Steve Jobs Last Words...

When I read Jobs last words it gives meaning to the words "Beautiful Ache" Rich & Poor alike, most of us forget what life is really about and how fragile life and love is... 

The last words of Steve Jobs -

I have come to the pinnacle of success in business.

In the eyes of others, my life has been the symbol of success.

However, apart from work, I have little joy. Finally, my wealth is simply a fact to which I am accustomed.

At this time, lying on the hospital bed and remembering all my life, I realize that all the accolades and riches of which I was once so proud, have become insignificant with my imminent death.

In the dark, when I look at green lights, of the equipment for artificial respiration and feel the buzz of their mechanical sounds, I can feel the breath of my approaching death looming over me.

Only now do I understand that once you accumulate enough money for the rest of your life, you have to pursue objectives that are not related to wealth.

It should be something more important:

For example, stories of love, art, dreams of my childhood.

No, stop pursuing wealth, it can only make a person into a twisted being, just like me.

God has made us one way, we can feel the love in the heart of each of us, and not illusions built by fame or money, like I made in my life, I cannot take them with me.

I can only take with me the memories that were strengthened by love.

This is the true wealth that will follow you; will accompany you, he will give strength and light to go ahead.

Love can travel thousands of miles and so life has no limits. Move to where you want to go. Strive to reach the goals you want to achieve. Everything is in your heart and in your hands.

What is the world's most expensive bed? The hospital bed.

You, if you have money, you can hire someone to drive your car, but you cannot hire someone to take your illness that is killing you.

Material things lost can be found. But one thing you can never find when you lose: life.

Whatever stage of life where we are right now, at the end we will have to face the day when the curtain falls.

Please treasure your family love, love for your spouse, love for your friends...

Treat everyone well and stay friendly with your neighbours.

What Did You Expect?

Imagine you wanting your baby to understand your every word, the meaning in the words you speak to him. Expecting him to pick up after himself and well basically take care of himself. Expectations? There’s just no chance for an infant to understand an adult. These thoughts came to me in thinking about how we tend to believe (make believe) that we completely understand God and His Word, His ways. Or more so our expectations are that He is in agreement with us. There’s not a person we know (or will ever know) that has lived up to our expectations and along the way we have put God in that same box of “Meet my Expectations”

     As the saying goes “God made man in His image and we returned the favor”. Most of us have our own top 10 list of sins and most of the time of course we won’t find our sins on that list. We read that His ways are much higher than our ways. This can lead us to momentary change but just different (perhaps greater) expectations. And that’s just it sometimes we just can’t (and wont) understand what is being said in His Word. Let humility pour into our lives and admit we don’t understand it or “accept” that we wouldn’t do it that way but then again we’re not God.

So in knowing that His grace, mercy, wisdom, thoughts, justice, order, love( and so forth) are greater than all I could ever imagine to offer Him the only thing to do is to surrender. Sure we will wrestle and struggle (to say the least) with things in His Word or with things that take place in our life. But through it all He is and will always be God. 

And I believe for most of us our expectations are so distorted, cloudy at best in what we expect out of others and most of all God. I heard a preacher some time ago close his message by asking, “What did you expect?” That question has come back to me throughout the years. To be brutally honest, I wish there was no hell, there was no cancer, for that matter that I hadn’t even experience my health issues these past few years. I wish (and then some) Adam and Eve did obey or that God didn’t throw a curse down on the entire world and mankind. But with that came Christ and His life and death on our behalf which doesn’t make sense to me. Indeed it may be the one thing that makes the least sense to me in the Bible. When somebody gives me a gift I didn’t expect it means more to me because for one I didn’t expect it but second and most importantly I realize it’s a gift and not only didn’t I expect but I didn’t deserve it. And so it is with God despite Him seemingly not living up to my expectations it’s me who has not (and will not) live up to His word. But He knew such and has made an offer for us that in the end will be way beyond our imagination and expectations. Still very few things in life are easy or live up to the expectations but here’s a suggestion from Pete Wilson (No Plan B), “Instead of griping that God isn’t living up to your expectations, that he isn’t meeting your needs the way you think they should be met, that he isn’t answering your prayers with a vending machine whoosh, you can make the choice to receive what Hes offering you in this moment. The comfort of realizing he knows what you’re going through. The hope of realizing he really does know what he’s doing.” In life we can expect the unexpected but in that always take time, in the good and the bad to see it as an opportunity of invitation. To invite God into that very moment.

Hot Enough For You

As we finished up the hot & humid season thousands of churches have dropped the “Christianese” talk of how hot it has been and reminding us Hell is so much hotter. Therefore we wouldn’t want to go to Hell. If Hell is all about being hot then Heaven must be a paradise of central air.

 Actually many people like hot weather (yes insanity)  and some of those very same people are planning to “party in Hell” with that not too nice hot weather. Our Christianese talk is similar to the church billboards. They have watered down the true meaning of Heaven and Hell and all that is in between. What makes Hell –Hell is a complete void, absence of God. This life we live on earth is a mix of both as in we know only in part what awaits us in Heaven and Hell. But we do know Heaven is all about God, Jesus and all that is good. And Hell is the absence of all those things.  A destination set only for Satan and the fallen angels. But many (wide is the road) will choose to walk pass the beaten bloody Savior on the cross saying “thanks but no thanks”

The torment, the depths in the agony of Hell leads me to believe the temperature will be the last thought that comes to mind. It’s not the hot weather that reminds me of Hell but it’s the daily news of killings, wars, cancers, diseases, abortions, hatred, for these are the reminders of the reality of hell.

“Hell is hot” rings about as much truth as calling God the “big man upstairs”, or the loved one passes away and becomes your guardian angel.  So lacking it’s not worth uttering from our lips it’s more like a folklore. So let’s talk about Hell (it’s not talked about enough) it’s a place one can only earn by denying the saving grace of Jesus Christ. And Heaven is the place you enter because God gave His son Jesus Christ to die for you and me. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve and mercy is not getting what we deserve. And that is the difference between Heaven and Hell. The world needs a lot less clichés and a lot more Truth.

If this Jesus, Heaven and hell thing is not for you then realize this life is the closest thing you will ever know of Heaven. But if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord  & Savior then this life is the closest thing to Hell you will ever see. Heaven awaits you, even so come Lord Jesus, come.