Author: Rev. Charles Pugh

In the sea of information today, TRUTH is often lost in the mix.  Boats of opinions can be found everywhere and are even more numerous than the people who build them.  It is easy to find yourself in the various boats of opinion being tossed about with waves of information.  Consequences come from riding in the boats and also from standing on the TRUTH.  What will you do?  Will you seek the safety of riding in the boats of opinion or be willing to suffer the consequences of standing on the TRUTH?  Your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness are at stake and even more importantly, your eternal reward.

Truth is what is actual; it is verifiable fact.  Truth is not changed by feeling, though feeling comes with truth.  Truth is real; it is not imagination or simply some idea of what may be (See my related 05-10-08 Blog: “Reality and Imagination…”).  Opinions are different.  They are views or beliefs held only in the mind.  Opinions are not verifiably true or else they would be called reality or facts.  Interpretation of facts is yet another subject, which I have addressed before (See my 09-03-08 Blog, “INTERPRETATION”).

We all, at least to some extent, live by sight.  We live by the cause and effect relationship we know to be true.  If you do not eat, you will eventually grow weak and die.  If you walk out into a busy street, you will likely be hit and injured.  If you work at a job, the job will not get done unless you do the work.  If you are reading this article now, your mind is attempting to relate what I am saying to what you have come to understand as truth.  Reality is that simple.

It is what we cannot readily see that more easily confuses us.  You do not see the inner workings of your body, unless observing through some medical test.  In fact, if you have a pain or problem with some part of your body, it may concern you to the point that you end up spending money to treat the problem or have medical tests done to find out more.  You cannot see what other people are thinking, so you have to go on what they tell you or what you observe from their behavior.  You also cannot completely control what other people around you do, just as is illustrated again today with news of the tragic shootings in the fitness center near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  There are usually clues to help you know what can or will happen, understood by those willing to investigate.

The fact is that what you can see and what you cannot see both have consequences.  There are physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences to everything.  There is a physical truth to what you observe, which you likely refer to as reality.  There is an emotional truth, which cannot be seen, yet is just as real in your experience.  There is a spiritual truth, which is also unseen, yet is just as real and illustrated through our experiences.

Friend, we do have an objective, unchanging source to reveal the particulars of the spiritual truth.  It is God’s Word—the Bible.  Its Truth has been verified through history and the experiences of millions of people worldwide.  The Bible tells us how to live and how to enjoy life.  It explains the internal problem that every human being has and helps us know the solution provided in the historical Person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Please pay attention to the spiritual reality and learn about the ONE Who is THE TRUTH!  Search this website or contact me further with any questions.  The consequences for you are immediate and eternal.

In the process of pursuing PEACE with all through my personal tragedy, I found myself yesterday sitting in a McDonalds off Peace Street in Raleigh, NC, right by Broughton High School where President Obama had just spoken.  People and police were roaming everywhere and security was tight.  As I enjoyed my lunch, noting all of the activity outside, I couldn’t help but think further about the allusiveness of PEACE in our Country and in the World.  I thought about the pursuit of PEACE at Virginia Tech through the recently established Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention, located in Norris Hall where the majority of people were killed on 04-16-07.  I thought about the long standing desire for PEACE in war regions around the world and particularly in the often volatile Middle East.  I thought about the typical goal of “World Peace” echoed by nearly every beauty contestant and media celebrity.  I pondered the only way personal PEACE can be realized….

PEACE is a state of tranquility or quiet.  It is the opposite of discord and violence.  When you have peace, you have structure, order and a state of calmness.  Does that describe our world?  Does this describe your life?  Peace is desirable because discord and conflict causes stress and division.  Conflict ruins relationships.  Peace is allusive when we push for our own way.  When we fail to “Unify Diversity” (Top Ten Lesson #8), “Love One Another” (TTL #5) and “Serve One Another” (TTL #7) we fail to realize PEACE.

Conflict cannot be completely avoided because people are different and we each have a variety of goals and interests.  Conflict does not have to lead to broken relationships or destruction of property.  Too often, we either ignore a problem or we fight against it.  I have often addressed these issues in the various blogs on this website (consider my 07/06/09 Blog, “Ignorance is NO EXCUSE!” or even my 06/20/09 Blog, “Apologizing, Forgiveness and Reconciliation”).  Peacemaking is different and properly deals with conflict.  You can either fake peace, break peace or make peace.  It takes a lot of work to make peace, yet the rewards are well worth it.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9).  Simon Peter pronounced, “seek peace and pursue it” (1 Peter 3:11b).  The Apostle Paul added, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18).  Making peace is our responsibility and a requirement for those desiring to please God.

Friend, you must first be at personal peace before you can make peace with others.  Jesus Christ is the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).  He made peace possible through His death on the cross:

“For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:19-20).

The only way Virginia Tech, America, the World, or you, dear reader, can have peace is to acknowledge and accept the living Jesus Christ and His way.  Loving His Word brings Great Peace (Psalm 119:165).  Prioritizing HIM will give you Perfect Peace (Isaiah 26:3)!

Likely in the past week, you have heard and even thought at least some about SPACE.  July 20^th was the 40^th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing.  Many are talking about another trip to the moon and even further space travel.  Conspiracy theories related to this are growing and some are still refusing to believe man has even ever gone to the moon (c.f. my 04-12-09 Blog, “The Tragedy of NOT Believing”).  Whether or not we should spend more money going back to the moon, going to Mars or even further out into space is a separate question.  You may have even heard about or seen pictures of the total solar eclipse that occurred yesterday (July 22^nd) and how it particularly impacted the millions of Asian and Indian people who observed it.  As I see many people SPACED OUT just now, I will take this opportunity to address the frequent underlying philosophy related to space exploration and travel—a philosophy steeped in tragedy.

The great advances in science and even space exploration would not be possible were it not for the research and applications of educational Institutions, such as Virginia Tech.  Virginia Tech is a leading research University and the many years of good work in the various fields of engineering have proven to be important for scientific advances and even specific aspects of space exploration.  I have often interacted with professors and research students in the Aerospace Engineering department of Virginia Tech.  Much good work is being done and many are advancing various applications from the research.  Yet, what is it that often drives the applications of research and expenditures, especially those into space?

Space exploration today, as is true with many scientific endeavors, is more about the glorification of man than the acknowledgment and glorifying of GOD.  This is a costly mistake and one that is more tragic than most realize.  Acknowledging and working to glorify God is the chief end and whole duty of man (see Proverbs 3:6ff, Ecclesiastes 12:13 and 1 Corinthians 10:31).  Many are hoping to find some life or even evidence of water on the moon or some other planet, such as our nearest neighbor, Mars.  Despite billions of dollars being spent, or really trillions when you consider the efforts of every country worldwide, there is absolutely NO concrete evidence of any life outside of the life we know and enjoy on this earth (just as there is no concrete evidence of any transitional form of life on the earth.  There is only a blind hope this can be found.  Scientists cannot even find water in any usable form anywhere other than on our earth.  People are desperately looking for life and intelligence in space while not even fully appreciating the life that we have on this earth and even the Intelligence we can come to know.

Our Creator is knowable in the Person of Jesus Christ.  The historical and biblical record verifies the life of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus Christ proves His Deity.  Your Creator encourages exploration and even commands for this to be so on the earth (see Genesis 1:26ff and consider Psalm 8:3ff).  As we can clearly observe, HE has focused HIS attention with life, on the earth.  There is angelic life that travels throughout space, yet according to what GOD has revealed in HIS Word (The Bible), there is no other life or some “alien race” that HE Created.  That is a byproduct of the tragic anti-GOD thinking of evolutionism.  There is also even no room for prejudice among human beings, as we have been Created as one human race (see Acts 17:26).

Friend, please do not be SPACED OUT in your thinking.  Come to know your Creator personally!  He has given us much to enjoy on the earth and much to observe and potentially explore in space.  You can observe HIS Intelligent Life right here, if you will simply have eyes to see and ears to hear.  Acts 17:27ff notes that He, Himself is not very far from any of us!

If you have paid any attention to the media or even considered personal investment opportunities, you have likely heard about “The Gold Standard.”  Many, especially in these difficult economic conditions, are personally investing in Gold.  Gold is indeed one of the best time tested precious metals of value that proves to be worthy of ownership.  The world is heading toward a unified currency (just as the Bible foretells and the news reports) and I can assure you that it will not simply be Gold (though, no doubt Gold will still have a place and value).  I’m not writing this article today to talk about the physical investment aspect of this reality, but to challenge you to think with me about the spiritual Truth and reality.

Have you ever heard of the story of King Midas?  Most everyone has.  You might want to review that story in a book or, as the opportunity allows in our video oriented culture, even review a video rendition of this story as I just did: https://youtu.be/w7nGicehujI.  King Midas was granted the Golden touch so that everything he touched turned to valuable Gold.  He quickly learned that if everything is Gold, then other things of value lose their worth.  He eventually came to learn that Gold was not as valuable as he thought and that there were things even more valuable than Gold (such as his daily food, his garden flowers and even his daughter).

Do you think that people today have learned from this story?  In the last 10 minutes as I have been writing this article, I have seen 2 or 3 commercials on television talking about the investment of Gold and even much other talk about money and investments.  Our culture and the world at large is not yet understanding the things that are the most valuable, despite the economic conditions to help us wake up to the most important things in life!  The current American Government certainly is not emphasizing it.  If you want to see the Golden Touch curse, just do a bit of research about the current Government favoritism and increasing control through the inner workings of the Goldman Sachs Company.  You might just be outraged enough to WAKE UP!  Maybe it will even help you re-evaluate your own priorities.  You would think America and California now in particular might even learn some of the lessons from our own history of the westward expansion and the California Gold Rush.

Jobs are necessary for living and survival, yet they are NOT the most important part of life, nor the most important responsibility of Government.  Education is important, yet as I have personally observed, most college students and most aspiring teenagers are primarily looking to college as the way they can eventually make more money and get more of what they want to allegedly make them happier and more fulfilled in life.  Friend, it is a lie.  It is deception.  Unfortunately, most are still falling for it today.  There is a better way!

There is a Biblical Gold standard and you would do well to review the Truth here.  In writing this today, I reviewed the 417 references to “Gold” in the Bible.  While Gold has and will play an important role, the wisest mere human being who ever lived (King Solomon) said that Godly (not Goldly J) Wisdom is better than even the best Gold (see Proverbs 8 or particularly Proverbs 16:16).  Through the VT Tragedy and my ensuing personal tragedy I am also learning the Truth of 1 Peter 1:7:  GOD’s trial of our faith is indeed “much more precious than Gold,” though we often fail to realize this.  In Jesus’ counsel to the lukewarm Laodicean Church he spoke of the importance of buying this “tried Gold” which is purified (see Revelation 3:18).  Purified Gold will even be a part of God’s Great City, such that the literal Gold on the street there appears as transparent glass, having lost all those impurities that give it the yellowish color (see Revelation 21:21).

Friend, you would do well to not be deluded by the curse of Gold and further consider this Biblical Gold Standard.  You may even realize the superior standard that Jesus spoke of, which is also known as “The Golden Rule” (see Matthew 7:12 and even many of the themes in my articles on this website).

This is the week when the United States begins confirmation hearings for the next potential Supreme Court Justice, Sonya Sotomayor.  Whether or not you agree with this woman’s personal statements or previous policy judgments, you should appreciate her story of overcoming adversity and success as a Hispanic woman and a judge.  I will not speak further to that here, but do wish to address the subject of Judgment and how there is clearly a coming judgment that we all will face!  In fact, there are things that you should be doing right now to prepare….

There is a great misunderstanding of judging today.  Some think that you should judge nothing and others think that you should judge everything (you may even wish to review some of my other articles like the 06-16-09 Blog, “Mind Your Own Business!”).  Right or wrong, the fact is that we all judge and form opinions about things and even about other people.  I adjure you J to think with me further here and consider that you must learn to judge righteously and first judge yourself.  You must also remember that there is a soon coming judgment on the world and that you individually will stand before the ultimate Judge to give an account for your life.

As I have recently written, with all of the knowledge and understanding of things that we have today, we most certainly need to do a better job at discernment.  That is essentially what judging is.  You take two or more things, weigh them against each other, bring in what ever other standard you apply and then formulate an opinion.  Whether or not your opinion squares with reality and the revelation we have is another question.  Just consider the real life situation of how NASA decides whether or not to proceed with a space launch, as they have been doing with a particular plan that has been delayed now (even again as I am writing this) since June 13^th.  There are some things that we cannot know and those are the things that we should be careful to not judge and certainly not misjudge.

All judgment begins with you!  If you judge yourself in accordance with reality and God’s revelation, you need not fear your coming judgment in standing before HIM to give an account.  Consider the biblical principle taught in 1 Corinthians 11:31:

“For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.”

GOD expects us to live up to the knowledge and ability HE has given to us.  When you do not do this, HE allows for you to reap what you have sown (see Galatians 6:7ff or even my 06-20-08 Blog, “Reaping and Sowing”).  Those who are God’s adopted sons and daughters (c.f. Galatians 4:5ff) are particularly under the parental control and correction of GOD Himself (Hebrews 12:5ff).  Even those who do not know or care to know GOD now, will one day give an account to HIM for what they have done with their life and whether or not they have accepted the Son of GOD.

Friend, as you think more about judgment this week and the future of this great Country of America and even of our world, please remember to judge yourself and please remember that you will give an account for all you have done, both good and bad.  If you do not have forgiveness through the Person of Jesus Christ, then you had better further consider the eternal judgment that you will face at GOD’S Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11ff).