Taroko Gorge National Park

Hey y’all-

Headed to Taroko Gorge National Park this weekend with our friend Wei. We are excited to go. A train ride. Mountains. Hiking. Friends. Food. Pictures. Love it.

I’ll post a pic or two when we get back. Here are a few to hold you over….

Me and Wei at our Halloween party....

Hope we drive through this...

Take care,

Uncle Jeff

Salvation

Hey y’all-

I sent this message to a few friends of mine here in Taiwan. The backstory: we have been hanging out and talking about God and salvation. So, I wanted to give a clearer picture of salvation and that can be done through email better than in person. Why? Because a lot of our Taiwanese friends read and type English better than they speak it. Plus, they can ponder, reflect, and respond…

So, my buddy Paul and I gave a Bible to two of our friends. They shall remain nameless. I decided to send them a message and reference the Bible. They have no real concept of a Bible, so you will see some page numbers. The Bible we are using is a Chinese/English New Testament that has been produced for us to use in Taiwan. It is an NLT/CNLT translation for you theology nuts who want to know that kind of stuff…..

Here is what I wrote to them:

Hey J___ and P____ -

Last night, Paul gave J___ a Bible. (Not a “bubble”, J___.) Now, you and P____ have the same Bible. So, I thought I would send you a message and tell you a bit about what we believe from the Bible. So, here it goes.

Last night, J___ and R___ mentioned the word “salvation” from the Bible. Here is what salvation means to Christians. Salvation is God’s desire and plan to save sinners from their sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let me explain….

In your Bible, there is a book called “Romans.” Turn to Romans chapter 3 verse 23 (it is on page 312). That verse says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” What does it mean to sin? Well, P___ and I have talked about this quite a bit and we use the term “unclean heart.” Sin is a difficult concept to understand, but I will try to explain it quickly and we can talk about it more if you want….

Sin is anything you think, do, or believe that is against God’s plan for your life. Sin is disobedience to God. God tells us how we are to live in the Bible, but we sin when we live our own way and not God’s way.

Turn to Romans chapter 6 verse 23 (page 317). The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” What does that verse mean? The term “wages” means payment. Wages are what you earn at work. It is payment for working at KFC, or Welcome, or anywhere else. Well, the payment you will receive for your sin against God is death. By death, God is telling us that if we are not in a personal relationship with Him and our sin paid for, then we will spend eternity away from Him. The place for that eternity is Hell.

The Bible teaches that Hell is a real place for people who do not worship God alone (the One True God) through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Hell is not a place you will go and have a chance to get out. It is not a place of comfort or ease. It is eternal torment and pain and sadness away from God.

So, how do you have a relationship with God? Through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Turn to Romans chapter 10 verse 9 and 10. (Page 324). The Bible says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” That is salvation to a Christian!

You must trust in the Lord Jesus as your only Lord and Savior. You cannot worship Jesus and other gods. You must make a decision to follow Jesus, live for Him, trust Him, and be obedient to Him.

Why do I tell you this? J___ and P___, I tell you this because this is what I believe. This is a decision I made to follow Jesus. It has changed my life for the better. I am in a right relationship with God. When I die, I will not go to Hell. I will be in Heaven with Jesus and all the others who have trusted in Jesus and lived for Him.

I also tell you this because you are my friends. I want to be in Heaven with you. I want you to have the peace and joy in your life through God’s love that I have. It is the greatest thing ever.

See you soon. If you have any questions, you can email me back or ask me in person. I am here to tell people about Jesus. Your friend, Jeff

Thoughts?

Uncle Jeff

When will the world end?

Hey y’all-

We went to see the movie 2012 last night. It’s pretty good. Lots of crazy action that could never happen, but it’s a movie. What do you expect?

The movie has brought up a lot of folks asking serious questions. Will the world end? How? When? Can I survive it?

Also, the movie has some biblical themes that it uses to move the story forward. The biggest and most obvious theme is a bit of a spoiler….so I’ll let you find out for yourself.

Check out an earlier blog of mine for the answers to some of these questions.

Uncle Jeff

The Movie 2012 – The Questions

Hey y’all-

I posted about the movie 2012 yesterday. We are going to see the movie this afternoon in Taipei with some friends of ours from a local college. So, since we are going to see such a big movie with a big theme, I thought I would ask some of the “big” questions.

Here they are: (with my answers in bold)

1. Do you believe the world will end? Yes, I do believe the world as we know it will end someday. The Bible teaches us that God created the world and he will destroy the world in the future. How will He do it? Read on…

2. How will it end? I read in the Bible (and believe with all of my heart) that God will let the “first heaven and first earth” pass away (Revelation 21:1) and He will create (or re-create) the “new heaven and new earth.” So, the world will end someday.

3. Are you afraid of the possible end of the world? No, I am not afraid of the future end of the world. I expect it to happen and it may happen during my lifetime.

4. If you are not afraid, why not? I am not afraid of the end of the world because I have a relationship with Jesus Christ that secures for me a place of security, protection, and peace.

The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ came to earth the first time as a man to live a perfect life, teach about God, select disciples, and die on the cross as payment for the sins of mankind. He rose from the dead three days later to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He walked on the earth for 40 days after His resurrection teaching and strengthening the disciples. Then, he ascended into Heaven. He went back to Heaven to be with God the Father. But, He promised that He is coming again.

Since Jesus did all of the things he said He would do, then I believe He will do the things He promises He will do in the future. I believe He is coming again to gather all of His followers. Why? To pull them out of this world, to defeat Satan and the powers of evil for a final time, and to re-create the heavens and earth into a perfect place for all eternity.

Why would God do all of this? To show His glory, His power, His majesty, His love. In other words, God saves sinners because He wants to…not because He has to.

So, the movie 2012 will be interesting. I’m curious to see how the Hollywood special-effects people envision the end of the world. It might be fun to see, but it will not be scary. Why? Because I’ve already read the end of the book and I know who is really in charge of the end of the world.

Thoughts?

Uncle Jeff

The Movie 2012

Hey y’all-

This weekend I am going to see the movie 2012 with some friends here in Taipei. This should be fun. I like big blockbuster movies and this one looks like it will have some cool special effects. But, there is a greater reason for going to see this movie…..

2012 claims to be about the end of the world. So, a few questions…

1. Do you believe the world will end?

2. How will it end?

3. Are you afraid of the possible end of the world?

4. If you are not afraid, why not?

Thoughts?

Uncle Jeff

Rainy Day in Taipei

Hey y’all-

It’s a rainy Friday in Taipei. What do you do on a rainy day?

Here are a few ideas:

1. Play guitar.

I love this guitar....

 

2. Watch this sermon. (It’s awesome.) There’s an audio version as well on the site…..

3. Drink one of these. Delish!

4. Read a book.

5. Get out and walk in the rain…….

Just some ideas. Thoughts?

Uncle Jeff

New Blog in Taiwan

Hey y’all-

  A buddy of mine has started a new blog in
Taiwan. It’s all about loving Jesus and sharing that love with the people of Taipei. Check it out: http://robintaipei.wordpress.com

  Uncle Jeff

More Questions about Heaven and Hell

Hey y’all-

My friend responded with more questions. Here they are with my answers:

Now, for the new questions.

1. Has heaven been created yet? Yes. Heaven has been created.

The Bible talks about people going there already. Heaven is not the final destination of God’s children. The New Heaven and New Earth will be created as seen in Revelation 20. That is the final destination of those who believe and trust in Jesus. So, the heaven you are speaking of (and where those who are believers in Jesus and have died currently are) is real, is created, and is populated….for now. It will be emptied when Jesus returns, Satan is finally defeated, the final Judgment happens, and all those who are God’s children will live forever in the New Jerusalem.

2. The idea that all people will be redeemed in the end is a nice idea.

I like it. I wish it were true, but it’s not. That’s a sad fact that is refuted time and again in the Bible by Jesus Himself. There will be those who live eternally with Jesus and those who will be eternally damned to Hell. It is just true. So, instead of hoping for a better outcome, Christians need to be honest with those outside of the family of God and tell them to repent of their sin, trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and follow and worship Him alone.

3. Who is in the family of God? No one is born into the family of God.

Those who are in the family of God have been adopted through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ. Now, is the blood of Jesus good enough to adopt the whole world? Yes. But, God Himself makes it a conditional love. In John 3:16, God says that “whoever believes in Him” (meaning Jesus) will be saved and not perish. Not everyone, but the ones who believe in Jesus. There is no waiting period for salvation. God knows the heart of man and his true intentions, so He knows if someone makes a deathbed plea for salvation and truly “means it.” This is not something we, as humans, can see. We must trust God in this area.

4. Are there ghosts? I think the spiritual world is much more vast than we realize or give it credit for being.

There are angels and demons. The angels are with God. The demons are with Satan. I think the demons have a lot of ability to present themselves in many ways. I would not discount the power of Satan to make people think they are seeing ghosts (or to even appear in such a manner). I do not fear ghosts. God is greater than any demonic force. So, I know that the Holy Spirit in me can defeat any power that tries to harm me. Jesus said, “Do not fear, only believe” (Mark 5:36). That’s how I try to live. Hope this helps.

Great questions. Thoughts?

Uncle Jeff

Is there a Hell?

Hey y’all-

A friend sent me an email on Facebook asking some questions about hell. I responded quickly (due to a lack of time this morning), but I wanted to post on here, as well. These are good questions that come up a lot. I didn’t throw in a ton of Bible references, but I think I can back it all up with Scripture. Well, anyone can back it up if they look around a little bit…

Here is my response to her:

Hey ____ – Good question. It is interesting how events in the news can bring up such important questions. Glad you asked… I’ll just take the questions in order and give you my reasons:

1. Is there a hell? Yes. I believe there is. Why? Jesus talked about Hell quite a bit in the New Testament. I believe Jesus was a real person. I believe Jesus is God. I believe what he said about Hell.

2. Who goes to Hell? Anyone who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Simple answer. It would be offered on any Sunday morning in many Sunday school classes. A relationship that is easy to get but harder to live than to say.

3. Are all the commandments equal? I don’t know exactly what you mean by this question, but I’ll try and answer. I’m assuming you’re asking if “Thou shall not kill” and “Honor your Father and Mother” are equal? Is there one commandment that is worse than the rest? I believe all the commandments are equal. In other words, lying and killing are equally bad in the eyes of God.

Now, lying and killing are not equally bad in the eyes of man and are punished differently, as they should be. But, the commandments outline sins against God. Any sin against God separates us from God. Anything that separates us from God is bad whether it is killing one of his creations made in His image (another human) or lying to someone. It is a sin against God and that is never good.

4. Can bad people go to heaven? I think there are only bad people in heaven. Why? Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We are all “bad.” But, God wants a relationship and that is why He sent Jesus to live a perfect life and die for our sins (John 3:16). But, we must believe in Him, trust Him, and worship only Him to have that relationship with Jesus and God the Father.

You can see that in the first two commandments and in the Greatest Commandment that Jesus gives in Matthew 22:37-40. So, there are “bad” people in heaven who have been forgiven of their sin by God through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. What did they do to deserve it? Nothing. But they trusted Christ as their Savior and worship only Him.

5. So, in summary. I think there is a hell. I do think people go there if they live and die without a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The only people who go to heaven are those who have trusted in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Tell me what you think. It’s a long one….Jeff

Thoughts? Convictions? Want to know how to be in right relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ?

I live to tell others about Jesus. Ask me.

Uncle Jeff

Solitude and Silence – Part VII (The End)

Hey y’all-

Thought I would post really quick on the end of the book Invitation to Solitude and Silence: Experiencing God’s Transforming Presence. The final chapter is called “For the Sake of Others” and it makes sense to include such a chapter. Why? Because solitude and silence is not about yourself. (Matter of fact, the Christian life is not about you, either.)

Solitude and silence are practiced to help you relate to God, to others, and then to yourself. It is an opportunity to be in God’s presence, learn from that time in God’s presence, and carry that into your daily life and interactions with others. It is not about you….trust me on this one.

So, we need to think about how does solitude and silence relate to life with others? In describing a party her daughter had at their home, Barton talks about her annoyed disposition in being interrupted constantly by teenagers needing something–food, drinks, directions, permission, etc. This get-together was an impromptu gathering that was conflicting with writing deadlines and work preparation for her. How would she respond? Barton writes,

If my experiences in solitude and silence don’t make a difference in this real-life moment, then I’m not sure any of this is worth much (130).

Good point. If we spend a lit of time in prayer, Bible reading, study, silence, solitude, or any other spiritual discipline and it does not affect the way we live and interact in our daily lives, then it is not worth it. At all. It is a waste of time, energy, effort, money, and a whole lot of other things….

So, what do we do? We take the time that God has given us to learn from Him and use it in our daily lives. We learn. We grow. We apply. We change. It is the Christian life. Transformation.

Thoughts?

Uncle Jeff