On eternal things v.1

This is the first post of which I hope will be several on the subject matter of favorite verses/portions of the Bible. My “faith” as we say today, is of exceptional importance to me. It is the eyeglasses which I view and perceive the different things and experiences of my life. My Christian walk is something that I strive to be effective and I guess more importantly – something which I hope to be walking on the right path of. I have got myself to such a way of thinking that it is very difficult to do things without checking if I think this is something that God would want me to do and to do “now”. People argue/debate if we – as adults – are the sum of nature or nurturing. At this time in my life I think for most people it is a mix/blend of the two. I don’t think nature (genetics) provides one a license to be something horrible/bad. We – human beings – are complex creatures which the strands of nurture and nature are also wrapped with the cords of freewill/choice. What is very sobering if not scary is the understanding/realization that these temporal lives we are living at this moment/life span have eternal ramifications for our individual souls, which is the “real us”. The soul is not some abstract mystical thing but our very consciousness. This consciousness has the fullest experience of our senses and the mind we have developed as well as the memories of all our experiences – hence this is why I write it is “the real us”. We – our souls – peer at temporal life through our eyes and are plugged in to our body via the flesh. The flesh is temporal. The soul is eternal. At the death of the physical body the soul is given an eternal body that it will experience/use for all of eternity. It can NOT die – period. Why mention all this as introduction to these new types of posts? Because I am of the firm believe that our decision on our relationship and understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ determines the “where” our eternal being will reside. If we believe that He alone is the way to heaven. He alone can forgive us of our sins. If He alone can provide our redemption and salvation. If we believe we cannot earn our way to heaven in any way. So that we have confessed our sins, asked God to forgive us and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ as our payment for sin – then we will be saved. The where of our eternal being is settled forever and it will be in Heaven. Anything different means an eternity in the Lake of Fire with absolutely no parole.

The first Bible verse that I memorized was Romans 5:8. If my memory is correct I was seven years old and it was for a program our Sunday School department was going to present in the evening church service. I know that at the time I did not fully understand what the verses meant. I knew I was to memorize it so I could walk up to the microphone in front of about 600 adults and quote it into the microphone. As the years passed and I was probably around the age of 28 I finally understood what the verse was saying. From the KJV “But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Commendeth is an old English word which communicates the idea of displaying and proving. It is imperative that the second part of the definition is understood. So God proved how much he loved me and you that while we are sinners before Him, He sent His only begotten Son Jesus to die for us. Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection provides the atonement and redemption to all those who trust Him for their salvation. So God did not do this after we felt we were worthy or after we so-called cleaned up our lives. He did it knowing correctly that we were undeserving and unable to fully understand what He was doing. He did it because He loved us and does not want us to go to Hell which was originally created as the place for Satan and his angels to be punished and reside for all eternity.