Incentive To Pray

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. Luke 18:1

Last week my story of long ago came out a bit more, but there is always the temptation to talk about me. However, there is also that pull of the Spirit to talk about the Son of God. While my story and His story do walk hand in hand at times back in the day, it is the journey with Him now that we like to talk about. In Luke 18, Jesus tells the disciples a story to emphasize the need to pray without giving up over any issue that has gone unanswered. The woman in another story who suffered for 12 years could be another example. How many times did she pray over her problem? We likely couldn't count that many even if we did know each instance. Each of us likely has one or more long term problems that give us incentive to come to the Lord in prayer. If nothing else we are all getting older, and that alone gives reasons for prayer and supplication as we break down like old machines in need of constant repair and maintenance. Whoops! Sorry, what a way to start your week on a sour note.

Thank you, dear God, that we are getting older and growing day by day closer to our meeting with Your Son Jesus!

Bucky

A Bowl Of Stew

And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward. Matthew 10:42

Forty years ago today the temperature on Grenada was at the opposite end of the thermometer from what we have here this morning. From the tales of this week, I saved for this morning one of an act of Christian kindness very much in line with what Jesus said in our verse for today. This was not done by me, but for me in that place of heat and war.

The first day on Grenada the fire team was sent way up the hill to man a checkpoint near the governor's mansion. (Everything on Grenada seemed to be either way up or way down, making the truck rides every bit as hair-raising as most any combat can do.) I do recall that first night there trying to sleep in the heat and rain in the open beneath a number of houses that could hide any number of ill-intentioned folks with rifles. The next day my fire team was recalled to the battalion area to guard the perimeter in a bit of a foxhole that didn't quite meet the ideal we had been taught. Little wonder, as Grenada was mostly rock, and I dutifully stood up to my knees in that rocky foxhole. You should know that quite a bit of a Marine's body will fit into one of those when a couple of rifle shots were heard from the hill overlooking us on that line.

A couple of days of mostly boredom went by, then the lady who had watched me for much of that time from her porch across the road came out of her house with a bowl and spoon and gave it to me. The bowl was of course filled with some kind of stew or soup. I did not point my rifle at her and give the 'halt who goes there' challenge as I had been trained; there are times when a little discretion is called for and this seemed to fit. This stew was delicious! I do not think it was all down to the circumstance, nor by comparison to those picnic lunches we had packed in the funny red-brown plastic bags (MRE's). Soup or stew, it was just really good stuff.

The charity was in that she did not have to do that for me. The lady may have wished all of us gone so that things could get back to normal for her and her neighbors. She did this thing though, and I never learned her name. I did take the bowl and spoon back with my thanks to her on that porch, thus leaving my post for a brief time. I'm sure my fire team leader saw it along with officers who were keeping an eye out for us, but no one called me down for it. In trying to keep it short, I have gone on at length, but here is my story of a kind act by a lady in Grenada who certainly followed the teaching of Jesus in this moment forty years ago.

May God bless her today as He keeps her reward by His promise!

Bucky

Youth At War

And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”  1 Samuel 17:33

Today a mere 40 years ago was that day for the youth of my unit to go to war. And we knew that it was a shootin' war by now from the evidence we heard all the previous day and night. However, to our relief, mostly, the war had moved off to other parts of the islands by the time we landed on Grenada. Why mostly? In our youth and with all those months of training, we wanted to get into the fighting, much like David did in our verse today.

Saul would spare David in the unequal contest with this battle-tested giant of the Philistines, but David and the Lord convinced the king that this thing could work. The rest of that tale is well-known to us. As for those young Marines of that time forty years ago, we got to come home... in a roundabout way, to a much cooler place, but that tale is too long for this writing today. David went on to be king of Israel. To my knowledge none of our Marine unit has been crowned king of the United States yet, but ya never know!

To God be the glory!

Bucky

A Bright And Glorious Future Mired In Tales Of The Past

For ask now concerning the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether any great thing like this has happened, or anything like it has been heard. Deuteronomy 4:32

What does one do when the first wave goes ashore, but you ain't on it? On this day forty years ago, I waited with my fellow Marines and knew the answer to that question. Scuttlebutt (rumors) run rampant through the unit, gear is checked and rechecked, and you wait for actual news from your commanding officers. We also listened to the radio station in Grenada, sound clips from which you may hear somewhere today, as we waited anxiously.

Yes, it is another tale of the past. As I have endured to the age of 60 now, I seem to be involved more often in groups of old men sitting around telling tales of the past as we await our bright and glorious future. What hope do we have for such a future, one may ask? Well now, there is a tale we can tell also! This tale is of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Ask from one end of heaven to the other, and know this great thing has happened. And He gives us the promise of more great things to come!

In Christ our Lord,

Bucky

On This Day

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Daniel 10:13

On this day forty years ago, I stood on a ship thousands of miles away and heard the news from Beirut, Lebanon of the loss of 241 of my fellow servicemen. Later we would learn that 58 French paratroopers had perished in the same way - a truck bomb and a suicide bomber. We didn't know at the time, but it was the opening of a war that continues to this day around Israel. What we did know was that we were due in Beirut next. Military service had suddenly become much more serious.

How does this tie in with our verse for today? Some of you will know already that Michael, we will learn later in the same chapter, is the prince of Daniel's people, Israel. We see already in the verse that this prince of the kingdom of Persia is the one who prevents a messenger coming to Daniel for 21 days. This is one of those verses in the Bible that tell us of a larger conflict going on in the unseen realm. This knowledge helps us to understand why nations and peoples act the way they do at times in history. It is not an easy concept to grasp and quite a bit frightening in its implications. This is one of those things that shakes the foundations of all that we think humans can and do control in this world. Scary.

All the more reason, I believe, to go closer to the One who is called Almighty. How do such unworthy sinners as ourselves do that? By the way He gave to us, His Son Jesus the Christ.

Bucky

Him Too?

But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. John 12: 10, 11

Now the world has poured out its hatred on Jesus and Lazarus has already suffered the one death penalty, so what is this about him too? Well yes, Jesus still lives and He has raised Lazarus from the dead, so the chief priests want to, what, put him to death again? Wouldn't even the simplest of them know that Jesus could just raise Lazarus up one more time? How many times do you suppose it would take before they got it? Wait, I've begun this today with four questions, don't I have anything to state this morning?

Sometimes we marvel at how the chief priests, scribes, and other religious authorities of the time of our Lord just refused to believe in Him. And yet it is not at all different now. Even we who believe might fear death too much given how our Lord can so quickly raise us up from the grave. Look at the news today. How long did you want to stay in this world before we go to live with Christ forever? Like our brother Paul, we do not forget that we have a mission to work on before our Lord brings us home.

Have a fruitful day in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

Our Testimony

Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. John 3:11

Our testimony is of course just as Jesus said: speaking of what we know and bearing witness to what we have seen. In this age I have seen a great skepticism growing. A book comes out where a person has seen fantastic things and borne witness, putting their testimony out there for the skeptics and critics to savage without mercy. Near-death experiences have been dismissed en masse by one critic as 'heavenly tourism'. I would rather stay there I think, but I also cannot think of a better place to tour! Our testimony is a report of what we see and know, and Isaiah asked in 53:1,

Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

​The Lord gives some fantastic testimonies, and some are hard to believe at first. Does that mean we are to believe uncritically every wild testimony that comes along? No, of course not. But go first to the Word of God before scoffing at the bearer. There you will find such calm, mundane books as Daniel, Ezekiel, and the Revelation. Is the wild new testimony as far afield as disembodied hands writing on walls, wheels within wheels ridden by monsters (as the world might call them), and great red dragons spewing forth floods? Maybe that new testimony is not so unbelievable after all?

Remain in faith, Jesus may send a fantastic witness to you too!

Bucky

Far-fetched Revelation?

But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Matthew 24:37-39

Is the Revelation given by Jesus to John so far-fetched and far out there as we might think at first? Looking into the teaching given by our Lord in Matthew 24, we tend to go look in the Revelation after that. And, yes in some chapters it is quite far out there, fantastic, and strange. But in other cases not so much. The four horsemen in Chapter 6 are quite similar in prophecy to Jeremiah 15, and false prophets are common in the preceding chapter too. The martyrs revealed by the fifth seal are foretold by Jesus in Matthew 24. The first two woes on the other hand are quite unique to the Revelation with detailed descriptions of demon armies causing pain and death. The time of the Apocalypse though? Much like we see today, as we can read in our scripture passage. It also fits any of several hundreds of years before us, so maybe it will be today and maybe not.

We have but to keep watch and look up, for our redemption draws near!

Bucky

Full Wages

Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?  Matthew 20:15

We often get hit with the wages of sin thing, but there is another wage paid in this parable from our Lord Jesus, work wages. You Bible scholars may recognize right away our verse for today from the tale of the landowner who went back at times through the work day and hired more workers even unto the last hour.  The good news for us in this is that the last-hour workers were paid the same as those who committed to work early in the day. We can look at this in light of history, those who join the work of the kingdom of Heaven in the last days can receive the same reward as those who followed Jesus in the first century with Peter and the gang. We can also look in terms of a lifetime, in that we who did not put our hands to the plow at a young age will be paid the same as those who, like John the Baptist, recognized their Savior even from before birth. And there is even the Israelites and Gentiles in the first-last thing. 

This little verse from that parable? Be sure that we do not judge the good works of our Lord as somehow unfair due to an expectation we cooked up all by ourselves. 

Have a wonderful new day in Christ the Lord!

Bucky

Until Then

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Matthew 24:45

The war goes on and now there is suffering on both sides of the Gaza fence. However, those statements from our Lord Jesus recorded in this same chapter by Matthew still hold true - we don't know the hour or the day of His coming. Until then, we have this mission from our Lord of providing the food of the word in due season. How do we know this is the word and not, you know, eating food that we are to give? Jesus told of Himself in John 6:35, "I am the bread of life." All of us in this little audience together could not feed the 7 or 8 billion people on the planet even for one meal, we'll need to bring our loaves and fishes to Jesus for that. What we can do each day is to faithfully spread around the words of the bread of life.

Trusting in Him!

Bucky

P.S. This does not prevent us from giving in other ways too, but watch out for the scammers!

Suddenly

Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Matthew 24:40-41

Anytime Israel is attacked we are wondering if this time is that one leading to end times and the Great Tribulation. At such times many who have some knowledge, but do not yet believe in Jesus, will be asking questions about the Rapture, as if it is some train or boat they do not want to miss. Well, yes, they are indeed on to something as the verses here, and those like them in Luke and Mark, all speak of keeping watch and the suddenness of the event. The two verses for today frightened me as a young teen in church since the preacher was not heavy on assurance that I would be in the half taken and not left behind. Those two last words weigh heavily on those who have reason to believe they might be...left behind!

The two verses for today, and the ones like it Luke, do not specifically say where these ones will be taken. However, if we read the preceding verse in Matthew 24 and the one following, both are about the coming of the Son of Man, our Lord Jesus. Therefore, where He is or is going, we want to be with Him, and thus we do not want to be among those left behind. And we keep watch for His coming even as we do not know the day or hour. So unknown, and yet so suddenly.

Rejoice in His coming for the watchful!

Bucky

Endure To The End

And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. Matthew 24:12-13

At the end of a list of things such as tribulation, hatred, and that rather alarming 'killing you' bit, we have abounding lawlessness and cold love. These verses in Matthew 24 are just the sort of ones to publish the good news, that is the gospel, and have everyone scared and quaking in their boots. How is that good news again? Enduring to the end to be saved? I don't want to endure any of these things! Of course enduring all of that alone would indeed be beyond us individually. Our Lord has promised to never forsake us, and to seize hold of that promise we have only to believe in Him. To those who believe in Jesus, this is the assurance we need to face the tribulations, small or large, that we must face in faith as we follow our Lord.

His love will never grow cold!

Bucky

Not Yet, He Said

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  Matthew 24:6

Many wars and rumors of war have come to pass in our lifetime. Yet when Israel, as it figures prominently in end times prophecies, comes under attack we often get a little fearful that the end has come.  Yesterday the question no doubt came up in services all over the world, is this it? Nope, not yet, He said. Whatever nations rise up one against another we have this assurance from Jesus that the end is not yet.  And there was this earthquake in another place this weekend too, for another 'not yet' sign to watch. And yet, we certainly do not lack for people and places to pray over as wars and earthquakes are devastating to lives and property wherever they may occur. So we watch, without forgetting to pray for friends and enemies alike as our Lord commanded us. 

On the other hand, if this weekend is but a diversion and suddenly a group of nations named in Ezekiel attacks from the other directions, well then, we will be close to the end! 

Live and love in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

Deception Work

Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.  Matthew 24:23

The ones from verse 5 claiming to be the Christ have indeed come in our time and done their deceiving work. Here in our verse for today we have rumor doing its deception on some people who must be set up for it without preparation. They must be in a desperate state, which would point to tribulation, but not prepared by the word such as believers are now. The Rapture has received quite a bit of pushback on social media these days. However, these desperate people ready to believe the Christ has come could be set up by being left behind. Without the guidance of the Church, and with the Restrainer removed so that the Antichrist can have his way for a time, those who are seeking but not yet believing will be in such a desperate state. 

Proof? Hardly, that's a lot of if-then, could be, maybe, and so on. The Rapture itself is a structure of faith not spelled out directly for us in one place and in chronological order in the Bible. We have this invitation to study the clues, to ponder, meditate, and discuss among ourselves several disparate scriptures which could mean our great hope for the snatching away from this world. It is that faith thing that we work out and cling to on our journey home to Jesus the Christ!

Have faith and do not doubt!

Bucky

See All These Things

Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Matthew 24:33-34

We know from their testimony that saints down through the centuries were convinced that the glorious return of Jesus would come in their lifetime. So, who, we must ask, did not see all the things they were supposed to see? And next, is it us who has not yet seen all these things? Reviewing Matthew 24, we can see that everyone has seen some of those things. It is not hard to see that none of us who look for our Savior have seen all of those things. Some of the things Jesus promises before His return are so far out that we can easily doubt they will ever be seen. And yet, by the Spirit we know they will be seen. So, how long then? I don't know! Hallelujah!

We wait together in faith,

Bucky

Called Back To The Old

And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Matthew 24:10

If this verse today was an item on a checklist for the end time, then we could checkmark it without the slightest hesitation. However, these things have all been happening since the verse was written down by Matthew way back in the first century A.D. So, any other signs of the times to watch for to clarify the when? Wars and rumors of war? Check. Earthquakes in various places? Check. Abounding lawlessness, false prophets, famines and pestilences? You bet! So, are we there yet? What is an "abomination of desolation"? Should that have capital letters? When we get to verse 15, we are brought to a halt. How can we know those final years have begun if we don't even know what the thing is we are looking for? It is fun that as we get this far in the first gospel of the New Testament, we are called back to a prophet of the Old Testament for further research.

Dear Daniel, what did you have to say about this abomination of desolation?

Love in Christ Jesus to you this morning!

Bucky

Permanence

And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”  Matthew 24:2

The disciples received a lesson in permanence from their teacher as they tried to show off the great construction of the temple. Perhaps they thought He would be pleased by the efforts of their people, but instead they found out it would be utterly thrown down. Experience has shown me a few things that were not permanent. You will have similar lessons from life on this earth. History shows us that governments are not permanent. Age has a way of showing us that our bodies are not permanent. So what do we place our faith in that is permanent? In the Revelation we find one who is, who was, and who always shall be. That sounds like permanence. Throughout the Old Testament we find references to the everlasting God, and even some that speak of everlasting to everlasting. That sounds like permanence too.  Therefore we believe in God and His Son! And we rejoice in the offer of eternal life given to us by the Son of God too. See John 3:16 for that offer. 

Thank You, dear Lord, for the permanence of Your great love!

Bucky