Jimi Hendrix: "Belly Button Window"

Here's a song that's way ahead of its time. Back in the late sixties, abortion was a topic not to be mentioned in polite circles. Yet Jimi Hendrix tackled this subject from the point of view of a foetus, which you can hear in this cover of the song.

What we know from the Bible is that God knew us before we were born. As Jeremiah 1:4 (Bible in Basic English) shows, "Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,' Before you were formed in the body of your mother I had knowledge of you, and before your birth I made you holy; I have given you the work of being a prophet to the nations.'"

We likewise read of another prophet whom God chose for his purpose in Isaiah 49:5 (BBE). "And now, says the Lord, who made me his servant when I was still in my mother's body, so that I might make Jacob come back to him, and so that Israel might come together to him: and I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord, and my God became my strength."

We also read in Genesis 1:26 and 27 (BBE) how humanity is the image bearer of the Almighty. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, like us: and let him have rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every living thing which goes flat on the earth. And God made man in his image, in the image of God he made him: male and female he made them."

Some folks claim that we're just another kind of animal. If that is so, why are we the only ones whom God created to have fellowship with him? Revelation 21:3 (BBE) explicitly states that we, not animals, will commune with God. "And there came to my ears a great voice out of the high seat, saying, 'See, the Tent of God is with men, and he will make his living-place with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them, and be their God."

Furthermore, Christ came as a human baby. Hebrews 10:4 and 5 (BBE) tells us why animals weren't good enough for God's redemptive purpose. "Because it is not possible for the blood of oxen and goats to take away sins. So that when he comes into the world, he says, 'You had no desire for offerings, but you made a body ready for me;'"

If Christ hasn't returned by Saturday, I expect to tell you about empathy toward others.

The Hope in Our Future

This is the time of year when we consider what we've accomplished and what the new year will bring.  Better still, we Christians know who is in charge of our futures. Knowing and believing this takes so much worry and pressure off of us.

Thanks to our heavenly Father, we are always watched over by him. Psalms 33:18 and 19 (BBE) assures us, "See, the eye of the Lord is on those in whose hearts is the fear of him, on those whose hope is in his mercy; To keep their souls from death; and to keep them living in time of need."

But whenever we feel anxious or depressed, we need to read Psalms 43:5 (BBE) and ponder what it says. "Why are you crushed down, O my soul? and why are you troubled in me? put your hope in God, for I will again give him praise who is my help and my God."

Remember too that we can please our Father by doing what Psalms 147:11 (BBE) says. "The Lord takes pleasure in his worshippers, and in those whose hope is in his mercy."

And we know that God's mercies are new every morning but Lamentations 3:24 (BBE) explains why. "I said to myself, 'The Lord is my heritage;' and because of this I will have hope in him."

What a heritage that is! If it wasn't so, we'd be as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:19 (BBE). "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most unhappy."

Though the world may wish us a prosperous and happy 2020, we know that our eventual destination is heaven. We know too that a day will come when wickedness is banished forever. Revelation 21:3 (BBE) gives us the wonderful promise of the Father himself living with us. "And there came to my ears a great voice out of the high seat, saying, 'See, the Tent of God is with men, and he will make his living-place with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them, and be their God.'"

This promise is why I want as many people as possible to read my next book, You Think You're Going to Heaven? Far too many sincere churchgoers have never surrendered their lives to Jesus, assuming their works are good enough. They aren't sufficient and neither is sincerity a reason for salvation.

On Thursday, I hope to post about what hell is. People have so many silly and unbiblical notions about that place of punishment.