November 4 - Soul Escape

        Psalm 124: 6-7 - “Blessed is Yahweh, who has not allowed us to be torn by their teeth. Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the trap...”

        This psalm is one of the 14 “Songs of Ascents”, written after some of the Jewish exiles returned from a temporary stay in Babylon, due to being carried away from the land of Judah because of God’s judgment upon the sinful-majority nation. These Psalms mostly convey a sense of joy in the tempered, but not full, restoration of the nation of Judah. They are the words of “the remnant”, the very small group of faithful followers of Yahweh, who have always existed within the original “nation of Israel”, and even within the world itself. Most of these returning pilgrims were of the second generation of exiles, as most of the first generation would have died after approximately 70 years in servitude and/or exile as described by Jeremiah the prophet (Jeremiah 25:11-12).

        Much can be gleaned in this Psalm regarding the ideas of judgment upon God’s people, the concept of “remnant”, and how both carry over into the current spiritual body of Christ, the latter being the logical fulfillment of the concept of God’s people. I want to focus on one aspect, however, and leave the big picture concepts above, for another time. That concept is the will and grace of God. Those people in Jeremiah’s time who were “destined” for the sword, famine, and plague, were all in God’s perfect exaction of his judgment upon them (Jeremiah 24:10). The very poorest of the poor were left in the land of Judah after the destruction of Israel’s temple, to linger in their poverty. Some were taken to Babylon as captives, in order to serve the kings there over time. (Daniel and his three friends were part of this group who actually served in high “government” positions.) It is this latter group who had the “privilege” of returning to the land chosen by God, at the allowance of Cyrus the Persian, who eventually conquered the Babylonians. I denoted the word “privilege” because sometimes God’s favor seems like a privilege to some and not to others. (Cross-reference Psalm 16 to get a gist of why David thought his pleasant fortune was a blessing from God – [hint: it had to do with righteous living].)

        For us believers in Christ, let’s look at this Psalm in a spiritual light. Our own sins nailed Jesus on the cross; there was nothing that we could have done to keep that from happening. The waters should have engulfed us (vv. 3-5), as our just punishment. However, Jesus broke the trap for us and allowed us to escape the snare (vv. 6-8), by being ensnared himself (Isaiah 53:4-8). The last verse in Psalm 124 finally sums our only remedy: “Our help is in the name of Yahweh, who made heaven and earth.” Romans 5:6-9 gives us a fuller explanation of our dire straits and of our rescue. “While we were still helpless [a direct reference to Psalm 124:8], Christ died for the ungodly....but God demonstrates his own love toward us - while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore, having been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” That is the soul escape that Jesus purchased for us, because we could not accomplish it ourselves.

        Have you been set free from that inescapable trap that would cause eternal exile from God?

 September 8 – State of Being at Death

    Philippians 1:21-23: "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, this means fruitful labor for me; I do not know which I prefer. I am hard-pressed between the two; my desire is to depart and to be with Christ, for that is far better."

    Some Christians believe that after bodily death, the spirits of these same people are in a state of sleep until the end of time when a resurrection will occur in order to have a final judgment. I believe that those who believe in this have arrived at this conclusion partly because of the metaphorical word "sleep", which is used by Jesus and Paul to refer to physical death.

    In Mark 5:21-43, we have the story of Jesus raising the daughter of Jairus from the dead. In verse 35, we are clearly told that the girl was physically dead, which prompted the messengers to question bothering Jesus any further. Nonetheless, Jesus tells Jairus to not fear but to believe. When they arrive at the house of Jairus, Jesus asks why the mourners were making such a commotion, when the girl was "not dead but asleep". She was clearly dead, and Jesus was not refuting that claim, but simply using a metaphor. He really did make her spirit come back into a dead body.

    In John 11, we have the story of raising Lazarus from the dead. In verses 11-14 we read, " 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.' The disciples said to him, 'Master, if he has fallen asleep, he will be alright.' Jesus had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead.' " Jesus clearly uses the terms of physical death and sleep interchangeably.

    Paul also does the same thing in 1 Corinthians 15, which is his lengthy discourse on the future resurrection of the physical body. In verse 6 he contrasts the state of two different groups: those who are still alive and those who have fallen asleep. In the context of his discourse, "fallen asleep" has to mean physical death. He uses the same language in verses 18 and 20.

    None of the previous three examples, however, disprove the concept of soul sleep, because they are all referencing physical death. As Christians, we believe that at physical death, the spirit departs the body and goes elsewhere. Where does it go, and what is its state of being?

    Before we can answer the question of where a departed spirit lives, we have to think about what a spirit is. Christians believe that there are only three major types of spirits – God, angels/demons, and people's. Spirits are other-worldly, inter-dimensional beings that can live apart from the physical world that we feel and experience every day as "living" entities. That physical world can be seen, felt, heard, smelled in the space of width, length, depth, and time. Any other dimensions that exist would be considered in some way as spiritual (metaphysical). The Bible does refer to spiritual places as seeming to be physically located, although I believe that this reference is only to help us humans to grasp the reality of a spiritual dimension, which does not need a physical place to exist. One passage that gives a glimpse into the physical references of the "grave" and its opposite term "heaven" is in Ephesians 4, where Paul quotes part of Psalm 68. He refers to Jesus descending to the lower parts of the earth and then ascending far above all the heavens. Lets break this down into specifics.

    The concept of the afterlife in the Old Testament is nebulous at best. Many ancient cultures believed in an afterlife of sorts, which is why the dead were sometimes buried with personal belongings. The departed spirit needed some things in order to live well in the next life. We get some mixed thoughts from the Old Covenant on this idea. David states in Psalm 6:5, "For in death there is no remembrance of you; who can give you praise in Sheol?" One could infer from this the idea of "soul sleep", because David recognizes a place for departed spirits, but implies that they may "know nothing". Psalm 30:9 and Isaiah 38:18 also echo this sentiment. David furthermore predicts a resurrection from this state in Psalm 15:10, where he states that "you will not abandon me to Sheol". This line is also referenced by Peter in Acts 2:27, as he talked about Jesus dying and resurrecting. David furthermore states in Psalm 17:15 that "when I awake, I shall be satisfied in seeing your likeness." These verses alone could make a good argument for "soul sleep".

    From here, though, let us look at the transliterated word above – Sheol. This Hebrew word is often translated as "hell", "hades", or "the grave". The closer word to the concept in English is "grave", but it is not referring to a physical piece of dirt in which a dead body is laid. It means the "abode of the dead". This simple definition is a general term without reference to the home of the righteous or the unrighteous.

    In 1 Samuel 28, King Saul is in desperate straits to know the will of God, who has been silent on giving him direction. Saul disguises himself and goes to a medium, intending on speaking with the dead, specifically with the great prophet Samuel, who had recently died. (I personally believe this event to be a one-off occurrence allowed by God, and not a general possibility of contacting dead spirits, which was forbidden by God in Deuteronomy 18:11.) In 1 Samuel 28:15, the departed spirit of Samuel indeed speaks to Saul, saying, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" The Hebrew word here that is translated as "disturbed" has nothing to do with being asleep. It has a simple meaning of "being agitated or shaken". Samuel did not imply that he was asleep and then aroused from sleep. He was simply in a state of consciousness. Interestingly, he tells Saul that "tomorrow, you and your sons shall be with me." There is no differentiation between the righteous and the unrighteous, if we assume that Samuel was on the side of righteousness, and that Saul was on the side of unrighteousness (seeing that God had "forsaken" him as king, since his heart was not fully committed). That is an assumption that I am not really endorsing, nor is it relevant for this topic. What is relevant is the fact that Samuel was conscious.

    Jesus gives us the best picture that we have for the depiction of Sheol or "hades", since his story was written in Greek. Hades is the direct Greek correlation to "Sheol". In Luke 16:19-21, Jesus tells the story of the unnamed rich man and the named paralytic Lazarus. (Apparently, Lazarus was a common name of that time, and should not be confused with the Lazarus of Bethany, whom Jesus raised from the dead. I also do not believe that this story was simply a parable, because Jesus named Lazarus specifically, whereas there are no names associated with people in all of his other parables.) When Lazarus dies, he is "carried" to Abraham's side, which was a place of "comfort", as Abraham mentions. The rich man is in torment not far from where Abraham and Lazarus are, but which is separated by a great chasm. Here we have the delineation of the righteous and the unrighteous in Sheol – one in torment and one in comfort. Both are conscious and not sleeping.

Jesus also gives us one more glimpse of the afterlife before his resurrection. While dying on the cross, he replies to the repentant fellow executee on his cross, "today you will be with me in paradise". This is almost a parallel of what Samuel had told King Saul. Why would it matter to tell someone that any type of paradise would await him, if he would never enjoy it bu    t simply be asleep? That makes no sense, to tease someone with bliss, then to never let him enjoy that bliss. After all, when one is asleep, there is no enjoyment (or torment, for that matter) experienced or felt.

    While it is not explicitly described in the New Testament, the following is what I believe to have occurred during the days of Jesus' physical death. Jesus makes a visit to the "tormented" side of Sheol to proclaim judgment to the unrighteous, either human or demonic, as hinted at in 1 Peter 3:20. (The arguments for, or against, such are outside the scope of this writing.) He then takes the horde of people who are with Abraham in "paradise", and "ascends" to Heaven with them to be with the Father. This is referenced in the aforementioned passage of Paul in Ephesians 4:7-10. None of this activity could have happened if Jesus was asleep in his temporary death.

    One other passage in the New Testament puts these ideas together within the puzzle. In John 14, Jesus states that he is about to return to the Father, who happens to be in Heaven (Matthew 6:9). Sometimes Heaven (the spiritual dimension) seems to be portrayed as "in the heavens" in the New Testament. These instances are often translated as such, almost interchangeably, since the Greek word used for each reference is only one word: "ouranois". This word is mostly used with an article as well, if only for the simple reason of proper Greek grammar: "tois ouranois", the heavens. The context of the passage usually helps us to distinguish between the cosmos (physical space) and an other-dimensional place where we conceive of the Father "residing". Jesus states that he would come back and take the disciples to be where he and the Father would be.

    Finally, when we add the statement of Paul in Philippians 1 (stated above in the preamble), we get a picture of one enjoying fellowship with the entities of the Trinity, not a non-experiential state of unconsciousness). 1 Thessalonians 4:17,18 also agrees with this sentiment: "...so we will be with the Master forever. Therefore, encourage one another with these words." I personally can't see how encouraging it would be to look forward to centuries of sleep, only to be awakened to a positive judgment, even one that is totally blissful with no pain or sorrow, and even if centuries of sleep would only feel like one second had elapsed at the awakening.

    One other idea needs to be addressed as well. The previous scripture mentioned – 1 Thessalonians 4 – is a reference to "the rapture", which is also mentioned in Matthew 24. This rapture entails the resurrection of bodies for the spirits of saved individuals. If bodies are then re-united with spirits, does Jesus take them all back to a Heaven, that was previously prepared for only spirits? There are now glorified bodies involved in a possible other-dimensional place that is NOT mentioned specifically in either 1 Thessalonians 4 or Matthew 24. Another possibility is that at this "gathering" the glorified bodies will now live on the current earth, or that the "new heavens and earth" will now begin. In both passages, we are left hanging with the idea of "what happens next?" That answer (of end-time events) is outside the scope of this argument. While the possibility of "soul sleep" might seem plausible to some, I cannot see it as a logical possibility for believers who are meant to experience life to the full (John 10:10), no matter what dimension we are in.

 July 23 – Unwholesome Speech

       Ephesians 4:29: "Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is needful for building up others, so that it may give grace to those hearing."

       In mid-July 2025, my wife and I took a mini-vacation with our daughter's family to Rehoboth Beach, DE, where we enjoyed the beaches, rode bikes, and visited a state park. The state wherein I reside (West Virginia) has no entry fees to its state parks. They are free and open to all state-residents, non-residents, and foreign visitors. (This means that WV residents subsidize the state park system for the rest of the world; but that is a topic for another day, and does not concern my thoughts on this topic of speech,) Non-residents of Delaware have to pay a fee of $10 to enter via automobile to Delaware state parks, which irks me. Well, when my wife and I got to the toll booth at the entrance to the state park we visited, I had my money ready as well as a smart-aleck quip about WV state parks being free to the world. The woman who took my money said nothing, but her male counterpart retorted with a snotty quip of his own. I received my receipt, and we proceeded – end of short conversation.

       As I mused later on this exchange of words, I was reminded of the above banner verse from Ephesians 4. The Greek word for unwholesome is "sapros", which can mean "rotten, putrid, corrupt, or of poor quality". While my words were not untrue or corrupt, they were not given in the spirit of beneficence, but were meant to be a slight on the manner in which Delaware pays to keep their park system a benefit to the public. I could say that I did not violate the first part of the verse, but I did not keep the latter half of the verse. Did the "innocent" toll-takers need my five seconds of negative sarcasm? I should have been gracious to them, instead offering a word of blessing upon their day. They were just performing their job duties. After all, the verse specifically mentions that our speech is to offer grace to those who hear. I offered nothing to build them up, which makes me ashamed. My interest in living out my new life in God's kingdom took second place to my feelings about state extortion of my measly ten dollars.

       Lesson learned, repentance needed, and confession of sin vocalized to God. May I do much better next time.

 

February 12 – Love/Faith With Action

        1 John 3:18 – "Dear children, let us love not with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth."

        This verse is such a simple command; yet, it is one that is ignored with great frequency. Christians and pagans alike throw around the phrase "I love you" so often and as a matter of habit most of the time. What is signified from that phrase is mostly a sentiment of fondness. There is nothing wrong with being fond of one's family, spouse, children, or friends. However, being fond of someone simply means that I have a positive emotional tie to that person. Fondness has nothing to do with how I treat that person in deed If I am fond of someone, I will most likely consistently treat that person well and care for his/her well-being. Nonetheless, there is no guarantee that will happen. Emotional dependence can often come with selfish manipulation.

        The verse above was written in the context of taking care of a brother's physical needs. John asks the question prior to this verse: "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need, but has no pity upon him, how can the love of God be in him?" James also iterates this thought in 2:15-17, "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go. I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' , but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? Likewise, faith by itself, if not combined with action, is dead."

        We have two examples, therefore , in which love and faith are both treated as actions. Mere words, no matter how well-meaning , are worthless – to God and to the benefit of the situation. Wait; what about praying for someone? Is this an act of love? Well, yes, because you are spending time on behalf of someone's benefit by drawing near to God. Am I loving that person directly? Not if that person doesn't know that I am praying for him. What if I send that person a text message, saying that I am praying for him? What if I never have any regular contact with that person in my daily life? Am I showing him love?

        Am I also loving someone when I am not harming him, even though I have no contact whatsoever with that person? (Now the lines are getting blurry; or am I just nit-picking?) I would say that the absence of harm is not the same thing as love. That would simply be neutrality, because nothing is done for the benefit of the other person. Remember John's exhortation to us to love in action and truth.

        John's entire first letter is based upon pleasing and knowing God, and displaying a life that has been changed and motivated by his love for us. Brotherly love is the supplemental outgrowth of that change in us. Brotherly love implies some type of contact with another person, if not purposeful relationship building. And that takes time, patience, and action – not merely the speaking of well-sounding phrases.

 February 8 – Keeping Track of Sins

       Psalm 130:3 – “Yahweh, if you marked our iniquities, who could stand?”

       This Psalm has an overall theme of redemption from sins. Redemption means to buy back something with another thing that has been earned or received. That is exactly what Jesus has done for us believers. None of us can pay God for our many sins against him; actually, none of us can pay him for even one little sin. James 2:10 says “For whoever keeps the entire law, yet breaks just one, he is guilty of breaking all of them.” This could imply a simple answer to the question above. God only needs to keep track of one sin per person! No, that tongue-in-cheek answer will not work. Does the question then imply that God doesn't keep track of sinful behavior at all? If he did, none of us could stand upright; we would all lie down and die. Therefore, it can't be a blanket statement about God ignoring sinful behavior.

       However, there is the idea of patience thrown into the mix. In Genesis 15, God promises Abram and his descendants the land on which he was standing; however it took another 400 years for fulfillment, because “the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” While God was foretelling his great patience, he was also following the sinful trajectory of a certain people. How long did it take for the curses mentioned in Deutoronomy 28 to come to pass for the people of Jerusalem when Babylon was besieging their city in the 6^th century? Again, it took at least four centuries, if not more. Acts 17:29, 30 also imply God's patience with ignorant pagans. “Therefore, since we are God's offspring, we shouldn't consider the divine Being to be like gold, silver, or stone – a graven image of craft and imagination by man. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands men everywhere to change their minds.”

       Was God just looking the other way for millenia? Or perhaps was he winking the eye? Or perhaps, the answer comes down to acts of judgment. Remember the theme of Psalm 130 is redemption. Sin separates us from God, but his Son restores that estrangement. However, that fact alone does not negate the physical consequences of our sin. Repenting of my life of being a serial killer, will not keep me out of prison or the electric chair. Repentance from cheating on my wife will not suddenly restore trust in our relationship. Having godly sorrow for stealing money from my grandparents in order to buy drugs, will not make money grow on the trees in their front yard. Paul's words in 1 Timothy 5:24 may refer to this fluctuating time of earthly judgment of one's sins.

       As implied before, our main question cannot also mean that swift judgment awaits anyone immediately following one's sinful actions. Have you ever heard someone say, “Stand back; I don't want to be struck by lightning.” He jokingly says this to imply that sinful behavior can be swiftly judged, or, possibly, should be swiftly judged. That is usually not God's way. 2 Peter 3:9 states, “The Master is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to spiritually die, but everyone to come to repentance.”

       Ezra prays to God something very interesting in chapter 9 of his recording. The “remnant” of Israel has returned from exile. Ezra prays in verse 13, “...after all that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and terrible guilt – though you our God have punished us less than our sins deserve, and you have allowed us survive – should we break your commands again....wouldn't you become so angry with us, leaving no survivors? Yahweh, God of Israel, You are righteous, for we survive as a remnant today. Here we are before you with our guilt, though no one can stand in Your presence because of this.” And yet, all the people stood with Ezra while he spoke these words to God. None of them dropped dead upon hearing this. God did not turn away from this small group of people who were definitely showing repentance (chapter 10, verse 1). Did he hide “his presence” from these people? God certainly did not hide his presence from David after he had slept with Bathsheba, ordered her husband's early death, and endured the eventual premature death of the resulting baby. Psalm 51:17 holds the key: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; O God, you will not despise a broken and contrite heart.”  As a matter of fact, this entire Psalm gives us the picture of godly sorrow. 

       So, the answer to our main question is a paradox. God can and does keep track of our sins in varying ways. We can also stand in the midst of our sinfulness. Nonetheless, consequences and final judgment will eventually come. But, as Psalm 130:4 states, “But with You there is forgiveness; therefore, you are greatly feared.” Are you ready to take his forgiveness and turn to a life that can start to produce blessings instead of curses?

 February 7 – Sense of Justice

       Psalm 7:11a – "God is a just judge..."

       If there is one thing with which most of the world agrees, both Christians and pagans, it is a sense of justice – especially when one feels as if he has been wronged. We all have an intrinsic sense of fairness, whether we have all the facts or not. Even small children have this sense when they see things going awry. This phenomenon alone should point us to the natural law of wrong and right. But let us dig deeper into this concept.

       In Psalm 7, David explores three related angles of justice, as he cries for God to save him from his personal or perceived enemies. The first two verses are a prayer to God for help and rescue. The next four verses are quite introspective and are the first leg of this triangle. 1) He concedes that justice should be done to him, if he so deserves it. This is quite an attitude of humility, even if it implies his belief in his own integrity. 2) The following eight verses then expounds David's trust in God as a just judge, one who is continually angry at the injustices in the world, and one who metes out judgment. 3) Then verses 14-17 explain the details of reaping and sowing, as summarized in Galatians 6:7.

       Of course, in all of David's Psalms in which he asks God to rescue him from injustice, he is expecting it during his lifetime. He even expects justice when Nathan tells him the story of the extorted sheep, which is a parable of his own sins against Uriah, when he basically "took" Bathsheba from an innocent man. In due time, David does get justice, as Bathsheba's pregnancy ends in the death of the newborn baby. This is an example of God's justice through reaping and sowing.

       Regarding that sense of justice mentioned at the beginning, sometimes there is a perceived injustice that we can't prove or that is hard for us to put a finger upon. This happens when we see cronyism or something that "smacks" of corruption in political officials or even in elected leaders. It may not be a personal attack upon me, but a general attack upon the public. The principle of reaping and sowing still applies to individuals, but that may not line up with what I deem to be the deserved justice. God definitely sees wrongdoing, but he has the ultimate view of the facts, knowing every detail of what physically happened, along with the thoughts and intentions of the hearts of those acting immorally (verse 9). When I personally have been wronged in a non-legal sense, I should not seek my own justice, but I should allow God to handle the situation, because he sees all the facts and is not blinded by his own emotions. (Pursuing legal recourse for wrongs against us – while related to this subject – is another topic in itself and for another time). Paul tells us in Romans 12:19: "Do not avenge yourselves; leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, 'Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay.' [Deutoronomy 32:35]" God knows how to perfectly exact justice on my behalf, while simultaneously overseeing the reaping of what we have sown.

       This latter thought also turns our attention to the radical ideas of Jesus given in Matthew 6:38-45. "Turn the other cheek...give your cloak as well, when sued for your own shirt...go the extra mile when compelled to go the first mile...love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Each of these concepts can be further examined for deeper clarity; however, on the surface, Jesus is asking us to extend grace to someone who does not deserve it. Why? Because all of us are more sinful than we even realize. Jesus has just finished revealing our sinful hearts in Matthew chapter 5, when his radical statements in chapter 6 appear. We need to be very careful when asking God for personal revenge, as David did in Psalm 7:3-7. 

      We should also consider Psalm 130:3 – "Yahweh, if you kept track of iniquities, who could stand before you?" More on that topic for February 8.