God And The Plans Of Men

I just finished reading an riveting biography of President Richard Nixon by John A. Farrell. I found it to be refreshingly fair and objective, especially when dealing with such a historically polarizing figure. One of the many things that I learned was the role Nixon played in positioning the United States to help rescue Israel during the Yom Kippur War.

The back story is, like most events involving Nixon, complicated. President Nixon was up-to-his-neck with the Watergate crisis (of his own making) as well as having to deal with the surprise resignation of his Vice-President. He was also, by his own account, drinking heavily to combat the stress. The Soviet Union, sensing blood in the water, picked this moment in history to galvanize nine Arab states, including Egypt and Syria, and instructed them to invade Israel, who would most likely stand alone in the defense of their country. The Soviets were attempting to exert their influence throughout the Middle East and was the chief supplier of munitions to all the major players in that area, except for the nation of Israel. The goal of the Soviet Union was the spread of Communism throughout the world and only one thing stood in their way in the Middle East, Israel.

Three Dog Night Sings "Out In The Country" (1970)

I Am Thankful For . . .

I am thankful for . . .

Jesus Christ - who took upon Himself all of my sins and all of God's wrath toward me to make me righteous and reserve my eternal destination with Him. Who has given me His promises (The Bible) which allow me to have hope in this hopeless world. Who promises He will never leave or forsake me. He is all mighty, all knowing, all holiness, who gives daily mercies, bears my burdens, breaths life into my lungs for each moment that I'm alive on this planet, and who is responsible for all the good gifts that I have been given.

Heaven

The Pew Research Center started categorizing American's religious beliefs into three unique groups. These three groups are "Highly Religious", "Somewhat Religious", and "Non-Religious". (You can click here to view the entire report) What I found interesting is that in the two groups that have some religious beliefs, over 94% of all those surveyed believe in the existence of Heaven. (Even in the "Non-Religious" group there was 12%  and 4% respectively of those people who professed to believe in the existence of Heaven) Let's spend a little bit of time examining the perceptions of over 90% of the planet population who do believe there is a Heaven.

Whether a culture indoctrination of the existence of an after-life, or a faith-built belief system, it is evident that people want to believe there is a better place than planet Earth. But what do they believe about Heaven? Check out some of these quotes:

"One road leads home, and a thousand roads lead into the wilderness." - C.S. Lewis

"Go to heaven for the climate, hell for the company." - Mark Twain