Either way, I hope you are right

Isn’t it ironic, that in this day in age, for any medical need we run to a physician?

I remember once when I was very little, maybe about 4 or 5 years old, my father fell down a flight of stairs that extended three stories high.

That is a true story.

I remember vividly my mother shot down those stairs in lightning speed. She must’ve hears him come through the main entrance and begin up the stairs. All of us kids were in suspended awe and shock as my uncle heard her scream from across the street ran over and began CPR as Ive been told.

All I really remember was my dad sprawled out on the dirty floor, with my mom holding him, and my uncle crouching over him.

Anyway, once he came to himself the ambulance was just then arriving, the paramedics were talking to him through and urging him to go with them to the hospital.

But my father ever so masculine and macho refused to go the hospital. He slept it off, the next morning other than being sore I’m sure, went to work like any other day.

But, what was funny is not long after that, he slammed his thumb in a door, then insisted he needed to go the hospital

It seems funny to us now doesn’t it.

We need the opinion of a professional

When a trauma major happened, he didn’t need the opinion of a professional, he stuck with his own opinion. But with a lesser degree of trauma, only the counsel of a professional could convince him, his thumb would be ok.

Funny!

Its very interesting to me because I see many in this world doing the exact same thing.

Not just with medical things, but in every area of life.

If someone wants to learn guitar lessons, they go a sign up with a professional guitar teacher.

If someone wants to learn another language, they seek out a teacher who is fluent in that language.

If someone has cancer, or another medical issue, who do they go too? A Doctor correct?

A Professional or a Do-it-yourself approach

But in matters of your eternity and salvation, you know, where you are going to spend eternity, which means, like FOREVER, for that, its more of a do it yourself type of approach.

You don’t go to an electrician to get medical advise or especially to get treatment do you?

You can’t go to a mechanic if you are hungry and want a pizza, do you?

Nor, do you try and fix a complex mechanical failure in your vehicle by yourself. Or try to operate or heal yourself of any major medical issues.

So, my question is this:

Why do you seek out professional or precise expertise on lesser issues in life, but, reject the opinion of the church on the real traumas in life.

Like the matter of eternity and salvation?

Is it because we think we know better?

Is it because we think we can trust our own understanding?

Why would we ever think we can trust our own very very limited understanding on any given subject, when can’t even trust the understanding of certified, professional, degree holding individuals that are paid and trained to be able to explain it to us.

For example, for years it was taught to us that the appendix was useless in the human body, but now we know it has an important immune functions

Scientific American, (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-function-of-the-human-appendix-did-it-once-have-a-purpose-that-has-since-been-lost/)

"Among adult humans, the appendix is now thought to be involved primarily in immune functions.

Or even animals that we were told were extinct but are actually thriving?

We don’t know everything we need to know

So, if we don’t Know everything, how can we be expected to lean on our own understanding about anything?

We aren’t!

Proverbs 3:5–6 (CSB)

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.

Why is this important?

Because it’s not until we come to this realization that we don’t know enough about something that drives us to learn about it.

It has been reported that several of the founding fathers of this nation kept Bibles but had dismissed every mention of the supernatural.

You see, they believed what Jesus said, as long as it didn’t invoke the supernatural.

Because they were products of the enlightenment period of history

The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was an intellectual and philosophical movement that occurred in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, with global influences and effects.

According to: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment)

These men believed themselves to be too intellectually advanced to believe in such things, so they decided for themselves the things they would agree with, and the things they wouldn’t agree with.

Thereby forming doctrines not made by God, but instead doctrines made by man, by themselves.

Every man for himself, sort of thing.

Then we wonder how relativism started. The ridiculous assumption that what is true for you may not be true for me type of thought.

Well, about Truth, let me quote the late Chuck Missler

The only barrier to truth is the presumption that you already have it.

(https://www.azquotes.com/author/40093-Chuck_Missler)

Eternity is not a long way off. For some of us, its closer than we would like. and its getting closer every minute.

Don’t you think it’s important & worth enough to get the right information, from the right places?

We only get on shot at it

I mean, the Bible tells us you only get one shot at this.

Hebrews 9:27 (CSB)

27 And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment—

Or would you rather use a Do it yourself approach to eternity and Salvation?

Either way you choose, I hope you are right.

This is the essence of Pascals wager.

Blaise Pascal was a philosopher among other things, he proposed an argument we know today as Pascals wager.

This is according to Wikipedia

Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas if God does exist, they stand to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (an eternity in Hell).

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal)

Yadi & I are currently preparing for a trip seas. We will be there about 2 1/2 weeks. We will be traveling with a precious four year old autistic boy.

Let me ask you your opinion, How well do you think our travel will go, we don’t understand our travel arrangements?

Should we just come up with our own plans, without consulting a professional in that area, or at least someone with expertise in travel to that area on that airline, etc and hope for the best?

And when we do consult someone who knows and deals with this issue specifically every day, should we just ignore what they recommend and just do what we think best and hope thats good enough?

NO!

We should not try to lean on our own understanding.

What about people who actually do come to church, and try to do what is right before the Lord, but reject the teaching from the pulpit?

“I don’t agree with what the preacher said, or I don’t agree with the Sunday school teacher, or the youth pastor, etc.

These are the ones who are knowledgeable in this specific area of the spirit and eternity, yet you dismiss them because you don’t agree.

I remember once having a conversation about a certain socially and political hot button issue, that when I had finished my argument, the other responded to me like this, “I don’t have the words to prove you wrong, but I just don’t agree with you.

Even a couple of times, I quoted scripture, and people responded by saying, I don’t agree.

I really wanted to say, “That’s fine that you don’t agree, when you see Jesus at the Judgement seat, you can tell Him all about how you disagree with Him.

Now that we’ve learned we can’t trust our human brains,

lets look at the heart.

We can’t trust our brains or our hearts

Isaiah 29:13 (CSB)

13 The Lord said: These people approach me with their speeches to honor me with lip-service, yet their hearts are far from me, and human rules direct their worship of me.

We hear it said all the time. Just trust your heart, follow your heart, etc.

That is a trick of the enemy. There is nothing about us that we can be confident of except that we have the propensity to sin.

It was Jesus who told us the heart of man is wicked.

Matthew 15:11 CSB

11 It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth—this defiles a person.”

Then he explains this when the disciples are confused in

Matthew 15:17–20 CSB

17 “Don’t you realize that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander. 20 These are the things that defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”

The heart of man is wicked

So, there you have it. We can’t trust our minds because we don’t know all of the answers, and we can’t trust our hearts because we know that the heart is wicked,

We can’t trust our feelings because they are slaves to our hearts and minds, therefore, our feelings will lie to us more than they will ever tell us the truth.

“Let His word be a lamp for your feet and a light on your path.”

Make sure that you are getting the correct information, then believe it.

Don’t try to rely on your own understanding. The Bible tells us that. We get all our knowledge from Jesus. He gives us the wisdom we need to believe on Him.

Let’s not waste it away by choosing what we would like to be the truth.

We can run from the truth, but we cannot hide from the Truth, it will catch up with everyone of us sooner or later.

And we will all have to give an account for the lives we’ve chosen to live, and what we’ve chosen to believe in.

Be careful how and what you choose, because there is no prize for second place in this.

We only get one shot.

It has been said, that its possible to be 100% sincere in what you believe, but its also 100% possible to be 100% sincere and be 100% dead wrong at the same time.

Believe in Jesus, trust in Him and in Him alone

Believe in Jesus, trust in Him and in Him alone. Don’t trust in your own understanding, we are fallible human beings, we are not perfect.

Cast your wager on Jesus

Cast your wager on the one who is perfect, Jesus Christ of Nazareth