The Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence

Perhaps you’ve heard of the SETI project—the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence. The project searched for evidence of life outside of our solar system and in other star systems. 

Most of the searches in the last 60 years involved using large antennas trying to eavesdrop on any radio signals that aliens (if they exist) might be transmitting. Most SETI projects these days use radio telescopes outfitted with highly sensitive and specialized receivers.

NASA funded this effort until it was canceled in 1993. Since that time, it has been funded by private donations. In spite of spending hundreds of millions of dollars searching for intelligence in outer space, no alien signals have been picked up. Not even one.

Yet, you and I can communicate at any time with an Intelligence far beyond our solar system—the Creator of the entire universe! And it doesn’t require a radio telescope to do it.

Do you realize that prayer isn’t a duty, but a privilege? God could have said, “There’s no such thing as prayer. It doesn’t exist. You’re not allowed to talk to me. I refuse to help you if you’re in trouble. You’re on your own. If you need assistance, I’m sorry, but you don’t have a prayer.”

Imagine going your entire life without being able to talk to God. But if you don’t pray, it’s the same thing as if there were no such thing as prayer. Prayer can actually move God to make things happen on earth that otherwise wouldn’t happen, which explains why it’s such a magnificent privilege. Your prayers can bring about salvation, wisdom, provision, protection, guidance, and positive change in others. It’s also the way you release your burdens to God (Phil. 4:6-7).

One day I said, “Lord, this universe is so huge and I’m so small. Why would you want to speak to me?” The thought came to me, I don’t want to only speak with you. I want to talk to everyone else in the world too.

Yes, God is waiting to hear from you. And talk to you, too. www.makinglifecount.net  

Big John is Coming!

A bartender was hired to work in one of the toughest towns in the old west. The saloon owner gave him only one piece of advice: “If you ever hear that Big John is coming to town, drop everything you’re doing and run for cover.”

One day, a cowhand rushed into the bar and yelled, “Big John is coming!” Immediately the saloon emptied with people jumping out of doors and windows. In the rush of the crowd, the bartender was knocked down. When he got up, he saw a giant man with a black, bushy beard ride up on a buffalo, using a rattlesnake for a whip.

The man tore both doors off the hinges and walked into the saloon. With a single blow of his massive fist, he split the bar in half. He grabbed the bartender by the neck and demanded, “Give me a drink.”

The bartender nervously pushed a bottle to the man. He broke the neck off with his teeth, downed it in one gulp, and smashed the bottle into the mirror. As the gigantic intruder turned to leave, the bartender asked, “Another drink, mister?” The stranger said, “No, I’ve got to get out of here. Big John is coming!”

We’ve all been through situations where we thought Big John had shown up, but Big John was still coming. Big John might be unemployment, a serious health problem, a financial problem, or a strained relationship. Fear always makes the problem bigger than it really is.

 

It doesn’t matter how big your problem may be, God is BIGGER, more powerful, and able to solve it. He says, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you” (Isa. 41:10).

 

Don’t let your fears cause you to run from your problems. Put your trust in Almighty God to whom every knee will bow. Instead of saying, “Big John is coming!” say, “My God is bigger than Big John, He is with me, and I’ll get through this.”

www.makinglifecount.net 

 You might not recognize the name Arthur Schiff, but you may have heard his voice. Arthur was a TV pitchman who sold about everything you can think of on late night infomercials. After he described the product’s amazing features, he would use a phrase that he coined himself, “But wait! There’s more!” Then he would give you a bonus product to sweeten the deal, “Act now and you’ll also receive…” Nearly everything sold for “Just $19.95”

When Arthur was assigned to sell a steak knife, he rebranded it with a Japanese-sounding name, “Ginsu.” He described it by saying, “In Japan, the hand can be used like a knife, but this method doesn’t work with a tomato…”

Most of us aren’t very good at advertising the gospel to a lost world, but God calls us to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5). Dr. David Jeremiah said, “If we understand what lies ahead for those who don’t know Christ, we will have a sense of urgency in our witness.” We need to have more excitement when we tell others about Jesus.

Maybe we should adopt Arthur Schiff’s exciting pitch when we describe salvation. We must tell others they can have a relationship with God; that Jesus died for their sins and rose from the dead. Call on Him and He will save you, so don’t put it off! Act now and you’ll receive the free gift of salvation!.

But wait! There’s more! Not only will you receive the forgiveness of sins, but you’ll also receive the Holy Spirit who will empower you and help you make right decisions. Your name will be written in the book of life (Rev. 21:27). You’ll live forever in heaven! You will no longer be afraid of dying! (Heb. 2:14-15). You’ll be rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of light (Col. 1:13).

But wait! There’s even more! When you become a child of God, He will reward you in heaven for every good thing you do (Eph. 6:8). You don’t know how long you’ll live, so you must act now because “Today is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). www.makinglifecount.net 

Is The Shroud of Turin Jesus' Burial Cloth?

The Shroud of Turin is a burial cloth containing an image of a scourged and crucified man, which many believe could be the burial cloth of Jesus. No one can explain how the image got onto the cloth, but some have speculated that when Jesus was resurrected, the burse of power transferred the image from His body to the cloth.

In 1988, carbon-14 dating of the Shroud of Turin by three separate laboratories indicated the relic should only be about 700 years old, meaning it couldn’t be the burial cloth of Christ. However, some scholars suggested textiles can easily become contaminated by bacteria and carbon-containing minerals, which would skew the results and show a younger date.

In 2022, a new scientific method known as “Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering,” or WAXS, was used to examine the relic. WAXS is said to be more accurate than C-14 because it measures the actual aging of flax cellulose and converts it to time since manufacture. The new method dated the Shroud at approximately 2,000 years old.

The Italian scientist Dr. Liberato de Caro of Italy’s Institute of Crystallography compared the Shroud with other historical fabrics and it closely matched with a fabric from the siege of Masada in Israel, in 55-74 AD. The findings suggest the shroud originated around the time of Christ, which means it could possibly be the burial cloth of Jesus.

Computer enhanced images reveal that coins were placed over the man’s eyes and the coins were struck by Pontius Pilate in AD 29-31! For a detailed report CLICK HERE. It was a Jewish custom to close the eyes of their deceased and the placement of coins over their eyelids was a practical way of keeping them shut. These coins prove the Shroud could not be a forgery created by someone centuries later.

Our faith is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and not the Shroud of Turin. But wouldn’t it be interesting if God decided to leave ANOTHER piece of evidence that Jesus rose from the dead? Click Here to watch PROOF THE SHROUD OF TURIN IS REAL

www.makinglifecount.net  

Barabbas and the Scapegoat

On the Day of Atonement, two goats were chosen by lot. One lot determined which goat would be “the Lord’s goat” to be sacrificed. The high priest killed the Lord’s goat, caught its blood in a bowl, and took the blood into the Holy Place in the temple where he sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat, which was the lid of the ark of the covenant. Then the high priest laid his bloody hands on the other goat, which was “the scapegoat,” and set it free. (Lev. 16:7-10).

This choosing of two goats on the Day of Atonement was a prophetic foreshadowing of Pontius Pilate bringing two men before the multitude. One was Jesus, the Son of God. The other was Barabbas, which means “son of the father.” Some Syriac manuscripts of Matthew 27:17 record his name as “Jesus bar Abbas” or “Jesus, son of the father.”

It was a custom to release one prisoner at the Passover. Barabbas was guilty of murder and sentenced to die for his crimes (Mark 15:7). Jesus was accused of being the King of the Jews. Pontius Pilate brought them before the crowd and asked which one they wanted set free. They chose Barabbas.

Pilate asked, “What then shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?” They cried, “Crucify Him!” (Matt. 27:22). They wanted Jesus to be sacrificed, like the Lord’s goat. They wanted Barabbas to be set free, like the scapegoat.

The high priest sprinkled the blood of the Lord’s goat in the Holy Place on earth. Jesus, our High Priest, sprinkled His own blood in the Holy Place in Heaven (Heb. 9:11-12, 12:24)

After the high priest released the scapegoat, he washed his hands (Ex. 30:19). After Pontius Pilate released Barabbas, he washed his hands. (Matt. 27:24)

The sins of Israel were forgiven for one year. (Leviticus 16:34). Through Jesus, our sins are forgiven forever. (Heb. 8:12)

Innocent Jesus took the blame. And we, like guilty Barabbas, walk away free. And now you know why two goats were chosen on the Day of Atonement.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  www.makinglifecount.net  

Tha Antivenom of the Lamb

When Israel was in the wilderness, they complained against God and Moses. In response, God sent poisonous serpents to them, which killed many people. But He also gave them a remedy. The Lord told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. When he lifted up the serpent on the pole, whoever looked at it would live (Numbers 21:5-9).

Fast forward about 1,500 years. Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). Moses lifted up the bronze serpent on the pole as the remedy for their poisonous snake bites, and Jesus was lifted up on the cross as the remedy for the poison of sin.

Why did God tell Moses to make a snake? The serpents were what they wanted to get rid of! The reason was because a snake represents evil. “Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we would become right with God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus was made to be what He wasn’t (sin), so we can become something that we aren’t (righteous). Jesus became the antivenom for sin.

Antivenom was first introduced 100 years ago. Scientists took venom from snakes and injected it into horses. The horses developed antibodies, which they removed and used as serum to those who had been bitten. They tested many other animals and discovered the blood of a lamb produced the most effective antivenom. (ZNE Science, Feb. 1, 2021)

God created an antivenom through the blood of the Lamb of God. John the Baptist said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). “Behold” means “take a closer look.” Now, instead of looking by faith to a serpent on a pole, we look by faith at Jesus on the cross. The antivenom of the Lamb is more powerful than the serpent’s poison of sin.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  www.makinglifecount.net  

6 Things Most People Don't Know About Heaven

 God could give us many exciting details about eternity, but we couldn’t understand them at our current intelligence level. Most people know God will wipe away all tears, there will no longer be any death, or mourning or crying or pain (Rev. 21:4). Heaven will be a place of eternal joy and perfection. Here are 6 things most people don’t know about heaven.

1.    We will not sleep for all eternity.  We sleep because our bodies grow weary and tired. We will never be tired throughout eternity, so there will be no need to sleep. God never sleeps: “He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4).

2.    God will increase our knowledge so that we will “know fully.” When we stand face-to-face with Jesus “then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known” (1 Cor. 13:12). We will need this knowledge for the assignments we will carry out.

3.    Our bodies will shine throughout eternity. “When He appears, we shall be like Him” (1 John 3:2). In heaven our bodies will become like the body of Jesus after He was resurrected and glorified. “His face was like the shining of the sun in its strength” (Rev. 1:16). Our resurrection bodies will literally shine with brightness, just like Jesus’. “The righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt.13:43). Daniel wrote: “And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3)

4.    We will meet every redeemed person who ever lived.  You will sit down and dine with those whom you have read about in the Bible. “And I say to you, that many will come from the east and the west, and recline at the table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 8:11). If you are a Christian, you are reading about yourself in this passage. We will literally meet all the people who have been redeemed throughout the history of the earth and since we will “know fully,” we will know them by name

5.    We will have job assignments throughout eternity. We would be bored if we had nothing to do throughout eternity. The kingdom of God will be composed of different ranks and positions (Luke 7:28, Rev. 19:16). We will be rewarded for every good thing we did on earth after being saved (Matt. 10:42). “Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master” (Matt 25:23). Our rewards will be our assignments in heaven. Positions throughout the kingdom, from least to greatest, will be assigned according to how faithfully we lived on earth.

6.    Our eternal dwellings will not be like our earthly houses. Jesus compared our temporary houses on earth with eternal dwellings in heaven. He said, “Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9).  Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). In heaven we won’t need houses with roofs to protect us from weather. We won’t need bathrooms or bedrooms. We won’t need a garage (no cars in heaven). We won’t cook so no need for a kitchen, refrigerator, or stove. These are literal structures for each believer, but as to what their function will be, we will find out when we get there. Earthly homes serve an earthly purpose, and our eternal dwellings will serve a heavenly purpose. www.makinglifecount.net 

For more information about life in heaven, read my book Making Today Count for Eternity.