Saturday, May 21, 2011

It's not the end of the world.......

The Day and Hour Unknown  Matthew 24:36 - 51

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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A lot of people are joking about how one person has declared today the end of the world.  I don't want to joke about it because the sad thing is man does not know when the hour will come, only God the Father.  Jesus doesn't even know.  So I pray that because of this people will dig deeper to see what it’s all about.   So remember, do not fear because man says the world is coming to an end.  Live your life for Christ.  Be a light in the dark world; be a servant doing their duty for the Lord.  To read further about the end times, go to Matthew Chapter 24 and Revelation Chapter 21 – 22. 

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Praise God in the storm....and rain......and wind.......

God lets out all the stops, he holds nothing back.
No one can mistake that voice—
His word thundering so wondrously,
his mighty acts staggering our understanding.
He orders the snow, 'Blanket the earth!'
and the rain, 'Soak the whole countryside!'
No one can escape the weather—it's there.   Job 37: 5 – 7 The Message Bible




Currently I am reading the Bible in Chronological order.  Right now I am reading in Job. In the verse above, a young man is rebuking Job’s whining.  These verses hit me today because I have been whining about all the rain we are getting. 



Then further on I read God’s comments to Job which begin:



"Why do you confuse the issue?
Why do you talk without knowing what you're talking about?
Pull yourself together, Job!
Up on your feet! Stand tall!
I have some questions for you,
and I want some straight answers.
Where were you when I created the earth?
Tell me, since you know so much!
Who decided on its size? Certainly you'll know that!
Who came up with the blueprints and measurements?
How was its foundation poured,
and who set the cornerstone,
While the morning stars sang in chorus
and all the angels shouted praise?
And who took charge of the ocean
when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb?
That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds,
and tucked it in safely at night.
Then I made a playpen for it,
a strong playpen so it couldn't run loose,
And said, 'Stay here, this is your place.
Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.'  Job 38: 2 – 11



So, today when I am tempted to whine about the rain, I will remember who is in charge.  Who it is that brings the rain, and while I don’t know His reasoning, I don’t have to know, because He is the one in charge.  He knows why we need this rain, even if it’s to remind us that He is in charge of our life and our schedule and our environment, not us.  We need to praise Him in the storm, and boy is it storming around here!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Hear us O Lord - Your Mercy is Great

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” - 2 Chronicles 7:14

Hear Us From Heaven

By Jared Anderson



Lord, hear our cry
Come heal our land
Breath life into these dry and thirsty souls
Lord, hear our prayer
Forgive our sin
And as we call on Your name
Would You make this a place
For Your glory to dwell

Chorus:
Open the blind eyes
Unlock the deaf ears
Come to Your people
As we draw near
Hear us from heaven
Touch our generation
We are Your people
Crying out in desperation



For those of you who are friends of mine on Facebook, you know I love when music lyrics closely follow scripture.  The song “Hear Us From Heaven” by Jared Anderson so closely matches the sentiment found in 2 Chronicles 7:14.  These are reminders that we need to pray for our nation, leaders, and people.  Tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer.  May we all stop and say a prayer for our Country.  May the Lord hear our cries and heal our land and our souls. 

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Don't you get frustrated when you see yourself in scripture and it's not a good thing?

Romans 12:11-13 (King James Version)

11Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

13Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

Romans 12:11-13 (New International Version, ©2011)

11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Romans 12:11-13 (The Message)

11-13Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.



How many times do I read a Bible verse written in the Message translation and wonder – where does it say that in the Bible??   It’s wonderful that we have the technology to then change the translation to something else to see the words in another way.  They all mean the same thing; the translations are different because it they are for a different time.  The word translation means the rendering of something into another language or into one's own from another language.  These translations were written in different times.  Each one went back to the original Greek and Hebrew to translate the Bible so that modern man could understand better. 



When I read the first two translations I say “hey – I’m not slothful and I have zeal.  When I read the Message translation I say “oh no, I do get burned out!  It’s hard sometimes for me to hang in there in hard times and sometimes helping is tough.” 



This is why I have 6 different translations of the Bible at home and why I like Biblegateway.com.   It’s good to delve deeper into the Bible and what it says.  Commentaries and footnotes are helpful if you are trying to study on your own.  I also like to attend Bible Study with a group where I am held accountable for my study and I do Bible Study on my own too. 



So the next time you read scripture, and you just aren’t sure what it’s saying, go to www.biblegateway.com and check the same passages out in another translation.  If that doesn’t help, you can look for commentaries on the passages.   These are great ways to go deeper into your faith!



May God Bless you with His Word.