Time and Eternity

Time and Eternity

The announcement that we will resume worshiping together in smaller groups at the building is so refreshing. I can hardly wait. We have not been together in our building for the past eight weeks. We have entered Phase One, allowing us to meet as long as we practice social distancing. Our auditorium will permit us to begin with four identical services this week, with groups being determined alphabetically. I can hardly wait to see you Sunday!

These eight weeks seem almost like eight months and sometimes it feels more like eight years. The wisdom of God is seen so vividly in His design for us to worship together every week.  Let’s take a moment and think together about the nature of time.

hourglass time

How long is a year to you? It depends on how you look at it

Time to God is so different from time to us. Peter said, “Do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pet. 3:8). It is as though our God lives in an “eternal presence.” This is not the situation with us.

How long is a year to you? It depends on how you look at it. If you are one year old, how long is it to your second birthday? A year is equal to the entire time you have lived on the earth. How long is a year if you are fifty waiting for your fifty-first birthday. It is only 1/50 of the time you have lived. The older you get the faster time flies. If you think it is flying by you when you are fifty, just wait until you are sixty or seventy!

Another illustration of the passage of time is to consider that if you are over 43, you are closer to retirement than college. It seems hardly possible but such is the nature of time.

Jacob worked seven years in order to earn the right to marry Rachel. “So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her” (Gen. 29:20). Time is remarkable for in another context his “short time” might seem like an eternity.

Listen to the psalmist, “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away…So teach us to number our days…” (Psa. 90:10-12).

Time is an interesting topic to consider. How long is a day, a week, a month, a year, a decade? It just depends on how you look at it. How long is a lifetime of seventy years on this earth? When you compare it to eternity, it is as short as blinking the eyes. Oh, how foolish it is to focus our earthy years on material things when compared to eternity. How long is seven weeks? Compared to eternity it is so meaningless. Just make sure to use these eight weeks to see the treasures we have on this earth in the fellowship in His kingdom.

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Gratitude – Be Thankful

Gratitude – Be Thankful

Among the many attitudes discussed in the New Testament is gratitude. It isn’t just a good idea, though; it’s God’s command. Colossians 3:15 says, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Not too many years ago, I had a debate with an atheist. He held to an ethical system called utilitarianism. His philosophy was that if something was useful for getting along in society then you should do it. This is how he rationalized his behavior including saying “Thank you,” to other people. He wasn’t genuinely thankful to others when they did something helpful to him, he was just saying the words because they were useful to him in getting along in society. Such is not the attitude that we are to have toward God’s word. It is true that practicing God’s word will help us get along with others, but that is a blessing that results from believing in God and His word, not the rationale for our practicing it.

gratitude attitude

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Sometimes I wonder if we haven’t adopted this philosophy doing things simply because they are useful instead of doing them to please God regardless of whether they are useful or not. Truly giving thanks is one of these things. Do we say “thank you” to those closest to us? Do we genuinely thank those who help us? Do we recognize the graciousness of others when they do something for our benefit by telling them “thank you?” How many of us,instead of asking God for one thing or another, spend time in prayer just thanking Him? We are not thankful enough, and we need to be a thankful people. May God help us to have the highest of motives when we say, “thank you,” and not take things for granted.

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PREMILENIALISMO (1) LA DOCTRINA DE LA PROMESA

PREMILENIALISMO (1) LA DOCTRINA DE LA PROMESA

El premilenialismo sostiene que ha Israel se le han hecho una serie de promesas nacionales concerniente principalmente con la tierra y el retorno de este pueblo conforme a las palabras de Dios, en pasajes específicos del Antiguo Testamento. Para los premilenialistas el templo deberá ser reconstruido, la ciudad de Jerusalén volverá a brillar en su máximo esplendor y los gentiles contemplaremos con asombro el amor que Dios le ha guardado a Israel por todas las edades. Todo esto acontecerá en la venida de Cristo en la carne y antes de que comience a gobernar por mil años en la tierra con los santos. De acuerdo con esta teoría todas las 12 tribus de Israel serán reagrupadas nuevamente en el territorio de Palestina desalojando así a quienes habiten en ese momento ese lugar. Para los premilenialistas esto es el cumplimiento, según ellos, de la promesa de Dios a su amado pueblo. Tanto será la restitución de Israel que incluso las riquezas de las naciones gentiles serán dadas a los judíos para ganar nuevamente el poderío del cual fueron despojados (basados en pasajes como Isaías 60:5). Hay una serie de pasajes que sostiene la promesa del retorno sin lugar a duda, pero cada uno de ellos posee un contexto, que cuando uno considera el trasfondo histórico Antiguo Testamentario puede comprender que cada una de estas promesas hechas a la nación de Israel fueron cumplidas hace muchos años atrás en un sentido físico como también en un sentido espiritual.

tierra promesa

¿Está incumplida la promesa de la tierra?

LA PROMESA DE LA TIERRA: Cuando cualquier religioso hace referencia a la promesa de la tierra es muy probable que tal alusión esté estrictamente ligada a la promesa hecha a Abraham. En Génesis 12:1-7 el Señor le promete que le daría esta tierra (Canaán) a su descendencia. Una vez que Lot se separó de Abraham el Señor aparece nuevamente con palabras muy similares a la vez anterior donde específicamente vuelve a referirse a la tierra de Canaán (Gen. 13:14-17). Vale la pena mencionar que los premilenialistas contienden con vehemencia de que Abraham nunca recibió la promesa en persona por lo que deberá ser recitado en el “reinado milenial” para poder disfrutar el cumplimiento de esta promesa. Esteban en su inspirado mensaje en Hechos 7 menciona lo siguiente: Pero cuando se acercaba el tiempo de la promesa, que Dios había jurado a Abraham, el pueblo creció y se multiplicó en Egipto,” (Hechos 7:17). En donde por inferencia nos parece observar que Dios estando en control de los tiempos no tenía intenciones de cumplir su promesa en tanto Abraham estuviera con vida pero si cumpliría la promesa en su debido tiempo, y no dejaría caer en tierra la promesa que le había hecho al patriarca.

En Gen. 15:4, 7, 13, 14,18; observamos que en respuesta a la inquietud del padre de la fe, Jehová expresa 2 promesas con respecto a la tierra. Una tenía que ver directamente con la tierra de Canaán y la otra tenía que ver con el territorio que abarca desde el río de Egipto hasta el gran río, el río Éufrates. ¿Acaso se cumplieron las 2 promesas? Y sino ¿Cuáles faltan en cumplirse?.

La primera de la tierra de Canaán fue cumplida en tiempos de Josué.  “Y Jehová les dio reposo alrededor, conforme a todo lo que había jurado a sus padres; y ninguno de todos sus enemigos pudo hacerles frente, porque Jehová entregó en sus manos a todos sus enemigos. No faltó palabra de todas las buenas promesas que Jehová había hecho a la casa de Israel; todo se cumplió” (Josué 21:44-45) También leer (Josué 23:14).

La segunda promesa en extensión fue cumplida en su totalidad en tiempos de Salomón. Cuando David reinó sobre las naciones él luchó y conquistó todas las naciones enemigas. Así que cuando su hijo Salomón asciende al trono reinó en toda su gloria. 2 Crón 9:26 enfatiza que Salomón estuvo desde el río y hasta los bordes del río de Egipto. La conclusión lógica es que de las promesas de la tierra, Dios cumplió todas sus palabras, por lo que la idea de que la promesa de Dios con respecto a la tierra, que fue hecha a Abraham y a su simiente tiene un cumplimiento futurista es vacía y sin apoyo de la Biblia. ¡El premilenialismo miente!

LA PROMESA NACIONAL: Como pasaje favorito para engrandecer la idea la promesa nacional de Israel con respecto al retorno los premilenialistas utilizan Dt.30:1-3. Si Israel se volvía idolatra Dios los esparció, pero si se arrepentía el Señor los regresaría a su tierra donde quiera que ellos estuvieran. Así pues, el Señor regresará en el futuro específicamente el milenio al pueblo de Israel a su lugar… ¡No lo creo!

 

1.     Se debería de prestar atención con detenimiento que a través de la Biblia entera se hace promesa de un regreso, pero no de Israel como nación ni mucho menos sino solamente del remanente.

2.     Isa.1:9, al igual que Jer. 23:2 enfatizan el hecho de que este remanente sería muy pequeño.

3.     Fue una promesa de retorno que fue cumplida bajo la libertad de escogencia por parte del remanente que decidió volver en tres tractos o tres retornos. Todo el libro de Esdras y Nehemías nos actualizan en cómo fue ese retorno, los retos de este y como las profecías incluida la de Dt.30 fueron cumplidas. 

 

Conclusión:

La doctrina del premilenialismo es muy peligrosa y destructiva. Desafortunadamente un gran número de Eruditos han estado por un buen tiempo defendiendo esta corriente de pensamiento.  Si el premilenialismo fuera verdadero entonces Dios tendría que resucitar a Abraham porque simplemente no pudo cumplirle. Además, haría a los pasajes del Antiguo Testamento mentirosos, la Iglesia del Nuevo Testamento pasaría a un segundo y hasta un tercer plano puesto que Dios estará enfocado en la restauración de su nación como tal. La Biblia enseña en Gál.4:4 que cuando llegó el cumplimento de los tiempos Dios envió a su hijo al mundo. Las edades han pasado y lo que Dios ha establecido en cada una de ellas se ha cumplido pues él ha reinado soberanamente a través de todos los tiempos. La Iglesia de Cristo es y será la obra perfecta que Dios obró en Cristo Jesús (Ef.1:22-23).

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The Richest Poor People in the World

The Richest Poor People in the World

So, who is the richest man in the world? The names of some of them are readily recognized in America—Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Bloomberg, the Koch brothers, the Walton family and the Mars Family. We may not know all of them, but who has not heard of Amazon, Microsoft, Walmart, Mars candy bars or Tesla?

money value

What is your value? Who judges that?

It is hard to imagine Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world and the founder of Amazon, increasing his personal wealth of $40,000,000,000 last year. Now compare that with the people you know. It is important for us to see heaven’s list of the “Wealthiest People in America.” When God looks down on this land, who does He see as having great wealth?

Think of the value God places on the heroes of faith throughout the Bible. Hebrews chapter eleven lists so many who served God and lived by faith. How much do you think God values them? Some of them were rich but most of them were often just like we are—common people who are seeking to serve God.

God honored the faith of those who “… through faith subdued kingdoms…stopped the mouth of lions…quenched the violence of fire…became valiant in battle” (Heb. 11:33-34). However, He also honored the faith of those who served Him without any earthly wealth. “Still others had trials of mocking and scourgings, yes of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented…They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth” (Heb. 11:35-38). Contrast these words describing the “poverty” in which they lived with the “luxury” of the wealthiest in America.

How does God see this contrast? What are His values? Our Lord looks at those whom the world would see being worthless and says of them, “Of whom the world was not worthy” (Heb. 11:38). We must never forget that the “wealthiest” are the “poorest” and the “poorest” are truly the “wealthiest.”

When your faith brought about the salvation of your soul, you obtained a value worth more than all that exists. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul” (Matt. 16:26). The poorest Christian is wealthier than the richest man on the Forbes list of the richest.

Your worth is not decided by the values used by the ungodly. I recall one poor Man who had no place to “lay His head.” What was He worth? Now apply that to yourself.

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“He Must Increase, I Must Decrease”

“He Must Increase, I Must Decrease”

Toward the end of John the baptizer’s ministry, his disciples came to him with a concern about Jesus. They said, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” (John 3:26). In a lot of ways, we are like John’s disciples. We do things for the protection and preservation of our “tribes,” and when other “tribes” are having success, we become envious and seek to undercut their effectiveness so that our own “tribe” can take the preeminence. However, John’s response to his disciples was not to do this. Instead, he recognized the superiority of Jesus’ tribe for everyone. He said to his disciples, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

envy ice cream

Do you have envy over others success?

As Christians, it is our responsibility to lift up Jesus in our lives, not wave our own banner. Doing this takes humility because we must deny self if we are going to lift Him and others up. Philippians 2:3-4 states, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Why do we do this? Because this is the mind of Christ. He was the only one who practiced perfect humility. Lifting Him up means bringing us low. This can be challenging because it means that we must deprioritize our own desires in favor of the desires of others, and it is hard to tell oneself “no,” when strong desires are coursing through our being. To do this, we must focus the cross and let Jesus’ prayer of “not my will, but thine be done” inform our thoughts and actions.

 

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