Finally, immediately following Paul’s prohibition of women teaching, the apostle moved to unfold the qualifications for elders. The only qualification having anything to do with gifting or even skill is aptness to teach (1 Tim. 3:2). In other words, the apostle showed us not only who’s forbidden to teach, but also who’s permitted. Every other qualification listed is expected of any genuine Christian. But if there’s no meaningful modern equivalent to the teaching office, we’ve lost the one qualification that would set apart a man as an elder from any other godly man in the church. All of these arguments and more could be developed against Dickson’s project. We constantly need to test our theological conclusions against Scripture, despite how much our biography and cultural setting define us. Bird and Dickson encourage us to consider their proposals by coming back to Scripture, and for that I’m thankful. However, I don’t find their arguments compelling, and their conclusions depend too much on speculation to convince us to deviate from the plain meaning of the biblical text.

Elijah called fire down from heaven. But in a moment of weakness, he doubted God and lost his way. How did God speak to him, and how does He speak to you? In a whisper… Preached at National Community Church. Used by permission.

One of the most frequent questions I’ve been asked about Heaven over the years is about the nature of marriage there. As I share in my book Heaven, there will be one marriage in Heaven, not many. That marriage will be what earthly marriage symbolized and pointed to, the marriage of Christ to His bride. So we will all be married—but to Christ. Our marriage to Him is the true Marriage, of which the best of earthly marriages was a symbol and shadow. Those who did not experience marriage or had only a poor marriage on earth will be delighted with their eternal Bridegroom, who has already gone to prepare a place for them. One day all Heaven will attend the ultimate wedding, and we will be His bride (see Revelation 19:7-9). However, I do envision that people who’ve had important roles in each other’s lives will continue to be friends—and that would include a lot of people who’ve been married. So although married couples’ relationships will look different in Heaven, that certainly doesn’t mean that earthly marriage is unimportant and that God doesn’t use it in our lives in profound ways. Jesus said the institution of human marriage would end, having fulfilled its purpose. But He never hinted that deep relationships between married people would end. Here on Earth we long for a perfect marriage. That’s exactly what we’ll have—a perfect marriage with Christ. Nanci is not only my wife, but also my best friend and my closest sister in Christ. Will we become more distant in the new world? Of course not—we’ll become closer, I’m convinced. The God who said “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18) is the giver and blesser of our relationships. Life on this earth matters. What we do here touches strings that reverberate for all eternity. Nothing will take away from the fact that Nanci and I are marriage partners here and that we invest so much of our lives in each other, serving Christ together. In their book The Meaning of Marriage, Tim and Kathy Keller write: What, then, is marriage for? It is for helping each other to become our future glory-selves, the new creations that God will eventually make us. The common horizon husband and wife look toward is the Throne, and the holy, spotless, and blameless nature we will have. I can think of no more powerful common horizon than that, and that is why putting a Christian friendship at the heart of a marriage relationship can lift it to a level that no other vision for marriage approaches.Have you ever traveled to a mountainous part of the world when it was cloudy and rainy? You look out your windows and you can see almost nothing but the ground. Then the rain stops and the clouds part and you catch your breath because there, towering right over you, is this magnificent peak. But a couple of hours later the clouds roll in and it has vanished, and you don’t see it again for a good while. That is what it is like to get to know a Christian. You have an old self and a new self ( Ephesians 4:24 ). The old self is crippled with anxieties, the need to prove yourself, bad habits you can’t break, and many besetting sins and entrenched character flaws. The new self is still you, but you are liberated from your sins and flaws. This new self is always a work in process, and sometimes the clouds of the old self make it almost completely invisible. But sometimes the clouds really part, and you see the wisdom, courage, and love of which you are capable. It is a glimpse of where you are going.Within this Christian vision for marriage, here’s what it means to fall in love. It is to look at another person and get a glimpse of the person God is creating, and to say, “I see who God is making you, and it excites me! I want to be part of that. I want to partner with you and God in the journey you are taking to his throne. And when we get there, I will look at your magnificence and say, ‘I always knew you could be like this. I got glimpses of it on earth, but now look at you!’”Each spouse should see the great thing that Jesus is doing in the life of their mate through the Word, the gospel. Each spouse then should give him- or herself to be a vehicle for that work and envision the day that you will stand together before God, seeing each other presented in spotless beauty and glory. There is continuity from this life to the next. Married people have shared experiences here on the present Earth, and I think we’ll look back on those times like we were soldiers in the trenches together: we had great times and we had hard times. We should expect those relationships with family to be special and continue forever. I fully anticipate no one besides God will understand me better on the New Earth than Nanci, and there’s nobody whose company I’ll seek and enjoy more than Nanci’s. The joys of marriage in eternity will be far greater because of the character and love of our Bridegroom. I rejoice for Nanci and for me that we’ll both be married to the most wonderful person in the universe. He’s already the one we love most—there is no competition. On Earth, the closer we draw to Him, the closer we draw to each other. Surely the same will be true in Heaven. What an honor it will be to always know that God chose us for each other on this old Earth so that we might have a foretaste of life with Him on the New Earth. www.epm.org . Used by permission.