LAST LESSONS #202 — LAST LESSONS — LIES

“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44

Have you noticed that all the politicians today are accusing each other of telling lies? I’ll admit that I am glad that there are now “fact checkers” because otherwise I would not know who is telling the truth and who is not.

But why do all these political leaders lie? What makes them think they can deceive us and get away with it? What they do is just awful!

I don’t know how you were raised, but I was one of six children, and we were into mischief all the time. But the one thing we were not allowed to do was to lie. We might hit each other, “borrow” each other’s clothes, say terrible things to each other, but we could not lie. We were punished for lying. I’m glad for that now because what we got away with as children, we try to get away with as adults. I think that lying politicians today must have been allowed to lie as children!

The devil wants us to lie. He is the father of lies and when we lie it means that we are being controlled by him. When we are controlled by the devil, we do all sorts of evil things. That’s why it is so important that we check out our politicians to see if they lie about anything. Lying is the test of a person’s character.

I’m going to pay more attention to what the politicians say before I vote this fall. Then it will be much easier to vote. How about you?

LAST LESSONS #201 — LAST LESSONS — REAL NEWS

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’” Isaiah 52:7

We are inundated with news these days. We get it on the TV, we hear it on the radio, we read it everywhere. I have come to the place where I limit the amount of news I watch on TV. I get most of my news on my computer, and I limit that too. There is only one place that I make sure I listen to every day. I have mentioned him before, but I think Al Mohler (The Briefing) gives the best analysis of the news that can be found these days. Al is a Christian and gives the news from a biblical perspective.

I first met Al Mohler when I was on the council of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. In 1993 he was elected as the President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was only 30 years old! I have gotten to know him a bit through reading his books and The Briefing. I have met his wife Mary too and read her book Growing In Gratitude. It’s a good read.

I’m recommending Al Mohler’s The Briefing (which is free to read on your computer every weekday) again because there is so much “fake news” out there that it’s easy to be misled. You can trust The Briefing to give you the TRUE NEWS because it sees all news from a Christian perspective.

And please get the news these days so that you know how to vote! If you are a Christian, this coming election is probably the most important one in your life. It will determine the future of our country.

I voted in person the other day in our local primary, and (God willing) I will vote in person in the national election in November. If I can manage to vote at 95, you can too!!

LAST LESSONS #200 — LAST LESSONS — SYMBOLS

“This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:24

The bread we eat when we take communion at church is a symbol of Jesus’ body. The wine we take at the communion table is a symbol of Jesus’ blood. The Bible is full of symbols, perhaps the most familiar one being the cross.

I want you to see a painting done by my artist daughter, Katherine Cook. It is full of symbolism, as she explains below.

Religious art has been of particular interest to me, as it powerfully depicts biblical narrative, allegory, impressions, and beautiful illumination. Most interesting is the symbolism which has woven its' way through centuries of religious art creating a universal language of its own. Those that study and know scripture recognize, identify with, and are reminded of these truths when they see the symbols.

I've created several still life paintings utilizing Judeo-Christian symbolism to remind viewer of God's grace to us… Wine…Christs' blood given for us, broken bread…Christs' body sacrificed for our redemption and hyssop…the symbol of restoration and healing.

After seeing this painting, if you are interested in seeing more of Kathy’s work, her website is: www.KatherineCookArt.com

LAST LESSONS #199 — LAST LESSONS — ETERNAL LIFE

“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3

Eternal means without end in time. I have been thinking much about eternal life these days. Although Jesus says a lot about eternal life, (John 3:16; John 4:14; John 5:24; John 6:39-40; John 6:47; John 6:58; John 10:28-29; John 11:25-26; John 12:25), I cannot imagine what it will be like to live forever. On the other hand, getting to know Jesus seems like the most wonderful way to spend eternity that I can think of. And since Jesus is infinite, I can never know him completely even if I live eternally.

These thoughts are too much for me to grasp. But since I will see Jesus face to face in the not-too-distant future, I have decided to spend much time studying the Book that speaks of eternal life more than any other Book—that is the Book of John. John was the disciple closest to Jesus. John knew Jesus better than any of the disciples. That’s why he could write the Gospel of John, 1, 2, and 3 John, and Revelation.

The thoughts about eternal life are too difficult for me to understand so I have decided to study, in depth, the five books that John wrote.

Want to join me?

LAST LESSONS #198 — LAST LESSONS — LOOKING BACK

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

From time to time, I go back and read Praying the Attributes of God for a month. When I look at what I prayed for a year or two ago, I thank God for his faithfulness in answering my prayers. But sometimes I need to keep on praying. I have been praying for the salvation of a number of people for a long time.

As I look back, I cross out some of the prayers because the people I prayed for have passed away or God answered my prayer. I love to see the prayers that God answered. Those are the ones that I take time to say, “thank you.”

There is great value in writing down prayers and putting a date on them. That way, I am reminded of why I prayed at that time for certain things or people. God has promised to answer some prayers and I can pray those things with confidence. For example, Philippians 4:19 says “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Jesus does not say HOW he will supply our needs, just that he WILL supply them.

The one thing we can always count on is that God is faithful to keep his promises. He will keep them when and how he knows is best.

God does not need me to verify his faithfulness but my testimony is that in my lifetime, God has never failed to meet my needs whatever they are.