- Bedford's Blog
- July 26, 2011
- July 19, 2011
- July 5, 2011
Hello Woodland Shores Family,
I hope you enjoyed fireworks and a fun 4th
of July week-end following Sunday worship – another full Worship
Center on one of the biggest vacation days of the year – and our
All-Church Picnic at Lake Township Park.
The food was terrific, lots of volunteers set-up and served,
and we even witnessed some of the Woodland women/girls whip up on
the men/boys in volleyball!
Just two items in this week’s BLOG that continue
with more on our animal theme:
1.
This Sunday
at 9:30 am – “Special birds”
1.
This Sunday at 9:30 am – “Special birds”
This
Sunday in our Current Message Series, “Then God created the
animals,” I want to tell the story of God’s prophet Elijah who
appeared during a dark time in Israel’s history.
After announcing judgment to King Ahab and Queen Jezebel who
had set out to kill Elijah, God ordered
him into hiding in the ravine of a tributary of the Jordan River
called Kerith where God provided “water from the river and food from
my birds, the ravens.” (1
Kings 17.2-3).
Ravens?
Those big, black, ugly birds that look
like their cousins, the crows?
Why not pretty red cardinals, yellow finches, blue-jays, or
majestic eagles? Ravens
are scavengers. Their
favorite meal is dead food.
They are flying garbage disposals. The Law put ravens in the
same category as unclean pigs
(Leviticus 11.15).
No respectable Jew – then or now – eats raven for dinner.
Come to think of it, neither
would we.
Yet, for 3 ½ years God sent
Elijah a twice-daily airlift of bread and meat on the wings of
ravens – a most unlikely creature and least-loved animal – to
bring life, health, safety, and blessing.
Every morning and every night for 3½ years ravens showed up
with breakfast and dinner.
Not one miracle, but more than 2,500 consecutive miracles!
And this same God of
the birds is our God, too.
I hope you will come and
listen for more surprising life lessons we can learn from the animal
kingdom.
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I appreciate your feedback during our current
Message Series, “Then God created the animals.”
My studies got me thinking about some correspondence I had a
couple of years ago with one of the kids in Sunday School who sent
me a thoughtful note after the death of her pet.
My young friend was wondering if she might see her pet in
heaven. What would you
say? Here’s how I
replied:
“Hi Carina!
I’ll be thinking about you all day. I know
how hard it is to lose a pet. It doesn’t get any easier as you
get older. You still miss those little ones!
You’ve asked a question that lots of people wonder about.
I wish I knew the final answer. I don’t. But here are
some of my thoughts. After you read this and think about it
some more, I’d like to hear what you think. Please tell me, if
you want to.
First of all, remember that if pets go to heaven
their owners will also have to go to heaven to see them. We must
believe in Jesus and receive Him as our Savior and Lord of life, or
any chance of seeing a departed pet again is zero. Carina, I
hope you have made that decision, and if not, I hope you will make
it soon. I can help you, or your parents can.
The Bible gives all kinds of stories about
animals associated with heaven. For example, in the Old
Testament, you could look at 2 Kings 2.11 and its mention of horses;
or Isaiah 65.17-25 and its mention of the wolf, lamb, lion, ox, and
serpents; in the New Testament, Revelation 5.13 (“every creature”)
and Revelation 19.11-14 (more horses). Are these animals newly
created by God, or are they animals that were once on earth, but are
now in heaven? We don’t know.
But we do know this:
- Both humans and animals are formed from the
ground (Genesis 2.7,19), so human bodies and animal bodies are
somehow similar. But what about our souls? Do animals even
have a soul? It doesn’t seem like it to me since God’s breath
into the human body of Adam is what made him a “living soul”
(Genesis 2.7). I believe that this makes us different from
animals. Only people –
not animals – have souls and are made in the image of God.
- God made a promise to Noah that included
both people and animals (Genesis 9.9-11): that He would not
again destroy the earth with a flood.
- The 4th commandment (of the 10
commandments) as recorded in Deuteronomy 5.12-15 includes a
Sabbath rest for animals as well as people.
- God takes care of both people and animals
(Matthew 6.26 and Psalm 104.14).
- At some future time, Christ Jesus the Lord
will bring about a time of peace when animals and humans will
live in harmony (Isaiah 11.1-9).
So, where does this leave us, Carina? While the
Bible is silent regarding the possibility of our pets in heaven, we
do know that God is absolutely fair and just – that means He will
always do the right thing. If we think our pets deserve to be
treated fairly, including the possibility of heaven, you can count
on God to do what is absolutely fair and right. Also, we know that
heaven is a place of full and complete joy and happiness. It
is described as a place where there will never be any more tears,
pain, sorrow, or disappointment (Revelation 21.1-5). What God
has prepared for Christians is wonderful beyond what we can imagine.
If He thinks it should include our pets, you can count on Him to
provide what makes our joy complete.
I
suggest that you love your pets as much as you can while they are
here. And someday when we go to heaven we will fully understand
that God has everything worked out perfectly regarding our pets.
I know that our family hopes to see “Radar” (our dog) someday again.
We’ll see. It sure is
important to think about this question with you. I hope my
answer helps.”
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Finally, please remember to pray for our 18
students/adults on the Short-Term Mission Trip to Belize on July
8-15. Additional copies
of Daily Prayer Guides that we distributed on Sunday will be made
available again this week-end.
In Christ’s love,
Pastor John