CONQUERING THE COSMOS

HEBREW HONEYCOMB
CONQUERING THE COSMOS

A supposed contradiction in scripture presented to this writer a few years ago goes like this: God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. . .” contrasted with “Love not the world . . .” I John 2:15. Are we to conclude then that the Bible is telling us to not love what God loves? That is contradictory. Well, think with me a minute.
God created a cosmos (order of things). It was so perfect, so beautiful, so desirable from every viewpoint. Its zenith was manifest in Eden when the climax of creation (mankind) was made the federal head of it.
Willful transgression by the federal head, caused the entire cosmos to be cast down. From that casting down, the Lamb slain was the plan of God to redeem it unto Himself. Rev. 13:8. Thus were the works finished from the foundation of the world (casting down of the cosmos). Hebrews 4:3.
Inasmuch as mankind was made from the earth and installed as the federal head of it, all of creation became subject to his actions. When sin entered into mankind, it changed the then known and wonderful cosmos of peace and life into a cosmos operating on the laws of sin and death. Moreover, all of creation was subjected to that disastrous decision of man, and it groans, awaiting its liberation which will occur in the final liberation of the people of God in the resurrection and rapture heralding the beginning of a new age. Romans 8:19-23.
That being said, thoughts return to the supposed contradiction, and how these thoughts apply to it. God loves the work of His hands. When all the work was finished, He beheld it, and it was very good! Gen 1:31. It is then the purpose of God to redeem His work from the “cast down” state to the fullness of His plans for it during the millennium, and on to the ultimate goal of it in the heaven ages to follow.
It is the cosmos that God so loved, and that Jesus came to redeem. However the cosmos that the Bible commands us to not love is the present one of sin and death. It is destined to eternal removal from the presence of God. Of it, John wrote, “Love not the world (cosmos) neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15.
Alas, we are all in the cosmos and doomed with it except for the success of the second Adam, Christ Jesus. Being born from above and following Him involves one in a dimension of life unknown to the present cosmos. It is an earnest of the inheritance that is to come in all of its unspeakable joy, peace and beauty. As the decision of one man cast down the cosmos and all in it, so through repentance and faith in the work of one man, Jesus, one escapes the laws of sin and death, and is admitted to the wonderful laws of life in the redeemed cosmos!

VALUE OF CHURCH

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. ‘I’ve gone for 30 years now,’ he wrote, ‘and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the pastor is wasting his by giving sermons at all.’

This started a real controversy in the ‘Letters to the Editor’ column. Much to the delight of the editor, it went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: ‘I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals.

But I do know this… They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!’

The Group of Frogs

Morning Story and Dilbert

As a group of frogs were traveling through the woods, two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs crowded around the pit and saw how deep it was, they told the two frogs that they’re was no hope left for them.

However, the two frogs decided to ignore what the others were saying and they proceeded to try and jump out of the pit. Despite their efforts, the group of frogs at the top of he pit were still saying that they should just give up. That they would never make it out.

Eventually, one of the frogs took heed to what the others were saying and he gave up, falling down to his death. The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die.

He jumped even harder and…

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Monopoly

Morning Story and Dilbert

Today I heard a story about the game Monopoly. I remembered playing the game many times in my life. Sometimes it was fun and sometimes it was not. Very much like life! It’s not always fun!

We all gather around the table and set the board up. Someone is the banker and they hand out the money. As the game goes on we can buy and sell property. It’s a great feeling to own Boardwalk, Park Place and to trade in those tiny green houses for red hotels. Since the hotels were red you know that’s what I wanted.

As the game goes on it’s fun if you’re the one buying the red hotels and winning the game. But the game comes to an end at some point. It isn’t very long and it’s time to put the game away. As the story I heard this morning was told, the…

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