The Answerer

Well, He certainly had a bundle of magical powers! HE can do anything! As a gentleman, I have to say I like the way He made girls and ladies. They’re lovely. No unclean thoughts there, mind you. Nobody really can tell just how God works but there is no doubt that 2 billion Christians know that God has got those powers. A great example: You are standing on a planet that is revolving at 1,500 km/hr. This planet is travelling around the sun at 15 km a second – that’s once a year, It is tilted at 23 degrees to give us summer, autumn, winter and spring. Has been doing this for millions of years. COOL! Not bad, I say – some power! Also, this is sensational: You can fly from one end of this Milky Way galaxy to the other, if you can get a Concorde airliner and lots of fuel along the way. Ensure that you get some ‘YIPPEE’ pills to add to the fuel to make it go 70 times its normal speed and make the Concorde do 250,000 km/hr – it would take 670 million years (Readers Digest Great World Atlas, 1961 p.103) “Nothing is too hard for God.” (Jeremiah. 32:17).

Yes, without doubt, He does, and I thank you for asking it. I had not thought about it in 75 years. (Makes you smarter than me!) In 1969 I got baptised and a voice said: “You’ll be working with children.” Nobody else heard it. I had never worked with children as I had always made things you can touch and see the finished job. I forgot about it. Four years later I had a fall at home and got into a wheelchair. Six years later I was studying to be a teacher at university. I taught for seven years then went to Bible College for two years and in 1988 I began Scripture teaching. This year will be 23 years and they have been the best years of my life. I love Yr. 7 kids! While saying my prayers one morning a voice said: “Go and see Mrs Arnold”, a former cleaning lady. I did not want to go - I had a lecture to go to. ‘We’ argued back and forth - for how long I know not. I did reluctantly go the 50 km round trip. She came out to my car and said: “Well - God must have sent you. I was just about to jump out of the window and kill myself.” She talked for 45 minutes and I never got a chance to tell her: ”Well He did actually.” Michelle Hamilton in her book A Mighty Tempest was lost at sea for three days and two nights in a child’s canoe. God was there all right and knew what would happen tomorrow. It is a thrilling read. She’s from Sydney. She asked for nothing and neither did I. But God had a plan for both of us, and has a plan for your life too. Jokes The ‘village idiot’ was pushing a carpenters measuring tape up a ladder but it kept falling back. Other village idiot says: Why don’t you lay the ladder on the ground and measure it there? Think I’m stupid do you? The foreman said measure the height, not the length! From one girl I taught in 1990. “Mr Harris, do you know why gorillas have such big fingers?” “No Linda, I have no idea.” “Well they have big fingers don’t they.” Putting her finger towards her nose. Oh yuk! She was such a nice girl too (and still is). And: What did the necklace say to the hat? You go on a head and I’ll hang around. Hope you liked those bits of fun.

These two words were all that the child wrote to me.

Please note that all these questions were written to me and I print them just as I got them with no changes.

Many would like to ignore things like a judgement day and hope there will not be one. Jesus said that there will be one. Jesus spoke very plainly about it because many people wanted to know then.

I have several Bible reference books so I can look up things in the Bible easily. Judgement Day has 160 references to it. LOVE has 760 references to it. That tells you a lot about Jesus. Judgement Day is necessary in God’s plan of things.

Satan will get his ‘come-uppance’ then, and he will not like it one bit.

Children should not worry about it. 20 years old seems to be the Bible’s cut off point between children and grown ups.

There has to be a judgement day. Why? Because God is a God of justice and a ‘fair go’ (as Australians say).

Briefly – Jesus, when He reigns as king on earth, will judge people (the nations): “As a farmer separates sheep from goats.” That’s for shearing so as not to mix wool with goat’s hair. (Matthew 25:31-46). And The Bible is plain on personal judgement. “And just as it is destined that men die only once, and after that comes judgement.” (Hebrews.7:11).

The Apostle Paul wrote: “The day will surely come when at God’s command Jesus Christ will judge the secret lives of everyone, their inmost thoughts and motives.” (Romans.2:16).

We, most of the earth’s population, know very well that our conscience tells us right from wrong. We choose right or wrong. There are some mongrel killers that I will be happy to see front up on Judgement Day to answer for a lot of evil that they did.

AND, special judgement is reserved for those who deliberately hurt or damage children. YES! That is physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and plain neglect of their needs. The worst is for them! (Matthew 18:6).

Fact: Children do not ask to be born.

I have to assume that you mean what happens to my soul or spirit.

With your body, your heart stops beating and when the brain gets no blood, all movement stops and your body cools and a doctor says that you are dead and fills out an official form saying so.

Your body, your earthly remains, are buried and sometimes cremated (burned) until only ashes remain. These ashes are collected and sometimes placed in an urn and can be kept at home, maybe placed at a cemetery. Some people leave in their will that: ‘my ashes are to be scattered over an ocean’, or scattered over a particular forest.

With the soul and spirit, that is much different. The Bible does not tell us exactly what happens. Some Bible scholars, and church leaders say Christians ‘sleep’ until Jesus comes back. Others say that we go to an ‘in-between place’. Others say that Christians go into God’s presence immediately.

Bit confusing isn’t it?

But if you are a real part of God’s family I know you have no worries;

He loves us and looks after us.

 

Some examples:

 

See the story of Mr. Roberts in the appendix at the back of my first book.

 

My little son, after about a year of cancer treatment, was in PMH, our children’s hospital. One day while in there he must have known ‘the end’ was near. He told his Mum: “I want to go home to your bed, and I want to see ‘Her’. ‘Her’ was his second mum and they both loved each other a lot. It was in the country. He insisted. So off we went. He saw her on the way home. At our home there lived a very old ‘resident dog’ that had lived at the farmhouse we occupied for many years. When we drove in he could only see my face. No joy or tail wagging. He just hung his head and crept away. He knew death was near! We did not.

The Christian nurses at the local hospital came out to attend to him, as they knew that his end must be near.

He died the next day but at the moment of death, he took a deep breath, gave a lovely smile and died. What made him smile? I know not, maybe he saw heaven. He was a ‘little’ Christian and believed in Jesus.

 

Mr Dwight L. Moody: He was a preacher who travelled the world preaching about Jesus. I read the story of his life. He ’died’ three times, over several hours in his own home with his family around him at 80 years old. After he had died once he came back and said: “Mama (wife) I have seen the children who had died”, years before.

Then he died again, came back and told of his seeing heaven and said:” Oh Mama, this is hard on you.” The third time he stayed in heaven and did not come back. This is over 100 years ago.

I am convinced that if you are a Christian your soul and spirit go to heaven.

The apostle Paul wrote about death in a letter to Christians in Philippi:“ For to me, living, means opportunities for Christ, and dying well that’s better yet.” And: “Sometimes I want to live and at other times I don’t, for I long to go and be with Christ.” (Phil.1: 20 –23)

Most Christians I know would rather be in heaven but their time has not yet come.

Hope that was not too long.

Some people have written whole books on this subject.

Jokes:

What’s worse than finding a worm in your apple?
Finding half a worm.

What two creatures did not go into Noah’s Ark in pairs?
Worms – they went in apples.

 

You seem a bit worried as your writing tells of doubt, anxiety and hope. See Q. 69 re the Bible.

Much of what you ask is partly or fully answered in other questions so run your eye down then and check out the answers I gave. (Try the orange Category options in the right side column!)

Write to me if you need to.

Most adults would like to be sure that God is there and heaven is real. I have ‘been down in the pits’ and found that God is real and have come back up and am very thankful to be alive. I look forward to going to heaven- but I hope dying does not hurt much.

Please be assured God is a God of justice and mercy, and the Bible has been around for 4,000 years (2000+ since Jesus). If that was not true – like millions of other books – it would have ‘fallen-by-the-wayside’ and been forgotten soon after Jesus died.

The Bible is still the world’s number one bestseller in 2010. (Only IKEA beat the Bible's publishing record in just one year since the invention of the printing press.)

Finally – if God and Jesus did appear, many people would not want to hear from them simply because they want to ‘...do it my way.’ Like: “Don’t tell me what to do!” “Who are you to tell me that what I am doing is wrong?”

Many people saw Jesus do miracles and raise the dead but they did not listen to any more – they just went their own way and I think the same would happen today. Maybe they would kill Jesus a second time.

Most folk just want to live peaceably.

I am glad you are thinking about it. May God bless your search because your question sort of tells me that you are searching for the truth.