NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

Review: Voices From The Edge of Eternity

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Voices From The Edge of Eternity by John Myers

The Dead Have No Voice
But The Dying Do

Voices From The Edge Of Eternity, is a compilation of death bed remarks from 242 individuals dating as far back as the first century AD and including eighty-five famous people.

Famous or not they were all equalized by death. Some died with visions of heaven and others expressing agony and terror at their first glimpse of hell.

Throughout the book, believers reported seeing angels coming to escort them, deceased friends and family ready to greet them and beautiful peaceful visions of heaven. Unbelievers reported dread and anxiety at being unprepared to meet God. Some died completely alone.

  • Eleanor Smith, after spending several days in pain from illness, exclaimed to her sister Natalie in her moment of death, “There are so many of them. There’s Fred…and Ruth – what’s she doing here? Oh, I know!” Ruth, her cousin, died unexpectedly the week before, but Eleanor hadn’t been told.

    • [Read more…] about Review: Voices From The Edge of Eternity

John 3 – Evangelism One On One

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Jesus Teaches Us That The Most Important Question Is Not
“What Do You Say To Enquirers?”
But Rather
“How Do You Get Them To Enquire?”

Is your Christian life so compelling that people go out of their way to approach you with questions about Christianity or must you, like so many other Christians, chase people with the Gospel? We are called light and salt and these are elements that hungry searching people are drawn to. Unfortunately, it is not very often people ask us about God. It should be. That happened with Jesus on several occasions. A study of John 3 helps us understand why.

In John chapter 3 a very interesting exchange occurred between a priest of the Pharisees (Nicodemus) and Jesus. In fact, the whole chapter – 39 verses – is dedicated to Nic’s confusion and Jesus’ response.

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What people don’t always point out is the fact that John chapters 2 and 3 go together. Both cover Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem for the Passover which means, of course, what happened in the 3rd chapter was influenced by events in the 2nd.

In chapter 2 Jesus did the appropriate but outlandish thing – He threw everyone and everything involved in commerce out of the Temple. With that action, plus the many miracles He performed, He had everyone guessing. In response many, the Bible says, believed. Everyone else was confused, challenged or chagrined.

What Jesus did was exactly what the common people wanted (I’m sure they cheered Him under their breath) but no one before Him had the courage to take action. Everyone, including the priests, was amazed or shaken. Some priests found Jesus aggravating and they dismissed Him. Others found Him compelling and were drawn to Him.

Enter Nicodemus. [Read more…] about John 3 – Evangelism One On One

“2012” – A Review With A Twist

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Because 2012 The Movie wasn’t released in South Africa until 3 Dec, three weeks following the first public viewing of the film elsewhere, this review comes a little late.  Fortunately, the real message of the film isn’t dated – yet – so a good look is still relevant.

The movie was good in many ways and a bit over the top in some.  The suspense started at the beginning and didn’t stop till the end. I guess the breath holding and nervous jumps fit the tenor of the film but 2 hours and 37 minutes is a long time to hold ones breath. [Read more…] about “2012” – A Review With A Twist

Without “Good Deeds” You Are Barren

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Of the nine fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23, “Goodness” is sixth on the list and the list is quite impressive. You could say it is the “what’s what” for character qualifies. It includes love, faithfulness and self-control to mention just a few. Despite the association, however, Christians do not discuss in detail or demonstrate often the quality of goodness as Jesus exhibited it. Christians, particularly of the fundamental version, are very concerned about being right but have little interest in being good. [Read more…] about Without “Good Deeds” You Are Barren

The Difference Between “Being” and “Doing” Good

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The best way to be good is to do good.

We Were Created
For Good Works

From the minute we are born we are told what is good, shown how to perform it, commanded to live it, and disciplined if we don’t. Consequently, each of us grows up with a sense of what is good and, more importantly, how we measure up. Usually, our self-assessment is heavily influenced by several factors:

Attitudes Of Authority Figures

If our parents/teachers respond with understanding toward our failures or firm but accepting discipline toward our wayward tendencies, we feel fairly good about ourselves even if we shouldn’t. 

Positive responses encourage a “warm fuzzy” that fosters a sense of confidence about how good we are. We feel normal and safe. There’s nothing to worry about.

If authority figures are constantly critical, however, we develop a sense of hopelessness. “Can I ever be good enough?”

We all feed off the responses of others to our behavior and that’s partly how we develop a sense of how good or bad we are. The assessment may be inaccurate. [Read more…] about The Difference Between “Being” and “Doing” Good