Running toward Heaven or Fleeing from Hell?

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

There are, of course, many different reasons people choose to follow Jesus, but I would assert that most of them can be reduced at their core to one of two driving forces: running toward heaven or fleeing from hell.

For running toward heaven, I think of people who are motivated by the idea of spending eternity in paradise, face-to-face and arm-in-arm with the Triune God. They are eager to enjoy abundant life, both now and forever, and are perhaps looking forward to being reunited with loved ones who also accepted Jesus as their Lord.

On the fleeing from hell side, the motivation is more likely to be an overwhelming desire not to spend eternity suffering unimaginable agony.

I know I’ve made these out to be mutually exclusive, as though you have to be purely in one camp or the other. But I know the reality is probably that we can fluctuate between the two key motivators daily, and sometimes even more frequently than that.

However, I’ve made the distinction to give our minds and hearts something to ponder. Let me add the caveat, though, that at the end of our days, it won’t matter what path we took to become followers of Christ–the important thing will be that we became His followers. Having said that, I’ll suggest that our daily walk with Jesus might be more fulfilling and enjoyable if we make a conscious effort to allow our continuing faith to be motivated by running toward heaven.

Why do I say that? Well, running toward heaven is about love. It’s about wanting to be in God’s presence because we love Him so much, because we are so grateful for the countless ways He has blessed our lives. It’s about yearning to be welcomed home by a cloud of witnesses, which will hopefully include loved ones who have gone before us.

Whereas fleeing from hell is about fear. It’s about being terrified of eternal torment, about eternal separation from God. Imagine being able to see the people enjoying everlasting life with our Creator in paradise, but not being able to cross the chasm separating you from them (as Jesus suggested in His story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31, which was the subject of a great sermon today by Pastor Johnny Scott at Generations Christian Church).

Now, don’t get me wrong. We should be terrified of those things. But if we’re motivated mostly by fear, our faith might become twitchy and jumpy, waiting for judgment to crash down on us the next time we screw up.

That kind of outlook misses the greatest gift God offered us: His grace.

I like the way the Apostle John put it in his first letter:

Borrowed from YouVersion

So the question is this: would you rather live a faith and life motivated by love or fear?

Posted in Christian, Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Even Abraham Didn’t Always Get It Right

Posted on January 7, 2024 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

Since the Daily Audio Bible’s annual journey through the Bible returned to the starting gate at the beginning of the year, we’re once again getting reacquainted with Abraham, who is basically each of our father in the faith. This is what the Apostle Paul wrote about him:

So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Galatians 3:6-9 (NIV)

But here’s the thing–even with these glowing credentials, not even Abraham got it right every time. In Genesis chapter 12, God promises Abraham (Abram at the time) that He will make Abram into a great nation and that all peoples will be blessed through him.

Jumping ahead to chapter 15, though, we see Abram asking God for clarification about that prior promise. He had not yet had a child through whom God could create a great nation, so he’s wondering aloud whether God may have meant that the great nation would actually come through Abram’s servant and not his direct lineage. But God reassures him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” (Genesis 15:4, NIV). To this God adds a covenant and a promise that his own descendants will be as numerous as the stars.

Sounds good, right? There shouldn’t be any reason for Abram to doubt that commitment, should there?

Well, not so fast. In chapter 16, we see Abram and his wife Sarai wonder if she might be the reason Abram still has no heir. Sarai helpfully suggests that maybe her servant Hagar could provide Abram with a son. Hagar succeeds, and Ishmael is born. The problem is solved, right?

No, not really. In fact, more problems are created, which we’ll come back to in a moment. By the time we get to the seventeenth chapter of Genesis, we see God telling Abram that Ishmael was not the answer He had in mind. He clarifies that Abram’s wife Sarai will bear him a son, whom they are to name Isaac. And both Abram and Sarai receive new names from God: Abraham and Sarah.

However, before we reach that happy resolution, Abram receives the prophecy from an angel of the Lord that Ismael “will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” And that prophecy has rung painfully true, since the abrasion between Isaac and Ishmael formed the root of the Israeli/Arab conflict that persists even to this day. And all because Abram/Abraham didn’t quite understand the direction God had been giving him.

Why do I point this out? Certainly not to paint Abraham in a negative light. Not at all.

My goal in going through all of this is to give us all hope in our relationships with God. I’m making the assumption that you are like me in that you don’t usually have a clear picture of what God is saying to you or how He is directing your life. Like me, maybe you’re trying your best to live true to God’s calling for your life, but it’s not usually clear what that is. So what should we do? Give up?

By no means! Reading through this story of Abram/Abraham, we see that he has what appear to be some very direct conversations with God. But even then, he doesn’t get it right. He misunderstands what God is telling him, but it doesn’t really matter.

Why not? Because he remains faithful to God, even when what’s going on makes no sense. His faith is counted as righteousness, and God works with that. In the end, God achieves the outcomes He was after all along. In the end, God wins and Abraham wins.

And we can win, too, if we’ll let God work in us and through us, the way Abraham did.

Posted in Christian, Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hope for 2024

Posted on December 31, 2023 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

It’s time to flip the calendar over to a new year. For me, I’m glad to bid farewell to 2023. While there were blessings this year, it also came with its fair share of challenges.

As we turn the calendar over to the new year, it’s a good time to reflect on the year that was–but then let it go. It’s useful to remember. Looking back, it’s helpful to reflect on how God blessed you as you reached mountain peaks. Carry those memories with you as you move into 2024. It’s also a good idea to reflect on how God comforted you when you traversed the shadow of the valley of death.

In both cases, it’s helpful for us to remember the moments when we were aware of God’s presence. We should leverage those remembrances to give us hope in 2024–God is and will be with us throughout the year. But other than hanging on to the hope we glean from remembering, we need to let go of all of our other baggage as we move into the new year.

Here are some encouraging verses to keep in mind as we head into 2024:

Borrowed from YouVersion

I got some discouraging news last night, but then God reminded me of this verse 3 different times this morning! I first saw it in my morning devotional, and then it came up twice in the church service I attended this morning. God wanted to make sure I was listening! I’m thankful for that, to be sure.

Borrowed from YouVersion

I love this picture, but it doesn’t tell the whole story of the reason we can be strong and courageous–because of God’s presence with us wherever we go. Here’s the whole verse:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9 (NIV)
Borrowed from YouVersion
Borrowed from YouVersion
Borrowed from YouVersion
Borrowed from YouVersion

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus, in Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

So, let us all remember to walk with God in the best of times and worst of times throughout 2024. We can trust Him, that He is working for our good. He blesses us and comforts us. Thanks be to God!

Happy New Year, friends! I wish you all a 2024 full of the richness of God’s blessings.

Warm Regards,
Dave
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

D-Day in the War Between Good and Evil

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

Christmas is the culmination of God’s plan to liberate us from the clutches of evil. A modern-day analogy of this event is known as D-Day–the date upon which the Allied forces launched their daring assault on Hitler’s “fortress Europe”. One characteristic of that invasion was that it did not look like what the forces of evil expected, which is at least part of the reason why it succeeded.

In the same way, who would have expected God to land on Earth in the form of a newborn baby? Satan certainly did not. After all, what chance did a helpless baby have against the mighty fallen angel? Not much, really.

Helping the Helpless God

Except it turned out that Jesus wasn’t helpless, after all. God put people in place to protect Him until He could protect Himself. God gave Him human parents–the most ferocious representatives of human love–who obeyed the strange dream God had given them, moving to Egypt (and away from everything and everyone they knew) to protect Jesus from Satan’s / Herod’s deranged plan to kill all the baby boys in Israel. God sent kings who were humble enough to obey God rather than the ruler of the land, deciding to take the long way home to avoid revealing Jesus’ whereabouts.

Who would have thought we mere humans could help God? Since He is God and can do anything, He doesn’t need our help. But He wants it. He wants us to help Him by helping others. And by so doing, we end up helping ourselves as well.

Beginning of the End

Back to the invasion story. Even though June 6, 1944, marks the beginning of the invasion, the full invasion was not completed until the end of August 1944, when the Battle of Normandy was won. Similarly, Christmas marks the beginning of God’s invasion of Earth, but it was not really completed until Easter 33 years later, when Jesus rose from the dead, crushing sin and death and Satan.

But If Jesus Defeated Satan, Why Is There Still Evil in the World?

Even though the D-Day invasion marked the beginning of the end of World War II, it didn’t actually end until May 8, 1945, more than 11 months later. Why? Because evil was not going to give up without a fight. Sadly, tens of thousands of people died during those 11 months.

So why is there still evil in the world, even though Jesus’ resurrection marked the beginning of the end of the war between good and evil? Because Satan is not going to give up without a fight, and he wants to take you and me and millions of others with him when he goes.

The Choice to Live

Thankfully, we don’t have to let that happen to us. We have the choice to be spared, unlike those who perished during the final 11 months of WWII.

How can we choose to be spared?

All we have to do is look to the Baby Boy born on Christmas, who is God with Us. And upon realizing that He will become the man who dies on a cross to take the punishment for our sins, we fall on our knees in worship and gratitude. Even better, we rise with Him three days after His execution, following Him through His resurrection into paradise, which will be our address for eternity.

The war isn’t over, but the victory is won!

And it all starts with this Baby Boy.

Borrowed from YouVersion

Have a blessed Christmas, my friends!

Posted in Christian, Faith, Miracles | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Running Away from God

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

This past week in the Daily Audio Bible, we read the book and story of Jonah, the reluctant and annoyed prophet of God. It’s a famous story and a short book, so I won’t recap it here. Also, there are many nuggets in this story, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll focus on 3 key points.

You Can’t Run from God

God directs Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capitol city of the Assyrian empire–the bitter enemies of the Hebrew people. He tells Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh that if they don’t turn things around, He is going to destroy the city. But Jonah doesn’t want to do what God has asked him to do. In fact, he would like nothing more than for God to destroy Nineveh. So he runs away from God.

At least, he tries to. He goes in the opposite direction from Nineveh.

The sailors on the ship Jonah takes for his escape attempt figure out that he’s the reason for the deadly storm, so they throw him overboard and leave him for dead.

But God finds him. This leads to my next point.

God Will Still Save You

Even though Jonah was trying to run away from God, God sends a giant fish (or whale) to save him. God is kind, so He saves us, too, even when we’re trying to run away from him. But His ways are also mysterious, since Jonah survives for 3 days in the belly of the fish without getting digested. It might also be that the way He is working on saving you (or the way He saved you) doesn’t look much like a rescue story, either. But it is.

And also, not to be deterred, guess where God has the fish barf out Jonah? You guessed it–Nineveh.

This leads to my final point.

God Wants to Save Everyone, Even Our Enemies

Jonah is the only prophet that we know about who God sent to someone other than the Hebrew people. But the Assyrians were wicked people, so why did God want to save them? Because they were wicked, and He didn’t want them to stay that way.

This seems a little extreme at first, until you realize that most of us aren’t descended from the 12 tribes of Israel, and we all have streams or rivers of darkness running through our hearts, so Jonah is also speaking to us on God’s behalf (not just the people of Nineveh).

God Wants to save us because He loves us. This time of Advent is a time for us to reflect on God’s invasion of this cruel and wicked world to save us from ourselves. And this story of Jonah shows us another example of the lengths to which He will go to rescue us, His beloved.

Posted in Christian, Faith | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Very Expensive Free Gift

Posted on December 10, 2023 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

Most of us like free stuff, to an extent. I’d likely accept if you wanted to give me a free T-shirt or pen unless there was something weird about them. However, if you offered me a free car or a free house out of the blue, I’d probably decline, suspicious of foul play, something too good to be true.

Maybe this is why so many people–Christians included–are tempted to turn God’s grace for us into something that must be earned, because if we earn it, then it isn’t something we get for free.

But, of course, it’s also not God’s grace, as the Apostle Paul explains in his letter to the Ephesians:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. 

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

I wonder if this is why unbelievers mistakenly think they have to “get their act together” before they can even think about going to church, as though they (or anyone) can behave well enough to be acceptable to God–they can’t. None of us can.

I also wonder if this is why it’s hard for some people to accept this gift that God offers us–His grace wrapped up in the package of a tiny baby, who would grow up to become a man. A man who would give His life for us because none of us is worthy to go to heaven. He would take the punishment we deserve so that all who accept this gift are made worthy to go to heaven.

This is a gift that costs us nothing, but there’s no catch. It’s not too good to be true. Jesus gave everything to offer it to us.

How’s that for a Christmas gift?

Posted in Christian, Faith | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

We Couldn’t Get to God, So God Came to Us

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

Christianity is the only world religion that doesn’t subscribe to the belief that followers can achieve enlightenment or some other sort of oneness with God by behaving in just the right way. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s the only belief system which recognizes that nobody can achieve the perfection required to enter God’s presence.

Of course, God Himself knows this as well.

So, instead of sitting way up in heaven beating us all back like so many intruders storming the castle, God–in the form of Jesus–climbed down from His throne to be with us (as Matthew reminded us in the first chapter of his gospel: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”)—Matthew 1:23 (NIV)). This is why we celebrate Christmas, and this is what we remember in partuluar all throughout Advent (which starts today). God came to us to show us the way to heaven–to become the way to heaven. All He asks is that we follow Him. Not easy, but certainly very simple.

Which doesn’t mean you have to behave a certain way or dress a certain way or look a certain way. Satan planted those lies into our culture because he wants to keep people from going to heaven. He wants a bigger headcount in hell. Yes, it’s crowded, but he will always find a way to cram in one more just to make everyone more miserable.

I often wonder why so many people think they’re smarter than God when in fact they’re dumber than Satan. Why do they ignore the celery of God’s Truth in favor of devouring the candy of Satan’s lies?

In my morning devotional today, I came across this verse:

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

Luke 19:41-44 (NIV)

Even though Jesus is lamenting Jerusalem’s (i.e., the Jewish leaders’) rejection of Him, I think the sentiment applies equally well to individuals who haven’t accepted the priceless gift of His grace. In particular, I can’t even count the number of people I know who would benefit from what would bring them peace.

For example, there are two people who I love dearly, both of whom struggle mightily with anxiety specifically and mental health in general. I pray daily that they will return to the faith, not only because I’m concerned about their eternal destination, but also because I know that Jesus will help them find true peace. To be clear, I’m not suggesting that a relationship with Jesus is a magical overnight cure for mental health challenges, but I am saying that I believe Jesus will help them process their challenges in healthier ways than they are dealing with them now, which basically amounts to self-medicating.

But instead of accepting God’s grace-filled invitation, one of these people hides behind intellectually lazy, half-baked theories he refers to as Christian agnosticism, while the other rejects the faith because she has been wounded by Christians behaving badly (which is, sadly, all too common, but which has nothing to do with Jesus Himself) and because she has bought into the lie that you have to behave a certain way to be a Christian.

My prayer for them this Advent, and for everyone else I know who thinks they’re smarter than God, is that this time around, they’ll ignore the lies and open their hearts and minds to the truth of who God is. I hope they will recognize that this baby at the center of Christmas is God coming for them, to help them and heal them. To save them by showing them the way to heaven. I pray they’ll finally realize how much God loves them and that His grace is enough to cover over everything they have ever done wrong and ever will do wrong. That would be the best gift they could get for Christmas.

Posted in Christian, Faith, Miracles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Dependence of an Infant

Posted on November 26, 2023 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

And so it begins. With Thanksgiving behind us, we are wading–or perhaps diving head-first–into the Christmas season, the time when we commemorate God’s invasion of our planet to eventually eradicate evil. As I pondered this, an image flashed into my mind, which may or may not have been a message from God. But either way, I felt it was worth writing about today.

Here’s the picture that popped into my head: God coming to us in the form of an infant. What a delicious irony, this–the Creator of a billion stars coming to this tiny planet as a tinier, helpless baby. And since God, in the form of this Jesus, didn’t cheat the physical constraints of being a human, I have to believe that He was truly helpless.

My grandson isn’t quite 16 months old–so, much more capable than an infant–but still, he wouldn’t last very long without his parents (or other caring adults) looking after him. He’s trying to talk, but it’s still just gibberish (even though it seems like he thinks he’s saying things that make sense), so he can’t even convey what his needs or wants are. He needs people who care enough about him to try to discern what he needs.

And, of course, I remember this from my own children as well: newborn babies are even more dependent on others to survive than a toddler is.

For those of us who recognize Jesus as part of the Triune God, it’s difficult for us to think of God as ever needing anything from a human, but this truth is revealed in the Nativity story. Sure, we like to picture a cute little baby Jesus lying in a manger, but how often do we dwell on the fact that He depended on people to stay alive?

What’s the point? Well, of course, there are lots of lessons to be learned from walking with Jesus through His earthly ministry. We can certainly learn a lot from things He said–His many wise and challenging teachings. But we can also learn many things simply by examining His life–the things He did, the way He acted and reacted.

In this case, I can’t help but wonder if God sent Jesus to us as a baby instead of a fully grown man so He could show us that it’s OK–even necessary–to depend on other people.

In our culture, we prize rugged individualism–I did it my way, I pulled myself up by my bootstraps, look what I did.

But those are all examples of our pride talking, and pride is one of the most clever and insidious weapons of the evil one. He enjoys helping us think we don’t need anyone else. And he’s the father of lies.

Of course, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with working hard, as though success depends solely on our own efforts. But it’s foolishness to think we can actually achieve anything worthwhile without the help of others. Oh yeah, and without God’s help.

So, maybe as we slide into the Christmas season, every time we see images of the baby Jesus or sing about an infant so tender and mild, we should reflect on our own dependence on others, and on God. Perhaps this would be a good way to help us eliminate Satan’s foothold of pride in our lives and turn instead to a posture of gratitude toward God and–<gasp!>–other people. Who knows, maybe it’s the path toward sleeping in heavenly peace.

Posted in Christian, Faith | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

What’s There To Be Thankful For?

Posted on November 19, 2023 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

Thanksgiving is coming this week here in the US. With everything going on in the world, it’s easy to wonder what there is to be thankful for. On a personal level, I’ve learned that my consulting engagement is ending early due to financial mismanagement at my client. I’m not feeling especially thankful for that.

And yet, there is still plenty to be thankful for.

We had a family reunion yesterday for my wife’s family. Our young dog hasn’t gotten used to being around people she doesn’t know, especially large groups of them. So the get-together was definitely not her favorite thing. She spent most of the day leaning into me, trying to disappear into me.

One of the best reasons to be thankful is that we have a God who cares deeply for us, who wants us to lean into Him. He wants us to hand over all our fear and uncertainty to Him. We can find safety and comfort in Him.

That’s a great reason to be thankful.

I wish you a happy and blessed Thanksgiving.

Posted in Christian, Faith | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

An Alternative to Prayer

Posted on November 12, 2023 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

Lately, I’ve noticed another insidious way secular culture has tried to replace religious notions with “safe”, watered-down (and therefore meaningless) imitations. The attempt to replace “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays” is a classic example. Another is one I’ve written about previously regarding Thanksgiving–the idea of having a posture of gratitude toward “the universe” for the blessings in our lives instead of giving thanks to our Creator, the true source of all our blessings.

The concern I’m addressing today is the attempt to replace “I’m praying for you” with “I’m sending good thoughts your way”. While it may be a nice gesture to tell someone you’re sending good thoughts their way, it actually does nothing to change that person’s situation.

Of course, non-believers and believers alike would be able to cite countless examples where someone prayed for something and that something did not work out the way they wanted. So, it could be argued that praying also does nothing to change that person’s situation.

But that’s only true if you have the wrong understanding of God, as many people do, that He is a sort of cosmic vending machine. You put in your prayer-dollar and get your bag of Cheez-Its or your illness is cured.

If that’s your view of God, I have some bad news for you: God is not here to grant all your wishes, nor mine.

But there’s good news–great news!–regardless of your opinion about God: He is here to help us lead abundant earthly lives and even more abundant eternal lives in heaven.

You might at this point accuse me of contradicting myself. On one hand, I said God is not here to grant all our wishes, but on the other, I said God will help us lead abundant earthly lives. Which is it?

Both can be true because God’s abundance is not the same as our definition of abundance. Our definition may focus on material possessions–a nice house, a vacation home, a late-model car, and all the latest gadgets. There’s certainly nothing wrong with these things, but God may define abundance in terms of deep, loving relationships, or laughter and smiles, or an inner peace that baffles everyone around you because they see how your world is falling apart.

God often offers us what we need, but how many times do we miss that because we’re consumed with begging for what we want?

What Is Prayer? What Does It Do?

Anyway, to address the topic at hand–sending good thoughts vs. praying–it might be worth reflecting for a moment on what prayer is and what it does.

In giving us the sample prayer known as “The Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4), Jesus shows us clearly that prayer is meant to be an intimate conversation with a dad who loves us very much. Prayers do not need to be long or full of flowery language. They simply need to be sincere, spoken from the heart. And they need to be directed to God (Father, Son, or Holy Spirit–take your pick).

There’s also the question of what prayer does. Having said that God doesn’t grant our wishes, I should point out that there are examples in the Bible where that’s exactly what He does. In Isaiah chapter 38, we see the story of Hezekiah. Through the prophet Isaiah, God told Hezekiah that he was going to die. Hezekiah prayed and wept bitterly, so God told Isaiah to turn around and go back to Hezekiah to give him the good news that he was going to live another 15 years.

But generally, it seems that God does not answer prayers so quickly or directly–he usually seems to answer prayers in His time and in His way. So what does prayer do and why bother doing it?

I think one of the many blessings we get from praying is that we can develop our relationship with God. I mean, it would be ridiculous for me to rarely speak to my wife but then expect our relationship to grow and flourish. Further, since God is the only source of true peace–shalom–praying helps us to lean into and lean on Him, and reminds us that since our (believers’) eternal destination is already decided to be paradise, what happens tomorrow or next week might not be as painful or earth-shattering as we might be imagining.

So, hopefully, you can see now that there is no alternative to prayer. “Sending good thoughts” for someone does nothing for them, whereas praying for them can lead to immeasurable blessings for you and the other person as well. Praying is talking to the God of endless power, the Creator of the universe. Sending good thoughts is like talking to yourself. I’m sure you’re a swell person and that you mean well, but when was the last time you performed a miracle? It’s been a while (never) for me, too!

So why not choose to talk to God?

Posted in Christian, Faith, Miracles | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment