Chocolate or Vanilla? Warm or Cold Climate?

So… what do you prefer? Chocolate or vanilla? The warmer or the cooler climates?
Did you answer the question re the level of importance knowing what happens after we die? Is it along the lines of personal preference, or is it along the lines of what is often called the “first order questions of life”?
Enough of the luring. There are definite answers to these questions, and they do belong to the category of “first order questions of life.”
To know truth about life after death, if there is any and if so what is it like, we must have evidence that is not dependent on our experience; the evidence is not based on subjective experiences or feelings or best guesses. The evidence must be objective. That is, it must be evidence that points to and “reveals” truth that is true for all people regardless of virtually all life circumstances. I say “virtually all” because there do exist in some of the more extreme cases circumstances that would change the outcome if absolute strictness to revealed truth for the vast majority if adhered to. (These could be called “exceptions.”)  But then even those “exceptions” are also based on revealed truth.
Does this objective truth exist?
Yes.
And YOU can know it. And YOU should know it and make decisions about it in YOUR life because as the saying goes, “There will be a test.” And no, you can’t get out of the test, “CLEP” the test, or use any other method to avoid the full test.
It’s even more sure than the sun rising in the morning.
How do I know this? Well… let me share that with you.
Let’s say I blindfolded you and took you to Texas. (Have you ever traveled across or through a good portion of Texas? It’s BIG.) I have covered the state of Texas about two feet deep in silver dollar coins, but there is one, just one, that is different in the slightest way. If you are one of these people who can detect the slightest variation in weight, or texture, etc. you would not be able to do that with this one particular coin.
Now imagine I asked you to walk out into Texas and go anywhere you wanted and pick up a coin – any coin. What are the odds you would be able to pick up that one particular coin that is different from all the others, on the first attempt, while you are still blindfolded? I’ll tell you the odds because back in the 1940s Peter Stoner figured this out. [see footnote for who he is.]
The odds you could do that are 1X10 to the 17th power. That’s 1 with 17 zeros after it. I don’t know how to say a number that big. From a statistical standpoint, it’s impossible for anyone to pick up that coin on the first try. That’s a statement based on science, not speculation, or intuition, or feelings but it’s objective evidence.
But it doesn’t stop there. What if I told you that someone actually did something like that, but even MORE astounding! Yes, that’s right! Someone did something like that, but almost ten (10 yes, TEN) times more Unlikely! Think about that for a moment… Someone did something that statistically it would only happen once in what must be considered the proverbial “astronomical” number.
Jesus Christ of the Bible did this. He did more than the 1X10 to the 17th power. That figure is based on a number of prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. The number of prophecies it’s based on is eight (8). Now consider this, the number of Old Testament prophecies Jesus fulfilled is more like sixty (yes 60 – that’s not a typo – six zero). That produces a number far to large for us to even begin to grasp. That’s why professor Stoner looked for another way for us to understand this.
What does this objective fact tell us? What does it reveal to us? It shows us that someone was behind the scenes directing everything to a desired end or outcome. That “someone” of course is God.
God has revealed Himself in the pages of the Holy Bible, and He has shown us the answer to our question. We may like that answer, or we may not like that answer, but you know what…? We can’t change the answer. We MUST deal with what God has shown us.
Here are the facts for all of us – we have been separated from God and we need a redeemer. God has prepared that Redeemer for us in the person of Jesus Christ. The fact that Jesus Christ fulfilled these prophecies shows Him (reveals Him) to be the chosen means God has given by which we can know what happens after we die. You don’t need to guess. You can know.
I’ll go into this further in later posts, but if you want to know for sure that when you die you will be in the best place and experience the best possible life, then commit yourself to Jesus Christ as Lord and receive Him as Savior. Part of committing yourself to Him as Lord is to change your mind and your actions to come in line with what the Bible teaches as pleasing to God. The Bible calls that “repentance.”
If you are truly honest with yourself and sincere in your desire to be redeemed by the only Redeemer, to be cleansed from all that separates you from God, then in the honesty and integrity of your heart, pray the following prayer and let me know you have done this. I will help you find a good church in your area. That’s part of the repentance thing too.
OK – here’s the prayer – pray this and think of yourself as speaking to God, because you are.
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me and coming for me. Thank You for your gift of love to me that You offered when You died on the cross. I can’t thank You enough for that, and I believe You did that for ME. I now receive Your gift – the gift of Your presence in my life, in my body, soul and spirit, and I ask You to forgive me of my sin. Cleanse me from all that separates me from God the Father. I ask You to give me Your Holy Spirit and take my life and turn it into something that honors You and glorifies You as well as fulfills my greatest need. I thank You for all You have done for me. And now Jesus, teach me Your way to live life. I thank You again Jesus, and I pray this in Your Name. Amen.
Now let me know you prayed this prayer if you would please by emailing me at rector@thesolidrockchurch.info.
God bless you!
(Peter Stoner credentials: PETER W. STONER, M.S. Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena City College until 1953; Chairman of the science division, Westmont College, 1953-57; Professor Emeritus of Science, Westmont College; Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Astronomy, Pasadena City College. [gleaned from http://sciencespeaks.dstoner.net/index.html#c0])

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