Semper Paratus: Always Ready

The United States Coast Guard has as its motto the Latin phrase, “Semper Paratus” – Always Ready. The Coast Guard stands “Always Ready” to seek and save those who have become lost at sea and to defend our shores against those who seek to do our country harm.

We’re always ready for the call,

We place our trust in Thee.

Through howling gale and shot and shell,

To win our victory.

“Semper Paratus” is our guide,

Our pledge, our motto, too.

We’re “Always Ready,” do or die!

Aye! Coast Guard, we fight for you.

The Coast Guard must be ready at all times because they never know when the SAR (search and rescue) alarm might sound off and call them out into some of the worst weather imaginable to rescue the lost. One might ask how they are able to maintain a high state of readiness at all times. The answer is simple – they train, they drill and they train some more. They train so hard to do their mission – they practice their techniques over and over again to the point that it is second nature – that when the time comes to rescue someone or to intercept a smuggler they just go out and do it. They have prepared themselves for the mission and they courageously execute it.

Christians could learn a few lessons from the United States Coast Guard. Christians ought to adopt the same motto as the Coast Guard – “Semper Paratus”, “Always Ready”. In fact, the Bible commands us to be “Semper Paratus” when it comes to defending or proclaiming the truth. 1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” In the Latin Vulgate Bible, the phrase “ready always” is rendered “parati semper.” “Parati” is a derivative of “paratus” – both carry the same meaning: ready or prepared. So in essence, Peter tells us to be Semper Paratus!

Peter teaches us the need to be “Always Ready” to “give an answer.” The word “answer” here is from the Greek word “apologia”. In English, an apologia is not an admission of guilt, like an apology, but rather it is “a desire to make clear the grounds for some course, belief, or position.” (Webster’s Dictionary) In other words, “to give an answer,” means to make a scriptural defense for the things that we believe. We must be always ready to tell people the reason why we have this hope within us and to support this belief with the scriptures.

The question is how to achieve this level of preparedness and to be “Semper Paratus” to explain or defend our faith. Again, we can look to the Coast Guard for this answer as well – train (study), drill (practice), train (study) some more! Know your Bible! Peter said, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts…” “Sanctify” means to make holy, consecrate, or venerate. To “sanctify the Lord God” in our hearts means that we put Him first in our thoughts and in our daily life. We begin to do this as we, “study” to show ourselves “approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15. We are sanctified by the Word of God. “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 17:17.

As we study and learn more about God and what He has done for us our faith increases and grows stronger. As we constantly seek to apply what we have learned to our daily lives and to carrying out the Great Commission, we become more effective at our mission of saving those who are lost and defending against those who would seek to destroy our faith. After we have sanctified “the Lord God” in our hearts by studying and applying His Word, we will find that we have become Semper Paratus – Always Ready “to give an answer to every man that asketh…”

 

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The Abundant Life

Only one person would dare say the following words:

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. [John 10:9-16]

What is the abundant life about which Jesus teaches in John 10:10? Is it the vibrant, spiritual life that Christians are now living?As Christians, it is true that we can have abundant lives under the grace of God: “And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ” (Rom. 15:29).

Nevertheless, did not people live full, satisfying lives before Jesus came? Consider Abel (Heb. 11:4). While his life would not be quantitative, it certainly was qualitative. Consider Enoch (Heb. 11:5). According to Genesis 5:21, he lived 65 full years, and then after Methuselah, his son, was born, he lived another three hundred years on this earth. Consider Abraham (Heb. 11:8-19). Moses recorded his death in Genesis 25:8: “Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people” (Gen. 25:8). In other words, the Bible concludes that he lived a full life! In fact, he is the only one that the Bible lists as “the friend of God” (2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; James 2:23).

Therefore, what did Jesus mean? Was He simply talking about resurrection? No, I do not believe that He was, because resurrections had already taken place. In First Kings 17, Elijah raised the son of the widow of Zarephath back to life, and in Second Kings 4, Elisha raised the son of the Shunammite woman back to life.

In fact, people back in those days knew something better was coming in the future. Although all these lived full, abundant lives, they knew there was something better (Heb. 11:32-35). Jesus came to bring a better resurrection!

First, the prophets resurrected those two boys with the same body they had before; Jesus is going to do better than that (1 Cor. 15:42-57). This is the better resurrection that Jesus came to bring. In ways unexplainable, I will look like Him (Psa. 17:15; Phil. 3:20-21). All I do know is that I am looking for that better resurrection!

Second, their resurrection was temporary—they had to die again (Lazarus and others included—John 11:43-44; Matt. 27:51-53). This is not what Jesus came to bring (2 Tim. 1:10; Rom. 6:9; Rev. 1:17-18).

Therefore, Jesus came to bring the abundant life in two ways. First, He will get me out of this fleshly life and give me a life that will never end. Second, He will get me out of sin into a full, satisfying life in Him! Thanks be unto God for this abundant life!

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After Death

A man once lived in the grave for 4 days by which Jesus spoke that he should be restored and by which he again walked among the living (Jn. 11:39-44). This was a living argument in favor of the divine power of the Savior. I am sure that many asked him what it was like, but as Paul said, “How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” (2 Cor. 12:4). Thus, Lazarus was also forbidden to reveal what he may have remembered from his death.

Now, in regards to where the spirit goes, some say that they cease to exists while others say that they sit in the ground for storage waiting for the resurrection . . . Which are we to believe, or it is neither? Well at death, the soul or spirit departs from the body and lives on while the physical body decays back into the ground. If this was not true, then the soul would simply be staring at worms and dirt because after a while, there is nothing of the physical body left for the spirit to cling to. So, we know this is not true. On the other hand, the soul does not die as some claim by the Scriptures because often the word soul means, “individual” as it does in Ezek 18:4, 20; as it does in 1 Pet 3:20 with the 8 souls saved by water, and many other places. Yet, if the soul does departs from the physical body, how do we know that the soul departs from the body? Well, let’s notice these evidences: James said, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (Jam. 2:26) Moses recorded that when Rachel was in labor, that, “it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin” (Gen. 35:18). Where did the life force within her go if it departed? Again, “And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.” (1 Kgs. 17:22) Thus, the soul returned and again the boy lived in the body. Remember that it was God who had Solomon write, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” (Eccl. 12:7) When speaking of the spirit departing the shell of man, Jesus told the penitent thief, “. . . Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Lk. 23:43). Jesus and the thief both died that day, yet both were together in spirit in the same place. Later Jesus said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” (Lk. 23:46). Jesus’ body was lifeless and there was something inside Jesus that departed and went into the hands of the Father. This does not mean into Heaven, but thy hands means into the father’s power, protection or security. Also notice that, Stephen cried out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (Acts 7:59) His spirit was being forced from the body by the cruel stones hurled upon him by the mob. Then Paul said, “though our outward man perisheth, our inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4). Here Paul shows that one side of man’s nature is failing him while the other side of man’s nature is taking on new life and strength. Thus, while death means separation from living love ones, faithful companions, friends, parents, a child; while it is also the end of abilities and opportunities on earth, IT IS NOT THE END OF ALL THINGS!

Now, to further this study, where does the soul go because some claim that when one dies, he goes immediately to its eternal destiny. Thus, if it is a righteous spirit, it goes immediately to Heaven. But, if it is a wicked spirit, it goes immediately to Gehenna. However, the scriptures teach that the spirit goes into an intermediate place (the place between earth and heaven) and remains there until the great day of judgment. Now, while we often speak or put very little emphasis about judgment, Jesus teaches that “when he comes, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment” (Jn. 16:8) Luke said that God hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world. (Acts 17:31) In Matt. 25, it states that all nations shall be gathered before Christ by which he separates the sheep and goats. Furthermore, Jesus said that “men of Nineveh” shall rise in judgment with the present generation which lived 500 years before them (Matt. 12:41). The Queen of the south shall rise in judgment with the present generation which lived 1,000 years before them (Matt. 12:42). Sodom and Gomorrah will be in the same judgment as those living during the days of Christ indicating the same judgment (Matt. 10:15). Both Peter and Jude declared that angels which have sinned have been cast down into pits reserved for judgment (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6). Therefore, men are not judged at death and sent onward to their final destination of Gehenna or Heaven. For, “God knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and reserve the unjust until the day of judgment to be punished” (2 Pet. 2:9). Both are held until judgment, but if not in the ground, then where?

Hades has often been mislabeled as the final torment place for the sinner. But in actuality, Hades is the unseen world or the spirit world. Every single soul that dies goes into hades. Hades is broken into two realms: First, Tartarus is the place where the wicked are held until the day of judgment. This is where the angels that God cast out are being held or reserved (2 Pet. 2:4). Tartarus means a dungeon or a prison house where one is held captive. Yet, it is not the place where one goes after judgment because that word is Gehenna (Matt. 5:22, 29; Lk. 12:5). The second area of Hades is Paradise where Jesus and the thief went into when they died. Now, we know that this is not heaven, because while Jesus was there 3 days, he tells Mary that he had not yet ascended to the Father meaning that the Father does not dwell in Paradise (Jn. 20:17). The word Paradise means a pleasure garden or Eden. So while there are two sections of Hades: Tartarus and Paradise, there is also a great gulf (gap or chasm) that separates the two which one can read about in the story of Lazarus and the rich man (Lk. 16). It was a division of the two areas by which nothing passed between them. Lazarus paid no attention to the rich man after death and we read that Abraham told the rich man that his opportunities were all gone meaning that his doom was sealed. So, Lazarus was in Abraham’s bosom (Paradise) which is another way of speaking where the righteous go (Matt. 8:11). The rich man was by no means happy after his death living in torment (Lk. 16:24). Thus, the spirit does live on after the physical body is no more and the Bible proves that we do not stay with our physical bodies, but that, we go to the hadean realm either in torment or in peace until God brings forth the great day of judgment.

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And Time Goes On: Electronic Media

Each day that we live here in the world we are continually exposed to all that goes on in our world.  The good, the bad, the disgusting, etc. are all show to us via the electronic media.  Nothing happens in our world that we do not know about almost immediately.  For some strange reason the electronic media and the printed media show mostly the awful, evil, side of events that occur.  Perhaps these media moguls are convinced that sensationalism is the way to build ratings for their shows, apparently they believe horror, mayhem, sex, and violence sells anything.

As we consider these things let us always be aware of the potential danger that exposure to this type of media exposure may bring us.  It is not too great an exaggeration to suggest that whatever we allow ourselves to imbibe within our mind will eventually influence our character.  Read Matthew 15:17-20 17         Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 18           

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20  These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashed hands defiles not a man.  We are all products of whatever we allow to enter our heart (i.e., seat of intellect) through our eyes and through our hearing.  Because our character is established by whatever we see and hear, we must be very careful of those things that we hear and see.

Each day that we live we will occupy our time doing something.  We would be ill advised to spend too much time observing media programming that is designed for our viewing, it will surely have an effect upon our character eventually.   There may be some programs that will not adversely affect our character but at this particular point in time I know of no such program.

Time goes on!  That is a fact for all of us to deal with day after day.  Dealing with spare time may become a problem for those who have an abundance of it.  Remember this:  nothing is valuable if it is does not increase our faith in God, Christ, and spiritual things in general;    Ecclesiastes 10:18, “By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.  (KJV) — 1 Timothy 4:13, “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.”

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God Knows

God Sees and God Knows

I heard a story on the radio one day of a man who was flying over Ellis Island in a helicopter when he looked down in wonder upon the Statue of Liberty. His interest was sparked when he noticed the great detail in the very top of the head of Lady Liberty. It appeared that the sculptor took great care in detailing every single wave of hair. My interest in this story led me to search out a picture of the top of the Statue of Liberty and I found some beautiful pictures of the very site mentioned in the story that the man in the helicopter had seen. And he was right. The workmanship is beautiful.

But why did the sculptor expend so much time and energy to this particular part of the statue? He certainly couldn’t have conceived that human eyes would ever see it. The sculptor, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, was commissioned to design the sculpture with the year 1876 in mind for its completion and began construction in 1875. Yet, due to financial obstacles in both the United States and France, he was unable to complete the great monument till June of 1884. Once delivered and erected upon the foundation and base the top of the head stands nearly 270 feet in the air. It was not until December 1903, on the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, that the Wright brothers achieved the milestone of manned, controlled, powered flight.

So why did Bartholdi go to such great lengths certainly never contemplating that it would be looked down upon my human eyes? Possibly an honorable sense of pride in his workmanship. Who knows? But this one thought struck me, whether men see the work we do or not, whether or not our labors here are ever appreciated or scrutinized, God sees and knows everything!

“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry” (Psalm 34:15). “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He ponders all his paths” (Proverbs 5:21). “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). “For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth” (Zechariah 4:10). “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil” (1 Peter 3:12).

So be careful what you do, say, see and think. Because, whether your neighbor, spouse, elders, or friends know, God knows and will “bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14). Because God sees and God knows. He even knows that “Lady Liberty” wears a size 879 shoe. And you thought you had big feet.

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