This week’s Remnant Report is short – not for lack of news, but for lack of time. But just for the sake of keeping up, here are a couple of items – some things you may want to think about.
Castro Finally Gets to Meet His Heroes Lenin and Marx
Fidel Castro died just recently (on November 25, 2016) at the age of 90. He apparently died peacefully – unlike many of his victims. But if he got his wish, he’s not getting much peace now – Castro is now in hell.
It’s what he claims he wanted, and by all accounts there’s no reason to doubt it – he rejected Christ, faith, and all religious thought. I can’t judge him, of course: that’s purely God’s realm. I just know what Castro said. From a 1994 interview, Castro said the following:
“You know, I’ll go to hell, and I know the heat will be unbearable, but it will be less painful than having expected so much from heaven, which never kept its promises… And also, when I arrive, I will meet Marx, Engels, Lenin…”
As despicable and terrible of a person that Fidel Castro was (because millions of people suffered under his rulership), it’s not the fact that he was a brutal dictator that sent him to hell. It’s his rejection of Christ that allowed him to continue on the path to hell.
He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18)
We don’t earn heaven. We don’t earn hell. We either get what we deserve (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23), or we are granted what we do not deserve (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Don’t Neglect Yourself
We live in an age of self-help, self-esteem, personal trainers, and just paying attention to yourself overall. Men in the 1950s apparently neglected themselves, because its only been in the last few years I’ve seen manicures for men written about in magazines and anti-aging night cream (to prevent wrinkles!) for men. As I often do, I can’t help but wonder “What would grampa have thought of this?”
But maybe it’s good. Maybe the modern milieu of “self care” really is true progress. Perhaps we should pay more attention to ourselves! I just happen to think of it in different terms.
Here’s what I mean: Because we are made up of three “parts” – body, soul, and spirit (Romans 12:1-2) – we should put all three parts to use. It only makes sense to do so. The alternative – self-neglect – would cause our entire being to be out of balance.
Imagine if all you cared about was reading. Every day when you had a free moment. Every night before bed. Books, books, books. You’d probably absorb quite a few new ideas, expand your vocabulary, and learn new facts. You’d be out of balance – physically – unless you worked out sometimes.
If all you did was work out, exercise, and live for sports, it would be a different kind of problem. You’d be out of balance intellectually. There’s a time for exercising the mind, as well as the body.
We understand these concepts, because they’re accepted and plain to see. But what a lot of people miss is the fact that they can be out of balance spiritually. Personal spiritual neglect is far more prevalent, perhaps, than any other kind of personal neglect.
Romans 12:1-2 tells us that it’s our “reasonable service” to present ourselves to God. It mentions our mind (which is our soul) and our body. What is understood, as well, is that in order to have that connection with God we must have the Spirit of life through faith in Christ.
The world tells us to not neglect our body. The Bible tells us to not neglect our soul, and to not neglect our spiritual self.