“Yes” and “No”! 

How does that work? Surely one or the other, or the most popular choice, “No God”!

Well, it depends on whether we try to get forgiveness for our wrongs from the ‘system’ God himself has put in place, or the way we think it is, or should be.

Pretty much everyone today admitted they had done something wrong. 

The difference came with what God’s ‘system’ was for forgiving. The Bible says that God the Father had God the Son come to earth, and as a perfect human, as well as being God, be punished for our wrongs in our place. The ultimate substitute completely!

If one accepts that with all one’s heart and soul, then forgiveness is yours. We do need to change to live according to God’s principles, otherwise we would be big hypocrites!

If we don’t like God’s ‘system’, but just try to be good, then no forgiveness.

The verse with it was:

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness…”
1 Peter 2:24 (NIV) (http://www.laridian.com)

Great news, if we go with it!

Those who wrote something on the 3 pages of opinions had something like “to make mistakes” as the most common.

“To make mistakes…”

It’s hard for us to admit our faults, and the times we have messed up.

However, since it was the most common comment, it shows that we know making mistakes is part of life and part of being human.

It also fits with what the Bible says about us. There is both the good and the bad. Being made in the image of God, but as well having the free choice to do what is wrong and make mistakes intentionally, or unintentionally.

That’s why Jesus came. To bring us to God, and for us to have the opportunity to be forgiven, if we want to accept that greatest of free gifts from God.

Buddha’s main thesis? 

“We can eliminate suffering when we cease to desire.”   

From my reading over the years, that seems to encapsulate it. 

Certainly there are other major themes for all Buddhists, be they eastern or western/eclectic Buddhists.

However, does that theme seem to be a self-defeating argument – the desire to put down all one’s desires?

The eclectic western Buddhists in the market last Saturday disagreed with the original statement. 

I think that many of our desires are good God-given desires. If we run with those desires in the right context, then we can be quite happy. 

If my desires conflict with that, then it would be better to put them down…

That is especially if we want to please God, and do the right thing by our neighbor. 

Your thoughts? 

Right up front I will say that for me Christmas starts and finishes with Jesus. He was the reason 2,000 years ago for it to start in the first place, wasn’t he? That’s why it is called Christ-mas. The last 3 letters meaning to celebrate.

How long will it last?

However, with so little about Jesus Christ in Christmas these days, and instead “holiday season”, “festive season”, and many others, how long will the title last?

Can our society still play for years on end with the Santa story? When will reality kick in? Holidays are great, but what about something more existential and longer-term meaningful for a hurting world?

Jesus came for us hurting people in this hurting world

No other faith has God coming down and living here and identifying with us. No other has God taking our shame and punishment for our rebellion against him, so that we can be led back to him.

That’s why Jesus came (Christmas), died (Good Friday), and rose from the dead (Easter Sunday). As the Son of God, if we are willing, since he never forces, he can take us back to God, allow our wrongs to be forgiven, and have us live with him forever on the new earth of heaven.

How good is that?

Good old Saint Nick!

Historically, another explanation is that of the man Nicholas, who lived in south-western Turkey in the 4th century. He had changed his faith from the predominant Greco-Roman paganism and had become a Christian before it had become legal. He then tried to secretly give poor people in his town gifts to help them in their lack. Sometimes he would hide the gifts in clothing, like long socks hung up in front of the fire to dry. People eventually found out that he was the secret gift-giver. Some time later, he was renamed Saint Nicholas, from which many centuries later the name and story eventually morphed into Santa Claus. 

The original story is inspiring, and Jesus did say that it is better to give than to get!

In fact, nowadays, many followers of Jesus are leaving behind the consumerism and getting back to the basics, just wanting to thank God for sending Jesus. Why would we do that?

It obviously shows belief, but as well the evidence of his life 2,000 years ago, the depth and detail of descriptions about him in the Bible, and the way we claim he has dramatically changed our lives for the good, now and forever.

Why not open a Bible online and check out the first couple of chapters of the Gospel of Luke concerning the circumstances of his birth?

https://www.esv.org/Luke+1/

When are you supposed to make a bucket list? 

I guess you can never be too young!

To know God better is on my bucket list. That’s the God of the Bible. It is right at the top, followed by less special activities like travel or other priorities.

With that goes not only knowing him better, but also obeying better. 

Jesus said:

“If you love me, keep my commands.

John 14:15 (NIV) (http://www.laridian.com)

What about yourself?

Do you think Christianity is deficient?

What I call ‘Cultural Christianity’ is definitely deficient, in my opinion.

That is what a lot of people think Christianity is, but it is only a name-only version, and a poor one at that. You could call it ‘Churchianity’ with popes, priests and platitudes. Going to church now and again, a thin veneer of religiosity, having a great time at Christmas and Easter, and a bunch of religious formulas, rules and traditions.

The Bible itself is usually secondary in this whole generalisation. Most of the population of our western societies have followed that over the centuries, and this has led to much of the confusion, hypocrisy and rejection of it over the last decades.

The WHO statistic is disquieting, isn’t it?

Nowadays it’s difficult to know what percentage of pregancies end in spontaneous abortions (miscarriages), and what percentage from induced abortions (terminations of pregnancy).

It seems that the spontaneous ones are mostly due to chromosomal problems, while the induced result from human choice. Whatever the reason, both are tragic. Very understandably, the events sum up to a huge rollercoaster of emotions for those intimately involved.

The womb should be the safest place to live. After all, when a lady is pregnant, the baby is the most delicate and vulnerable of us all.

Ultrasounds are amazingly detailed these days, and also show that detail earlier and earlier in the pregnancy.

Seeing the skull, the spinal cord, the limbs, as well as the beating heart, touches us in a most amazing way. We are usually full of wonder at these sights.

Whenever my wife has been pregnant, my reflex desire has been to love and care for them both.