In our third post of this series taken from a recent online poker room chat, we've brought up how God can be mysterious in His ways -- and how one mystery is the promise of a resurrection, with believers receiving eternal life. But the self-proclaimed "alienologist" at our table had more to say about the things of Christ:
yourmama: name 1 thing thats cause more death and wars than your so called gods nothing
yourmama: so u might whant 2 rethink that
Me: Did God do that? Or people's misunderstanding of Him?
Misplaced zeal can lead to all sorts of wrong behavior -- whether it's a Christian zealot murdering suspected sinners, or Muslim terrorists blowing themselves up to kill Western soldiers. To be truthful, that also can happen in poker. Ask anyone who's gone "on tilt" and blown a big chip lead after a bad beat.
Another person at the table picked up on what we meant....
yourmama: no god so whats the answer 2 your
vegasmon: more like peoples misuse
Me: The Crusades were based on zeal - but misguided zeal, it seems to me.
Me: Jesus didn't call on His followers to go kill everyone they saw.
Paul testified of the first-century Israelites "that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge." (Romans 10:2) He goes on in verse 3 to say it's important "submit to God's righteousness," instead of establishing some of your own. We all need to search the Scriptures carefully, to understand what that righteousness is -- and verse 4 says it stems from Christ being "the end of the law." So we added....
Me: But when Jesus comes back...... well, He'll take charge then.
Make no mistake: the second coming of Christ will be powerful. And the Bible indicates it will be bloody. "Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.... killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh." (Revelation 19:15, 21)
Thankfully, the story of human existence does not end there....
yourmama: if people thought there was no reson 4 life it would be alot worst here so your so call gods do have a reason
Me: Plenty of reason to live - and live well.
Revelation 20 talks about time of judgment for "the dead, great and small." We like to think God will have mercy on those who never truly understood Him and the Gospel message -- such as people who lived in far-flung lands before Jesus came to Earth, as well as those with mental handicaps.
"He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (II Peter 3:9) A key question in that verse goes back to our original topic at the table. Are you willing to repent of your sins, and accept Jesus as your Lord? On this day, it appeared our opponent was not....
yourmama: yes but keep your storys in your house dont force than on others
Me: Not forcing - simply saying.
Me: You asked about PTL. :-)
yourmama: keeping it 2 yourself we will both be better off
We disagree with that last viewpoint. It's better to turn to Jesus and live for God -- eternally better. What do you think?
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