Perspective On Eternity

Sisyphus was condemned to pushing a boulder up a hill for all eternity only to have it fall to the other side.   Below is a short poem I wrote while studying Luke 14:25-35 and thinking about  the existentialist philosopher Albert Camus' discussion on the myth of Sisyphus .   In the former, Jesus speaks very strong words that would strike fear into anyone's heart..."Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple"  (Luke 14:27).   In the latter, Camus is using Sisyphus (in the picture) to compare with the "workman of today" who works and works even though there is no ultimate purpose.   In thinking about the two I thought...What a greater weight to carry the cross than to push a boulder.  What a greater call we've been given.  We may have to experience pain, rejection, denial here...But what a great weight it is to carry knowing some day we will be in the presence of God (Rev 21) What A Greater Weight What a greater we

Seriously, Who’s this Epaphras? Colossians 1:3-8 Have you ever asked that question, but instead you have your name in it’s place?  Seriously, who is...well me?  What can I (Average joe) do to make a difference in the kingdom of God (You know the God who created EVERYTHING)?   Epaphras, only mentioned 3 times in the whole New Testament (Colossians 1:7, 4:12, and Philemon 23).  But I want you to notice something about Epaphras and it comes from understanding the progression of this section of Colossians 1:3-8.  Paul, in a sense, talks about results and takes 7 verses to get to the foundation to these results. First, Paul is rejoicing and thanking God.  This is the ultimate result of what is described in the verses to come.  But let’s not skip over this to quickly.  I wonder who was a part of these prayers of thanksgiving?  Why does he say “we?”  According to Colossians 4:12 I think it is safe to assume that Epaphras must have been part of these regular meetings of praye

Hell? Is it being treated fairly?   I was recently tagged in a note that referenced a website that made some very strong claims about the Bible’s teaching about God and about the reality of hell (as a reaction to the Crazy Harold Camping’s prediction that May 21st is the rapture).   My intention in this post is not to write an exhaustive argument for or against hell but to respond to the website that was referenced in the Facebook note.   To begin I would like to recommend a video posted by Francis Chan on studying this topic. Response to Bill Mcginnis ‘Do all non-Christians go to hell? Bible says “No!” ( Click Here to see the original site) * The text in bold will be direct quotations from Mcginnis’ website   It was this false doctrine, as much as anything else, which allowed the Church to authorize torture to be used to extract confessions from suspected witches during the Inquisition. "After all," the reasoning went, "what is a few hours or days of t

Websites: http://apologetics315.blogspot.com/ The most comprehensive website I’ve found with a ton of resources. You have to see this sight to realize how much there is. Phil Fernandez lectures are an excellent resource. net.bible.org Excelllent resource for one of my favorite bible translations the NET bible. There are over 75,000 footnotes that deal with a number of textual issues throughout the scripture. He is straightforward and honest about what he has found from his manuscript studies. www.christiancourses.com This has a number of different free bible training classes. This is much more on the lighter side than something like The Theology Program at www.reclaimingthemind.org http://www.csntm.org/ This is the center for the study of New Testament Manuscripts. This is an excellent website if you would like to do some in depth study on textual criticism. They have committed to taking high resolution pictures of manuscripts. S