LarryA2J's Blog

 Was it? Did I leave you happy, upset, angry, elated, or just leave you? Did we share memories or make new ones? Did we plan to get together again? Did we break a friendship? Did we say some things we wish we had not? Did we make promises we never had a chance to fulfill? The last time I saw my childhood best friend was at his dad’s funeral, we tried to get together for lunch and catch-up on old times but schedules would not permit it. He was killed in an auto accident a few months later. If I had known that was the last time I would see him I would have done more. One of my favorite customers at work died from cancer. What impression did I leave on her the last time I would see her? I hope it was as a friend. We would chat across the counter when she would mail a letter or two. I never knew she was dying. If only I had known that was the last time I would see her, would I have been nicer? Talked longer? I was at work and there were other customers to wait on. My favorite uncle and I would always play Checkers and I would never win. Growing up families would get together once a month to celebrate birthdays, holidays or special events. We played and played and he would win. I never got upset because I was learning. As we got older the gatherings became less frequent. Time marches on. My uncle passed away and I really don’t remember the last time I saw him. I should have kept in touch. I should have written or called. I should have done something. All my older relatives are gone, except one aunt in her eighties. Why did our family drift apart over the years? What happened to the celebrations? Time is the culprit. We all got to busy with kids, work, hobbies, sports or any number of things. There are so many more things to cram in a day that family usually gets pushed away. Think of your family and ask, “Was that the last time I will see you?” I think of all the members of my church family that have come and gone over the years. Did I do enough to keep in touch? Did I do my part? Some told us they were leaving and we said our goodbyes, hugs all around. Others just stopped coming to our church, just faded away. Did we even notice? Was that the last time I shall see you? I think of all the people I’ve come to know over the years, Craig, Jim, Debbie, Pat, Mark, Andrea, Tom, Elizabeth, Richie, Mike, Joanne, Bob, George, Linda, Mary, Barb, the list goes on and on. Each of these I consider dear friends and yet they are just memories. I just ask myself when I think of them, was that the last time I shall see you? Take time today to reflect on your life, your friendships. Is there anybody you can think of? People come and go in our lives everyday. I hope I made a lasting good impression of each and everyone. When I say goodbye I wonder - Was that the last time I shall see you?

What is it? You could call it a phrase. In Greek it’s just one word. What do you think?
The Bible is a collection of sixty-six books written over a period of thousands of years. It is divided into two Testaments.
The Old Testament was written before the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. From the beginning of Genesis when Adam and Eve sinned to the book of Malachi we read about a Savior who will be born of the house and lineage of David. Almost every Old Testament book shows the relationship to the Savior, who begat who and who begat who all the way from Adam to Joseph and Mary. The New Testament was written after His birth. The Old tells us about God and points to Jesus. The New also teaches us about Jesus and His life on earth.
Many folks would say it’s “For God so loved the world…..” Others might say “Love the Lord with all your heart….” Still others might say “Love your neighbor…..” or “Do unto others……” These are all familiar verses in the Bible that we all know. There are thousands of verses in the Bible that you could say are most important. We all have our favorites.
Jesus is quoted many times throughout the New Testament. He taught many lessons and worked many miracles. He proved He was the Messiah. To me the most important sentence is “It is finished”, Tetelestai in Greek. With this phrase Jesus completed His mission on earth. Everything He did pointed to the His death on the cross.
The folks who shouted “Hosanna” on His coming to town shouted “Crucify Him” a few days later. He told His disciples what would happen several times and yet in the end they did not understand or believe. They were huddled in the upper room when He appeared in their midst. In the Garden praying, He even asked His Father to “Let this cup pass by but not My will but Yours be done”. On the cross He could have called down a legion of angels to help Him but he didn’t. He was not killed by the Roman soldiers, the Jews or even the townspeople. He willingly gave up His life for all of us.
He lived a perfect life and died a perfect death. He was the pure, flawless and perfect Lamb. When He spoke from the cross and shouted “Tetelestai”, “It is finished, Father into Your hands I commit My Spirit” He paid the price in full for our sins.
As we celebrate this Easter, this Resurrection morning take a few minutes to reflect on your sins and His forgiveness. Confess your sins to Him, admit that you’ve failed and accept His complete pardon for your life. All your sins, past, present and future will be forgiven. The debt for your life will be stamped “Paid in full”, “It is finished”, “Tetelestai”!!!
Have a joyous and Happy Easter.

We have Independence Day to remember declaring our independence from Britain in the late 1700's. We have President's Day to remember two of the greatest President's who led our country. We have Memorial Day to remember our veteran's who gave the ultimate sacrifice in defending the freedom we have today.                                             

We have Christmas to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, the ultimate Defender of our lives. He paid the greatest price that no one else could possibly pay. The Bible and the teachings in it have been around for centuries. We have more evidence to validate the Bible than any other book ever written. More hand transcribed copies written sooner after the events they tell than books written by other famous authors. Many of the books were written within fifty years of the event, often by eyewitnesses.

You wouldn’t dare tell a veteran of Iwo Jima, the D-Day Invasion at Normandy, the witnesses to Hiroshima or Nagasaki, or any other veteran that the war didn’t happen, that it was just a made up story by a bunch of men. The men who wrote the sixty-six books that make up our Bible were inspired and led by God to write what they did. It was also written over hundreds and hundreds of years. The Old Testament prophesies were fulfilled by Jesus in the New Testament.      

Without Christ in Christmas we wouldn’t even have a “holiday” season. The word holiday is from the words Holy Day which commemorate a religious event in history. By wishing someone Happy Holidays you are actually wishing them a Happy Holy Day, Christmas.

I know that the desire is not to offend non-Christians but look at it this way: If the Bible is not real and just a bunch of made up stories then death is the end. You die and your existence ceases, period. On the other hand if the Bible is true and there is Heaven or Hell waiting for us after death then you are doing your valued customers a huge disservice by not promoting the Christ of Christmas. How many of your customers will spend an eternity in Hell because you failed to help spread the message of Christ.

As for me I believe in Christmas and Christ and all the Bible teaches.

Evolution, Intelligent Design or Creationism, who cares?

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, who cares?

One Nation Under God or not, who cares?

Prayer in school or not, who cares?

 

I’ve heard that man’s evolution is compared to giving a bunch of monkeys a typewriter and given enough time they would type out the Complete Works of Shakespeare. Or putting a bunch of parts in a paper bag and over time out would come a Rolex watch. Again who cares?

Whether you believe in Creation or Evolution is strictly a matter of faith and it doesn‘t matter which you choose. Do you believe in life after death? This is the real question, the ONLY question that matters. If you don’t believe in life after death stop reading here. If you believe that you die, are planted in the ground and your existence ends read no further. If you believe that you are just a bunch of cells made up of rearranged dirt why waste your time reading more.

If you do believe in life after death then you have only two choices, you go to either Heaven or Hell. I don’t consider reincarnation life after death because those folks believe that they come back to life again and that is another topic. Again, if you believe in life after death you have two choices - either Heaven or Hell. Why do you believe in Heaven and Hell? What do you think Heaven is like? What is Hell like? If these are the only two choices you have in where you spend eternity, don’t you think you should find out about them? I mean you wouldn’t buy a car that you might have for ten or fifteen years sight unseen. You would at least take it for a test drive, kick the tires or look under the hood. You wouldn’t want to get stuck with a “lemon”. You will be in eternity for a lot longer than ten or fifteen years.

The second you take your last breath and your heart takes it’s last beat you are there. In eternity where you chose to spend it. Yes, it is your choice where to spend eternity.

What is Heaven like? Heaven is God’s home. Heaven is a beautiful place. A place where there is no darkness, no pain, no suffering, absolutely no imperfection in anyone. We will each have our own mansion or room. We will be in perfect happiness and joy. We will be in perfect peace. On earth we can experience only a very small fraction of this peace and joy in our happiest moment. Heaven is really indescribable and these few words do not even begin to describe the real Heaven.

What is Hell like? A place of eternal pain and torment, like living in a fireplace, forever and ever. Ever been out in the hot sun working and longing for that cold glass of water or ice cold soda? Imagine that a thousand times more intense. You will want to die because the agony is so severe but you can’t. Your body is already dead and your soul lives on forever in eternity. Again these few words do not even begin to describe what Hell is really like.

Make the choice today as to where you will spend eternity.

The next time someone talks about the battle between evolution or the holidays, it really doesn’t matter, now does it?

These were and are the hot topics of discussion for the past few years. You can find people who take a firm stand on either side but I ask what difference does it make? All these questions point to an Almighty God and His existence.