Rest in Peace?

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TombstoneAccording to Wikipedia, “Rest in peace” is a short epithet or idiomatic expression wishing eternal rest and peace for someone who has died. The phrase “dormit in pace” (English: “he sleeps in peace”) was found in the catacombs of the early Christians and indicated that “they died in the peace of the Church, that is, united in Christ. The expression typically appears on headstones, often abbreviated as “RIP” or “R.I.P.”.

Notice in its origin, the phrase was associated with the church and extended to those who had died “in the peace of the Church, that is, united with Christ.” But today, the expression is commonly extended to anyone who dies. My question is this: “How can someone who did not live in peace, die and rest in peace?” My mother used to always tell us when we were young: “You can’t live crooked and die straight!” In other words, she was telling us that the way we lived our lives would have a direct bearing on our eternal state after death! I don’t mean to be splitting hairs or making much ado about nothing, but I think we have gotten to a point where, in many cases, we are just saying things just to be saying something!

I read a recent Facebook posting by a young man dedicated to a friend who was a gang-banger and was killed in a gang-related shooting. In this post, I read the traditional wish for the deceased to RIP (rest in peace). But the thing that really caught my attention was a picture of the deceased gang-banger in the heavenly clouds wearing angel wings! It’s amazing to me that we have a tendency to “demonize” people while they live and “angelize” them when they die! We tell lies “on them” while they are living and tell lies “for them” when they are dead! Now, I know that no matter what type of life a person lived, we would like to think that they are in “a better place” when they die. But, according to the Bible, that is not always the case. If we are to believe Jesus and the biblical record then we must concede that “all dogs don’t go to Heaven!” No matter how we may wish that all will rest in peace, the truth of the matter is that all will not! Jesus said in the story of The Rich Man and Lazarus in the Gospel of Luke that Lazarus was resting in the bosom of Abraham, but of the rich man he said: “And in hell he lifted up his eyes!” Two different fates for two different lives lived.

The best way for the wish for a person to rest in peace when they die to be fulfilled is to introduce them to the Prince of Peace while they yet live! The Bible says that the Lord will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on Him. It also says that there is no peace for the wicked! How can it be assure that the wish: RIP is fulfilled? Well, the best way is to make sure you rest in peace is to live in peace! There can be no RIP later unless we LIP (Live in <the Peace that God provides> now! How can we live in that peace? We can live in that peace by being reconciled to God through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary’s Cross. We can’t have the peace of God until we have peace with God! When we have that peace, we can have peace in the midst of the storms while we live and can be assured that we will rest in peace when we die!

Morality Without God

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moral compassThere is an interesting phenomenon occurring in our culture today. People want to dismiss the notion of a supreme authoritative God from the moral landscape yet they insist on still using moralistic terms such as “right” and “wrong.” But how can there be right and wrong when there is no ultimate moral authority? Who decides what is right and what is wrong? Is the question decided by a majority vote or common consensus? The problem with such a notion is that what is deemed as “right” is constantly changing according to the current majority and the will of the majority is too often subject to influence of a vocal minority.

Most people are familiar with the first part of the KJV’s rendition of Proverbs 29:18 which says: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” However, that is not the complete thought of the verse. The latter part of the verse says: “But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Since this is Hebrew poetry, and the main device of Hebrew poetry is parallelism, the first and second sections are usually similar or they are in direct contrast to one another. The second part of the verse starts with a contrasting “but” which let us know that this is a case of contrast. The second part of the verse is a direct contrast or completely opposite of the first part of the verse.

Now this presents us with a problem because of the KJV’s translation of the Hebrew word: “hazon” to the English word: “vision.” In modern English, we normally associate the word “vision” with sight or the setting of goals. But is that the meaning of the word in this verse? Was that the original meaning the author wanted to convey when this text was first written? In view of the contrast in the latter part of the verse, I don’t think it was.

One other possible translation of the Hebrew word, “hazon” is; “word of revelation.” What is “word of revelation?” It is the law or the word of God! Now, while “vision” as we commonly use it is a valid application, I don’t think it was the original author’s intent. I think the original author intended to make a contrast between people perishing who were without the law or the word of God and people blessed (happy) because they keep, that is obey, the law (word of God).

As we conclude, we must also note that the Hebrew word that is translated as “perish” actually means; “let free, make someone go out of control, allow to run wild.” Do you see that? This verse that we have traditionally used to encourage goal-setting and success, actually reveals the cause of the sad state of morality in America today! When people seek to have a righteous morality without a righteous God, the inevitable result is moral chaos! I think the New Living Translation is closer to the original truth the author wanted to convey: “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.”

The only solution to our social and moral dilemma today is that we turn back and submit to the Divine authority of God and acknowledge that the LORD, He is God! It is He that hath made us and not we ourselves!

The Rest of the Story!

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Paul HarveyFrom May 1976 until the early part of 2009, American radio broadcaster and commentator Paul Harvey was on the air with a popular commentary called: “The Rest of the Story.” During these segments, Harvey would talk about various topics of public interest laced with true-life stories. He was famous for his use of the dramatic pause and other speaking techniques to get his point across. Harvey would never finish the complete story in the first half of the broadcast. Usually he would introduce the topic or story during the first part of the program, but would delay the conclusion of the story until after a commercial break. When the commercial was over, he would begin the conclusion with the words: “And now. . . the rest of the story!”

Well, there are many who are preaching and teaching the Gospel today without telling the whole story! They tell the first segment or the appealing part without telling all or the rest of the story! For instance, if you listen to many who exclusively  preach/teach prosperity and/or the “word of faith” messages, you might note the extensive use of Hebrews 11 as a proof-text. That chapter in the Bible has been called the “Great Hall of Faith!” In it, we read about Enoch, who, because of his faith and because he walked with God, was translated so that he did not see death! We read about the great heroes and she-roes of faith such as Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab! However, usually when this text is preached, the preacher/teacher will climax and stop with Hebrews 11:32-35a. But why conclude at 35a when 35b and following tell the rest of the story?

Hebrews 11:35b begins by reporting: “And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection.” The rest of the chapter relates what happened to others who suffered cruel mockings, beatings, imprisonments, being sawed in two, and having no certain dwelling place, wandering around in deserts and caves! Whew! You’re not going to get many members or have a good offering if you preach that! But that is the rest of the story! The people at the end of the chapter were just as faithful as those at the beginning because the Bible says (verse 39): “And all these, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise.”

That’s the rest of story! No matter how faithful we are or how much faith we have, true biblical faith does not guarantee the earthly success and victory many would like to think it does! All the faith in the world will not prevent death from eventually knocking on our door! Yes! Through the grace of God, we may be healed today, but we are still going to die sometime tomorrow! King Hezekiah was sick unto death. But he prayed to the Lord and the Lord healed him of his sickness! But the rest of the story says that it was not an indefinite extension; it was only for 15 more years, after that, Hezekiah died!

We do the Gospel and the Kingdom of God a disservice when we preach and teach only the appealing parts of the story! We must be honest and tell people the rest of the story! There is tremendous blessing in being a Christian, but the rest of the story is that the blessing comes with trouble and persecution! Being a Christian does not exempt one from trouble and distress! However, being a Christian does enable one to have access to the Source the world does not have! The rest of the story is the Lord’s promise to be with us through it all! Jesus said in John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”  And that, my friend, is the rest of the story. . . Good Day!

Lessons from the XBox

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xboxGuest what! I got an Xbox for Christmas! Well, not really! It’s really for my grandson, who is living with us. But since he’s a kid and should to be supervised while he is playing, I get to play with it also!

Well as I, I mean “we,” were playing the other day I began to realize that there is a lot that can learned about life from playing with the Xbox. The first thing is the fact that if you don’t know how to operate the controllers, the game will be totally frustrating. You have to know when to push the blue “x” button, the green “a” button, rotate the left and right sticks and when to pull the right and left triggers! Whew! It takes a while to get adjusted, especially when the game is moving at such a fast pace! However, your frustration can be minimized if you take the time to find out how to control functions and go through the various tutorials.

That’s the way it is with life! If you don’t know how life works, life can be totally frustrating! You can be overwhelmed by the fast pace of life when you try to learn how it works on the fly! But just like the Xbox games, the frustrations of life can be minimized by taking the time to learn what buttons to push and go through the various tutorials of life. I think the source of many of the problems in our society today can be traced to the fact that most kids are trying to be grown too soon! As a result, they miss out on many of the lessons they should learn during their childhood. Childhood (the tutorial-period) is the time to learn how the various buttons of life work! But if you wait until you are an adult (when the game is already in progress) to learn how to operate the controls, you are setting yourself up for failure and frustration! Now, if you really want to know how life works, I would suggest you take the time to read and study the manual. The manual is the Bible: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. The Bible is the best manual of life because it was authored by the Creator of Life!

Another lesson I learned from playing the Xbox is that if you’re not careful, it will monopolize your time! Before you know it, the day or the night will be gone and you will have accomplished nothing! The lesson of life is this: Don’t allow yourself to be so distracted by the recreations and non-essentials of life that you fail to do and/or don’t have the time for what is really important in life! Focus and spend your time doing the things that are really important, because if you don’t, your energy will be drained and your time will be monopolized by the “Xboxes” of life! Oh well! I would write more, but I have to go now! Time to play my grandson another game of NBA 2K14!