Why don't we see Jesus?

Wow! That’s an awesome question! If you remember the story of Jesus, He was crucified on a cross and died but then came back to life three days later. Then, after that, he hung out with His disciples for about another 40 days and then we read of an incredible thing that happens to Jesus. In the book of Acts, we read in Chapter 1 that Jesus gives instructions to his disciples but then, “After he said this, He was taken up before their very eyes and a cloud hid Him from their sight.” (Acts 1:9)

Jesus is literally taken up into the sky towards heaven! The disciples are amazed and watched as he was lifted into the sky. And as they stared at Jesus disappearing into the clouds, the Bible tells us that two men dressed in white suddenly appeared and stood next to them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into Heaven will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into Heaven.” (Acts 1:10-11)

So, the reason we can’t see Jesus, right now, is because He is seated in Heaven at the right hand of God! Pretty cool, huh? The Bible tells us that, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

But, don’t worry, someday Jesus will return and His return will be glorious! And the Bible tells us that everyone will see him; in fact, Jesus, Himself, tells us, “And all the peoples of the earth will ... see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of Heaven, with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30)

Is Atheism a religion? What do Atheists worship?

Great questions! The easiest way to answer that is this: Atheism is not a religion, it is a belief system. Basically, Atheists completely lack a belief in God and they also believe that they can prove that there are no god(s) both empirically and logically.

Since they do not believe in God or any other deities, they don’t worship anything. It’s all about self-awareness and believing in the potential for humanity, the power of reason, the comfort of love, the value of truth, the beauty and joy of the human experience and the nearly unlimited power of the human will to endure almost any hardship or solve almost any problem. (I got those qualities from an avowed atheist, Richard Carrier)

What I find somewhat sad is that, even in Mr. Carrier’s description of what he believes as an atheist, he does not allow for absolutes. According to him, the “nearly unlimited power of the human will” can endure almost any hardship or solve almost any problem. So, in reality, what he’s telling me is that the “unlimited power of the human will” actually has limits!

I actually agree with him in this way: human will is limited. In fact the Holy Bible tells us that, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

Whenever you are afraid, whenever you are sad, whenever you have doubts…remember this, “I (you) can do ALL things through Christ Jesus who gives me (you) strength.” (Philippians 4:13) The atheist has no one to turn to other than himself/herself or another atheist! Where does he/she turn when things get so bad they become unbearable? What does the atheist cling to that would give them hope???

The truth is we are all spiritually bankrupt and we NEED a Savior! Matthew 5:3 says it the best in the first line of the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” And even more reassuring is what Jesus, himself, told us: “In this world you will have trouble. But, take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

If you sin and you just don't know it's a sin, did you sin?

Wow, that is an awesome question! It is a little difficult to answer because the answer is very complicated and has been open to much debate and discussion. So, let me use an example that might help you to understand this.

Let’s say you go to another country (we’ll make one up). And let’s say in this country, Kidonia, it was illegal to drink soda on Sundays. So, you go to Kidonia and get thirsty and drink a Coke on Sunday, not knowing that it was against the law. All of a sudden the police come in and arrest you and tell you, “You’re under arrest for drinking a Coke on Sunday!” You would argue that you are a foreigner and didn’t know it was illegal to drink a Coke on Sunday. But, the police say to you, “We don’t care; it’s still illegal and you committed a crime!”

So, did you commit a crime in Kidonia? Yup. Did you know you were committing a crime? No. Does it mean that because you didn’t know it was a crime, it’s okay to do? No. It is still against the law.

Let’s now compare that to sin. Just because you didn’t know something was a sin, doesn’t mean it’s not a sin. It is still a sin and, if you do it, you committed that sin. We call those unintentional sins. God says that stealing is a sin. But, if you didn’t know that stealing was sin and you did it, would you still be sinning? Of course!

But, God also looks at the heart. He looks at your motives. And you do have a foundation in Christ so you do know what is right and what is wrong. And because you do have Christ in your life, you are covered in His love for you.

Romans 8:1-2 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

If you believe in Jesus and because you know that He died on the cross for you, you don’t have to be anxious about things like worrying about whether you have sinned or not. Look at what it says in Philippians 4:4-7:

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

God will guard your heart and your mind. If you have to question your actions or your thoughts, then pray for God to help you. He loves you and won’t let you unintentionally sin.

Now, if you know something is a sin and you still do it…well, that’s a different story. Habitual and intentional sin have different consequences. But, that’s a whole different topic!

Why didn’t Jesus do what Satan told him to do?

Jesus is also God. And our God is all-powerful and sovereign. That means that all things were created by Him and for Him. This would include Satan.

Satan is a created being. He is not equal to God and Satan cannot make God do anything. God created Satan. Because Jesus is God, Satan cannot tell Jesus what to do. Of course, there are several instances where Satan tries to tell Jesus what to do; in fact, in the book of Matthew, chapter 4, we see Satan try and tempt Jesus in the desert. But, Jesus does not give in to Satan and uses the word of God to resist him.

Never forget that you have the strength of Jesus in you. Jesus died for all of us and we are saved because of His sacrifice. When you feel pressured by friends to do things that are wrong, ask for Jesus’ help. If you ever have any doubts about Jesus’ abilities, just think of Philippians 4:13, which reads:

“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”

If God knew that Satan would turn bad, why did he create him?

Wow, that is an awesome question! The truth is that no one knows why God does certain things. When God initially created Satan, Satan’s name was Lucifer and he was an archangel. In fact, he was the equivalent of God’s second-in-command. Lucifer was the most beautiful angel and he was given a lot of power. His job was to take care of God’s glory.

But, then Lucifer became prideful and thought he could do the job just as well as God could do it. So he tried to take over heaven. The problem was: Lucifer was a created being created by God! He only had the power and authority God gave him. God, on the other hand, has always been here and always will be here and He is all-powerful, all-knowing and ever-present. There was no way Lucifer could win.

I suppose God could have just destroyed Lucifer right then and there but, instead, he cast him down and, sadly, also threw one-third of the angels out of heaven that decided to align themselves with him. And ever since that time, Satan has been corrupting this earth and God’s people through sin.

God has allowed Satan to live and roam the Earth and let bad things to happen And, for the record, let me just say that God could take Satan out anytime that He chooses, if he wanted to, but that God has a greater unstoppable plan in store for us. In fact, I know God can take Satan out because, eventually, God does get rid of Satan by throwing him in the Lake of Fire.

The real question is why didn’t God do it yesterday or why doesn’t God just do it now??? I mean, if God had gotten rid of Satan yesterday, I wouldn’t be tempted the way I am today, right? The best way to get rid of temptation, it seems to me, is to get rid of the Great Tempter, right??? So, why doesn’t God do that?

Well, the Bible does not directly answer that question. But, here is a truth we do know: God sent His one and only Son to us and it is through His death on the cross that you are saved! And when you put your love, faith and trust in Jesus despite Satan’s lies, tricks and temptations, Jesus’ glory will shine through you and you will be able to overcome anything! “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

Is divorce a sin when your wife is like sinning and cussing and drinking?

Wow, now that is an interesting question because Jesus was asked a similar question in Matthew 19. First, though, let’s get a firm Biblical perspective on what God’s position on divorce is. I think what God says in Malachi 2:16 is pretty blunt and to the point: “I hate divorce, says the Lord God of Israel.” Then, in Matthew 19:9, Jesus supports God’s position by stating “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."

This verse seems to imply that divorce is okay if one of the spouses commits the sin of adultery against the other spouse. Remember, the Bible is written from the male perspective so this passage means that if either of the two spouses, husband or wife, commits adultery then the other can get a divorce and remarry without being considered a sinner. Now, the question is, is this only applicable to the sin of adultery? Can we interpret it to include all sin? The answer is yes, it only applies to adultery and does not include other sins like cussing or drinking.

In fact, Jesus even states that it has only been since the time of sin entering the world that God allows the adultery stipulation. This was not so in the beginning of time and that Moses only allowed divorce because peoples’ “heart were hardened.”

Bottom line: God does not want people to get a divorce. When two people get married and they make that marriage covenant with God, they basically become one flesh, just like it’s written in Genesis 2:24. And when you make a covenant with God, you better be serious because breaking that covenant can lead to serious repercussions! God even says, “Therefore, what I (God) have joined together, let no man put asunder.”

The marriage union is a very serious covenant in God’s eyes and should not be dissolved, especially for some of the trivial reasons people use today. In the case of someone who cusses or drinks, while those are terrible things, they can be corrected through counseling and therapy. We have to be willing to take that first step, though. I know that God wants us all to do whatever we can to keep the marriage covenant.

Remember, God sent His one and Only Son to die for our sins. He can forgive people who cuss and people who drink. If we can’t, then we diminish His death on the cross. Some sins are hard to overcome, believe me, I know! But, remember also what Paul wrote to the citizens of Philippi in the Book of Philippians, Chapter 4, verse 13: “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me strength.”

If God has more power than Satan, why doesn’t He destroy Satan?

Great question! The truth is that no one knows why God allows Satan to live and roam the Earth and allow bad things to happen And, for the record, let me just say also that God could take Satan out anytime that He chooses, if he wanted to, but that God has a greater unstoppable plan in store for us. In fact, I know God can take Satan out because, eventually, God does get rid of Satan by throwing him in the Lake of Fire.

The real question is why didn’t God do it yesterday or why doesn’t God just do it now??? I mean, if God had gotten rid of Satan yesterday, I wouldn’t be tempted the way I am today, right? The best way to get rid of temptation, it seems to me, is to get rid of the Great Tempter, right??? So, why doesn’t God do that?

Well, the Bible does not directly answer that question. Perhaps God is allowing Satan to tempt us because it brings us closer to God’s glory and developing a relationship with Jesus when we overcome those temptations. And, don’t forget the most important aspect when we battle those temptations to do bad things: God sent His one and only Son right in the middle of that battle and it is through His death on the cross that you are saved! And when you put your love, faith and trust in Jesus in spite of Satan’s lies, tricks and temptations, Jesus’ glory will shine through you and you will be able to overcome anything! “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

Why did God send Jesus into the desert to be tempted by Satan?

That is an awesome question! If you read the very first line of the Book of Matthew, Chapter 4, Verse 1, it says, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”

So, just by this verse alone, we learn two things: 1, God (the Spirit) was involved in this plan and 2, He allowed Jesus to be tempted. And you’re saying, “Okay…but why???”

God sent Jesus to show us how to resist the devil. Remember, Jesus is God so, if He wanted, He could have made Satan disappear with just a thought. But, instead (and this is the part I love), He responded to Satan as a human to set the example for the rest of us humans. He showed us through His actions how to resist temptation!

And, if you were listening real close you heard how Jesus set the example for us. Do you recall? He accessed God’s strength. He used the passages from the Bible to give Him the strength He needed to resist Satan’s temptations. He turned to God’s Word. He did that to show us that if we can access God’s strength through prayer or knowing God’s Word and trusting in God’s Word that we can also resist temptation. Because, guess what? We can’t do it alone. And Jesus was showing that He couldn’t do it alone as a man.

Remember 1 Corinthians 10:13? It said, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But, when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” That is a promise from God to you. God knows we can’t do it alone. Jesus knew it and that’s why He showed us how to resist temptation by turning to God and by turning away from Satan and to keep walking away from him.

So, that’s why God sent Jesus into the desert to be tempted by Satan. It was to demonstrate to us how we can beat Satan by turning to God and by turning away from the temptation of the devil. Remember Philippians 4:13…”I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”

If a baby dies at birth, how old will it be in heaven? Will it stay a baby and not know anything in heaven?

This is a set of big questions, and the answers are also big, so follow along with me.

First – how old will the baby be?

God is the Creator of everything – including time (and also matter, energy, space, relationships, intelligence, emotions, etc etc … really … everything.) And time helps us understand where we are in this physical world. Typically, we say we are in a place at a time. We have a place and a time where we are.

But that changes! God is outside of time, and eternity is outside of time. By “outside” of time I mean that you cannot measure it. Remember the beautiful song, “Amazing Grace”? Remember the words, "When we've been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We've no less days to sing God's praise Than when we'd first begun"?

Read on to understand a bit better what we will BE like in heaven…

Second – will it stay a baby?

The answer lies in understanding Jesus after his resurrection. Here we go …

Read Philippians 3:20-21 starting with “And we eagerly await….” What will Jesus transform? [to transform is to change the form of something]

Put you answer here: __________________________

What will Jesus transform the “our lowly bodies” into? To be like his what?

Put your answer here: __________________________

Our lowly bodies, that is, our earthly bodies, whether baby or adult, will be transformed to be like his heavenly body! Wow, huh?

Now go to 1 Corinthians and read chapter 15, verse 35 through the end of the chapter.
Pretty cool, huh?

Did you notice the key 44th verse? There is a natural body, the one we live in now, and there is a spiritual body, the one we will after our earthly death!

Right now you know by experience that life is much more than just our physical body, right? We have an intellect, we have emotions, we have relationships, and we have a spiritual part of our being. Sooooo … wanna know what a baby’s new spiritual body looks like?

Go back to 1 Corinthians 15:49. “And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man [Paul is talking about the first created man, Adam], so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven [that is Jesus].

So the baby, and you, and me will all bear the likeness of Jesus after our earthly death.

So wanna know what Jesus looks like in his spiritual body? [If you don’t, just stop reading here, but if you do, keep reading …]

Go to the account of Jesus’ transfiguration. Read Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:3, and Luke 9:29. [The word “transfiguration” refers to Jesus’ appearance when the disciples saw him changed.]

What is wild, is that just as you have a physical body, so did Jesus. But when Jesus was transfigured, his disciples caught a glimpse of his spiritual body. We can’t know exactly what’s up with that body, and the disciples barely had words to describe it. We can’t really wrap our brains around what that new body will be like, but we do know that, “so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.”

Third, will the baby know anything?

Follow me carefully now … while we see a little baby, helpless, limited in knowledge & strength & intelligence, this is not what God sees. God sees a perfectly and completely formed spiritual being! [This may also help you understand how God sees disabled people, poor people, widows, orphans, and – honestly – all the rest of us who just ain’t exactly “perfect!”]

The theologian C.S. Lewis said that you will NEVER look upon an ordinary person. ALL of God’s children (doesn’t matter how old) are EXTRAORDINARY because they all bear the image of our Creator!!

The Bible doesn’t speak specifically to babies in heaven, but the nature and character of God point to that baby as someone who also has a spiritual body and who will share in the blessings of heaven. Cool, huh?

How do we repent? And where?

You asked, “How do we repent?” and “Where?” In order to understand how we repent, we need to know what it means to repent. In the easiest terms, to repent means to change the direction you are going in regards to sin (doing bad things). It means making a complete 180-degree turn and walking the other way. It is an action verb, which means you have to do it. It is not something that is done to you. So, to repent from your sins means to turn away from them completely and to walk the other way.

But, here’s the best part! When you repent your sins and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, do you know what gift you receive? Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, said it in Acts 2:38 when he said, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Do you know what that means??? It means that when you repent and turn away from sin, you don’t do it alone. The power of the Holy Spirit has been given to you through Jesus Christ! And remember what it says in Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”

As far as your question regarding “where” you repent…you repent in your heart through prayer. You can do that anywhere. You can do it in the privacy of your bedroom, or in church, or with your family or with a group of your friends. It doesn’t matter as long as you’re sincere. God knows your heart and He loves you so much! He loves you so much that He gave His one and only Son to die for you so that you can have eternal life! Is that awesome or what??? And this is what is so wonderful about God…He didn’t wait for you, or me, to become good or perfect before He sent His Son down here. Romans 5:8 says that, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

You don’t have to be perfect for God to love you. You don’t even have to be good. God loves you no matter what! But, guess what? Good people don’t go to Heaven. Forgiven and saved people do. And in order to receive God’s forgiveness, you must repent your sins. Just stop doing them and purposefully walk away from them. It’s hard…I know! But, “I can do everything through Him that gives me strength.”

Because I’m a Christian, I’m cast out. Why do people do that?

When we study the life of the Apostle Paul and how he was persecuted, we learn that faith and persecution can always be found together. The sad truth is that persecution (whether it is just teasing or actually killing) happens for many, many reasons.

Your question is very close to another question that has been asked many times by many great people during the course of human history! Why do people dislike (or hate) each other just because they are different? (like different religions, different races, different jobs, different educations, different physical abilities, and a million others!)

The answer to why this happens, to why people hate each other, and to why we sometimes feel “cast out” from others, has to do with sin. This is difficult to understand, but it is still true. Because of sin our connection with God and with others – which was originally perfect – is broken and messed up. This is sad, but this is the way it is right now.

It is comorting to remember that the Holy Spirit came to give us power. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to persevere, to hang in there, to be strong and to have courage. Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians that “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21). Paul knew that even though there was persecution and trouble now, that to be one of Jesus’ followers meant that you could share in an awesome forever with Him, and that made everything better and OK for him!

Is non-Christian music written by the devil?

You asked, “In 2nd grade my teacher said that any music that isn’t Christian is written by the devil. Is that true?”

Now the Bible does not talk specifically about non-Christian music, but it does give us a few guidelines.

Philippians 4:8 is a great example – “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”

Questions to ask yourself when listening to non-Christian music: Are the lyrics of the song true? Does it have pure message? Is it praiseworthy? God wants us to be wise with what we put in our mind. If any song promotes and encourages some sinful actions (like swearing or violence), then I would encourage you to not listen to it. I think we have to use wisdom and caution when listening to music. Right now I am thinking of great symphony masterpieces that had no lyrics, just beautiful, powerful music. Is that evil? Is that a sin? Did the devil write that? No! I am going to disagree with your second grade teacher. The sad thing is that many of music’s great masterpieces were condemned by religious people when they were first introduced.

Your heart is between you and God. Be wise! Your question is very good, and – honestly – the answer is not easy. The Bible doesn’t specifically speak about it, so we should be guided by what the Bible does say, like in Philippians 4:8. I hope this answer helps you.