Heaven Coach

We believe in somebody, some group, some philosophy and are sufficiently convinced to place our entire existence in their hands. This is the wisdom of the wise – a foolish thing to do. Below is an example of one of those things we believe but really do not know. We accept on faith and usually our own desire to believe this “thing” is true. But again, we do not really know. When it comes to the most important thing in our existence we ought to be very careful. I love the science and the wonderful things we have learned from the Hubble telescope but that knowledge, those pictures tell us nothing about creation. In this case, they say that there are some really old things in the universe.

OLD STUFF – Really OLD Stuff

One of the most accepted things and taught in schools is the theory of the big bang as the explanation of the beginning of the universe. From absolutely NOTHING, not even the most minute atomic particle came all we know and all we see, eventually living things and then intelligent life. This is a good example of the wisdom of the wise inasmuch as it is a theory, ever changing but nonetheless accepted by many, many people. So, what difference does it make? It is an explanation of existence without a creator. It is not a good explanation. People trust science because of the many things we know that work, like the electronics we count on everyday. People, believing in man’s scientific achievements make the transition from science that works and is proven to something outside the realm of science but accept it as true or the best man can do.

God makes a very strong distinction between those who are wise indeed – trusting God and those who place their trust in man. He tells us in 1 Corinthians 1.27 that He has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. Much of “Heaven Coach” is dedicated to helping you understand God and His purpose for life. The Hubble telescope is quite an achievement but tells us very little about creation but a great deal about the scope of creation. There is a huge chasm between seeing the universe and knowing what happened. So, with each new discovery comes new theories but can you imagine (if it were true) man ever understanding how creation could happen by the mere thoughts of the creator?
Life is a test and success lies in getting to the truth. So, is it wise to believe all this just happened from nothing and that there was a big bang and that man can explain the creation in a way that a creator is not necessary. What does that benefit you in believing such a thing? What is the harm in providing an explanation other than God? Someone might say, I believe God used the “big bang” as the process for creation. If you understand God, you know life is about your eternity and not figuring out how God created everything and doing it in a way that promotes an alternative to God. The one reliable, logical version of creation is found in the first verse of the bible and is simply, “In the beginning God.” Why does time exist, who created time? In our world we cannot envision existence without time, but like all things God also created time. Man needs to explain the creation in terms of time, that is it took billions of years to get to where we are today. The big bang occurred in an instant of time but where did time come from, how does time exist. We cannot even fathom existence without time and yet how did time come into existence.
So what is a foolish thing referred to in 1 Corinthians 1.27
A foolish thing could be denying the existence of God. God has pointed out:

Psalms 53:1

1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

The man WISE IN THE WAYS OF THE WORLD believes he can explain our existence without a designer? You will find many who think they can conceive of our existence without God. If you really think and observe you might see design (thus a designer) surrounds us everywhere. Now if you understand God and His purpose you might also see something more complicated and even hidden. God allows people who are characteristically, for example, proud to fail in that they want a certain conclusion about creation. Others abhor the rules of the bible and cling to anything pointing to a “natural” creation. On the other hand, a patient, meek, humble person who searches diligently for truth will uncover the perfection of God’s word and God’s purpose for life. We miss God’s perfection if we see it only in His creation and not in His plan. Namely, a plan to allow certain of mankind to share eternity with Him.

The WEAK THINGS OF THE WORLD (that put to shame the things that are mighty) would include things like Jesus discussed in the “Sermon on the Mount.”

Matthew 5. 3-12

3 “ Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

So as the world sees might and weakness, the things of Jesus’s sermon would be seen typically as weakness. The poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, peacemakers, the pure in heart and the rest all represent to many those who are weak or weaknesses. The boaster, the roughshod, the bully, the person from whom flows foul language, the strong and dominant athlete indeed are frequently admired, respected and consequently followed. The strong-willed, the boisterous, the good looking capable speaker, the exceedingly rich and those who possess considerable influence over others also win admiration by being overpowering.
The weak things shall put to shame the things of the mighty. So the weak things in their simplicity, their honesty, their humility, inner courage and determination are things God knows represent those open to God’s message. Consequently, they are most likely to seek, find the truth and obey it. A great deal of the world remains in the dark relative to the truth due to their conceit, greed, and their admiration of power and influence of certain men and women.
Let us look further at how God makes this distinction of who is unwise (Worldly Wise) versus wise (Godly Wise). In the final analysis (after your death) the things of worldly wisdom will have no value and in fact will be largely responsible for keeping you from a knowledge of the truth. Godly Wisdom is what you need to have a successful eternity. The worldly wise will never have knowledge of this until perhaps after this life.

In the verses below God speaks of the character of the Godly wise person. Namely, walking circumspectly (careful and accurate in consideration of all the circumstances and possible consequences), making the best use of time, and understanding what the will of the Lord is. This (Ephesians 5.15-17) is a good summary of a “Godly Wise” person and quite a contrast with the verses defining a “Worldly Wise” person above.

Ephesians 5:15-17

15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

The Average Life Is
Filled with the Wisdom of the World

Below by way of illustrating worldly wisdom is an example of a very successful middle-aged man with cancer and a young woman in her late twenties and two different life struggles. The struggles are typical of many people and although seemingly different stories, pride and selfishness almost always play important roles although the thing that really matters is exactly the same.

The Story of a Man, His Life, His Death

I watched a man who was dying of cancer talk about his life. At the point of this discussion he had resigned himself to dying and he was just living out his last days. I am sure he hoped for this period to be long and as pain free as possible. He looked pretty good although some photographs taken somewhat earlier indicated to me the cancer had aged him very quickly. He was approximately 60 years old. He seemed to be a very pleasant person. His success in life appeared to be very exceptional in terms of monetary wealth, family, and friends. It was interesting how he was now very aggressive in helping others in areas where he had expertise. Of course, I know little about this man although I have since done some research. He had achieved a certain high level of fame, power and respect.
I expected some mention of God but he only said he was not a religious person.
He mentioned that after a long battle with cancer he realized his death was inevitable so he just accepted it and was doing the best he could enjoying the time he had left. He described himself as a very proud and self-centered person in his early days in the business world. He believed the business of his career in general had gone from one that was responsible, caring for their clients to one of greed. He was now doing something he thought would help the average person to avoid the problems that were at times devastatingly damaging to the finances of many individuals, families and businesses. He lived only a short time after having this discussion.

This man falls into the general category of being very intelligent in things that in the end do not really matter. You can be exceedingly famous, rich, and well liked but if you miss out on understanding the purpose of life and doing something about it you have been unsuccessful. I would not claim to know the eternal fate of this individual or any individual. However, when you claim not to be religious it is an indication that you very likely hold certain beliefs which do not bode well for the next life. Of course, most people who claim to be religious will also fail in life since being religious is not the goal. Interestingly, this man who claimed not to religious may have been that way because of people he knew or “knew of” who claimed to be religious. Religion is not the answer, there are hundreds of different religions and frequently a non-religious person has done less “damage” than people who claim to be religious. The answer to a successful life lies in knowing the truth and living it. It amazes me how people can be so intelligent and successful in what appears important but fail so miserably in what is really important. That is, in coming to a knowledge of the truth. It does not amaze God because He discusses the downfall of the Wisdom of the Wise – Worldly Wisdom. This man is hardly alone but is joined by many thousands of others who pass from this life everyday. Roughly, something over 155,000 people die on the average each day. Some are very rich, some are very poor as the world envisions wealth. More and more people are just like this person in terms of being “nonreligious.” His exceptional life as seen by some people is not the way God will see this man or any man. God will ignore the fame, the fortune, the awards ENTIRELY and view each person as to their relationship to His Son. Do they have a relationship with Jesus and if so did they maintain it by obedience unto their death?

What do the wise men/women of the world miss when they deny God, that is specifically the God of the bible.
First they miss that God is able to deliver His truth, His purpose for humankind. The confusion comes from the world of religion and often “sounds like” which religion, which book is correct? Quoting scripture to such people would be like beating the air. A better question would be, “Is there a religion wherein I can find God and be convinced because everything fits perfectly together?” Adding to the confusion is that many who follow the scriptures (use the same book) teach very differently. So, is that God’s fault or is that man’s fault. It is the Wisdom of the World that believes God is at fault and He did not deliver His truth with sufficient clarity. We hear people claim God cannot be fair to every person. You do not understand God and you UNDERESTIMATE GOD. All you are doing with such reasoning is being part of the fulfillment of “not many wise according to the flesh.”

The Story of a Young Woman and
How Her Self-Interests Clouded Her Judgment

The Shallow Life

I often wonder why people do not search out truth in light of the potential seriousness of eternity. Then someone told me a story of why they avoided getting involved except superficially in religion. I realized that in today’s world her honest testimony was representative of the reasoning of many people. Few would admit openly to such a reason but this young woman was looking deeply into why she had sidestepped every opportunity to seriously consider God and religious things and wanted to express it openly.
She was interestingly religious in the sense of routinely attending a church but like so many it was just social. When there were appeals to become involved, to make commitments it was time to reduce even her limited involvement – which she called attendance. She said she was afraid that if she were to become more involved it might change her life and she loved her life and did not it want to change. That change might be due to understanding that her lifestyle was not consistent with a truly meaningful life. She knew much of her life was wrong but avoided thinking about the right and wrong aspect. Her friends supported her beliefs and that was comforting. The association with her friends enhanced her lifestyle and they mused at people opposing their lifestyle. Frequently, calling them self-righteous troublemakers who secretly wished they could enjoy life as much as they did. She described her lifestyle as hedonistic. As time passed there was more and more support for every kind of immoral, unjust thing and she realized she had become very selfish, narcissistic, and highly egotistical. She now called her lifestyle immoral and shallow after laughing at the idea of it being immoral for many years. It seems that finally the very fact that she so strongly avoided any opposition to her beliefs began to bother her. If she was right in her beliefs they should stand the test of discussion. She was becoming more open minded and was willing to have some discussion with the goal of finding the truth about life. Also a contributing factor in her awakening was a dose of reality coming in the form of some serious personal problems. Those “gut-wrenching” problems either drag a person further down or wake them up.

The interesting thing is how addicted someone can become to a lifestyle. It is a lifestyle they enjoy and do not want to jeopardize it even to the point of fooling themselves. Unlike most people, this young woman is searching for meaning and unlike the previous example is considering the seriousness of life before she is on her “death bed.” That man was progressing from an exceedingly selfish person as he began his career to one (near at the end of his life) trying to do something for others. It appears he always remained entangled in the “Wisdom of the World.” That worldly wisdom believes (in case there is a God) a person could point to the good they had done even if late in life. God defines your goodness in terms of a relationship to His Son which is not a component of worldly wisdom.
In the world’s wisdom the lives of this young woman and this middle aged man might seem quite reasonable. Actually they would both be reasonable and even better than average in that they both moved from being focused on their self-interests to being more caring of others. However, life is ultimately not about this life and what you and I might believe about their lives as well as believe about our lives will be incorrect. The standard for determining success or failure belongs to God and He has made the rules and God will be your judge.

Deep Reasons/Motives that Rule our Lives

What is the deepest reason/motive of those who reject the God of the Bible? Is it because they do not like the bible rules? Is it because they have their own view of how God should have provided the truth – maybe more clearly? Is it because they believe man’s science has shown that there is not necessarily a creator? Is it because the world of religion is confusing and has a violent history? Is it like the man above who was so busy gaining the things of this world that he never stopped to see he was missing the most important thing in life – what life was all about?
Or is it like the young woman above who loved her life just the way it was and was afraid she might discover problems if she looked too closely.

Is the real problem always to some degree the pride of life? The middle aged man surrounded himself with all the things of this life – for him it was all about this life. As he neared death, there was regret, confession and the desire to try to make things right. It was, it seems too late for him to learn of life’s real purpose and like many when it finally gets serious there is just too much “catching-up” to do and too many lifetime self-constructed roadblocks to overcome. That is, is there truth and what is it and where do I look? The young woman certainly was suffering under the pride of life, it was all about her and she was even afraid to open her mind to the truth.

What if a person’s deepest motive was to find the truth about life, indeed having a love of the truth? Like Jesus mentioned in Matthew 5.6, “to hunger and thirst for righteousness” or like in Matthew 6.33, “to seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” What if the God of the Bible taught that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who will fail in life but to those who believe God it is God’s power to save them? Well, that is exactly what God did, choosing to reject those who look at His Son and the message of the cross as foolishness.

1 Corinthians 1:18-21

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written:
“ I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

1 Corinthians 1:25-29

25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Glory Only in the Lord
26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.
27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.

Truth is atypical in Religion
The World is Oblivious to the Truth.

That may seem harsh but the usage of “the world” as Jesus spoke of it in John 15 was in the context of opposition to, even hatred of Jesus. God makes the great separation in relation to your choice. Each person will select the wisdom of the world or the wisdom from God.

James 4:4

4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Life indeed is not easy and sin abounds but that is exactly why God provided Jesus, that is, to cover the sins of mankind, but mankind has a part also in receiving the forgiveness. Namely, obey the gospel and remain faithful until death (Revelation 2.10).

So many people will fail in life out some combination of laziness and just believing out-spoken persons and/or indoctrination on the issue of God and religion. I am also pretty sure the ailment of the young woman above (selfish concern for maintaining her current lifestyle) is an important factor in the God/religious decision-making of most people. Selfishness, greed, envy, and self-gratification are behind much of the sin throughout history and at times resulted in wars and many cruel acts. Currently in the United States the mainstream media is incredibly anti-God as are the courts. The real root cause lies with religion and the mass media just have a “field day” with the silliness and confusion of “religion.” None of this is an excuse, but things you need to be overcome. God tests all people and clearly wants open-minded courageous persons who have a love of he truth, humility, and a forgiving spirit. Certainly, a very large number of so-called religious persons have no relationship with God whatsoever. If you believe or claim to have such a relationship with God that does not mean you indeed have such a relationship. So, without any analysis many people blame religion for all sorts of actions and associate God with that religion. In fact, God has nothing to do with them except to abhor their misrepresentation of truth. The truth should be important in religion but normally is not the reason people associate with a certain group. Many people are born into homes that have a religious tradition and other friends and families are also of that certain belief. When the families are solid, loving and the religious group also has certain noble characteristics the young people can be lifetime associates with that group, philosophy. This does not mean it is the truth and again God may abhor the doctrine. Just as Jesus told the Jews that their worship was in vain (useless) because they had selected the wisdom of the wise (the wisdom of their fellow Jewish leaders) over Godly wisdom.

Matthew 15:9

9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

So how do you know if you are following the commandments of men or those of God? Do you know the origin of your beliefs? Do all the things you have been taught align with God’s plan, with His purpose? Do all things in your belief system fit perfectly together as a whole? Are you very casual with your religion, your beliefs as though it is not really important? The very thought that you may be responsible for “getting it right” may be overwhelming to many people and sadly for many this is where they fail the test, being very casual when they need to be very serious, very diligent.

The association people falsely assume is:

Associated with religion, Thus
Associated with God and thus
Actions Associated with God or “Religion”

The appropriate distinction would be:

Associated with religion – May or may not be associated with God – Actions may or may not be associated with God or “Religion”

This is extremely important because a person can gain a bad attitude in relation to religion and God and “stay as far away as possible” from any indication of religion and/or God. The opinionated liberal reporting by mass-media contains an anti-God prejudice and never makes this distinction. In fact, the truth is just the least of their concerns. So, it may seem to you, all people have a lot working against them. Life is a test and there is a lot of deceit, a lot of confusion but heaven is for those who can overcome the obstacles, overcome sin. The truth holds together perfectly while the religions of the world including the atheist religion all crumble.

The Wisdom of the Wise and Abortion

An excellent example of worldly wisdom and
how mankind believes in the accuracy of its own wisdom

It is ridiculous how easy it is to sort through religious truth and error. Sadly the United States is going the route of the world in its acceptance of abortion. It is easy to understand the evil of abortion, it is murder! Yet, a large number of people buy the idea of choice. The choice is always there but the nation should not support it and make it an everyday option, even promote it. People ought to know. God looks at life as something that occurs at conception recognizing you and providing a soul.

Psalm 139.16

16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

The bible is clear regarding God’s purpose and the taking of innocent lives is something God specifically hates (Proverbs 6.17). God’s purpose from Genesis 1.28 for procreation is clear and going against God’s plans is ill-advised and of course damaging for any person.
Every person who supports abortion needs to see the abortion of a 13 week old baby and how the baby resists the tool inserted to kill it and the suffering. Every person who supports abortion ought to know the very high percentage of women who following abortion grieve the rest of their lives. Every person who supports abortion ought to know that such support is eternally consequential even if they never had an abortion. Just as a murder’s accomplice is guilty of murder so is the one who supports evil.

This is really easy yet in the case of abortion people call murder something else and do it for many reasons. Some of those reasons are political, some mothers cannot face up to the more difficult life ahead, and some abortions are performed to avoid the economic consequences. Of course these people want to keep God out of their lives and look for every reason to condemn religion, to believe there is no God. So we have a very large number of people who have abortions and/or support abortions and consequently dig themselves a hole and are highly unlikely to ever search for truth, much less find it. They die hoping when they close their eyes the last time that their existence is over. That is why they hope because they certainly do not know!

Truth is indeed atypical in religion and in the world and frequently the deceit is the result of carelessness, selfishness and greed. We see a world of hedonism, immorality, murder, cruelty, self-interest, anger and it evolves gradually becoming progressively less shameful over a long period of time. Generation after generation the unacceptable becomes acceptable. Life it turns out is not about the morality or ethical nature OF ANY NATION but it is about your soul, your eternity. However, as a nation deteriorates morally, ethically in some way God rejects that nation and it becomes weak and deteriorates. Many people are damaged, overcome by such a society and never learn the purpose of life. There is little or no help from religion because it is also corrupted. Nonetheless, there is truth and you can know God and be blessed just as He planned. You need to get the truth and live it and only in that way can you be successful in life. You will be atypical in the world.

The Bottom Line Is God’s Plan
Will Produce the Result He Intended

• Mankind believes there is no God: Foolishness
• Mankind rejects God’s answer for man’s success – The message of the Cross: Foolishness
• Mankind fails to understand God’s love, God’s mercy is all on the cross: Foolishness
• Mankind believes God will save most of the human race, even though He says a few: Foolishness
• Mankind frequently looks for a problem in God’s word, or a problem with justice as though God could have a problem: Foolishness

Mankind indicates there is no way to understand the truth since it is, “just your interpretation.” They are saying, “God failed,” but what they are really observing is the failure of various men to appropriately teach the truth. God’s word has been delivered perfectly in accordance with His purpose. That purpose allows people to be rejected as a result of their attitude which is usually associated with the “wisdom of the world.” Individuals on this disastrous path possess characteristics in opposition to those of Matthew 5.3-12.

Yes, God’s plan will produce the result He intended and it should not be a surprise that God’s plan does not align with a world involved with all sorts of “ungodly” pursuits. That is exactly why there is a clear choice between following man’s wisdom or following God’s ways.

When you look at Matthew 5.3-12 above, do you see yourself? These are the kind of people with the potential for success.
In effect the gospel of Christ is hidden to those who cling to the wisdom of the wise as their guide in life.

2 Corinthians 4:3,4

3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

God is very consistent, perfectly consistent and you should not fail to come to the truth. There is no excuse! In reference to those who doubt His existence or to those who understand God exists but did not glorify Him or be thankful; God says they are without excuse.

Romans 1:20,21

20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Religion,
Really Mankind’s Religions Do Not Help!

In Religion, It Is Either Godly Wisdom Or The Wisdom of The Wise

What is the problem? Look at what you have been taught even if it was in a “Christian” context. Are you even familiar with the things discussed at this website? The bible is what you need, this site is designed to help people who have been exposed to the confusing religious inventions of man. Essentially this site says – LOOK TO THE BIBLE! If your “leader or leaders” are not teaching from God’s word, MAYBE CLAIMING THEY ARE; Is that what you want, THEIR version of the truth? Politicians (all too often) say what their constituents want to hear and likewise religious leaders speak to their members (all too often) saying what their members expect to hear.
There are many reasons why you are not being taught the truth and all I can do is recommend reading, “What Is Life All About? Almost always the problem goes back to the origins of your beliefs. Among many subjects in “What Is Life All About?” you can understand what you are being taught and why, while gaining a better understanding of God.