Quotes about life is like a piano:

Life is like a piano.  What you get out of it depends on how you play it. -Tom Lehrer

Life is like a piano; the white keys represent happiness, and the black ones show sadness.  But as you go through life’s journey, remember that the black keys also create music. -Ehssan

There’s nothing remarkable about it.  All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time, and the instrument plays itself. -Johann Sebastian Bach

Long ago, as a kid, I remember playing on this huge oak Antique Pump Organ; it was the kind that you had to pump the pedals at the feet while playing with your fingers on the keys at the same time.  Not that I knew what I was doing or anything, but the people who were listening to me at the Antique store at the time thought it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Interestingly enough, I had a dream recently about a huge piano falling out of a three-story window in direct flight toward the people in the rectangle pool (without water) down below, but somehow, once it supposedly crashed and landed, it seemed to just disappear, and nothing ended up happening to anyone!

Upon waking, the words “Life’s Piano” came to me as something I should write about.  In many ways, life is like a piano, and the quotes above describe this analogy quite interestingly, too.  More importantly, what does the Bible have to say about such music, melody, and harmony?

BIBLE VERSES ABOUT MUSIC (kingjamesbibleonline.org)

According to the record mentioned in the Bible concerning the Sweet Psalmist and young King David (a man after God’s own heart, btw), music, especially when centered around God, can be comforting and help soothe one’s soul!

In this account, David, as a young lad, was called to play the harp for King Saul because this ruler was tormented by an evil spirit. Subsequently, every time the Sweet Psalmist and Shepherd of Israel would play for King Saul, the beautiful melody that was strung from the harp would help to soothe the King’s vexed soul and comfort him to the point that it made the evil spirit leave!

1 Samuel 16:23 “And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.”  

The fact of the matter is that all of life is a type of ‘ebb and flow’ if you will, with lots of sadness along the way, yet with lots of happiness sprinkled in as well.  Think of the example of the keys on a piano representing both happiness and sadness; when one plays both of them at the same time, it creates a type of ‘melodic song of life’ in a roundabout and metaphoric way, in a poetically beautiful to think of in many ways.

On that note, what type of melody are we playing out in our life for YHWH?  What is our life’s song when it comes to Him? Sadly, many people think that they are playing out their life’s tunes for Christ, but unfortunately, they truly are not. Even worse, some don’t even think that they need Jesus in order to have a happy and fulfilling life and are actually relying on their being a “so-called good person” to enter into Heaven.

Romans 10:13-18 

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

“Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Here are some quotes I have personally heard throughout my lifetime from those I have encountered along the way concerning God, Jesus, Heaven, Hell, and Salvation:

“God’s going to let me into Heaven because He knows how much I love my family.”

“I believe in Evolution and Science.”

“It’s all about being a good person.”

“I have my own faith” (meaning anything goes).

“I don’t feel like I’m going to Hell.”

“I don’t think I’m going to Hell because I represent love and light.”

“I rely on yoga and meditation to help me.”

Yet… there is no other name given under Heaven whereby we all must be saved other than the Lord God Jesus Christ!

Acts 4:10-12 “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Yes, life is hard, even harder for those who want to live for Christ too. Jesus told us that it would not be easy. He even informed us that ‘The Way’ is narrow to eternal life. He also stated that many are on the broad road to destruction, and only a few will find the narrow path.

Whether we are living in joy and comfort or in despair and conflict, our life’s piano should always be played out for YHWH, nonetheless, while using both our hands and feet at the same time, just like in the example of me as a kid on that Antique Pump Organ all those years ago. We should be living, moving, singing, praising, worshipping, ministering, and whatever else we can do in our wholehearted service for none other than our Lord Jesus Christ every single day!

1 Corinthians 10:31 “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

Life can be beautiful even when things don’t go our way. The ones who refuse to humble themselves and accept God’s Will for them and who also won’t forgive others for their trespasses make living for YHWH difficult, spiritually speaking.

When one’s life’s purpose is thwarted and/or distorted due to being blinded by the enemy through their rejection of Christ and His Word, things will ultimately not go well for them. Like King Saul, there will be vexation and torment of spirit because God’s Hand of provision and protection will be taken off of them, and evil spirits will then have free reign to wreak havoc in their lives!

Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

As Christ’s Followers, we can be a source of truth and comfort to these people just like the Sweet Psalmist of Israel did for King Saul by our sharing of God’s Word, Truth, and the Life Transforming and Saving Gospel Message of Jesus Christ!  Here’s a disclaimer, though: all of this can ONLY be effective IF the ones we’re trying to minister to will actually heed and accept God’s Message!

Nevertheless, prayer is very powerful. Even though we can’t always see what is happening behind the scenes, God is tirelessly and continuously working, weaving His tapestry, so to speak, and orchestrating all things together for the good of those who love Him and for His Glory!

Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

One last thing: here are some YouTube Channels along life’s way that I have found to be useful, edifying, and spiritually worth subscribing to… ones that can help to enhance our life’s melodic song, service, praise, and worship to YHWH:

Can’t find anything to watch on TV? Try Expedition Bible (truly fascinating excavation and exploration at sites in Israel based on historical and biblical facts):

https://youtu.be/_k2k0qLFR74?si=wONPOzMn3zSvDntO

Still battling the Calvinism Debate? Try Soteriology 101 w/Dr. Leighton Flowers:

https://youtu.be/xSxJ7elfR80?si=ilkB7Jw6_a45FiKp

Want to break free from paganism and men’s traditions? Try Passion for Truth Ministries:

https://youtu.be/pwg11nFNT68?si=N7QwxFDjmLA2yQPY

Need a Pastor who teaches the plain truth straight from God’s Word? Try James W. Knox Sermons (We love him and find his ministry worth supporting, too!):

https://youtu.be/HKWwf4xG_HE?si=wfLxpqyvA9E_4RZg

Until next time… Maranatha!

Sincerely & In Christ,

Candy Austin

 

Most of this article comes from my book, God’s Plan for Heaven, Eternity and the Universe Explained. Since Google says we can self-plagiarize, I am mentioning this.

I am sure most of us are aware of what is called near-death experiences. I have been following NDEs for many years, as I find them fascinating. For those who may not know, an NDE is where someone physically dies for a short time and gets a glimpse of the afterlife.

One of the most amazing things is “how many people have NDEs.” Research it, and you will see it is in the millions, and as we know, many people have written books about their NDEs. Some of these books are best sellers. Why is that? Almost all of us are curious and interested in the afterlife in terms of whether it is real and, if so, what it is like.

NDEs are mysterious and controversial because the Bible does not talk about them. What makes them noticeable and worth considering is millions of people appear to have them, and many of them have accurately described things in detail going on around them while they were unconscious or dead.

The first question many of us wonder when we hear or read about someone having an NDE is whether it is real or not. I mean, just because someone says it’s real, unfortunately, does not mean it is. Are they writing a book based on a lie just to make money? Unfortunately, some people really do it for that reason. But there are also people who truly did have the NDE they are talking about, and they want everyone to know what they experienced, so it might bring hope and encouragement to many who desperately want to know more about life after death.

Is there any way to discern who is telling the truth and who is not? YES, there is a way to narrow it down. First, it is important to understand that an NDE is not a true death because it is not an eternal death. It appears to be an in-between place where God seems to allow “some people” to experience a glimpse of the afterlife in some way. Many of them will describe a door or some sort of barrier they were not allowed to cross, or else they would not be able to come back. That barrier is eternity. What happens in eternity stays in eternity. Each person who had a true NDE and came back never entered into eternity, or they would have had to stay there.

Let’s examine things to look for when trying to discern how real a particular NDE is. The most important gauge to look at and compare to is “always” God’s Word in the Bible. The Bible tells us a lot about heaven and eternity. Any true NDE will “not contradict anything” in the Word of God Bible. There is a good reason for this. Who is it that allows NDEs to occur in the first place? God. Do you think God will allow a true NDE to contradict His Word in the Bible? No way. That means NDEs that do contradict His Word are FALSE.

Think of the Word of God Bible as a true and perfect $100 bill. Anything that is different from that $100 bill is a “counterfeit.” Every true NDE will match the true “Word of God” “100 bill, and every false NDE will deviate from it in some way to be counterfeit.

Let me give you an example of a FALSE counterfeit NDE I saw on YouTube just a few days ago. A man was describing his NDE following his death and talked about being in the presence of female angels. That is certainly FALSE! Why? Because there are NO female angels. God made each angel directly Himself, and angels do not procreate. There was “no reason” to create a female angel when God was creating His angels. There is no sex in eternity. The first female in the Bible is Eve, and God created her from Adam to be his “helper” so they could procreate and continue the human race.

As soon as I saw him mention female angels, I quit watching his false NDE. This is a good example of how important it is to compare every NDE with scripture for authenticity. I’m afraid many people do believe a lot of these false NDEs for one simple reason – they do not know “enough” of God’s Word for comparison. Unfortunately, that makes it more difficult to discern who is telling the truth and who isn’t. Sadly, I think it’s safe to say half of the people or more believe there are female angels – mainly due to Hollywood and so many movies depicting angels as female and having to have “wings” to fly, etc. Jesus did not need wings to ascend to heaven.

Why every NDE has to line up with God’s Word is also because Satan is the great deceiver. The Bible says he masquerades as an angel of light. Any true NDE is an NDE that matches God’s truth in the Bible. Any false counterfeit NDE is Satan’s lies concerning the afterlife disguised as the truth.

I saw another NDE recently from a so-called “expert” who had been studying NDEs for over 40 years and had done over one thousand interviews with people from different faiths and different cultures around the world. His conclusion was that everyone will end up in heaven. He said, yes, some people have hell NDEs, “but” they eventually end up in heaven. He said hell is not real! You cannot be more counterfeit than that. Satan would “love” for the world to believe all of these NDEs prove everyone goes to heaven when they die, whether they know Jesus or not. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I just mentioned there are NDEs that talk about hell, and I think the main reason we don’t hear a lot more about the hell NDEs is that many people who have them do not want to talk about them and make them public.

For me, when I read about any NDE, I take it with a grain of salt – even the ones that “do” line up with the Bible. If everything lines up with scripture, I enjoy that person’s NDE more than if they say things that contradict scripture.

Some of the common characteristics of NDEs are that people die for a short time, often in a hospital setting, and they leave their bodies and start observing what is going on around them while they are unconscious or dead. Some are able to describe events in great detail that occurred in the operating room or even in other places in the hospital, such as people praying for them or eating or doing other things, which is evidence their NDE seems real when they come back and report on it. After leaving their body, they often travel through a tunnel to a bright light and meet up with an angel or angels or family members who have died. In some cases, they say they met with Jesus Himself.

It seems most, from all the ones I’ve seen or read about, describe seeing their whole life laid out before them. They see the good, bad and ugly during their lifetime. They experience a “life review.”

Almost all of them with good NDEs talk about the intense, incredible “love and peace” they felt while there. The love is so intense they have no way to adequately describe it. Quite a few do talk about how vibrant everything is in terms of color, sound, music, etc. They say the grass and flowers are so intense and vibrant in colors that words can never adequately describe them either.

Many also talk about lots of flying, and others talk about being able to communicate telepathically by thought. Some talk about binocular vision, where they can zoom in and see things many miles away. These are just a few of the incredible things these people claim to have experienced in their NDEs.

What is some credibility to look for? The ones that seem to have the most credibility, to me, are the ones who saw things happening on Earth while they were dead and described them in great detail when they returned. This is verification proof they experienced something that is “not natural.”

Others talk about meeting relatives whom they never knew on Earth, such as grandparents or great-grandparents, and their description of what happened with them in their NDE was verified by those here who knew those people, such as their parents, grandparents, etc.

The bottom line for me with NDEs is I find the ones that line up with scriptural accuracy the most interesting, but I always put my faith in “only” what the Bible says about heaven and eternity. We “know” one hundred percent what the Bible says is TRUE. We certainly do not know that about NDEs, especially since the Bible does not even talk about them. For this reason, they will always remain mysterious and controversial.

Maranatha, Lord Jesus!

David Cogburn

dcogburn789@gmail.com