Suicide – To Die Or Not To Die

The choice is ours even though we had no choice in coming into this world. Yet what lies behind it all? If evolutionists are correct, then I guess ‘not much’! If there is no God, then again, ‘not much’ is the answer.

If there is no God, no absolute and final Authority, Creator, Source of morality… then what is our purpose, and if we don’t want to live… why not just die?
This article is written from a believer’s viewpoint of course. I can admit there have been times when faith was so weak, and questions flooding into my mind as to why all the stress and problems, that the feeling would flood over me to just be ‘done with it all’.
(Obviously the ‘temporary insanity’ passed.)

No one can force a person to live… but finding answers to life’s questions, and finding real purpose in life, can bring the desire no only to live, but live “abundantly”. For those with serious questions on Jesus, and the Authenticity and trustworthiness of the Bible, there are some good resources to research. Josh McDowell is an author which has written some good books on this. One such book is “Questions To Tough Questions”.
Now I don’t agree with his thoughts on how to be saved, but other than this, it’s a good book.

Besides, often people who are feeling ‘hopeless’ need to figure why these desperate feelings are coming. Troubles come to every one… it’s life. We can lessen problems by taking control of things we have control over. Good decisions will have positive results.
Finding faith in Jesus is the best, and most stable way to win over these feelings. Having a real relationship with Jesus at least gives you Someone who will always be with you through ‘thick and thin’. Do this by going to the source of the evidence for Jesus… The Gospels of MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN. Read, read, read… search for answers to life’s questions… The Gospels reveal at least a couple of things… Jesus came to the earth and shows us GOD (John 1). The disciples on the other hand, show us US! These disciples went through some pretty terrible times and a lot of life changes. The most critical time of their lives came when Jesus was betrayed, put on trial, beaten half to death, and then crucified.

Doubts and fears were like a huge black cloud over all of them. They believed in him, but never really, down deep, realized who HE was and IS. At least not until the resurrection. This my friend is the CRUX of Christianity. If Jesus was not raised from the dead, then as Paul says in I Corinthians 15:17, “… your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” then in verse 19 “…we are to be pitied more than all men.” That’s putting it lightly!
If on the other hand, Jesus was raised from the dead… that makes all his claims TRUE! Thus one must work through this for themselves, and figure if there is enough evidence on the resurrection of Jesus to form a foundation of FAITH. From there, life begins to change. Purpose and direction and meaning of life come into focus. The longing for heaven becomes real, not just ‘pie in the sky’. Don’t take my word for it, do your own study….

Here are some points to consider:
1. Why would so many people in the first century follow a dead man to the point of giving their lives for an empty cause?
2. Where did the body of Jesus go? The Jewish leaders made sure there was a Roman guard (five or six men), who made sure that the tomb of Jesus was not disturbed.
3. Jesus was buried in the tradition of the time, where he was wrapped in linen strips of cloth (John 19:40). In John  20, we find these same linen strips had (according to the original language) just fallen, or caved in. He was not unwrapped… what would be the reason of this… If one is going to steal the body, just take it!
4. The stone was rolled away… but what about the guards?
5. All the leaders who hated Jesus had to do is PRODUCE THE BODY… Jesus is dead, and Christianity is dead with him.
6. The change in the disciples… who before were scared and hiding, and now were unafraid, and openly proclaiming the risen Lord (Acts).
7. The man who persecuted them… Saul of Tarsus… Read Acts 7-9. He was the champion of the Jews, and had letters to take Christians as prisoners in Damascus…
He HATED CHRISTIANS AND JESUS!!! Read also Galatians 1. Consider this statement….. “THE CHRISTIANS COULDN’T AND THE JEWS WOULDN’T.” The Christians were afraid of Saul, and wouldn’t approach him to try and convert him. The Jews (in general) wouldn’t want him converted, he was their champion. So the question remains, who did it? Who changed Saul? Who made him the Apostle Paul who wrote 14 books of the New Testament? Only one answer… JESUS!
8. Even Josephus spoke of Jesus and his miracles… (Josephus was not a Christian). You can ‘Google’ Josephus and read about him.
9. Jesus fulfilled every single prophecy of the Old Testament that referred to the coming of Messiah. The odds of this would be enormous.
All of this being said, one still has to deal with the problems, questions of life. However, with Jesus it all falls into place. Things we don’t understand (which are many), we trust that in time we will understand as we trust and pray to our Savior for answers. If we receive no answer, we wait. In any case, we wait… James says, that there are things in this life which are intended to strengthen our faith, and help us grow (James 1). God is not the one who tempts… Satan is. Sin is the result of our giving in to temptation.

Growth in grace for the Christian is a fact (Ephesians 2:4-10). Christians are not perfect… but they are forgiven. There’s more truth there than meets the eye. Grace is something that is missing in many pulpits and churches, simply because they are afraid of it. (Study my series on grace for in depth study of the subject.) For now, just know, that what turns a lot of people off are the COLD, RITUALISTIC, NON-RELATIONSHIP BASED religions which are being offered. It may be good enough for others to just go and once

Find your hope, life, purpose, salvation, joy… in the man, JESUS. He is the Son of God, and is alive forever more (Revelation 1). His sacrifice is enough to cover your sins… PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE! No sin… not one sin… is unforgivable (except blaspheming the Spirit… ie calling the work of the Spirit Satanic).

You don’t have to know it all to go to heaven. You just need to know JESUS.
What must a person do to be saved? Read for yourself… Repent and be immersed for the remission of sins in the name (possession) of Jesus and you will also receive God’s Spirit at the same time (Acts 2:37-39; John 3:1-10). Read the book of Acts! See how people… thousands of them… were saved. Do what they did.

Then grow… pray… study… and share the same with others…. Get involved in helping others.

Commit suicide? Never… Why? Because He created you for a reason. You may not know it now… but it will be clear in time. Sometimes it takes time… Read Genesis 37, 39-45. A lot of reading? Sure… but here you will see how God works in someone’s (Joseph’s) life. His song after it was all over was (in my mind), “Now I know… now I know. Many years have come and gone… and I didn’t understand it all… but now I know.” Bake a pie! Take it to someone who does not expect it. Tell them, “Just thinking about you.” Get involved… Take your eyes off yourself… Others are hurting too… Find a purpose in life.

(Read dad’s articles… there’s a lot of wisdom and help there as well.) Feel free to write me if you want to study, or have questions. (“Whoever finds this: I love you”).

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What Of Turtles And Hares?

   We usually hated to go to bed as kids…
   Bedtime always was announced when we wanted to watch one more cartoon or
Bonanza or The Jackie Gleason Show. Occasionally though, there was a bed time
story. The old saying is true that “a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go
down… in a most delightful way”, and a bed time story made bedtime better. 
   One of our favorites was the story of the turtle (or was it Tortoise) and the hare. Most of us pre-video game and i-pad generation, remember that story. One day this particular rabbit was bragging about how fast he was to all his friends. The turtle heard him and
said he could beat him in a race. Well, this crawled all over the rabbit, and his reputation was on the line (as well as a bucket of pride), so he accepted the challenge and added a few little statements on just how bad he would beat the turtle. Everyone prepared for the event. Finally the day came for the race, and the two racers got ready to run. “Get ready!” “Set” “Go!” With a cloud of dust, the rabbit leaves the turtle behind, and gets so far ahead of the turtle, that he decides to stop and take a nap. The turtle slowly but surely moves forward toward the finish line. Then the rabbit wakes up and looks around and sees the turtle has passed him and is close to the finish. The rabbit puts all
his energy into running as fast as he can, but the turtle, even though he was tired, never stopped… and he won. 
   Now this is my version of this fable, but it’s what I remember, and it has come to my mind at sometimes when things get tough. 
   There’s some good lessons here… 1.) Finish what you start. Still struggling with this one, but it’s a good rule to incorporate. If you start something that’s good, or necessary… finish it. I have to confess fighting the urge to begin several jobs at a time, and then getting bogged down. So many things need to be done. Usually I just sit and
make a list of these things, and number them in order of importance. Finishing the job hated the most really helps.  2.) Slow isn’t always bad (except when you’re working on a commercial airline repair crew… “time is money”). Yes, being slow can be a real pain at times, but the idea is to set a good pace and keep with it. This is tied to the next point,
3.) Make the most of who you are and stop trying to be something you are not.  You are special and you have certain talents and gifts… use them to the best you can. Weaknesses can be worked on and improved. Speed comes with experience.  4.) Slow doesn’t always loose, and fast doesn’t always win. Fast sometimes brings carelessness
and mistakes. Taking the ‘short-cut’ isn’t always the best thing to do. The more difficult and detailed something is, the slower you may have to work… just make sure when you’re done… it is done right. In the end, you may accomplish more than the one who rushes through a job and fails at the quality hoped for.
   When Jesus finished His work here on  earth… nothing was left to chance. When He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), He meant it. The work of fulfilling the law, and providing a way for lost humanity to be saved was done and done right.
   With every task you face…. determine, to do it right the first time, and finish. It may be a small insignificant task… but these are the ones that add up.

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Homosexuality – A Choice Or ‘Born That Way’

 

This has become more of a problem as “political correctness” and public support is pushed by Hollywood and others try and get this along with other ‘life-styles’ accepted as a normal thing.
The Christian however, ‘marches to a different Drummer’ and there can be no compromise on this (Romans 12:2). This article is more in the form of an outline, and thus not much is expanded on. However, the attitude with which this article (and others which follow in the future), is presented, is purely from a desire to help…. and while Bible believers have to take a stand for truth, it must always be presented with the attitude of love and concern for people.
This article is the result of a request from a teenager asking for help in answering a question which a  friend asked him. She had a teenage friend who is struggling with homosexuality and didn’t know how to help him.
Here was my reply:

1. This will be a struggle with your friend until it is conquered. It is truly a serious question, that deserves serious study of the Word of God, and prayer, and especially, a desire to do what is right. Even so it will not be easy for your friend.

2. The Bible, (our only authority) does not teach that people are born homosexuals, lesbians any more than someone who has sex with animals. We are born male or female, and we are born with a ‘sex-drive.’ There are some while growing up, going through puberty, who may be curious about homosexual activity even before they know the word ‘homosexual.’ Perhaps they may hear about it or see it on television or read about it. Perhaps it is even condoned and taught as a just another “life style” in school sex education or some other class. However, one needs to understand that Homosexuality is a matter of choice, not  the way one is born.

3. What makes Homosexuality wrong…
a.) The way we are made physically. This should be obvious (male/female)
(Genesis 1:27).
b.) God’s Word says so…
i.) Genesis 18:20-25
ii.) Leviticus 18:22-28
iii.) Romans 1:18-32
iv.) I Corinthians 6:15-20

4. What to do:
a.) This friend is going to need REAL FRIENDS through this. Let him know he has REAL FRIENDS WHO CARE. Christian agape love which loves a person in-spite of and not because of merit. This love is not physical or fleshly, and is even above the friendship or familial type love… It is the love God loves us with, (I Corinthians 13; Galatians 6:1-5). In no way should your friend convey the idea that homosexuality is condoned, while trying to help. Homosexuality is never right and needs to STOP because it is wrong and unnatural, (ie against the reason God made male and female).
b.) This person will be struggling with what political, and social leaders on tv are saying. They are trying to pass laws, and get everyone to believe this is something natural…. But it is not. So it is a question of which AUTHORITY  he will accept, God’s Word or Social leaders and politicians and Hollywood movies.
c.) He needs to know that God is NOT AGAINST HIM, anymore than someone who murders or commits adultery. God definitely LOVES HIM. Proof? Jesus died on the cross for him. God is AGAINST SIN. People who sin, are going to hurt themselves and others, God doesn’t want that… He wants all people to turn from SIN and come to Him, because he knows what is best. Someone told me, “All Satan’s apples, got worms in them.” The ‘fruit’ looks inviting, but reality is found inside. Consequences always come with sin.
d.) He is going to have to make a choice… this is where friendship comes in strong. Good friends will work with him and support him through this. He definitely needs a Christian counselor or support group of fellow-strugglers, who are dealing with the same thing. This is perhaps where the most help will come from. Support groups are good and needed as well.
e.) If he chooses to fight this, then he will have to avoid everything which suggests it, or makes it look inviting. Sin begins in the heart and mind. Thus the solution begins in the heart and mind…where you start thinking differently, (Philippians 4:8-9). Change the thinking…. And you change the actions, every time. The body is under the control of the mind, not the other way around (2 Corinthians 10:5).
f.) Finally he must know, must be told, that although your friendship is true, and you will help him change and get to Christ, you will in no way condone Homosexuality.
g.) (I have amended my thoughts here.) In the end, if he refuses to change, then you have the choice on whether or not, to avoid this person, for the sake of your reputation. If you do, be sure it is conveyed in a Christian manner. You may speak with him, and say, “We can be friends, but in no way do I support your decision to be homosexual, nor will I be spending time with you in situations which can be construed in a bad way.” Here you must be firm, but kind.
Being a Christian means taking a stand on things like this. It may cost a friendship, but you don’t have to be unChristian in your attitude in making your stand for what you believe.
Remember, people judge you by your friends (every time). Thus the Christian must be careful.

5. This is not easy by any means, but you are growing in Christ fast, and I appreciate your asking me to help.  These principles may help in other situations as well. Read the passages, study and mark them for easy reference.
 

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Growing Up

   Being a teenager was tough. Sometimes I thought mom and dad were just not ‘with it’, or didn’t care. (I under estimated them). It’s just that when you are getting made-fun-of because your teeth stick out, and your hair is ‘red’ and your face is covered in freckles, and your chest is not muscular, and you’re just skinny, shy… you just don’t feel right! At least I didn’t. Believe me it was tough. However, even with that, we didn’t struggle with the things you struggle with today. I mean the worst thing kids got in trouble for was smoking behind the gym, or kissing a girl behind the gym, or maybe an occasional fight. When we got in trouble at school, we got in trouble at home. That was ‘capital punishment’ time. Today’s teens stuggle with gangs, and drugs, sex, guns, killings in schools, huge peer pressure, metal detectors, and on and on! I just have a hard time with that. Things have really changed and I will be the first to admit it.
   How to cope and what to do? Well, at least, in spite of the fact that I AM NOT A PROFESSONAL COUNSELOR and am not claiming to be such… I CARE. I hope that our time together will be helpful at least to the extent that you don’t feel alone. You MAY NOT AGREE with some things I say. THAT IS FINE you don’t have to, but it is still a place to come and talk and share. So we begin this adventure together….
   My prayer for you is that God will open up his store-house of blessings and wisdom for you, and that the tough times will be learning and growing times. Which serve to make you better and stronger.
   You can make it through these years, trust me. There is no need to quit, give up, or run.
You are loved beyond belief, by the god of the Universe, and I pray, by your parents. There is where you find you structure, your protection…. If not… there is help. Don’t look to another teenager for it, most times, they are in the same boat, or B.T.D.T (been there done that). 
   More later……. hang in there.

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