Pastor Mark Surey gave an awesome message last Saturday at church, preaching out of Psalms 136 & 137. Mark was a former Communist leader (top dog) in Europe (Britain I think). During that time, he said that he memorized one Scripture and one Scripture only, and that was Psalm 137. He would use it to break up Christian meetings and events, heckling them with verse 9: "Happy shall he be, that taketh and dashesh thy little ones against the stones," and he'd say, "If there really is a God, then he is an infanticidal God who enjoys killing children." None of the Christians he had come across in those years ever had an answer to that; they could not reconcile why those words were in the Bible. Later on, he would become a believer in Yeshua Jesus and dig deeper into his Jewish roots. In any case, for his message, he spoke about chapters 137 and 136. The background of chapter 137 is that the Jews were taken captive by the Babylonians, and according to Mark, it was the equivalent of being a Jew and being taken captive by Nazis. Many died on their way to Babylon (something like 1 in 3), and when they got there, they were told to abandon their God and worship other gods or be killed. The Jews said no way- verses 5-6 say "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy" (this reminded me of Matisyahu's song too called "Jerusalem"). The Babylonians were brutal to the Jews, and did in fact take their children/babies and smash their heads against rocks.
Now the testy verses are verses 7-9. Well back then, the Persians planned on overtaking the Babylonians. So what they did was they reached out to all the captives, including the Jews, and said, If you join us and help us, then we will lower your taxes, allow you to live wherever you want, give you religious freedom, etc. etc. The only people the Persians did not invite were the Edomites. These people were known for doing the "dirty work" of the Babylonians, ie. killing those babies. So, the Persians, with their technology, had a way of getting underneath the city, and waited for the Babylonians to be drunk and merry during one of their festivals, and overtook the entire city in the middle of the night. Now verses 7-9 are actually verses of prophesy. It's not saying that God will be happy to see the little ones' heads smashed against the rocks, it's saying that those Persians will be, because that's exactly what the Persians did to the Babylonian babies. They took them, smashed their heads against the rocks (killed them), and handed them back to their mothers. Brutal, yes, and a fulfillment of prophesy against those enemies of God's people.
That is how those verses are reconciled, and it's amazing to me because having grown up in a Christian environment, anytime there is an apparent contradiction in the Word, my mindset is this: "Well, there has to be some good explanation for that, but I'm too lazy to look into it right now. So I'll just leave it at that." It's great to have light shed on such things, and it's awesome to get deeper into what the Bible says. I love that.
Chapter 136- His love/mercy endureth forever. Mark had four main points to make with this chapter, surrounding the question: why do bad things happen to good people (relatively or generally speaking, because there is really none good (Mark 10:18)). First of all, he said, and I absolutely agree, that when it comes down to tragedy and heartache, there is really nothing you can say, no verses you can point out, that will make somebody feel all that much better, in the face of losing a loved one, in the face of infidelity and betrayal, or chronic disease. It's almost useless to say, You know, this is God's will, and somehow it will all work out... BUT.. best to remember nonetheless, in our encouragement to others and in our own sufferings, that God is (1) JUST (what goes around comes around, in this life or the next), (2) LOVING (He loves you and cares about you through your struggle), (3) ALMIGHTY (God can enforce His will), and (4) FAITHFUL (remember what He's done before in your life/past). Great reminders and definitely an encouragement.
After service, I had a power conversation with Jeremy and William. We shared a lot of life and experiences, and talked about some flat out thought-provoking things. Here are a few random points....
- Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Bastards"- it's so easy to pick on the Nazis, and rightfully so, but what about a movie about present-day anti-Semitism? Why is it that no one would dare? It's easy to speak up after the fact. There are modern day Nazis, who want to destroy the Jews as a people- eradicate them from the face of the earth, destroy the nation of Israel. You know only too well who I speak of- Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian leadership (Palestinian Authority), etc. But not only do people shy away from speaking up today, others defend them! Jeremy told us that there were actually Nazi rallies in America during the Holocaust. Shocking? In today's politically correct society, it's even harder to find people speaking out against anti-Semitism. Then again, ignorance (which I am guilty of as well) plays a big part of it too, just like it did back then during World War II.
- People often find it hard to believe that God can forgive murder, rape, etc. "So you mean to tell me that after you accept Christ as your Savior, God has forgiven of all sins, both past and future? So, even if you were to kill somebody, you're still gonna go to Heaven?" This further ties in with: "Is it possible to lose your salvation?" (a resounding no). What we, as people, fail to see is how black and evil our own hearts are. We talked about how babies are such amazing people to observe, because they embody raw human nature. There's a saying that goes something like: babies are always seeking to satisfy self; adults are the exact same way- the only difference is that as you age, you learn to hide it better. We are oftentimes unaware of what we are capable of (or maybe we are very much aware and are very good at hiding it), and it is so easy to judge another person. But sin is like a deadly virus, take HIV for example. It doesn't matter if you are exposed via one tiny drop of blood, or via a huge blood transfusion, bottom line?- you are infected, and you are going to die. Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death, and what is the proof that we are all sinful? The fact that we are all one day going to die. But praise God that He provided a way for us to be "saved." One could actually think of their salvation like this: "I am saved, I am being saved, and I will be saved." Saved when I accepted Christ as Lord of my life, am being saved, a.k.a. sanctification, every day being molded to be more and more like Christ, and will be saved, when I die and spend eternity with God. If a true and sincere decision was made, one can never lose their salvation. The thinking that says it might be possible to lose your salvation is the thinking that drives fear into the hearts of many believers- "I need to do this, I need to do that, I, I, I, I, works, works, works, works...." It's a bondage that people really need to be freed from because Jesus is not a liar, and He has done everything necessary to save you forever, done deal. It's also how cults entrap people.
Once we got into cults, I shared my own experience with the Church of Christ. When I was a freshman, I met this kid who was on-fire for God. He invited me to Bible study and later on church, and we would meet regularly for one-on-one Bible study. One Sunday I witnessed a baptism, and immediately after he was baptized the pastor said something like: "Now you can enter into the Kingdom of God, and go to Heaven when you die." Now that did not sit right with me at all. When I asked the guy who had been doing one-on-one studies with me, he said, "Don't worry about that, we're not there yet. We'll talk about it when we get there." And I was like, "I'm sorry, but no, I want to talk about it right now." They reluctantly agreed, and one night I went over his apartment- his roommate was like the head student leader of Church on Christ on our campus. I walked in armed with my Bible, and we went back and forth for about an hour, until finally I got up and said, "We obviously have some major disagreements, and I'm not gonna be meeting with you guys anymore." To which the student leader replied with (and I kid you not I remember his exact words and tone): "You know, I'm sorry that you're blind and I'll pray that God will open your eyes so you can understand what the Bible says." Excuse me?!, I thought. So that was that and I left and never even saw them again (amazingly, 'coz I used to see them everywhere!). At the same time, Lana had begun seeing another girl from Church of Christ too, totally independent from me (their zeal to reach others was something to be admired). I remember also that at about that time, Lana came to my room crying because the girl who had been "disciplining" her was making her confess her sins to her! And Lana was really struggling with this because in her heart she really wanted to do what was right, but this just did not sit right with her (or me!). Some of our other friends got involved with them too (and thank God were delivered as well). So yes, in the end, we broke away, and found out a lot more things on top of what we had already figured out (we were also told that their church was the "true" church and "only way" to Heaven). One of those things was that they had a number of steps that one had to achieve to become "saved." Cults are a dangerous thing, but something like the Church of Christ could be that much more deceptive, dangerous, and confusing because of its surface similarities to what we know as Christianity.
- We talked about how nowadays people who believe in the creation theory (as opposed to the evolution theory) are labeled and accepted as "stupid." Why is that? It's like "general knowledge" that anybody who disagrees with evolution, which is the "widely accepted theory among the most knowledgeable scientists world-wide," is stupid! For many reasons. I'd highly recommend watching "Expelled":
The crowd there pretty much had their minds set up about ridiculing Hovind and the creation theory, but what do you know, afterward a lot of people actually respected the things he said in defense of creation, and respected how he held his own. We noted that sometimes it's difficult to even find such debates (creation vs. evolution) because evolutions turn down debate invitations so often. Another thing we talked about was how an evolutionist gets "stuck," he or she will often resort to attacking the character or credibility of the creationist (an ad hominem argument). Everyone does it actually: "Hey man, we have a video of you stealing that money from the cash register." "Oh yeah? Well you're dumb!!" (hence your claim and your video mean nothing!). Yes, I know that is a very exaggerated example, but you get the idea. Here a pretty thought-provoking fact: satan was the first being to use an ad hominem argument. When enticing Eve (Adam's wife) to eat the fruit, satan said: "Did God really say not to eat of the tree of good and evil?" Satan attacks God's character, then calls Him a liar!
Another aspect of evolution that came up was the fact that the bottom line, for why many evolutionists believe what they believe, is this: sexual mores (control of sexual behavior). Now, I took "Animal Behavior" in college and I know a thing or two about evolution and sex. And then we went on to why people believe other things, like say, the New Age stuff that's out there. William's best friend is a New Ager, and they had gone back and forth about their respective beliefs. Once all was stripped away, and after William shot down every last one of his arguments, the bottom line for why he believed in New Age thinking was this: "It feels good."
- Some people think like this: we should tolerate all religions, beliefs, and ways to God and Heaven, but those Christians? They make me so angry! They are so intolerable! To say that Jesus is the only way! So umm, who's being intolerant? People who believe that all ways are okay except Christianity. No, we can't accept or respect that. Or people who say they hate people who believe in absolutes. When saying there are no absolutes is an absolute statement in and of itself. Along these lines, I'd highly recommend reading C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity." I totally breaks down why it makes sense for God to exists, etc.- all built upon logic and reason. And to believe in God is logical! But you will notice that logic is being taught less and less in schools (unless you are a programmer or something), and why is that?
- Satan knows he's fighting a losing battle- he knows that in the end he loses. But he's gonna take down as many as he can with him. If he loses a soul to Christ, he won't stop there, he wall want to render that soul useless and ineffective. Satan has so many ways of tricking us, keeping us down, and messing with our minds. Again, I would so recommend another book by C.S. Lewis called "The Screwtape Letters." It's a book composed of a series of letters by a senior demon named Screwtape. He writes letters to his young nephew Wormwood giving him advice on how to turn his "patient" (an ordinary man) toward "our father below" (satan) and away from "the Enemy" (God). It explores the spiritual battle we face daily in such an ingenious way.
- Finally, the last thing I'll touch on (and I honestly didn't think I'd remember so much from our conversation!- being the writer that I am I found myself wishing I could write so many things down while we talked, so I thank God that a lot of it stayed with me in memory) is the parallel relationship of Christianity and marriage. I've been in a relationship for over seven years, and I am now engaged to be married (praise the Lord!), yet so many times I am told by others: "You're just in your honeymoon period, give it a couple of years, especially after you get married." Well, I know that marriage is hard, but is this the marriage that God created? "Oh, well, we have our good years and we have our bad years." YEARS?! Here's what I know: Pastor Ed and MomCindee (my Ross Christian Fellowship family) are about 60 years old, and MomCindee still says, "We're still on our honeymoon," with the biggest smile on her face. Just watching them and getting to know them over the years has been one of the biggest encouragements in my life. It totally dispelled those fears others tried to instill in me- blew them out of the water. Marriage is meant to be beautiful, and through the good and the bad, and I know mine will be. But it's the same with Christianity. When William first became a Christian, someone at church had the audacity to say to him, "That's just how it is now, wait 'til the trials come, etc. etc." Well, that guy said what almost everyone thinks but just doesn't want to say! But wow, is that what Christ intended our new life in Him to be about?! I don't think so! I know this because I have experienced it! When I surrendered my life to Christ in 2004, little did I know that I would begin going through some of the most difficult and heartbreaking times of my life. 5 years later today, through the good and the bad, that fundamental love and fire has never died, and I know it never will. My life has never been the same since Jesus became the true Lord of my life. In our walk with Christ, every day is meant to be sweeter than the last. I won't be a fool and claim that I've already tasted the worse of what life will bring me, but I know that I want to love Him more today than yesterday, more tomorrow than today. I know that in both my marriage and in my walk with Christ, I will be able to say on my deathbed, "I'm still on my honeymoon." And in the words of my favorite pastor Pastor Peter Hong, "I'll be able to look my wife in the eyes and say 'I have liiiiived!!!'" I have lived....
P&W at my Congregation, Sha'ar Adonai
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Our friend Harry (from Bethel Baptist Church) has a ministry visiting nursing homes
and singing hymns with the elderly. He uses the songs as a means of sharing Christ, and
Lana and I were able to help out and partake in this yesterday (at a place in Voorhees, NJ).
It was such an amazing blessing. Hope to do it again
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The woman on the bottom right of the picture is "three-score and ten years old."
She said, "God must still have a purpose for me in life,
and it could be talking to young people like you."
The woman in pink to the far right asked me to wheel her to her room, and when we got there she broke down crying. I asked her if she was alright and she said yes, and we proceeded to have a great talk that touched my heart deeply. She said, "Although I'm not Catholic, I enjoyed that very much." I asked her "what" she was, and she said she was Jewish. Somewhere along the way, she asked me how I knew so much about Jewish things, and I told her that I attended a Messianic Congregation, amongst Jews who believed that Yeshua Jesus is the Messiah. I prayed for a greater segway into being able to share more about Jesus with her, but I think the Lord just wanted he to see His love through my own words and actions (God-willing, this won't be the last time I, or another believer, will speak to her). At one point she also started telling me about a man that she read about who developed macular degenaration (retina damage, leading to loss of vision) one day woke up and couldn't see himself in the mirror. Then with tears in her eyes, she told me about the day she looked into the mirror, and could only see the white of her hair. But here's what really touched me deeply: she said, "I began to realize that the world would be a much better place if everyone were blind. People would be more kind, they wouldn't judge others...." I told her that I absolutely agree 
(flashback: "Colorblind" by MarQ Romero). She told me to come visit her anytime, and I pray that I will be able to. She kept thanking me/us for coming, and I just held her hand. I didn't wanna go, but I felt it was time, so until next time, please keep Gene in prayer.
Worship....
They genuinely appreciated it.
God bless you Harry (and Noel, and Sandy, etc.)
for the work that you do,
for His glory.
Lana got skills!
Yes, that went in 
.
Without you
I would never have known what it felt like
To be truly loved.
"I never knew love,
until you love."
Thank you for loving me.
I never knew two people could be so perfect for one another.
Moments like last night are worth their weight in gold.
: “I don’t care whether you’re left wing or right wing, I wanna say this to the whole bird, alright? Left wing, right wing, check it out: only one kingdom will endure forever, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.”
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) catch was a little bit better 
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