Mark Jordan: "Marina Del Ray"

I'm sure all of us might have felt a twinge of jealousy for those folks fortunate enough to vacation in a tropical land during the winter months. Even so, those places aren't immune to being part of this cursed and fallen world. People who live there still need to work to survive.

Mark Jordan's song is all about the difference between those who are rich and those who must work in such resorts. Check it out here.

Even before the fall of humanity, Adam was given a job. Genesis 2:15 (Bible in Basic English) proves that work wasn't put on us as a curse. "And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to do work in it and take care of it."

Furthermore, God blesses believers in their work. Psalms 28:1 and 2 (BBE) reads, "<A Song of the going up.> Happy is the worshipper of the Lord, who is walking in his ways. You will have the fruit of the work of your hands: happy will you be, and all will be well for you."

God also has given us the ability to work and receive its reward. As Ecclesiastes 2:24 (BBE) reminds us, "There is nothing better for a man than taking meat and drink, and having delight in his work. This again I saw was from the hand of God."

Now some folks might comment that we believers suffer unemployment and that jobs are sometimes scarce. Habakkuk 3:17 and 18 (BBE) is a good reminder of how we must respond to such challenges. "For though the fig-tree has no flowers, and there is no fruit on the vine, and work on the olive comes to nothing, and the fields give no food; and the flock is cut off from its resting-place, and there is no herd in the cattle-house:Still, I will be glad in the Lord, my joy will be in the God of my salvation."

Work also lets us give to help the gospel spread and to help the poor. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 (BBE), "Now about the giving of money for the saints, as I gave orders to the churches of Galatia, so do you. On the first day of the week, let every one of you put by him in store, in measure as he has done well in business, so that it may not be necessary to get money together when I come. And when I come, I will send the men of your selection with letters to take the money you have got together to Jerusalem."

In the event Christ hasn't returned by Thursday, I hope I can post about how rich folks can't understand poverty.

Saturday Song: The 49th Parallel, "Labourer"

I must admit that for most folks, work is a four-letter word. It takes a huge slice out of our day but without it we'd starve. Even so, is work really a curse or a blessing?

A Canadian band called The 49th Parallel sang about how the rich envy the simple life of a worker in their song "Labourer."

Listen to it here:

Before the fall, God gave Adam a job. Genesis 2:15 (BBE) tells us, "And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to do work in it and take care of it."

In the next chapter, we read of the fall and how God cursed the land, making working it hard. Genesis 3:17 (BBE) tells us how it happened. "And to Adam he said, 'Because you gave ear to the voice of your wife and took of the fruit of the tree which I said you were not to take, the earth is cursed on your account; in pain you will get your food from it all your life."

Though this is so, the Bible has much to say about the good aspects of work. First, it should satisfy our basic needs. Psalms 28:2 )BBE) reads, "You will have the fruit of the work of your hands: happy will you be, and all will be well for you."

Secondly, there is nothing wrong in profit if it's earned legally. Proverbs 14:23 (BBE) reminds us, "In all hard work there is profit, but talk only makes a man poor."

We also see that the Father has given us work which can emotionally satisfy us. Ecclesiastes 2:24 (BBE) says, "There is nothing better for a man than taking meat and drink, and having delight in his work. This again I saw was from the hand of God."

When we have enough and to spare, we can help our siblings in Christ who lack basic sustenance. Hebrews 6:10 (BBE) declares, "For God is true, and will not put away from him the memory of your work and of your love for his name, in the help which you gave and still give to the saints."

Though we might not enjoy getting up early and toiling all day, work is a way to help out others and ourselves.

On Monday, I'll post about why God used metaphors.

Mormonism Vs. Christianity on Humanity

Now that I've shown the differences between Mormon and Christian beliefs in the persons of God and Christ, I need to examine why we were created.

Firstly, God made this world for us to live on. Genesis 2:15  (KJV) reads, "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."

The answer for God creating us is to bring him glory. As 1 Chronicles 16:29 (KJV) says, "Give unto the LORD the glory due unto  his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the  LORD in the beauty of holiness."

Mormons, on the other hand, believe that we existed as spirit beings before our births and that Adam and Eve were immortal. So Satan lured the first two humans into sin so they would become mortal and be able to have flesh-and-blood children. Mormons claim that there are many "spirit children" birthed by Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother but they needed bodies of flesh. Adam and Eve were allowed to sin and become mortal so many pre-existent spirits could start their journey toward godhood by being born into human bodies.

That's a far cry from the sentences God dished out to all sinners through our two founding parents, as well as to Satan, in Genesis 3:14-19. "And the LORD God said unto the serpent, 'Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.' Unto the woman he said, 'I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.' And unto Adam he said, 'Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, "Thou shalt not eat of it:" cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.'"

Adam and Eve could have had children before the fall but Satan lured them into committing sin against God. The Lord also gave humanity a huge privilege in choosing to follow or reject him. By doing this, the eventual result would be far better in the long run. Even so, Adam and Eve fell.

And as for planets upon which we'll raise future god children, Christ put an end to that Sadducee nonsense when he said in Matthew 22:30 (KJV)  "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."

At the end of history, humanity will be separated into two groups, those bound for heaven and those bound for hell. Jesus explained in Matthew 25:32 (KJV), "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:"

Mormons and other deceived individuals must understand that Jesus is eternal and that the honorific "son" is meant to describe his special status with the Father, not his supposed condition as a procreated spirit being.

I'll be writing much more about the deity and eternality of Christ in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Since eternity is endless and there's no "do overs," it's vital that all of us make the right choice here before we die.