Zombie Apocalypse or Resurrection?

Could there be a real threat of Zombie retaliation? Man has been fascinated with zombies for a long time, not only in horror movies and TV shows, but in third world countries, like Africa and Jamaica, where the belief in zombies is quite real. Practitioners of Voodoo and other mystical religions believe they can bring the dead back to life to accomplish evil deeds.

But are there really such beings as Zombies? It’s my thought that zombies do exist here among us right now. There might be at least two or three different types of zombies out there in the world already. One kind might be those people who do not believe in Christ as the Son of God or that God even exists at all and they wander around in a fog, not having any purpose or faith in anything but themselves, like walking dead. They are essentially dead to God.

Another kind could be those of us who believe that Christ died for our sins, rose again and is returning for us. We have died to self and now live in Christ. We are simply taking up space here on earth until He calls us home or He returns, we are dead to the world of sin, but alive through Christ and what He has done for us.

The Bible is full of “zombies” or those who have risen from the dead. In the Old Testament Elijah raised the widow of Zarephath’s son in 1 Kings 17:22 and in 2 Kings 4 Elisha raises a Shunammite woman’s son. Then again, a man was raised when his dead body came into contact with Elisha's bones in 2 Kings 13. These to me sound like zombies; they came back to life, got up, walked around and interacted with others, but no reports of them attacking and eating their fellow man! All though later on in the New Testament is the account of the demon possessed men and how Christ drove their demons into the pigs in Luke 8:26-39, which comes pretty close!

The New Testament gives some examples that are very well known; probably the most famous of all was when Jesus raised Lazarus after he had been buried for four days in John 11:38-44. He raised a widow’s son during a funeral in Luke 7:11-17 and Jairus daughter in Mark 5:21-43. But the ultimate rise from the dead was by Jesus Christ himself, when he was crucified, buried and then rose on the third day! Again He was alive, walking and talking with people! Now if you really want “zombies” this was the real deal, during Christ’s crucifixion many of the dead came out of the tombs, Matt. 27:52. Talk about zombies!

But wait, we aren’t done yet, there are still more examples to come! Paul raises Eutychus after he falls from a 2^nd story window in Acts 20:7-12 and Peter raises Dorcas in Acts 9:36-42. Although all of these certainly sound like zombies to me, I am of the opinion that the real Zombie Apocalypse isn’t scheduled until Christ returns. 

We read this account of our final victory in 1Corinthians 15:50-58:^“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

That to me sounds like a Zombie Apocalypse if ever there was one! In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 we get another image, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” Philippians 3:20-21 tells us “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control; will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

The thing that gets me the most, is all these TV shows about preparing for the Apocalypse and Zombies, basically only show people hording supplies and things or building fortresses, but they offer no real solutions. There is but one way to prepare for such events and that is to prepare our hearts to accept Jesus as Christ and as Our Savior, because He is the only one who can save us from such things. If you have not prepared yourself by accepting Christ as your Savior, then you will have no hope of surviving an Apocalypse of any kind and all the supplies and preparations will be for nothing!

Instead of storing up useless things here on earth, we should be preparing to share the love of Christ with others while we are here. So take the time now, while you still have it, to put your Spiritual house in order, get your life back on the right track and be assured of where you will go when the Zombie Apocalypse hits! There are only two places a person could end up in when it’s all over, Heaven with God and Christ or Hell with the Devil! So prepare wisely!

When I Stumble

Following hard on the heels of my Lord, I let out a cry and He reached down His hand pulling me up from the mire. As He wiped the tears from my eyes, I whined, “Lord, I want to follow you, but the path is too difficult, it’s full of puddles and potholes, thorns and rocks, far too many hardships! Isn’t there some other way, one less difficult? I’m so tired, won’t you carry me?” His face was radiant, His smile blinding and as He squeezed my hand He gently lifted me up and cradled me in His arms, softly whispering “yes, I am here always!”



Written by C.S. Bosse

Getting Back on the Right Track

After taking into account the very basic differences between men and women, the fact that men are "blue" and women are "pink", that neither is wrong, just different and conflict in a relationship is natural, then allowing for our own percentage of fault and not placing the entire blame on the other person, a formula for restoration can be found. Trying to repair the damage done to a relationship will take time and effort, but can be done. One way to start is to put the emphases on changing oneself and not on changing the other. Looking to the Lord and his word for inspiration is one of the best places to start, asking the Lord to transform your own heart and to change you from within. Taking the time to learn how to show love and respect to one another is an important part of life. Our relationships and especially our marriages should be able to withstand the test of time. Our goal should be to erase the stigma of being the "disposable" generation. We have become numb as a society and have learned to dispose of everything without a second thought, wives, husbands and even our kids!

Let's get back to the way God intended us to live, loving Him first, then our family and friends and finally our Country, forgiving as Christ forgave and doing God's will as Christ has taught. Colossians 3:12-14 gives us an easy pattern to follow:

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

Dealing with Conflict

     Most people are basically good willed, meaning that they don't constantly spend all their time trying to think of ways to irritate others, it just comes kind of naturally because we are human and from infancy we work at getting our own needs met. It's way easier to focus on our own needs and wants verses those of others. Most of us to some degree, live in our own little worlds, thinking our thoughts and entertaining  ourselves with the things we like. 

     God designed men and women differently, with different emotional make ups. Most women have a need to talk things over, either with their partner or their friends, for the most part men don't have this need. Men and women also process things differently, so many genuine acts can be miss interpreted. The woman who needs to talk things through, may miss interpret his silence as being unloving. The man who comes home from work after an exhausting day around others and just want's some peace and quiet, could miss interpret her need to talk things out as being disrespectful. Women also have a tendency to externalize things, we wear our emotions on the outside, on our faces and through our body language. Men are more internal, they tend to kept their emotions deep inside. It's much easier for a man to express himself freely to his male friends, than to his female partner. God created the man to be the head of the household and to be a "man of honor" by doing the right thing. A man on a battlefield during wartime, would risk death and go back for a fallen comrade because he is a man of honor, but can he acknowledge the need for his wife to express her feelings? That act is much harder and does not come naturally to a man.

      Since men think in blue and women tend to think in pink, there will be conflicts in every relationship, it is inevitable. The fact that men think in blue is not wrong, just different and so it is with women thinking in pink, not wrong, different. God created male and female to be different and he intends for you to have conflict in marriage, but his design was that we should learn to differ in loving and respectful ways, because God thinks in PURPLE!

      In the beginning, God created man, Adam, to care for the earth and it's creatures. Then he saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone, so he created Eve to help him, care for him and to populate the world. God made Adam (the male) to be the protector and provider for both of them. Eve (the female) as his assistant, providing love and nurturing. Even today these roles were not changed by God, but people have sought to expand and revise them. He created them to be a couple and work together. But what happens when conflict arises? How can it be resolved without the marriage or partnership being dissolved? 

     If we accept the fact that most people are basically good willed, but see things differently and assume that some conflict is inevitable, then we can begin to change the way we behave toward each other. It is human nature to pass judgment on others especially during a fight. Each side thinks it is right and the other is wrong. So if one side decides to be the mature one and submits to the other, with time and practice things can be mended. Say for instance, a husband and wife have just had an argument and both sides have said some pretty horrible things to each other. The husband (blue) shuts down his emotions and stomps away into another room and sits in front of the TV with a feeling of not receiving his due respect. Meanwhile the wife (pink) is left standing there with this overwhelming feeling of not being loved. The problem is not that we lack the ability to change the situation, but that we lack the incentive. 

     But what would be the outcome, if one, let’s say the husband, adopted an attitude of submission and sought out his wife and said something to the effect “That felt very disrespectful, did I come across as unloving?” and then said simply “I’m sorry!” and left it at that. Or if the wife were to follow her husband into the other room and instead of continuing with her previous rant, said something like “That felt very unloving, did I come across as disrespectful?” and said “I’m sorry!”

       Taking responsibility for one’s own behavior is not a natural or easy thing to do and may take some practice. But by stepping up and taking responsibility for your actions and not placing the blame on the other, the pattern can be changed. As Christians we are called to love others as Christ loved us, so everything we do, should be done as if the other person were Christ, himself. In Matthew 25:40 Christ says “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me.’” And then again in verse 45 of the same chapter, “Then he will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.’” We should behave as if Christ were standing right behind that person, whispering to us “do unto me” and “show this person mercy and forgiveness, I know they don’t deserve it, but do it for me”. 

      Jesus took the cross for our transgressions; can’t we at least take on the responsibility for our actions? Instead of focusing on the faults of others and blaming them, try to look past them and see your percentage of guilt and own up to it, make Christ your focus. What we do to others should be done out of reverence for Christ. Love for Christ should equal love for one’s wife (girlfriend, neighbor, boss, etc.) and reverence for Christ should equate to respect for the husband (boyfriend, children, etc.). There is a great reward for those who will make the effort! 

Making Our Way Down The Path

It is my belief that God has a plan for everyone, even those who never answer his call. He can use those unbelievers to push us in the right direction. His plan is for our good, although sometimes we can't see the good when bad things happen. He lets us pick and choose our paths, but ultimately He is in control. I can see this in my own life because somehow after a life of every kind of depravity (alcohol, drugs, etc.), I find myself here on God's doorstep. I had indulged my every whim (or most of them) in the most destructive manner and yet through God's infinite grace I have been spared. I had picked a destiny of my own or so I thought, but in truth God has placed me in this marriage and this situation for a reason. Maybe it's to set an example to those in my family, my husband, and kids. Or maybe it's that the Lord had chosen me and knew I'd come to Him by no other means. Although it's not what I would call the perfect life (or so it sometimes seems), I will remain in it and let the Lord continue to guide me, until he calls me home.

So, ultimately, God lets us choose our own destinies by choosing our paths in life, either the straight and narrow or the wide. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus puts it this way, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." And in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." But in the end, He makes the final decision. He created us and is in control, no matter what we think or whether we even believe in the God of Heaven and the Universe. His will is done and He is there whenever we need him or even if we don't think we do. All we have to do is seek him and ask. Matthew 7:7-8 says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." We should not only seek him when things are bad, but when things are going well, we need to thank him as well!

So if you are feeling like your relationships have gone a bit a rye, that you are not on the right page, remember what the bible says in Ephesians 5:21-33 "Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one." This is a great mystery, and I take it to mean Christ and the church; however, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."

The two key words in this passage, being love and respect, for if a man does not learn to show love to a woman, how will the woman learn to show respect to the man? This can only happen when one or the other, steps out in faith and shows love and respect, even when they don't think it is deserved by the other. It is a sign of true maturity, when we put others ahead of ourselves, letting our pride take a backseat to the needs of others. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 states "Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away."


So it actually becomes a matter of unconditional love and unconditional respect. The man to unconditionally love the woman (wife, girlfriend) and the woman to unconditionally respect the man (husband, boyfriend). Unconditional means it is not based on performance or merit, either past, present or future. It is given even when it is not deserved. The circumstances of one's relationships can be changed by either the man taking the first step and showing unconditional love to the woman or by the woman being the first to show unconditional respect to the man. Men and women were created equal in the eyes of God, but he created them different, male and female, not the same. Each with different needs, the woman with the need to be loved and the man with the need to be respected. When the man feels respected he shows love, when the woman feels loved she shows respect. It is a natural response to the feeling of being unloved to show disrespect. By the same token, when one doesn't feel respected, the natural response is to withhold love. But his love motivates her respect and her respect motivates his love and a new cycle can be started.  

God's love is unconditional, even if we never love Him back, His love will still be there. He doesn't put a price on it either, there are no conditions, no requirements, it's free for the taking, all we have to do is seek Him and love Him back! Jesus came to this earth to show God's great love for us and to show us how to love. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 That He gave his all even unto death! This should be the bases for our relationships, in order for them to work, either one or both parties have to be willing to put aside their own selfish needs for the good of the other.

Is it destiny or choice?

Do you ever wonder if we really pick our own destiny? Do the choices we make affect our destiny? How do we know if we've made the right choices? Ever wonder why you are where you are in life? Did your marriage or relationship start out with both of you pretty much on the same "paragraph" or the same "page" at least, but now you aren't in the same "book" or perhaps even the same "library"? What happened? How do we get back on the same page? Do we want to? Sometimes it's simply a matter of change, one changes and one stays the same. What then? You entered into the relationship when you were younger, thinking this is the love of your life, then one day after 20 some years of marriage, you wake up wondering what you're doing with this person! What happen? Then you realize something is different, something is gone. You have nothing in common. What then? Do you call it quits, pack up and move on to "greener pastures", start it all over and hope it works out better the next time? What if there are kids? Sometimes you can't just leave it all behind. At some point in one's life it is beneficial to just step back and take a good look around. Who changed and why?

Maybe it's because one of you has become a believer in Jesus Christ and has begun an intimate relationship with God. In the Bible, it states in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 this: "To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife." And goes on to say in verses 12-16: "to the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?"

So when you started out in this relationship or marriage, neither one of you was saved, things seemed ok. But somehow, somewhere along the line, one of you started to hear the call. Perhaps, it was after the addition of children. One day you felt a strong need to start searching for something of value, some way to instill a moral fiber in the children you brought into the world, a world of confusion and fear. Or maybe it was because you had attended church as a child yourself and when a friend or relative invites you to attend theirs, you do. In the beginning, you would go once in awhile and then more often. Pretty soon, you are going every Sunday; maybe even start attending a few Bible studies.

So, then one day after years of listening and reading, it all makes sense, you could never understand why Christ had to die on the cross, but now the answer finally sinks in and becomes real. He died so you could have life and have it abundantly. So now you start looking closer at your life. You see things in a different light now. Things you thought were ok to do or watch or even say somehow don't seem right anymore. You start filtering out some of the language you use. Some of the shows or movies you used to watch just don't seem appropriate anymore. When you listen to music, the lyrics aren't as innocent as they once seemed. Your whole view of the world is changing; you now have a new understanding of right and wrong.

Now that you have seen the light, you come to the sad realization that your partner doesn't get any of this or care about it or want it. They are quite happy in their old life and see no reason to change. They have no use for God and the saving grace of Jesus. They believe that everything they need, they can get for themselves. You try to share your new found hope, but it falls on deft ears, so you just go about your life wondering what went wrong. As you become more and more involved in your new life, the conflicts between you and your partner start to increase. They start to feel left out because they don't want to share in your new life. You, yourself, start to feel the pinch of alienation, because there are some things about your old life that just don't belong in your new life. So now what? Should you think about ending this relationship and look for someone else?

But the bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 "Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts. Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you - although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to." So now you’re stuck, what should you do? How can you be content in the situation God has put you in? Should you follow the crowd or take the “road less traveled”?

In today's culture, we are led to believe that we can do whatever we want, anything and everything is ok. We are encouraged to indulge ourselves in every whim and think only of ourselves. If our marriage isn't working out the way we think it should, then we feel we should be free to leave or cheat on our partner, no matter what the price is to others. Most of us took wedding vows that had words like "for better or for worse" and "until death do us part", so how do we figure we can come and go as we wish? Why is it that when "the worse" part gets here we feel the need to get going? The Bible says in 1 Corn. 7:17 "Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches." So according to this, we as believers are to stay in the same circumstances in which we were called. So with such vast differences in views, how do we make it work? Do we give in to the pressure around us and just go back to the old ways? Or do we take a stand and fight? But how can we fight the tide?

Going against the tide isn't an easy thing to do. But since it's easier to change one's self than to change others, one should start by looking at one's self. Are the new changes to your life apparent to the outside world? Do they show in your actions toward others? Spending time with the Lord in the word and prayer will help us to focus on how Christ would want us to behave toward each other. Once we learn these things, it's a constant daily battle to implement them in our lives. It seems as though we don't always win, but we must keep up the fight, because each time we make a little more progress. Another thing to consider, is how we got here? Looking back on our path to salvation can give us a clue as to how and why we are here. The trials we go through determine who we will become. We say to ourselves "if I had only married this one or that one, things would be so different today", but would you be where you are today in your spiritual life if you had not "chosen" this path?

I can say from my own experience, that had I married someone other than the man I married, I probably would not have found my way to the Lord. It's not because he's saved, he isn't, but because through it I came in contact with others who are. So looking back I can see that the Lord has led me on this path in spite of myself. Even though I "chose" it, the Lord has used it for his own purposes.

So barring extreme physical or mental abuse, but just a growing feeling of separation, how do we become content in our current situation? If there is no threat of violence or bodily harm, but just a feeling of distance through changes in one's own direction, then maybe one should consider the possibilities of remaining in the relationship. But how, is there a way we can reconnect on some level?

The book of Ecclesiastes from the bible, tells of a man who had everything, wisdom, untold wealth, knowledge, power and even all the pleasures he could desire, yet he was not content! He had tried everything and found it all meaningless without one major component! In the end he found that there was only one thing that could make him content in his circumstances. Most biblical scholars believe that this is a reference to King Solomon! The only man in history, to truly have everything, including God's favor! But he found that there is only one way to attain true contentment.  Further on in Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 it says "Behold, what I have seen to be good and to be fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life which God has given him, for this is his lot. Every man also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and find enjoyment in his toil-this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart."

So as King Solomon found, there is only one way to find true contentment in our circumstances, it is to seek God and ask him to make us content. We need to ask God to change our hearts and minds, to give us a spirit of contentment in our marriages, relationships, jobs and our lot in life. Our focus should be on placing others before us and not on our bad lot in life. By placing the focus of our toils on doing our best for the Lord, we can be free in any situation in life and learn to show grace and mercy to those around us, to love the unlovable. This will help us to get through our trials and tribulations. This is why Christ came, to show us by example, how to love one another. We are all sinners, whether saved or not. There are no perfect human beings on earth; we all fall short of the righteousness of God. For this purpose Jesus came to reconnect us with God.

We need to step outside our comfort zone, change the way we think of others and start acting on our beliefs. Just because we show compassion, mercy and grace to the people around us, does not mean that we have to condone their behavior. I can show grace and mercy to my husband who smokes and uses profanity 24/7, even though I don't. I can extend that same grace and mercy to my teenagers, who can't understand why I won't let them live their depraved lifestyles under my roof. I can also practice self control when dealing with my drug crazed alcoholic brother. The Lord has set me on this path for a reason, which until now has never been very obvious to me. So the question still remains, did I really pick my own fate or is it just a slight detour on a more perfect path?