Musing – What Happens After You Die?

Hebraic Musing – What Happens After You Die?

Interesting question that I find myself trying not to dwell on!  We have a built in appreciation for our life and a desire to live forever; thus we have a fear of death, or of the unknown.  The Bible does tell us What Happens After You Die so that we might be able to put life into perspective.  What does the Bible say?

How do we get transported to Heaven?  In Luke 16:22 Jesus tells us what happens – “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side.” NIV   So angels will usher your soul into Heaven.  Note that Jesus said “Abrahams side” instead of “My side”!  Where is Abraham?

How long after you die before you see God?   2 Corinthians 5:6-8 describes how we are either in the flesh or in His Home. “Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  We live by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

Will we be conscious and in command of our thinking, feelings, speech and memories?  As Jesus described the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31, He made it clear that the people in Heaven as well as in Hell were very conscious and in command of their thinking, feelings, speech and memories.  Here’s excerpts from Jesus’ teaching:  “There was a rich man … At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, … “The time came when the beggar died …. The rich man also died … where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham … with Lazarus by his side.  So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me … I am in agony ...'  Abraham replied, ‘… between us and you a great chasm…so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, …’  He (Rich man) answered, ‘… send Lazarus to my father's house…. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'  Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them’  …. ‘No, father Abraham,…but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'  …Abraham’s reply  ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'”   Lazarus was conscious, thinking, feeling, speaking and remembering? 
Come to think of it, didn’t Jesus rise from the dead?  So why doesn’t everyone pay attention?!?!

How much more magnificent will the Praise and Worship be than what you have in your Sunday morning services?  Just think of being with angels and believers before the throne of God and Jesus Christ Himself!!!  Let’s take a peek from Rev.4:4-5 “Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.  From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.”   How does that compare to your Sunday morning’s Praise Team?

Will you still be aware of events and activities on earth?   “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.” Rev.6:9 

Will you recognize and talk to believers who preceded you to Heaven?  In the transfiguration incident we read that –  “Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.”  Luke 9:30-31 

Points to ponder   or   RSVP

If you are still here, what is it that the LORD still needs you to do for Him?

Jesus rose from the dead!  So Mr. Rich Man, Why doesn’t everyone pay attention?!?!

Not all “Musings” are meant to be “Amusing”!

♫ When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing that will be.
            When we all see Jesus, We'll sing and shout the victory .♫   

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                          February 18, 2020

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note - This is just a sample of the challenging questions one encounters touring Ken Ham’s “Ark Encounter.”

Musing – America’s Harvest History and Restoration Needs

Hebraic Musing – America’s Harvest History and Restoration Needs

America came into existence at an interesting time. The world had just experienced a Great Awakening in the 16^th & 17^th centuries as the Renaissance resulted in  a transition from the Middle Ages to Modernity.  Renaissance was an intellectual version of humanism, derived from Roman and Greek philosophies making and became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science and literature.

Gutenberg’s development of the printing press, circa 1436, triggered dramatic social and cultural revolutions. The sudden widespread dissemination of printed works gave direct rise to the European Renaissance.
BUT it also provided Bibles for the Laymen; biblical truths were available to the Western culture!

Martin Luther forever changed Christianity when he nailed his “95 Theses” to a church door in 1517, sparking the Protestant Reformation; which lead to the Church’s recognition of “Faith Alone" as the key to salvation.

Before America was a nation, she had her first Awakening from Jonathan Edwards in 1741, best known for his challenging message “Sinners at the hand of and Angry God”.  This Pre-Revolution event encouraged American Patriots to fight for religious freedom based on allegiance to Almighty God, not to a person on a throne in a palace.

Then a second Awakening came in 1825-1835 from likes of Charles Finley preaching the need for and understanding of personal salvation (and abolition of slavery and equal education for women).  The nation and Church learned to recognize our sinfulness so we’d be ready to receive the word of God.

BUT in 1859 Charles Darwin published “Origin of Species”, best known for its contributions to the “science of evolution” which proposes that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors.  This began a movement denying even the existence of a Creator God; and has since become a widely accepted belief system!

And in 1933 John Dewey and the American Humanist Association published the first, of many Humanist Manifestos, which “talk of a new religion and refers to humanism as a religious movement meant to transcend and replace previous, deity-based systems.”(Wikipedia ).  This belief system has significantly influenced our courts and education systems in America to systemically remove God from both.  The Bible is no longer the authority!!!

WHAT”S HAPPENING in “Christian” churches?  and   WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN?
Today we have Pastors afraid to preach on certain topics (sins) because “I don’t want to lose the crowd”.
What can/should you and I be doing about this loss of Biblical significance in American churches? 

God gave us a solution in a known verse – 2 Chronicles 7:14*   If we truly want to “Heal Our Land” we need to follow the step-wise God-provided Action Plan:

·      if my people – Those who have truly Made Him Lord and…

·      who are called by my name – and who openly Declare themselves as Christians…

·      will humble themselves – we need to Recognize ourselves as sinners needing to submit ourselves…

·      and pray – to Call upon the Our Lord from deep within our searching hearts…

·      and seek my face – To Look at God in the face, like a mischievous child having to look at a parent’s face…

·      and turn from their wicked ways – to Repent of all ways contrary to God’s ways…

And when that is done, God who is always faithful and trustworthy makes promises…

·      then will I hear from heaven – God will Hear your heart, and your Prayers…

·      and will forgive their sin – God’s Forgiveness will be completed… and …

·      and will heal their land - And that is or should be our Objective for the love of family and neighbors!

Points to ponder   or   RSVP

Are Pastors trying to build a “crowd” or build God’s “Church”?

Old adage – “If you are not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.”

Does God want to do something really big and great in 2020?

“Restore us, O God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.” Psalm 80:7

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                      February 11, 2020
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Inspired by Pastor Tom Hatley’s message – “The American Harvest”, January 12, 2020*   2 Chronicles 7:14   “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  NIV 

Musing - What will the New Earth & Heaven be like, Biblically?

Hebraic Musing - What will the New Earth & Heaven be like, Biblically?

Was Creation and Heaven the basis of God’s plan right from the beginning?   In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.   They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment.  Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. Ps. 102:25-26

Should the destruction of this corrupt earth be a surprise?  It was foreseen and understood by Isaiah!
…look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail. Isa. 51:6     

Were the OT’s prophetic messages understood by Peter in the NT?    I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets ….   First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.  They will say, “Where is this ‘coming' he promised?  Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 2 Pet. 3:2-4    

Peter knew that “scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires,”  And Peter knew what the scoffers would forget.  But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.  By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.  Thus Peter knew what was coming.  He knew fire was coming, according to the Word in the OT!   By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.   2 Pet. 3:5-6&7    

What happens to our old earth?  Peter knew the OT’s prophesies so he wants us to look to the future.  Why?   2 Pet. 2:12-13    as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.  That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

Paul, an OT scholar, also told of the fulfillment of God’s plan by the earth being “liberated from its bondage to decay.”    The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, …, in hope  that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.  Rom. 8:19-21 

Having explained God’s plan, Paul had to tell us to be patient, and why!   We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Rom. 8:22-23

Isaiah knew of God’s ultimate plan, or was told.   “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.”    Isaiah 65:17    

And Isaiah answered the question on the hearts of pet owners  – “Will my Fifi be with me in heaven?”  Apparently there will be Animals in the New Earth.   Isaiah 11:6-8  mentions  The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard … with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together… cow … the bear, … lion will eat straw like the ox.   The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child … the viper's nest.  

And we will have an improvement in our level of understanding since Isaiah 11:9 says … the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD …   .

Points to ponder   or   RSVP

Let us wake up and recognize that the universe is doomed, there is death everywhere!

Good News!  God’s plan can be summarized in the Six R’s of a Future Hope*, using biblical words:
Redeem      Restore      Recover      Return      Renew      Resurrect

♫ When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing that will be.   When we all see Jesus, …   ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                          February 4, 2020

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

.*  Each of these words begin with the “Re” prefix, suggesting a return to an original condition that was ruined or lost.

Note – Inspired by Randy Alcorn’s video presentation of “Heaven” from Creation Ministries Int’l

Musing – Do We Really Realize We are Always in God’s Presence?

Hebraic Musing – Do We Really Realize We are Always in God’s Presence?

Isn’t it interesting, the 1^st mention of the importance of being in God’s presence is in the form of the ultimate punishment?  Listen to Cain’s plea to God in Gen. 4:13-14 “My punishment is more than I can bear.  Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence.” NIV    Cain recognized the importance of being in God’s presence!  And He realized the significance of the loss of God’s presence!      

Here’s an early promise from God -- “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.” Gen.20:15

Psalm 41:12 claims that God set David (and us) in His presence forever!  “In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.”

In Psalm 21:6 David recognizes the importance of God’s presence to a king.  “Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.”

In Psalm 16:11 David expressed the joy of being in God’s presence. “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” 

And in Peter’s first preaching he quoted David in Acts 2:28.  “You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”

Where should we be walking?  “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.”  Psalm 89:15

What is the benefit to our children if we serve the Lord?  “The children of your servants will live in your presence;” Psalm 102:28

Where was Wisdom during Creation?  “Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence,” Proverbs 8:30

HOWEVER, it is not always easy to be in His Presence: 

·      “The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.”  Psalm 5:5

·      Since He is always with us, Psalm 90:8 reminds us. “You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.” 

·      We cannot leave His Presence. “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?”  Psalm 139:7. 

A SUMMARY statement by Paul in 1 Thess.3:9 says it all!   “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?”

And that is why I cannot recite Psalm 51:10-12 without singing Keith Green’s version. 
♫  Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right spirit within me.
 Cast me not away from Thy presence, O Lord,   And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. 
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation.  And renew a right spirit within me. ♫

Points to ponder   or   RSVP

What does that mean for us that God is Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent?

Are we living under the watchful eye of our MASTER?

Does our MASTER love us?  Why is He watching us?

Remember the advice from the Christmas song?  ♫“He sees you when you're sleeping, He knows when you're awake, He knows if you've been bad or good, So be good for goodness sake.”♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd              January 28, 2020

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Inspired by writings from Brother Lawrence, circa 1600’s, before bibles were readily available.
        All Bible references are from the NIV

Musing – If America is no longer a Christian Nation; What’s Next?

Hebraic Musing – If America is no longer a Christian Nation; What’s Next?

Are we still the Christian nation we once were?  Where are we now?  Has our nation turned away from God?  What does the Bible say about a Nation turning its back on God?   We need to distinguish between an individual turning his/her back on God vs. a Nation going against God’s will.  Salvation is for an individual, based on choice.  But, people in rebellious nations experience consequences.

Three things happen when a nation rejects God and sheds innocent blood.  Is America guilty on both counts?

How is America rejecting God?  In the recent musing about recognizing Ungodliness, we identified Drugs, Gambling, Debt, Gender confusion, Abortion, Suicides, Evolution teaching, Education abdication, Religious Co-existence, Freedoms of Choice & Speech, Free Love, Broken families and Entitlement mentality.  Enough said?

How are we shedding innocent blood?  Abortion clinics, witnesses “committing suicide,” foreign ambassadorial staff slain, school & public shootings and euthanasia.  And are the lives of people being destroyed when their reputations are corrupted by unsubstantiated accusations by lies from the media?

So, what three things can America expect according to the Bible?

1. Rulers who hate us –  A summary of Psalm 106:33-42 says the Israelites rebelled against the Spirit of God; they disobeyed, worshipped idols, adopted customs of other peoples, shed innocent blood and defiled themselves.  And in the final verses 41-42  “He handed them over to the nations, and their foes ruled over them.  Their enemies oppressed them and subjected them to their power.” NIV   Our Judeo-Christian heritage is under attack.

2. Laws that enslave us – Ezekiel 20:24-25 “because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes [lusted] after their fathers' idols.  I also gave them over to statutes that were not good and laws they could not live by.” NIV   How many laws do we now have that are enslaving us or preventing us from freedom of expression or obeying God’s laws?  Furthermore, today’s laws no longer apply to the likes of Epstein, Clintons, Bidens, corrupt leaders & politicians…to name just a few examples

3. Rights taken from us – Isaiah 5:20, 23, 24b   “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.… who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent.… for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.”  Why do homosexuals want to be called “Gay”?  Why is sex now “free”?  Bibles and prayer are no longer allowed in schools!  Speech must be PC!  Women’s rights pre-empt newborn rights!  And on and on!  Are we Christians in America being surrounded by arrogant, militant paganism?  National sovereignty is Biblical but socialism/globalization is taking over.

Timothy warned us of these days.  “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”  2 Tim. 2:3-4

Jeremiah warned the Israelites.  Does this apply to us?  “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them,  then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you.”  Joshua 23:12-13  Is America guilty of these crimes?

Points to ponder   or   RSVP

Do we see the forces seeking Globalization, socialism or the “New World Order”
trying to overcome the National Sovereignty foundation of our nation?

Who’s driving the Globalization movement?   i.e. trying to rebuild the Tower of Babel?

Is persecution around the corner?

 “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray…” 2 Chron.7:14

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                          January 21, 2020

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Some excerpts from “3 Terrible Consequences when a Nation Rejects God”; https://benhambrothers.com/

Musing – Seven Cs in God’s Eternal Plan.

Hebraic Musing – Seven Cs in God’s Eternal Plan.

The Bible’s entire message is summarized on one page in these seven past, present and future accounts:*

CREATION – God Created the Universe and Declared it “Very Good”.  Gen.1:1 - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.   Gen1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. NIV

CORRUPTION – Sin and Death entered the world.   Rom. 8:22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

CATASTROPHE – Judgement, the Great Noahaic Flood.  Gen. 6:17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.  

CONFUSION –The Tower of Babel where God forced people to spread across the Earth.  Gen. 11:9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.   

CHRIST – Jesus came to show THE WAY of Salvation from Sin & Death.   Gal. 4:4-5 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,  to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

CROSS – Jesus Christ paid our penalty.  1 Pet.3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

CONSUMATION –Restoration of a new heaven and a new earth without any curse!  Rev. 20:14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.   21:1 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.     Rev. 22:1 1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.   Rev. 23:3-5 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.   

He’s coming soon!  Rev. 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.

Points to ponder   or   RSVP

Did the Master Designer plan all this right from the BEGINNING?

Will God’s creation be as good, or better, at the End than it was at the Beginning?

Conclusion (one more C) is found in the final chapter in Rev. 22:13
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

♫ Sing to the Lord a new song… God made the world in seven days. Adam sinned and all men fell away. Jesus came to redeem my soul. He died upon the cross, and He made me whole!  Sing to the Lord… ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd              January 14, 2020

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

*  Inspired by messages observed at the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter.

Musing – Did Paul Understand How Civilizations Decline?

Hebraic Musing – Did Paul Understand How Civilizations Decline?

I think Paul understood how a nation can destroy itself, and he spelled out the steps clearly in the book of Romans 1:21-32.  And we the people have no excuse according to the preceding vs. 20 – “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” NIV  

How did Paul describe the decline process in seven steps in Romans 1:21-32? 

1.  KNEW GOD (past tense) - v21  For although they knew God,

2.  REFUSED TO WORSHIP OR BE THANKFULL  - they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him,

3. RESORTED TO FUTILE FOOLISHNESS  -  but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools

4. AND IDOLATROUS  -  v.23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. (Evolution drawings?!?!)

5. RESULTING IN GROSS IMMORALITY  - v.24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.

6. LEADING TO DENIAL & TOTAL DEPRAVITY  - v.25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.  26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.  Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.  27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another.  Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

7. THE FINAL RESULT, TOTAL SOCIETAL CHAOS -  28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.  29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Points to ponder   and/or   RSVP

Did you see those things in today’s newspapers, TV news or “entertainment” media?

Why is the “Religion of Evolution” promoted?

Our nation was founded on Step 1 above – “knowing God.”  Where are we now?

In the next verse, 2:1, Paul said “You, therefore, have no excuse…”  Who was Paul talking to?

“…choose for yourselves… But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                      January 7, 2020

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Reflection from messages viewed at the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter.