Introduction
The time is right for a deeper article. The focus is on the everlasting, not on the temporal.
Atheists' Day
Apparently, Atheists' Day is an actual holiday for atheists. According to one website, it is on the first of April every year. According to an atheist website, however, the day is celebrated annually on March 23rd. I think that atheists are confused.
Mrs. Appalachian Irishman's 2008 Honda Civic acquired a ding on the right front passenger door, at the top of the window frame. I noticed it late, on 3/31/2021, while placing our new automobile insurance documents in her car and my truck, after she'd gone to bed.
The next day (Thursday, 4/1/2021), before she left for work, I asked about the ding. She speculated that it had been there for a month or so. She hadn't been in or near the car, when the ding happened. She had noticed it, without telling me. As usual, I had been checking our car, but I hadn't noticed the ding. Well, the Ding Leprechaun must have done it.
Later, on 4/1/2021, when my wife was at work, and I was working at home, I heard a noise. I looked. Amazed, I saw that a 2021 white Nissan Altima had appeared in our driveway! It had appeared out of nothing, from thin air!
April fools! I'm joking.
“The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God'” (Ps. 14:1; 53:1 KJV). That sounds harsh, King David. It is not harsh. It is inspired truth. April 1st is annual Atheists' Day. Atheists are foolish enough to say that they know that there is no God. An agnostic speculates whether God exists or not. An atheist is convinced, in his foolishness, that God does not exist.
From nothing, nothing comes. That is a basic point of logic and common sense. If there was ever a time when nothing existed, then nothing would exist now. Something exists now; therefore, something, or someone, had to have always existed (eternally).
The temporal realm (the universe) has not always existed. The Second Law of Thermodynamics, as well as observation, established this fact centuries ago.
Since the universe is not eternal, then someone must be eternal. That someone is God, in three persons: the Father, the Word (who became flesh as the Christ), and the Holy Spirit.
On the lower right of this website, you will find the section Apologetics - Christian Evidences. I suggest, for deeper study, that you search those websites, for detailed proof that verifies: the God of the Bible exists, the Bible is His inspired word, and the Word became flesh, as the Christ, who died and rose again – completing God's eternal scheme of redemption.
I have read, written, and spoken (publicly and privately) on these topics many times. I have offered to engage in formal debate with a local atheist. He backed away. If you would like to contact me, for a personal conversation, you are welcome to use the Contact Form (on the right column of the website).
A new car does not appear, spontaneously, in the driveway. Something did not come from nothing. The wise know and believe (faith by knowledge, not blind leap) that there is a God.
Good Friday
“It is finished,” Jesus stated, as He died on the cross (John 19:30). The three words are profound. God's eternal scheme of redemption was finished. Before He created the heavens and the earth, God had always known (as He is omniscient) that His plan to save humankind would be realized.
From creation, to Adam and Eve's sin, to the development of the nation of Israel, to the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, God's eternal plan took time. “It is finished” now. The plan is in place.
Free will grants two choices: accept the Good Lord's free gift offer and live accordingly, or reject it. Our Lord opened the door. Have you walked in? Many readers have. Some may not have. If you have not, please walk through the open door.
Resurrection Sunday
“Easter” could have originated in a name for a pagan god or gods, or it could have come about in an early German word for resurrection. Answers in Genesis has a detailed article on the topic. (See “Is the Name 'Easter' of Pagan Origin?" Answers in Genesis, by Roger Patterson, 4/19/2011.)
The Russian word for “Sunday” translates as “Resurrection.” I choose to call “Easter” “Resurrection Sunday.” The option is not a matter of faith. It is my preference.
It is verified. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ, arose! He was the eternal Word (as the triune God). He had been born of a virgin. He lived. He was God incarnate. He was sacrificed, as the perfect atonement for sin (that had entered this world, when Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan's temptation). He arose! He lived again in the flesh for several days. He then ascended to heaven. He opened the door for us to join Him there.
The atheist has laid an egg. He is wrong. I hope that he discovers the Way, the Truth, and the Life, before it is too late. I can help, if he asks.
Resurrection Sunday is not just an annual celebration. It is a daily celebration of life – everlasting life.
Conclusion
Temporal life (on earth) is a blink of an eye. We are everlasting beings. We were born (came into existence). We will die physically (our soul separates from our body). Our soul waits in a place of paradise or torment, until Christ returns (to call everyone “out of the pool”).
The temporal will end. The living and the dead, the dead first, will receive everlasting bodies, and we will go home, to our everlasting home in heaven – if we have accepted the Good Lord's free gift offer. If we have not, then we will go to everlasting punishment.
Everlasting life is, well, everlasting. I place the good and the bad in life into everlasting perspective, as the apostle Paul taught us: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17 KJV).
Today is Good Friday. Happy Resurrection Sunday, in two days from today! He arose. He lives. He lives in me. Does He live in you?
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1 comment:
Amen, brother! I found your website and read some articles today. God knows why you didn't die in that wreck. Yes, Jesus lives in me! Thanks for your writings, especially on “deep stuff.”
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