An Inkling of a Twinkling

But I am telling you this strange and wonderful secret: we shall not all die, but we shall all be given new bodies! It will all happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For there will be a trumpet blast from the sky, and all the Christians who have died will suddenly become alive, with new bodies that will never, never die; and then we who are still alive shall suddenly have new bodies too. For our earthly bodies, the ones we have now that can die, must be transformed into heavenly bodies that cannot perish but will live forever.

1 Corinthians 14:51-53 The Living Bible

Within my sphere of influence, we've lost quite a few people in the last 9½ months - and I'm not counting people who I know OF but didn't know personally. Frankly, I'm tired of death. Lately, my mindset has been that I'm tired of losing people. But today, I reminded myself of this Truth - the good news is that of the 11, I know without a doubt that I will see 10 of them again, and I'm hoping for the 11th...  

Life can change in an instant - without warning. We all know of incidents where that has happened. How many times have we heard something to the effect of, "I just talked to him yesterday..."? Look around. The signs of the times are more evidence of God's love for us. He told us what would happen, what we would see, what we would hear... There's a strong inkling that things could change in a twinkling.

Death is not permanent. Eternity is. Where will you spend yours? 

Prayer:

Father, 

          While we remain, we pray for divine appointments; opportunities that allow us to lead others to You, helping others to grow in wisdom and faith, to become stronger in relationship with You and with their fellow followers of Christ. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Before the World Began

It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose Him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days He has been revealed for your sake.
1st Peter 1:19-20 NLT

There are those who think that when the world was going to hell in a handbasket that it was then God decided He needed to provide a sinless Savior as the sacrificial redemption for our sins. However, that would imply that God threw the world into existence without fully thinking about it. It would also imply that God messed up and had to fix His mistake... In our Promise for Today, we can see very clearly that God did NOT make a mistake. Have you ever stopped to think about just how well God planned for our eternity?

He chose our Saviour before the world began... 

BEFORE the world began...

LONG before the world began... 

God knew WE would mess up and would need a Savior. Not only did He lay the plan for your life before you were born, but He made provision for your eternity with Him before the earth was formed. Can we even fathom that kind of love?

Prayer:

Father,

          Thank You for loving us forever. Thank You for all the ways You have provided for us. Open our eyes to see all of them. Open our hearts to receive Your love and help us to love You in return with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Realities

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
Colossians 3:1-2 NLT

Today, I attended the funeral of a teenaged girl who changed the lives of those around her with her incredible smile. She was a special needs child and non-verbal, but her smile spoke volumes. Tuesday evening, I will attend another funeral for one of my friends. I will miss the comfortable camaraderie and repartee of our relationship. The good news is I know where both of them will spend eternity.

Pastor Alan used our Promise for Today as the Scripture basis for today's service and I was struck by the phrase realities of heaven. Have you ever given Heaven any real thought? Have you ever stopped to ponder what it will be like? Oh sure, we talk about streets of gold and gates of pearl, the 24 elders on their thrones, and meeting Jesus face-to-face, and talking with our favorite persons from the Bible, but have we thought beyond those things? 

It's not going to be all white lights and no color. There's going to be plenty of color! Ezekiel talks about a sapphire throne and the glory of the Lord - that the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. Revelation tells us that the foundations of the city walls are adorned with every kind of precious stone and John also said, At once I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne standing in heaven, with someone seated on it. The One seated there looked like jasper and ruby, and a rainbow that gleamed like an emerald encircled the throne. We're not going to riding around on clouds and playing harps all day... We're not going to be angels. Angels are separate beings. We have a song of praise that the angels cannot sing because we have been redeemed. And I don't want to burst anyone's bubble, but we're not going to have wings, either.

Are we guilty of letting Hollywood define our idea of Heaven? That cannot be good. Paul tells us to set our sights on the realities of Heaven. What are those realities? We need to search those out because we are now one day closer to our eternity than we were yesterday.

Prayer:

Father, 

           Thank You for all the incredible sights we have here on Earth. Thank You for the people You put in our lives to love us, to teach us, to be examples. Help us to learn all we can from them. Teach us to love them as You have loved us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Got Half a Minute?

...Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:1-6 NLT

Thirty seconds is not very long, but that's about how long it takes to make a lasting impression. 

What can you do in 30 seconds? Brush your teeth? Not enough time. Fix some toast? Iron a shirt? Nope. Polish your shoes? Fix your hair? No, not enough time. It's quick, isn't it? Well, I'd dare to say that quick depends on what you're trying to do in those 30 seconds. 

Can you hold your breath for 30 seconds? Can you stand on one leg for 30 seconds (without holding on to something)? Maybe...  Can you hold the last note of a song for 30 seconds? No, probably not. 

You can't even change a light bulb in 30 seconds... However, you CAN change someone's eternity. Paul did it, many times over. 

Can you imagine YOU meeting Paul for the first time? 
You might say, "Hi, I'm so-and-so, son of so-and-so."
Paul clasps your hand in his and says, "Hi, I'm Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life, he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ."

He just delivered the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in 30 seconds. If someone accepts it and embraces Christ, their eternity is changed from eternal damnation to living forever with Christ. All because of 30 seconds. 

Half-a-minute to change a life for all eternity.

What kind of time do we have?

Prayer:

Father,

         Make us ever mindful of Your Word and the time You have given us. Help us to use it to fully glorify You and redeem the time allotted. Help us to change someone's eternity for You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Eternity: Smoking or Non-smoking?

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.
Psalm 139:1-3 NLT

There are times in all our lives - at every stage of our lives - when we face decisions about whether we should or should not do something. It doesn't matter how young or old we are.

When my kids were younger, I used to give them this rule of thumb. "If Jesus was standing right next to you and could see what you're doing, would you do it?" You know the Truth is that Jesus IS with us all the time. Numerous Scriptures tell us so. He DOES see what we're facing, and the course of action we choose.

That thing when no one's looking? Where you let your mind wander and stay when no one's around? When you're in the big city and no one knows who you are or what you normally do? And there's no one to tell... He knows it all... Think carefully.

Sometimes we make decisions without thinking at all. Sometimes, we're distracted and don't fully engage to use the sense God gave us. Choose wisely. It could very well be the deciding factor between where you will spend eternity - smoking or non-smoking - or for someone else's eternity who is looking to you as their example to follow Christ. Yes, we are our brother's keeper. What will be your deciding factor?

Prayer:

Father,
          Guide us by Your righteousness, O Lord our God. We want our deciding factor to be You. Let all of our choices be to follow Your will with clean hands and pure hearts. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Yesterday's Gone

So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:34 The Amplified Bible

Well, let's see. The good news is I got some serious yard work done today. The not-so-good news for me is heavy trash day was yesterday for the zone I live in and yesterday's gone.  

Realizing that today, I started thinking again about just one day. When tomorrow comes, today will be forever gone. What do we have to show for today? Have we done anything with eternity in mind and Heaven as our goal? 

How many of us give a second thought to the time we may have squandered yesterday with regard to eternity - ours or those we profess to love? We have no guarantee that we'll all be back tomorrow. At the time of this writing, it's now a few minutes past midnight. What opportunities did I miss to speak to someone's eternity? Too late, it's yesterday now and yesterday's gone... 

Prayer:

Father,
        Please make us ever more mindful of the days of our lives. Let us fill them with You and what is important to You and to someone's eternity. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Warning - The Day is Coming

Mark 13: 14 [Jesus Speaking]   “The day is coming when you will see the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing where he should not be.” (Reader, pay attention!) “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. 15 A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. 16 A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. 17 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. 18 And pray that your flight will not be in winter. 19 For there will be greater anguish in those days than at any time since God created the world. And it will never be so great again. 20 In fact, unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, not a single person will survive. But for the sake of his chosen ones he has shortened those days.

21 “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it.22 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. 23 Watch out! I have warned you about this ahead of time!

24 “At that time, after the anguish of those days,

the sun will be darkened,
    the moon will give no light,
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

26 Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

28 “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that his return is very near, right at the door. 30 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene before all these things take place.31 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

32 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. 33 And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!

Prayer:

Father,

           Keep our hearts and minds open to You. Let us know Your Truth and walk in Your wisdom. Not only do we want to be ready, but we want to have those in our sphere of influence to be ready also. Give us the words to say that will pierce their hardened hearts. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen