2024 Quarter 1 Ponderings.....
Where I share an interesting question about Hitler, a must-read book about Heaven, awesome Christian art, interesting Ta Ta song and cat photos...oh boy!
Hey Fellow Faith Traveller,
It is now Autumn and the sun seems to be sleeping in these days. My country (New Zealand) has a very long daylight saving time period, which I am not keen on. I like to wake up with the sun and to be able to see outside while I am eating breakfast!
Is it time for a cat photo? Always, right!
I was watching my weekly OTC Zoom class on the book of Matthew1 and Molly was trying to get my attention. I call this photo “Molly Leaning on the Word”.
She’s a good Christian cat.
A Must Read…
The Heaven Promise by Scot McKnight
Scot McKnight is a Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Illinois, USA. So he knows his Scriptures but that doesn’t mean that this book is difficult to read in fact it was a very down-to - earth book to read (ha! see what I did there!).
Scot did a great job of clearing away all the rubbish commentary on Heaven and gets back to the basics. What does Scripture actually say about heaven? I believe Scott answers that question extremely well. Some of my thinking was clarified and I feel far more confident to talk about Heaven to people now.
He clarifies the location of Heaven and it may not be where you think it is.
He lays out 6 promises about Heaven from Scripture which increased my hope in the future.
He answers so common questions like…What about cremation? Will there be pets in heaven? What about children who die? just to name a few.
I especially loved the chapter titled “How Should Heaven People Live Today?” where he describes Heaven People as people who trust, imagine, plant and build, make things right and forgive people. Love all those things!
“Heaven will be a global village where the verandas are filled with evening conversations among eternal neighbours”
Scot McKnight
I love this image described above… of the sun setting while a cluster of neighbours are conversing about their days sitting on the veranda - doesn’t that sound like bliss!
“You may think of yourself as having a rentlessly humdrum life, but when you get to Heaven, you will see where your own beauty fits in God’s marvelous canvas.”
Scot McKnight
Who we are and what we are like will flow into our life in eternity. I like that.
What do you think Heaven is like? Let’s continue the conversation…
Yes Molly has been at it again - as soon as I leave Scot McKnight’s book on the ground, she lays down on it!
How did this newsletter become filled with cat photos??? must be the change in season making me go la-la.
An Interesting Question…
Would We Meet Hitler in Heaven?
Here’s another question - What would it look like for Hitler to reconcile with every person he harmed?
It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it?…
… but is there anyone who God won’t love and reconcile with?
… Is there anyone who can’t be redeemed?
Here’s an excellent article by Bradley Jersak that answers these curious questions. https://bradjersak.com/qr-with-bradley-jersak-are-you-saying-even-hitler-goes-to-heaven/.
What is your response? Let’s continue the conversation…
Time for some music?
I am loving this song by Ta Ta (Tylor Swift) - “You Need To Calm Down”.
Throughout the song Taylor admonishes those who tear others down.
“Why are you mad when you could be glad?” she asks.
I love the part “But we figured you out, We all know now, we all got crowns. You need to calm down.”
It’s a good message to calm down and learn to love everybody just like Jesus. We are called to follow in his footsteps, right?
How about some Christian art?
Have you heard of the Naked Pastor2? His name is David Hayward and he draws cartoons and artwork that wrestle with curiosities of Christianity and religion. They definitely make you think.
What do you think this cartoon is saying? This is shared from his Facebook post dated 16th March 2024. 3
Interesting to see the facial expression of the closest guy holding the pencil. He looks annoyed at Jesus - I wonder why?
Has the church drawn boxes to keep people in and all along Jesus is trying to break people out? He certainly did that with the Jewish system of sacrifice and temple structure.
Or is the cartoon saying we create our own boxes for our lives which restricts receiving the love of God?
Ah, what about one comment made on this Facebook post….
“My mom bought this shirt for me for Christmas. I love it and I always tell people that Jesus doesn’t have us in boxes. We are all children of God no matter the boxes we try to put each other in.”
The cartoon probably means something different to each person. That’s art.
It signals freedom to me.
Yes.
Freedom to just be.
Love to hear your take…
Well, that’s the end of my ponderings for the first quarter of 2024.
I wish you all a very Happy Easter break and pray that the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ be present with you this weekend in all its glorious truth. And may Jesus make himself known to you with his unfailing love, right in the core of your being. Amen.
I highly recommend the Open Table Conference weekly classes. At the moment it is on the book of Matthew and is finishing this week. They will be starting a new one later in the year and going to discuss a couple of Paul’s letters. Do you want to join me? Here is the link to sign up - Should be interesting! I have taken the John class and was blown away with the weekly discussions. I have purchased the recordings for the Revelation class and have yet to go through them.
You can find out about the Naked Pastor here - https://nakedpastor.com/. I highly recommend his Facebook feed where he shares his cartoons. Sign up for his newsletter or purchase some of his t-shirts and art!