Month: November 2025

Let’s Talk Turkey

Lately, my blogs have been a little bit heavy; I thought that for Thanksgiving, I might lighten one up a little. So here goes.

Tom turkey was nestled, sweet thoughts in his head,

he did not know that soon he’d be dead.

He’d heard the farmer talk of a great feast to come,

and how he wanted Tom to fatten up some.

So, Tom figured the feast was meant for his sake,

and thought of all the goodies he would get to take.

For he had also heard of the food they’d prepare,

of potatoes, and salads, and pies, and such fare.

They even talked of making Tom some dressing,

Great, he thought, new clothes! What a blessing!

They called it Thanksgiving, whatever that means,

just so he could gobble some yams and green beans.

Finally, the day of the feast had arrived,

but for Tom, it was a day he would not survive.

For when the farmer came to him, ax in hand,

Tom finally came to understand:

That the farmer’s family having him for dinner,

was not as a guest, but on a platter.

Tom saw the ax, and his waddle quivered,

he tried to run, but only shivered.

The time had come, he closed his eyes,

his fate was sealed, it was time to die.

But, instead of his neck, the ax hit some wood.

The farmer, smiling, in front of Tom stood.

He said, “I just had a call from the President,

he said, of my dinner plans, I should relent.”

“For as the Head of State, I pardon poor Tom and

let the turkey live, it is my command.

So, Tom the turkey breathed a sigh of relief,

his life was spared by the nation’s Chief.

Now he had a reason to join the celebration:

He gladly gave thanks for his salvation.

 

And so it is, that God spared our lives, as well,

pardoned us, saved us from sin, death and _____.

For we were goners, lost as we could be,

but Jesus’s sacrifice has set us free.

So let us give thanks for more than turkey and yam,

And give our thanks to the Great, “I AM”!

 

And with that, Karen and I wish you all a happy, and blessed, Thanksgiving!

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen. 

Read: 1 Corinthians 15:57; Philippians 4:4-7.

POV

This last Sunday, we celebrated All Saints Sunday, also known as Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico. It is the day we remember all those saints who have already died and gone to heaven before us. By the term, saints, Protestants mean all Christians who are made holy through the work of, and by their faith in, Jesus Christ. Paul used the term when addressing Christians in the churches to whom he wrote, for example in Ephesians 1:1 where he wrote, “To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:”

As our pastor reminded us of the meaning of All Saints Sunday, I thought about my own father and mother, and of Karen’s parents, who have died and gone to heaven as faithful and devout Christians. If any could bear such a title as saint, surely those four could do so.

While thinking of them in haven, I then began wondering what that is like for them. Before the Resurrection of the dead, are they aware of where they are? Are they aware of us? Have all things been revealed to them – or as we used to say in seminary, have they watched the videotapes of biblical history? (Since that was 30 years ago, we only had tapes and not CDs, DVD’s, or streaming.)

These thoughts led me to contemplate the question of what theologians call, the “Intermediate State”, the period between when someone dies and their resurrection, when he or she enters their eternal state.

There are several opinions of the Intermediate State. The most common are:

1. When a person dies, he or she is unaware and unconscious until they are resurrected. They are in a sense asleep until Christ returns and wakes them up. This view is called, “Soul Sleep.” There is biblical warrant for this view:

a. Ephesians 5:14, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

b. Daniel 12:2, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

c. Ecclesiastes 9:5, “For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.”

2. When a person dies, he or she remains conscious and goes immediately to be judged and receive their eternal reward/punishment. There are also Biblical passages that support this view:

a. 2 Corinthians 5:8, “Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

b. 1 Thessalonians 5:10, “who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.”

c. Philippians 1:23, Paul writes, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”

d. Matthew 17:3, at the Transfiguration, Moses (long dead) and Elijah appear and talk to Jesus.

e. Revelation 6, John sees the souls of those who had been slain, who are not asleep, but crying out to God for justice.

f. Paul uses the word “sleep” as a metaphor for death, as the dead appear to be sleeping, and will some day be raised, not as a statement of whether the dead are aware or not.

g. In Jesus’ parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, he describes the dead as being awake and aware of their eternal conditions. (Luke 16:19-31). It’s hard to believe that even in a parable, Jesus would present something that is untrue. However, this example will also take us to a third option for the dead:

3. The possibility that there is a temporary “holding cell” for the dead until the great judgment, after which the dead will go one of two ways: to heaven or to hell. In the parable, Lazarus is in the “Bosom of Abraham,” and the rich man is in Hades. Likewise, Jesus’ friend Lazarus whom he brought back to life, had not yet gone to either heaven or hell before he was temporarily raised. Also, when Jesus was crucified he descended and preached to the “spirits in prison”  (1 Peter 3:19) and descended into the lower regions and brought captives on high (Ephesians 4:7-9). The prophecy that Jesus would set the captives free could either refer to freedom from sin or freedom from post-death captivity.

How do I resolve these debates? Simple! I think of the term, “POV”, which is used in videos and memes to refer to the Point Of View  being shown in the picture. We see what the person taking the video sees. And that is how I think of what happens when we die. One minute, we close our eyes in death, and the next thing we know, we are seeing the face of Christ. And that is true, whether we see him the next second, or after many thousands of years awaiting the resurrection, or after being put in a holding pattern. One minute we’re here, the next, we’re with the Lord. Our POV will be the same. To me, that settles all questions about what we will be aware of. And as for the videotapes, my fellow seminarians agreed: they would gather dust because we will be so blown away in heaven by the presence of the glory of God, we will lose interest in what happened here on earth. And as for what will know, God will teach us, or instill in us, all we need to know and all the Lord wants us to know.

There is no secret knowledge here on earth, that we still need to know in order to be saved. The Scriptures are sufficient to make us wise for salvation (2 Timothy 3.15). In that we rejoice!

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: 1 John 3:2.