I was once a Zombie...and maybe you still are??

The Zombies have taken over! With the current movie "World War Z", the most expensive zombie movie ever made, the popular culture is over-run with zombie images from popular films (Zombieland, 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead) to the AMC TV hit, "Walking Dead" where police officer, Rick Grimes, leads a group of survivors in a world overrun by zombies.

The typical zombie is a dead person who has come back to life. They are also known to feed on human flesh to sustain their life, which is part of their "creepiness". You don't want to get too close to a zombie.

You may be surprised to learn that long before any books or movies on "zombies", the Bible referenced zombies. Paul writes in Ephesians 2 that all of us are dead men because of our disobedience to God and our many sins. He goes on to say that you and I like everyone else, and they are enslaved to our master, the Devil. We are subject to following our passionate desires and doing whatever our sinful nature wants. While we are in this state, we are "walking dead men (and women)".

In Romans 1:21-32, Paul describes the lifestyle and behavior of the "walking dead" (all of mankind). He writes that those who are dead have no desire to worship God or give him thanks. Their minds are dark and confused. They claim to be wise but in reality, they are utter fools. They have abandoned God to do whatever shameful things their hearts desire. They have traded the truth for a lie, and instead of worshiping their Creator, they worship and serve created things including each other's bodies, men with men and women with women.

Paul goes on to describe these "zombies" as full of every kind of wickedness, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, gossip, etc. They will stab you in the back when you're not around, they HATE God. They are proud, boastful and totally disobedient to their parents. They think nothing of breaking their promises. Their word means nothing. These "walking dead" are heartless and show no mercy, and they are always on the lookout to convert others to their way of thinking and behavior

Paul informs us in Ephesians 2 that because of our being dead in our sins (Walking Dead), we were subject to God's wrath (his righteous anger). Roman 1 says that because of our behavior and hard hearts, we are daily storing up God's wrath (against each one of us) which will be unleashed on the day of judgment (Revelation 20:11-12). 

But here's the Good News. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:4-7 that because God is rich in mercy and because of his love for us, that even though we were zombies, walking dead men--he gave us new life when he raised the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) from the dead. He raised us from the dead along with Yeshua (Jesus), and it is because of God's grace (His un-merited favor) that we have been saved (from being "walking dead men and women." By God's grace, we have been rescued from the domain of darkness where we were held captive, under the spell of Satan. Yeshua (Jesus) is our Deliverer! He has given us new life and adopted us into his family so that we could have a relationship with God, our Heavenly Father.

So I am thankful that I no longer live as a Zombie, seeking to please my own flesh as well as consuming the flesh of others. I am also thankful that I no longer living as a "walking dead man" with an appetite for wickedness, and a hatred toward God (maybe I never said I hated God, but my actions spoke louder than words). With the life of God flowing through me, I now want to worship God and give Him the glory and honor he so rightly deserves. My mind has been renewed and is no longer consumed with twisted thinking, deception, lies and unbelief.

You too can be set free from the world of the "walking dead." Start reading the Bible (begin with the Gospel of John, and ask God to reveal himself to you (He will), and then begin to talk to God and ask Him to change you and give you a new life (that He would begin to live in and through you) and deliver you from being a "zombie" and the "walking dead."

For Steve Jobs, maybe life is like an "on-off" switch. "Click! And you're gone.

Walter Isaacson in his massive bio, "Steve Jobs" tells the story of Jobs attending a Lutheran church with his parents. All this came to an end in 1968 when LIFE Magazine published a shocking cover story on a couple of starving children in Biafra. Jobs took the magazine to Sunday School and confronted the church's pastor. "If I raise my finger, will God know which one I'm going to raise even before I do it?"

The Pastor answered, "Yes, God knows everything."
Jobs then pulled out the LIFE cover and asked, "Well does God know about this and what's going to happen to these children?"

Jobs announced that he didn't want to have anything to do worshiping such a God, and he never went back to church. He did, however, spend years studying and trying to practice the tenets of Zen Buddhism.

Years later, in reflection, he said, "The juice goes out of Christianity when it becomes too based on faith rather than on living like Jesus or seeing the world as Jesus saw it." I would agree. But it's sad that He just shut the door to Christianity based on a presumption that God wasn't doing anything to alleviate suffering in the world. My question to Steve Jobs would've been, "If you are NOW so enlightened, what are you doing to relieve human suffering like that in Biafra?"

When Jobs learned that he had pancreatic cancer, one of his first calls was to Larry Brilliant, whom he had first met at an ashram in India. "Do you still believe in God?" Jobs asked him. Brilliant said that he did, and they discussed the many paths to God that they had been taught by the Hindu Guru Neem Karoli Baba. Then Brilliant asked Jobs  what was wrong. "I have cancer." Jobs replied.

One sunny afternoon when he wasn't feeling well, Jobs sat in the garden behind his house and reflected on death. He talked about his experiences in India four decades earlier, his study of Buddhism, and his views on reincarnation and spiritual transcendence. "I'm about fifty-five on believing in God," he said. "For most of my life, I've felt there must be more to our existence than meets the eye."

He admitted that, as he faced death, he might be overestimating the odds out of a desire to believe in an afterlife. "I'd like to think that something survives after you die," he said. "It's strange to think that you can accumulate all this experience, and maybe a little wisdom, and it just goes away. So I really want to believe that something survives, that maybe your consciousness endures."

He fell silent for a very long time. "But on the other hand, perhaps it's like an on-off switch," he said. "Click! And you're gone."

Then he paused again and smiled slightly. "Maybe that's why I never liked to put on-off switches on Apple devices."

From what we know of Steve's last days, he never had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. In fact, I believe that's why there was so much uncertainty and contemplation on life after death. Even Steve Jobs found it hard to accept the fact that you just flick an "off" switch and this whole thing is over. Nothing survives except maybe your company and some really cool products.

Steve Jobs' legacy is AMAZING!! It includes the following:

• The Apple II, the first personal computer
• The Macintosh, which begat the home computer revolution
• PIXAR, which gave us "Toy Story" and ramped up the miracle of digital imagination in cartoons.
• Apple stores which reinvented the role of a store in defining a brand.
• The iPod which changed the way we consume music.
• The iTunes store, which saved the music industry.
• The iPhone, which turned mobile phones into music, photography, video, email & web devices.
• The App store, which spawned a new content creation industry.
• The iPad, which launched tablet computing and offered a platform for digital newspapers, magazines, books & videos.
• iCloud, which demoted the computer from its control role in managing our content and let all our devices sync seamlessly.

Apple has surpassed Microsoft and everyone else as the most valuable company in the world. Steve Jobs accomplished a lot in his brief time here on earth.

But, having said that, I am reminded of the words of Jesus recorded in Mark 8:36, "And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything (even creating the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad, Pixar, even Apple itself) worth more than your soul?"

Disbelief: "You wanna run that by me again?"

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:7 “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” What does it mean to “believe all things”? I think that in context, it means that love sees the best in others or gives the other person the benefit of the doubt, choosing to believe the best about them not the worst! 

However, the Apostle Paul is not saying that love is gullible and believes everything and does not exercise qualities such as wisdom and discernment. What he is saying is that love will believe well of others unless convinced otherwise. It seeks to put the best possible construction on another's words, actions, etc.

At the risk of sounding “uncharitable,” here is a list of things (or people) I don’t believe:

• Evolution. (Where’s the missing link?)
• Global Warming (I know that experts like Al Gore, Brad Pitt & Britany Spears will disagree with me, but there are several thousand scientists who haven’t drunk the Kool-Aid, and they are not following the money).
• Attorney General Eric Holder. (I never believe him when he is testifying before Congress, and I don’t believe he is concerned about justice for ALL Americans. In fact, he’s evidence enough for eliminating the Justice Dept. which is an oxymoron.)
• Pres. Obama. (He said he won’t rest until every American has a job--Except for his weekly golf. And all vacations. And trips to the burger joint with Joe. And campaign stops and TV interviews.)
• Ministers at conferences when they tell you how many are attending their church or how many were saved at some rally. They always inflate the numbers (This is referred to as “evangelistically-speaking”). This same thing happens when denominations list their overall numbers for worldwide growth, conversions, baptisms, etc. Inflated numbers every time.
• The published numbers for poor people in America (We are told that 1 in 6 Americans is fighting hunger). We have redefined poor. They  have 2 flat-screen TVs, own one or more cars, eat out at McDonalds, have an Xbox system, Sony Playstation 3, etc. Do I really believe there are poor people in America. Yes, but not the high numbers published in news stories by advocates (who make their living by inflating the numbers). A better understanding of real poverty is a visit to India or Ethiopia, Africa.
• Politicians when they say they want to “help you.” It’s usually the other way around, they want to “help themselves” at our expense,
• Affirmative action. Instead of taking race into consideration when one is considered for a job or entrance to a university, we need to look for the one who is best qualified, be they male, female, black, white, Indian, Asian, etc. AA leads to preferential hiring and reverse discrimination.
• Political Correctness. This is a tyranny against the freedom of speech so that no one is ever offended. This is an attempt to limit our thoughts, words and actions.

Here’s what I DO believe:

• The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Bible. He created this earth, all that is seen and unseen. He created man to have dominion over this earth.
• Yeshua (Jesus Christ). He is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Chosen One. He is the first and the last, the Alpha and Omega. Apart from Him, nothing was made that has been made. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no man comes to the Father except by Him. He is full of righteousness, grace and mercy.
• The Bible is God’s revealed word to us. We need to devour it. The Bible contains the words of life itself. God’s Word of instruction gives us understanding, wisdom, hope, strength, direction, happiness, integrity, and ultimately leads us to eternal life.
• Israel. God chose Israel to be His people and His land. His steadfast love toward Israel and its people endures forever. He has given Israel to His people the Jews, who have descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Because of His great love toward His people, the Jews, He brought them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, to the land we now call Israel and gave them this land (their Promised Land) as an inheritance to them. God calls Himself the God of Israel, the Holy One of Israel.
• In God’s plan and purpose for my life this day. My life does have purpose. He is ordering my steps and leading me in the paths of righteousness and goodness for His name’s sake. Even when bad things happen, my Lord is still at work and He never drops the ball, never forgets about me, never stops loving me. He is worthy of my praise and my life.
• In the end, God wins. 

How about you? What do you believe?