My Ongoing Thoughts

GET A LIFE!

9/17/2023

I love the old story about three friends from a local congregation who were asked: “When you’re in your casket, and friends and congregation members are mourning over you, what would you like them to say?”

The first, Artie, said, “I would like them to say I was a wonderful husband, a fine spiritual leader, and a great family man.” The next, Eugene, commented, “I would like them to say I was a wonderful teacher and servant of God who make a huge difference in people’s lives.” It was then the last one's, Al’s, turn; and he said simply, “I’d like them to say, ‘Look, he’s moving!’”

Those of us who follow Jesus Christ know that the Bible affirms that the dead shall indeed live again. And by this, I mean, not simply that they will stir in their casket, but that, as the Bible repeatedly affirms, they shall inherit a full and wonderful life in a world beyond this one.

Of course, non-believers have always been skeptical of such beliefs. From the world’s perspective, this world is the only world there is. Therefore, living for this world is encouraged. All else is considered foolish.

And yet, from time to time, even the world stumbles upon evidence that the Bible (and those of us who believe its teachings) may just be right. Consider an article in the news this week that underscores what many of us who are believers have been affirming all along.

In a piece titled “Consciousness May Occur After Heart, Brain Flatline” and sub-titled “Brain Signals Support Idea of Near-Death Experiences Amid Cardiac Arrest: Study”, Arden Dier over at Newser.com reports on Sep 15, 2023 that consciousness may indeed occur after both the human heart and the human brain flatline.

According to Dier:

Their hearts and brains had flatlined. Yet as doctors tried to revive their "technically dead" patients, some of those patients were aware of what was going on. One patient recalled people placing electrodes on their chest and feeling the subsequent shock, per the National Post. Others "were able to report what doctors were doing to them in a 360-degree way," Dr. Sam Parnia, an intensive care physician, tells CNN. Their accounts are included in a new study on near-death experiences, which Parnia and his team tout as the "first report of biomarkers of consciousness during CPR." Trained personnel in 25 hospitals in the US, UK, and Bulgaria attached devices used to measure oxygen and electrical activity in the brain to a dying person's head while doctors administered CPR for up to an hour.

"Nobody's ever done this before, but our independent research teams were successful in carrying out the procedures without interfering in the medical care of patients," says Parnia, senior author of the study published Thursday in the journal Resuscitation. "Interestingly, even up to an hour into the resuscitation, we saw spikes" in gamma, delta, theta, alpha, and beta waves—in other words, "the emergence of brain electrical activity, the same as I have when talking or deeply concentrating," says Parnia. He concludes these are markers of "lucid, recalled experiences of death," widely reported to include a separation from the body, a recognition of death, a sense of continued consciousness, a review of one's life, and a sense of "going home" only to be returned to their body, per Scientific American. Critics aren't so sure.

Only 53 of 567 patients survived to be discharged from the hospital and just 28 were fit enough to be interviewed, per the Post. Of those, 11 reported being aware during CPR and six reported having a near-death experience. None of those six registered brain activity during resuscitation, which critics see as a failure to link brain activity with conscious activity. But "absence of record doesn't mean there's an absence of consciousness," says Parnia. "Of those that did live and had readable electroencephalograms, 40% of them showed that their brain waves went from flatline to showing normal signs of lucidity" indicating "electrical signals are not being produced as a trick of a dying brain." He also polled 126 cardiac arrest survivors, finding 40% had awareness of the event and 20% had a recalled experience of death.

Did you catch it? A “recognition of death,” a “sense of continued consciousness”, and also of “going home”! Oh, my friend, if the dead could but speak?! What all would they tell us?!

At the very least, those who were believers would surely affirm our Lord’s teachings in the Bible on life after death. And what were those teachings?

In John 3:16, He said: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

In John 5:24, He said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

In John 11:25, He said: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live…”

And in John 14:1-31, He said: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also…”

Years ago, I heard an old evangelist say “Born Once, Die Twice; Born Twice, Die Once”. By that he meant that if a person is only born physically in this world, then he or she will one day die both physically and spiritually. But if that person is born both physically and spiritually in this world, then he or she will only die physically and not spiritually.

I would posit a slight twist on that by saying: “Live Once, Die Twice. Die Once, Live Twice!” By this I mean that those who live only for themselves in this world will die twice, once in this world and again in the next. But those who die to themselves in this world (and live for Christ), will not only live in this world, but will one day live in the world to come!

Do you plan on living beyond the grave? I know I do! And I hope you do as well. After all, the same Bible that tells us about the life to come also tells us that whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved - and given eternal life as a result. In light of this, my friend, I encourage you to “get a life”!

Life after death is within your grasp!

SOURCES:

JOKE:

https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/66830.pdf, p. 73.

NEWS ARTICLE:

https://www.newser.com/story/340164/consciousness-may-occur-after-heart-brain-flatline.html.

SCRIPTURES:

https://www.openbible.info/topics/life_after_death;

https://biblehub.com/romans/10-13.htm.

A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE

9/13/2023

In one of the most iconic lines ever to come out of Hollywood, “The Captain”, a warden in a rural Florida prison camp (played by Strother Martin), taunts an inmate named “Cool Hand Luke” (played by Paul Newman) with the phrase: “What we have here is failure to communicate!” The quotation has since been listed at number 11 on the American Film Institute's list of “The 100 Most Memorable Movie Lines”.

I thought about this recently when I came across the following witty story online…

An Englishman, taking a road trip through the US, notices he’s low on fuel, pulls into the first gas station he sees. The attendant walks out and approaches the car. “How can I help you, sir?” And in a posh voice, the man says, “I’m low on petrol; please top off the tank.” With an odd look, the guy begins to fill ’er up.

The Englishman then says, “Also, while I’m here could you open the bonnet and check the oil?” Now looking slightly peeved but still saying nothing, the serviceman does as requested. “Oh, yes,” says the Brit, “It appears my windscreen needs a good cleaning. Would you mind terribly…”

Unable to hold his tongue any more the attendant angrily snaps, “Alright, that’s enough! It’s not Petrol, it’s gasoline! It’s not a bonnet, it’s a hood! And it’s not a windscreen, it’s a windshield! We invented cars, so you call them by their American names!”

And with that wonderful, charming, stiff-upper-lip UK wit, the Englishman calmly replies, “Well yes, my friend, you may have invented the automobile, but we invented the language!”

As I read this piece, I could not help but chuckle. Being an American, I speak English as my native tongue. Being a southerner, I like to think that I speak it the manner we will speak it one day in Heaven – with a certain drawl and lots of contractions!

All jokes aside, I recognize that I speak American English, not British English. I also recognize that there are various ways in which English is spoken all over the planet, from England to Scotland to Ireland to Canada to Belize to Australia to New Zealand to South Africa to India. Each manifestation has its own distinct dialect, vocabulary, enunciation, style, etc...

Still, I find that I am able to communicate with most any person from most any of these places. I may need to clarify what they mean on occasion, and vice versa; but communication can easily occur if both parties are intent on making it happen.

I say this because being able to communicate and being willing to do so are not the same thing. There have certainly been times in my life when I desired to communicate, but was unable. In many an overseas trip, I was grateful for the assistance of a translator, without whom I would have essentially been left unable to converse.

But sadly, if I am to be honest, there have also been times in my life when I have been able to communicate, but was unwilling to do so. My earthly father is in Heaven now. He’s been there for over nearly a quarter of a century. And to this day, I still miss him dearly.

One particular memory I have of my father comes from when I was a young Pastor. My calling had taken me to a community some one hundred miles from my hometown. So, my wife and I only saw our family back home about once a month or so. Yet, my father would faithfully call me every single Sunday evening around 9pm or so just to talk.

Far too often, having just preached two sermons, attended one or more committee meetings, and/or invariably spent the better part of what was supposed to be a day of rest at the church, I was quite tired. As a result, I shudder to think just how many times I failed to engage in meaningful personal conversations because my heart was simply not in it. Of course, these days, I wish I could go back and talk with him once again! I had so many chances; but sadly, there were too many times in which I failed to take advantage of them.

Of course, I can’t undo any of this now. But I can learn from it. As a husband with a wonderful wife, as a father with grown children of my own, as a friend and neighbor to many, many others, I can find ways to be intentional in my communication with others. And I can make this a priority in life while I have time and opportunity to do so.

Oh, and there is one more thing I can do. I can make sure that I take every opportunity to communicate with my Heavenly Father as well! For He, even more than my earthly father, begs regular conversation with me. Not just once a week, but every day. Not just every day, but every hour. And not just every hour, but every moment!

Given this, I am committed to do my best to follow the admonition of the Apostle Paul who told us in the New testament to “pray without ceasing” and also to “pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion”.

Let there be no failure to communicate here - not with my Heavenly Father! Let me converse with Him at all times, in all places, and with all passion!

JOKE SOURCE:

https://www.quora.com/.

(Specifically: https://jokesfunnystories.quora.com/.)

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

https://biblehub.com/1_thessalonians/5-17.htm;

SEE ALSO:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_Hand_Luke.

NOTE ALSO: In the movie, "Saving Private Ryan", there is a very poignant scene where the squad is catching some sleep inside a church building, and Irwin Wade, the Medic, recounts how his mom used to come home from working a late shift and stick her head in the door just to say a brief word to him. But he would feign sleep because, as an adolescent, he just didn't want to talk to his mother.

"I'd pretend to be asleep... She'd stand in the doorway looking at me... and I'd just keep my eyes shut. And I knew she just wanted to find out about my day - that she came home early... just to talk to me. And I still wouldn't move... I'd still pretend to just be asleep. I don't know why I did that."

Later, as he lays mortally wounded on the battlefield, he cries out for his mother.

Cf.: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120815/characters/nm0000610.

"YUK!"

9/9/2023

It’s been a bit of a yukky week! And I do not use that term lightly. It all began when two of our grandsons spent the night over Labor Day weekend. At the time, each showed signs of an upset stomach. But it all seemed to pass quickly; so we thought little of it at the time.

We thought more of it the next day, however, when their mother (and our daughter) came down with a stomach bug. We thought still more of it the day after that when my wife caught it as well. I myself then thought the most of it when, on the following day, I too, finally caught it!

The old adage says, “This too shall pass.” Fortunately, for each of us in turn, forty eight hours or so later, the upset stomach, nausea, and assorted ill-effects associated with these things finally did. In all of this, as one who does not often get waylaid by such difficulties, I have been reminded of the meaning of the word “Yuk”! After all, there is no better way to describe the feeling you experience whenever a virus has to work its way through your system. Yuk, Yuk, and more Yuk!

It was with a strange sense of synchronicity, then, that I came across the following headline in the news: “Doctor Developed Mr. Yuk.” The article, appearing on www.Newser.com yesterday, was sub-titled: “Richard Moriarty Said the Warning Symbol Was Designed 'By Kids For Kids'”.

According to the article…

Dr. Richard W. Moriarty, a retired pediatrician who helped create the bright green Mr. Yuk sticker that warns kids away from poisonous substances, has died. He was 83. Moriarty died on Thursday in Pittsburgh, according to a funeral home, the AP reports. Moriarty was involved in establishing and developing the Pittsburgh Poison Center, where he served as director. When the poison awareness campaign began in 1971, Moriarty said, the response by children in focus groups to the Mr. Yuk sticker's sickly green color and upset face was instrumental. "The Mr. Yuk symbol was designed by kids for kids," he said.

The mascot has become used nationwide to identify substances that, if ingested, are harmful, per CBS News. Moriarty graduated from medical school at the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a longtime faculty member. Charged with modernizing the Poison Center in the late 1960s, he pioneered data collection, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Physicians like Dr. Moriarty really led the way in putting some logic to poison treatment," said Dr. Alvin Bronstein, one of the creators of the national poison database. Moriarty served on the boards of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Pittsburgh Public Theater.

Although I never knew this man personally, I have certainly seen the sticker he designed. Perhaps you have as well. I’m especially thankful that untold numbers of children since the 1970s have no doubt seen this sticker as well. It has likely saved countless lives.

Kudos to anyone who makes it their goal in life to warn others of anything that is dangerous, and especially poisonous, if ingested. Where would we all be without such life-saving admonitions? How many needless sicknesses, how many needless deaths, how many needless tragedies, would have been suffered otherwise?

In my own case, having been forewarned, I like to think that I would not intentionally ingest poison into my system. While I cannot help ingesting the occasional virus, common cold, or flu, I can refuse to intentionally ingest poisons, especially when others have faithfully and forcefully warned me of the terrible consequences of doing so.

In all of this, I cannot help but see a spiritual parallel. The truth is that I, like all persons, was born into a fallen world with a sinful nature. I was infected with sin from the get go. But I praise God that Christ came to forgive me of my sinful ways and to restore my broken relationship with my Heavenly Father.

But being forgiven does not make me perfect. As long as I live in this world, I remain susceptible to sin. I continuously battle the old nature within me. This is precisely why the Bible continuously admonishes me to beware the power of sin. We see this clearly in both the Old and New Testaments.

The Psalmist bemoaned his involvement with sin in chapter 38, verses 3-8:

“My health is broken because of my sins. My guilt overwhelms me - it is a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins. I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief. A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken. I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart.”

The writer of Proverbs echoes this (in chapter 5, verse 22 when he says:

“Iniquities ensnare a man, and every one is bound in the chains of his own sins.”

Little wonder that the New Testament writer of the Book of Hebrews admonishes us In chapter 12, verse 1-2) to...

“throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

I myself have seen the power of sin to corrupt and to destroy. I know what it does, even in the lives of believers, whenever they ingest it. For these reasons, I am thankful for the big blazing “YuK” symbol that God’s Word clearly slaps on its face!

While sin may no longer have the power of death over my eternal soul, it still has the power to make my life “yukky”. And therefore, I will do my best to avoid embracing it in my life.

ARTICLE SOURCE:

https://www.newser.com/story/339920/richard-moriartys-mr-yuk-still-warns-of-poison-danger.html.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://biblehub.com/nlt/psalms/38.htm;

https://biblehub.com/proverbs/5-22.htm;

https://biblehub.com/niv/hebrews/12.htm.

PERSONAL PROBLEMS?!

9/3/2023

Long before Beyoncé ever sang “Me, Myself, and I”, or Jim Carrey and Hollywood ever cashed in with a movie titled “Me, Myself, and Irene”, the phrase upon which both are clearly based was a long-standing one in everyday vernacular. After all, who among us has not, at some point, used the phrase “Me, Myself, and I”?

If I would be honest, I know I have. And not only in this phrase; for personal pronouns tend to comprise much of my (and our) vocabulary. So much so that if we are not careful, they can quickly dominate. Don’t think this is so? Then I challenge you to look no further than your own prayer life.

Perhaps you, like me, were taught at an early age to pray. And perhaps in that process, several little ditties were impressed upon you. Maybe they included such classics as…

“God is great, God is good; Let us thank him for our food; By his hand we are fed; Give us Lord, our daily bread. Amen.”

Or…

“Thank you, God, for the world so sweet; Thank you, God, for the food we eat; Thank you, God, for the birds that sing; Thank you, God, for everything! Amen!”

As well as…

“Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray the Lord my soul to keep; If i should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

Now, don’t get me wrong. Such prayers are doubtless good for us to learn as children. They help us to embrace a life of dependence upon God. However, as we age, it is arguable that such simplistic prayers no longer suffice. Allow me to explain…

Prayer, by definition, is communion with God. As such, it involves an authentic and ongoing conversation with our Heavenly Father. And yet, for so many, prayer is not so much talking with God as it is talking to God. Even worse, it is talking over God! What is more, any prayer that includes the excessive use of personal pronouns is arguably guilty of this.

To make my point, count the personal pronouns in the third and final classic child’s prayer cited above. If you do, you will see no less than seven of them.

All of this brings me to the point of this blog post. Until today, I always thought that the most self-centered prayer recorded in Scripture is that of the Pharisee in Jesus' famous parable of the Pharisee and the Publican as found in the New Testament Gospel of Luke, chapter 18, verses 9-14. Here, we read...

“And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.’

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Many a commentator has pointed out the similarity of the words of the Pharisee here with those of the words of Lucifer in the Old Testament Book of Isaiah, chapter 14, verses 12-15…

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.’ Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”

You will notice that each testimony contains the personal pronoun “I” five different times. It seems, therefore, that the prayer of the self-righteous Pharisee more aptly reflects the intentions of the devil than those of the Lord!

Any yet, as I realized earlier today, while listening to our Pastor’s sermon, even this is not the most self-serving prayer in Scripture. Instead, we find that recorded in the Old Testament Book of Jonah, chapter 4, verses 2-3, where we read:

So he prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion—One who relents from sending disaster. And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Here, the English translation employs six personal pronouns. But when we check the original Hebrew, we discover that it contains no less than eight personal pronouns! “I” occurs four times, “me” occurs two times, and “my” occurs two times!

For those of us who are believers, we find it easy to condemn the self-centered prayer of a Pharisee. We find it even easier to condemn the words of Lucifer. But what do we do with the words of an Old Testament Prophet?!

I’ll tell you what we do. We accept the fact that even a servant called of God is frail and human! And therein, we acknowledge that even we ourselves, as followers of Jesus Christ, are capable of praying prayers that are far too self-centered.

I left church earlier today under conviction. Irrespective of all my previous prayers, my sincere hope is that neither my future prayers nor my future attitude will be merely for “Me, Myself, and I” alone, but rather for “God, His will, and Whomever else He desires me to care about” as well!

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

https://biblehub.com/kjv/luke/18.htm;

https://biblehub.com/kjv/isaiah/14.htm;

https://biblehub.com/jonah/4.htm.

SEE ALSO:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me,_Myself_%26_Irene;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me%2C_Myself_and_I_(Beyonc%C3%A9_song).

WORD OF MOUTH!

8/28/2023

“Call me Ishmael.” So begins Herman Melville’s masterpiece. In Hebrew, of course, “Ishmael” means “God hears.” And God clearly heard the prayers of both the Biblical person and the lead character in the novel Moby Dick who bore that name.

Now, it pains me to admit it, but had my parents given me a Hebrew name, it would likely have been “Kaw-sheh'”, meaning “hard”, and by implication, “hard-headed, obstinate, and/or stubborn”. The events of earlier today will suffice to show why I say this.

It rained this morning; so much so that I could not get my daily walk in as early as I am accustomed. I therefore occupied myself with other projects until late this afternoon, when the weather app said the rain was to be moving out. As I left the house and headed out, it was partly cloudy. But with each passing step, I quickly discovered the climate was indeed changing!

Dark clouds loomed on the horizon. The wind picked up. And a barely perceptible rumble of thunder was heard somewhere off in the distance. I quickly whipped out my smart phone and checked the weather app. While it showed storms, they still appeared to be quite a few miles away. Emboldened, I soldiered on.

Only even as I did, the clouds grew ever darker and the winds grew ever stronger. Now the sensible thing to do would clearly have been to turn around and cut for home. But oh no, not for me! I had waited all day to get my walk in; and I was not about to be thwarted at this late hour by a few threatening clouds!

I increased my pace, banking on the fact that I could complete my circuit and make it back home before any rain came. And yet, even as I was reasoning this out and assuring myself of this fact, I heard a noise. I continued on as I pondered what it could be. All the while it grew louder and louder until, it suddenly hit me. What I was hearing was rain falling.

Concurrent with that realization was the abrupt arrival of large drops of water splattering all around me and on top of me. Before I could make it to relative safety beneath a large tree that was close by, the proverbial bottom fell out. Within five minutes, I could not have been any wetter if I had jumped off a nearby boat dock and into the lake.

Thereafter, I spent the next forty-five minutes or so slogging my way home through a downpour that I would later discover had produced almost a full inch of rain. Thoroughly soaked from head to toe, I eventually squished my way up the driveway and into the house.

Now what does one do when he finds himself in such a condition? Naturally, he gets straight out of his wet clothes and into the shower, whereupon he proceeds to stand under yet another deluge of water for yet another fifteen minutes!

As I thought about the irony of all that, a verse of scripture came to my mind. In the New Testament Book of James (chapter 3, verse 10), we read: “Out of the same mouth comes both blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”

How apropos! A little less than an hour before I entered the warm shower, I was drenched with a very cold shower. More to the point, a little less than an hour before that second shower, being human, I found myself thinking, if not saying, a few choice words about my predicament in the midst of that cold shower.

And yet, a short while later, while making my way home, and after having seen a streak of lightening flash by overhead, I found myself uttering a prayer to the Lord above to get me safely home!

I stood convicted. Out of my own mouth, I had all but cursed; and out of that very same mouth, I had then prayed and asked the Lord to bless me. If I am to be completely honest here, James was right. Such things ought not to be!

I will not soon forget the events of this day. I will not soon forget the lesson I learned. And I can only hope that I will not soon use the words of my mouth duplicitously, and therefore, to say anything other than to glorify the God Who created me, Who redeemed me, and Who sustains me each and every day!

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://biblehub.com/james/3-10.htm.

SEE ALSO:

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7186.htm;

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3458.htm;

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2701/pg2701-images.html.

DIVINE CONVERSATIONS

8/23/2023

These days, it seems that Artificial Intelligence is all the rage. Its applications appear to be endless as entrepreneurs rush to find ways to employ what they deem improvements in our quality of life. AI is so pervasive that it is now even being applied to faith and religious practice.

Witness the fact that preachers have already tapped into AI to write sermons. And one church recently allowed the entire sermon to be both written and delivered solely by artificial intelligence. Other than igniting the computer driven procedure, no flesh and blood minister was involved in the process.

(As one who both writes and delivers sermons, I doubt seriously that I will ever be accused of employing AI in my own preparation. For this to happen, my messages would first need to reflect some semblance of intelligence –something of which I am rarely accused!)

When it comes to AI, hearing from the Lord through the words of a sermon is one thing. But hearing from Him in a one-on-one conversation is quite another. And yet, it seems that this is exactly what is being proposed in a provocative new app.

Kurt Knutsson, in his CyberGuy Report for Fox News earlier today, shared the following article: “Controversial New AI App Allows You To Text With Jesus – And Satan: Blurring The Digital Divide: Faith Meets Futuristic Chatbots”.

Here are a few of Knutsson’s observations…

It's not every day that the spiritual realm intersects with smartphone tech. But in the era of Chatbots and AI, even the biblical figures aren't immune. Welcome to the world of "Text With Jesus," where you're just a tap away from a conversation with the holy – and, for a price, the not-so-holy.

For those longing for a more personal connection to their faith, this app might be the digital salvation they're seeking. Designed with devoted Christians in mind, "Text With Jesus" promises interaction with figures like Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Peter and Matthew. This app wears its spirituality on its screen, guiding you through its queries with responses mined from the depths of the Bible's rich text.

There's a certain audacity in allowing you to go beyond the traditional interactions one might expect. Although the full range of figures and unlimited messaging are only available to premium subscribers, the app is free to download and use on all eligible devices. By shelling out just $2.99/month, you can embark on a journey through some of the Bible's more intricate dialogues, like Adam and Eve's narrative or the dawn of humanity…

Beyond its novelty, "Text With Jesus" opens up a dialogue on the evolving nature of faith in our increasingly digital world. For some, it might offer solace in moments of solitude, providing scripture-based advice at the touch of a button. For others, it may serve as a curious exploration into how technology can shape, transform or even distort ancient teachings.

"Our app is a tool for exploration, education, and engagement with biblical narratives, and it is not intended to replace or mimic direct communication with divine entities, which is a deeply personal aspect of one's faith," the app creators say on their website. "The AI-powered app does not claim to provide actual divine insights or possess any form of divine consciousness, but simply uses its language model to generate responses based on a wide corpus of biblical and religious texts."

With this in mind, "Text With Jesus" might be the forerunner in a digital faith movement, a beacon lighting the way for a new kind of spiritual exploration. The amalgamation of centuries-old teachings and modern tech poses fascinating queries about the evolution of faith in a digitized age.

If "Text With Jesus" is any indication, the convergence of technology and spirituality is only in its infancy. The future might see virtual reality church services, AI-generated sermons tailored to individual beliefs, or augmented reality Bible studies offering immersive experiences of ancient stories. As this melding continues, it's vital to tread carefully, ensuring that the core tenets of faith are preserved amidst the dazzle of technology.

I’ll leave it up to my readers to decide whether this entire undertaking is good or bad. But I can assure you that one does not need an Artificial Intelligence driven app to communicate with the God of the Bible!

He has made Himself known to us through His Word. What is more, His Spirit speaks to our hearts directly whenever we undertake a serious reading of His Word. And on top of this, we have been assured that we can boldly approach His throne of grace in prayer and communicate with Him whenever we desire. He is always approachable. He is always reachable. He is always responsive. Given that we have this high privilege, why would anyone accept a substitute?

Oh, there is one more thing. As you decide whether or not “Text With Jesus” is for you, take into consideration the app's most controversial feature: conversations with Satan himself!

According to Knutsson…

Expectations can be deceiving, especially in the world of AI. Satan, historically the symbol of temptation and deceit, dons a surprisingly mellow avatar in this app. Users anticipating fiery dialogues or cunning deceptions might be left scratching their heads. Instead, the Prince of Darkness champions love, respect and understanding — values synonymous with biblical virtues.

Oh well, in his second New Testament Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 11, verse 14), the Apostle Paul tells us that Satan himself very often masquerades as an angel of light! Given this, my strong suspicion is that he is just fine with being portrayed in such a fashion.

But if we truly talk this matter over with the Lord, we will find that He is not! Any such depiction of Satan is clearly artificial. It has to be; for it is not genuine!

STORY SOURCE: https://www.foxnews.com/tech/controversial-ai-app-allows-text-jesus-satan.

SEE ALSO: https://cyberguy.com/news/chatgpt-is-finding-itself-everywhere-now-in-churches-and-synagogues/.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/11-14.htm.

TRUTH DECAY!

8/18/2023

It all began one day this past week when the oldest of our seven grandsons, who is now in the first grade, came home with a wide toothless grin, a baggy containing the missing tooth, and a certificate issued to him by his teacher affirming him for his courage in pulling the tooth all by himself without assistance.

He could not wait to show it to his brothers, his parents, and also to my wife and me as his grandparents. The only thing that was higher on his agenda list was to get home and get in bed early with that tooth properly ensconced under his pillow.

The following morning, just as he had so highly anticipated, he scored big time. For there under his pillow, where once there had been a tooth, now lay the princely sum of two whole genuine American dollars! Cha-ching, cha-ching!

It seems that none of this was lost on his younger brother, who just began pre-k. Fast forward to this afternoon, when this little fellow came walking up to his mother with two small plastic teeth in his hand and proudly announced that he now had his own teeth to put under his own pillow, which he planned to do this very night. It seems that he had schemed a way to cash in on the lucrative used tooth business!

His mother took the opportunity to cross-examine him, and soon discovered that he had removed the teeth from a toy. This was later confirmed as she found a small eight inch long sabre-tooth tiger. Only the fearsome beast was missing his two most distinguishing features. In a manner with enough skill and precision to rival a procedure performed by a bona fide Doctor of Dental Surgery, its two upper canines had been expertly removed.

(Alas, the hapless creature is henceforth destined to live a life akin to that of the poor “Abominable Snow Monster of the North” after Hermey the Outcast Elf removed its fangs in the classic Rankin/Bass Christmas special, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. But I digress.)

Suffice it to say that a discussion soon ensued between my grandson and his mother about being truthful in our dealings with others. I have insider information that when he awakens in the morning, he will likely find two dollars in Monopoly play money. This is, after all, a fair exchange – fake money for fake teeth!

Many years hence, no doubt, we will all be laughing about this entire matter. I’m quite certain my grandson will not soon forget it. I know his parents and his grandparents won’t.

But the hope is that he will not only remember the episode, but also the lesson he will have learned. While he can be given an “A” in the areas of creativity, ingenuity, and initiative, he won’t score near so high in the areas of honesty and integrity. At least not in this one instance.

Of course, the world highly values creativity, ingenuity, and initiative. With such traits, one can go far. The Lord values them as well. The Old Testament Book of Proverbs is chock full of admonitions about such things.

But the Lord values such traits as honesty and integrity far, far more! Proverb after proverb affirms this as well. For instance, chapter 28, verse 6 says “Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.”

If the Good Lord tarries His coming, there will doubtless come a day when my little grandson comes of age and uses his gifts to make his way and prosper in this world - maybe even as a dentist. I hope the Lord allows me to live long enough to see this. But more than this, I hope the Lord allows me to live long enough to see him exemplifying complete and total honesty and integrity in all his dealings with others.

If so, he will truly be a prince! And that’s no fairy tale!

SCRIPTURE: https://biblehub.com/proverbs/28-6.htm.

SEE ALSO: https://www.openbible.info/topics/honesty_and_integrity.

DOING MY PART…

8/13/2023

Paul Powell once told a story about two pulpwood cutters from east Texas who grew tired of cutting pulpwood and decided to go to Dallas and get another job. As they drove down the street, they saw a sign that said, “Love Field.” So they whipped their pulpwood truck into Love Field and drove to the main office.

One of the men said to his brother, “You stay in the truck and I’ll go in and see if I can get a job.” He went inside, found the man who was in charge of hiring, and said to him, “I want a job.” The man asked, “What can you do?” He replied, “I’m a pilot.”

The man said, “We need lots of those around here. You’ve got a job.” He hired him on the spot. The pulpwood cutter went back outside to the truck and said to his brother, “I got me a job. They hired me on the spot. Why don’t you go in and see if they have a job for you?”

His brother said, “Okay, you wait here in the truck, and I’ll go in and see if they will hire me.” He went inside and told the man, “I want a job.” The man asked, “What do you do?” He replied, “I’m a woodcutter.” The man said, “Fellow, this is an airline. We don’t need any woodcutters around here.”

The woodcutter then responded, “But, you just hired my brother.” The man General responded, “Yes, but he said he was a pilot.” The brother responded, “Well, how do you think he’s going to pile it if I don’t cut it?”

I had cause to be reminded of this story recently as I spent the better portion of a day piling it! A strong storm blew through and toppled a very tall tree in my son’s yard. Given that he is half my age, his hand/eye coordination makes him far more dexterous. Hence, he was elected chain saw operator; and I and the rest of the family were designated as the official “pile-its”.

It took better than half a day; but we finally converted the entirety of the enormous downed tree into ashes. In the end, the mess was cleared and the job was done. And a good job it was. So much so that over the next few days, relatives and neighbors alike all commented on the efficiency with which the process had been carried out, noting time and again how hard it must have been to saw up all that wood.

To my chagrin, not one time did any of them mention the burden that must have been involved in piling it all up and setting it ablaze. Oh well, such is life! Those who do the glamorous deeds are praised; while those who carry out the mundane tasks are so often overlooked.

Of course, I am being a bit facetious here. I’m sure everyone also recognized that cut wood still had to be gathered, transported, stacked, and burned. Still, there is an underlying truth in my wittiness.

In the New Testament Gospel of Luke (chapter 18), Jesus is approached by a wealthy man; and a discussion ensues. In the end, Jesus challenges him to make a great sacrifice by giving up his earthly possessions to follow him. To do so would have been a considerable feat, as he no doubt had substantial resources.

At this point, one of his disciples, Peter, who had previously been nothing more than a poor hand-to-mouth fisherman, chimes in and reminds the Lord that he and the other disciples had all given up everything to follow Him as well.

One gathers that Peter desires to know that his own sacrifice, even if seen as insignificant by comparison to that of others, still mattered. As if to reassure him, Jesus then asserts that any and every one who sacrifices on His behalf will one day be rewarded.

Rich man or poor man, it makes no matter. Glamorous or mundane, it makes no matter. Woodcutter or pile-it, it makes no matter. The Lord remembers whatever each of us has done. And He takes note of all who sacrifice on His behalf, no matter how much or how little that may seem to involve.

Remember that the next time you are tempted to think that your contribution has not mattered. No matter how big or how small, it takes all of us doing our respective part to see the big picture painted. And when the masterpiece is completed, the Artist Himself will make sure that each one involved in its production is duly recognized and rewarded.

JOKE SOURCE:

https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php?id=146507, pp.60-61.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://biblehub.com/niv/luke/18.htm.

FALL GUYS!

8/9/2023

Of the four seasons, my favorite is clearly the fall. Admittedly, this has not always been the case. As a child, it was always summer. The reason, of course, should be obvious - no teachers, no classrooms, and no homework! To this day, I remember being utterly disappointed when I first asked my father if he was off work for the summer as well, and then being assured he was not.

In those days, over and against how much I loved the summer was precisely how much I eschewed the fall. After all, it represented a return to the dreaded institution known as grade school.

But as time passed, I began to look at things differently. When one grows up on a farm, visons of summertime spent in luxury around the pool and/or at the beach quickly give way to time spent in drudgery in the garden and/or out in the fields. Simply put, while my friends all basked in the warmth of the sun, I alone sweated in its oppressive heat from dusk till dawn!

Not surprisingly, I soon learned to long for the fall of the year. Sitting in a classroom, as tedious and boring as it might be, was, hands down, an improvement over hoeing gardens, picking beans, shucking corn, bailing and stacking hay, painting fences, cutting grass, and bush-hogging pastures!

Thus it was that I began to see the fall of the year as a time, not so much to be dreaded as to be anticipated. For when it unfolded, it represented the end of a full summer’s labor. Far more importantly, it represented new beginnings. I discovered that returning to school was not meant to be merely a repeat of the previous year, but rather a going on to the next grade.

As the years passed, I found this true not only of grade school, but also of middle school, high school, college, seminary, and eventually, even graduate school. In short, I grew fond of fall because it was always the time of new beginnings. That is to say that it was not just about the next grade, but also about the next level, the next challenge, and by implication, the next great adventure!

As I write these words, it is now the 9th day of August, 2023. While it is not yet September, it is nonetheless the concluding month of summer. Fall is clearly on the horizon. It is also the week in which all of my seven grandsons have now entered a new stage of life.

The eldest of these started the first grade this year. Behind him, grandson number two started kindergarten. Beyond this, the third and fourth grandsons began pre-k. The fifth started two-day-a-week preschool for the first time. And the sixth and seventh each found themselves in the awkward position of being alone at home for the first time without an older brother constantly attempting to micro-manage their lives!

And there you have it! For each and every one, fall has brought a new challenge. For none of them will this be easy. There will be colors and shapes and letters and numbers and a whole host of other such intimidating things to learn and conquer. But they will surely figure them all out. I eventually did.

And after these things, they will go on to even greater challenges which they will also figure out - just as I also once did. Beyond this, I can only hope that their experiences in their childhood years will be followed by similar ones in their adolescent years. And that these will then one day be followed by similar ones in their adult years.

And what I hope for them, I hope for myself. Who says that once one concludes his or her formal education, fall should cease to be a time of new beginnings?! For this reason, I have set myself a goal in the time I have left in life to capitalize upon the fall of each new year to begin some new journey, to commence some new undertaking, and/or to start some grand new venture in life.

These things matter to me. I never need to reach the point that I stop moving forward, being productive, and accomplishing in life. But these things matter as well to my seven grandsons. While they may not do so now, the day will surely come when they will look to me and my life to ascertain as to whether or not my example was exemplary.

Above all, these things matter to the Lord. It was He Who created me, He Who endowed me, He Who gifted me, and He Who rightfully has expectations of me! It is also to Him that I must give an account of how I spent my time in this world, as well as what all I did with the gifts He entrusted to me.

Echoing the words of Jesus in the Gospels regarding the Parable of the Talents, the Apostle Paul reminds us (in his New Testament Letter to the Romans, chapter 14, verse 12) that “…each of us will one day give a personal account to God.”

For my part, I hope to keep on living and to keep on learning and to keep on growing and to keep on achieving and to keep on accomplishing all that the Lord intends for me.

In other words, as long as I live, I hope to always be a “fall guy”!

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://biblehub.com/romans/14-12.htm.

DELIVERING THE GOODS

8/4/2023

Sometimes one reads the neatest things tucked away in the midst of the day’s news headlines. Take, for instance, the following piece titled “Amazon Delivers to Bottom of Grand Canyon, in a Unique Way: Company Can't Use Its Vans to Reach Workers at Phantom Ranch, But Mules Do the Trick” that caught my attention.

The article, posted earlier today (August 4, 2023) on www.Newser.com by Jenn Gidman, was brief but informative…

You may be accustomed to seeing those ubiquitous dark-blue vans with the Amazon logo puttering around your town, especially around the holidays when package deliveries are at a peak. In the northwest corner of Arizona, however, a different mode of transport is employed: mules, saddled up with sealed boxes as they trek down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. There are no suburban neighborhoods nestled 9 miles below the South Rim, but there is the Phantom Ranch, described as a "historic oasis" where visitors can spend the night—and where Amazon delivers to the staffers who both live and work there. In a Wednesday blog post, Amazon deems the Phantom Ranch "one of the most remote places Amazon delivers [to]," explaining that the only way to get to the site is by foot, river raft, or the mules.

The equine hybrids typically deliver mail and such supplies as produce, TP, beer, and fixings for the ranch's steak dinners, as well as the Amazon packages, which are transported down four days a week. The packages are initially dropped off at a warehouse on the South Rim, then are loaded up onto the mules, who set off down the Bright Angel Trail just after sunrise to avoid traveling during the hotter parts of the day. It usually takes the two human pack leaders, each with a set of five mules, about four hours to descend to the bottom of the canyon, then another four or five hours to get back up to the top, an Amazon rep tells USA Today, adding that the delivery method is "one of the most unique ways customers can receive their deliveries."

Mules who regularly make the trip can pretty much get to their destination by heart. "The more you take them down, the more they memorize the trail," one of the mule packers says in a video Amazon features on the blog, showing the animals in action. "Most of the mules that we have at this point could probably walk the trail with their eyes closed." "The supplies that our mule team brings down are a critical part of making sure that life can exist down at the bottom comfortably and happily," says a spokesperson for the ranch's owner in the blog post. "Having a service like Amazon available to employees, especially in a place as remote as Phantom Ranch, is fantastic."

Wow! To begin with, I, for one, did not know that anyone lived at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. That, in and of itself, surely takes considerable resilience. But apparently, it also takes a little help from above. After all, how else are the guest to enjoy meals, bathrooms, and the like? And it is in this sense that the story has a spiritual application.

No matter who we are, no matter where we come from, no matter what our present circumstances or location or predicament, we are fooling ourselves if we think we can get by in this world without regular help from above!

It behooves us to be aware of this. More to the point, it befits us to be appreciative of this! After all, we are fooling ourselves if we think we can get by without regular and abundant assistance from beyond.

In his New Testament letter to the believers at Philippi, the Apostle Paul gave this reminder (chapter 4, verse 19): “God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

We all have needs. There is no denying this. No matter where we are or what we lack or what we face. But praise God, we all also have One who meets those needs, no matter where we are or what we lack or what we face. And He does this day in and day out!

For that, all of us who purport to follow Jesus Christ should be grateful. I know I am. Are you?

STORY SOURCE:

https://www.newser.com/story/338496/amazons-transport-for-grand-canyon-deliveries-mules.html.

NOTE: Check out a video of the above described process at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZGtaESzl3w&t=78s.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://biblehub.com/philippians/4-19.htm.

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