Life - Line Devotionals

You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.

You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.

You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.

You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.

70 X 7: THE MIRACLE CURE FOR STRESS

Pills, books, trinkets all promise to calm your nerves and relieve your stress. But Jesus Christ has a more sure way, and it doesn't cost a cent.

Copyright 2002 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org

"All stressed out? Reach for Stress-Ex, the wonder pill that guarantees a good night's sleep, and a wonderfully calm day."

You've heard too many commercials like this, haven't you? If those pills enriched with vitamins ABC to XYZ did what they promise, the suppliers wouldn't be able to keep up with the demand. We'd be the coolest, calmest, and most collected nation in the world.

Books and more books offer stress-busting advice. For the most part the stress they bust is the author's financial headaches.

Trinkets of all sorts have scooped our money to help us relax. There's subliminal message audio tapes, soothing music tapes with sounds of nature, squishy balls to squeeze, not-so-squishy rollers to ease those aches and pains. I have a worry stone: a small flat piece of polished onyx. Close your eyes and gently rub the stone with your thumb to calm those frazzled nerves. Guess how well it works.

There's Yoga, T'ai Chi, and a dozen other oriental exercises. Of course you should be on a diet of bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and Oolong tea for best results.

Jesus had something to say about stress management. Oh, I know those words aren't found anywhere in the bible, but studies show people who make forgiveness a habit have less stress, less illness, and make fewer trips to the doctor, than those who harbour angry grudges.

Sure that road rat cut you off in traffic. It's tempting to blast your horn, and grumble about it for the next hundred miles, but does that solve anything? And do you know his circumstances? Was he responding to an emergency? Perhaps rushing to a hospital where the staff is fighting to save his son, critically injured in a motorcycle accident? Considering what might be the cause of his haste, doesn't it seem right to offer a quiet prayer, "Lord, thank you there wasn't an accident. Please help that fellow get safely to his destination." You can't be angry and forgiving at the same time.

Anger is self-defeating. It tightens your muscles, inflates your blood pressure, and saps your energy. Continuous anger is toxic to the spirit, can result in social withdrawal, robs your peace of mind, and can even cause physical damage. Is it worth it?

When Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who offends him, he wondered if seven times was enough. You can just see him shouting, "OK buddy. That's it. I've forgiven you seven times, but now you've had it." Kapow!

Well, the Kapow! might relieve the anger for the moment, but will it really help in the long run? Jesus knew it wouldn't. That's why he told Peter, "I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22)." Forgiveness was good for Peter, and it's good for you and me.

The apostle Paul gives us a clue about forgiveness. He wrote, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32).

Kind. Tenderhearted. Forgiving. Wonderfully calming words are they. Forgiveness is not a religious concept, but a miracle cure for stress in your life. And it doesn't cost a cent.

You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.

WHAT IS FORGIVENESS?

Is forgiveness simply a mental exercise, or is it something more?

Copyright November 25, 2001 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org

A recent Life Lines column, "Seventy Times Seven," brought a flurry of letters which indicated many people really don't know what forgiveness is. Some writers wanted to know how to forgive those who have hurt them. Some wanted to know how the other person will know he has been forgiven. And one woman ventured to ask whether she might not measure up to God's forgiveness.

Forgiveness is not just a mental exercise. It's not a matter of saying, "Well, that's Henry. He's always been that way; always will." That's simply accepting the hurt that Henry has done, and acknowledging he will hurt you again.

Nor is forgiveness a matter of simply saying everything's okay, and hiding the problem in the back of your mind. That just keeps it there until the opportunity arises for you to resurrect it.

Forgiveness means putting the matter completely out of your mind, and this can take a lot of work, and a lot of humility.

The first step in forgiveness is to get together privately with Henry. This principle, the first of three steps in Matthew 18:15-17, is often all that's needed. It's possible Henry didn't even know he had hurt you. What he considers jest you may not.

For too long I was like Henry. If I phoned everyone I've hurt with my humour through the years I couldn't afford the long distance charges. But, like the apostle Paul, when I grew up I put away my childish humour (1 Corinthians 13:11). It took me a long time and a lot of hard work to grow up. Now I can only hope my victims have forgiven me.

Your forgiveness meeting should start on a positive note. "Henry, we've been friends for a long time." Talk about good times you've shared with him. Then when Henry is mentally in step with you, you can bring out the But. You don't need to go way back into Henry's history. Keep the conversation current. You might say, "But a few days ago you said something that really hurt me." This should get the ball rolling so Henry can apologize. It may even pave the way to quietly help Henry overcome his hurtful humour.

When Henry apologizes it's important Not to say that's okay. He needs to hear the word forgive. When you say, "I forgive you, Henry," he'll know you're not being off-handed with him. He'll know you really mean it. (It's like using the do-nothing phrase "Luv ya," or sincerely saying "I love you.") And he'll know there is love in your forgiveness.

But your forgiveness is not yet complete. You must forgive yourself for having seen only the dark side of Henry's humour. A much wiser person than me said, "To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and discover the prisoner was you." When you forgive Henry, and yourself, you'll find yourself freed from the prison of "Well, that's Henry." You'll see Henry in a bright, new, enjoyable light and, as he changes others will see him that way too.

How often must we forgive? Seven times?

When Jesus told Peter to forgive four hundred and ninety times he knew anyone who forgives that many times will have made forgiveness as important a habit as breathing.

You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.

HELL? NO!

Will those outside the Christian fellowship burn forever in an underworld blast furnace? Let the bible, not man’s tradition, give you the truth.

Copyright July 07, 2002 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org

You have likely read pamphlets designed to scare the hell out of sinners, by warning of never-ending torment in an underworld blast furnace. Here is good news. You don’t have to believe them!

Nowhere in God’s Word, the bible, are we told of such eternal torture. But we are told of a wondrous world tomorrow where everyone will live in endless peace and harmony.

Despite what you believe about a fire that doesn’t go out; despite what you think the parable of Lazarus & The Rich Man means; or despite the misunderstood idea that Jesus talked more about going to hell than he did of heaven, there is not, and never will be a place of eternal torment called hell.

“But the bible says.....”

Are you sure what the bible says? Or have you simply accepted what you’ve always believed? Let’s see what is, and is not in the bible.

The bible says, if your hand, foot, or eye causes you to sin, cut it off: it’s better to enter into eternal life maimed, than to be cast into hell where the worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:44-48). (The objective here is not self-mutilation. Cutting off your hand, and so on, is figurative, and not to be taken literally. Cutting off your hand will not get you into God’s kingdom. That would be salvation by works, not salvation by faith.)

But three times were told there is a place where worms don’t die and the fire is not quenched. There are worms which don’t die: we call them maggots. Instead of dying they transmute into flies.

Older garbage dumps were breeding grounds for maggots which ate the flesh and vegetable matter there. The dumps burned day and night, and even a heavy rainstorm could not quench the deep-burning flame.

Those old dumps are not still burning. When no more garbage was thrown onto the pile, the fire simply burned out for lack of fuel. But it was not quenched.

Jesus used the Jerusalem garbage dump as an example of a special fire, but not as an ever-burning place of torment.

In the parable of Lazarus & The Rich Man we’re told Lazarus was carried into the bosom of Abraham (Luke 16:19-31). Most people believe this to mean heaven, yet the noun heaven is found nowhere in the story.

“Ah,” you say, “but the rich man was in hell.” Yes, that’s what the bible says, but what is hell?

Every reference to hell in the old testament refers to the grave. None refers to a place of torment. There are eight parallel references in the new testament.

Ten mentions of hell in the new testament refer to the Jerusalem garbage dump where the bodies of criminals were thrown. In Jesus’ estimation the rich man’s treatment of Lazarus was criminal, so in the parable he was thrown, apparently[LAT1] half dead, into what would soon become his grave.

God will prepare a special fire for those who absolutely refuse to live God’s way, but you don’t need to join them (Revelation 20:15). And like the Jerusalem garbage dump, nothing will be able to quench the fire, but it will burn out when everyone thrown there has been burned to ashes (Malachi 4: 1,2).

So where do we get the idea lost souls will be tortured forever? Jesus died and was resurrected so you might have eternal life (John 3:16-17). The arch-enemy of Christ, satan, knowing he is the one who will be tormented forever (Jude 1:6), wants us to believe Christ’s sacrifice is powerless, so has convinced the world that those outside the Christian fellowship are the ones who will suffer.

But the truth is: God loved the world so much, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish in the lake of fire, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.

KEEP GOD’S SABBATH FOR YOUR HEALTH’S SAKE

God gave us twenty-four hours for our mental and physical well-being, to give our bodies and minds a rest. Why don’t we use them for that?

© 1995 / Leslie A Turvey / Published March 10. 2002 laturvey@becon.org

And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because in it he rested from all his work (Genesis 2:2).”

“You shall keep the sabbath therefore, for it is holy unto you (Exodus 31:14).”

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall you do all your work (Exodus 20:8-9).”

Recently I washed the car on God’s sabbath, something I don’t normally do. God didn’t strike me dead for working on his day. However, he allowed me to think, and verses like those kept running through my mind.

It’s difficult to keep God’s sabbath in a society that gears its commerce to a seven day work week. But that’s not God’s fault, it’s ours.

If we, as a nation, kept all of God’s commandments, not just three, or seven, or nine, we’d need no police or armies, our children would never be a worry to us, our gross national product would be incomparable, and disease would be unknown. Read the story in Deuteronomy 28: 1-14.

Working on the sabbath results from not properly governing our time. If all commerce ceased during the sabbath we’d need to do our shopping, get our gas, and watch our favourite TV shows on the other six days.

Simply occupying a church pew for an hour or so doesn’t keep the sabbath holy. The sabbath is twenty-four hours long. Using one of those hours to wash the car before going to church, breaks God’s sabbath. God accepts no excuses.

God gave us those twenty-four hours for our mental and physical well-being. Using his day improperly gives our bodies and minds no opportunity for rest. It’s no wonder we’re a sickly nation.

But keeping God’s 24 hours holy -- holy implies health -- rejuvenates our systems mentally, physically, and spiritually. For we can’t honestly keep God’s sabbath day holy without thinking about the one who made it holy -- health-giving -- for us.

You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.

SABBATH STORY: THREE SIDES

Some people say Saturday is the sabbath; others say Sunday. Who is right?

Copyright August 14, 2005 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org

There’s three sides to every story: yours, mine, and the truth.

Most churches claim Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week. So they observe Sunday in honour of the resurrection.

But seventh-day observing congregations rightly say the early Roman catholic church changed the day of rest from the seventh day (Saturday) to Sunday. Ecclesiastical history shows the converts from paganism had been observing the day of the sun god. What better way, opined the catholic hierarchy, than to let them continue observing the day of the sun god, but “Christianizing” it as a day devoted to the son of God.

Those are the two common sides to the story, but what is the third side; the truth?

Sir Winston Churchill said, “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.” Will you be one of them? Let’s see.

The bible says, “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre (Matthew 28:1).” If you follow the account you’ll see the two Marys looked into the tomb, only to find it is empty.

But when did it become empty? The assumption is Jesus left the tomb just before the women arrived, thus indicating a Sunday resurrection.

Man’s day is from midnight to midnight. God’s time, however, is from sunset to sunset (Leviticus 23:32). Therefore, a more proper translation of Matthew 28:1 would be, “After the sabbath, on the first day of the week, as it began to dawn….”

With God’s reckoning of time, about twelve hours passed between the end of the weekly sabbath, and the morning of the first day of the week. (In early spring, sunset in Israel is generally about 7 p.m., and sunrise is about 7 a.m.)

So far, of course, I’ve proved nothing. Jesus could have been resurrected some time after sunset Saturday, which would still account for a Sunday resurrection.

Christians say Jesus was crucified late Friday, and was hastily interred because the seventh-day sabbath was about to begin (7 p.m.). They say he walked out of the grave three days later, on Sunday morning.

Find a seventh grade kid and ask him how many hours that would be. He’d say Friday sunset to Saturday sunset is 24 hours. Saturday sunset to Sunday sunrise is 12 hours. 24+12=36. But Jesus said he would be in the grave three days and three nights. Isn’t that 72 hours?

“OK,” say some, “but the Jews counted any part of a day as a full day. Therefore from a few minutes before sunset on Friday, to part of Sunday, completes the three-day scenario.”

Whoa! Does God take his time from the Jews? God is a God of perfection. When Jesus said three days and three nights he meant 72 hours, not a minute more or less.

Now we have a problem. If Jesus was interred Friday evening, and was in the grave 72 hours, when was he resurrected? Ask your school kid and he’ll say Monday evening. But that doesn’t fit the Roman catholic idea of Christianizing the day of the sun god to a day devoted to the son of God. Perhaps the sabbath should be on the day of the moon god.

Let’s look at another scenario. Computer coordination of our modern calendar with the ancient Hebrew calendar, shows there were two sabbaths the week Jesus died. Turn to Leviticus 23:5-7 and you’ll read, “In the fourteenth day of the first [Hebrew] month at evening is the Lord's passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord. Seven days you must eat unleavened bread. In the first day [of unleavened bread] you shall have an holy convocation. You shall do no servile work therein.”

Passover day is not a sabbath; the first day of unleavened bread is. Jesus was called “our passover (1 Corinthians 5:7).” That should tell us he was crucified on the day of passover.

So when was passover in 31 A.D., the year Jesus died? According to the computer correlation it was Wednesday. The first day of unleavened bread, an annual sabbath, was about to begin, so the disciples rushed to inter Jesus’ body as the sun was setting Wednesday evening.

Find that kid again. Since three days and three nights are 72 hours long, ask him when Jesus was resurrected. He’ll say, “Wednesday evening to Thursday evening is 24 hours. Thursday evening to Friday evening is 24 hours. Friday evening to Saturday evening is 24 hours. 24+24+24=72.

Surprise! Jesus stepped out of the tomb on Saturday evening, before the first day of the week began. Therefore the resurrection took place as the weekly sabbath was ending.

Of course, once again, this doesn’t square with the Roman catholic thinking, so the hierarchy had to twist the truth to fit their day-of-the-sun-god agenda.

What was the question? “Some people say Saturday is the sabbath; others say Sunday. Who is right?”

There’s three sides to the story: the Roman catholic and protestant side; the Seventh Day Adventist and similar organizations’ side; and the truth presented by the only true and living God.

Which will you believe?

You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.

SPRING CLEANING WITH A PURPOSE

The loaf of bread on your breakfast table takes on special significance for seven days each year. This Life Lines column reveals what it is.

Copyright March 23, 2003 / Leslie A Turvey laturvey@becon.org

At sunset April 15, 2003 Christians around the world will observe God's passover. We will have spent the previous weeks doing spring cleaning to rid our homes and properties of leavened products. By sunset April 16 anything leavened will have been used up or discarded. After that time, for seven days, nothing leavened will be eaten.

There’s nothing wrong with leavening. You use it every day -- baking powder, baking soda (a.k.a. bicarbonate of soda), yeast, and other products that cause baked goods to rise. But for the seven days of unleavened bread, leavening represents sin. Ridding our homes and properties of leavened products represents sin being cast out of our lives.

Sin is often obvious, and the representation of the obvious sin is easily seen in the loaf of bread on your breakfast table. The action of yeast in the baking process makes the dough rise or puff up. 1 Corinthians 13:4 says charity -- love -- is not puffed up. Then see what Paul wrote in chapter 5:6-7: “Your glorying is not good. Don’t you know a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Purge out, therefore, the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened.” It’s appropriate that Paul made this statement, not to Jewish Christians who would know to rid their homes of leaven, but to gentile Christians who would not.

Purging out the old leaven takes effort. About a month before passover Betty sorts through the stuff in the freezer and cupboards to make sure we use up the bread, bagels, and whatnot that contains leavening. We read the labels on everything to be certain there’s no leavening agents in prepared foods. Then, the week before passover we do a thorough vacuuming of our home, paying special attention to the sofa and chairs where crumbs -- and a few coins if we’re lucky -- may be hiding. This is certainly representative of the hidden sin in our lives. The effort of purging represents the effort we must apply to overcome those sins that so easily beset us (Hebrews 12:11).

During this time we don’t buy anything leavened, and we search the ethnic sections of the grocery shelves for unleavened bread products. But for what? To keep some old Jewish rituals and call them Christian? Not at all.

The apostle Paul continued his letter to the Corinthian Christians stating, “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).”

Jesus lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15), so was spiritually unleavened. At the last passover of his ministry he took bread and broke it saying, “This is [represents 2076 means] my body (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24).” Jesus could not, since he was spiritually unleavened, use ordinary leavened bread to represent his body. By eating the unleavened bread the disciples acknowledged they were taking Christ into their lives. Seven is representative of entirety, so eating unleavened bread for seven days represents taking Jesus Christ fully into our lives.

But why do we observe passover instead of easter? The Greek word pasca is properly translated passover everywhere in the new testament except in Acts 12:4 (KJV). Nearly all modern translations properly refer to passover. And since Jesus was crucified on passover day, and was resurrected on the seventh day of the week -- the day we call saturday -- we recognize passover as the true meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, so we might be unleavened (1 Corinthians 5: 7).

You may contact the Life Lines author at laturvey@becon.org.

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