Would You Worship God Even If There Was No Afterlife?

Question:

Would you still worship God if there was no Heaven or Hell? If life just ended with death?  If there was no reward for worship, would you still bother?  Remember, this Creator wiped out almost everything on Earth because He was unhappy with it, allowed the torture Job for a bet, wiped out cities of people, etcetera.  If He did not promise you eternal happiness, would you worship Him?

My Reply:

Would I still worship God even if there wasn't an afterlife?  Yes, I would.

You have to understand, when I accepted Jesus, I'd hit rock-bottom. My life wasn't going anywhere, friends weren't "real friends", relationships never worked out, career options were closing, I'd tried searching for God by other means and never found Him, and my emotions were numb...I was empty inside and out...I honestly had nothing to lose.
What I discovered in Jesus isn't just "fire insurance", but a relationship...a friendship like no other.

I held off from relationships in order to get to know Jesus better, and God taught me about what real love is; my numbness left, and I was filled with the Holy Spirit; I had new purpose in my life; as for friends, Jesus turned out to be the friend who always fulfills His promises, and repeatedly has never let me down (unlike my other friends). I was soon called into a new career, one with so many more options, and can never be replaced by computers; and I finally found the One and Only True God.

Yeah, God wiped out creation, but He saved those whom loved him back. And that's what God continues to do even today, only in a different sort of way.

I love God, God loves me–it's a friendship...so yes, of course I'd worship God even if there was no afterlife.

---Pastor Andy

Proper Image of Women?

Question: Do you believe that women should always wear dresses, never wear makeup, and never cut their hair? Just wondering?

My Reply:

Often times when Scripture tells women not to wear makeup or certain clothing, it's talking about either cultural norms & insults, or keeping order in worship.
In terms of the cultural norm, the length of women's hair was what gave them their beauty. Also, for a woman to have short hair would get her confused with guys. So if a woman were to remain pretty and not confused with a guy, her hair was to remain long (same goes for wearing dresses). It was actually considered shameful for her to cut it for that reason, although women did sometimes shave their heads when in mourning. I think I read someplace that when they did that, their mourning period would last for the amount of time that it took to grow her hair back out.
In terms of keeping order in Worship: During the time of Paul, women would often attend service all decked out, which of course caught the attention of men. Paul addressed this, for in worship, the focus is supposed to be on God, not on some hot chick in the front of the room, ya know? Church isn't supposed to be a pick-up spot, but a place of worship.

Today, a woman's beauty is recognized by so many other means. Although we do still have the issue of women wearing provocative clothing in church, leading to the similar issues that Paul addressed in the Bible.  I believe that in worship, women (and men) should wear clothes that are comfortable and don’t bring attention to themselves (thus keeping the focus on the Lord).  Outside of worship, whatever she wants for the occasion, although I believe it would be most honorable for her if it's modest (especially a Christian woman/girl).  But that’s another blog for another time.

---Pastor Andy