Who gets to Heaven?

Whether you get to Heaven is between you and God.  So it doesn't matter what I think, nor what I assume.  However, it appears to me that not all people who believe will get to Heaven.

So what does the Bible say about Heaven and who will get there.  The answer comes from Psalm 15, or a Psalm of David, "Who Shall Abide in God’s Sanctuary?"  David asked: "O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?"

The Lord answers: 

"Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart; who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors; in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the Lord; who stand by their oath even to their hurt; who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent. Those who do these things shall never be moved."

The subject was addressed again in John 14: 2-3.  Here,  Jesus said:

"Do not think of trouble. You believe in God. Believe in me also. In my father's house are many rooms. What I tell you is true. I will go there to prepare a place for you. Because I will prepare a place for you, I will come back for you. Where I am you will be also. You know where I am going. You also know the way"

Doubting Thomas, a friend of Jesus, said, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"

To this Jesus replied, "I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. Nobody comes to the father except by knowing me"

So the way to Heaven is to believe in Jesus and to live through Him.  The way Jesus would live is described in Psalm 14 by David.

Of course it's not possible for us to live exactly the way Jesus did, and so we all make mistakes (i.e. sins) from time to time.  Good Christians will feel guilty when they sin, and ask for forgiveness.

This brings us to 1 John 1:9, which states, "If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing."

We are all prophets

So God reveals himself through The Word, and The Word appeared as human flesh by the name of Jesus.  So Jesus, in dying for us, made us all prophets.  In this way, we are all -- those of us who are believers, anyway -- unprofitable servants.

Jesus shared his wisdom with the apostles, and through the Church their teachings are shared by the Bishops and the Priests.  They then share the wisdom of the Lord with all the people of the Church.

There's a better way of summing this down a bit.  Consider that in the Old Testament there are 16 books of prophets, or people who listen to the wisdom of the Lord and interpret this wisdom and share it with the people.  

There are various names for such prophets, such as revelators, seers and patriarchs.  For our purposes we will refer to them as prophets.  Some of these prophets include Adam, Abel, Seth, Noah, Zechariah, Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Jacob, Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Haggai, and Ezias.  

The New Testament also has prophets, such as John the Baptist, whose prophecy was that Jesus was coming.  Some listened and heard him, while others chose to ignore him. This was the case for all the prophets.  

Jesus made us all prophets.  By his Death, he made the wisdom of The Word available to all who choose to accept it via the Holy Spirit.  Some refer to prophets like us as unprofitable servants of the Lord, meaning that we share His wisdom as acts of charity.

So, your assignment, if you so choose to accept it, is to use your gifts to share the wisdom, either by your actions or your voice.

The lesson of Zachariah.

The founding fathers did a ton of research when working to create the new nation. They wanted to make sure mistakes of the past were not repeated.  Based on this research they believed it was important, if not essential, for Americans to have an appreciation for God and His Bible.  They therefore must have been aware of the prophet Zachariah.  

Unlike the prophet Jeremiah, who received many chapters in the Bible, Zachariah received only a few pages. Therefore many children have been named after Jeremiah, and only a few after Zachariah.  So, while Jeremiah is a well known prophet, Zachariah is not a well known prophet.

Perhaps it is for this reason that the lessons of the Book of Zachariah often go unheeded, and to the detriment of societies.  Some even suspect that it was by not heeding the lessons of Zachariah might even lead to the fall of the United States of America.  

The Book of Zachariah covers a the span of time between 518-520 B.C. 

Zachariah was a prophet during a time when the Assyrians had taken over Israel, between 518 and 520 B.C.  Assyria at that time extended from the Dead Sea to the Sea of Gibraltar. The area by the Dead Sea was mushy and mostly deserted and not worth much, but the rest of the land, the land in the West, was very fertile and worth a lot. So the Assyrians had good reason to take over this land.

The Assyrians worshiped false gods, such as those of the sun and moon. The morale of the people fell to ruin, and the economy tanked.  Since the economy was in ruin, King Darius of Persia was able to easily come in and wipe out the rulers of Israel and take over the nation.  He turned the Israelites into slaves.

Zachariah was one of the few who noticed what was going on.  He understood why the land of Judah (Israel) was in such disarray. In fact, he described the destruction of the once prosperous Israel as the result of lack of morals and values. Hence, the people of Judah had gotten their priorities in the wrong order.

The Book of Zechariah says: 

The Lord Almighty told Zachariah to say to the people, "I the Lord, was angry with your ancestors, but now I say to you, 'Return to me, and I will return to you.

What he was saying was that the economy of Judah was ruined because the people started worshiping their stuff more than they worshiped Him. 

In that way, this story is similar to the story of the Tower of Babel. There the Land of God turned to ruin because the people started worshiping false gods and stuff more so than God. They put their stuff before other people. They put their stuff before work. They put their stuff before their children.They put their stuff before learning.  They put their stuff before God.  

So instead of valuing and appreciating their wives, some grew bored of them and moved on to other women.  The divorce rate spiked.  Children were now being raised in broken homes, and did not learn the values their parents once learned. Lacking a firm set of values and morals, there was no incentive to not do things for selfish gain.  Crime rose.  The economy collapsed.  This made it easy for the enemies of Islam to take over the nation of Israel. 

Yet God, through Zechariah, was telling the people of Israel that if they wanted their country back, they would have to get their priorities straight:

1. God
2. Country
3. Spouse
4. Children
5. Other people
6. Other things

The idea that Zechariah described is mentioned later in the Bible too, because the writers wanted to prevent the people of Israel from repeating the errors that lead to the decline of Israel. Matthew 5: 1-48  mentions it and so does Paul to the Corinthians (1).  The ultimate goal hear was the Biblical authors did not want people to forget the lessons learned in the Book of Zacharia. 

Zachariah said:

But my people stubbornly refused to listen. They closed their minds and made their hearts as hard as rock. Because they would not listen to the teaching which I sent through the prophets who lived long ago, I became very angry. Because they did not listen when I spoke, I did not answer when they prayed. Like a storm I swept them away to live in foreign countries. This good land was left a desolate place, with no one living in it.

And he said:

These are the things you should do: Speak the truth to one another. In the courts give real justice-- the kind that brings peace. Do not plan ways of harming one another. Do not give false testimony under oath. I hate lying, injustice, and violence. 

Yet as so often occurs, the lessons of the past are often repeated.  And the mistakes of Islam that occurred during the time of Zachariah are occurring once more in the United States, and in Europe.  

"Then the angel said, 'almighty Lord, you have been angry with Jerusalem and the cities of Judah for seventy years now. How much longer will it be before you show them mercy."

With the Lord's help, the people of Judah once again turned to Him.  They once again learned the importance of fearing God and His Bible.  Priorities were once more placed in the right order, with God as the top priority.

Then God said to His poeple: 

"So I have come back to Jerusalem to show mercy to the city. my Temple (values) will be restored, and the city will be rebuilt... The Lord has promised that he himself will be a wall of fire around the city to protect it and that he will live there in all his glory."

To the enemies of Israel, the Lord said through Zachariah:

The Lord himself will fight against you and you will be plundered by the people who were once your servants."

Zachariah said: 

"Long ago I gave these commands to my people: 'You must see that justice is done, and must show kindness and mercy to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners who live among you, or anyone else in need. And do not plan ways of harming one another.'"

So, as the Lord saved Israel during the time of Zachariah, he will save the nation he created that spread freedom through the land.

He said: 

Once again old men and women, so old men and women, so old that they use canes when they walk, will be sitting in the city squares. And the streets will again be full of boys and girls playing. This may seem impossible to those of the nation who are now left, but it's not impossible to me. I will rescue my people from the lands where they have been taken...

Have courage! You are now hearing the same words the prophets." You must never quit trying. You must believe. You who see what is wrong must not stop trying to change it. You must have courage.

So there is hope for returning America to it's former Glory.  There is hope for a return to unbridled American Exceptionalism.

And the idea of freedom will spread.

In those days ten foreigners will come to one Jew and say, 'We want to share in your destiny, because we have heard that God is with you.'

The first step is to return to traditional American values, which include teaching classical liberalism and the Christian Bible.   

Here's why Christians oppose gay marriage

Tensions are growing since the Supreme Court's controversial decision to make gay marriage the law of the land.  Proponents of gay marriage can still be heard celebrating, and for good reason.  Still, there are many Christians who feel the celebrations are a way of rubbing in their faces that of which they did not want to happen.  This has left many Christians questioning their faith, and why they were against gay marriage in the first place.

So, why is it we support marriage between a man and a woman, and why are we opposed to gay marriage? 

Dan Calabrese, a columnist for the North Star Writer's Group, explains why Christians don't support gay marriage in his column, "A detailed explanation of why Christians don't support gay marriage." I will use this as a reference for the following, although I will also add some of my own thoughts. 

1.  First it should be known that Christians believes that the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God. That’s why, when we cite the Bible, we treat it as authoritative.

2.  The Bible clearly defines marriage as between a man and a woman.  (Genesi 2: 23-2)(Matthew 19: 4-6)(Mark 10: 2-9)

3.  The Bible clearly sates that homosexual life is a moral sin with a penalty. Loving Christians want to see gay people spared of the pain of that penalty.  (Romans 1: 24-28)(Leviticus 20: 10-18)

4.  God is very stern with people who participate in sexual immorality. This is because when you unite with them physically you unite with them spiritually. He wants you to unite spiritually with one other person of the opposite sex of whom you are married.  (Leviticus 20: 10-18)

5. God explains that the reason for laws is for sinners, which includes sodomy (sex with an animal) and fornication (sex outside of marriage).  Timothy 1: 8-11

6.  We are all born into sin, and we are all tempted by our own desires, and we must resist these temptations to avoid the pain of punishment.  (James 1: 14-15)

7.  Liberals believe that people are born perfect and are corrupted by society.  So they believe the way to get the individual back to perfection is to do battle with society.  This explains why they battled so hard to change the definition of marriage.  

8.  Conservatives believe, as the Bible teaches, the people are born flawed, and the way to improve society is through the moral improvement of the individual.  They believe that to make society better you have to start with the individual.  

9.  Now, this is what the Bible says it is not me.  The following quote is from Calabrese.  "For the homosexual who says, “I was born this way,” I will not argue. We were all born with sinful urges of our flesh. Some struggle with anger. Some struggle with heterosexual lust. Some struggle with gluttony or addiction to alcohol. And some struggle with homosexual urges. These are our desires. They come from the flesh and they war against the spirit."

10.  "God’s desire for each person is that they will repent of those desires and surrender to Him so that He can deliver them from these urges by the power of Christ."

11.  "The Christian who loves as God loves certainly does not a hate another human being for having sinful desires of the flesh. We have them too"  So you can see that Christians love our gay brethren as all others. 

12.  Christians, however, recognize these thoughts as sinful, and so they resist the temptation.  They feel guilty when they have these thoughts.  This is God saying, "Stop!" 

13.  We must resist such sinful temptations so we can be right with God. Life is full of temptations, and every attempt at resisting them makes us a better person.  We are rewarded with blessings in our lives.  One such reward is a better society.  In other words, we make society better by resisting temptations.  

14.  The more people who resist temptations, the better society will be.  So society is made better one individual at a time. 

15.  This explains why there is a constant effort to improve the moral standard of the individual through the Church.  It is a constant battle.  We must never quit. 

Now, to tackle the modern issue of gay marriage, Calabrese said: 

I understand why some Christians struggle with this. They know a gay person, or maybe have a gay family member, and they want that person to be happy. It’s enticing to accept the “love is love” argument and to believe that surely God wants that gay person to be in a loving relationship.

But that argument wrongly conflates love with sex. There are a lot of different kinds of love. Hopefully you love a lot of people, but you only have sex with one person - the one to whom you’re married. If you want a gay person to know love in a romantic/sexual relationship, good, so do I. So I will pray that this person is delivered from those urges through the blood of Jesus so that he or she can find the mate of the opposite sex that God always intended for them to come together with.

Still, it must be added that all people have a right to choose the lifestyle the wish to live.  It must be understood, however, that Christians also have this right.  And to choose to be a Christian does not mean that we do not love and respect all our fellow men and women, all of whom we wish the best for.

Further reading:

• A detailed explanation of why Christians don't support gay marriage," by Dan Calabrese
• The Church will survive gay marriage if... National 
• Gay men blow kisses, taunting guy in ‘Ask Me About Jesus’ shirt; watch his reaction
• The Next Gay Marriage Battle: National Review

Faith in God leads to happiness

Not all of the founding fathers believed that Jesus walked the earth.  Yet nearly every single one of them believed that it was important for America to be a Christian nation.  Why?

The answer was that, without having done one scientific study, they realized what the Jews realized over 3,000 years ago: that belief in God made for a safe and happy society.

They knew that those who believed would spend eternal life in Heaven. They knew that those who did not would spend eternal life in Hell.  Belief creates happiness, fear creates respect.  This results in a humble, honorable, and trustworthy society.

The founding fathers, even those who were not true Christians, understood this. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams discussed this subject in many of the letters they wrote to each other in their later years.

They knew that the United States, having accrued a massive debt following their massive campaign for independence, could not afford a militia, and therefore they needed to figure out a way to prevent people from committing crimes.  The way they did this was by inculcating the values and morals of the Christian Bible among society.

It is for this reason that George Washington, along with nearly every president since him, has referenced God and Jesus in many of their speeches.  The idea was to assure that America be an inertly Christian nation.

However, as Tom Knox noted in his column at dailymail.com, The tantalising proof that belief in God makes you happier and healthier:

God has had a tough time over the past few years. On TV, in newspapers and on the internet, the debate as to whether faith has any relevance in a sceptical modern world has been as ubiquitous as it has been vigorous.

And it has been pretty clear which side is the most splenetic. 

From Richard Dawkins’ powerful atheist polemics to Christopher Hitchens’ public derision of the Roman Catholic Tony Blair and Stephen Hawking’s proclamation that the universe ‘has no need for God’, it seems that unbelievers have had the dwindling faithful on the run.

Yet then Knox came to a stunning revelation:

But then I had something of an epiphany. One night, after a long dinner, I was walking back to my hotel in downtown Salt Lake City at 2am and I suddenly realised: I felt safe. As any transatlantic traveller knows, this is a pretty unusual experience in an American city after midnight.

Why did I feel safe? Because I was in a largely Mormon city, and Mormons are never going to mug you. They might bore or annoy you when they come knocking on your door, touting their faith, but they are not going to attack you.

The Mormons’ wholesome religiousness, their endless and charitable kindliness, made their city a better place. And that made me think: Why was I so supercilious about such happy, hospitable people? What gave me the right to sneer at their religion? 

From that moment I took a deeper, more rigorous interest in the possible benefits of religious faith. Not one particular creed, but all creeds. And I was startled by what I found. 

Yet Knox's epiphany should not come as a surprise, as such epiphany's have been the norm throughout history.  The Bible is full of them.  The Bible is also full of stories where people lost Faith in God, such as the Tower of Babel. So what we are facing now is nothing new.

The rise of secularism in America and Europe over the past 60 years comes as no surprise to anyone raised by the Christian Bible.  We have spent our entire lives reading about the temptations of Satan on people throughout history.

We grew up knowing how gifts such as the Holy Spirit and the Theological Virtues create an internal peace even during the most challenging times in life. Such internal peace brings forth joy and comfort.

So while the challenges of life may cause doom and despair in some, those who believe always retain faith and hope, which leads to happiness.

Where do we go to seek God?

All Christians are aware of the importance of saying a prayer, or of communicating with God, both talking to and listening to Him.  Yet as our lives tend to become busy, most of us fail to meet even minimal requirements.  

This was the reflection of our priest recently as he said the following.  

Where do you go to seek God. How often do you go there? All prophets seek a place to be alone with their God. Jesus went off to a deserted place and prayed. We are disciples, and disciples should want to be with their teacher, to a place where we deliberately seek him. Mother Theresa said she encountered the suffering Christ in every face of every poor, sick and dying person she was sent to administer. She mandated all her sisters and all priests to spend three hours in prayer before they started working each day. I’m not advocating we do three hours, but I think it is important to ask: Where do we go to be in communion with God, and how often do we go there?

How and when to pray

If you believe in God you'd probably better pray.  If you don't believe in God, chances are you pray anyway when you're backed into a corner, so you might as well do it right.

When I was a child my mom would have me read, from time to time, a Biblical reading that showed me how to pray.  I remember it saying that one should ideally kneel and pray in silence, and it should be done at least every night, if not more frequently.

As a typical guy, I never could remember the passage she had me read. Sometimes I would ask mom, and she would tell me where to find it in the Bible. Yet even after asking her 20 times, I still don't remember it, even though the last time I asked was probably over 30 years ago.

I don't know if it was a passage that she learned from her mother or religious upbringing, or whether she learned it through a newspaper clipping.  I do, however, remember that the prayer was sometimes in the paper, and she'd cut it out and give it to me.

Today I do not know the passage. I could ask mom, but have not gotten around to it. With the gift of the Internet and Google I thought I could find it online, although, even if I read it, I'm not sure I'd know if I was reading the same passage. However, I have this feeling that I'd just know.

As of yet I have not found it.  However, there are many websites that quote scripture on how to pray, such as christianity.about.com and biblegateway.com:

• (Matthew 6:6):  But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you
• (Matthew 6:7):  “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases (do not babble on and on) as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 
• (Ecclesiastes 5:2):  Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. 
• (Luke 11: 1-4):  He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”  He said to them, “When you pray, say:  Father, hallowed by your name.  Your kingdom come.  Give us each day our daily bread.  And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.  And do not bring us to the time of trial... 
• (Luke 11: 9-13):  “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."

There are many verses that explain how to pray, or why to pray, although these are the basic ones. When I was a kid I would try to pray on my knees as my mother instructed, although such a task was sometimes impossible due to exhaustion, laziness or even embarrassment.  

The issue of embarrassment didn't come into play until college when I had roommates.  It seemed silly to kneel before the bed and pray, so prayers were done under cover of blankets.   Sometimes I'd feel guilty for not kneeling, although there was no way I'd do it with people around.  

Then one day one of my roommates and I had a nice discussion about prayer.  He said he was taught that it didn't matter how or where you prayed so much as that you did it.  So it was on his advice that the guilt subsided. 

The Bible describes praying in every position imaginable, such as standing (1 Kings 8:22), bowing, (Exodus 4:31) sitting, kneeling (1 Kings 8:54), or lying down.  A prayer may also be cited in silence, or aloud, and at any point during the day.  

The general consensus, I believe, is that a person should find time to pray at least once per day.  Some say it should be in the morning to thank God for helping you make it through the night, and to ask for help through the new day.  Some say it's best to pray at night, in order to thank Him for helping guide you through the day, and for continued guidance.  Some recommend praying both in the morning and at night.  

I'm more of a nighttime prayer, and this is when I'm most likely to pray with my children.  Recently, however, I read Psalm 3, which is a prayer David said in the morning after he ran away from his son Absalom.  In it, he thanked the Lord for a safe night while fighting was ongoing around him.  So some believe a morning prayer is necessary when the Lord keeps us safe in the night.

What you say in the prayer is up to you, so long as, according to Matthew, you do not babble on and on.  A prayer should be short and sweet, or pithy.  Surely I like to ask, although almost always I start by thanking.

All that said, it is Matthew who gives the basic prayer, one that most Christians, or at least most Catholics, should know by heart.  There are various versions of it, yet they all mean the same (Matthew 6: 9-13).

“Pray then in this way:
Our Father (who art) in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts (trespasses),
as we also have forgiven our debtors (who trespass against us).
And do not bring us to the time of trial (lead us not into temptation),
but rescue us from the evil one (but deliver us from evil).

If you're one of those who pray in desperation, chances are you believe deep down.  For the rest of us, prayers should easily transition into our daily lives.

God made man in his own image

As we learn by our understanding of the Creed, God shares his Wisdom with us through the Holy Spirit.  This is the feeling that burns inside of us, and what allows us to accept God.  The Holy Spirit is the sense of Glory, Faith and Hope inside us. It's the feeling of love, joy, and happiness.

On the sixth day (which means era in ancient Hebrew) God created man in his own image.

Genesis 1:26 says:

Then God said, ‘Let us make people who are images of us. Let them be similar to us. Let them rule over the fish of the sea. Let them rule over the birds of the air. Let them rule over the animals. Let them rule over the whole earth. Let them rule over every crawling animal that crawls on the earth.’

Genesis 1:27 says:

So God created people who were images of himself. He created them as images of God. He created man and woman.

Genesis 1: 28 says:

God promised good things to them. He said, ‘Have large families. Increase so that you fill the earth. Rule over the earth. Rule over the fish in the sea. Rule over the birds that fly in the air. Rule over every living animal that moves on the earth.’

Allow me to break this down:

1.  "Then God said, 'Let us make people who are images of us. Let them be similar to us.'"

By "us" God is probably referring to the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).

2.  "So God created people who were images of himself. He created them as images of God. He created man and woman."

By "images of us" he does not mean that we look just like God, because that would be impossible.  We are not like God, as we are made of flesh and have brains like animals.  But we are made in His image in that He gave us the Spirit.  It is this Spirit that is like God.

Again, it is through the Spirit that we can know and accept God.  It is also through the spirit that we are superior to animals, because, while they have a body and a brain, they do not have the spirit; they are not made in the image of God.  

3.  "Let them rule over the whole earth. Let them rule over every crawling animal that crawls on the earth."

This was the job he gave to humans.  He gave them the responsibility of taking care of the earth and all the animals and plants on the earth.  He told them that they must look after them and take care of them.  That is part of our duty to God. 

Because we have the Spirit, we have the ability to think and to ration, unlike animals. It is for this reason that he put us in charge of the animals and the planet. 

He also gave us natural rights, or liberties handed down from him.  He could have made a perfect world, but he made a flawed world. In this way, it was the job of humans to try to perfect the world.  This would give those who chose wisely a sense of satisfaction.  

Then it was only through death that perfection, a true euphoria, would be  found in Heaven.  Yet only those who chose to listen to the Spirit and accept God and His Word would be able to find eternal life in Heaven.  

Genesis: the world was created in six eras

Secularists say that the best evidence that the Christian Bible is a work of fiction is the Book of Genesis, which states that the world was created in six day.  Their argument is this is not possible.  Yet those doubters miss the point entirely.

In order to understand the book of Genesis, and the whole Bible for that matter, it is important to understand who wrote it, the language it was originally written in, and the traditions of that era.  Because, when taken out of contexts, the Bible may have a completely different meaning than the one intended.

In fact, this is one of the main reasons why it's important to attend religion classes, participate in Bible Study, and attend Church regularly.  It is in this way that we continuously stay fresh on the true interpretation of Biblical stories. Lacking such studies, we can hardly continue on with our task of being shepherds of of the Lord, as His message will be confounded.

Peter (2 Peter 1:21) said, "Men whom the Holy Spirit guided spoke words from God."  What this means is that God revealed what he did, and His stories were recorded.

The first messenger, then, after the invention of a written language would have been Moses, so some suspect that Moses wrote the first book of the Bible, or the Book of Genesis.  Yet most experts suggest that if he did write it, he had the help of many others, and he also used the words of previous authors.

When we consider that the Bible was originally written in the Ancient Hebrew language, and we consider that the word "day" sometimes meant "age."  So some experts speculate, and probably rightly so, that the six days of creation were probably six eras of creation.