"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark." -Stephen Hawking "Our universe didn't need any divine help to burst into being... What was God doing before the divine creation? Was he preparing hell for people who asked such questions?" - Stephen Hawking "God not only plays dice. He sometimes throws the dice where they cannot be seen." -Stephen Hawking "We should seek the greatest value of our action." -Stephen Hawking (in answer to a question on how we should live)
This image appeared in The Economist magazine in association with the release of Stephen Hawkings latest work - The Grand Design.
These are the words of famed cosmologist Stephen Hawking on God... and he certainly is not the last word on the subject of religion or God, or even the universe. The last book I read of his was, "The Universe in a Nutshell." The thing that struck me most was, that for a man who professes to "believe" in Science, he has more faith than I do. He has faith in the power of his own mind, though his body has so apparently failed him. And, this is strange, in my opinion, seeing his take on the power of the brain, and that he expects it's power to terminate at death. He envisions our mind as the product of a supercomputer, that was not intelligently designed, and morphed into being on its own. He believes in spontaneous generation of life... of universes... of the cosmos. Yet, he does not believe in a resurrection, a higher power, a supreme being, or a different state of existence for mankind. He only believes in what his fragile mind can conceive, as if the human mind isn't as prone to failure as the rest of the body. And, as if the brain is not a part of the body. Clearly, this is flawed reasoning, as his brain is his god. "I see Earth! It is so beautiful!" These were the words of the first man in space... Yuri Gagarin. The 12th of April was Yuri's Night, the anniversary of Yuri's famous Sputnik capsule spin around our planet. Though his flight would have international implications, and propel the U.S. organization to push their plans for the Moon landing up, now Yuri's Night is celebrated around the world each year. Star Parties, and what have you. Here is a remake of an old video I've shown before, which I see has been removed since I blogged about this a year ago. The music is different, but it appears to be the same video image colorized. (I liked the original better :) But, imagine what the first men to view Earth from the planet would have seen, on foot. Imagine you are the first man, Adam, and walking around the Earth for the very first time. I can just hear Adam's words, with God walking beside him. "Adamah, it's so beautiful God!" For, Adam was named after the Earth since he came from the ground, much like naming a boy Clay now.
Now, imagine when we walk our eternal homeland. Heaven will be a paradise unimagined heretofore. Past limitations will have no meaning there. The solar system will not be an unknown. No longer will mankind suffer and war. We will all be at peace. I know others have sung a song they titled "Imagine." But, just imagine with me that there is a God, and all the people are waiting to meet their Maker. Imagine we see the Light of God in all His splendor, and all the atheistic, agnostic fears are dispelled finally and God is revealed to man. What will be your words? And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are your ways, you King of saints. Who shall not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name? for you only are holy: for all nations shall come and worship before you; for your judgments are made manifest. Revelation 15:3-4 But, more than imagining the removal of earthly limitations, and the beauty of heaven; imagine living a life that is for someone else, rather than for the greatest value for ourselves while here on Earth. What if I spend my "threescore and ten," minus the fourteen years before I met Jesus, entirely for God? What if I give myself to His service and glory, and become a vessel of His praise? Is that of value to anyone here on Earth? That is determined by what happens in those minutes after the components of our brain stop working, as referred to by Stephen Hawking. If there was nothing before Creation, and there is nothing after death, then I've lived my life for an idea... a thought, which is exactly what Stephen is doing at 71 years of age. He is living for the thoughts of his own ideology. No more...no less. Same/same. But, if God is and was, if He will be and awaits me; then I will have lived for so much more than I could ever be within the limits of my own imaginings. I will have lived for the glory of the magnificent Creator of all that Stephen worships.
If Stephen is right, then our brain is no better than a stick, since it will fall into the earth and rot... and the remains will lay motionless for hundreds of years like a rock. This makes his trust of the human brain as ultimately evolved as ancient man who worshiped stone statues. I may as well worship my big toe, without which I could not walk. If I did, then my God would be dead if I could no longer walk. Likewise, since Science can not be comprehended by late stage Alzheimer patients, then their brain can not be a god; else it would be a dying god.
If Stephen is right, then he very soon will be dead, as is the fate of all of mankind. Then what will it matter if we understand anything at all? How is it for the most value to know anything, if we all die and go to the grave in the end? Why care where the Earth came from, or where it is going...unless, of course, somewhere out there, there will be a meeting with eternity?
Is love a topic you can write about? Sure, you can write about love, it's just that most people don't. The media is full of death & dying, rage & hatred, and even sex & divorce. But love, the action of the heart, mind, and body to deeply care for another human being, is often absent in mainstream media, for whatever reasons.
My husband and I just spent four days in Panama City, on the Gulf for our second anniversary. We didn't get home til about 2am last night. It is an awesome place to get away. The first night we arrived a pool party was happening outside below our balcony overlooking both the Gulf and the pool. The music from the band was a nice welcome. And, on the last night we could hear fireworks outside our window. In between we mostly were serenaded with the calling of the seagulls and the dashing of the waves against the sandbar running along the miracle strip.
The Song of Songs in the Bible, Canticles, are filled with sweet allusions to love and married happiness. But, much of it refers to external beauty, and the book doesn't really go into the selfless giving that love usually entails in a marriage. It doesn't even speak of loyalty or fidelity. But, then neither do most popular love songs or books today. For that matter, we're not even sure which of Solomon's concubines the book of Song of Solomon was written about. Notice that she was not one of his many wives, but one of many many concubines. So, what's the point, you are left to wonder.
I believe the point is in the forever. Marriage is meant to be a little taste of eternity here on earth. I know Larry is the man I want to spend an eternity with here on earth. And, it is this aspect of marriage that much of love in the media is missing.
While in Panama City, we went to a theater to see the new release of Spiderman. Since it was sold out, Larry wanted to see the animated movie, Brave. It was a touching story of the relationship between a daughter and her Father, her Mother, and her brothers. I loved the way it dealt with a child's stubborn refusal to follow her Mother's plans, a Mother's stubborn insistence on her own plans, and the later realization of how both fit into the family.
Cranking up the laptop late this evening for the first time in almost a week, I found my email is backed up, my scheduled Tweets ran out while I was gone and had to be refilled, I am all out of scheduled blogs, I lost about 9 games of Words With Friends when the game automatically forfeited me while away, and I have much more I should be doing, such as laundry. But, I'm sleepy, and too tired to really get into much online or in the house. Larry cooked up a huge dinner, and I think that did me in, attention wise, for this day. Good night, and I pray God blesses you and yours, and me and mine, with happiness, warmth, and the forever kind of love that eternity is for.
Has the daily grind gotten a grip on you? Do you ever feel like you go from day to day, in survival mode? It will always work out in God's time. Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made every thing beautiful in its time: also he has put eternity in men's hearts, so that no man can find out the work that God does from the beginning to the end.
When you place this verse in the context of the chapter, you see the first nine verses are the well-known and sung lyrics about there being a time for everything under the sun. Then, verse ten says that Solomon has taken a look at the work, or jobs that mankind does, their occupations. He has had a look around at the different jobs with which men fill their time. Then in verse twelve, he decides that the only thing good about work, is to make yourself and family happy and do good deeds for others (with your income.) Sandwiched right there in the middle of these two verses after the lyrics about time, is verse eleven reminding us of eternity and God's work. The King James uses the word world, while the NKJV uses eternity. The Hebrew gives you the idea that it is talking about the daily grind that never ends in this world...infernal, the dog-eat-dogness of life.
This makes it clear that God put the tedium in our days. We are so busy figuring out the day-to-day of life, that we will never solve the matters of the universe. As and example, look at the government space program, NASA. We can't afford the shuttles now. Industry will have a crack at it, because the government can't afford to host it anymore. Day-to-day matters of survival always impede advancement on a grand scale. The Roman Empire rose and fell. The British Empire rose and fell. Kingdoms come and go. One thing remains...God never changes.
Malachi 3:6
Mount Everest is about 5 1/2 miles above sea level, and very few have climbed on foot, only the brave and highly skilled. Many died trying. Mankind has only dug about 7 1/2 miles into the Earth, about the distance across town. The hole lies underneath the tower enclosing Kola's drill. The drill spent twenty-four years reaching that depth, and its progress was finally halted in 1994. The Russian researchers were surprised at how quickly the temperatures rose as the borehole deepened, which is the factor that ultimately halted the project's progress. At that depth researchers had estimated that they would encounter rocks at 212°F, but the actual temperature was about 356°F, so drilling stopped on the SG-3 branch. If the hole had reached the initial goal of 15,000 meters, temperatures would have reached a projected 572°F.
Somewhere within this 13 mile span, we lives an average of 70 years; 5 1/2 miles under and 7 1/2 miles above our potential. Life is indeed limited. And here we live, never more than 6 feet away from death. This is all that separates man from death, six feet of soil.
I don't imagine we can rightly call the 70 year lifespan life, when it is so close to death, and exists in the eclipsical shadow of eternity. No, the opposite of death is eternal life, which man has longed for since time began. Life, much like truth and the right way or path is a philosophical quality that has been pursued by every religion and philosophy. So, when Jesus came calling Himself the the way, truth, and life, He was claiming to be everything for which man was searching. John 14:6 "Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me."
You know how far you are from death already. How far are you from life at this very moment? What exactly is it that it would take for you to be truly alive? Just how far are you from eternal life? Two phonemes. Two syllables. You see, the distance is not in feet because Jesus came down from Heaven to Earth, was buried in the Earth, and rose to Heaven again. He traveled the distance, so we can find life here and now in Him. How far is life? The mere two inches your tongue would move to call out His name in prayer. How far away is my Mother? As far as my cellphone. How far away is Life? As far as His name...Jesus.
There are two sides to every coin. We come to Christ “Just as we are.” But, somewhere beyond redemption, 12 changes are transacted by the ultimate price paid on Calvary. Three bodies were hung up on trees, three bodies were brought down and buried, and one body rose up out of the earth. From one side of the Cross to the other a colossal change took place in the lives of millions of followers in the 20 centuries since.
Yes, twelve changes take place in the lives of those who lift Jesus up today. From the moment we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, we experience a turn-around in the elements of our spirit man. All of us have spirits; some just haven’t flipped the coins that were paid and accepted the “change.” One man threw the coins on the ground… at the feet of the judges who condemned Jesus… Judas. Another, Peter, accepted the change that would be transacted in his life and turned over the coins to a new existence. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 4, outlined a dozen of these two-sided coins Christians have turned over since redemption.
1. Hidden Things/ Things Manifested (2 Corinthians 4:2)
We exchange craftiness and deceit for truth. We walk in the truth of God’s Word.
2. Blinded Minds/ Enlightened Minds (2 Corinthians 4:4)
The lost are hid in the darkness while the Christian walks in light.
3. Proud Boasting/ Servanthood (2 Corinthians 4:5)
We no longer live our lives for ourselves, but become servants of God,
living for Him.
4. Frail Bodies/ Mighty Power (2 Corinthians 4:7)
Our spirits walk in unity with the spirit of God, though we are just human.
5. Trials/ Triumph (2 Corinthians 4:10)
We go through trials like Jesus, so we can have the victory like He did.
6. Death/ Life (2 Corinthians 4:11)
We carry the cross of Jesus, manifest His death in our lives, and receive
the rewards of eternal life with Him.
7. Past/ Future (2 Corinthians 4:14)
Jesus was raised up in the past; you and I will be raised up in the future with Him.
8. Grace/ Thanksgiving (2 Corinthians 4:15)
His grace operates through our thanksgiving.
9. Outward Man/ Inward Man (2 Corinthians 4:16)
Even if our body is failing us physically, He breathes life into us day by day.
10. Affliction/ Glory (2 Corinthians 4:17)
Our afflictions will lead us to an unimaginable glory to come.
11. Seen/ Unseen (2 Corinthians 4:18)
We know that there is more to this life than meets the eye. There are things unseen.
12. Temporal/ Eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18)
We don’t place our hope in the physical life now, but in the ethereal life in eternity.
Now, it sounds like we came just as we were, and put on the wedding garments. Matthew 22:11-14 All that remains is for us to accept the change. Allowing the spirit of God to work in our lives completes the transaction. This is the reason that we do not need to wait until we “get our lives straightened out” to come to church. We come just as we are, and Jesus will make us just like He is. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. Philippians 1:6 He who began a good work… will perform it!
I was sitting at Agatha's in Atlanta, waiting on the next act of the show to start when I got the Breaking news Text that Singer Whitney Houston had died at age 48 years old. I will miss hearing her sing, and am glad her legacy of beautiful music will continue. I have heard the question asked many times in the past, if you were granted an interview or letter with any one human being who had ever lived, past or present, who would you want to meet or write? For me, it would be Whitney Houston. She had it all. Below I have attached my open letter to Whitney.
_Dear Whitney,
Your music has marked much of my life. I remember being pregnant with my first child, Matthew, sitting on the hillside watching the fireworks in Dalton, listening to the music from the bandstand playing, "Greatest Love of All," realizing the greatest love of all time was right at that moment living inside my womb; the love of a mother for her child.
But, earlier than that, I could relate to your voice singing the words... "Everybody's searching for a hero People need someone to look up to I never found anyone Who fulfilled my needs A lonely place to be And so I learned to depend on me. I decided long ago Never to walk in anyone's shadow If I fail, if I succeed
At least I'll live as I believe No matter what they take from me They can't take away my dignity..." I never had a hero either Whitney. I could see clearly that we are all human. And, there were years that I believed I could depend on me.
But, the song that I remember most, Whitney, is "One Moment in Time." This song has left me silent throughout, each time I heard it, throughout the past twenty-five years, as I relentlessly pursued my dreams. The song mentions reaching the pinnacle of your life, the fear of falling short, and the thrill that can only be explained if you have achieved your own dreams. You were the girl who had achieved her dreams, if anyone was, every little girl's dream.
Now Whitney, you have actually reached your one moment in time, the moment where your life is fulfilled in the truest sense of the word, since it is complete. Now, you are truly in a position to answer my deepest questions. How does eternity feel?
What do you see at this very moment? Are you alone, or are there people around you? What emotions are you feeling? Are you feeling pain? Joy? Exultation? Pride? Dignity? Do you hear your eulogizing below on Earth? Do you hear your family crying? Do you see the face of God? Do you hear His voice?
Sweet Whitney, I know that I too will one day reach this one moment in time when I will go the way of all life. I wish there were some words you could sing to prepare me for that final stage. Perhaps, you have already sang that song, more than you even realized.
Goodby Whitney. We will always love you!
Isaiah 57:15
Whitney as a child. She was an awesome performer, who dressed elegantly, with charm and style. She always seemed "modestly beautiful."
| LYRICS:
Each day I live I want to be, a day to give... The best of me.
I'm only one, but not alone. My finest day, Is yet unknown.
I broke my heart, for every gain. To taste the sweet, ohh I face the pain.
I rise and fall, yet through it all... This much remains.
I want one moment in time, when I'm more than I thought I could be.
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away, and the answers are all up to me.
Give me one moment in time, when I'm racing with destiny.
Then in that one moment of time, I will feel, I will feel eternity....
_I've lived to be, the very best. I want it all, no time for less.
I've laid the plans, now lay the chance... Here in my hands.
Give me one moment in time, when I'm more than I thought I could be.
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away, and the answers are all up to me.
Give me one moment in time, when I'm racing with destiny.
Then in that one moment of time, I will feel, I will feel eternity.
You're a winner for a lifetime, If you seize that one moment in time...
Make it shine
Give me one moment in time, when I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away,
And the answers are all up to me... Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny. Then in that one moment of time
I will be, I will be, I will be free, I will be, I will be free... Whitney's Gospel Roots:
_At the age of 11, Houston began to follow in her mother Cissy's footsteps and started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano.Her first solo performance in the church was "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah." |
_ Today is the first day of the rest of your eternal life. I hope your New Year is every bit as beautiful as the promise. Titus 1:2 In body I feel like I have worked in Showbiz... Showbiz Pizza that is, as one of those moles in the whack-a-mole games. You know...sledge hammer...
Had a good service at church. I had the black-eyed peas in the slow cooker. Then after church, Travis set the table for me and made a pitcher of black tea for himself, while I cooked a pot of collard greens and the cornbread, macaroni, and baked potatoes, and simmered another pot of wassail. This all took about an hour, and by the time Larry and I had the food on the table and sat down for our New Years dinner, we realized Travis was sound asleep. Anybody who knows him, knows he sleeps like he is in a coma. He had not had any sleep, but had been up all night after the new year. So, Larry and I ate a dinner alone together. Though I missed Travis somewhat, our first time not having New Years dinner together, it felt kind of like a date eating alone with my husband :)
I had no energy left for the dishes after all the cooking. It took a half hour to clear the table and pack up the leftovers with Larry's help. Then we had company over for a little while, and I have been comatose myself in my recliner ever since. Didn't even make it to the evening service with Larry. So, the dishes are piled in the sink, and the sun has disappeared from the sky. They will sleep in the sink tonight. Nobody ever died from having a sink full of dirty dishes.
Genesis 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
We have just finished our first day of the year 2012, though we do it just the opposite of Jewish tradition with the evening being the first half of a day period, and the morning being the second half. Here in this verse in Genesis, the definition for a day is established for reference throughout the rest of the chapter. And, the words are repeated a total of six times (5, 8, 13, 19, 23, and 31.) But, at the end of this first day, God looks around at what He has done, and is the first to say that what He saw was good. (See verses 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31) Therefore, I am a plagiarist when I tell you that God's world is very good. I stole those words from the Creator Himself. But, if you are still reading after I have "fetched a compass" around the point, then I would like to point out some observations about the first and second days of eternity.
God began with big plans. He started out on Day One of Eternity by turning on the light, so He could get to work. He had a universe in mind, and you and I in design stage, just like a young married couple trying to conceive their first child. They have a plan. They want a baby. They take steps to encourage that child into this world and their arms. They have big plans. They expect to need diapers, a crib, and many other things for this child. So, they both set to work making a place for this child in their world. "Daddy" did just that for us. He had big plans. He designed a world for us.
At this point, the earth was created, a spinning ball of water, warbling through the universe. On Day Two, God created an outer atmosphere around the earth, by causing some of the water on the planet to evaporate into an outer band swaddling the earth. This swaddling band of oxygen was called heaven... our sky. Without that, our view would be that of black space, like on the moon. At some later point (the Flood) God would bring these waters from the outer layer into a world wide deluge, removing our protection from the sun's harsher rays, expanding the oceans around the continents, and shortening our average life span. But, at that moment in time, we had a layer of water in the outer atmosphere. And, that was the end of Day Two's work for God. Strikingly, to me, is the absence of God saying that it was good, as He did on each of the other days of Creation, (and twice on the third and sixth days.) I can't help but notice, while I picture our Father God creating a swaddling band around the planet for us, that He knew we would sin. He perceived ahead that we would fall. He was silent in this knowledge, no commentary. He had big plans, yet those plans included redemption from the fall.
Now, when I planned my first child, I didn't plan the playground fights or the black eyes. I didn't plan the embarrassments or spilt milk. I certainly didn't plan the teenage rebellion and angry words. And, I thought I wanted to be a mother. What I wanted was to love a child. God would give me that opportunity to love. It included the challenges. Not our heavenly Father. He did the work of Day Two with the foreknowledge of a Fall, a Flood, a Crucifixion, a Resurrection, and a Second Advent. Acts 2:23 and Revelation 13:8. God knew the challenges of loving his children before He created them. And, He created us yet. Imagine that kind of love!
Now that you've thought about Day One and Day Two of Eternity, think about the fact that today is Day One, not just of 2012, but of the Rest of Eternity. Make it an Eternity with God. Take hold of your promising future, my brother and sister in Creation. It is very good!
Society is often fragmented at best, and the most careful of us tend to live haphazard lives, at times. But even the most orderly lives often break apart. The pieces form a patchwork quilt effect in the end. I remember the first time I saw a "breaking up housekeeping" yardsale, I had trouble sleeping that night. I had never realized before that a happy marriage could be broken up just like that, no divorce or anything, just seperated because of old age and the convienence of caregivers. Maybe Mom is staying with their daughter across town, and Dad is moving in with their son in Tennessee. It seemed odd that all the "stuff" of their lives was being divided up like garbage, useless to the children. It seemed even more difficult to imagine that a couple married at some point because they loved each other, imagined a life together, built a home and raised children, who would throw away the family unit of their parents, just like the furniture.
I don't like this. A home is not furniture. Author and New Yorker, Jonathan Fields wrote about a similar circumstance. In his blog titled "Dust in the Wind" he has a photo of a red dumpster that holds the life possessions of various widows and widowers in his building who've passed away. This has a sobering effect, and reminds me that all of my possessions will probably be worthless when I am gone. It begs me to remember what really matters in life.
I remember leaving one job, where I felt loved and appreciated. I had built up a substantial classroom laboratory of equipment for teaching Science and Math, one that I would have given my eye teeth for when I first started teaching. But, as I was moving back to North Georgia, and had a job to go to there, I resigned with excellent references. But, I was shocked deep inside to see that my entire classroom of equipment was thrown in storage at the end of the year, unappreciated, and unclaimed. I was reminded that my work would mean nothing once I was gone, if not in the heart of my former students alone. Really, isn't that the product of teaching anyways? Likewise, isn't the "heart work" the most lasting product of any life?
1 Corinthians 3:13-14 has the answer. Paul teaches us a simple test for what matters. Will it survive a fire? If it won't survive a fire, then it is not eternal, and has no real value. So, the only real value in work is what you have done for the heart and soul of a person. Are you making a difference? Or are you making a living?
Isaiah 57:15 Eternity is a vast place where God lives. The subject of eternity can be both entrancing and off-putting at the same time. It is something that we want to comprehend, and yet something that we fear to explore. I have written a little about the subject of eternity in two prior blogs, which you may be interested in reading, if you haven't seen them yet. They are: From One Side of Heaven to the Other and Chariots of God.
Edgar Allen Poe was a brilliant man, in some ways much like Steve Jobs today. But, he lived in the first half of the 1800's, and only lived forty years. He was a writer, and wrote short stories of invention, mystery, macabre, and poems. He often wrote of characters using opium, and of opium dens, and it was widely rumored that he used opium, though this is disputed. The circumstances of his death are quite mysterious. But, he is most well remembered for his lengthy poem, "The Raven," which I have included at the end of tonight's blog. If you care to read it, just click the line at the bottom to see more.
In the poem, the narrator is mourning the loss of his love, Lenore. Poe did lose his wife to sickness in real life. The narrator of the poem is surprised by a bird... a dark raven that appears on his window ledge and alights on a statue of Pallas, the God of Wisdom. The man had been sitting in his study remembering sadly Lenore when the bird appeared and he took it for an omen, because the bird only spoke the one word, "nevermore," at each of his questions about the future. Revelation 21:4
The poem is an exploration of the idea of eternity and pain without God. Those of us who believe, we have a hope for no more pain. Those who do not believe, can only look for an eternity of emptiness and pain. This is what makes Poe's poem so devastating... the lack of hope for eternity. I wouldn't want to face an eternity of nevermore. I choose the eternity of no more pain. The Raven
poem by: Edgar Allen Poe...click to read poem
Remember our look at acceleration? If motion defines life, and biologists do see motion as a characteristic of life, then the soul is a living thing . We are on our way to eternity; the trip has begun. Since we are already in effect, in limitless acceleration, eternity is here and now, as well as yet to come, in much the same way as I have defined the duality of the Kingdom of Heaven. So, it is apparent that the Kingdom of Heaven is in eternity.
This has great ramifications for you and me. If eternity has already begun; if the Kingdom has already started motion; then what are we waiting for? Does that dangling "for" look odd to you in a grammatical sense? It should because it leaves the sentence open...hanging. Our limitless acceleration has a purpose. We are not only moving forward to eternity and the Kingdom of Heaven, but we are bringing in eternity and the Kingdom of Heaven. We are the vehicle of the kingdom. We are the chariots of God.
Psalms 68:17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
God is using us as vehicles to move, or usher in the coming Kingdom. It is not a waiting thing, but a coming thing. God is seen in Deuteronomy as riding on the heaven...or the air.
Deuteronomy 33:26 There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.
Jesurun is a nickname for Israel that means "upright." This is very ironic, when you consider "Israel." Israel was the name change Jacob the deceiver received. The name means "He will prevail and rule like God." But, now he is called "upright." That is a big name change! Though we are not Israel, we have prevailed as well, through the victory of Jesus' cross-work. We have been made upright through the power of His blood. Our name has been changed to "upright." Don't forget that Jesus was a Jew. He was of the seed of Jesurun. So, in essence, Israel brought in the salvation of we Gentiles. They are the chariots of God. Where would we be without Apostle Paul, and other early era Christian Jews who ushered in Christianity, as the very chariots of God?
When you act or speak for Jesus, you are a chariot of God. When you praise and worship at church, you are a chariot for the Spirit of God. When you preach or teach in His name, you are a chariot of God. This realization changed my whole view of what church is all about. Heaven should not be thought of as a waiting, or purely an advent...something yet to come. It is a journey. You and I are citizens of the Kingdom...we have dual citizenship in this country and the eternal city.
Joel 2:4-5 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
Yes, Joel is prophesying about the Day of the Lord, and those strong people in battle array are the chariots of God; you and I. Ironically, chariots are not self-propelled. They are driven by horses. Christians don't run by their own might, but by the Spirit. If we had to run by our own fuel, we would run out, give out, or burn out. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit living inside us fuels us as we try to act as vehicles for the Kingdom. It is a beautiful picture to realize that God will use all of us for His Kingdom. Each of us has a purpose and a place. The key is to find that place and start rolling.
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