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Saturday Watchdog Alert: The Death Of Common Sense?

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Two recent headlines point to a growing trend in American culture: people are losing confidence that objective truth even exists.

A recent article from the George Barna, of the Barna Group, found that many Americans now believe truth is personal and self-defined rather than something that exists outside themselves. At the same time, educators and commentators continue debating whether facts should take a back seat to personal experience and individual identity in shaping beliefs.

That’s a dangerous game because if everyone gets their own truth, then nobody gets the truth.

Imagine playing football where every player makes up his own rules. The game would last about three minutes before somebody got tackled by a guy carrying a lawn chair.

Yet that’s increasingly how many people approach life. But the Bible takes a radically different view. Truth is not something we invent. Truth is something we discover because it comes from God.

Jesus said:

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” — John 17:17

When a culture disconnects itself from truth, confusion follows. Relationships suffer. Institutions weaken. People become anxious because they are forced to invent their own meaning, morality, and purpose.

Common Sense And Truth Are Both Victims

Strange times we’re living in.

The far left has gone so far left and the far right has gone so far right that they converged at the junction of antisemitism, “everyone I disagree with is a pedophile or pedophile protector”, and extreme libertarianism/anarchism.

I guess common sense is no longer cool enough and doesn’t get some folks the attention they so desperately crave.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Your Life And What Comes After (53): Conclusion

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So, what have we discovered from our look at Your Life and What Comes After: Plugging Into God’s Forever Plan Now?

God has a grand plan and purpose for His creation and you have an important part to play in it. You get to choose how you will live in light of God’s forever plan; it hasn’t been decided for you.

The road you walk in this world, in this life, comes to an end, but there’s an eternity of glorious life waiting for each of us, and all of us together. Each new day is important not only for this life but also for what comes next because the way you live now will echo into forever.

Jesus Said It Best

In the Book of Matthew, when Jesus taught His followers how to pray, He said this:

Matthew 6:9-10
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Remember that heaven isn’t in outer space or in the clouds somewhere, it’s the realm where God lives, invisible to our eyeballs now. His will is being done in heaven perfectly and His grand plan is working in us, through us, and around us so that one day it will be done perfectly on earth as well.

Until then we can also pray:

Thy will be done in my home, as it is in heaven.

Thy will be done in my heart, as it is in heaven.

Thy will be done at work and at school, as it is in heaven.

Thy will be done in my words, as it is in heaven.

Thy will be done in my relationships, as it is in heaven.

Thy will be done in my daily life, here and now, as it is in heaven.

That is how we plug into God’s forever plan now. When we walk with eternity in mind and keep our minds focused on God’s purposes, He will guide us into a life that is meaningful—though not always easy. A life that is fulfilling because we give and love as God gives and loves.

A life that will have challenges, victories, disappointments, and wonder—but that will always lead us to our Heavenly Father and the incredible and awesome things He has in store for us, now and forever.

Matthew 6:13b
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Your Life And What Comes After (52): A Few Tips From Bacca Ricky

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My grandkids call me Bacca Ricky. It’s a title and name that is very, very special to me because I hold my children and grandchildren as exceedingly precious and as miracles.

So here’s a few things I want to pass along to them that l hope they will find useful in their journey through life.

A Bit About Prayer

I am an imperfect follower of Christ. I cuss occasionally and stumble often in this walk through the world. I try not to get preachy too often but just the other day I heard someone say, “Prayer doesn’t work”.

He’s right. If you think prayer is an app on your phone or some magic words that you say to make stuff appear, then no it doesn’t work. But that’s not what prayer is. God isn’t Amazon and Jesus isn’t your UPS driver delivering orders to your door, 3 day delivery guaranteed.

Prayer is a wrestling match with the Almighty, not a friend request on Facebook. It’s not about getting something, it’s about being something. Prayer is a hard admission made to your Maker about the desperately wicked condition of your heart and asking Him to help correct that situation daily.

It’s not a wish list thrown up into space. It’s not a lunch order off a menu given to your waiter, Jesus, expecting him to ask, “Would you like fries or cottage cheese with that?”

Prayer is asking God to turn you inside out and upside down. It’s opening the door to your heart and allowing your Heavenly Father to illuminate the dark corners in there and fill the empty spaces with substance.

Prayer is having the honesty to ask the Creator of the universe for a resurrected heart and a majestic character, not for a pile of money, a new car, a better job, or a cuter girlfriend/boyfriend.

Prayer is earnestly asking for the wisdom to know what’s right and the courage and strength to carry it out. Prayer is seeking to do God’s will, not whining for Him to do yours.

It is praise and thanksgiving.

Pray with the tongues of men and of angels. Pray for others.

Those kinds of prayers work.

Bacca Ricky’s Little Tips

Seek God daily, first thing in the morning.
Take long walks as often as possible.
Nobody gives a shit. Work harder.
Control your appetites.
Go to war with evil.
Make your bed in the morning.
Life isn’t fair. Get over it.
Know when to bend – but never break.
Don’t fear change, fear the same old same old.
Cherish your family daily.
Stir some pots and ruffle some feathers from time to time.
Grow something.
Be loyal.
Wash the dishes after dinner.
Get a good night’s sleep.

Finally, when you are ready—but not until you are ready—find a like‑minded partner, get married, have children, and build a home and life together. This is happiness and success. This is a perfect reflection of God’s love and His desire to create and have a family.

Next, we’ll conclude our quest into Your Life and What Comes After.

Get On Board And Find Your Seat

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The more I look at life and the world all around us, the more crystal clear it becomes to me that none of this is by chance. God’s fingerprints are all over His creation—visible to all who choose to open their eyes.

This world isn’t a confusing mix of random, scattered coincidences. There’s a grand purpose, and we’re moving toward a definite conclusion.

Like a bus moving down the road, get on board, find the seat with your name on it, and play your part in the journey.

Your Life And What Comes After (45): How To Live Today

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Taking everything we’ve learned so far in our journey into “Your Life And What Comes After: Plugging Into God’s Forever Plan Now,” let’s start zeroing in on what you can do today—and every day—to live a fantastic life that is pleasing to God and helps you find your perfect, special place in God’s grand plan.

The best recipe for tapping into God’s purposes and living our best lives the way we’re meant to is found in the Great Commandment in Matthew chapter 22.

Jesus Hits a Homerun

Right before Jesus gives the Great Commandment, the religious leaders are basically tag‑teaming to trip Him up. They try a trick question about paying taxes, and Jesus answers so cleanly that they back off. Then they jump in with a wild question about marriage in the resurrection, and Jesus shuts that down too. At this point, everyone who tried to trap Him has struck out in front of the crowd.

So they huddle up again and send in one of their “experts” to ask what they think is the perfect trap: “Which commandment is the greatest?” They’re hoping He’ll pick the wrong one. Instead, Jesus cuts through all their debates with a perfect, simple answer:

Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

That’s the Great Commandment—love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

And that’s our North Star for plugging into God’s grand plan. It doesn’t mean you have to be churchy and religious all the time. But what does it mean, and how do we actually live it out?

That’s what we’ll look at next.

Your Life And What Comes After (41): Does God Have A Plan For Your Life?

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Have you ever heard someone say, “God has a plan for your life”?

Well, He doesn’t.

The Bible doesn’t teach that God has a detailed personal plan and schedule for every decision in every life or that there is only one specific career, spouse, or path that God has predetermined for you.

Instead, God guides each of us as we choose our own paths and make our own decisions.

Proverbs 16:9
A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

As we have already seen, God has an overall grand plan for His creation and His people, and you and I are invited to participate in His purposes. He is directing history to victory, and we make real choices and walk our own paths within God’s purposes.

Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

So, our heavenly Father doesn’t have a strict script for each of us to follow. He has a great purpose and asks us to walk and work together with Him in that purpose in a way that fits our own talents, personality, and dreams.

God Knows You

Even though God doesn’t plan every detail of your life, He still knows your heart, cares about even the smallest things in your life, and loves you more than you can imagine.

Sometimes in the Bible God calls specific people to do specific things, like Noah building an ark, but it’s always up to the person He calls whether or not to do what God asks. Free will is never taken away.

It could be that you are called to a specific purpose, but don’t make the mistake of sitting around and doing nothing while you wait for God to tell you what to do.

Plug into God’s grand plan by choosing a path and walking that path boldly, and as you do that, listen for His guidance.

Proverbs 3:5–6
Trust in the Lord… and he shall direct thy paths.

We trust, He guides.

Faith Isn’t Blind

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Curious Fearless Faith

Faith isn’t blind. Faith is curious and goes searching with eyes wide open.

Faith doesn’t just meekly accept whatever doctrines of men the bishops, evangelists, or street preachers claim to be the gospel truth. Faith examines each bit, turns it over and over again, and measures it against an informed understanding of Scripture, common sense, and reason.

Faith understands that the whole being we are to love our God with includes our minds as well as our hearts and souls. Faith recognizes that the human mind is designed to be skeptical and to question everything — even long‑held church traditions being spoon‑fed to Sunday congregations and Wednesday Bible study groups by pastors, lay ministers, and priests.

Faith never fears being outside the denominational doctrinal box if that is where the truth is. Faith cares little for titles or academic credentials in the pursuit of understanding God’s grand plan for His creation.

Faith continues, never satisfied with what people say about the Word of God, only with what the Word says about itself and the purposes of our Creator.

Faith is curious. Faith is fearless. The confidence of faith is not in blind acceptance, but in full assurance that there is One who holds all the answers and that our calling is to Him, seeking as we go.

Your Life And What Comes After (26): What Is Heaven?

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Where exactly is heaven? Is it up in the clouds? In outer space? On another planet, or in a galaxy far away?

Before we can understand where heaven is, we should first know what heaven is. When heaven is mentioned in the Bible, it can either mean any place above the ground or it can mean the realm in which God lives.

Anywhere Above the Ground

Genesis 1:20
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

The birds we often see flying above us are in heaven, so to speak.

The stars, clouds, and planets are also above the ground, and there are many verses in the Bible that talk about those things being in the heavens.

Where God Lives

Matthew 6:9
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

This verse says that our Father, God, is in heaven. Does that mean He’s flying around with the birds that are in heaven? No, of course not.

Here the Bible is talking about a different kind of heaven. This heaven is the realm where God lives—invisible to our eyes, yet very real and near.

Acts 17:27-28
That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

The main idea about heaven that we should understand is that it is not a place up in the clouds where we go someday after we die to get wings and play harps if we’re good in this life.

Heaven is a place we can go to now—and every day—in prayer, to be in the presence of our Father, God.

Your Life And What Comes After (24): See All The People

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What is the Church Age?

Have you ever heard the nursery rhyme that goes like this—‘Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, open the doors and see all the people’?

Is the Church Age about church buildings, or is it about people? In the Bible’s New Testament books after the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the ‘Church’ always refers to the people who believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Son of God.

Just as the Old Testament was instruction for the people who lived back in those times on how to walk in God’s purposes, and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John show us how Jesus lived according to God’s plan, the New Testament books after the Gospels now instruct us today on how to do the same.

Seek God First

Colossians 3:1–2
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Spend some time every morning praying and just enjoying the presence of God, speaking to Him and letting Him speak to you.

Add Value to the World Around You

Galatians 6:9-10
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Do meaningful work. Gain knowledge and learn valuable skills. Help and serve others around you in real ways that meet real needs.

Do Hard Things Without Fear

2 Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Don’t ever be afraid of hard work or of doing hard things. God loves you and has already given you great strength and courage.

Fight Darkness with Light

Romans 13:12
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

Stand up, speak up, and show up. Dispel the darkness around you by shining forth God’s love and light.

The You Miracle

Always remember that you are a miracle, and that God’s plan includes you in His family and household. See yourself as God sees you: His beautiful child.

Plug into God’s purposes and plan, and your life will be an exciting adventure as a co-worker with the Creator of the universe!

Next, we’ll start our journey into understanding heaven, hell, and the end of the world.

Your Life And What Comes After (14): The You Miracle, Part One

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Prince Philip’s character in Netflix’s The Crown (Season 3, Episode 7, “Moondust”) said this about his disappointment in what they found when American astronauts landed on the moon in 1968:

“The loneliness and emptiness and anticlimax of going all that way to the moon and finding nothing but haunting desolation, ghostly silence, gloom. That is what faithlessness is. As opposed to finding wonder, ecstasy, the miracle of divine creation, God’s design and purpose.”

Are We Alone?

The universe contains trillions of galaxies, each with billions of stars—more than we could count in a thousand lifetimes. Worlds beyond worlds are scattered across an ocean of space so vast it makes Earth seem like a speck of dust.

You’d think someone else would be out there by now. But so far, the cosmos has been… quiet.

No alien signals. No visitors. No confirmed microbes on Mars or the moons of Jupiter. Just an overwhelming stillness.

So no, I don’t believe in little green men or flying saucers zipping around our skies. I believe we are the only beings God created in His image—and that He made the Earth and the universe for us to share eternal life with Him.

God’s Focus Is On Us. On You.

What if life on this planet is incredibly special and rare—not because the universe is empty, but because we are the characters in God’s story?

What if Earth is not one of many planets where living, thinking beings exist, but the only place in His vast creation where God chose to create His family?

A vast universe does not make us insignificant. It makes God’s focus on us even more astonishing.

And that makes you a very, very special and important person in the universe. More on that coming up.