Only 1% are saved?

Over the last few months, I have been asked the same question by very different people; "Will only 1% of people be saved?" Apparently, articles have been getting circulated that say 99.9% of people from all of history will go to hell. I tried looking for further information, but only found a paper from Australia in 2023 that pondered a quote from Charles Spurgeon. However, it's something that has raised concern and is an item I thought I would comment on.

First, the Bible does not give an exact number or reference on how many people God has, and will, save from hell. Revelation 7:4-8 does say 144,000 who will be receive God's seal, but keep reading. Verse nine says, "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands."

In the Old Testament, we read lists of numbers of people from different tribes. When David ordered a census of the nation, the total number of men able to go to war was over a million. This is to say that the inspired writers of Scripture were quite capable of counting and listing large numbers. While the number is large, we also know it won't be everyone who has ever lived.

In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.” Modern evangelism and some "churches" teach that all roads lead to Jesus and it doesn't matter if you follow Mohamed, Mary, or Marxism. This has produced many people who claim to be Christian, but don't give any adherence to God's law. Just a few verses later, Jesus said "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." (John 14:15)

Matthew 7 warns that people who claim to follow Christ and do things in His name are not following Him or known by Him. Therefore, everyone must carefully examine themselves (2 Corinthians 13:5) and follow the narrow road that leads to God (Matthew 7:13-14).

Therefore, does that give an answer? No, not at all. We need to be careful to not put limits or numbers on God when they don't exist. Only those that have repented of sin and trust in Christ alone for salvation will be saved. We will never know what the total is, at least in this life, and should be incentive to continue reaching out to preach the gospel.

Challenges of Online Witnessing

I am always learning and figuring out how to do new things. In 2016, I finished the online School of Biblical Evangelism. It helped increase my faith and understanding of Scripture as well as how to reach out and share the gospel. Since then, I have opportunity to serve with outreach groups during the Iowa State Fair and locally. These times of service are great, but they're only a few days a year. What do I do for outreach the rest of the time?

One of the groups I've volunteered with has had more outreach opportunities in Iowa. Unfortunately, they are usually on a Saturday when I don't have help and several hours away from home. While I may want to join them, it doesn't work due to logistics. Some friends also have just gone out locally and will do things like read Scripture in the park, but that again is challenging with everything else. Therefore, I turn to other methods.

When I preach, the majority of my messages have some sort of gospel message where I present the law and need for repentance. Studies, and pastors, have shown that even those who regularly attend church have not necessarily come to saving faith in Christ. They are what some call "Sunday Christians," in that they act godly on Sunday morning, but the opposite the rest of the week.

The place I have the most opportunity to witness to Christ is online, but this is also the hardest. Most days, I will post a Bible verse, or two, on Facebook. I also give gospel references on my YouTube channel, but I haven't been as diligent about it as I should recently. Finally, I have a few atheist friends online that I correspond with and tell the truth about God. One particular is very hateful toward anything Christian and posts memes of all types attacking the Bible, Christians, or anything else. I do not respond to every one, but do some with a Bible verse or correction of some sort.

Unlike in person though, you can't discuss back and forth as easily and conversation can easily get off track. Other times, it can be a seemingly endless trade of links supporting both sides of a topic and "proving" the other one false. After 2-3 rounds, the conversation usually stops and another can start. Wherever it stops, or starts, I pray for wisdom and that the person I'm talking with will come to Christ while time allows.

I'm thankful God has allowed me to use this quad life to spread His Word. I continue to look for opportunities and learn what helps, and what doesn't.

Priorities

Every four years, Americans get the opportunity to vote for the next president, and other political leaders. For the last 2-3 elections, it seems each one has been the most pivotal moment for our country. They also have a way of making friends and neighbors become bitterly divided against each other.

Depending on your views and life circumstances, most people have different priorities. For some, it can be healthcare, others may see the economy, military, environment, or anything number of issues as important. Ever since I registered to vote, I have been registered as an independent. Therefore, I don't stand with a particular party, but evaluate each candidate on their priorities.

As a Christian, I base my thinking and decisions on the Bible and what God has said. Therefore, one top priority is protecting life at all stages, starting from conception. Unfortunately, the Democratic party has become very strong on supporting, and expanding, the murder of children through abortion. That alone cuts out votes for that party's candidates, but the Republican party is also becoming soft on this issue. This makes the line on one priority slightly blurred, but it's still pretty defined, for this year at least.

Most of my caregivers and I talk very little, if at all, about politics. It's not a subject I give a lot of attention and prefer it that way. Unfortunately, one caregiver, and especially her husband, are heavily into advocating for one party and the topic frequently comes up on her shift. It gets very uncomfortable to have someone be adamant for a candidate that goes against everything Christianity cherishes, while denying plain facts. In these days, I pray for peace, guidance, and clear thought to articulate views and back them up with information.

After Tuesday, America should know who has been chosen for president for the next four years. Whatever the result, we need to remember that God is King of kings and Lord of lords and all nations and leaders are subject to Him. Living the quad life allows me to interact with a variety of people and I pray that my influence, on any topic, points to Christ first.

Losing Another Friend

Living the quad life means you're generally living alone. Yes, I'm surrounded by family and caregivers at all times, but I rarely see any other high-level quadriplegics. There are a few other wheelchair users in my small town, other than elderly, but none have the same health needs like me. Therefore, I have learned to advocate for my needs and how to teach medical professionals.

When I was a kid, and adult, I enjoyed spending time at CHAMP Camp every summer. It was a fun week, but also a time to be around other people like myself. Thankfully, social media has allowed much easier contact for all kinds of social groups, including quadriplegics. I have posted about friends I have met this way before, and one of them was Chuck Foss.

I was introduced to Chuck through a quad friend's wife. Through initial introduction, I learned Chuck lived in Maine and received his spinal cord injury four years before me. That makes him the longest living quadriplegic I have met. For most of Chuck's SCI years, he also used a diaphragm pacemaker similar to mine. Chuck's advice was very helpful when I was transitioning off the vent and it helped me get on the pacemaker faster.

Chuck and I communicated a few times by email and video chat, but never met in person. Our most recent collaboration was helping with a Christian outreach packet he was working on. I was thankful to see his good grasp of the Christian faith and doing more evangelism than many others do.

Tuesday afternoon, I was checking Facebook, and saw a notice that Chuck had passed away a few days earlier. He was 58 years old and lived 43 years after receiving his injury at age 15. Messaging Chuck's sister, I learned he died after a major bowel surgery that did not heal properly. This post is now one month after I was hospitalized for digestive problems.

I have seen many quad friends pass away, but Chuck is the first to have more injured years than me. That means I now move up to the second longest living quadriplegic I know. I don't know if God will give me another four years, but I do pray to live it for His glory. Chuck will be missed by all who knew him, but I'm thankful that he is now free of earthly trouble and has entered eternity with a new body in the presence of God.

Sermon Writing Block

The year is winding down and cooler temps have started to replace the wonderful warmth of summer. That means it will not be long until my winter hibernation begins. Before it does though, I am scheduled to preach with two more groups.

Next Sunday afternoon, I agreed to speak at a local retirement home's church service. Once again, this will be a new experience and I'm not quite sure what I will be getting into. I have been told it is just like any other church service with singing and a time of studying Scripture. Therefore, I am preparing a message just as I normally do, at least I'm trying.

The last time I preached was September 1, and that was the conclusion of the twelve-week class I took. Trying to include everything that was required and then incorporating what was expected while preaching, it was a difficult message to give. I very frequently recycle messages and preach the same thing for different congregations. However, I don't plan to give that message again, at least not in the near future. Remembering class also makes me recall the falling away of the instructor and why I won't receive any tangible recognition of the effort.

I was scheduled to preach on October 6, and was asked to for October 13 as well, but I canceled and declined them. Being in the hospital at the time, I knew I wouldn't be ready to lead a church. Looking back at recovery the last few weeks, I'm thankful I did not agree to these invitations. Now, I'm a week away from preaching and have all these distractions in mind. I decided to make a new message for this group, but it hasn't been progressing as I had hoped.

One advantage I have is that I know the audience is all retirees, mostly in their 70's, 80's, and above. Therefore, my message doesn't need to fit multiple generations that are in various stages of life. I do have my passage determined and have written a message, but it still doesn't seem right. Hopefully with this week to go, it will get finalized to something I feel is good to present.

Such is the busy quad life, health concerns one week and sermon prep the next. Whatever I'm doing, I'm thankful to be used by God and trust Him wherever He leads.

Recovery Week

Another week has gone and I'm finally feeling back to normal, primarily anyway.

As I wrote in the final entry for my hospital stay, I was starting to improve. The first four days home felt like a struggle to do anything for more than 15 minutes without feeling completely exhausted. In the last ten days, I think I've taken more purposeful naps than I have in the last ten years. What bothered me most, was knowing I had work to do.

Most of the web work I do doesn't have a big impact on business and waiting an extra week, or more, for an update won't be a major problem. Yes, it means people won't get to preview their church bulletins early or review the latest sermon as quickly, but they will come eventually. Of course this round of hospital stays couldn't have been worse for one client.

A few weeks prior to my medical hiatus, I had been working with a long-term client and a web designer to get their new site online. We had communication trouble at first, as well as some challenges in getting logistics figured out, but the client's site finally got moved for the world to see. The next day was when I had my first ER visit.

My friend John has access to my email and business information and was monitoring everything for me. Unfortunately, a problem came up that potential customers couldn't contact my client due to a form not working. In my head, I knew exactly what needed to be done, but it has been several years since John helped with any "hands on" web development. Trying to explain the necessary steps with little voice didn't go well. It was the first thing I forced myself to do when I got home, but one of the steps didn't work as usual. The issue was finally resolved Wednesday, but I feel bad it was delayed over a week because of my health.

Part of hospital stays also include getting blood tests and an I.V. However, I'm a very hard stick and my right arm looked like I had lost a fight when I got home due to all the bruising. Thankfully, it has also returned to normal and doesn't look like any permanent damage. 

Now, I need to find a way for my parents to get time to recover. They had hoped to have a day on their own Friday, but my day caregiver was only able to do half her shift. Such is the story of the quad life family, but I pray this new week will be back to normal routine.

Crashing Oxygen, Third ER Trip

Monday morning, September 30, my nursing student caregiver, Brenda, started my regular morning routine. She had last worked on Wednesday and I wanted to get her caught up on everything. However, my voice had gone from regular sound and volume the night before to a soft squeak. Even with getting some sleep, I was very tired. I asked Brenda to take my blood pressure, and it was 88/54, only slightly below my normal. Taking it an hour later found it to be 78/45.

After her regular class, Brenda returned around 11:00 and I asked to get undressed and turned on my side to try to rest. As soon as I was turned, I felt very strange and not well. We stopped mom as she was leaving for work, Brenda could no longer find my blood pressure and my oxygen was reading in the low 70's. Mom called 911 and the familiar EMT's from the previous week were soon in my room. Before transferring off my bed, they put me on a large amount of oxygen to help stabilize my numbers. With Brenda at my side, I now took my third trip to the local ER in less than a week.

More tests were started, including a CT scan of my upper body. Despite being cleared from having pneumonia the previous evening, this was now my diagnosis by 3:30 in the afternoon. I would now be admitted again for an unknown time period. The air mattress and supplies dad had removed from the hospital the day before needed to return again.

Later that evening, in my new hospital room, mom and I went over my cares with the nurse, including bathroom needs. My routine was apparently unheard of, and likely not necessary, according to the 30-year veteran nurse. Once again, my parents were responsible for my care and stayed with me over night. At least a tube in my nose for oxygen was easier to manage than an NG tube.

Wednesday morning, I was down to 0.5 liters of oxygen in order to maintain an O2 saturation of at least 90%. Brenda came to stay with me and give my parents a much needed break. The hospital took my oxygen tube off to see if I could well enough to go home. Eating lunch very slowly, Brenda monitored my stats and when I needed to stop and rest. With numbers barely within range, I was released to return home Wednesday afternoon. Getting in my chair, it felt like I could pass out, but only Brenda and I shared this information so I could get home.

These three updates were written on Saturday and Sunday, October 5-6. Since returning home, I have been very tired and have taken several naps. I'm also having other quad life issues that I hope resolve soon. My friend John monitored my email, but I'm still behind on clients' updates and getting out monthly invoices.

Through this experience, it is an apparent reminder to never take time for granted or depend on each day going well. Sitting in a dark hospital room at night, five minutes seem to take an eternity. Looking forward to getting my mouth swabbed so I could get a few drops of water was a major highlight. I also know God has provided everything I need, long before I'm aware.

I pray it will be several years again, if ever, that I have to go to the hospital via ER. Whatever comes, I will trust in God's plan.