kvanover@twc.com

Intersection of this Life and the next Life

October 16, 2024 0Comment

I don’t always get it right, but I try to seek peace and calm. Nevertheless, there’s a by-product to peace and calm……I must have a reckoning with the thoughts in my head.

The one thought that plagues me is difficult to describe. It’s a nagging agitation. It’s like something’s wrong, and it can’t be fixed. It can’t tamed. It can’t be controlled. I can forget about it momentarily, but it’s always there when my mind quietens….a constant sense of irritation knowing that’s this world is screwed up.

A friend of mine died of cancer recently. He was a great, God-fearing person. His death proves there is simply no justice on this earth. There’s a verse in the Bible about all things working for good. Romans 8:28 says: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. I’ve never liked that verse. I’d never say it to my friend’s family, and I don’t want it said to me right now.

However…..sigh….it’s in the Bible, so I have to consider it. How can the pre-mature death of a great person be used by God for the good of those who love him. He left a widow and three kids. He was one of those rare people who actually set a good example as a Christian. If there’s a way this works out for good on this earth, I don’t see it. God is God-I’m not. God’s understanding is obviously beyond my understanding , but I still don’t see it.

Nevertheless, I must also consider that there’s an eternal life beyond this earthly life. Perhaps, the bad things that happen during our earthly life are used for our good in our eternal life. There’s a life after this one. It’s a forever life, and it’s more important than this earthly one. Maybe somehow, someway in the next life, the tragedy of our earthly lives actually works for our good. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

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Child-Like

July 24, 2019 0Comment

Matthew 18: 2-4 He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Recently, one of my aunts passed away. She was given a small, Appalachian church funeral with family and friends. While there, I watched a very well-behaved, young boy. He was about four years old, and he was carrying a toy. He wasn’t quite tall enough to see my aunt inside her casket. So, he climbed a step that connected the floor to the church stage. Then he peeked over and into the casket. Emotionless, he stepped down, walked over to a pew, and began quietly playing with his toy. Immediately, I thought his emotionless response was a product of his age. I thought he wasn’t old enough to grasp the severity of death. I was wrong.

A few moments later, my mother introduced him to me. Sadly, I cannot remember his name. Nevertheless, I’ll never forget what he said. She asked him three questions in my presence. Question one: What happened? He answered calmly, “She died”. Question two: Where is she? He answered flatly, “In heaven”. Question three: Who is she with? He answered confidently, “With Jesus and the angels”.

Mom then took him away to introduce him to other people, and I was left to contemplate what he said. Before I met him, I was thinking about the “why” questions. You know the ones, Why is there suffering?, Why doesn’t God do something about it? Yada, Yada, Yada. However, this little boy and his child-like faith not only simplified the situation, but he also compressed it and purified it. And I need to spend more time with Matthew 18: 2-4.

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Inverse Hypocrisy

August 27, 2018 0Comment

Jesus severely criticized the religious leaders of his day. In Matthew 23, he calls them hypocrites at least 6 times. He also called them a brood of vipers. In fact, Matthew 23:1-3 helps sum up his feelings: Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.”

We’ve all been guilty of “not practicing what we preach” at some time or another. Let’s face it. Jesus left the bar pretty high. However, I’m also guilty of, what I call, inverse hypocrisy. In other words, I expect more out of myself than I do other people. I am can forgive and accept others way quicker than I can forgive and accept myself. Some people may think, “Well, what’s wrong with that? Sounds very conscientious to me.” But there are subtle dangers with being more forgiving/accepting of others than myself. Firstly, it can be prideful. Who am I to think that there are one set of rules for everyone else, and a different, tougher set of rules for me? Do I think I’m better than everyone else?

Secondly, and perhaps even more importantly, it belittles God’s grace. It’s almost like saying that God’s grace covers everyone else’s sins more easily than it covers mine….which is ridiculous. I think we should make conscious efforts to forgive and accept ourselves with the same veracity that we forgive and accept others. In others words, I’m going to cut myself some slack and live into my grace.

I’m ending all my posts with an invitation to accept Jesus. If you would like to accept Jesus, simply pray the following prayer or one like it: “Dear Lord, I’m a sinner. I acknowledge that You sent Your son, Jesus, to die for my sins. I humbly accept Your son, Jesus, and I now further acknowledge that I am forgiven of my past sins, my present sins, and my future sins.” If you prayed that simple prayer, you are saved. Now, you need to follow Jesus. Start reading your Bible. I would suggest starting with Matthew, reading all of the New Testament, then reading the Old Testament. Also, find a good church. Christianity was never meant to be done alone. You need to be in community with other believers.

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Spread it out before the Lord

August 15, 2018 0Comment

I spoke in previous blogs about how I once suffered with anxiety. I also spoke about how God, and God alone, cured me from it. While God was curing me, I learned a good anxiety hack from Hezekiah. The story of Hezekiah can be found in 2Kings 18-20. In order to understand Hezekiah’s predicament, a very brief history lesson is necessary. King David and his son, King Solomon, ruled a unified Kingdom of Israel in its heyday. After King Solomon, the unified kingdom split into two kingdoms; the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. By the time Hezekiah became king of Judah, both kingdoms were in decline. To make matters worse, during Hezekiah’s reign in Judah, the Assyrians conquered the Kingdom of Israel, and now they threatened to conquer the Kingdom of Judah. If anyone had a right to be anxious, it was Hezekiah.

King Sennacherib of Assyria sent a message to the people of Judah. In the message, among other things, were the following words, “Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?“

Hezekiah is anxious. His military is no match for Assyria, and now Sennacherib is trying to get the people of Judah to rebel against him.

His response is explained in 2Kings 19:14-19. Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God. It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”

Hezekiah spread it (the letter) out before the Lord, but he really did so much more. Hezekiah took not only his letter, but he also took his problems, his anxiety, and his fear, and he spread them out before the Lord. Now God already knows our problems, our thoughts, and everything else about us. However, He wants to have a personal relationship with us. He wants us to bring our problems and anxious thoughts. Then he wants us to spread them out before him. In other words, we need to tell Him about our problems like He is a friend.

So, the next time an anxious situation occurs, take it, and spread it out before the Lord.

And, if you’re curious, Sennacherib lost 185,000 men in one night. He retreated, and he was eventually assassinated by his own sons. The Assyrians never conquered Judah.

I’m ending all my posts with an invitation to accept Jesus. If you would like to accept Jesus, simply pray the following prayer or one like it: “Dear Lord, I’m a sinner. I acknowledge that You sent Your son, Jesus, to die for my sins. I humbly accept Your son, Jesus, and I now further acknowledge that I am forgiven of my past sins, my present sins, and my future sins.” If you prayed that simple prayer, you are saved. Now, you need to follow Jesus. Start reading your Bible. I would suggest starting with Matthew, reading all of the New Testament, then reading the Old Testament. Also, find a good church. Christianity was never meant to be done alone. You need to be in community with other believers.

kvanover@twc.com

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