Death and Nanorobots

"And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment" (1 Corinthians 9:27)

According to experts, beloved, the field of nanotechnology is booming! In fact, I saw on my favorite news channel just this morning the following headlines proudly displayed:

IMMORTALITY: Breakthrough in Genetics Defeats Death

The report went on to claim that the introduction of a new level of nanorobots into the human body can so affect genetics that physical death is virtually eliminated. Certainly such news as this will grab the attention of every human being worldwide!

But what about what the Apostle Paul wrote to the saints in the city of Corinth so many years ago? Did God not say to us through him that it has been divinely appointed for us to each "die once," to taste of the separation of the soul from the body? Has the ingenuity of man, then, overridden the authority and power of the Creator?

Medical technology has proven to be overall a tremendous blessing to mankind, beloved, even enabling us to enjoy a longer lifespan because of freedom from the diseases that have historically shortened it. But to lay claim to actually having defeated death? Now that, as they say, is "a horse of a different color"!

I think that we all know full well that God's judgment that each man shall taste of death is completely safe from any army of tiny robots that may or may not ever be introduced into the human body. But is that the end of it, then, for us? Is death always to win in the end? Is there no power that can ever conquer the ultimate enemy of man?

The good news is that, not only is there such a hope for us, but that we need not wait for genetic scientists to engineer and perfect it on our behalf. Such power is readily available to us and has been ever since Jesus Christ in love went to the cross and paid that ultimate price for your sins and mine.

"But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

Nanorobotics? NO! But the victory of Jesus Christ over sin and death and hell? YES! Death has been conquered, beloved, not by the ingenuity of man but rather by the grace and mercy of God in the person of Jesus Christ. Because He lives we shall live also!

Ron

What If?

"But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations" (2 Timothy 2:23a)

The "what if's" of this life come in just about every size and type imaginable, beloved! In fact, they are only limited by the boundaries of a person's mind and how far he or she is willing to let it stray. In the face of the realities of life that we face daily, we as Christians so often begin to speculate and ask ourselves "what if" questions.

The Apostle Paul in writing his second recorded letter to Timothy, his spiritual son in the faith and his younger brother in pastoral ministry, urged him to avoid such speculations. His counsel to Timothy was part of a greater theme dealing with becoming in our walk as believers vessels of honor (vv. 20-26). To become involved, then, in "foolish and ignorant speculations," no matter what size or type, serves only to draw our attention away from the pursuit of a pure life and dedicated service that is God's desire for us.

The Greek word for "foolish" carries the basic meaning of being dull in our thinking and even of thinking and acting in silly ways. The word for "ignorant" refers to that which proves itself to be unlearned and untrained and, thus, undisciplined. The word for "speculations" speaks of that which is by its very nature controversial and, not being founded in truth, stands in stark contrast to the truth of God's Word which ought to be the daily "take one step at a time" focus of every Christian's living.

Satan loves to see us "what if" as we live from day to day! He knows, beloved, that as long as he can entice us to speculate about what might have been or especially what could be, we will remain distracted from what is - that which is God's specific will and purpose for us in the here and now. So what are we to do? If we are to avoid the "what if's" of this life, how are we to live? Paul answered that question just previous to urging Timothy to avoid such speculations when he encouraged him to "pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart" (v. 22).

Whether it is a "what if" about points of doctrine, as Paul has in mind here, or a "what if" about an imagined greener pasture just over the next rise, God's will for us is that we make the personal pursuit of righteousness our primary goal in life. God's Word is immutable, infallible, authoritative, sufficient, and final, beloved. It is quite simply all that we need. The "what if's" of this world all lead to the same place - to the devil's dead-end! Stay the course!

Ron

Every Knee Shall (Te)Bow?

"Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11)

If by any chance you have never heard the name Tim Tebow, then you certainly have not had your head stuck in those whirling clouds that hover above the world known as the National Football League! For those so uninitiated, Tim Tebow is the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. And as talented as he clearly is in playing that position, it is not his athletic prowess on the football field that is attracting so much national media attention. It is because Tim Tebow is (dare I say it?) a Christian and one who is not ashamed to publicly profess his personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He kneels in grateful prayer on the field after every touchdown scored and in post-game interviews he freely and fully gives the glory to his Lord and Savior.

So why all the controversy that surrounds him? He is not the first Christian athlete to do so. The problem is that the media wants to glamorize Tim Tebow and Tim Tebow wants to glorify the Lord! All of the attention focused upon him has been about him, while little has been focused upon his relationship with Christ and how he came to have such a personal walk with the Lord. In fact, the only connection I have heard made by the media in that direction concerns whether or not he receives divine intervention on the playing field. Apparently, according to a recent poll, as many people believe that God directly intervenes in the Broncos' games as believe that He does not.

To the believers in the city of Philippi the Apostle Paul wrote that the day is coming when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Tim Tebow is simply doing publicly what every true follower of Christ should be doing: getting a head-start on that coming day in the here and now!

So my word to Tim Tebow is: Go for it, brother! Maybe the rest of us can use your example to both wise up and catch up!

Ron

But God!

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-7)

Have you ever messed up, beloved, and I mean really messed up big time? In the opening three verses that precede those posted above Paul describes in graphic and even painful detail how all of us as human beings have spiritually and in every other conceivable way "messed up" our lives. Just to summarize those verses, we have managed to find ourselves dead in sin spiritually and separated from the life of God. We have further accomplished as a result being bound in sin experientially and unable to extricate ourselves from that bondage. Not only that but we are also as mankind condemned before God and standing squarely in the path of His judicial wrath. And all of that is on our best day!

The good news is, however, that verse four begins with the glorious words "But God." You see, beloved, when you read such an awful description as we find of ourselves in the first three verses and then come to the words "but God," what you suddenly realize is that God Himself has in mercy done for us what we could never hope to do for ourselves! In verses four through seven we discover what the grace and mercy of God have accomplished for us and in us if we have truly put our trust in Jesus Christ. He has first of all made us alive spiritually with Christ. As God by His power brought Jesus forth from the tomb, so He has given to you and me eternal life.

As glorious as that is, beloved, it is only the beginning of God's grace at work. He has also raised us up with Him. As Jesus was resurrected so we have the promise of our own resurrection when the church is raptured and we will be caught up to be with Him. Thus, not only has God through the ministry of His grace given to us eternal life, but he has assured us of our exaltation with Him in glory.

And in raising us up with Christ, He has also seated us with Him in the heavenlies. We are thus enthroned with Him just as He promised that we would be. Eternal life, exaltation, enthronement because of the work of God's grace in us to bring us to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Finally, Paul reveals that all of this wondrous working of the grace of God is intended to show the surpassing riches of His grace that He has lavished upon us. The sense of the word here is that we are "put on display" for all to see for all eternity. In a word, we are the divine exhibition of His grace. And it all begins with two powerful transformational words - "But God"!

Because of the "but God" of His grace, beloved, all of that mess we have made of our lives so graphically described in verses one through three no longer matters. It is all washed away, scrubbed clean, covered in atoning blood, gone forever! As Horatio Spafford wrote in His touching tribute to the grace of God in Jesus Christ:

My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought -

My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more!
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Ron

Chaxting the Truth in Love?

"But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ" (Ephesians 4:15)

All right, I admit it! Out of necessity more than for any other reason I have joined the ranks of "texters." The recent purchase of a new cell phone included a texting keyboard, so I was off and running. Actually, I love keeping up with my kids via the medium of texting though a latecomer to this crazy medium of communication.

Here we are at the outset of a brand new year, beloved! If you are anywhere near my age bracket (or even older, dare I say?) then you will certainly remember New Year's resolutions and how much fun it was to make them, though secretly we all knew we would likely never keep them. So what would be a wonderful New Year's resolution for us to consider seriously, especially those who are followers of Jesus Christ? The Apostle Paul in his letter to the saints in Ephesus has a very clear answer for us. As he challenged the believers of that city, so through the wonder of the written Word he challenges us today to "speak the truth in love."

Speak the truth - now there's a novel thought, especially considering the flow of political give-and-take coming out of the current campaign rhetoric. I don't know about you but I'm having a tough time telling what the truth is and what it is not! But think about it, beloved. Should that not be all the more reason for us as Christians to "speak the truth in love" in all of our relationships, in all of our dealings with a world that seems to have lost the handle on this vital commodity? It seems to me that what is "truth" has become whatever is most convenient to affirm at any given moment!

How important is it for us as followers of Christ to speak the truth in love in our daily walk? Paul went on to say that it is absolutely essential to growing up spiritually and growing into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. For us, then, speaking the truth in love is everything! If we are ever to have the impact upon our world that God has put us where we are to have, then we must begin with this most basic necessity - to "truth it" in all of our communication! Come what may, cost what may, we need to speak the truth of God in tenderness and with a loving heart.

As I was concluding a chat with my west coast daughter recently via my brand new texting machine, I casually signed off with the comment that I would "chaxt" with her later. Now I don't know whether or not that term is original with me, but personally I've never heard it before. So for me it is and I think I'll hang on to it. So whether you are chatting, texting, or chaxting, remember in this brand new year to always speak the truth in love!

What about tweeting? I'll have to hold off on that for a while. After all, I just discovered texting!

Ron