Almost, Almost, Almost...

Let me start by just saying that I absolutely love the Bible. So many things I didn't know, new things to uncover. It's incredible. Also, I get to truly learn the stories, not just of Christ's life, but the life of the original twelve as well. And this is where this insight comes from.

Acts 26 has, quite possibly, the most saddening phrase to me in the entire Bible. Let me sum up the chapter: Paul tells his account of how he formerly persecuted the Saints in Christ's time while he was a Pharisee before he was converted. He then testifies of Jesus whom he saw on the Damascus road. And at the end of the chapter Paul bears his testimony of Christ and the gospel to king Agrippa.

It is with the king that my sadness lay.

I have to quote the end of this chapter to help me explain:

"27King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou^abelievest.
28Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou ^apersuadest me to be a^bChristian.
29And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds."

What was it King Agrippa says to Paul when questioned if he believed in Christ? "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."

Now wait a minute. Paul already knows that King Agrippa believes. Not only that, King Agrippa knows that he believes as well. So why is he denying it? "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian"? That's just not true. You do know, O King. So why do ye deny? Almost you were willing to defend this man of God. Almost you were willing to be blessed. Almost you were willing to truly accept He who could save you...

Well, now I must ask each of you, as well as myself, the same question. How often do we do exactly what King Agrippa did? You know what you believe, you know Christ lives, you know what He asks of you, so why do you still deny? Why do we still pretend and push these things to the back of our mind?

How often do we say things like this:

· "I could keep the sabbath day holy, but the weather is perfect to go boating.

· "I could follow the prophet and not watch rated R movies, but it's just a little violence, just a little sex, just a little gore.

· "I could keep the commandments and not sin right now, but it's just so enticing."

· "I could go to all of my meetings, but the Superbowl is about to start. I can go next week."

· "I could go to the temple today, but I'd rather read/watch a movie/play video games instead."

Aren't these simple things the types of things we say to ourselves so often? All the little excuses we make up to make ourselves feel better about doing the exact opposite of what we know we should and what is right? Why do we do that? Why do pretend to what's right and never follow through? We claim we believe and do nothing with it. Whatever happened to that scripture in James: "Faith without works is dead, being alone"?

Let me add a little to the above statements and say what Agrippa did. Maybe then we'll understand:

· "I could keep the sabbath day holy, but the weather is perfect to go boating. Almost thou persuadest me to keep the sabbath day holy."

· "I could follow the prophet and not watch rated R movies, but it's just a little violence, just a little sex, just a little gore. Almost thou persuadest me to follow the prophet."

· "I could keep the commandments and not sin right now, but it's just so enticing. Almost thou persuadest me to keep the commandments."

· "I could go to all of my meetings, but the Superbowl is about to start. I can go next week. Almost thou persuadest me to attend church."

· "I could go to the temple today, but I'd rather read/watch a movie/play video games instead. Almost thou persuadest me to attend the temple."

Do we not understand the implications tho these statements we make, both verbal and physical? Do we not get that essentially all we are saying is, "I could reach the Celestial kingdom, but the world and what they claim is happiness is instantly gratifying to me and somehow more fulfilling. Almost thou persuadest me to be truly happy. Almost." But instead of truly giving it our all, and giving our will over the the Father, we tell Him, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Almost thy gift is worth it. Almost I want to be with you again." Almost, almost, almost...

Almost we are willing to help that elderly lady take her groceries to her car. Almost we want to help the dead who cannot help themselves. Almost we want to be a better sister, brother, husband, wife, parent. Almost we want to be closer to our Creator. Almost we are willing to do the things required of us. Almost we are willing to be Christians. Almost, almost, almost...

Might I suggest that we no longer sit on the fence with our legs sprawled on each side, proclaiming, "Almost I'm a Christian!" But let us stand firmly on the side of the Lord, so there is no doubt in any mind that we are who we say are, because we act how we speak.

"I am a Christian!"

Well Done, Thou Good and Faithful Servant

Even an ordinary soul-struggling against temptation, failing and repenting, and failing again and repenting, but always determined to keep his covenants can still expect to one day hear "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." --Boyd K. Packer.

I myself find it hard to believe that someone who demands perfection will always be willing to forgive me my follies. I struggle comprehending the fact that God will keep forgiving. In my mind, I'm just waiting for the day that He says to me, "Nope, I'm sorry. You've done that sin one too many times. I can't forgive you anymore. You've been fairly warned time and again, and time again you say you won't, and yet you do. There's no more I can do for you." But that's the beauty of the atonement, of repentance, of God's mercy and His love.

It never ends.

God will not, no not once, forsake us if we come unto Him. He will gladly receive us with open arms as did the Prodigal's father. We can mess up time and again. We can be a repeat offender, as is often the case while we struggle to become perfect (one day), but we may all still one day hear the words, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

In Christ Alone

Many songs touch me, because I am so very musically inclined. But few have touched me quite like this:

Thank you, Adam Young (aka Owl City), for producing such a brilliantly and wonderfully renditioned song. You truly are amazing and I applaud you for standing up and proclaiming your beliefs. You truly are an inspiration.

If you want to see his actual article on why he did a cover of this song, here is the link: http://owlcityblog.com/2010/10/25/my-hope-is-found/

Adam and Eve: A Type or Shadow?

Symbolism truly is one of the most amazing things. And the more I look into it and try to find deeper meanings, the more impressed I am. For instance, I'll take a simple one, Adam and Eve, to illustrate this for you:

In the Old Testament, there is more than enough symbolism to go around right? Half the time, we can't really decipher what is supposed to be taught and we struggle to understand. But I think this will be a simple one for all. And perhaps it will show just how simplistic many of the symbols really are, if we just cared to look.

In Genesis when it talks of Adam and Eve and when they partook of the fruit of knowledge, what was their initial reaction? To cover themselves from God, right? They immediately felt and realized what it was like to be naked in the sight of God and themselves. But not only physically, but spiritually as well, for they had sinned. Although it was part of the Great Plan, it was still a sin for they had disobeyed God's commandment to not partake of the fruit. So, they were now unclean and unfit to be in the presence of God continually.

But God understood them. He understood the problems and the shame they were feeling. And He helped them. He gave each of them a garment, a covering of skin. Physically, this made it so they were no longer naked... But think of the symbolism behind that.

Chances are, that animal would have had to be sacrificed in order to receive the skins to clothe them. A sacrifice that covered them. Now here's the fun part: Isn't that exactly what Christ has done for us? Could this have just been a type or shadow of what Christ would later do for each of us? Perhaps this was God's way of letting us know he would provide a way for us. I must quote a great article by Lenet Read who puts this perfectly:

"Might it [the giving of the skin coverings] have been a witness that God himself would provide a covering for his children, all of whom would experience spiritual nakedness-that is, being exposed to his judgmental eye? For through the sacrifice made by Christ, our sins may be covered, if we repent. Looked at this way, the symbolism of Adam and Eve's coats of skins teaches of Christ and helps us prepare spiritually, that eventually we may once again dare to stand in the presence of God unashamed."

I hope that we all may look deeper into the symbolism of the scriptures so that we may find those deeper meanings God is trying to help us understand. He loves us, wants us to be happy, and wants us to understand all the mysteries of the heavens. But we first must do our part and seek diligently to find the answers and true meanings of the symbols.

Sacrament and the Atonement

"We would never dream of separating the symbols of the Atonement by taking the bread without the water or vice versa when partaking of the sacrament. Together they teach us of immortality and eternal life. Neither one without the other is a whole gift. Both are required to truly make us whole."

Brad Wilcox, The Continuous Atonement

After reading this chapter heading, I just sat there and thought. Truly thought about what this would be like, to only have the bread or the water during the sacrament. What would it be like to only have the gift of one and not the other?

With only the bread, if Christ had only died for us and been resurrected, that's all we would have. Sure, it's a fun thought to think, just like in Tuck Everlasting, that, "I can live forever!" We would become immortal, but to what end? None of us would ever be in the presence of God again, ever. He cannot look on sin with the least degree of allowance, and without the sacrifice of Christ's blood for us, justice would never be met and there would be no mercy to let us be with them again. I don't like the thought of living forever in sin...

So then, that means having the water would be the better option, right?

If we just had the water, the blood of Christ shed for our sins, we would be allowed to have our sins forgiven of us. Sounds great right? No more living in sin, so long as we repented. But that's the only thing we would get. What would be the point of that since we would eventually just die and cease to exist anyway? Without being able to live forever, we would see God again for a few brief moments before no longer existing, or just starting this earthly process all over again. Either one is just as bad as not having had the water but only the bread to begin with...

This is why we need them both. This is why it's not only important that Christ suffered for us in Gethsemane, not only that he died for us, but also that he rose again. All three of these are key to living with God again. Without all of them, we receive nothing worth wanting. True happiness would be impossible and unattainable... But with these gifts from Christ, not only are they possible, but we can each make it back home.