24

Jump Start # 1961

Posted on October 24, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1961

1 John 4:19 “We love because He first loved us.”

So, there has been this stray cat hanging around our house. He looks pitiful and rough. He’s not eaten in awhile, is scared and jittery. My sweet wife felt sorry for this cat. She has been feeding him every morning. He now hangs around looking for the free food. The cat still won’t let us get too close to him. He is putting on some weight and his eyes are looking better. His life has gotten better because of the care my wife has given him. Now, the weather is turning. It’s supposed to get cold. She’s worried about the cat. My thoughts are it’s an outside cat, he’ll figure things out. That wasn’t the right answer. So, off to the store we went. We got a Styrofoam cooler, straw and a tub to put the cooler in. Last night she was shaving the outside of the cooler so it would fit into the tub. Then she cut holes in the tub and cooler so the cat could craw in. The straw will be the bedding and the lids will be duck taped and sealed tightly. All of this, with the hope that Mr. Cat will go in when it turns cold. After my wife was done, there was a real mess to clean up. Styrofoam doesn’t sweep up very well. There was a lot of time put into this kitty hotel. This cat has no idea of all the work that my wife put into this project. He doesn’t realize what cat food costs nor how much my wife is trying to not only save his life, but make it better. This cat doesn’t come up and rub our legs. It does let us pet it. Get too close and it turns and runs. There’s no “thank you,” out of that cat. My wife is doing this simple because she cares for this critter. She has even named this cat.

 

All of this took me to our verse today. God loves us. He loved us first. He loved us when we weren’t very loveable. He loved us when we went thinking about Him. He loved us while we were still sinning. That’s God. And, in many ways, we are like that outside cat that hangs around our house. We show up for the blessings and get to the point in our lives where we expect them. God has gone through a lot of trouble to not just keep us alive, but to make our lives better. More than Styrofoam that is hard to sweep up, God had a cross. He sent Jesus to a world that mocked Him, laughed at Him, challenged Him, denied Him and wouldn’t even say, “thank you,” for all the trouble that He went through. There are times in our lives when we are called upon to do something that we really do not want to do. I was asked on stage once at a show in Branson. I really did not want to do that. I can only imagine what Jesus felt coming to this earth. He did it. He did it willingly. He did it even though He may not have wanted to. He did it to make our lives better.

 

God sees us not as cute and adorable puppies in the pet shop window. We were like that stay cat at my house, not much to look at. We were rebellious and selfish. We ran from God when He tried to reach out for us. We like the blessings of God, but we didn’t want to be around God. Yet, God didn’t give up. He knew what was coming. He knew just what we needed. Instead of a kitty house, God prepared a cross. There was a sacrifice. God didn’t give up junk. He sent the best, Jesus. Pure. Obedient. Sinless. Perfect. That was the sacrifice for us. We have no idea of what all God went through. He did it not for His sake, but for us. Without His help, we were lost. We’d die eternally, if God hadn’t done something.

 

Now, I don’t expect much from that outside cat. A purr once in a while would be nice, but it’s a cat. It doesn’t understand, nor really care what we went through. I’ve wondered if that cat would even be alive today, had my wife not started feeding it. But we’re not cats. We can do more than that cat does. We are capable of understanding, and that’s why God has explained what He did in the Scriptures. More than that, we are capable of thanking God, trusting God and following God. We can worship God. We can obey God. He has saved us and we can show our thanks by loving Him and being like Him.

 

Some animals do well on their own. I don’t this outside cat was one of them. He looked like he was on the fast track to a quick death. We don’t do well on our own either. Oh, so many think that they do. They look at the square footage in their house, their fat 401’s, the degrees on the wall, the season tickets to the ballgames, the scrapbooks filled with vacation pictures and declare that life has been pretty good for them. It has. They have been blessed. But they don’t see what’s coming. All of those things do little when we are standing before the throne of God in judgment. What profit is there, Jesus asked, if one gains the whole world and loses his soul? Only God can save our souls. Only God knows what it takes.

 

It will be interesting to see if the outside cat will even go into the shelter my wife constructed. He may avoid it. We may get some other animals in there. All this work may be wasted. It may be something that the cat needs but never uses. He may end up freezing, while a shelter is right there for him. And, like that silly cat, some of us may not freeze, but die spiritually, while our salvation is right there in Jesus Christ. All the work that God has done may be wasted on us, because we refuse to turn to the cross and obey the Lord. Our stubbornness will keep us away from God and it will be our own death.

 

It is amazing to see spiritual lessons all around us. Open your eyes, is what the Lord told the disciples. A stray cat that’s hungry and a mess. A lot like us. Hope is found in someone greater helping out. It’s the same for us.

 

Do we get what God has done for us?

 

Roger

 

23

Jump Start # 1960

Posted on October 23, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1960

Galatians 3:11 “Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, ‘the righteous man shall live by faith.’”

The righteous walks by faith. The righteous man obeys God. John wrote, ‘the one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him’ (1 Jn 2:4). The man of God lives by a moral code and standard, the Word of God. The Bible is more than the direction to Heaven, it is the righteous man’s life. It shapes his thinking and his choices. His heart is reshaped by the word of the Lord.

 

All of this brings us to the wild frenzy that is flying through Hollywood. Producer Harvey Weinstein has seen his glamor world crashing in all around him. Allegations of sexual abuse, rape and using his powerful position to manipulate and feed his sexual desires have dominated the news out of the movie industry. Even Weinstein’s former chauffer, now talks about wild, sexual parties. Fingers are being pointed in blame. The code of silence is shattering. Others are being accused. The walls around tinsel town are falling in.

 

None of this shocks me. None of this surprises me. And to honest, it’s hard understanding why people are upset. Weinstein has been called a “pig.” His behavior, hedonistic. Drugs, sex and power—fed his ego and his appetite. But look again at our verse today. “The righteous man shall live by faith.” What does the “unrighteous man live by?”

 

We are seeing before us the outer limits of Darwinian thought. Evolution to it’s ultimate limit and consequences. If, as they believe, there is no God, then there is no moral code. Who decides what is right and what is wrong? Why should I cater to you? Why should you cater to me? Everyone does what they want. With this extreme godless thinking, everyone is just a “pig.” Pigs don’t have morals. They don’t apologize for squeezing out a fellow pig from the feed trough. They don’t forgive one another. Pigs don’t do grace. They have no rules. It is purely survival of the fittest. The strongest rule. The most powerful control the weaker.

 

Why is everyone in an uproar about that has happened? This is where the road takes you when you leave God. There is no decency. There is no “rightness.” The powerful, and in this situation, Mr. Weinstein, dominates. He lived out what professors have been proudly teaching for generations. Drop God out of the equation, and nothing is off limits. Why is murder wrong? Who decides that? You? Me? Why us? Animals kill animals. If, we are only animalistic, why then, is killing wrong? Abortion isn’t, in their minds. Why should killing the living be wrong? Evolution ends at a very ugly and nasty place.

 

What is shocking is seeing Hollywood get worked up about this. They want some decency and morals but not too much. They want it on their terms and in their way. No stopping adultery, as long as it’s consenting. Same sex marriage, transgender, open marriages, divorce for any reason, abusing drugs and alcohol—none of those things make the list. Hollywood is stunned by Weinstein’s behavior, but why? You want to be moral, but not too moral. You want rules, but not too many rules. You want decency, but not too much decency. You want to stop the run-a-way train of evolution, but you can’t. This is where it takes you. This is life without God. This is survival of the fittest. This is everyman doing what he thinks is right. This is what our culture and society has begged for and wanted for generations. Now, it’s here. And, for the first time, they see how ugly, horrible and abusive this train ride has taken us. It’s not a place where we want to be. How can fingers be pointed at Weinstein when there are no rules. Society has argued for years that marriage was nothing more than a sheet of paper. Isn’t rape, nothing more than a law and laws are subject to change. If marriage can be redefined, then so can the definition of rape.

 

All around us, in horrific illustrations, is a culture that is reaping what it has sown. God out. Prayers out. Do what you want. And towns are plagued with heroin addictions. Children grow up not sure who their parents are. Sunday mornings, and the little league baseball diamonds are packed. Kids growing up and learning to bow down to sports as their one true God. They know nothing about God. The unrighteous live by their own rules. Lying is expected. Cheating is normal. Filthy language is common. How did we get here as a nation? We were taught and we believed that we evolved. There is no god. If there is no god, we set the rules.

 

Harvey Weinstein is the poster boy of evolution. He lived like an animal. He gave no thought to consequences, other people nor being accountable to God above. He did as he wanted. If someone got in his way, he destroyed their career and crippled them from ever working in that industry. The fittest survived. People did what they had to do to make it. That included some disgusting, immoral and wrong choices. But when one godless person does this to another godless person, how can it be wrong? How can it be indecent? He was just acting on instincts and drugs. A dog would do that. A pig would do that. A cow would do that. And, in the image of the evolutionist, we are just like them.

 

We read in Romans, “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do these things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, malice; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanders, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful.”

 

We should never be shocked at what unrighteous minds do. Without God, there is no bottom to the depths that some will fall. It’s hard to point fingers at indecent behavior when a person is standing in the pool of indecency. Sadly, there will be more who follow the steps of a Harvey Weinstein. It’s the natural consequences of a life without God. The depths will finally reach the doors of Hell itself, where Satan welcomes those who have chosen a life without rules, accountability, kindness and God.

 

It’s going to be hard to teach morals to a people who do not understand morals nor why there ought to be morals. It’s going to be hard to stop the run-a-way train from crashing again, because of a few rules when all of the other rules are being ignored.

 

Where does life without God take you, look all around us. We see every day. The world needs Jesus. Are you ready to give off this dead-end journey and find something real and right? Can we help you?

 

Harvey Weinstein represents life as good as it gets when God is kicked out of your heart. We expect such from animals. We are not animals. We are created in the image of God. God wants and expects better from each of us.

 

Roger

 

 

20

Jump Start # 1959

Posted on October 20, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1959

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”

Encouragement is a vital and key component of our relationship with one another. One writer called encouragement, “oxygen for the soul.” Let’s take a look at encouragement.

 

First, everyone needs encouragement. Some are naturally more upbeat and positive than others, yet they too, need encouragement. The journey can be long. The weight and responsibility that some carry is heavy. Some are so busy encouraging others, that their bucket runs empty. It’s easy to see some who need encouragement. The young in faith need it to keep going. Those going through tough times need it. There are those who are dealing with long health issues and they need encouragement. There are families that have prodigals and that has broken their hearts. But preachers also need encouragement. Shepherds need encouragement. There really isn’t anyone that doesn’t need it from time to time.

 

Second, encouragement lets others know that they are not alone. That is one of the catastrophic results of discouragement. A person feels alone. The problems seem so great. The nights seem so long. Whispers that no one cares fills the heart. A person can feel alone in a church full of people. The darkness of discouragement can crush a person. Encouragement is more than nice words, it’s presence. It’s being there. It’s sitting with a family in the surgery waiting room. It’s showing up at the funeral home. It’s taking food to a new mom. It’s inviting a family over to the house. We are with you is the sound of encouragement. Even when wrong choices have been made, I’ve seen court rooms filled with brethren, there to support a family whose child is on trial. That is the key to our fellowship. We are “fellows” in this together. Linked in heart and arm in arm, together we weather the storms that come upon us. It may be your turn now for help, but the next time, it might be my turn. Praying together. Sitting together. That wonderful feeling that warms the heart when you see a fellow Christian walk into the room, just to sit next to you.

 

Third, encouragement is soul strengthening. It’s more than cute sayings and quotes that are cross stitched on pillows. Encouragement takes a person back to Christ and His word. It’s reminders. It’s promises of God that have been forgotten. It’s verses shared. It’s much more than having a brighter outlook. It’s not just optimism, it’s keeping someone on this spiritual journey that we are on. It’s staying in the spiritual fight. It’s not giving up, on God, His word, or His people. It’s helping someone realize that God is greater than our problems. It’s helping them know that our problems stay on this side of life. Encouragement is spiritual. It’s helping someone get stronger in their faith and more dedicated in their commitment to the Lord. Encouragement is Bible based.

 

Fourth, some are better at this than others. Some are just natural at knowing just what to say and knowing just how to say it. Some can lift the darkest spirit and find ways to pump oxygen back into that soul. Others have had to learn, watch and develop as encouragers. Learning when you have said enough. Learning when to be silent. Learning what Scriptures are really helpful to use in different situations. All of this comes from simply being encouraged and then learning to help others. What worked for you? What did others do for you? There is a time and a place for encouragement. Often, in the church building isn’t the place. Too many people. Not the right atmosphere to really help. A smile. A hug. A ‘great to see you,’ works well in the church house. But later, coming to a person’s home, with a plate full of cookies, or a warm meal, then might be the best setting to really support, comfort, remind and help someone. Walk in their shoes. It will help you think about what you ought to say. When a person is hurting, they don’t need a sermon. They don’t need fingers pointing at them in blame. When Elijah was in the cave, hiding and scared, there was a earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake. There was a fire, but God wasn’t in the fire. There was a strong wind, but God wasn’t in the strong wind. Then a gentle breeze, and it was out of that, the Lord spoke to Elijah. He didn’t condemn the prophet. He didn’t scold him. He didn’t preach to him. He encouraged him. He reminded him. He helped him. The backseat driver in us says, “You should have done this instead…” Well, that’s a little late now. Here we are. We have to deal with what is before us. The blame game only adds on more guilt. It doesn’t lift the soul. It doesn’t breath oxygen into a heart that is discouraged. There is a time for the “lessons learned from all of this,” but not now. Now is the time to get a person back where they need to be. Embarrassed. Ashamed. Discouraged. Wanting to quit. This is the time to reach out, as the Lord did, and help sinking Peter, as he was walking on the water. Reach out your hand and pull a person up. Reach out your hand and be there for them. That’s what encouragement does.

 

Fifth, we are encouraged in different ways. For the weary preacher, it may be telling him to just take a day off. That’s hard for some of us. For others, it may be an intense process, involving many hours of going to their home and working with them. Some just need that gentle reminder. Some need loads of help. I met a man recently who was dealing with a death in the family. I told him about death merely being a door, a process that takes us into the next room. The righteous want to be in the next room. As I talked, I saw his eyes lift up and the color come back into his face. It was what he needed to hear. The pain was still there, but it wasn’t so bad. He now had hope. He had a way to express it to the rest of the family. So, our encouraging others is not one size fits all. Some need just a little. Others need a lot. For some, it’s just being there. For others, much more is required. Each of us are different and our problems are different and our faith is not at the same place. So, the encourager understands this. Each person needs different means of encouragement. It’s not one size fits all.

 

This is something that the world misses. The world doesn’t have this. I’ve seen the family alone in the funeral home. I’ve seen the person sitting alone in the surgery waiting room. Scared, uncertain, and without faith. For the child of God, nothing beats an amazing church that is there for them. Arm in arm, linked together in our journey, we have one another. We have each other’s back. We will not leave any upon the field. There is such warmth, hope and love with this. This is what makes a fellowship special. The closer a church becomes, the greater the help and the encouragement will be.

 

Our verse ends, “just as you also are doing.” The Thessalonians were encouraging. Paul was encouraging them to keep encouraging. You’re doing it. Keep it up. It’s making a difference. Don’t give up. Don’t get weary in what you are doing. You are making a difference!

 

We need encouragers! Can you be that? Can you do that?

 

Roger

 

19

Jump Start # 1958

Posted on October 19, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1958

2 Peter 2:7-8 “And if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds)”

What a sad picture of Lot. This certainly didn’t turn out as he had planned. What a mess he was in. Our passage, one of several O.T. examples drawn to show the judgment of God, is used by Peter to remind brethren what God will do with false teachers who were corrupting and distorting His truth. Peter draws from angels that were judged and the world that was judged during the flood in Noah’s day, and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, condemned during the time of Abraham and Lot.

The background to this event with Lot is interesting. Abraham was on the move. God had called him to leave Ur. Lot tagged along. Both had large flocks. The land couldn’t contain all the flocks and the servants of both men were fussing at each other. It was time to separate. Abraham, being older, should have been the one to make the choice. Abraham was on a mission for God. Lot was just going along. But, Abraham allowed Lot to pick the area. He saw the valley was well watered and good for his flocks. He chose the land near Sodom. It had great curb appeal, as we say today. We remember that Eve saw that the forbidden fruit was good to the eye. David saw the beautiful Bathsheba bathing. There is more to things than what we see with our eyes.

Genesis tells us that the city of Sodom was wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord. Genesis tells us that Lot moved his tents as far as Sodom. The next chapter in Genesis has Lot living in Sodom. By chapter 19, Lot is sitting at the gates of Sodom, a place where community discussions happened. Lot is right there. He is among them.

When God is finally out of patience with Sodom, He tells Abraham that He will destroy it. Abraham pleads for God to spare the cities because of the righteous who may be there. God would save the cities if ten righteous could be found. TEN. Ten could not be found. Angels take Lot out of the city and the warning is given to not look back. We know what happens. Lot’s wife turned and she became a pillar of salt. Immediately, Lot lost his companion. The words of Jesus, echo so loudly here, “Remember Lot’s wife.”

Our verse today shows the negative impact that Sodom had upon Lot. It was wearing him out spiritually. He was dying. He felt his soul tormented day after day. What he saw and what he heard coming out of those men who had no regard for God crippled his heart. Why didn’t Lot stay out in the fields and away from the city? Why was he there?

There comes a time in our lives when we must admit that we made a wrong choice. Lot made a wrong choice. The land was great for sheep, but the area was terrible for Godly hearts. His sheep thrived while he was being crushed spiritually. And this ancient story, first coming from Genesis and later from Peter, is relived over and over today. Righteous people making wrong choices. Righteous people dying spiritually as a result of those choices.

Here are some examples of modern choices like Lot:

Your child gets a scholarship to play ball in college. Division 1. Impressive. Great opportunity. Full ride. Expenses paid for. Maybe a stepping stone to the pros. Papers are signed, suitcases are packed and off goes your child. Little thought is given about whether or not a congregation is in the area. Very little investigation is put into what that church is like. Surrounded by unprincipled young people, your child plays and graduates in four years. Meets a girl on campus. Gets married. But the cost has been heavy. He hasn’t worshipped hardly at all while in school. Demands of sports, keeping up his grades, social life, and his faith in God has died. Oh, there are great memories of great games to be talked about for years to come, but he has no place for God anymore in his heart. The fields looked good but it was the wrong choice.

A family is worshipping with a small congregation. The congregation is old, not in the people, but in the thinking. Little is done. Little is expected. There are so few kids in the congregation that the fifth grader is put in with the two high school students. It’s the ole’ one room school concept. But here, it’s Bible class. This small church can not afford a preacher. Some someone usually gets up and reads a few verses and a prayer is offered. No depth. No challenging thoughts. No teaching. There are other options. There is a larger congregation but it’s about thirty miles away. They have an eldership, tons of kids and they are growing. They are doing things, and they are doing them right and Biblical. Do we stay and try to help this small church or do we move? Do we drive the distance every week? Mom and dad kick around the options. They really love their house. They don’t want to move. They decide to stay. Week after week, they are slowing dying because they are not being fed spiritually. They could have Bible studies in their home, but they don’t. They could invite families over and try to be a spark plug for the place, but they don’t. They just show up and go home. Week after week. Their kids grow up and have never really been taught. They fall away. The house this couple lives in is loved. The fields looked good but it was the wrong choice.

A man is offered a senior position at work. It is a premium job. Many would love to have this opportunity. It comes with a large salary and many perks. But the hours that this job requires and the travel that he now must do, takes him away from family. His name has been kicked around at church as a future elder but he can’t do that now. He’s way too busy. He is asked to teach a class at the congregation. He has to turn that down. He’s in and out so much that he can’t teach. The lifestyle he now lives puts him around some high rollers. He’s meeting people that he never thought he’d ever know. Name dropping, arrogance, and high spending have taken over his life. He’s feeling more and more out of touch with the people down at the church house. He’s changing. He’s becoming more and more like the people he is running with. Social drinking now crosses his mind. The others are doing it. He is attending less and less with God’s people to worship. The promotion, like the fields of Sodom, looked so good. But it wasn’t a good choice.

Now, I have known people who have gone through all of these examples, and not only kept their faith, but influenced others and did well. I know the college kids that played sports and influenced team mates to attend with them. These kids grew, got married and are serving amazingly in the kingdom. I’ve know families that worshipped in small congregations, but they were able to be great influences and bring life back to those groups. I’ve known brethren who took those senior positions at work, and didn’t allow their hope, character or outlook to change. It can be done. But I also know far too many that were crushed because of the unprincipled people around them.

You realize that your choice wasn’t right when it starts affecting your faith and conviction to Christ. When you see yourself changing and not for the good, it’s time to pull the plug on your choices. A person may have to switch schools, drop sports, move, or turn down the promotion. Those are hard choices. But in the words of Jesus, ‘what does it profit if you gain the whole world and lose your soul.’ Lot lost a wife. Later, his two daughters made terrible choices. Lot felt tortured while in Sodom. Why stay? It’s just a job. It’s just a house. It’s just a school. Are those things worth losing your soul for?

Some choices cannot be walked away from. This is especially true in marriage. Many a person will say, “I married the wrong person.” What they want is the exit door, so they can get out of that poor choice. It’s too late. God only allows one cause for divorce. This is why so much thought must be put into the person one dates. Some people change after marriage. Some get worse rather than better. A person has to try all that they can to make things better.

We must develop better vision to see beyond the fields of Sodom. What’s on paper may look good, but what’s the atmosphere like? Do some homework. Talk to people. Do your own investigation. Visit congregations a few times before final decisions are made. Think about the spiritual impact not just on yourself but upon your family. Is this a good choice? Is this a spiritual choice? Five years down the road what will this choice to do me spiritually?

Had Lot asked those questions he may never have chosen the rich fields of Sodom. What’s good for sheep, and what’s good for scholarships, and what’s good for the paycheck, may not be good for the soul. Making a wise choice based upon God is first.

Roger

18

Jump Start # 1957

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1957

1 Corinthians 15:51 “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will be changed.”

Our verse today comes from the resurrection chapter of the Bible. Paul gives proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He details the consequences if Christ had not be raised. He draws a connection to our resurrection. Layers of lessons for us.

Paul reveals a mystery in our verse. Two things.

First, we will not all die. That’s what he means by sleep. Jesus said, “our friend Lazarus is asleep.” Lazarus was in the grave. Jairus’ little daughter was “asleep.” Jesus raised her from the dead. Sleep is used to describe the death of God’s righteous people.

 

Remembering that Corinthians is written to a church, Paul is telling brethren that not all Christians will die. Persecution will not kill all Christians. Wars and disasters will not wipe all Christians off the face of the earth. We will not all sleep. There will be Christians alive when Jesus comes.

 

Secondly, we will be changed. The change takes place in the following verses as Paul describes the resurrection when Jesus comes. We don’t all have to die first and then be raised. Some will be alive when Jesus comes and they will be changed. In an instant. In the twinkling of an eye, he later says.

 

That is the thought I want us to think about today, not just the coming of Jesus, but the possibility that we could be alive when that happens. I feel that we have pushed that possibility so far in the background that we don’t really think it will happen. We feel that we’ll get old and die. That has been the course for most people. Why should it be any different for us? Why? This verse is why. We shall not all sleep. We might be the ones who are alive when the Lord comes.

 

Other places in the N.T. describe the coming of Jesus with a blast of the trumpet and the voice of the archangel. The skies would be filled with all the angels that are coming with Jesus. Immediately, the living is changed. Graves open and the dead are raised. Jesus said all who are in the tombs will come forth. The rapture concept of only certain ones going up to meet the Lord while everyone else remains on earth simply isn’t supported in Scriptures. The earth and creation will be destroyed at that time. Cosmic forces never seen before would change things as we know them.

 

I’d like to think all of this would happen on a Sunday, His day, the best day of the week, but I have no way of knowing. I can only imagine looking up in the sky and seeing hundreds and hundreds of angels, everywhere. At that moment everything stops. Traffic would stop. People would race out of their houses to look skyward. News casts would be broadcasting this live. Reporters from around the world would all be seeing the same thing. There are no words that would describe this. And, there surrounded by all those angels in the sky, is Jesus, our Lord. Some how we will know it’s Him. Nonbelievers may at first think that we are being invaded by aliens. Some will wonder what is this and who is that? But you and I will know. We’ve been ready for this day. We have read this Corinthian chapter over and over. And now, here it is. And, just like that, before we can take it all in and before we even have time to grasp everything that is going on, we are changed. We become immortal and imperishable. Forget the walkers, the canes, the hearing aids—you suddenly do not need them. You are in a different state. It’s glorious. It’s wonderful. And, just like that we are ushered into eternity.

 

Parts of this sound scary. We’ve never seen anything like this. It’s hard to imagine our world not being our world. We go to work until we retire. We gather weekly down at the church house. We put fuel in our cars and food in our bellies. That’s our world. That’s all that we know. It’s been that way for a long, long time. To think that all of this changes in an instant and our world as we know it ending, is scary.

 

Some people will not get to see things that they had planned for. There are weddings that were to take place that won’t. There are babies that will not be born. There are surgeries that do not take place. There are packages that won’t be delivered. Everything stops. Think about this coming week, and if the Lord came today, what wouldn’t happen in your life. I wouldn’t see if the Dodgers made it to the World Series, because there would be no World Series if Jesus came. The discussions about tax reform and border walls being built would never be solved. Some have doctor appointments. Some would be on the road traveling. Some are off in college. If Jesus came today, all of that stops.

 

Some people would not be ready. Many would not be ready. They have lived their lives doing what they want, ignoring God and finding happiness as the most important thing to pursue. The skies fill with angels and for the first time, some might pray. Some don’t know what to pray, how to pray, nor who to pray to. Some have lived their entire adult life mocking God and living with the assumption that God doesn’t exist. Some have been very vocal and even sought to discredit the Bible. Now, the Lord appears in the sky. Now, they know. Now, they know what a fool they have been. Begging for mercy, cries of ‘save me,’ fill the air, fear and panic race through their hearts. Will the unrighteous also be changed immortal and imperishable? I suppose. The Corinthian passage is written to believers. But Hell is real. Hell is linked with Heaven. If there is a Heaven, then there is a Hell. No Hell, no Heaven. They are found together in the last sentence in Matthew 25. So, the unrighteous will be cast into eternity as well.

 

For us, it’s a different picture. There was a photo taken years ago, of a serviceman getting off of an airplane. His arms are stretched out as his children run towards him with big smiles on their faces. I’d like to think that’s what it will be for us. We have loved Jesus all of our life. We have followed Him, obeyed Him, quoted Him, imitated Him and talked to Him. We have remembered His death weekly. We have sung hymns to Him. We have told our family and friends about Him. We are who we are because of Him. Our hearts have changed because of Him. And now, there He is in the sky. We have waited and waited for this for a long time. For the righteous, tears will stream down our cheeks as we reach out to embrace our Lord and our Savior. It’s Jesus!

 

We will not all sleep. It’s not up to us, but if it were, would you like to be one who is alive when Jesus comes? Would you like to witness His coming? You might. Don’t push this so far back in your mind that you’ll be shocked if it happens. It just may.

 

We sing, “There’s a great day coming, a great day coming…”

 

Someday, it will come.

 

Roger