I understand Americans not wanting to offend people around the holidays. However, I sometimes think our freedoms as Americans has made us too sensitive. We should not be terrified to wish someone a happy holiday. If you celebrate Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or whatever... It's ok, say it. I follow Christ. I understand everyone may not celebrate Christmas, not everyone is Christian. But heck I have friends who are atheist and Hindu who celebrate Christmas. They do it for the presents, is what they tell me. It bothers me to see people who believe in Jesus tip-toe around the word Christmas because they don't want to offend. If someone comes to me and says happy Kwanzaa and I don't celebrate Kwanzaa, I will simply thank them, but tell them I don't celebrate it. I would not think they are trying to force they're beliefs on me. Shame on me for getting angry at someone who was trying to wish me well. Speaking of which, sometimes "Thank God" and "God bless you" can be just as offensive as calling someone an asshole, in this country. We pride ourselves on being a diverse country, but sometimes sweep those differences under the rug. I say if its your belief, voice it! If someone doesn't share your belief, they will correct you and you should respect it. Besides, I am one who thinks talking about our differences can open the door for better understanding and more acceptance. People are often afraid of what they do not understand. Let's learn from one another. With that said... Merry Christmas everyone!
I have a challenge for you: Call a friend of a different faith and wish them Happy Hanukkah (next year, because it has passed) :-P. Wish someone a Merry Christmas or Happy Kwanzaa. If you're not comfortable with that, ask them what they celebrate and wish them a happy holiday.
Many people often ask the question, "What is Heaven like?" Jews, gentiles, believers, non-believers have all asked this question, including myself. I have often wondered, as have others, if Heaven is boring. What the heck am I going to do for eternity? I am a little embarrassed to say I haven't read any physical descriptions of Heaven yet. I have often heard preachers and fellow Christians talk about how the streets are made of gold, the angels are going to be singing and praising God, we will all have big mansions. Yeah, that all sounds great, but if I'm going to be there for eternity I'm sure I'll get tired of all of that.
Though I have had thoughts of Heaven being boring, I have always wanted to go. I long to be reunited with the Father. What a joyous occasion that will be! Plus, going to Heaven is certainly better than going to that other place, Hell, if you catch my drift. The thing about Heaven is you can't ask anyone about it, because the only way to go is to "die". However, there are some people who have had glimpses of Heaven. Ben Breedlove got a glimpse of Heaven, which was mentioned in a previous blog post. There are even books written about and by people who have been near death or who were declared dead and saw Heaven before coming back to life. For example, "Heaven is for real" is a book about a boy who got a taste of what Heaven is like.
Lately, I have been watching one of my ALL time, you hear me? ALL time, favorite shows "Legend of the Seeker", its on Netflix. That's the only way I can watch it because the show was cancelled a few years ago (shaking my head). What do the Neilsens know? Nothing, that's what. Anyway, I go through periods of my life when I hear a quote or scripture and it seems to be the theme of a season in my life and it drives me. I heard one of the most thought provoking quotes and out of all places it was on "Legend of the Seeker." Hmph, the Lord works in mysterious ways.
Quick story: While watching "Legend of the Seeker", the Seeker and the wizard were having a training exercise where the Seeker was slicing floating fruit. The wizard made one of the melons invisible and tells the Seeker, "To see what is not there, gaze upon what is." The wheels in my mind began to turn...
My Revelation about Heaven
I began to think about Heaven, one day, with this quote at the forefront of my mind. I can't ask anyone about Heaven... That's what's not there. What IS there? What we have heard from the people who have had near death experiences is they get an overwhelming feeling of peace. Ben Breedlove says, he wishes he never left that place. If they feel this for simply a moment in time, how great it must be to experience that feeling for all eternity. I ponder some more: That describes what it feels like, but doesn't describe what it's like to be there. "Gaze upon what is." The only being humanity has known to have lived on Earth as well as Heaven is God himself. Here's what Jesus says, "...I am going there to prepare a place for you" (john 14:1-4) In this scripture Jesus is speaking to His disciples, but Jesus has prepared a place for All of us. I began to look around me, at this Earth, at the things I have and the things I am striving for. I think of the languages I want to learn, places I want to go and my first initial thought is, "I don't have enough time." I don't have the time, in one lifetime, to do all of the things I want to do. I begin to think about how beautiful the animals are and how beautiful and great nature is. I got it! The Earth, as it is today, is not what God intended for us. If I can be in awe of the Earth's splendor, despite the evil injustices happening around the world, imagine the place He has for us! A place without evil, but with eternal peace. We will always be in awe. We can learn anything we want. Think of all the places you would like to travel. Even if you traveled to every country, eventually the earth would run out of places to go. In Heaven, we can go anywhere. We can probably fly! People say, sky is the limit. There, there is no sky, no limit. I'm thinking, at this moment, if the streets are made of gold, oh, how beautiful everything else must be if that's just the street! As far as running out of time... we don't have to worry about time or being too old to do certain things (big smile) because in Heaven, time doesn't exist. Heaven boring? Anything but. Amazing is more appropriate.
The benediction
For those who have not traveled to Los Angeles. I have to say, more than any other place I have been, everybody wants to be young. I see far too many people altering their faces and bodies trying to stay young forever. Do you really want to stay young forever? Well, here's your chance. Did anything I said about Heaven intrigue you in any way? Would you like to experience that peace, the wonder, that joy? Jesus says all you have to do is call on Him (acts 2:21). He doesn't care who you are or what you have done. God will not hold it against you. In fact, He casts our sins as far as the east is from the west. And they never touch. He says anyone can call on His name and be saved. Some believers will try to make you think differently, but they are just men. Listen to God. You may be hesitant at first. You may be wondering what the first step is or creating a laundry list of reasons not to believe. That's just the devil fighting harder to keep you. Those desiring to run into God's embrace, and Finally have peace and rest in His arms, simply go to this site (http://www.tbn.org/your-destiny). They saved my life. If you have questions about God, get a Bible if you don't have one. Start reading the book of Matthew. Once you get passed all the genealogy, it gets pretty interesting. I recommend this one . It is the one I use. It breaks the scriptures down so you can understand what is happening in each book: who is writing, where they are, who they are writing to, and the custom of the times.
I also suggest finding a non-denominational church. These churches usually are Bible based and Christ centered, not religion based. To my new brothers and sisters, welcome to the kingdom! Many blessings.
As with any post, I would like to hear your thoughts on this blog. Do you believe in Heaven? Why or why not? Do you agree or disagree with anything said here today? Holatchaboy.
With love, Cornelious Jordan
Here's that clip from "Legend of the Seeker" buy the series b/c it probably won't be on netflix forever :-\
To those who followed my last blog "Voice Your Belief" you may remember my post about Ben Breedlove. I am ecstatic that his story and the message lives on. Recently CNN aired "To Heaven and Back." Here's a segment of it featuring Ben's Mother. This story still touches me.
Below is my blogpost from 2012 "Ben Breedlove 'The Soldier'"
On December 25, 2012 it would have been one year since a young man named Ben Breedlove passed away shortly after posting a video on youtube. I first blogged on this topic on 1-4-12. Here's what I wrote:
For those who haven't seen this video or wish to watch it again, I have posted part 2 of Ben's story at the top of the blogpost. Part 1 will be posted at the end of the blog for those desiring to watch the full story. My point is based on part2
A lot of people see this video and think it is sad. When I see this video I can't help but smile. He is a handsome young man, and his smile is very contagious. When I see his fighting spirit and his charisma, in these few minutes he has left us on youtube, I am deeply moved when I think about Ben's family. I think about his parents and siblings specifically. I think about how they will miss his smiling face and other quirks they will miss that we, the viewing audience, know nothing about. Mr. and Mrs. Breedlove and the entire family my heart and prayers go out to you. Words cannot express my deepest condolences. I speak the comfort of the Holy Spirit over you. I pray the same comfort Jesus sent to his disciples after He rose from the grave and had to part from them once more. (John 14:16) in Jesus' name amen.
The Revelation
Dear audience,
Please do not mistake my thoughts on this video for insensitivity. Without further ado, this is what I saw when I watched his video:
I was already prepared by some of my facebook friends that the video would be sad. At first I was sad. I was asking God, "Why did Ben have to battle with this heart condition?" Like many others, I am trying to rationalize tragic times... "I know that bad things happen to good people sometimes. The sun rises and sets on this earth, and good and bad people live on the earth, therefore the sun rises on the just and the unjust." are some of the thoughts I adapted from Matthew 5:45. This answer didn't seem to be the right one. Then I felt God reminding me of the notes John took when he and the disciples encountered a blind man in John 9:1-12.
In this scripture the disciples came upon a man that was born blind and asked Jesus, "Who has sinned? This man or his parents that he was born blind?" and Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned. This happened so the work (some translations say glory) of God may be displayed in his life." (some translations say, "through his life.") Then Jesus healed him.
As I continued watching Ben's video, I kept thinking about that scripture. How is the glory of the Lord being shown through Ben's battle with his heart? Why did he cheat death so many times only to die at age 18? ...Then it dawned on me as this young man continued showing his cards, and reminiscing on the time he saw the white light and the time in the white room, and how he longed to go back to that wonderful, peaceful place. It dawned on me. Ben was put on a mission, he had a job to do. I believe God has a plan for all of our lives. In these depressing times where so many have lost hope, and so few have faith, Ben had a job to do. He didn't leave this world at 4 years old because it wasn't his time. If I may be so bold to say, I join his family and the rest of the world to say we will miss you! However, I believe Ben Breedlove's task was to deliver a message. One of hope and of renewing faith. He began with a question, "Do you believe in angels or God?" The answer was very subtle, yet powerful. God's message through Ben was:
I hope you all are having a fun and safe black Friday. Don't hurt anyone out there. I wanted to take a moment and say Happy Hanukkah to all of my Jewish friends and Gentiles alike.
Second, November 27 was Bruce Lee's birthday. Happy Birthday Bruce! He would have been 73.
If you have read my about page, I mention I took Kung-Fu. Bruce Lee sparked my interest in Kung-Fu. He has most definitely played a role in shaping me into the man I am today. One of the most powerful things I learned from him was this, "To truly express oneself, you must bring natural instinct and control into harmony." This means, there are things we do naturally. We also do things we are taught. If we do what we are taught often enough, it will be come a natural instinct. A dentist automatically notices people's teeth. A makeup artists, notices face and skin texture, and a barber notices hair. You can do anything, you can learn anything. Teach yourself a new instinct. Cornelious Jordan
