Limited propitiation

Definition of Atonement
"The atonement is the work of God in Christ, by his obedience and death, by which he canceled the debt of our sin, appeased his holy wrath against us, and won for us all the benefits of salvation". John Piper, DesiringGod.org
That is exactly what happened on the cross of Jesus two thousand and nine years ago, and that is what I celebrate every time I write down the date; everyone is declaring that Jesus atoned for my sins every time they write the date down.
As we have been saying for quite a while now, Jesus did not atone for the sins of every one in the world but only for the elect children of God; those who were born of God and to whom He gave the authority to become children of God (John 1).
We were not born of blood, nor of the will of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God; and were made alive when we walked according to the course of this world, according to the spirit of disobedience, being children of wrath even as others.
In Him, in Jesus Christ, we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His own will, that we should be to the praise of His glory.
1Jn 2:2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Aha, I told you, for the whole world; but not really, think and reason for a minute: the whole world here refers to the world of the gentiles, from which the sheep of the other fold have come and will continue to come into the great sheepfold. Let's see what Mr. John Gill's comments are:

"but also for the sins of the whole world; the Syriac version renders it, "not for us only, but also for the whole world"; that is, not for the Jews only, for John was a Jew, and so were those he wrote unto, but for the Gentiles also.

Nothing is more common in Jewish writings than to call the Gentiles עלמא, "the world"; and כל העולם, "the whole world"; and אומות העולם, "the nations of the world" (l); See Gill on John 12:19; and the word "world" is so used in Scripture; see John_3:16; and stands opposed to a notion the Jews have of the Gentiles, that אין להן כפרה, "there is no propitiation for them" (m): and it is easy to observe, that when this phrase is not used of the Gentiles, it is to be understood in a limited and restrained sense; as when they say (n),

"it happened to a certain high priest, that when he went out of the sanctuary, כולי עלמא, "the whole world" went after him;''

which could only design the people in the temple. And elsewhere (o) it is said,

"amle ylwk, "the "whole world" has left the Misna, and gone after the "Gemara";''

which at most can only intend the Jews; and indeed only a majority of their doctors, who were conversant with these writings: and in another place (p),

"amle ylwk, "the whole world" fell on their faces, but Raf did not fall on his face;''

where it means no more than the congregation. Once more, it is said (q), when

"R. Simeon ben Gamaliel entered (the synagogue), כולי עלמא, "the whole world" stood up before him;''

that is, the people in the synagogue: to which may be added (r),

"when a great man makes a mourning, כולי עלמא, "the whole world" come to honour him;''

i.e. a great number of persons attend the funeral pomp: and so these phrases, כולי עלמא לא פליגי, "the whole world" is not divided, or does not dissent (s); כולי עלמא סברי, "the whole world" are of opinion (t), are frequently met with in the Talmud, by which, an agreement among the Rabbins, in certain points, is designed; yea, sometimes the phrase, "all the men of the world" (u), only intend the inhabitants of a city where a synagogue was, and, at most, only the Jews: and so this phrase, "all the world", or "the whole world", in Scripture, unless when it signifies the whole universe, or the habitable earth, is always used in a limited sense, either for the Roman empire, or the churches of Christ in the world, or believers, or the present inhabitants of the world, or a part of them only, Luke 2:1- (In this instance, as it is clear by the context and by the times, it referred to the Roman world, it is obvious that the Aztecs were not included in the sensus, neither the Incas or the Mayans; this is what the verse says: [Luke 2:1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. English Standard Version]; the comment in this parenthesis is mine, not Gill's, he continues:)- and so it is in this epistle, 1John 5:19; where the whole world lying in wickedness is manifestly distinguished from the saints, who are of God, and belong not to the world; and therefore cannot be understood of all the individuals in the world; and the like distinction is in this text itself, for "the sins of the whole world" are opposed to "our sins", the sins of the apostle and others to whom he joins himself; who therefore belonged not to, nor were a part of the whole world, for whose sins Christ is a propitiation as for theirs: so that this passage cannot furnish out any argument for universal redemption; for besides these things, it may be further observed, that for whose sins Christ is a propitiation, their sins are atoned for and pardoned, and their persons justified from all sin, and so shall certainly be glorified, which is not true of the whole world, and every man and woman in it; moreover, Christ is a propitiation through faith in his blood, the benefit of his propitiatory sacrifice is only received and enjoyed through faith; so that in the event it appears that Christ is a propitiation only for believers, a character which does not agree with all mankind; add to this, that for whom Christ is a propitiation he is also an advocate, 1John 2:1; but he is not an advocate for every individual person in the world; yea, there is a world he will not pray for John 17:9, and consequently is not a propitiation for them.

Once more, the design of the apostle in these words is to comfort his "little children" with the advocacy and propitiatory sacrifice of Christ, who might fall into sin through weakness and inadvertency; but what comfort would it yield to a distressed mind, to be told that Christ was a propitiation not only for the sins of the apostles and other saints, but for the sins of every individual in the world, even of these that are in hell? Would it not be natural for persons in such circumstances to argue rather against, than for themselves, and conclude that seeing persons might be damned notwithstanding the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ, that this might, and would be their case. In what sense Christ is a propitiation; see Gill on Rom 3:25."
John Gill's Exposition of the whole Bible.

Now, besides the reasoning of Gill, let's reason ourselves: Propitiation is the removal of the wrath of God upon the sinner so that nothing prevents the free flowing of the grace of God upon him; sins that are propitiated are then removed and are not punishable; we know this is true, and we know that this is what the Bible means by propitiation; by logical consequence we can assert that we, the elect, the believers, are the recipients of that mercy and of the grace of God thereby; but this is only limited to the believers because those who do not believe and die in their sins are eternally punished, their sins are not propitiated.

We run into a theological problem here, because if we sustain that the sins of the whole world, meaning that the sins of every man, woman and child in the universe, are atoned for, propitiated; as our Arminian friends sustain, then the wrath of God upon those sins is removed. But why then are the sinners who die in theirs sins punished with eternal separation from God in hell if theirs sins have been atoned for? What kind of propitiation is that? Arminian propitiation; Not a very effective one!! How can we trust that our sins have been propitiated by the blood of Christ when we see the truth of life and we see sinners dying in their sins every single day?

The logical conclusion is; and we agree with Gill and many others, as Martin Luther, John Calvin and Augustine, that the atonement of sins by the blood of Jesus was only intended, or limited, to the elect in Christ before the foundation of the world. The church of Jesus Christ, His body, the sheep, the adopted children of God, the believers, the born-again ones; you and I.

We really don't want to kick a dead horse until it dies again, but this is important, for you and for me; this is what the Bible teaches, it is very clear and Jesus himself taught it; and why is it important? Because this will cause me to be grateful, this will cause anybody who understands clearly what grace is, to burst into praise and worship of our awesome God; but not only that, it will cause him who understands to give himself over to God without reservations.

When we know for sure that God elected, chose us, to be partakers of the divine nature, as Peter says, when we know and understand that it is because of His grace that we came into being, predestined, we understand that not only our eternal life is secure but that our life here on this planet is designed by God; every event, every desire that is godly, everything we might think or say that is good, it comes from Him, and we also understand, as in the case of Job, that every trial, every problem, every wayward child, every bill that got behind, every sickness, every broken bone or dream, it's all designed by God for our good. We know that He is sovereign, He is in total control of everything that comes to pass in our lives.

Now, that is comforting to me. God is big and He doesn't fit in our little mind frames, He is in the heavens and does whatever He pleases. He is not trying to convince me or anybody else of what He has done, He wrote the Bible, He thought it and was put into words by men inspired by the Holy Spirit, that is what we believe and that is what it is, and His propitiation was limited, that is what He says, His atonement by the blood of Christ was intended for the elect.

I know there is people out there, in fact there are millions of people out there, who do not believe this, like one guy flat out said to me: "I don't believe in predestination", and this right after we read Ephesians chapter one; but their unbelief does not nullify the truth. They can argue all day long against this doctrine, and I know they will, because it does not appeal to the flesh, it completely removes all salvation activity on the human side and assigns it to God from beginning to the end.

So, I will continue to talk about this, every time I read or hear something to the contrary, I will come here and talk about this wonderful truth; anyone who reads out there is free to change the channel at any time, just close your browser or go see some chick website, but here in this blog you will constantly hear the same things, Calvinistic thought, or maybe just some plain crazy stuff.

I need a carne asada burrito.

Cross over to the other side

Mar 4:35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.
And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?"
And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

Have you ever noticed how Jesus loved boat rides? I find Him getting in a boat often, sometimes as a way of escape from the multitudes, sometimes to teach the people so they wouldn't press against Him, sometimes to take a nap; if there was no boat He walked on the ocean, He liked the water; He made it.

Jesus was the man of sorrows, acquainted with grief; always on the move, I find Him constantly moving through Israel and Samaria, Tyre and Sidon, Jerusalem, Bethel. With no where to rest His head, always invited or inviting Himself to people's homes to eat, where there were no houses He made food for thousands out of some bread and fish; He loved to eat, to fellowship, to hang out with the scum of the earth, with people like me; those who need a doctor, a deliverer, a redeemer.

I believe people were drawn to Him because they needed something, they needed deliverance; the ones who saw their inability and powerlessness to change, came to Him. We know from His words that the Father draws us to Him; we know that we come to Him because it has been granted to us by the Father; we know, if we have read His words, that we were predestined to come.

There is a lot of meat in that story in the Gospel of Mark; we heard the teachers before; we read the commentaries, we have heard His voice; "why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?". He was taking a nap, in His full humanity, He was tired; but He had given the command: "let us go to the other side"; they were going to get there, with or without boat, that was the command, that was His will and His desire, to get to the other side; no storm could prevent that from happening.

He will get us to the other side for sure; one day we will be there and is coming faster than we think; Israel has just purchased 25 F35 fighter jets from the US, with another 80 or so coming; and have just performed an exercise to see if they can hit Iran on one trip with modified F16i's. It is coming, the temperature is rising in the Israeli thermometer, I can see the signs.

"Don't you care we are perishing?" He cares but we are not perishing, we are just afraid; afraid of the wind, of the darkness, of the boogeyman, we are fearful things, fearful worms in need of a Savior. He knows that; He promised the storms would come, He promised the tribulations of this life would be here; but He has already given the command: cross over, the work is done: it is finished.

If we say that we are not afraid sometimes we lie and the truth is not in us, if we say that we lack no faith we make Him a liar and we remain in darkness; if we say that we are Holy and not behave like Him the truth of God is not in us.

The disciples were more afraid of Jesus than of the storm, they were afraid at the waves and the wind and the water in the boat, but they were terrified by what they saw, a great calm. God's holiness tends to do that to us humans, it fills our bones with rottenness; it makes our knees shake, and our lips to quiver; when faced with Jesus holiness we become as dead, we fall to the ground without strength; we realize that we are people of unclean lips and that we dwell amongst people of unclean lips and hearts. We are altogether unprofitable and all, like sheep, have gone astray; we have completely missed, and continue to miss the mark.

It is good to know that He is in the boat; to know that He controls even the wind, nothing escapes His attention. He knows all our fears, our lack of faith, He knows our longings and our phobias, He knows our frame, He remembers that we are dust.

In the feebleness of our minds we long to hear His voice: Peace! Be still!; we need that forceful command, He remembers we are sheep, sheep in little boats that sink half way; there is no captain in our little boats until He gets in; the Captain of our salvation. He remains in control, He remains forever sovereign, no one can stay His hand. We will cross over with Him and in Him and for Him.

Psa 115:3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Psa 135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

Some people spiritualize everything

The Zermatt Bakery bread that does not satisfy, no matter how much you eat of it; it is delicious but you only want more after you eat it. Which is good for business, but bad for your spiritual life.

John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
27 Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
30 They said therefore unto him, What sign showest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

The bread of heaven, the satisfying bread of God. Jesus is declaring that no amount of work in this world will ever satisfy the hunger that we feel, He is not saying to work to attain everlasting life. Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for that meat that endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you, He said.

The word here is ergazomai, which is translated labor or work, but the clear intention is: to be engaged in, by implication of the context. You can argue all day long to the contrary, but I say desist, you will not win. Or maybe.

Anyway, my point is not the bread but what Jesus is saying, this is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has sent.....the bread of God is He which comes down from heaven, and gives life unto the world; someone might say: see I told you, He came to save the world, but I say not really, because what He is saying is that He gives life unto the world but then later on He says that he that comes to Me shall never hunger and he that believes on Me shall never thirst, but you also have seen Me and believe not; all that the Father gives Me shall come to me and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not to do My will, but the will of Him that sent Me; and this is the Father's will who has sent Me: that of all which He has given Me I should lose nothing but should raise it up in the last day.

There is some heavy duty stuff in these words of Jesus the God-man; the first one who works for my salvation is God the Father, this is His work: that I believe; Moses did not give you manna, but the Father did give it to you, now the real bread is He that came down from heaven, I AM the real bread from heaven, and I give life unto the world.

The world receives physical life from the Word of God, the Logos who became flesh and dwelt among us, but the world hates the bread from heaven; only those who believe come to Jesus, and in that sense only the believers receive life, life everlasting, and in that sense those who do not believe are not part of the "world" that Jesus is speaking of; He just said in verse 36 that they have seen Him and believe not, so they did not belong to the Father, they were not supposed to come to Jesus and believe and receive eternal life because the Father did not give them to Jesus.

All who were given to Jesus come to Him, who gave them to Jesus? The Father gave them to Him and they will come to Him and believe. It is obvious that, and in view of what Jesus is saying, they who come to Him are being drawn by the Father: verse 44, "no one can come to Me except the Father which hath sent Me draw him"; so they come ready to believe, and why are they ready? Because they have already been regenerated by the Father, they only need to hear the Word to receive faith to believe.

Ok, Jesus is the bread from heaven, He gives life unto the world, but only those who believe are part of the world that receives life; it is obvious, the world here are the believers, the ones belonging to the Father and the ones who were drawn and given to Jesus. It is not confusing at all.

We know John 3:16 by heart, and there the world are those who believe also; read it and you will see, He, God, so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life; For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved, he that believeth in Him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believeth in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

3:19 "And this is the judgment (the condemnation): the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

Jesus is clearly saying here that people love darkness; all people love darkness, so how is it that some people come to the light? Because they have been regenerated by the Father through the Holy Spirit; men are in darkness, everyone stumbles in the darkness, except the sheep, those who follow Him, those who do not stumble:
John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

So, those whosoever believe are the ones given to Jesus by the Father because they cannot come unless the Father draws them, they are not condemned because they believe, and Jesus did not come to condemn the world, meaning those who believe; because they were drawn and given to Jesus by the Father.

Those who not believe are condemned already, He says, so obviously they cannot belong to the world that Jesus came to save; can they? If I do not believe, I am condemned already, I might not be saved; if I see the Son and don't believe, I am condemned already; I was not drawn by the Father unto Jesus because I did not belong to the Father, I did not belong to the "world" which might be saved through believing in Him.

Is there any other logical conclusion? I don't think so, but if you are an Arminian; then by now you are jumping up and down screaming that I can't say that, "you can't say that Jesus came to save only a few people, the chosen ones, that is blasphemy!! God loves everybody the same, Jesus died for the whole world!!" And while you are jumping, I am sitting down sipping on my coffee saying: No, He did not, that is not what the bible, the Word of God, says; and I refer you to the words of the Creator in John chapter 10:

10:1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."
6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father."


The obvious here is that Jesus, as the Good Shepperd, has sheep; He owns them, they belong to Him, they are His property, bought with His blood; and He has some that are not of that flock (Israel), He is referring to you and I as gentiles, so He tells them: I must bring them also. And later on the same chapter, He says:

25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me,
26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
30 I and the Father are one."

So the ones that He is talking to are not of His flock, they don't belong to the sheep, they do not belong to the Father, and the Father did not give them to Jesus so they are not being drawn to Him; therefore they are not the recipients of the benefits of His death, namely salvation; and therefore this shows you and I that Jesus did not die for everybody but for the sheep only, the ones who were chosen before the foundation of the world that they should be holy and without blame before Him, the ones that were predestinated unto adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto the Father, to the praise of the glory of His grace.

Anyway, all I wanted to do was to show you the bread my brother makes, but as always, I ended up spiritualizing it. Gee, some people out there spiritualize everything.

Comment if you must.

The Misery of Man

From the Imitation of Christ, again:

WHEREVER you are, wherever you go, you are miserable unless you turn to God. So why be dismayed when things do not happen as you wish and desire? Is there anyone who has everything as he wishes? No—neither I, nor you, nor any man on earth. There is no one in the world, be he Pope or king, who does not suffer trial and anguish.

Who is the better off then? Surely, it is the man who will suffer something for God. Many unstable and weak-minded people say: “See how well that man lives, how rich, how great he is, how powerful and mighty.” But you must lift up your eyes to the riches of heaven and realize that the material goods of which they speak are nothing. These things are uncertain and very burdensome because they are never possessed without anxiety and fear. Man’s happiness does not consist in the possession of abundant goods; a very little is enough.

Living on earth is truly a misery. The more a man desires spiritual life, the more bitter the present becomes to him, because he understands better and sees more clearly the defects, the corruption of human nature. To eat and drink, to watch and sleep, to rest, to labor, and to be bound by other human necessities is certainly a great misery and affliction to the devout man, who would gladly be released from them and be free from all sin. Truly, the inner man is greatly burdened in this world by the necessities of the body, and for this reason the Prophet prayed that he might be as free from them as possible, when he said: “From my necessities, O Lord, deliver me.” Ps. 34:17. 

But woe to those who know not their own misery, and greater woe to those who love this miserable and corruptible life. Some, indeed, can scarcely procure its necessities either by work or by begging; yet they love it so much that, if they could live here always, they would care nothing for the kingdom of God.

How foolish and faithless of heart are those who are so engrossed in earthly things as to relish nothing but what is carnal! Miserable men indeed, for in the end they will see to their sorrow how cheap and worthless was the thing they loved.

The saints of God and all devout friends of Christ did not look to what pleases the body nor to the things that are popular from time to time. Their whole hope and aim centered on the everlasting good.

Their whole desire pointed upward to the lasting and invisible realm, lest the love of what is visible drag them down to lower things.

Do not lose heart, then, my brother, in pursuing your spiritual life. There is yet time, and your hour is not past. Why delay your purpose? Arise! Begin at once and say: “Now is the time to act, now is the time to fight, now is the proper time to amend.”

When you are troubled and afflicted, that is the time to gain merit. You must pass through water and fire before coming to rest. Unless you do violence to yourself you will not overcome vice.

So long as we live in this fragile body, we can neither be free from sin nor live without weariness and sorrow. Gladly would we rest from all misery, but in losing innocence through sin we also lost true blessedness. Therefore, we must have patience and await the mercy of God until this iniquity passes, until mortality is swallowed up in life.

How great is the frailty of human nature which is ever prone to evil! Today you confess your sins and tomorrow you again commit the sins which you confessed. One moment you resolve to be careful, and yet after an hour you act as though you had made no resolution.

We have cause, therefore, because of our frailty and feebleness, to humble ourselves and never think anything great of ourselves. Through neglect we may quickly lose that which by God’s grace we have acquired only through long, hard labor. What, eventually, will become of us who so quickly grow lukewarm? Woe to us if we presume to rest in peace and security when actually there is no true holiness in our lives. It would be beneficial for us, like good novices, to be instructed once more in the principles of a good life, to see if there be hope of amendment and greater spiritual progress in the future.

The faults of islanders

It is around 97 degrees, with humidity of about 74%, dew point 72 degrees, it is cooking; that big red ball of fire was lit up since 7:30 in the morning, what I mean is that at that time it was already about 89 degrees; sweat time my brothers.

How awesome is that?  Hu?  89 at seven thirty, yummy, good stuff, for the iguanas, that is.

I have two days left, basically, and I am really ready to go home to beautiful San Diego.  This place really made me appreciate what an awesome place we live in.  The next time I hear someone complain about the heat, I will slap that person all across the border all the way to Laredo Texas, in which it is now 102 degrees, by the way.

Anyway, I bought an Avalone shell, I will put some pics later, and it is so freaking amazingly beautiful, I can't believe I paid 13 dollars for it, maybe I can sell it for two hundred, maybe not; but the point is that there is some amazing stuff under the water in this hell hole of a town.

Another note, almost everyone rides a scooter or a small bike, the island is flooded with them, all the local people ride one, they are everywhere; they are like ants going places without seeming to have any direction at all.  I have seen a lot of chineese bikes, the brand is called Italika; people here ride everywhere, I have seen whole families riding bikes, what I mean is the whole family rides one bike, the father, mother and two kids all of them on the bike, when I first saw that it really freaked me out; I would never see something like that in the States, never.

What makes it worse is that they wear these half head helmets that look like they came out of a box of cereal, but as protection goes, that is it.  All of them wear shorts and sandals; it is like Dante's Inferno but with tiny little motorcycles; freak town.

"UNTIL God ordains otherwise, a man ought to bear patiently whatever he cannot correct in himself and in others. Consider it better thus—perhaps to try your patience and to test you, for without such patience and trial your merits are of little account. Nevertheless, under such difficulties you should pray that God will consent to help you bear them calmly.

If, after being admonished once or twice, a person does not amend, do not argue with him but commit the whole matter to God that His will and honor may be furthered in all His servants, for God knows well how to turn evil to good. Try to bear patiently with the defects and infirmities of others, whatever they may be, because you also have many a fault which others must endure.

If you cannot make yourself what you would wish to be, how can you bend others to your will? We want them to be perfect, yet we do not correct our own faults. We wish them to be severely corrected, yet we will not correct ourselves.

Their great liberty displeases us, yet we would not be denied what we ask. We would have them bound by laws, yet we will allow ourselves to be restrained in nothing. Hence, it is clear how seldom we think of others as we do of ourselves.

If all were perfect, what should we have to suffer from others for God’s sake? But God has so ordained, that we may learn to bear with one another’s burdens, for there is no man without fault, no man without burden, no man sufficient to himself nor wise enough. Hence we must support one another, console one another, mutually help, counsel, and advise, for the measure of every man’s virtue is best revealed in time of adversity—adversity that does not weaken a man but rather shows what he is".

See you later.

Sunsets

from my phone: this is more or less what I see everyday at about 7:15 to 7:30 in the afternoon, it has become a little routine of mine to go the main street and sit there with a cup of coffee and take pictures of the sunset. Later on I will post more pictures, maybe when I get home since the internet access here is so bad.

There was one sunset that, (I think I mentioned this before), made me weep, it was just incredible, I was overtaken by gratitude to God for the beauty that He allows me to see. I looked around and no one was looking at it, I became amazed at the darkness, how thick it is in this place.

I remembered the following words from The Imitation of Christ: "IT IS a very great thing to obey, to live under a superior and not to be one’s own master, for it is much safer to be subject than it is to command. Many live in obedience more from necessity than from love. Such become discontented and dejected on the slightest pretext; they will never gain peace of mind unless they subject themselves wholeheartedly for the love of God.

Go where you may, you will find no rest except in humble obedience to the rule of authority. Dreams of happiness expected from change and different places have deceived many.

Everyone, it is true, wishes to do as he pleases and is attracted to those who agree with him. But if God be among us, we must at times give up our opinions for the blessings of peace.

Furthermore, who is so wise that he can have full knowledge of everything? Do not trust too much in your own opinions, but be willing to listen to those of others. If, though your own be good, you accept another’s opinion for love of God, you will gain much more merit; for I have often heard that it is safer to listen to advice and take it than to give it. It may happen, too, that while one’s own opinion may be good, refusal to agree with others when reason and occasion demand it, is a sign of pride and obstinacy".

It doesn't matter where we are, it all comes down to obedience in all things to God; His word says not to worry, to pray without ceasing, to rejoice, to give thanks for all things, to not be anxious, to put our minds on the things above where Christ is, to love Him with all of our power, our thoughts, with everything we are.

Do I? Do you? Ask yourself the question, daily, do I love Him with everything in me?

It is an obvious thing that we cannot love God that way, unless He causes us to love Him that way, we are powerless even to love with divine love. Powerless worms we are, enslaved to vice and reason, to self and flesh.

And so we thank God for Jesus Christ our saviour, the redeemer of our lives, for choosing us unto the glorious liberty of the sons of God; and we glory in His glory, and rejoice in His joy, and we wait for our deliverance, the day is coming.

starbucks

Guess what, I found a starbucks in the island, I'm writing this post at starbucks with my phone and with free internet access, I'm tripping.

Isn't it amazing that you can now connect with almost anybody through the internet? I think it is an amazing fact that I can do that, as I'm sitting here sipping on a mexican shade grown cup of java, I can basically check my email, my bank account, my blog, etc, and all from my phone, amazing!!

The electronic world, its comforts and accesibility, don't mean anything when your brain is frying, local temp today is about 31 degrees celsius, you make the conversion, a cup of coffe is 24 pesos which means is about 2 bucks, not a lot of difference from the states at 1.65 per cup, so it's really not bad, their a/c sucks though. I'm not complaining though, I think it's a beautiful day, very sunny, the sky is blue, the water is turquoise blue, and I have coffee and marlboro reds, so life is good.

I'm going to be here for another ten days and I have only been to the beach three times, it really hasn't worked out because taxis are expensive and transportation is limited at home, but again I'm not complaining.

I marvel at the design of God for my life, yesterday I was looking at the sunset, it was so incredibly beautiful that at one point I wept in gratefulness to God that He allows me to see what I see. People around me seemed to be oblivious to the beauty, the walking dead, I thought. Darness in the middle of the light.

Anyway, I will continue with my discertation later tonight, now it is time for a walk to the ice cream parlor, gelatto awaits me.

ok, I'm back, no ice cream, they didn't have any cones, what kind of ice cream store is that? No cones, fubar.

So I walked about ten blocks, lots of stores are closed, it is sad to see, the economy sucks down here, I feel bad for my brother, he is struggling real bad, there is no money coming in, and a lot of it going out, it really sucks, then I have my Mom surviving on three hundred dollars per month, sometimes even less than that, I have to do something, pray is everything I can do right now, so if u are reading this, please pray for my family.

We still trust that God is in control of everything, He has never left me nor forsaken me, He is faithful and He will never leave me, nor my family and my friends.

We continue to trust, what else is there to do?

Another sunset

My intention was to post this in the previous post, but here it is for your pleasure.

God is pleased to be worshipped

The sun sets at about 7:10 or 7:15, I'm never sure because I'm not wearing a watch, but this is what I see, everyday I walk to the water's edge in the island and get the camera ready, this was yesterday. Unfortunately, the internet access is so faulty that it takes a long time to upload pictures to my blog, I will have to wait until I get home to post all the pictures, in the meantime, please feast your eyes with God's incredible creation, click on the picture to see it at 7 megapixels.

God is so good to me, sometimes I marvel at the power of His might, He is able to paint this kind of picture with His mind, at His command everything turns, from the atoms to the sun, all is subject to His word.

I continue to be in awe of His sovereignity, no better words to describe what I think and feel when I see the sunset, as pictured above, than the Westminster Confession of Faith:

"God has all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself; and is alone
in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which He has made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them."

"He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things; and has most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them whatsoever Himself pleases. In His sight all things are open and manifest, His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to Him contingent, or uncertain".

"He is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands. To Him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience He is pleased to require of them".

More pictures

That's the backyard of my brother's house, walking to the right, there are two rooms, the first one on the right side is where I'm sleeping, when I open the door, that's what I see, plants.



That's the malecon, right across the main plaza, downtown Cozumel.



That's my room, the two downstairs bedrooms are the guest rooms, the one to the leaft is where my Mom is staying, both rooms have a bathroom, but they are very big rooms, probably about 20 by 20.



I took this picture coming back from the beach, the road goes right next to the water, most of the beaches are rocky, but there are a lot of places that are just sand, it is just cool to see, you could just stop anywhere and jump in if you wanted to.



These are my nieces, on the left is Sara, she is five, and the one on the right is Eugenia, she is eight years old, they are so beautiful, both of them have green eyes, and they are a crack up, Sara doesn't stop talking, she reminds me of my grand daughter Jasmin; the blond version.



That's my brother Leo's back, gee, we got to the beach at around eight thirty in the morning, no one was there; and the water was warm! This is one of the beaches that Leo likes to go to because the place is very clean and at that time, as you can see, nobody is there, we had the place to ourselves for about two hours, and then some gringos showed up trying to buy beer, classic.

of Mangos and hurricanes

Mango, what is the plural for mango? Mangos or mangoes? Aha! Got you on that one, hu? Whatever, is not important, what's important is that I have been eating lot of them, lots of mangos, and a few mangoes. God is very good.

Imagine the garden of Eden, all the different fruits that Adam had at his disposal, fruits that don't exist anymore, all kinds of flavors and shapes and colors, with all kinds of nutritional properties; he had access to all of them except one.

Did God know Adam would eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? God knows everything, past, present and future, so yes, He knew. And God knew Adam would sin, and God knew Adam and Eve would cause the whole race to fall into sin, and by inheritance transfer their depravity to all men, women and children.

Just last year, there was the news of the scientists that discovered, and actually proved that every individual ancestry could be traced to a single woman, through this one gene that everyone has in their makeup; they called it the Eve gene; well that is no news at all, Moses knew this one about six thousand years ago, I think, by revelation of God; and Paul knew about it two thousand years ago.

The next time I eat a mango I will think about Adam and the fall. Even in view of the fall, God chose a certain group of individuals to be the recipients of His grace, and to attain eternal life through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross; actually attain is not the right word, but it works for now; and in His resurrection. You and I have been chosen unto adoption, redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Your whole life has been planned.

It is 11:38 p.m. local time, and in my schedule is two hours earlier; I want to go to the beach tomorrow and I have to go to sleep early; I have been getting up at ten in the morning, California time, so I have been waking up at noon local time, by then all morning has been wasted, but there is nothing I can do about it, the heat won't let me sleep, when I finally doze off it is two or three in the morning, and the temperature remains a constant 85 degrees with 86% humidity; not fun.

There is a tropical depression not very far in Guatemala, and it will probably work itself out this way, eventually; what that means is that it could turn into a hurricane if the water temperature keeps on going up; it is going to be interesting to see what happens.

Back in 1981 or 82, we got stuck, well not really since I was living here at the time, by a hurricane called Allen, that was a category 5 storm that covered the whole gulf of Mexico; we got hit by the edge of the storm and it had 90 mile an hour winds. When hurricane Wilma hit the island, the same one that destroyed New Orleans, it stationed itself over this place for three days, the island was devastated; everything shutdown for weeks; my brother had no electricity for a couple of weeks, he had to send his family to Mexico City so they could eat some real food. Anyway, hurricanes are not good news dude; so I hope I don't get stuck here, good thing I have travel insurance.

God knows everything, and He knows what will happen, He has me in His hand, all the time, nothing can snatch me out of His hand.

The next time you eat or see a mango, think about that; and if you eat one, taste and see that the Lord is Good.

You ever heard that song, in the heat of the night? Whitesnake used to sing it; this heat reminds me of that song, my head is sweating, my neck is sweating, my torso is sweating, my arms are sweating, and my legs and my feet are sweating; probably my brain is sweating too, oooh baby, in the heat of the night, all my body is sweating, oooh......baby.....yaiiikes!!!

Anyway, let's spiritualize that too, hu, why not? Let's talk about hell. Where the flame never dies, where the worm never dies, where all remembrance of God fades away, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; where people will only have eyes to see the darkness, they will only have a body to feel the heat, they will only have ears to hear the screams; a tongue so they can feel the thirst; hell a real place, this heat is the closest that I will ever be to that place, praise God.

I might be exaggerating, but I am not complaining, no way, I can't, I am still a blessed man.

Picture time:



That my friends is a guanabana; the English name for it is guanabana, as you can see it is green on the outside and white in the inside; the taste is sweet and sour, there is nothing that I can compare it to, no other fruit tastes like it; I ate one today and I am so sorry the only thing I can share with you is the picture; but it is very very good.

I haven't seen any yet, but there is another fruit that is the same color on the outside but it's pitch black on the inside, and the taste is just heavenly, super sweet; if I see one and I eat one, I will take a picture and post it.

Anyway, I never went back to get the cigars, I don't think I can cheat the customs and bring them in the US, if I ever get one I'm going to have to smoke it here.

I didn't do much today but sleep and eat, drink Mexican coffe and chat, which was very good to do with my Mom around; I need you guys to pray for her because she hit her leg at the bakery and her skin broke open and now she has an ulcer that is not healing, her right ankle is swollen and it doesn't look any better, so your prayers are greatly appreciated, thank you.

The days are dragging for some reason, I think I'm having motorcycle withdrawals, so I'm going to find out how much is a rental and I think I'm going for a ride in the next few days, I want to go to the other side of the island, where it faces open sea, it is very beautiful and I really miss it; I used to go running over there when I lived here, but there are sharks, so I don't think I will get in the water very much.

When we were at the paraiso beach yeasterday, I saw this very long silver looking fish chasing a smaller fish, and they were jumping in and out of the water; I thought it was a barracuda, but my brother syas it was not, but who knows, I have seen cudas underwater here and hey freak me out; so I just got to be careful; I will take some pics too.

I still think about predestination, almost everyday; why am I here? I don't really know yet, but I know I will when it is time. God is good.

That is Zermatt bakery on the right hand corner; there is no one in the street right now, and today was the same scenario, a few people came in to buy bread but the island is dead; there are no cruise ships coming in. Where are the people I saw in the plane when I got here? Did they leave already?

The economic downturn is a global thing right now, people are struggling. I went for a walk, trying to find an ATM machine where I could get some pesos to buy smokes, my brother's business is a block away from the main plaza in the town, so I walked on that street towards the plaza; I was approached by every single business trying to sell me something; everyone was trying to lure me into their business.

Hey amigo, come and take a look at my junk, one guy said: Hey amigo, let me rip you off right here!, that's what he said, let me rip you off; what a jerk. I ignored him and kept walking, another guy named Cesar finally convinced me to take a look at his "Cuban" cigars; he showed me some Cohiba cigars, and there were five cigars in a little wooden box, so I asked him how much; ok, he punched some numbers in his calculator and said: eight hundred pesos; and I said what a rip off! muy caros!, that's too much; ok give me three hundred and fifty, and I said, no man I don't have any money; he said: these are the best in the world; and I said, no man, dominican cigars are as good as these, he said, no these are the best, do you smoke cigars? I asked, no but these are the best in the world, and I said, I'll be back later, he says "everybody says the same thing", and I said: because you're way too expensive, and he says: ok give me two hundred and fifty pesos for the box; and I said, see you later dude.

Ok, after all that, imagine getting 5 Cohiba cigars for 25 bucks, five bucks a piece; man what a deal; in the states I could probably sell each one for twenty bucks and people will snap them off my hands; I didn't buy them though, I am sure if I show up tomorrow I can get the box for twenty; but my point is that people are desperate to make a sale; I feel bad for these town; every one is struggling.

For the child of God is not like that, we trust in the promises of God: Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Do you believe that? I do; it is weird but I do believe everything God says that He will do, He has proven it to me for the last 20 years, all my needs have been met according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Think about it, riches in glory, where? In Christ Jesus, that is where all these riches are, in His glory. We are in Him, and in His glory; He owns everything in the universe, He is the owner of the cattle on a thousand hills.

I was just reading the story of this guy named Slim, he is a Mexican magnate; he is rated number 3 in the world by Forbes magazine; his fortune is about sixty; not million, but billion dollars; he is very rich but he is basically lost, the same as Gates; he has to constantly worry about all the companies and things he owns, his mind is very far away from the Lord.

Anyway, nothing eventful today here in the oven, just the heat seems to be worse today but I am geting used to it a little.

Pray for me, I ask; thank you.

That is my brother Leo with my two little nieces, Eugenia is 8 and Sara is 5; Sara reminds me of my grandmother Clara, a German Jew born in Costa Rica, my mother's mother.



This is Playa Paraiso, where we went this morning; the water is so clear you can see the bottom satnding up inside the sea.



this is the entrance to paradise, the beach that is. Very cool.



This is the first thing you see after you park the car, get out of the vehicle and look to the west, ahhh, water, turqoise blue water waiting for your body to get in and feel the awesomeness of God's creation at 80 degrees; air temperature was probably 89 ro 92 degrees. Very humid, it was raining when we left the house and when we got there there was no rain at all, just a bunch of clouds going by, which makes it cool because the sun doesn't bake up your skin right away.

Unfortunately there are more problems here than I thought, I need anybody who reads this to pray for my brother's marriage, specially for my brother to love his wife as he should, and for patience for my sister in law.

I'll keep you updated with my little adventure here, it is without a doubt a trip.

Arrival In Cozumel

That is the plane I was flying in, it was completely full, every seat was taken; American has some pretty good service though, I had a cup of coffee in the plane, free; which I spilled all over my pants in one of those times when the plane jumped up and down because of turbulence, the jumps are free also, but if you want to eat you have to buy the food, not even peanuts are free anymore, it sucks.


I made it to Cozumel, and now it is time to enjoy simmering in the humid air, the temperature here was actually ok today; about 86 degrees. It has been 24 hours only since I got here and finally was able to connect to the internet; we have a wireless network at the house but the walls are so thick that the signal comes and goes constantly. The walls of the house are about 10 inches thick and they are made of brick and concrete, a good thing to isolate the house not only from the heat but also from the hurricanes, the last hurricane, about two years ago, parked itself over the island for three days with winds of over 100 mph, so who cares about choppy wireless signals?

The flights from San Diego to Dallas and from there to Cozumel were ok, some turbulence when we crossed the Gulf of Mexico but nothing to freak out about; until we touched ground on the island, the plane hit the ground with the right tire first, then bounced up in the air and hit the ground with the left tire, until it finally evened out; the air field was wet since it had just rained so the plane ate all the track to stop; the same thing happened last time I was here but in a much smaller plane, and that was really freaky, I saw the jungle approaching very fast until the bi-motor plane stopped a few feet from the end of the track, we were ok though.

Anyway, I was supposed to call my daughters when I got here, and I didn't, so, sorry girls, you'll know I'm ok when you get the email from makarios though.

This place hasn't changed very much since the last time I was here, the town is still small, people are still slow, I noticed cigarettes burn slower also, and I am two hour behind in schedule anyway, I'm living in San Diego time, which means is 9:59 in Bonita but is 11:59 p.m. here.

We are going to the beach tomorrow morning, which I am really looking forward to, I can't wait to get in the water.

By recommendation of Eutychus, I bought some cool rags, and they work pretty good, they are a kind of handkerchief that has some absorbent material inside, you soak it water for 5 minutes and then wrap it around your neck, and it supposed to cool you down, they do. Thanks my friend.

The first thing I tasted yesterday was a mango; man what a delicious fruit God made; no fibers at all and sweet and so juicy, yummy; yummy. Today I tasted some of the best Mexican bread in existence today, courtesy of my brother Leo.

I am trying to upload some pictures but the connection keeps on going down, I hope they make it to the blog.

I still consider myself a blessed man; I have a wonderful family, and I am in a beautiful place today; pray for me though, it is easier to backslide when you are so far from home; mainly with my brain, so I need prayer.

I am planning to come back here for Christmas, so I have to start saving now for the trip, we'll see, I might die before that time, who knows, I should say "If God wills, I will come in December"; it is very arrogant to say anything about the future without acknowledging that God is in control of all my days, and yours too.

We are supposed to go to church tomorrow also, I'm not looking forward to that, I really don't know why, but I will go; I know God has people in this place too and it will be a good thing to know my Mayan brothers, I hope I can worship, well you know what I mean, it is hard to break the mold when I'm used to hearing good music, but God gets His way no matter what kind of music is used to worship Him, worship is not actually in the music but in the attitude of the heart.

Here is a picture taken from the "malecon", the main street in front of the water; one block away from my brother's business:

What If

What if? That is not a question I can find often in the word of God; there are no what ifs with Jesus, what if I fall? What if I can't get up? What if the airplane crashes in the gulf? What if it gets struck by lightning? What if we run out of runway? What if I don't make it to heaven? What if my bills don't get paid? What if I become blind? What if I die? What if the cause of my death is the H1N1 virus? What if Moctezuma's revenge kills me? What if Moctezuma was not a vengeful person? What if a shark eats me? What if there is a lion in the streets? What if the island sinks? What if I can't get back? What if no one cares?

I found a couple of what if questions in the Word though, both of them in Romans: Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? And: Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

I can drive myself crazy asking what if. And so can you.

I never had a problem with God's will; I never asked the question before: what is your will Lord? Really. He manages to convey His thoughts to my mind, I should say I manage to hear His thoughts, I end up thinking what He thinks but not always obey His voice. Does that happen to you? I am sure it happens to every believer, it has to.

We know what is the right right course of action, and sometimes we ignore the thought and do what the flesh desires. Anybody who tells me that they are obedient all the time, I know they're lying.

No one, except Jesus, is able to obey one hundred percent of the time; no one. There is none righteous, no, not one; everybody has fallen short of the glory of God, everyone has followed their own ways, everyone has, like sheep, gone astray. But there is no comfort in thinking that; it just generates excuses in the mind.

Excuses, excuses, we are so full of them, don't deny it, you know it's true.

Act 22:12 And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.
And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

In this chapter of the books of Acts, Paul is defending himself before the Jews and the Roman centurion, Claudius Lysias; he is beginning his defense by telling them what happened to him and how Jesus appeared to him in (on?) the road to Damascus; and he says: this guy Ananias came to me and said this to me, etc. One of the things Ananias said is: that thou shuoldest know His will; what? Paul didn't know God's will? No he didn't.

Now Paul, don't make any excuses, what are you waiting for? Get baptized dude, that is God's will for you right now. After not eating or drinking for three days the last thing in his mind was baptism, maybe he was thinking about a t-bone steak, I'm just saying. Sometimes the will of God is the next logical step in the series of events that we call life; it wasn't logical that Paul should eat or drink, but that he should get baptized and call on the name of the Lord.

The book of Acts is a trip; it's full of visions and miracles and power; no what ifs at all; no wondering what the will of the Lord is, but full of the Spirit leading these men of God, full of obedience, full of fire. Divine fire.

I just read the story of the pastor of South Bay Community Church who had a visit from the zoning department of the city saying they were in violation of the zoning laws; it is a big fuzz, the news is all over the internet and all over the country; now it is all over the world; but what if this incident was a part of the plan to shine the glory of God on San Diego? What if?

What if Paul, didn't write Romans? What if he had chosen to disobey and not write anything? What if we never knew about election? What if we were not predestinated? What if? What if we did not believe, would that make the faith of God without effect? Now, that is an awesome what if question, think about it.

Anyway, what if you look at yourself in the mirror and then go your way forgetting what you look like? What if looking into a mirror had nothing to do with obedience?

What if God wanted to make known the riches of His glory in the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared unto glory? And what if you and I did not know about it? What if I just stop right now and get to bed because I have to fly tomorrow?

Thank God He doesn't ask what if questions; He can't, is not in His nature, nor in His character; He knows all the possible outcomes of any situation, and He decrees the best one to come to pass, all the time.

Relax then; trust.

The Secret

Eternity. That's a lonely word; eternity. It ceases to be lonely when we add Jesus to it, eternity in Jesus, with Jesus, for Jesus, by Jesus,.

The name of Jesus changes everything, it doesn't matter how ugly or bad it becomes good and beautiful with Jesus; have you noticed that? You can see an ugly sky, dark and windy, gloomy, cold; and the moment you think about Jesus it becomes His creation, now it has a purpose, it becomes what the earth needs, it becomes part of His scope.

1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

No matter how ugly you think you might be, He will make you beautiful; He will turn your nightmare into a beauteous dream, a dream come true. Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

We shall be forever with Him, like Him.
With Jesus the King of Kings.
We will be sons with the Son.
Kings with the King.
Priests with The Priest.
Heirs with the Heir.
Beautiful in His beauty.
Glorious in His Glory.

2Co 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

We are very willing, at least I am, He will change our miserable corrupted bodies for His image. Philippians 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

He, Jesus Christ, the King of the universe, will change our bodies into a glorious body just like His; and Paul explains, how is He going to do that? By the same power that He uses to subdue all things to Himself; the same power that is at work in you who believe; the same power that the Father exercised when He raised Him from the dead; by the same power He used to create us and the universe, and the same power that holds all things together.

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Where did Paul get this mystery? This secret? No one else speaks about it but him. When your best friend, it has to be your best friend or at least a very good friend; tells you: I'll tell you a secret, don't you get curious and maybe excited? What is it? What is this secret? If it's a secret, nobody knows it, or just a few people know this secret; it has to be to be a secret; uhh aaah, a secret, a mystery, wow; what is it?

Your friend might tell you his secret is that he doesn't wear underwear, well, that is a useless secret, in a sense is disgusting; though that might bring him secret joy; but a real secret is something unknown that when it becomes known, it becomes useful; like a secret map to a treasure; or the secret chilaquiles recipe from Matilde, my mom's maid; or the secret grandma's chocolate chip cookies; that brings joy to both the secret bearer, and the recipient.

Some secrets might not even matter that they are secrets, a secret might be one of those you say, who cares; like kung-fu panda's secret scroll.

But Paul is talking about a real secret, he is saying, hey bros check this out, I know something that is going to happen, that is a secret, is a mystery; no one knows when this is going to happen, but it is going to happen, and when it happens you are going to be changed forever, you will never be the same; and up to this point only me and some other brothers know it, no one is writing about it because it is a secret, duh, but I'm going to tell you the secret; God took me to the third heaven, and He told me things that are not lawful for a man, a regular man, to speak about, but this is lawful; I checked and I can tell you this mystery. After I tell you, it will be no more a secret, every body is going to know, so go ahead and share the secret with each other, just don't throw your pearls before swine; so, you guys are special in my eyes, I love you guys very much and I want you to know this secret because it is going to change the way you see things for the rest of your life; I want you to be the first ones to know about this. Here it is: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

What do you think about that? Hu? Isn't cool? Is it not the most awesome secret you have ever heard? Right below the mystery that God became a man to die for you and I and the gentiles are heirs of God in Christ? Is this not the one of the coolest mysteries of all mysteries?

The greatest mystery is of course the mystery of the Christ, Paul said to to the Romans: Rom 16:25 Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,but now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

The greatest secret that has ever been revealed to any man: Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

That is it, how did Paul know these mysteries? Not even the other apostolos knew these kind of secrets; in God's eyes all men are equal, but I think Paul was a little bit more equal than everybody else. Well, not really, but.. never mind. It was by revelation from God Himself, straight from Jesus: Eph 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

See I told you he was more equal. Anyway; do you get excited about this mystery? I do, I am. This mystery causes us, who believe, to have this fellowship, the fellowship of the mystery; this mystery that has been hid in God from the beginning of the world; this mystery that we all know now makes us all have this fellowship, this koinonia, this sharing of things in common because of the mystery, the secret of God.

But that is not all, Paul says, now that you know the secret, be steadfast, unmovable, abounding in the work of the Lord, for your labor is not in vain.

What work of the Lord? What is he talking about? The work God is doing in you and through you.

Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. John 6:29.

Knowing the mystery, the secret; it will change you.

I'm trying to show you what I think a beach should be like, of course all I can see now is html code, I hope the picture shows when I post it.

If I didn't know this is the Caribbean, I would think it is a pool, with an artificial beach.

Anyway, this is one of my favorite spots on the island, and guess what, I will be there this Thursday; I will post a real picture when I can; a bohemia is calling my name, but I will ignore her. Just kidding.

I can't wait to feel the one hundred and ten degree weather with at least one hundred percent humidity; if you have asthma just don't go there, you will probably have an attack as soon as the airplane door opens.

I'm not going there for fun though; but I think I will go to this pool, I mean beach, at least once; I wish I could take my kids with me, it sucks getting old.

Anyway, I lived in this place, Cozumel, for almost two years when I got married; I can tell you one thing for sure: once you've seen the island, and a couple of weeks go by; then "Islitis" takes over; it is like a virus that gets into your mind, your way of thinking slows way down; you don't look at the clock anymore, and when you do is to check how far away the night is; you think slower, you speak slower, you walk slower, and even go to the bathroom slower; has nothing to do with attitude, but with the heat, every movement requires extra effort, and extra sweat; you take two or three cold showers per day, and you never dry; you are always wet inside and wet outside.

A couple of days after you get there, you really appreciate the city of San Diego; thank you God that I live here. You should be grateful too; I hear people here complain, and I even complain about the heat in summer, the heat of summer in S.D. is like winter in the island; people down there do not go in the ocean in winter time because they think the water is cold, and they complain; the water is maybe 72 degrees is cold for them, but not for me; in the summer the water near the beaches is about 80 degrees.

Anyway, I have been in this place many times, and I'm really going to miss my children when I'm there. I wish they were little so I could take them with me; and my grand kids too.

I'm already missing them.

YHWH is Sovereign

Today's headlines via RSS feed: "French plane lost over Atlantic; 01Jun09, An Airbus A330 Airliner has disappeared from the radar screen, lightning strike suspected; the passengers included one infant, seven children, 82 women and 126 men. No hope of survivors".

"Pakistan student convoy 'missing'; Police in north-western Pakistan say several hundred students are missing in a tribal area near the Afghan border".

"South African miners die in blaze; Thirty-six illegal miners have been killed in an underground fire at a disused mine in South Africa".

"Roadside bomb kills Somali police; At least five Somali policemen have been killed in a roadside bomb blast in the capital, Mogadishu".

"US deaths in Iraq rise sharply in May; US forces in Iraq suffered their highest casualties last month than any month since September 2008".

"Killings provoke Kashmir protests; Violent protests are continuing across Indian-administered Kashmir, following the deaths of two women who many believe were raped by Indian troops. The bodies of the two women were recovered on Saturday morning after they went missing on Friday".

"N Korea 'prepares missile launch'; North Korea is reportedly moving closer to launching another long-range missile, despite international concern. South Korean media say the North has moved its most advanced missile to a new launch site on the west coast".

"Swat diary: 'We fled our village'; "This time the Pakistani army means business, their operation against the Taliban militants is real. The army imposed a curfew in Swat on 4 May and army helicopters shelled our village for the next two days. One shell landed just 20 yards [metres] away from us. In my village they killed eight militants. My brother and nephew saw the bodies. Many innocent people in the area have also been killed, but the majority of dead are militants"; said Munir (not his real name), an administrator in the Swat region of Pakistan".

From Arutz Sheva Israeli Daily Report: "Military Intelligence: Countdown to Iranian Nuke Bomb; The head of the IDF Military Intelligence Research Division informed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Monday that Iran is only one year away from obtaining enough material for a nuclear weapon..."By the end of the year, Iran may have enough fissile material for their first nuclear bomb," Brigadier-General Yossi Beiditz told the committee during the briefing. He added that Iran is developing its nuclear weaponry at a faster pace than before and that negotiations are unable to halt the process".

I haven't seen any good news yet; I'm waiting, to top it all I've just got a demand for payment form the Vehicle Registration Collections for 217.00 which is due in 10 days from today.

Between the bills stacking up, the collection agencies letters; the continual stream of pain in my back and neck, the lack of sleep, the grandson crying, the need for tires on my bike and the tragic news for today, all I see is chaos.

But God is still sovereign, and He is still in control of anything that comes to pass in my life; as well as in the life of billions of people on this planet. The waters in the oceans still obey His voice preventing them from crossing the boundary He set for them; the sparrows are still being fed, in fact I just saw one in my backyard with a worm in its beak; and my apricot tree is still bearing fruit, which, by the way, is delicious.

The atoms that form every physical object in the universe are still being held together by Jesus' word; scientists say atomic glue, but we know is the Word of His power, according to the book of Hebrews.

So I sit back, relax, and think: entropy, the effect of sin, universal sin, original sin.

And I think again; how many people died today in their sins? From all those people, how many died after consciously rejecting the good news of Christ? How many died without ever hearing about Jesus and His death and resurrection? I am sure that today someone died in the jungles of South America, in the Amazon's forests, or in some forsaken island in the middle of the Pacific ocean; some people who have never heard about airplanes, about wireless internet access, about fax machines and iPods; about credit scores or chapter 13 bankruptcy; they never heard about x-rays or even thought about the possibility of having their teeth fixed; they don't have any idea that a micro-organism called "swine flu" has killed hundreds of people in Mexico, they don't know what Mexico is or where it is, they haven't even imagined that a man can fly in a machine, they don't have an idea of what a machine or an airplane is for that matter; they have never heard about computers, or about electricity, if they ever saw a toilet they would think is a throne fit for a king; some of these people still worship the sun and the moon and the stars; they are out there, and some of them died today.

You probably already know where I'm going with this line of thinking, that is if you know me a little, but don't mind me, I'm just saying.

I have to ask the question again, in view of the horrible news of today's papers and the net, the question is coming in a minute; in view of the dead of not only the two hundred plus people who died in that plane over the Atlantic, including an infant and children and women and men; in view of the people who are dying in the middle east, and in Asia, and in south America, and even in this country; in view of the thousands who will die today in their sins; and in view of the millions who will continue to die for a long time, what will happen to them?

According to the truth, the word of God, there is only one thing that can happen, Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

I thought that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world; according to our Arminian friends, God is not willing that any should perish, and that everybody is able on their own will to come to repentance and therefore to Jesus. Mmmmmmm.

Eutychus had a good point in his question: if Jesus paid for everyone that has lived or that will ever live, and He took the penalty and the suffering for every human being in the whole history of humankind, He was judged in the stead of everyone, the chastisement for everybody's sins fell upon Him, and He paid with His life; and then on the other side if anyone rejects Him or by just plain ignorance dies in their sins, like the thousands that die without ever hearing the gospel; they are judged and punished for their sins, why did God punish Jesus and then punish them? That is double punishment, double judgment, judgment falling on Jesus for the sins of everybody, and judgment falling on everybody who dies without Jesus for their own sins. Does not make sense; and it does not make sense because as you can see in the verse above quoted from the book of Hebrews; He was offered as a sacrifice to bear the sins of many, not of all. Mmmmmmmm.

Ok, so if there is double punishment, is there double predestination also? Never mind.

God says He has no pleasure when the wicked die, but that doesn't mean they don't die, or that they were not intended unto death; is hard to swallow, but that is the way it is:

Eze 18:23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
Notice it does not say "might die" but should die", you read it yourself in your own bible.

Eze 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
Notice it says "dies" not might die, you read it yourself in your own bible.

Eze 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Notice it says "why will YOU die?" meaning they are not like the wicked, because He chose them; no one can repent unless the Father draws him, Jesus said; unless the Father drags him to Him.

It might appear from the above verse that is basically up to the wicked to turn from their sin and live; that's the basic Arminian premise, but what they ignore, willingly; is that the wicked does not have the desire to turn from their sins; men love darkness because their deeds are evil, Jesus said. God is talking to the house of Israel through Ezekiel, and He is letting them know that the wicked die in their wickedness, in their sin, but He is rebuking them and in doing so bringing them to repentance, and as we see later most of them die anyway; God is not saying that wicked has the ability to turn from their ways because they can't; the natural man is at enmity with God, his mind is not subject to the law of God and never indeed can be. (see Romans chapter seven and eight).

I have no idea why I keep on talking about this, the fact is that it keeps on coming back to my mind, and that is for a reason; whether anybody reads this or not, I am writing what I'm led to write, maybe for the sake of my daughters; but one thing I know is that if only one person sees the light of the truth of the scriptures, and discovers the goodness and mercy of God for him, I'd be satisfied.

Knowing that you have been predestined before the foundation of the world, chosen by God Himself unto salvation; as Ephesians chapter one and Romans chapters eight and nine clearly teach; and as the gospel according to John from the mouth of Jesus Himself teaches; in fact it's all over the bible; knowing this will cause you and anybody who understands, to glorify God, to be grateful, to worship Him, to thank Him, to be in awe of Him; and at the same time it makes you realize how special you are in His eyes now that you believe thus giving you peace and comfort knowing that He is sovereign, that He is the supreme King of the universe; and that He will only have the best for His people; this awesome truth will cause anybody who understands it and grasps it, to give himself over to God and to surrender and to not struggle with this life anymore; in thankfulness one will go to the extreme of his abilities to try to please God in everything, because he knows that is God who is at work in you to will and to perform of His good pleasure.

It will give us peace when God says that we are His workmanship, His work of art, His poema, that we have been created in Christ Jesus unto good works prepared beforehand that we should walk in them; Ephesians chapter two verse ten, the book of Ephesians, the Alps of the scriptures, the view is awesome from Ephesians, who you are, what He has done for you, glorious book of Ephesians; how can anybody teach through chapter one of Ephesians in a couple of Sundays; how can anybody not get stuck in the first fourteen verses of the first glorious chapter? It's shocking to me, but it has been done, they missed it, they didn't understand what they were looking at; didn't pay attention to what God says through Paul, the brilliant thinker.

Ah, the depth; Paul says in Romans eleven; the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!!

Let's pray for the families of the ones who were lost today; they grieve; some of them without hope; pray for their comfort and for the light of the gospel to reach them, in the midst of the chaos of their tragedy; let's pray for the families of the ones who were not lost today because they knew the truth, pray for their comfort and for the light of the gospel to shine in them, in the midst of the chaos of their tragedy.

YHWH is still sovereign, in the midst of the chaos of tragedy.