The Day

If the Lord came today there are many people who would be surprised. Christians would be just as  surprised as unbelievers in this matter.

"Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through. Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh."  (Matthew 24:42-44 ASV)

A speaker related the account of how not long ago he had been forced into a doctor's visit. The doctor after the check up, informed the man that he was going to have an operation on the morrow. The speaker reacted with, "Oh, no, I've got things to do..." 

The audience laughed. We've most all had the same response for something unplanned we had to do. No matter what we think we have to do, there are some things that trump our plans. 

"And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of thy hands: They shall perish; but thou continuest: And they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up, As a garment, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, And thy years shall not fail." (Hebrews 1:10-12 ASV)

Our life here is brief. Even if we live a hundred years, in the expanse of eternity that is brief. 

Two things we need to keep in mind are the brevity of life; and the surety of eternity... 

No matter what (most) believers confess with their lips, like the speaker in the third paragraph most of us don't believe we will ever die. Not yet at least. Normal quasi healthy people believe they will arise tomorrow to live another day. We have just one more thing, one more project, one more--well, some things we've got to do. 

I heard the story of a wealthy prominent man who had some health issues. His friend, a doctor by profession, tried to get him to slow down and take it a bit easier. The wealthy man told him, "I've got too much to do. When I get my work all done, I'll slow down." At last the doctor said to him,"Bill, come with me. I have something I want to show you." They got in the doctor's car and took a drive through town. The doctor pulled up and parked at the entrance to the local cemetery. "Bill," he said to his friend, "look here. How many of these folks in here do you think ever got all their work done?"

I would like to leave you with these thoughts: 

• As sure as there was a beginning of the world, there will be an end. The Lord will come, and it will be unexpected. All will see him, and all will receive judgement.

"And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment;"(Hebrews 9:27 ASV)

• It is important to be prepared and/or remain faithful.God is a loving God, and a loving God must be just. 

 "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:31 ASV)

• To come into judgement unprepared would be reprehensible. In this life it is our only duty to love and obey our God. If we fail this, we've failed everything. 

"Cast not away therefore your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise."(Hebrews 10:35-36 ASV)

• Be patient in the Lord, and you will receive the recompense of your reward. 

Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so, Amen. (Revelation 1:7 ASV)

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Misnomers?

Earlier this year I viewed a video on face book. It has a unique message for those unbelievers of the world. The host interviews random people about their beliefs, and in the end talks to them about the Gospel of Jesus. One woman in particular cannot accept the idea of God judging people, of hell--an eternal punishment. Many people have a similar view. How could a loving God send people to an everlasting punishment?

Several months ago I attended a meeting at the local library on "understanding" Islam. The speaker at one point stated that there are similarities between the Bible and Islam. I've heard this idea before, the idea that Christianity approves of and is similar to Islam. They are both on equal footing.

This shows that the speaker doesn't have a grasp on Biblical scripture, nor a clear understanding of God. It could be compared to me making the statement: "The other day our local newspaper reported a horrendous crime committed in the capitol city. I will never read  that newspaper again. Any paper that can condone such a wicked crime is just wrong."

The newspaper in reporting the crime does not condone the crime. Because the Bible tells us about things that have happened does not mean that it approved of those things. 

*"And he {God}said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.(Genesis 15:13-16)

In this scripture God is telling Abram that Abram's offspring would go into another country and live there for four hundred years, but that God would bring them out of that land and they would come back to the land of Canaan and posses it at that time. But it wasn't going to happen until after four hundred years because the iniquity of the present inhabitants was not 'full'. Those inhabitants would become exceeding sinful, but they were not yet. This is a prophesy of things to come.

*"And he said, Hagar, Sarai's handmaid, whence camest thou? and whither goest thou? And she said, I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of Jehovah said unto her... And she called the name of Jehovah that spake unto her, Thou art a God that seeth: for she said, Have I even here looked after him that seeth me?"(Genesis 16:8-13)

In this example the Angel of Jehovah is speaking to Sarai's handmaid, Hagar, who has run away from her mistress. After a bit of conversation Hagar called Jehovah that spake unto her, Thou art a God that seeth: for she said, Have I even here looked after him that seeth me? Hagar calls him 'a God that seeth'.

*"That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from thee: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And Jehovah said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake." (Genesis 18:25-26)

In the last case Abraham is bargaining with God, attempting to save the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Cities which the text says, "the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;" (Genesis 18:20-21) And Abraham describes Jehovah God and calls Him, "the Judge of all the earth?"

In these instances we see several aspects of Jehovah God. He is all knowing even to seeing into the future. Second we see that he is all seeing even to the small detail of a serving maid and her child. And lastly, Jehovah God is the Judge of all the earth.

Link this back to the original paragraph, and the thoughts therein. When the woman who couldn't accept the idea of a loving God and an eternal place of punishment heard the story of a predatory person who committed a heinous crime against an innocent, her face showed horror. The next few words out of her mouth were about judgement and punishment of such a wicked crime. The next look on her face was one of understanding. She made the connection between the horrible nature of sin and how it is related to judgement and eternal punishment. 

We see ourselves as decent folks, as 'not all that bad'. Yet, how would a 'holy God' see us? If we haven't been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ we would look pretty bad. That's just the flat truth, and we would deserve punishment. God isn't part of a democracy. We can't vote and decide whether we like God's rules, or God's laws. Jehovah God sets the standards and in the end He will see and He will judge. The Christian life is the best life for while we are here in this world, in this body as well as in the hereafter. 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Stages

Pictures. I have a number of aerial pictures of my in-laws house and surrounding area. The progression from those early pictures to the later photos are quite stark. There are several different buildings--old ones removed, new ones added, a smaller house and a progression of additions. The 'sun porch' at the back of the house was named that for a reason, but now it sits comfortably in the shade of a large maple tree.

When they purchased the farm there was a farm house here, which they tore down in order to build this present structure. As far as I know there are no pictures of the original house, nor how the original buildings lay at the time of purchase. Even without them we still see quite a progression of changes throughout the years. 

 This morning the boys are loading some cattle to go to the sale barn and I'm sitting on the deck watching.  I have my Bible and a cup of coffee to occupy the moments when things are quiet at the loading chute.It's a beautiful morning. The temperatures are pleasant, pleasant sunshine, maybe just a touch on the lively side of a breeze. I'm hindered in my scope of vision by the lush growth of tree leaves, and reminded of those early pictures and their lack of anything but the bare minimum of ground cover.

"All things are full of weariness; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us." (Ecclesiastes 1:8-10 ASV)

Our lives are like the pictures in the photograph album, starting small and progressing along. Yesterday, so it seems we were sitting in the high chair with our head leaning toward our lunch, next is our school days with friends, family, and accomplishments. No matter where you are on your path there are common links through the stages of life.

One of my favorite Bible class lesson stories is called, 'Madge Learns to Listen'. It must be upteen million years old, and I've used it on a number of classes . It begins with a little girl (named Madge, of course) who is upset because 'no one ever listens to me'. Her Bible class teacher uses this to teach all of her little people the lesson that listening is a two way experience. When we learn to listen to those around us, we find that others that we come in contact with on a daily basis are more responsive to listening to us. And blessing of blessings we learn to be more attentive in listening to God.

I am visiting with a parent. Her ten year old girl is working with yarn and a crochet hook. I suspect the youngster believes she's doing something, but being an old hand at crocheting, I also suspect she is just diddling. During a lull in the conversation I question the youngster. She passes the item to me to examine, and indeed, informs me, she is making a blanket. I know that my words will fall on deaf ears, however, I tell her she may some day have a collar, but will never have a blanket. I continue, 'if you would like I can show you how to do this, or if you are content with what you are doing I will just give it back'. She was content to just diddle, so I gave it back. I guess there is something to say for being content.

One of the frustrations between generations is the lack of listening. We do have a generation gap today, and the main reason is too many people are in too big of a hurry to get nowhere. We all have instances of diddling, but should not be content to diddle our time away. Of course one of the sad things in life is younger people thinking that they don't need to listen to old farts. If we teach our youngsters to listen when they are young they are more likely to listen as they mature. As the old adage goes: Those who will not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. And so it goes, "That which hath been is that which shall be...there is nothing new under the sun."

Hallelujah! What a Savior!