How bad is bad? We use the word ‘evil’ to describe something really bad. Can people become evil? Evil seems to have an energy of its own. It has been demonstrated that a man who is sure he will receive no punishment, will do the most terrible things to other men.

One week after the first atomic bomb was tested, it was used to destroy a city. No one was punished for killing all those people. Some were vaporized. It was justified that it ended a terrible war. Men made a bomb and carried it across the world and dropped it on an unsuspecting city.

Do you know that the people involved with creating this weapon never wanted it used again. We still talk about it. We want it not to be used. No country has used this weapon since then.

This is about a weapon of great power. People are wondering if someone will use such a weapon again. People don’t even want it tested anymore. We know it works.

But the question is really this: Is someone so evil that they would use this weapon? We know of people using smaller weapons to kill strangers. We know there are men who will go out and kill people. But do you ever wonder where all this killing of men by other men started?

If you read a really old story, you find the first man born on this earth ended up killing his brother. Maybe he used a rock. Maybe he used his bare hands. But he introduced murder to the earth. He made himself evil to do it. He made his heart hard until he didn’t care about anyone else.

Evil is homemade in the human heart. Goodness, on the other hand, cannot be manufactured within a person. When the best man I can think of was called ‘good’ he said, “No one is good, just God.” And Goodness will not invade a man’s heart. He must choose The Good to benefit from that Good, which may be another name for God. The good God, the only source of goodness is a Person.

But he is invisible. No one has seen Him. True. A disciple of Jesus asked him a direct question one day. Show us God. Jesus had said before that he always did what God said. Now he replied, “If you have seen me, you have seen God.” The man later believed this so much that he called Jesus his Lord and God. We call that man Doubting Thomas. He said he had to be convinced that Jesus was alive again. He became convinced by Jesus himself.

It can be the same for any person. Ask God to convince you that he is real and that he is good. Wait a minute. This is ‘faith’, right? Maybe. Or put it like this: God, convince me of what is Truth.

Pilate was trying to find out why some people in his city wanted Jesus dead.

“Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Are you saying this on your own initiative, or have others said it to you about me?”

“I am not a Jew, am I? Your own people and your chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?”

“My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would fight to prevent me being handed over to the Jewish authorities. But now my kingdom is not from here.”

“So you are a king!”

“You say that I am a king. I have been born and have come into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

“What is truth?”

Did Pilate want to know what was truth?

I always thought his answer was sarcastic. Like he stopped believing in truth a long time ago. But some think he was sincere.

But what about you? Do you want to know the truth?

What did Jesus say?

“I have been born and have come into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

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Is this headline hard to believe? One day all people will silently agree that there remains only one way for men to live well.

Evil is result of choosing wrong. Freedom in choosing is important because good must be a choice. The evil that comes from choosing wrong has a good purpose though. It is to horrify us as we see the fruit of choosing wrong. Yes, it is sadly true that people suffer a lot because of the choices of others. But one day suffering will cease and goodness will fill the earth.

All will see it. No one will be able to stand and say that another way would have worked. Why? Because all other plans will complete a history of failure at that time. A failure of men under every other plan.

First, there was innocence but with one choice to ruin it.  What about life with no rules? Living by conscience was allowed without even one rule to guide us. It failed very badly. So badly that the earth was purged with a flood.

But a new start with Noah and family was granted.

Man was given authority to judge other men. If a man did murder, it was men who would judge and punish. Violence against the weak would not be tolerated. This was codified into laws by men to make it plain. And laws were given by God to a group of people hand-picked by him. But under good laws, the men failed to become good.

God himself brought a example society to a certain land with great miracles. But this people with God as their leader wanted a man to be their king. The golden age of kings lasted maybe 100 years but the wisest king knew no matter what he did, his sons might ruin everything.

This happened. The times of this people were all recorded carefully. From this people, a man came to make all things right. He was a prophet and king. He also began it all. Centuries of preparation came to this: He was rejected by those who were to watch for his coming.

After this, the message of mercy went out to all men. This good news shook the world. But many men insist on living in God’s world and counting him an absentee landlord who can be ignored.

But men will solidify their rejection of God’s Man and choose another man to lead them. Then the earth will be judged for all the evil done by men. The great suffering of that time will be limited in duration.

After all the ways men tried living without God have failed, the man who was send by God will return and take his place as leader of all. All will know who he is and he will bring peace to the earth at last. Can it be that men will rebel once again? It will happen. Men will reject him again and side with his enemy who was incapacitated for that time. But this rebellion will be short lived.

All things will be changed and a new earth will replace the old. A new capital city will be placed on this new earth. Only those prepared will be allowed in this one. A new beginning that will have no possible failure. No evil will have any place in it.

It can become your hope. No one will be rejected who comes to God through his Christ. No other plan will do. Only God’s plan will succeed after men have failed in every situation. That is why no one will have anything to say. All other ways will be known to have ended in failure. And only God’s way will be seen by all as able to make men good.

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People were not intended to die but to live on and on. They had the Tree of Life always near. The first two listened to another voice. That was bad. God wants greatness for people but only through free cooperation with him. But God had a Plan B.

The Plan B came down to redemption brought by another man. This man would be fully tested and always choose the right choice. After he revealed himself to a few men, he was killed.

But how? He was the liveliest of all men. Men wanted to kill him several times but were unable to do it. He did not want to die. But he decided to let men kill him. This was part of Plan B. This was a good man, the best man ever. He agonized over this decision.

He became resolved to allow evil men to do whatever they wanted to him. The light of the world would now step into darkness. The Prince of Life would allow men to kill him. He called it a cup. A cup that he could never want to drink. But he did drink it.

People have given different reasons for his death. But consider this: this was when religious men got the government to kill someone they hated. The governor reluctantly agreed to give permission for this to happen.

This was an example, no, the example of men acting together to do their worst to a good man. A man that no one could even give one example of a selfish act ever done by him. This was evil against good.

We can now choose sides. Do we want to side with those who hate God? Or do we want to imitate the man who returned from death. His method of living was doing that best action called the Will of God. If we do join his side, he gifts us with his best gift. He can’t even explain it to his friends. He just says, “Wait for what is next.”

Somehow the Spirit of God can work with us to do stuff like Jesus. This is how we can prepare for what is next. We choose, as new hearted people, to do what God wants us to do. We embrace our new life when we walk as he walked. Doing what God wants you to do is best for everyone else in your life. But it is also best for you. You will become like someone who eats fruit from the Tree of Life.

Be Fruitful

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Be fruitful. Just two words.

This is a state, yes, a state of being.  It is not yet action but a readiness to act.  It is a purposing to act.  It does not say act fruitful or create fruit.  Nor does it say making fruit is your duty.  No.  None of these.  The state of being brings the right result.

Why did Christ curse the fig tree?  He looked for fruit and found none.  To look like a fruit tree without producing any fruit:  this drew a curse from the one who came to bless not to curse.

So, we return to the first part.  Be.  A seed was planted.  A certain kind of seed which came from another fruitful tree.  Like will produce like.  What type of seed?  What characteristics?  The type of seed is the gospel:  God’s words that can take root in anyone and produce fruit.

Now some fruit is eaten and some becomes the beginning of the next tree, a tree like the original.  But, wait!  He has used this example in another place.  He says, you do not have to be the tree, just a branch.  You don’t have to do the work of drawing water up from roots.  Only pass it on.  The work is done.  You don’t produce the nourishing liquid.  You don’t produce the roots.  You don’t hold up the tree to the sun.  None of this.

You become a branch that has one purpose:  to produce fruit.  The tree holds you up and nourishes you.  You are given everything needed.  It has all been placed at hand for you.  Just take hold of the tree and live.  By living and being what you are, in Christ, you will produce fruit.  You will be a source of blessing to people.  You will manifest the nature of God.

If not, be restored and become the ready one.

And be fruitful.

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On the mount of transfiguration, Peter sees Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah.  They converse as equals, so it seems, except that Moses and Elijah have stepped out of history to have this encounter.  Both Moses and Elijah left earth mysteriously.  Nothing is explained about this meeting or even how long it lasted.  The disciples are wowed by what might be like George Washington and Abe Lincoln meeting with a president elect ready to enter the White House as Secret Service agents observe them.  But consider:  this is not new for Moses.  He spoke with the Lord as with a friend.  He spent weeks with the Lord on a very different mountain.  Now the flesh and blood Jesus talks with Moses.  But the Voice they all hear makes it clear that Jesus supersedes the great lawgiver and famous, brave prophet.  The law and the prophets were until John (the Baptist).

But let us back up to the beginning of this story of Matthew.  He has just quoted Jesus saying, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”  Jesus had said several things that the disciples did not understand and this was among them.  He had spoken meaningfully but cryptically to them.  It would be easy to say that the next event relates to the statement but it does not directly relate.  What is on Jesus’s mind?  What weighs on his heart as the end nears?

He is about to die and he knows it.  He also knows the great purpose of this act.  This is essential to the kingdom of God breaking into this world.  He began his ministry by saying the kingdom of God is at hand.  It’s near.  He knows his path is narrowing to the point where he will walk alone to his death.  But he thinks of how the kingdom of God will collect people from many nations.  He rejects the Pharisees and Sadducees request for a sign.  Too late.  The signs have been given with only one left:  the sign of Jonah.  The sign of a man who disappears and returns from certain death.  The one who returned from the depth with a message for the people of Nineveh.

Everything he says points directly to his person, his role, his work.  He tells the disciples to be silent, for now, about who he is.  He explains to them what will happen but they can’t bear to hear it.  He speaks of the future glory and reward that follows complete commitment.  Some will see the blossoming of the kingdom before they die.  Matthew says six days later… He relates this to cryptic sayings about his death and the kingdom’s birth.  This is the purpose of God from the beginning:  that men would live on earth in harmony with God in his kingdom.

Jesus explains nothing as he takes three men up a high mountain.  Like Abraham taking his son, Isaac up a mountain, he explains nothing, only leads.  Why doesn’t he go alone?  Why does he take them?  Because he longs to show them his glory.  Now they can have a glimpse of it.  He changes before them.  It is written that Moses’s face did shine when he came down from a mountain.  But Jesus is shining like the sun.  And they see Moses talking with Jesus.  I know Elijah is there as well but we will focus on Moses.  Moses had talked with the Lord on earth many years before.  Now they speak as men who have both lived on earth.  No one on earth understands what Jesus is doing now.  He goes to Moses for counsel but what they say is not known.  But he speaks with two men who knew rejection and stood apart from others in communion with the Lord.  He does not explain any of this to the three disciples.

But let us look again at Moses.  Moses spent forty years with people who had every reason to have faith but balked at each test until they were denied entry to the Promised Land.  Moses spent his time with this generation until all but a tiny few remained.  He tells his three disciples not to speak about this remarkable event until he is ‘raised from the dead.’  They ask about Elijah.  He responds that Elijah will come and yet has come. Another mystery.

But what have we seen?  Maybe what we have seen is Jesus with two men that can converse with him because of their earthly experience.  Peter’s suggestion of shelters for them may relate to a lengthy talk between those three who showed their fellowship while breaching time itself.  Again, no explanation by Jesus but we can understand how Jesus might want to talk with those who can relate to his moment in time.  Jesus, in this supernatural event, shows his humanity in that he wants to talk with men who understand him.  What manner of man is this?  His humanity and divinity are apparent in a seamless way.

He comes down the mountain and, like Moses, is dismayed that his followers have lost focus.  Now he would like to see his disciples pushing back the darkness but no such thing is happening.  “What’s wrong?” they say.  Too little faith!  But he encourages them to take heart and find the faith to do great things.  Small but genuine faith can upend a mountain.

Unlike Moses, who faltered when he saw the people in pursuit of a false god, Jesus does not lose heart and takes the situation in hand.  Maybe his talk with Moses and Elijah reminded him that though each of them faltered, they came out faithful in the end.  Jesus speaks of a perverse and faithless generation.  How long must I put up with you?  Moses had put up with a generation that had failed the test.  Elijah had a generation that embraced the false Baal.  He executed Baal’s false prophets and then was hunted by the leaders for standing with God.  What better men to talk with?  These men had born with a generation that disappointed them for much of their lives.  Did they encourage Jesus to look past the lack of faith and see the future generation(s).

We try to understand what they saw.  The conversation was not for them but the sight of it was.  But, look, this Jesus brings together in one moment his disciples and two of his faithful servants who held to God while so many around them let go of truth and faith.  But Jesus, unlike Moses or Elijah will not lose heart.  He will continue with those who should now have faith.  He will succeed where all other men have failed.  He will do all the will of God.  The Son of Man will bear all things as a man for all men.  He will complete the course until he says, “It is finished.”

In our time, He offers to each of us all we need.  He treats us as people of great possibility.  He pours out his Spirit on all flesh.  He welcomes us as though we had never done wrong.  He is glad to forget our sins and comes close to us.

Look how the Lord has always come to befriend men, from Adam to now.  He always desires to be as close as possible.  He has gotten rid of all obstacles to our friendship with Him.  He has done all and is doing all and will do all to bring us into the complete human experience.  He wants to glorify us and let us share his glory.  He lets us serve so that he can reward us.  He lets us experience difficulties that we might overcome through him.  He does not look down from above but is alongside to help.  He only shows his greatness to show his great help.

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God created man in his own image and likeness.  This is what it says in Genesis. God breathed into the man the breath of life and the man became a person. Then God places the man in a really good environment.  Doubly good because all the earth was good but this place was especially good because God arranged this environment full of the best things on earth.

God gives the man freedom to do as he pleases in this pleasing environment.  There is a choice though. There are two trees.  The Lord warns him that one tree will bring sure and certain death.  The other tree speaks for itself. It’s the Tree of Life!  So the man has a choice of life and death.  And God leaves it at that, one warning about one tree.

The man is friendly with the animals and the birds.  He gives them names. Then, surprise! The man is given a companion. She is gorgeous. She is a knockout! She is perfect.

So we see that man is to discover his own nature.  God has only done good to them and for them and they can do no accidental wrong.  They are not drawn to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  They also show no particular interest in the Tree of Life.  Now the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is not dangerous in itself.  It is just a tree with fruit like many others.  It is not poisonous.

Eve says that if you just touch it, you die.  But that is not the danger. Only eating the fruit will bring dreadful results.

So, a dragon says the opposite of God.  This lie is followed by a pronouncement that this tree holds a benefit to be desired.  But what the tree really offers is independence from God.  With the knowledge of good and evil, you can make your own choices.  You would not need God to advise you. It says that their eyes were opened.  To what?  They knew they were naked. And they did not like that feeling at all.

A few minutes ago, they were okay with being naked but now they feel uncomfortably aware that they are not connected to anything.  Before they felt little of their separate individuality.  Now their life ends at their skin.  And their skin does not seem to be enough to protect them.  They need a covering.  They feel different about their environment.  And about each other.  Eating that fruit held a nasty surprise. And an animal tricked them.  That is the first separateness: From nature.  The second is separateness from each other.  No more flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone.  The third separation is realized when the Lord calls out to them.  They run and hide.

Did you know “it’s all your fault!”?  Everything that is bad is your fault.  You think it’s God’s fault?  Nope.  It’s your fault.  And I mean everything bad and anything bad in particular.  Why is it my fault?  Because your greatest granddad and grandma went the wrong way.  “I wasn’t there!”  Yes, you were.  You were him.  You were her.  You are Adam.  You are Eve.  You made that choice.  You did it.  “No.  No.  No.  I had nothing to do with it!”

You (and I) had everything to do with it.  If you were Adam (or Eve), you would have done exactly as they did.  How do I know?  Because if it could have been different, God would have replaced Adam with you.  If a man or woman could have been better choosers than those two, God would have used them.  Used you or me.  If we could have done better.  But we would have done the same.  We would have done exactly the same as they did.  We would have eaten the fruit just like they did.  So we each share the guilt of Adam and Eve.  We were them.  They were us.  So all the bad that came from that decision is your fault, and my fault.

When Cain kills Abel, what does Adam say?  He says nothing.  He knows it is his fault.  The pain that he and Eve feel is their own fault.  They know it.  But they produce a new hope, another son, Seth.  “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”  In a sense, Abel has been reborn, as Seth.  A new beginning with Seth.  And Seth has a son, too.

“At that time, people began to call on the name of the Lord.”  The hopeful parents see some of their offspring call on the Name of the Lord. Yes, the third generation calls on God.  Do they see their children and grandchildren calling on God as good?  Maybe they tell them how God is merciful and gives hope in the face of wrong and suffering.  Don’t blame God for anything bad.  It’s your fault as if you were Adam or Eve.  Be like Seth and his son and call on the name of the Lord, the Merciful One.

While Cain builds his city, Seth and son call on the Name of the Lord.  They know more now.  They know he is kind and gives help to men.  They know he gives new beginnings.  Generations followed until Enoch shows up and it says Enoch walked faithfully with God for 300 years.  Then he disappeared without a trace.  God took him.  Enoch was the best man, so far.  Abel didn’t have a chance to show how faithful he could be.  But as soon as a man, Enoch, showed that he would live on the earth and remain faithful to the Lord, God took him.  No explanation.  Just gone.  Taken.  No note.  No witnesses.

More about Enoch

So, we see the Optimism of God.  He knows the first humans will make a terrible choice.  But He also knows some people will call on His Name.  They will find Him kind and ready to help them.  And a few will walk faithfully with God like Enoch.  Will you be like Cain and reject the help of God?  Or will you be like Seth who called on God for help.  Or maybe you will be like Enoch. the man God was waiting for.  Will you, like Enoch, live on the earth and remain faithful to the Lord.  Do you think God would treat you differently that Enoch?  No.  He will take you to be with Him forever.

Enoch, God’s First Friend

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Hey, we all want to find love but where are we looking? I mean, are we on the right path to finding love? Let’s face it, we are all looking for a great lover! But what if, think about it, rather than trying to find a lover, we become a great lover ourself? Then someone would be looking for us.

Now, let’s see, what would that look like? We should choose a good example to follow. We should choose the best example, if possible. There was this guy who actually set himself as the model for loving others. He said, “Love each other like I have loved you.”

Now we have an example of someone who really loved others. Jesus. Did I lose you? This is big. Bigger than romantic love. This is about you becoming a loving person. Seriously. So, what was his secret? I mean, how did he do it?

Maybe Jesus is like a magician. He doesn’t reveal his secret. Maybe we must study for many years to reach his level of loving. No, he came to reveal secrets and make clear what may have been hidden. He doesn’t keep it a secret at all.

What’s the first thing Jesus does? He goes to see his cousin, John the Baptizer. And something big happens at his baptism. He is dramatically filled with the Spirit of God. Next. He is tested. He goes out in the desert and faces the devil himself. One on one. Except Jesus hasn’t eaten for many days.

Now he may be the Son of God, but he has put himself in the place of a man. He keeps calling himself the Son of Man. And he keeps all the sayings God gave to humans. He lives out the best life right before the eyes of his contemporaries. He loves God and calls him his Father. And he loves the people he meets. Yes, some of his actions are miracles, sure. But he just likes being with people. He especially likes those who are ignored or even despised by others, like tax collectors and prostitutes.

So Jesus gets help from The Spirit of God. Can we do that? Yes, we can. Jesus said you need the Spirit in you. And he holds up under testing. Can we do that? It seems so. Ordinary guys who followed Jesus held fast to their faith under extreme pressure. The key seems to be that they really loved this guy. They believed him, sure. But what kept them going was that they loved the guy who kept going even in the face of death. And he came back from death and convinced them he had conquered death.

So, back to our question: What if Love is our path? Not the end of the path. No, the path itself. Love is living like Jesus. And if we want to know more about how love acts, we can read 1 Corinthians 13. And after we read it, and we know the characteristics of love, we can make it our To Do List.

I Corinthians 13

Love Believes All Things

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