Ultimate Proof that the Bible is True

Why does anything at all exist?
It may be hard to believe that God exists because he is not seen, but the existence of God, an all powerful, eternal, immaterial creative being, is the best explanation to the existence of anything.

Science comes from the Latin word scientia, meaning 'knowledge.' Science is the method in which we collect and organize knowledge about the universe through observation and experiment. From observation, we know that everything that begins to exist has a cause. If you believe this universe came from nothing, how come we haven't observed anything else come from nothing?

We also know from observation that the universe is expanding and therefore, has a beginning (Thomas Hubble). If the universe consists of all time space and matter, the cause must come from an all powerful, eternal, immaterial being which describes the God of the Bible.

How do we know the Bible is true?
To validate the claim that the Bible is truly the word of God, there must be sure evidence of it. Could God authenticate his message to us? Besides the internal consistency, historical and archeological accuracy, the Bible has fulfilled prophecies that never fail, and codes in the original texts that show beyond a shadow of a doubt that the text is supernaturally inspired:

http://www.palmoni.net/gematria.htm *

It is unique and wonderful that our Christian heritage is the bedrock of western freedom to believe or disbelieve. However, that doesn't mean that the scriptures are only true for those who believe. Truth is true wether you believe it or not. This truth--that there is a God and it is the triune God found in the Bible-- is prophetically, logically, historically and mathematically proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Grasping this truth is so important that your eternal destiny depends on it. God didn't create hell for people, he created it for the devil and his angels. People go to hell for willfully choosing to reject God and his truth.

*Just as a side note, we do not need to understand any bible code to understand the Bible or that it is divinely inspired. There is more than enough evidence in creation to know that there is a God and his word is verified through prophecy. 

surgery, tea and my father's business

Tea has been especially helpful after I had surgery last tuesday. I ended up in the OR a second time on wednesday to insert a #4 fenestrated shiley trach. Initially, they put in a button trach to hold open the stoma while the inside of my trachea could heal without reacting to a plastic tube. Unfortunately, it could not stay in, and I had serious mucous plugs to contend with. Thank God my father stayed to watch and care for me until I stabilized that evening and Dr. Guardiani was close to do damage control. Usually, an intern is on call overnight but has no idea the specifics of your case. My father even had to stop him from reinserting my trach the wrong way! 

Again, Roosevelt Hospital did not have the appropriate catheters to suction me with and my father had to bring some from Beth Abe, as well as cath kits. Bonus of being a quad. The good news is that the upper portion of my wind pipe is open and I can speak. If it continues this way for several weeks as the trachea heals, it's a good sign I can be decannulized!

Back to tea for a sec...right off the bat I know I like raw pu-erh tea better than ripe. I like the astringency and 'greeness' of it. I found the ripe pu-erh less pungent and dynamic than I imagined it would be. 

Today I tried one of the oolong teas I got from Yunan Sourcing: "Imperial Tie Guan Yin of Anxi" Autumn 2012. It smells and tastes wonderfully floral! I was surprised how big the leaves opened up! Definitely a fan. I don't see myself getting too intricate in this tea business. I enjoy tea and will continue to try new ones as I find them but I really need to be about my heavenly father's business. Lately, that has been being ready with an answer for those who oppose even the notion of my heavenly father (1 Peter 3:15). People will bob and weave on the issue of relativism because it's self-refuting and once I point it out, it's embarrassing for them to pursue it. My father pointed out that people really are displaying their hatred of the Gospel when they react the way they do. It's amazing how people avoid critically examining their own beliefs. They can't possibly imagine any other reality besides the one they were taught: that reality is simply what you believe it to be. This notion is absurd and self refuting! I had to learn a bit of philosophy to understand this, which I'm not a fan of, but it is helpful when speaking of the metaphysical. The statement: "what's true for you isn't true for me" is a self refuting statement according to the law of non-contradiction. If the statement were actually true, having it not true for someone else would be impossible! 

Another absurd statement: "You shouldn't judge!" It's funny how secular people will rip scripture out of context when being righteously judged for their sin. Someone recently said this to me, bringing up Matthew 7:1. I explained that Jesus isn't saying that we shouldn't judge at all, in fact, he gives a few examples of how we should judge in the rest of the chapter. Jesus is speaking of judging apart from God's standard. I went further to say, "if you feel I shouldn't judge, why are you judging me? Why judge anyone at all?" She responded by saying she didn't judge me, only thought my ideas were skewed. Having any kind of opinion requires judgement. In fact, our days are filled with judgements as we walk, drive, or decide anything! I asked a few times how she knows right from wrong, where do we get our notion of rights? My generation is the post-modern generation, where we've been taught that morality, our identity and even truth itself is relative. When asking these crucial questions, they squirm and revert to insults. 

The bottom line is there is overwhelming evidence that there is a God who created the universe, who's eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, personal and creative. Only the Bible describes this kind of God and attests for it's accuracy historically, scientifically, archeologically, and textually. Paul is dead on when he reasons that people suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18-21). They refuse to believe because they want to deny God and hold onto their sin (John 3:18-20). 

Unfortunately for them, God exists wether they believe or not and they are accountable to him wether they believe or not. Truth doesn't change with feelings/belief. It's better to follow the truth now then to face eternity in damnation for rejecting it. The body of Christ will not face the great tribulation, but we will probably see some pretty dark days before the rapture. Our economy is failing, and Christian persecution, even in the west, is on the rise! Not to mention possible nuclear war with Iran who really wants to destroy us along with Israel! The Obama administration says it stands with Israel but actions speak louder than words. Israel is still God's land and those who seek to divide it will get burned. 

the beginning of a beautiful relationship...

I noticed that I was drinking a lot of tea to soothe my throat or my aching belly. So it became the norm every morning and evening. I reminisced the days as a child having tea parties with friends or just me and my dolls. "I need a tea set!" I thought. I began to search different types of tea sets. While exploring Google communities, I came across a "tea lovers" community. What the hay? I joined the community and found there's much more to tea than I thought!

I used to work at a high end coffeeshop in Ithaca and became fascinated by the art and science of brewing coffee. So many factors contribute to the quality of the brew, from the way the beans are produced, roasted, the temperature of the water, humidity and the pressure applied just to name a few. I never saw coffee the same again and made it a point to learn all I could. God had different plans for my life, but I still have the same fascination to learn things like this.

One of the teas my father got me was Pu-erh tea from Numi. Reading about it's production and health benefits, I decided to try loose Pu-erh tea. If you are new to Pu-erh tea, this is a great introduction. It was suggested that I see Yunnan Sourcing for the best selection of Pu-erh teas and it indeed is. I got a recent sample of raw and ripe Pu-erh to compare to a several year old raw and ripe Pu-erh. I also got a couple different oolongs to compare. After much anticipation of the package, I received my first shipment of Pu-erh tea yesterday! I'll be honest and say I have no idea how these varieties will taste. I'm completely new at this and learning as I go along. 

The first sample I'm trying is 2012 Yunnan Sourcing "Shang Chun" Raw Pu-erh. The first thing I noticed pulling it out of the package is how much it looks like ganja! It smells sweet but not "skunky." The first "infusion" was just for rinsing any impurities from the tea leaves. The next infusion was for 30 seconds to try. Then 1 minute. Then 3 minute. The liquor, or color of the tea, was a clear golden color. I can't control the temperature of the water, as I'm getting hot water from a machine, but I've read it's best not to have it boiling. Immediately, the taste reminded me of green tea: light, vegetal, astringent. It goes great plain, with honey and I imagine would make a great iced tea. I'll try to note other nuances as I go through the sample. Then, I'll compare it with the older raw sample.

 This way of making tea is a bit laborious so I got loose tea that would be easy to measure out from MightyLeaf. They have a decent variety and a well organized website to choose by ingredient, caffeine content or region. I also got a small Gaiwan style tea set for two. I'm usually in my room alone, but I also like sharing tea with others. Come have tea with me soon! 

Lastly, I was amazed to learn that there are "tea rooms" places that serve mainly tea and restaurants that serve afternoon tea! It is mainly served with small sandwiches, scones and jams. Here is a list of the best tearooms in NYC. Of course, it needs to be accessible for me, so I searched for accessible tea places through Yelp.  I'll write reviews as I go along. Make sure you call ahead and confirm their entrance is accessible! I've learned that generally, the lower parts of Manhattan are less accessible. Even if the restaurant entrance is accessible, their rest room is not. You have to make sure there's someplace you can go to cath if you need (like a large library or chain store like Barnes & Nobles.) Happy tea time! 

Where will you be in Eternity?

What is the meaning of life and what happens when I die? Why did God allow me to survive this way? Wouldn't it be more compassionate to have me die? If God is loving, why does he allow anyone to suffer? Being close to death and seeing how fragile my body is as a quadriplegic, if anyone should ask these questions, it's me. 

King Solomon wrote that God has put eternity in our hearts and this is certainly true for all people (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Just as we understand right and wrong by our God given conscience, we long for something beyond the finality of this life. As children, we just see what's in front of us. We want to be gratified now and then, having little to no sense of our limited time here. It gets easier as we get older, but we still  are never satisfied with all we acquire in our lifetime. We want to be remembered, we want to leave a 'legacy', we want to stay younger longer, and increasingly, defy mortality. Across all cultures are stories of a 'next life.' Although the West is increasingly secular and hostile to notions of heaven or hell, we cannot escape the idea that there is more than this life.

Steve Berger writes on his blog: "Many times we can’t quite articulate this feeling. Songs, books, movies and visual art tries to capture it. Many come close, but most fall short. The problem is the authors, writers, painters and actors don’t know the Scripture. They know and recognize the longing, but they don’t know and recognize the Savior."

In a post-modern society where we are taught that truth is relative, very little people are searching for the truth about life after death. But the Bible answers all the questions surrounding the meaning of life: Why am I here? What is right and wrong? What is my purpose? and what happens when I die? 

In an atheistic worldview, we have evolved by chance and so everything is arbitrary, without real purpose. Sure, an atheist can choose to live morally, but according to his worldview, that can be no better than one who chooses to live immorally, for all choices are subjective. Bertrand Russell, an atheist philosopher admits: 

"That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave; that all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and that the whole temple of Man's achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins--all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain, that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand. Only within the scaffolding of these truths, only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul's habitation henceforth be safely built."

Other atheist philosophers like Nitzsche and Sartre also admit that life is meaningless without God. The only way atheists can live happily in their worldview is to live inconsistently. We see that the wealthiest populations are the least happy and have the highest rates of suicide. Solomon had it right centuries earlier when he declared emphatically "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!" (Ecclesiastes 1:1) Solomon was the richest, wisest man of all time and had plenty of time to ponder the meaning of life. He first pursued all the pleasure he could. He realized that no matter how much you enjoy, you still crave pleasure like a bottomless pit. The eye is not full of seeing, the ear, not full of hearing (Ecc 1:8). 

We are constantly striving for global peace. No war. No famine. No injustice. Really, we want to return to Eden. Only then will our souls be satisfied. King Solomon got it right when he said: 

"I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him." (Ecclesiastes 3:14)

There is no purpose to life if everything stops at the grave. We all long for eternal peace and that can only come when we have peace with God. Jesus said, "For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly." How do we clean our sinful hearts? How do we obtain peace with God to enter into his eternal Kingdom? Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit." One is born again through faith in Jesus Christ and calling out to him to be saved. The apostles testify, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (John 3:36; John 14:6; 1 Cor 3:11; 1 Tim 3:5; Acts 10:43; Psalm 2:12; Prov 30:4)

In my difficult circumstance, God has answered my questions concerning who he is as revealed in the Bible. Through my condition, God is glorified as many can see how I've changed and my joy. It's still difficult but I have a peace that's beyond what the world can give. It was by God's plan that I would come back to the Bronx where my family is, be reunited with my father, have him close so he can advocate for me in this institution, and be restored to the Lord, growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. It is a painful circumstance, with eternal purpose to bring others to himself (Romans 8:28; Isaiah 6:10; Psalm 138:8; Proverbs 19:21 Ephesians 1:11; Ephesians 2:15; Ephesians 3:11; Revelation 17:17). 

Where will you be in eternity? Tomorrow is not promised to anyone and if you feel God speaking to your heart, please listen. You can have your questions answered at:

www.answersingenesis.org
www.gotquestions.org

God Bless

Halloween or 'All hallows eve' began with the Celtic Druids (priests) centuries ago in the British isles. What we know about them come from written documents from the Romans who eventually conquered them around A.D. 40's.  They practiced divination, witchcraft and animal/human sacrifices during the festival of Samhain, pronounced 'Sowin." It marked the end of summer and was a celebration of the dead. At midnight, druids would go door to door and request food to sacrifice for Samhain. If the family did not have, they would have to give a child to sacrifice. In return, the druids would give them a carved turnip as a sign they had contributed and a guard against evil spirits. This is where we get the activity of 'trick or treat.' 

Years later, the Roman church incorporated the druid festival to celebrate those who died and renamed it 'All Saints day' or 'All Hallows' Eve' which became Halloween for short. There is nothing Biblical about this "holiday" nor it is innocent! Bible believing Christians like the pilgrims, understood the druid celebration was demonic and banned it in the United States. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2UOlsKIfSo ==film trailer by jeremiah films

People say, "I don't believe in that, I just like it for the dressing up and candy." Why wouldn't you dress up as a Ku Klux Klan member? Because you understand the history behind it. The same repulsion should lead you away from celebrating Halloween once you understand the history! 

There are modern day Druids that still take these ancient rituals very seriously. They are neo-pagans or wiccans. This is not some innocent, 'Earth friendly' set of beliefs. It is demonic and lures people away from the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBsAdQow3cM&feature=endscreen&NR=1
The Free Masons and the illuminati (the enlightened ones) are also known to practice rituals of bonfires, spirit worship and human sacrifice. John Todd is the forerunner to it's exposure and underpinnings in the music industry and politics. 

The symbolism of the occult is blatant all over the media and arts. Aleister Crowley, a known satanist who conducted human sacrifices, is glorified by major artists like the Beatles, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, and Jay-Z. 

Regarding the glorification of ghosts, death, and encountering spirits, God says: 'Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I [am] the LORD your God.' Leviticus 19:31. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in  the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.' Deuteronomy 18:10-11

What will you choose? Moses lays it down nicely when he says by the Holy Spirit:
"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Deuteronomy 30:19-20.

To Whom Shall I Go?

I recently had surgery for the first time at St. Lukes Roosevelt Hospital in Midtown. I must say, I have not had a surgery go this smoothly since seeing Dr. Mathisen in 2009. I've changed thoracic surgeons a couple of times, starting with Dr. Todd Weiser at Mt. Sinai Hospital. I saw him because he's worked under Mathisen who is the most knowledgable doctor concerning tracheal stenosis in my opinion. I would love to have him as my regular thoracic surgeon but he works out of Mass General! I needed to work with someone in New York, so I figured I'd go with Dr. Weiser. He gave me no hope of being trach free and he said it was a miracle that Dr. Mathisen got the t-tube in. Makes me real confident in him, right? Well, last year when I had my Mitrofanoff procedure, Dr. Weiser had to remove my original t-tube and put in a Shiley for anesthesia purposes. I thought he would put back the original tube, but no! He puts in a much smaller montgomery t-tube and swears it's the same size! I made an office visit with him to ask him what the deal was and what would be the plan to deal with my stenosis. He was very evasive and even got hostile when I queried him further. My father and case manager was even there to witness it. I knew he would not be helpful and decided that would be the last time I see Dr. Weiser. I looked for other Doctors with experience dealing with trachel stenosis but either they only worked with cancer patients, or they didn't accept my insurance. At my wits end, I called up NYP-Weil Cornell and told them my problem. They said Dr. Jeffrey Port was available and I made an appt. My mother went with me and I explained my situation with Dr. Weiser. Dr. Port had a plastic face and an unnatural tan but I needed someone to help me and he seemed confident that he could deal with my stenosis.

That started in 2011. I must have had about six bronchoscopy procedures with Dr. Port and there was always some screw up. His approach in the OR was pretty aggressive. I have never felt such pain in all the tracheal procedures I had! He was obviously phony whenever he spoke with me, and I rarely saw him before or after surgery. He was not proactive in treating inflamation, granulation tissue, etc. I even saw Dr. Mathisen again because I was really concerned. Mathisen temporarily put in a silicone based trach in for my poor trachea to heal. When I got back to New York, I developed a mucous plug that I needed emergency surgery to remove. Back to Dr. Port. He then gave me an ultimatum--to work with just him or not at all. I felt like I had no choice since I had no other Doctor in New York so I continued to see him and pray that God work through him to heal me. After two times of mis-positioning my tube so  I couldn't speak again for months, I set out to find another Doctor. Again, I came across Head and Neck Surgical group out of St. Lukes Roosevelt. They did not take my insurance, but I wrote anyway, telling them my problem with tracheal stenosis. A woman wrote back, I assumed the head secretary, and said Dr. Lebovics would be the best person to see. I did a search with his name AND tracheal stenosis and found a Wegener's Support Forum where several people testified of Dr. Lebovics' proficiency in the area.

I figured an office visit wouldn't hurt. If I got the same impression I had from Dr. Port, forget it. My dad went with me for moral support. Sure enough, the office did not accept my insurance, so I paid out of pocket, praying for the Lord to open doors. I then met the head secretary, Marisol Vargas, who was very pleasant and willing to help me get worker's comp to authorize payments. Dr. Lebovics was scheduled for surgery but he didn't want to turn me away. I filled him in on my history and showed him the latest endoscopy pictures. He was very personable and genuinely kind. If there's one thing I'm good at it's telling if people are for real or not. Long story short, this surgeon was the real deal.

Even though I've been in this kind of surgery many times, it is not easy. I hate the time it takes to travel, check in, etc. Getting an I.V. in me is a real pain. My veins are small and tend to "run away." This time, an anesthesiologist had to place it in a vein on my pinky! I only complied because she used a local anesthetic. But the worst part is not really knowing what kind of condition you will wake up in. What if   the tube doesn't work out? What if I end up worse than before?

You can definitely say I'm an anxious person. I think I've always been that way. But since the accident, it's reached a whole new level for obvious reasons. The last time I was in the hospital for an extended period was during my Mitrofanoff procedure last year. I was in the hospital for nine days and it was not pretty. Besides having an NG tube (reinserted multiple times), and a trach that needed constant suctioning, it was really difficult not being able to move in bed. I could not settle. My body started going through medication withdrawal. I had crazy nerve pain. Well, after two days this round, I was going stir crazy! The hospital beds are very hard to move around in and the rails are not conducive to quads. My meds were given at random times and my body didn't feel right. I started to shake uncontrollably and feel panicked.

It's easy to say, "be anxious for nothing..." but it's not very ministerial. One of the verses my dad and I looked at together was Proverbs 25:20. Vinegar makes nitre (soap) useless. So it is with people who say things like "you shouldn't be anxious," or "you just gotta have faith!" When you are ill, disabled or going through psychological trauma, it's very hard to focus and no one can try to 'reason' you out of what your going through. What helped me is knowing that my feelings may change, but God doesn't. And what I love about scripture is that it's honest about human nature. Even John the Baptizer, a man who was born to usher in the Messiah, had doubts when in prison. "Are you the one to come, or do we wait for another?"What did he go through in that prison? Did he have the feeling he would soon be beheaded? Did he feel a sense of injustice toward God? I'll be sure to ask him in eternity!

There are many times that when discouraged, I could have said screw this God business! But like Peter, I find myself saying: "Lord, to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal life!" (John 6:68). Many disciples stopped following Jesus because they were offended at what he said, or they didn't agree with the cost of discipleship. Like Peter, I have come to believe and know that Jesus is the unique son of God, the man God has appointed to save us because we can't save ourselves.  

Beyond the Borders: Getting young people out of Nursing Homes

Vitaglide Ceremony at Beth Abraham. George Gallego is far right

When I was in rehab learning how to live as a quadriplegic, my future didn't seem too bright. All I saw was a world of needing help with everything and losing a sense of my personhood. I could barely sit up, brush my teeth or feed myself. Would people just see my disability and not take me seriously? Enter in my mentor George Gallego among others who gave me hope that I could still live life and not just survive my paralysis. George is a paraplegic so he has quite a bit more physical capability than I do, but seeing how naturally he rolled into a room and carried himself made me see that my life wasn't over! Plus, brother had style and that made me want to get out of hospital attire and start dressing like myself again. I remember watching George, Jim Cesario and quad comrades like Alex Elegudin's every move and asking them tons of questions. "How do you pick up stuff from the floor?" "Do you use aids to type?" I still use their techniques and advise today. 

George began sharing more with me and told me his idea of developing an organization to get young people like me out of nursing homes and back into the community. I was very disappointed with the way social services at the hospital was advertising Beth Abraham, because it was very deceptive and less than honest. Social services in Beth Abraham are even more disappointing as they only focus on admitting/discharging but not on improving your life while here! There is nothing productive for young people here. They have great potential in this facility but fall short for a number of reasons. It's best to keep people here where medicaid/medicare will continue to foot the bill. Forget about empowering anyone to thrive beyond this place. 

I supported George and his idea and even took a grant writing class to further support his endeavors. I helped get a vitaglide for Beth Abraham and felt very motivated to learn what I could about how non-profits operate. I got a better sense of how Beth Abraham works as a non-profit organization and looked forward to seeing George's new organization develop. 

Unfortunately, I began to suffer from many UTIs and was in a tremendous amount of pain. I lost a lot of weight and was in the hospital frequently. The best solution for me was to have a mitrofanoff procedure which was a process in itself! It was a long, difficult surgery that took months to recover from. Everything that that I was pursuing came to a halt and a some points, I wasn't even sure if I would live. 

Since then, I'm doing better physically, but still struggling with trach issues. I've been pretty home bound and focused on eternal things. I take one day at a time. It's even been difficult seeing myself out of here because I keep having surgeries. But advocating for my fellow nursing home residents has stayed on my mind. Not only for the young, but for the old. They've had careers, raised families and served our country. They deserve compassionate care that recognizes them as people, not just lumps of meat on the bed. But there's something about being young and in nursing homes. It's very depressing because you see your life as not really going anywhere even though you have many more decades to live. George is dedicated to changing this and I believe it will change more than he knows. When people recognize how many people with disabilities are in the community, it will spur policy change and better urban design. Already, concepts like "aging in place" are catching fire in the real estate realm as baby boomers age and need accessible homes. People are starting to realize that they need to prepare for things like a knee replacement, difficulty reaching, caring for elderly parents. 

George Gallego and his wife Julia

Not everyone has the means to purchase and modify a place and accessible apartments/homes are hard to come by, especially in the city! Some young people with disabilities are incredibly motivated to play sports, finish school, or hone in on a skill for a career. Living in a nursing home limits these opportunities and can make one feel trapped. Many with disabilities have their whole lives ahead of them and have something to contribute to the community.  George is competing in the NYC Ironman Triathlon in August. This is a hardcore event and he will be the only paraplegic competing! He is raising funds for his organization, Wheels of Progress, Inc. Won't you join me in this cause and give a contribution? You can donate here.