Jack’s Winning Words 10/15/18
“To different minds the same world is a hell and a heaven.”  (J.B. Priestley)  Forget about traveling to Mars.  You can do explore something closer than that…your BRAIN!  Today’s elementary children are using a book, It’s All in Your Head, which looks at Why..we dream, we remember, we laugh or wink or run.  Scientists know 10% of what the brain does, but believe there’s more than 90% yet to discover.  Do heaven and hell exist in the brain?  ;-)  Jack

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  Jack,  i have been up all night waiting for your WWs.   just kidding:):)  Have you seen the October issue of Living Lutheran?  the cover story is about heaven and hell.  i am now going back to bed☺===JACK:  In that article I read that in Hell there is a Lake of Fire and that, when you tell someone to "Go jump in the lake," you're telling them to "go to Hell."  In 3rd grade the class was assigned to write a letter to someone.  I wrote, "Dear Miss Wilson, Go jump in the lake."  She told me to go to the principal's office.  I refused to go, but that's another story.  ===PAUL:  wow, Jack,  you must have been a bit of rebel in your growing-up years:):):)===JACK:  Yes, some people were surprised when I said that I wanted to become a pastor.===SP:  very "sinful" people sometimes make great pastors😀===JACK:  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: 'I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don't cheat, I don't sin, and I don't commit adultery. I'm certainly not like that tax collector!" (Lk 18:11)===PAUL:  Good one! ===JACK:  It seems as though we always have to fight the battle against self-righteousness.

FROM WALMART REV:  "...there a lot of matter that matters up there!" 0;-)===JACK:  In the AG, when do you "count" your knowledge of a heaven and a hell?  At your time of commitment?  Or, is it back to the time when someone first talked about God and his love for you?  Or, are you making a daily commitment as you learn more?  Or, all of these?

FROM HONEST JOHN:  In my neighborhood, some folks have a Halloween display that shows two arms above ground...ostensibly of a guy being sucked into Hell.   In the same yard, there is a political sign boosting a candidate for judge ....named Dan Christ....his first name is in very small letters and last name is writ large.....together it looks like an either/or....either go to Hell or vote for CHRIST ===JACK:  There are sermon ideas all around, if you just look for them.  Sermons don't have to be boring or irrelevant.

FROM CHRISTIE KOCH (chief scientist and president of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, explaining some of the challenges involved in artificial intelligence design):  “The brain is by far the most complex piece of highly excitable matter in the known universe by any measure. We don’t even understand the brain of a worm.”

FROM DLM:  Thanks for your continued work each day (night?)===JACK:  When you enjoy what you're doing, where the hands are on the clock doesn't make any difference.  Haven't you found that to be true?

FROM JB IN OLV:  Gosh Jack this is very heavy for a dreary Monday morning!  Another question would be - do we all live in the same world?===JACK:  Yes, we do live in the same world, but all brains are not the same...so, we interpret what we see in different ways.   "Cherche le monde."

FROM BLAZING OAKS: The September Reader's Digest had an in-depth article on the brain; one thing stuck with me "The brain is the fattest organ in your body" & this is vital for our overall health.  Another finding: We can get smarter as we get older! YEAH!, also "You can, and should train yourself to be happy".  (The brain is predisposed to see the cup half empty, and we have to overcome that tendency. It made for interesting reading.  I'm sure if one's brain concentrates on the negative, the world appears more Hellish!!===JACK:  I'm surprised to read that the brain is predisposed to see things negatively.  Maybe that has something to do with survival.  "I might not have enough for tomorrow!"  Compare that with "Lay not up for yourself things that moth and rust can corrupt...but trust in the Lord who will provide (or something like that)" which seems more optimistic.  Having said this, I would say that the brain is predisposed to be realistic.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  We all face evil and good everyday...it all depends on how you face each day!===JACK:  "Free will" is a great gift from God, but a terribly responsible one, too.  ===JUDY:  Yes it is.  That’s where faith comes in.

FRO WALMART REV:  In regard to you question about the ages of coming into the realization of a heaven and hell and need of our salvation with the leadership of the AG, the most probable answer is perhaps all of the aforementioned...the young ones will hear of heaven and hell during the children’s church services, we have a doctrine’s class for the sixth graders and then through the pulpit messages at times...our pastor presented a series on hell too long ago...my personal reflection goes back to a children’s crusade during my earlier grade school years and a recommitment and affirmation again in senior high school...I’ve never out grown my need of the Savior, forgiveness and appreciation for His assurance He has done so, a heaven to gain and a hell to shun as I have heard preached. 0;-) ===JACK:  I'm always interested to learn about the views of people from other Christian denominations.  In the end, God sorts it all out.