Near Neath Experiences, New Life
Why study near death experiences ? What do they have to do with spiritual growth ? I believe that there is a very good description of a near death experience in the bible:
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise-whether in the body or out of the body I do not kinow, God knows- and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses- though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. (2 Corinthians 12:2-7 ESV)
That sounds like Paul was given special revelations to help with his ministry. Could these revelations be available to us? Yes, they are because we can learn a great deal about what has value in this life and what is worthless.
When we are talking about spiritual growth and our authentic selves, we need spiritual help and guidance. Primarily we look to the Holy Spirit and the Word. This is where supernatural power lies as we are seeking guidance for our lives.
As I have posted on this blog, there are many reasons to study NDEs, but one of the most important from own study and experience is that they are a source of spiritual guidance that we can’t find anywhere else.
You can try psychedelic drugs or meditation or go into nature, but those experiences will not give you an idea of what happens after we die and they won’t give you an idea of what is valuable and worthwhile to pursue while we are in this life.
Many people want to know what happens after we die,
Why Study Near Death Experiences ? (What Happens When We Die)
Many people have devoted their time, and energy and money to activities with little to no value,
Why Study Near Death Experiences?: Because Everyone is Betting On Something
Many people are paralyzed by fear and anxiety and their lives are controlled by fear and avoidance behavior,
This is a biggie, many people are searching for purpose or meaning in their lives. In my book, Challenge Your Fear, Empower Your Spirit, I quote a study that shows that over 100 million Christians are still searching for meaning and purpose in their lives,
“More than 100 million American adults who describe themselves as Christian contend that despite their commitment to God they are still searching for clarity regarding their purpose in life. Tens of millions of self-described Christians feel unfulfilled in life, admit they lack direction,and are disappointed that their faith has not produced the kind of meaning and identity they need, and question whether their life makes a difference.” George Barna, Maximum Faith[1]
[1] Barna,George “Maximum Faith” Metainformation/SGG/WHCP; 1st edition (March 1,2011)p 10
I belive that NDEs can help direct us towards finding purpose for our lives,
Why Study Near Death Experiences? They Shine Light on Purpose and Meaning
Are you interested in getting an idea what happens when we die ? Are you looking for purpose and meaning in your life? Are you overwhelmed with fear and anxiety ? Do you have no passion or drive in your life ?
If you explore the above blog posts, you will most likely get many ideas and find out things about yourself that you never knew. The beauty of Near Death Experiences is that you can study the experience of others and it can still have a positive impact on your life without actually having the experience yourself.
In addition, if you are studying the Word and are spending time studying biblical principles, you will recognize that many of the experiences that NDers have are consistent with the truth of the Word.
If you want to explore this further there are book references in some of these posts that delve into that idea.
The Eternity Problem
One of the things that we can agree on is that if we believe in God and we believe that we are spirits who happen to have a body, then we share one huge problem. Eternity.
Compared to our little problems related to Covid, food and fuel prices, climate change and all of our petty little troubles, when we face eternity, those little troubles become even smaller.
This is all summed up in one of my favorite quotes when it comes to the Christianity:
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. C.S. LEWIS
If Christianity is true, then eternity is true and what we do on this earth has a direct impact on our eternity. Eternity is important because it is infinite. Our eternity is also unique to us.
How do we know that our eternities are unique? Because what we believe and what we do impacts where we will spend eternity and what we will do in eternity. But these are OUR CHOICES.
Many non-believers don’t believe in God because they can’t fathom a loving kind caring God sending us to a place of torture, pain and suffering. They are mistaken. God doesn’t send us anywhere.
We choose our destiny when we embrace or ignore the sacrifice on the cross that Jesus endured for our salvation. Hell is just the absence of everything that is God. It is total separation from God by our choice.
God is love, so there is no love in hell. God is light, so hell is complete darkness. God is good, so there is absolutely nothing good in hell. God is life, so that means hell is eternal death. God is gracious, so that means there’s no grace in hell.
Our Eternities are unique and what we do on this planet plays a role in how and where we spend eternity. When we accept Christ and turn our lives over to Him, we choose Heaven, but that is just the beginning of our journey.
One thing that really caught my attention was an equation that I saw one time. It was an eye opener because it really puts our faith and our salvation in context.
Salvation + Faith = Works
Faith + Works = Salvation
We can disagree on how faith and works are necessary for salvation or whether you can have salvation by faith alone, but if you look at both of these equations, works are a part of both. Deeds. Bearing fruit. Hand to the plow. Taking action. Whatever you believe, works or deeds play a role.
Then He said to another man, “Follow Me.” The man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first let me bid farewell to my family.”Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
( Luke 9:59-62 NLT)
“We are healed to help others. We are blessed to be a blessing. We are saved to serve, not to sit around and wait for heaven.”
Rick Warren
To sum up what Jesus is telling us and what Rick Warren is saying and what these equations are telling us is that we are saved by faith for something. For what ? For good works. We have assignments. God has a plan. It is a privilege and an honor to tell others about Jesus and how he offers a deal that no one can match.
When we accept Jesus as our personal savior,
- Our sins are forgiven (huge)
- We have a purpose for living
- We have a home waiting for us in heaven
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well. In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
“Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”
( John 14:1-7 NLT)
Based on the Barna research data introduced in the introduction, we know that the majority of believers ignore the second part of the deal, OUR PURPOSE. This is bearing fruit. Taking action. Hand to the plow. We want forgiveness and we want heaven, but we cross the bridge of purpose and pain to get there. Purpose also protects us and provides the power we need for the journey.
Near Death Experiences Remind Us Of Our Assignment
The NDE can bring some valuable insight and some ideas that we haven’t even thought about as we are trying to figure out our own unique passions and gifts. There are two unique and powerful principles outlined in this NDE that can really help us to home in on our own unique passion. In “Lessons from the Light”, (1) this person who underwent an NDE describes what they learned from their experience:
“One thing I (learned) was that we are ALL here to do an “assignment of love.” We don’t have to do it at all, or we can do as many as we like. It’s up to us.” Our “assignment” is programmed in at birth and it is the very thing or things we love most.”
Look at this excerpt from “Brave The Wave”,
There are many verses in the Bible that talk about our service and how we’re to use our time and gifts for the benefit of others. My favorite parable is the parable of the talents:
For it [the kingdom of heaven] will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.
Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, “Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”
And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, “Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”
He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.” But his master answered him, “You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:14-30 ESV)
From this parable, it’s clear that each of us has been given a gift or talent. Here’s a description of a “talent”:
According to the New Nave’s Topical Bible, one who possessed five talents of gold or silver was a multimillionaire by today’s standards. Some calculate the talent in the parables to be equivalent to twenty years of wages for the common worker. Other scholars estimate more conservatively, valuing the New Testament talent somewhere between $1,000 to $30,000 dollars today.[i]
In this parable, we can assume that Jesus was making a point about the value of the gifts we’re given. He chose a large sum of money that was given to each servant. In my humble, non-biblical-scholar opinion, he’s telling us that we’re each given a valuable gift to use, and then receive a return on that investment. He wants us to use our gifts and talents in serving and helping others. We’re to bear fruit. Our gifts and talents and even our passions and interests were given for the benefit of others, not ourselves.
From the parable, we can see that some of us have one talent, some three talents, and some five. Those who are given more have more responsibility.
Notice how Jesus says, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you [put you in charge] over much. Enter in the joy of your master.” He’s giving us an idea of the reward waiting for us if we use our talents, money, and gifts in ways that are wise. In ways that benefit others. We’ll be put in charge of much, and we’ll celebrate with Jesus in heaven. This is an illustration of our responsibility for our unique eternity.
[i] https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-talent-700699.
This talent stuff is serious business.
- Kenneth Ring, Lessons from the Light (Needham, MA: Moment Point Press, 2006 p. 47