About Due Now

“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.  Matthew 24:32

We drive by the wheat fields before Independence Day in these parts, see the golden brown stalks and we know that the harvest is near. We have many indicators that we have learned throughout our lifetime that teach us when something is near. Our Lord Jesus gave us signs to look for near the end that we may know that event is at the doorstep and about to come in. Matthew 24 is known as the Olivet Discourse from our Lord, and in this chapter we can learn what to watch out for; the signs to see when they occur. 

In verse 12, we see that lawlessness will abound in the time when we are to become especially alert for the return of our Lord. Love grows cold through constant exposure to this lawlessness, and what may we see told repeatedly in our news each day? You have seen it! Lawlessness in our land and throughout the world is fed to us daily in our news. Therefore, look up, for our redemption draws near! 

In Christ the Lord,
Bucky

Feeling Disconnected? Connect With The Lord!

Hear my prayer, O LORD,
And let my cry come to You.
Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer me speedily.  Psalm 102: 1-2

The restrictions are easing, but it has been a long time since the lockdowns began way back in the day. Some may have a difficult time recalling those seemingly carefree times before the big bad corona virus sent everyone home for a timeout from life. One thing we may recall in later days is how quickly the threat loomed in the media and sent the world running for home. Quickly indeed!

While at home, many of us may have felt the creeping dread of disconnectedness. The bonds that connect us to other humans may have seemed, might still seem, to be thin and even broken during this time of stay at home orders from earthly authorities. However, what a great opportunity we enjoyed to get away from the noise of the world and connect with the Lord our God! 

Good times were found connecting with God!

Bucky

Twice As Idle

And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not. 1 Timothy 5:13

Yesterday's message was shortened because this subject can easily go on and on with an energy the idle person does not display. And thus we have part two on the subject of idleness. 

In the passage of this letter from Paul to Timothy, young widows are the subject but they should not be the only group included in the warning. From my own experience, I can tell you that old men can be idle and gossipy too. One group that would have fallen under Paul's eye in that time were those men who showed up to a 1st century version of a labor market each day. Some days there likely was not enough labor need in the community and those men might sit around all day waiting, and doing all that waiting together in a group might bring such as gossip and that busybody thing. If this happened too many times, some of the men might find the desire toward idleness creeping up on them until one day a farmer comes and no one wants to work. 

While I cannot speak for all men, work has proven better for me than idleness. The Bible agrees with me, and the Word of God certainly can speak for all men regarding what is better or worse for us. Idleness should be a skill we remain ignorant of, not to be confused with resting of course, which is a need. 

Rejoice in the Lord always,
Bucky

Learning Idleness

And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not.  1 Timothy 5:13

As Paul shows us in his letter to Timothy, idleness is a learned occupation. We do not come naturally to idleness, it seems. Certainly an idle child will attract some concerned attention from parents and elders as children often possess the energy us elders can only recall fondly. Even a child who stops to study something new will be encouraged to tear about like wild animals by the other children. Idleness takes practice; often it is begun in the teenage years when our childhood energy first wanes and rebellion against parental demands becomes our first opportunity in life to reject authority by becoming willfully immobile. 

And the parental poet said, "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may." (Robert Herrick, 1591-1674) As the elder age comes upon us, the idleness we yearned for in youth may be granted to us by way of an armed regiment of injuries and illnesses, any of which may strike us down physically. Of course, it is in these years that we may learn the joy of deep study in God's word. There is no idleness in that study, but a mind and spirit activity that refreshes and renews while drawing us closer to the Lord our God. Though it may appear to some that we have fallen asleep while doing so. 

Have a great day resting in the arms of the Lord! 

Bucky

Offended Yet?

When Ephraim spoke, trembling,
He exalted himself in Israel;
But when he offended through Baal worship, he died. Hosea 13:1

Humble speech and fear of the Lord, and a good result comes to Ephraim. Pride and idolatry brings a different result. It is funny, perhaps even ironic, that from Eve to Ephraim to those who follow the evil at the end, all those who choose to go their own way rather than God's way end up following another way entirely. 

After that shovelful of confusion, let me explain. Eve made a choice, and she likely thought that she would go her own way but was really following the Serpent. Ephraim wanted to go his own may and make his own choices, and ended up following yet another idol named Baal. At the end, many will follow the great evil that comes in the Antichrist, but they will only be following that great red dragon, the Serpent of old. Whether it begins with pride or idolatry or rebelliousness, it all ends in the same following after the deceiver. Follow God's way, or offend God and die. It does not seem so difficult to discern the way to life and truth now.

A joyous day in our Lord Jesus is proclaimed! 

Bucky

Creepers

For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.  Jude 1:4

As the congregations and meetings open up once more, we praise God for the many who are returning to the flock, finding their way there for the first time, or are simply seeking answers to what turned the world upside down at this time. Along with this rush of persons with good reasons to be in the church, we must watch for the creepers; those who come with nefarious intent. As Jude warns us, they seek to turn grace to lewdness and to deny the Lord our God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Can this be? Surely the Lord is on the lookout for such persons as this? 

The Lord is always aware and in control, but we have this test, the same one Adam and Eve faced way back in the garden. The first thing used against Eve was a denial of what the Lord God had said to Adam about the forbidden fruit. In that moment, the Lord did not pop in and argue with the Serpent, nor did He reach out and stop Eve's hand from making that awful decision. We have always had this freedom to choose, and like Eve we have often used it to decide to sin. The creepers would like to help us sin, and this is a time when with many new or even much changed faces in the group or congregation, we might be vulnerable to an infiltrator. 

Be aware and be awake, and pray constantly to the Lord our God,

Bucky

Rainy Day On Saturday

Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.  Ezekiel 1:28

Our trees are still goofing off for the winter for the most part, except for the one I had whacked that is. The sin of this particular tree that caused its execution? It leaned too far toward a street and playground. Something for us to remember when we want to lean over toward that sin, but maybe not actually touch the forbidden fruit. Yes, I cannot speak for you, but I have tried to lean and then plead a loophole in the law. Better to depend on Christ the Lord and grace than to make excuses toward a bunch of loopholes when the judgment comes, and of course, it is much better daily to lean toward Him! 

And as Ezekiel noted in his testimony, the coming of the Lord was like a rainbow appearing in a cloud on a rainy day. We don't usually expect to see a rainbow IN a cloud, but when the Lord comes in His glory, He promises it will be unexpected...and glorious! Let us not be found leaning the wrong way when the time comes. 

Now after two days of tough dry, windy, and hot days, wherein my sinus pain was, well, painful (brilliant comment there), we have a cool and rainy morning for my birthday. I might tell you how old I am after I take my morning nap-nap. 

Praise and glory to God our Father on this lovely day,

Bucky

His Kingdom Unshaken

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.  Hebrews 12:28

The kingdoms of this world have been shaken and we have yet to live through all of the consequences of that great shaking. As with the other crises in world history, not everyone suffers the same. In a rich Pharisee sort of reckoning, some will think that they have not suffered because they have been so good. Others, suffering much, will feel like Job, "What did I do wrong, that the Lord should afflict me?" In our verse for today, we are given a way to live by what we have not yet seen, the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

By faith we live in the grace of our Lord, and as such, the writers of Hebrews tell us, we should serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear. One humbling thing to note of our service to God is that He in no way needs the service of a bunch of fumbling, bumbling humans. Anything we might do for His kingdom, our Lord can perform so much better Himself. And yet, He gives each of a us a part of that construction in ways that we cannot always see. That certainly helps in our service, as we are not to perform it to be raised up in the sight of men! 

Rejoice in His kingdom unshaken! 

Bucky

The Important News Today...

He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. Revelation 19:13

...is in a collection of books hundreds to thousands of years old. The Revelation is a tough book to read from the criticism of the churches to the seals, trumpets, vials, and characters that make the Tribulation what it is. However, then we come to the latter chapters and the return of our Lord. That magnificent book written so long ago has the most important news for us today. Jesus returns, and He brings a big army with Him. 

The good news of the Word of God was born in a man at Bethlehem of Judea more than 2,000 years ago. From that time, our Lord has been working to redeem and restore every one of us to God. Soon His work will come to a marvelous climax as He returns to defeat the armies of the evil one gathered at Armageddon. Soon He comes to gather the final fruit from the Earth and establish His eternal kingdom. 

Soon, soon, soon and we wait, wait, wait... and yet, this important news for today cannot wait for us to moan about the times when that time of His return must be so very close. Another season, another year, or perhaps that first unveiling begins today! 

Rejoice in the imminent return of our Lord Jesus!

 Bucky

We Are Still Here!

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 24:38-39

What? The clouds of crisis begin to lift and the world opens up for business once more, albeit slowly, as the pandemic threat recedes a bit. And we are still here? We know that it must be so, for our Lord spoke on the Mount of Olives that it would be so in our verses for today.

The return of our Lord will be quickly, suddenly, even in an instant. Our Lord Jesus told of how one man would be taken of two working in the field. We know from His story that it was not at opposite ends of a large field where one might be hidden from the other for a time, but two men working together; one left jaws agape and utterly amazed, while the other would be taken, snatched up in the twinkling of an eye. The two men working does not speak of a global lockdown, but business as usual, much like in our verses today. Life as we have known it for centuries goes on in marriages and wedding feasts, until one moment in time is marked by a great snatching away of many. So, yes, we are still here. Working and marrying, worshiping and rejoicing in Christ our Lord until the moment of our passing away to be with Him forever. 

Just a brief moment to repent before that left-behind moment will come suddenly. Repent and live! 

In the love of Christ Jesus,
Bucky

Answers In Their Bibles

“making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”  Mark 7:13

For those who believe in the Lord Jesus, it hardly seems possible that His word could be made of no effect. Yet for those who do not believe, it is quite the opposite, and indeed the words of the title for today were used dismissively toward our brothers in Christ. God is separating us from the world and the Bible, His word, is the sword doing the dividing. For those who believe, there are indeed answers in the Bible and through His word our Lord speaks to us every day. Without faith, the Bible does not help in the current world, and there is no magic formula to save anyone. In faith, we live in Christ and rejoice in His imminent return. 

In the style of John, I like to compare the attitudes toward the Word of God. Faith makes all the difference between those who dismiss 'their Bibles' and those who read and study our Bibles as the very word of God. This latest crisis shows quite clearly the choice many have made on whether to believe in Jesus or to reject Him. The time for this choosing grows short!

Rejoice in the Lord all ye who believe! 

Bucky

The Proud Need Only Themselves

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.  James 4:10

One thing to remind the self, and our brothers and sisters who need it, is that humbling does not equal humiliating ourselves. So often the new believer thinks that it is somehow holy or pious to constantly despise themselves. Even the veteran soldier of the Lord strong in His armor tends to see every imperfection and make much of it by way of proving humility falsely.  Paul did not tell us to smear mud on the Lord's armor, but to put it on. Some of us stumble at times along the way and show to the world that we somehow missed the bit about mercy, forgiveness, and grace so down on ourselves we are in the depressed moment. We do not show humility in this but forgetfulness of what the Lord has done for us!

The proud need only themselves. You and I need the Lord our God. And in Him we find... wait for it... mercy, forgiveness and grace. Humility is agreeing with the Lord about what He has done in us and where we have been. Our prayer may do well to say, "Thank You, dear Lord, that You have made me not as I was." Wandering morosely in the regretful past does not prove humility before the Lord, it only convinces the unbeliever that he does not want to be us. Standing firm in Christ saying, "I was this sort of thing, but He has made me into a new creature!" shows that we acknowledge our sin before Him and we rejoice in His rebirth of us to a new life. 

We need the Lord; He is making us new!

Bucky

Serving the Lord!

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15

There were those who wanted to return to the ways of Egypt, and then there were those who wanted to stand fast where they were, and finally there was Joshua; now he knew that he could not get along in a hostile world without the Lord his God. It was a time of choosing, and Joshua embraced the change and the chance to serve the Lord of Israel and his house was coming with him. 

Choose for  yourselves, Joshua said. He did not force the choice on anyone or his house, but Joshua did declare for the Lord as his choice in that moment. We have the same choice in our age, but we have the power of the Spirit of God to help us believe in His Son. I respect those Gentiles of the ancient times before Jesus sent His word out from Israel. They did not have the scriptures of the Law and the prophets to give them the word of God, and yet some of them chose God. There were Romans who believed before Jesus went to the cross to save them. As the Risen Lord Jesus walked the land for a brief time, there were Gentiles seeking out the Word. After Pentecost the number of believers grew as the Spirit of God moved them to faith. And stubborn old Israel still chose the world. 

The time when many in Israel will choose to believe in Jesus has begun, and we are blessed to be here to see it. 

Amen. Come Lord Jesus!
Bucky

Not Long Now

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.  Revelation 19:11

The names He was called leave us with no doubt as to the identity of this warrior. And we who believe in Him look up in hope that heaven will open right now and bring this one back to us. And then we stop...wait, no, He will bring the church home to Himself first in the twinkling of an eye. Yes, this event John saw in our verse for today is the start of that final war where the enemies of God have gathered themselves together at a place known as Armageddon. Whoops, it's spelled with one 'r', I was trying to use the pirate version of this tale. 

It is interesting to think back to that huge starting event as told in "Left Behind" by Lahaye and Jenkins. In that novel, the Rapture took place and many died in car accidents. I wonder if they would write it up the same now given how easily rush hour around the world was called off, and how quickly air travel shrank by 95-99% at American airports. I wondered once or twice that God might not arrange for the Rapture a bit better than what the authors of that long ago book imagined. After all, one purpose of the church being taken so suddenly is to gain the attention of those left behind. It would do a lot less good if so many of them died as collateral damage from the event itself. Well, I need wonder no longer, the Rapture could indeed occur with the world nearly or completely shutdown, and all it would take is one little bitty critter called a virus. 

Great is the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Bucky

Ways Before The Lord

For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD,
And He ponders all his paths. Proverbs 5:21

There we were, masked and rifling the grocery store shelves, and no one thought to call the police. In fact, one of the sheriff's deputies joined us. In another time this might be remarkable. But the making of my first masked grocery store trip is old news in this time. I didn't even try any masked jokes since by now the store clerks have likely heard every stick up and masked bandit joke anyone could think up. I am glad today that my ways, masked or just a little fuzzy in the face, are before the Lord always. 

There was a time in life when I would have squirmed to think that the Lord was watching me at all times. Now, years after the salvation of Jesus worked His will on me, I am glad that every step on every path and way that I might take is watched over carefully by the Lord. Furthermore, I am glad that the Lord directs my paths, especially in those days or times when the path seems hard for me, or even hard on me, and yet faith says to me that the Lord will make all of this work for my good. 

Great are the ways of the Lord!
Bucky

Loving Us To The End

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. John 13:1

We in this age have some concern over 'to the end' as it would appear to us that the end must come very soon. The disciples also has some concern over this for the same reason, but that would come later for them. At this point, as Jesus our Lord kneels before them to wash their feet, they are still struggling to believe that He is really going to die right there in Jerusalem. One has to wonder at their blind spot, and then one has to wonder if we might not have a similar lack of sight in something our Lord said. Don't look to me; if this is so, then I have the same blind spot as you. Nothing is coming to mind by way of a revelation. 

However, there is one great thing we are given - His love to the end. That which we had in the beginning, we have until the very end. The love of the Lord is everlasting and steadfast. We do not have to get up worrying over whether God still loves us today. We know from His word that He does. We may feel a bit of despair from the weeks of forced home time, but the love of God has not stopped flowing down from His throne. God is here in us in the Spirit loving us to the end. 

And let us love one another, as He said,

Bucky

Day Of Our Death

A good name is better than precious ointment,
And the day of death than the day of one's birth; Ecclesiastes 7:1

On the day we observed my mother's birth, the rumblings of this current crisis were mostly out there on the coast, California and Washington. China was still where most of the news was coming from and we saw overseas travel restrictions the next day. Out here it was still mostly a storm way out on the horizon or even over the horizon. My sister just celebrated her (39th!) birthday a few days ago, and my how things have changed. Masks, hand-washing, restrictions on everything, and a mad hoarding of TP rule the land right now. I haven't shaken a paw or a hand for weeks. My birthday is two weeks away and there is hope for an easing of many restrictions by then. Will it be so? Some states have already extended their restrictions past that day. 

And then there is this Solomon fellow who writes that I shouldn't be spending so much time on birthdays, but looking forward more to my day of death. How morbidly interesting. However, there is only one way, the way, for me to hate this life and rejoice in the day I pass from it to what comes after. He is the way the world refuses to see as it pursues an extension of this life with every resource. He is the way, the truth, and the life; let us all come to the Father through our Lord Jesus! Amen.

Bucky

We Are Come

And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.  Judges 15:12

Are you feeling a little restricted yet? Perhaps even as though a few cords have been tied around your life? Even in the remote little towns on the plains we have felt the challenges of this latest crisis. We have gone along with this so as to not imperil others. Samson, had a question for his would-be captors, and we can read it in the verse for today. 

Read further in this story from ancient times and we will discover that the question was not for his benefit, but for that of those who would bind the mighty man. The Philistines would later find that a bound Samson and his Lord were still too much for them to conquer. So it is with us in this time. Many can easily over come you or me; others can overcome you and me, but none can overcome us and God...except at certain times. Could this be one of those times when the world powers are allowed by God to overcome us? (God Himself is never overcome of course.) It may be, but always those times are under God's control. Samson would go on to experience one of those times of trial, until the Lord strengthened him one last time and he brought the house down. 

We may not be a mighty Samson, but we abide in a mighty Savior!

Bucky

Leave Not the Tabernacle

You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses. Leviticus 10:7

Something was going on outside. Aaron and his sons were given a stern instruction seen in our verse today. It seems so simple, and yet the first thing our rebellious nature would want to do is to go outside...and die. Note that this is the same command given to Adam and Eve - don't eat from this tree, or you shall surely die. Paul tells us the same thing when he writes that the wages of sin is death, and we are tempted right then to do the unlawful thing and get paid for it. We have examples all around us right now of those who do not want to lock down and mask up. The threat is overstated and overblown, they say, and they go outside the tabernacle in a manner of speaking. 

This latest threat may be overstated, I do not know, but what is this thing in us that immediately rebels against commands that would save us from death? Why do we need a savior so badly? Heh, that wasn't even subtle. What a blunt lead in! 

Yes, to all who have known his or her rebellion before the Lord's commands, we rejoice in the Savior our Lord God has sent to us. If the Lord were to send a message this morning that I was to not go outside the house upon pain of death, something in me would immediately want so very badly to go outside. Praise God for the atoning death of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Only in Him can this human nature be overcome and mortified. Only in the Christ is this inner rebellion forgiven before it even has a chance to rise up. Now, take up the sword of the Word, and quit letting that rebellious thing speak its piece! 

Have a grand day in our glorious Savior, Jesus the Christ,

Bucky

Home Again Empty

 I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” Ruth 1:21

There is likely one or two persons out there with a similar complaint right now. A career may have begun and had come to a critical point where the rewards were just about to overcome the debts incurred in getting to that point, and suddenly Covid-19. It is interesting how similar our complaints have been at times in this life. Went out full, came home empty, it's the Lord's fault. I wonder if the prodigal son had some moments like this in that pig pen? (See the story in Luke 15:11-32)

From Job to Ruth to David and many others, the Bible records the gripes and complaints against the Lord our God, and we would at times fit right in with those stories. The current world climate is a good time to seek out those with complaints against the Lord, and it will be an easy search. Many will have that same sort of complaint; I went out full and came home empty. Why did the Lord do this to me?

 

Our faith states it differently. This current time is a test, I was always empty and in need of a Savior. Praise God too for this affliction, though He may not be the source of it, that brings so many to stop ignoring Him and to question Him, even if their communication begins with a gripe or two. In faith we rejoice in the expectation of great things from our God as so many who do not believe suddenly demand an answer from the God they had formerly ignored. Once the door is opened, we know that the Lord our God will send His Savior in to have a loving chat with all those who want an answer. 

In the love of the Savior, Jesus Christ,
  Bucky

Time For A Regeneration

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5

It is always tempting to think that somehow my good works will someday surpass some total of my evil and unfaithful deeds, and I will be allowed into Heaven. Did that work out for Adam?

The story is told in brief, but Adam did one sin, and that was it. The death penalty came by way of this sin and any righteous record on his part was not even considered. Out of the garden, sinner! No paradise for you this day. There was no weigh station where Adam could place his good works on one side to offset the weight of his one act of taking that forbidden fruit from Eve. He was cast out. 

That is how well our good deeds and righteous works will balance out just one sin. One. No cancelling out one for one, no opposite good deed making up for one sin. Just that one act of disobedience to God, and the scythe of Death begins its swing toward the neck of the sinner. Yes, it is time for a regeneration, for that is our only hope. A new life without sin, but we're going to need mercy first. A setting aside of the punishment of death for each and every sin on our record. But that mercy must have provision to satisfy justice, God's justice, or it will not last for eternity. Maybe if someone would volunteer to take that penalty so that all the others could live? We're on to something here! 

Of course that good news of the salvation by way of faith in Jesus is spelled out in the Bible, the Word of God. Read in the Gospels of how our Lord Jesus died to save us, obtaining mercy for us at the cost of His life. Rejoice in the promise of eternal life that He earned for us on the cross! 

In Christ we live,
Bucky

Dining With The Lord

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20

A dinner date has been set by the word of the Lord, but where was Peter? Probably still in Jerusalem on that Easter Monday, but soon he would depart for Galilee by his Lord's instruction. In Galilee would be a meeting that Peter needed very much. 

One cannot imagine the guilt weighing on Peter even after he knew of the Lord's resurrection. It was Peter who led the disciples in swearing their allegiance to the Lord Jesus, and Peter who denied with an oath that he even knew Jesus outside the place of our Lord's trial. Three times Peter denied his rabbi and His Lord in that courtyard at a time when Jesus the man needed a friend to stand with Him. How much easier might have been our Lord's burden with one human friend there we will never know. But Peter bore a load of guilt to Galilee for a dinner meeting with our Lord. 

Bring some of that fish, our Lord told Peter, as He prepared the fire for dinner with His guilty disciple. What healing of mind and spirit our Lord effected there on the shore of Galilee with Peter, who did outside that court what you and I will likely never be in a position to do, for our Lord will only stand trial before the earthly authorities that one time. The next time our Lord comes it will be as the conquering King of kings and Lord of lords. 

As Peter was healed over a dinner with the Lord, so are we able to do so by opening the door of our heart. Rejoice in the risen Lord on this Easter Monday!

Bucky

P. S. Be wary as those stimulus checks arrive. There will be those who want to steal that 'free' money from you. Be very careful of those e-mails! This was told to me in a dream this morning, so please be alert.   Bucky

Locked Down In The World We Know

But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.  Genesis 39:21

Each of us by now has felt a little of what it must be like in prison. We are not living in the land of the free right now, that's for sure. Even an avid homebody such as myself has run into the restrictions. I'm taking today off work as I have done for Good Friday in years past, but there will be some projects that cannot get done. "I can run down to the hardware store for this thing that isn't really needed...no, you won't. That thing can wait." That thought has already been here and done that with me today. While others struggle to maintain a circumstance that will slow down the spread of the virus, it is not right for me to go out for any less than necessary things. Projects that I only want to get done must wait. 

Joseph likely had a great many projects in the works in his master's household, of which he was the chief servant, until an infamous allegation was made and the man was imprisoned. We have our projects too, and in this locked down environment we too must have some patience. The Lord has shown us mercy too in that we are locked down in our homes and do have permission from the governing authority to do certain necessary things outside the home. While we send up some gratitude to God for His mercy, all of us may want to remember what our Lord Jesus was doing on this day back in His day. 

It is difficult to think of anything more restrictive than death, and our Lord was probably in the tomb today. There is plenty of debate among the scholars, but Friday of that holy week was likely day two of the three our Lord would spend entombed in death. And yet, scourging, crucifixion, a mortal lance wound, death, and the grave were the Lord's victory over sin. What?! Yes, that is what makes our Easter celebration such a strange holiday. All the things our Lord Jesus suffered were payment for the sin of the world, and by this we have the mercy and grace of God in place of the justice we deserve. It is His victory indeed! 

Have a wonderful Good Friday and rejoice in Jesus!

Bucky

There's A Man I Want You To Meet

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Matthew 9:6

The Son of Man is how Jesus referred to Himself throughout Matthew. As Adam is 'the man', Jesus called Himself a Son of Adam. That is only the first stunner in this verse though. What was that bit about forgiving sins on this earth? Power and the authority, it would seem, as the authority to forgive sins against God can only come from God. It would appear obvious to us that this man must be God too, but did it seem so clear to those gathered there in that place? And then we know from this story that the paralyzed other man did just as commanded. 

I have been over the whole thing about weeks and months of stretching, twisting, learning to walk again, and all that pain and fun known as rehab that our Lord's power of command utterly walked right over. This Son of Man didn't just heal that paralyzed fellow to the point of starting rehab, He healed him on the spot and completely. And this is how we know, our Lord said, that He had the power on earth to forgive sins. This man had the power to do that. So, what was that whole thing involving the stripes, the cross, the death and that empty tomb thing we celebrate this weekend? 

Unless you know a certain 2,000 year old, formerly paralyzed, young man walking around speaking the old Aramaic, that man had to face death just as we do. The man was healed and forgiven, but something else had to be done to banish Death and the Grave from being our final resting place. This is why we celebrate the Man who was God come down to us on earth, and died on the cross to rise again on the third day. Please, take the time during this crisis to meet in the Bible this Man who took our sins and buried them at the Cross. 

In the love of Christ,
Bucky

Overwhelmed?

Yes, you overwhelm the fatherless,
And you undermine your friend.   Job 6:27

It is at about this time that for many of us the virus/lockdown thing may become overwhelming. We can see the possibility of the disruption to life ending a ways out there, but it seems so far away. For many, paychecks have been missed and relief by way of unemployment or stimulus money has not yet arrived. They hear about how much help is coming, but with nothing in hand to use for the necessities of life, they are seeking other ways to provide for the family and being told to stay home where the need is presented to them each and every minute. And now a holiday, a formerly joyous celebration, is upon us that will be different than any other we have seen. 

It is interesting that in searching the New King James version for the word 'overwhelm' that two books have two instances of the word in each: Job and Daniel. Both of these men had suffered terrible losses in life, and both had large burdens placed upon them. For both came the infamous dark night of the soul when emotion and spiritual pain overwhelmed the men of God. Job was overwhelmed with his loss and suffering; Daniel was overwhelmed by visions of the future and felt the loss of his nation most keenly. Both men were also righteous men of faith in God. 

So, suffering and overwhelmed one, you are in good company with your faith in God and righteous standing in Him through the grace of Jesus Christ! Continue earnestly looking to our Lord in prayer, and rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus this weekend. 

Yours in Christ Jesus,
Bucky

Have I Dared To Judge God?

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
 “Who is this who darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?  Job 38:1-2

The question is sure to come up during this virus crisis: why did God let him/her die? 

Jesus our Lord spoke of not worrying over things that we need, for God takes care of the birds and the flowers which neither plant seeds nor harvest crops. Then a separation comes to us. A loved one is lost. Someone says, "He's in a better place now!" So why did we say that he is lost then? The point I am fumbling and bumbling toward is this: looking down at the dead body, how do we judge that God did not take the best and most tender loving care of the deceased, and is not even now doing so in that better place? Have I dared to judge God when I call the deceased lost? 

Like Job, we start blubbering toward an answer at this point. "I meant 'lost to me', not lost forever," and then we realize that the separation is only temporary and that our loved one is by no means lost who has believed in Christ the Lord. We will mourn those who pass in this time, as we have done before and will after. We also rejoice in the Lord for those who are called home to Him. And let us not see death as a criticism of God, when it was man's rebellion that brought death into the world. 

Great is our Lord, who has overcome death and the grave for us!

Bucky

Not The First Time

"Take heed in an outbreak of leprosy, that you carefully observe and do according to all that the priests, the Levites, shall teach you; just as I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do." Deuteronomy 24:8

My dear mother called yesterday, and we spoke for two hours about the many events happening in our little town. Uh, no. Mom did call yesterday, but there are no events here, no happenings to pass along. We are under stay-at-home orders like most of the world is at this time. 

Even a trip to the grocery store appears fraught with dire peril in this time, but it isn't the first time. Way back in the Law of Moses we find the law set down for an outbreak of a certain plague that was feared by all. The commandment begins with a 'carefully observe and do all', and the all was taught to an earthly authority - a group of people that the Israelites could see and hear every day. And among the Israelites were likely those who were too smart to do all according to what they were told and shown. And it is also quite possible that these proud ones did not survive the plague. What is worse is that these same ones might have kept the plague going when obedience would have ended the thing. 

Let the tombstone not read, "The plague came, and he was so smart that he died of it." 

For the love of our neighbors, we obey! 

In Christ the Lord,
Bucky

Quick! Check Israel

 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. Revelation 11:6

A plague? Quick! Check Israel to see if the two prophets have shown up! We can read the story of these prophets of the end times in Revelation 11. However, my take on that story is that the plagues are sent by them after they have a chance to speak. Our brothers and sisters in Israel would be very quick to report that the two had appeared, for it is one of the signs we look for to denote the Tribulation. 

Do we really? Reading Revelation 11, I see that it begins with a 'Then', which is a sign of order. John in his receiving of the Revelation from the Lamb of God made note of many 'then's' and 'and then's' to show that the Lamb was in control all the way from start to finish. The judgments are numbered and things that must happen first are told, such as the trampling of the holy city by the Gentiles for 42 months.  

Though it may seem like it these past few weeks, the Lord has not ceded control to anyone. All is ordered; all is under His command. 

Love and joy to you in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

We Are Concerned, and Talking!

But we don't need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. 1 Thessalonians 4:9

Paul writes that he does not need to write, and he doesn't! For God taught us the importance of what is coming out now in this time. We are communicating from a physical distance much more than we did before this thing started. Even just the short interrogatory message: "Are you okay?" shows our love of one another. We are learning to be careful of what goes around in social media and not re-posting just anything that shows up in our feeds. We are missing the conversations and worship services we once had with the church congregations. Even the chance meeting in the grocery store that we must cut short or avoid entirely becomes more precious to us in this time. It is the big crisis that is bringing them seeking the Lord! 

Love is shown in this opportunity to share the good news of Jesus in so many ways. But, oh!, the challenge for some who cannot meet face to face and talk about the love of Jesus. No talking, it must be done by showing. I see no problem for us though. We are creative because our Father God is creative, and we will find ways to show the love of Jesus in this time of physical separation. 

God bless us, one and all! 

Bucky

Caught In The Narrows

Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. Numbers 22:24

We do not need the full story here to gather one overwhelming point about whoever might be involved in it: they are going to have to meet this angel now. Whether to attempt to go over or through, but going around is no longer an option with the pathway narrowed and blocked. Of course, an Angel of the Lord is probably a most powerful enemy should one attempt to go through. To go back is an option that many would take. To later tell that one did not want to take on an angel in a contest of strength is no dishonor to even the mightiest of us. However, the narrow path speaks of a meeting the Lord would have us see through to the end. 

This current crisis is too much for any one of us. We might rather not meet it, but the pathway is narrow now and we are going to stand before this challenge to see what message the Lord has for us. Traveling out to one of the places where many are infected to 'meet the challenge head-on' is probably not the wiser course of action. Attempting to run out into the hills and hole up for a season may not be possible for most of us. Nature, as many have found out, in the wild is not very forthcoming with the food and comfort. However, standing boldly before the Lord's messenger to hear the message will soon be a choice for each person as the boundaries of the crisis map close in around us.  

There is one message that is always before us in any crisis: Jesus the Christ has come down to us in the flesh and died upon the cross bearing our sins. Believe in Him and be forgiven! 

In the love of Christ Jesus,
Bucky

Sheep, Do You Understand Your Shepherd?

And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. John 10:16

Have you chosen a wrong path somewhere in life? Did you stray from one flock to another? Are you a prodigal sheep right now wondering how to get home? Let us try together to understand our Good Shepherd just a bit more on this day. 

Our Lord Jesus was born into a Jewish family in a town in what was known then as Judea. (Roman for something like, Place where we keep all the Jews.) And yet our Shepherd's mind was not on his sheep in that fold alone. No, our Lord was thinking about you and me even as He taught many miles and years away from our time and place. And we will become one flock with our brothers and sisters in Israel; it is His promise. 

There are many other wonderful promises from our Good Shepherd for us to understand. Begin in the Gospel of John, and let us understand our Shepherd more each day! 

Love in Christ Jesus,
Bucky

You Will Miss It, But He Won't Miss You!

Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:17

We have heard that one among us is so afraid of missing the Rapture of the church that he or she looks to the sky often so as to not be caught asleep or unaware. I have bad news for that person, you will miss it, but He will not miss you! 

There is a predator-prey relationship in Asia wherein a monkey is sometimes struck so fast by an eagle that the beast is killed upon impact. The Rapture is like that in its speed. The event will take place so fast that one man working in a field will be taken, and the other will be utterly surprised. Make no mistake! There is no sense in trying to sense the Rapture of the church! We will be snatched away from this world so quickly that not one of us will have time to do something stupid such as reaching out for some favorite possession in this world. 

Our Lord Jesus is so much more gentle than that eagle, but He does not give anything up in speed. Fear not, dear ones, we are going away in such a manner that an unbeliever standing nearby staring at us will be stunned by the instantaneous disappearance of God's children from this earth. We can hardly emphasize enough how quickly our exit will be facilitated by our Lord. So quick will it be that these words are entirely too long to show that "caught up" our brother Paul revealed to us in his letter to the Thessalonian believers. 

And, I believe with many brothers and sisters that it is coming so very soon! 

Love in Christ Jesus,
Bucky

Faith Time

...to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:26

In a long convalescence for injury or illness, one can expect a period of going downhill; getting worse news before much of the good news. And so it is with this present crisis. Our president must come before us and talk of some more time before the social distancing can be relaxed. 

A tough test of faith is always the finish line that is not seen; it is out there somewhere but it cannot be reached or sensed or figured by us through the methods we have available. As believers in Christ we are most familiar with this sort of test and extending this little crisis is just another challenge to endure for us. So the finish line was moved away a bit. We believe in Jesus and our faith is strong in Him. As it gets closer you may move it some more? Keep it up and our Lord may just remove us from this world to be with Him! We rejoice in faith time! 

Great and mighty is our Lord! 

Bucky

A Time Of Woe Or A Time Of Testing?

Who has woe?
Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions?
Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?  - Proverbs 23:29

We are on about Day 15 or so of the current crisis, and what lessons have I learned by this point? 1: NFDM, non-fat dry milk, does not last forever, and woe to the one who sticks his nose into the bucket to check! It is also not wise to gasp in surprise when ones nasal sense is assaulted by spoiled NFDM. 2: I am not one to do a lot of going out normally and a stay-at-home order does not change that substantially. However, we are to love our neighbor, and for some this thing is huge. 

Twice last night, I woke up to odd noises. Is cabin fever setting in already? While it is unlikely for myself, with my enduring only small changes, it may be so for others who are accustomed to being out and about nearly all the time. What might they turn to for solace in this time? The verse for today seems to  have no point, although we can easily see a theme. The next six verses explain the point quite thoroughly, and it involves alcohol, as in too much wine and wanting more. Some will turn for comfort to the wrong things in this time. A time of testing that could be much better endured in Christ, they will turn into a time of woe as they seek the methods of the world's lusts. 

For all of us, we must be careful how we pass a time of enforced solitude. Throughout God's word, woe comes as a consequence of sin. Let us have faith in the Lord Jesus, and keep this a time of testing. 

Love to  you in Christ Jesus, Bucky

Trust In Him

As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the LORD is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him. 2 Samuel 22:31

How do I relate to the perfect God? For some the way is to seek perfection in themselves and all that they do or say. I'm not sure how that has gone for them; as for me I missed the mark of my own standard of perfection a long time ago and seem to be diverging further each day. Most of us have quite a bit of the physical in our standard of perfection, and aging leads us away from ever attaining our goals. Maybe we can approach God's perfection with intellect and knowledge? We are each but a moment away from an injury or taking the road to dementia. Even the balance of chemicals in the blood flowing through our brains can quickly end any hope of perfection there. Spiritual then? A lifetime of religious training and practice to achieve a state of sinless peace with myself in a shaded porch overlooking the mountains of Israel...would end for me when the slightest temptation wandered by if I did not trust in God. 

Not only do I need to hold up that shield of faith from Ephesians 6, but I also need God as my shield by placing my trust in Him. My relation to the perfect God is through His love as seen in His Son Jesus. My Lord Jesus is the very word of God given to us in the form of a man born in a manger in Bethlehem. That little child born of divine conception changed everything for me. 

The Pharisees of old roared out their religious perfection to Jesus like young lions, and He did not have much regard for them. When I bleated out my imperfection in the repentant voice of the lost little sheep, He had regard for me, and He came and saved me. Trust in Him.

Bucky

Masked

And the eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight, thinking, 'No eye can see me,' and covers his face with a mask. Job 24:15

It's twilight and no one can see me, so I'll go ahead and put on a mask. There is nothing quite like putting a mask on to proclaim to one and all that a person is up to no good. At least until certain times come upon us and then with a wave of the magic plague wand, everyone is masked. Great, now how do we tell who is up to no good? 

We have always had difficulty looking at a person and knowing the bad from the good. Western fans can throw in the ugly, but that is a subject for another day. And why should we know from a glance how to judge a person when Jesus told us not to judge and all of us were born fallen sinners anyway? One can see why we would like all the crooks and criminals to go about in a black mask. 

Why do we believe in Jesus? Without Him, God would sit on the judgment throne at the end, and He would look out upon a sea of black masks. There is none righteous, no not one. Praise God that Jesus was sent to make all the difference for us! Those who believe in our Lord get to take off the black mask of sin and wear His white robe of righteousness. 

Hallelujah to the Lord on high!

Bucky

F.U.D.

Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life. Deuteronomy 28:66

What an encouraging verse I found for today! Are those not the very words that we need in a time like this? Are we reading the same Bible verse? Like me, you have probably received such a ration of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) in the news over the past couple of weeks and months that it may seem like that curse on disobedience we see in our verse for today. Yes, there was a thing that preceded this curse, and it was that Israel obey the law. 

It was put simply to the new nation God had brought out of Egypt by His mighty power, obey and receive showers of blessings or disobey and receive curses such as that one in our verse for today. Reading the list of curses on disobedience in Deuteronomy 28, we might think that no one in Israel would ever disobey the law. And yet they did, often and at times with great zeal. So, are we living down a curse on disobedience? Maybe, but we should also recall the lesson of Job. 

Job did what was righteous in God's sight, and the Lord was proud to tell the Adversary about His child Job. And what happened when the Enemy was given leave to test Job's faith? Right, much loss first and then a skin disease. A disease? You mean one that might have been caused by a virus? Yes indeed, and Job had done nothing wrong to bring down any curse upon his head, or skin in this case. 

So, how about something encouraging from the word for those who live in the righteousness of faith in Jesus Christ: 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

I ain't so great, it is the grace of Christ in me!

Bucky

Great Struggling

But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings. Hebrews 10:32

There will be struggles of faith this morning as some will feel that the body of Christ should have stood together, in one place, shoulder to shoulder for the worship service yesterday. Others will fear that church such as we have known it will never be seen again. (And won't the enemy trumpet this often in the ear today!) Yet others will look at yesterday as an opportunity to improve outreach in ways that were not available in 1918 when a great influenza pandemic swept across the land. 

Physically we may be isolated more by far than we were just a couple of weeks ago, and by this we have entered strange territory for many. Those who do not want change to their worship services found them much changed on this Sunday morning. Pastors who preached that online church is not the same as being there, found that online church was the only 'there' to preach in that day. There will be great struggling with this new mode of church during this temporary testing of our faith. And yes we do pray that it is temporary. We will work through this time with our Lord and Christ, and with each other in these new-fangled ways until the plague is lifted. 

And remember His words, "I am with you always, even unto the end of the age."

Bucky

And The Word Says... What?!

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for,

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble"  1 Peter 5:5

The Lord must surely find it refreshing to see so many of His children striving to submit to the other in this time of doubt. And such scriptures each of them have to support their quick submission too!

Sound a bit sarcastic? Not seeing that in your neck of the woods? Does it go more like, "I'm right in this and the other Christian is wrong, why won't he or she obey God and submit to my rightness?" Have you found yourself at odds with a brother or sister in Christ over an issue that suddenly has become of critical importance during this time of trial? Do both of you have scriptures to support your rightness? Once upon a time, the Devil and the Christ met in the wilderness and both of them had scriptures too. 

Examine the scriptures used by our Lord and His Adversary. Do your arguments resemble one or the other? Still convinced you are in the right? Submit to your brother or sister in Christ. Wait? Me submit when I'm right in this? Yes, the Word calls upon us to submit one to another. I cannot answer for you, but I would rather be humble and have grace than be proud and know I'm right. 

Love to you in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

Where Is He?

In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2

Yesterday we read about faith and how the expression of that faith even among us may be different. Today, we are going to answer a question that has surely come up in past pandemics and will again in this one. Where is our Lord Jesus in all of this suffering? 

Jesus has already answered that question for us in our verse for today. Our Lord has gone before us to a place we will go when He returns to take us there, and He is busy getting that place ready for us. 

Aha! The world jumps up to say, He is gone and He is busy elsewhere and does not know what is going on down here. That is already answered as well, but before we go on toward infinity, those who refuse to believe in our Lord Jesus will never be satisfied with any answer we might give from the scriptures. Faith is simply not something we can reach out for, grasp, and hand to each one who needs it. Faith is more like a seed planted in ground prepared to receive it. In many an unbeliever the ground is not yet ready for that seed of faith. 

If the ground were ready, they would, as we do, rejoice in the message of our Lord in John 14:2. We know where Jesus is and what He is doing until the time of His return. 

Amen. Come Lord Jesus!

Bucky

The Faith You Have

The faith you have, keep to yourself before God. Blessed is the one who does not judge himself by what he approves. Romans 14:22

Judge not that you be not judged. We are going to see a variety, even a disparity, in expressions of faith during this time of crisis in the world. One may say, "I have faith in God, we will gather as usual in our church." Another may say, "We will obey that authority God has placed over us in the government, and we will gather only in small groups during this season." One may have great faith and the other little faith, but which one is which we do not judge. That one has faith in Jesus Christ, and this other one does too. Excellent, we are glad and praise God for them both! 

You and I may have a great estimation of what is big whopping faith and what is not so much faith. And yet, our Lord Jesus came to save us all. We are going to see all these differing expressions of faith, but...no judging! Trust in the Lord and pray for more faith for yourself as I do the same for me, that we might give love and comfort during this time and avoid judging any of God's children - our siblings in Christ. For all of us who believe in Jesus the Christ must be in constant prayer for those who do not yet believe. 

The test is upon us, let us not fail by judging our brothers and sisters in Christ! 

Amen. Come Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Yes, Little Sheep

All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6

In our younger sheep days we wandered far, far off the ranch and away from the fold where our Lord would have us to be. As prodigal sheep we went out into the cruel world to enjoy the pleasures of sin and forgot to write the Father who loves us. And so the Father and the Son let us go our way for a while until the world left us washed up on a far shore, broken in spirit, and laying flat among the wreckage of our former strength. 

"Ha, ha," the world laughed at us in scorn, "that one won't be of any use to the Lord!" 

And we believed that scoffing and derisive laughter until one great day we suddenly thought of the Lord. The Lord! Of course, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins when we believe in Him! And the little sheep got up shouting, "I found Him! I found Him! Bouncing on our little sheepy legs and squeaking in our little sheepy voice, as we repented of our way and looked back to see the Good Shepherd.

 

"Yes, Little Sheep, you found Me," the Shepherd says, "Now let us go home, dear prodigal, to the Father who loves us. 

Have a happy St. Patrick's Day!

Bucky

Happy 3/16!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

Having observed Pi day on 3/14, I couldn't just let March 16 go by without holding up John 3:16 for all to see once more. 

Look at the world as reported in the news media today. Does it look at all lovable? Do you read reports of disease, war, mayhem, and people acting hateful toward one another? Of course you do, we see it all the time in the news media of our time. It was no different in the day of our Lord Jesus, and yet He told Nicodemus those words we read in John 3:16. "For God so loved the world..." This world we see all around us, horrible news and all, God loved so much that He gave His only begotten Son. And that wasn't the end of it.

Had God just given His Son, the story would have closed at the cross. Two big things came to us from God's Son, faith and everlasting life. We believe in Him, we have faith that our Lord, God's Son, rose from the grave and went to be with His Father. We believe Him when He said that He would return and bring us home to be with Him forever; that is faith. We believe Him when He spoke of everlasting life and coming to the Father through Him. Faith and everlasting life are so intertwined in the Son that this wonderful verse concludes with them. Believe in the Son, Jesus Christ, and have eternal life. Praise God! 

Happy 3:16 Day!
Bucky

It Starts With

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

If they are afraid, then give them comfort. It starts with, "for God so loved the world..." It seems so simple, and yet we often forget that we are the comforters along with the dear Spirit of God who is the Comforter. We cannot do anything without the Lord, but with His Spirit in us we do everything with the Lord. With panic all around us, we have good reason to spread the good news. Also, we can comfort one another, as we too might feel the stirrings in the flesh of revulsion and panic over the spread of this latest disease. Christians in ye olden times often gained great witness for the Lord by comforting the sick and dying even during tymes of, tymes?, rampant plague. Our opportunity is upon us! 

Why are they cancelling all the events? I have been reading the second of my historical books on the influenza pandemic of 1918, and one thing not always done in those days was to cancel big events such as parades. It cost them dearly and we remember from the stories handed down to us by our grandparents of the horrors seen in that pandemic. Let them cancel the events, and let us pray with them at every opportunity. 

For God so loved me and you too! 

Bucky

Must We Address This?

It shall come to pass in that day
That a great panic from the LORD will be among them.
Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor,
And raise his hand against his neighbor's hand. Zechariah 14:13

Our little town is out of hand sanitizer this week; the Front Range is short of toilet paper in stores. And tutorials on hand washing have become all the rage in the media. The panic buying is caused by anxiety and not the actual infection, a psychology expert states in the news. Hey, anxiety, I can address that; I have quite a bit of experience in anxious thoughts that never come to pass. I may not have the lingo of a psychology degree, but I do have the hard-won education of experience and counseling. On the other hand, what if this is that day, the one the Lord prophesied through Zechariah? 

If that day has come to pass, then all we can do is spread the good news of Jesus Christ. No expert standing up to shout, "Relax, people!" is going to stop the panic that the Lord sends. No stories from the anxiety-suffering crowd will stem the flood of panic as neighbors both seize hands and raise hands to stop their neighbor's hand. If we must address that day, then our only hope is in the Lord. The Lord God may stop the panic in His good time, or He may snatch away those who believe in Him (and wouldn't that ratchet up the panic a few notches!), but in that day the panic belongs to the Lord and He will have His way. 

Praise God that His way has a name, and it is Jesus! 

Bucky

My Redeemer Lives!

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth. Job 19:25

In the middle of his rant, Job laments, "Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!" A number of centuries later, we are here to testify that indeed Job's words were inscribed and what a book it became! The first mention of our Redeemer in the Word of God comes all the way back in the book of Job as this statement by the man himself stands out like a pearl in a mud pie. (I refer to the words of Job's ranting, not the rest of the Bible! Aaagh! Don't bring out the tongue lashes of castigation!). 

Job knew by faith of course, in exactly the same way that we know by faith that once more our Lord Jesus, our Redeemer, will stand on the earth. Job did not live to see his Redeemer stand in the court and tell the high priest that He was the Christ, the Son of God. (That story in Matthew 26) Yet Job still knew by rock solid assurance in faith that Jesus would stand.  And in that same statement of His divinity, our Lord told the high priest that He would be seen again...sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Now that is a promise of a divine appointment. Still, an appointment wherein we desire to be with Him, and not standing against Him as that high priest was doing. 

Great is the name of our Redeemer!

Bucky

His Love Never Fails

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 1 Corinthians 13:8

The source of love is God as shown in His Son, who died on the cross to save us. This great love does not fade away or grow dim with age. My behavior cannot beat it down or chase it away. My fear of the dark place does not make His love any less. His love is the neverending and greatest love. His two greatest of commandments are about love and by them all the law and the prophets are satisfied. Faith reminds us that all He does is grounded in that greatest love. Although it is poured out into a leaky vessel, His great love is undiluted and flows unsparingly from His throne of grace. Once more we are reminded of that great verse, "For God so loved the world..."  Rejoice today in His great love,

Bucky

The Lord - No Change!

“For I am the LORD, I do not change;
Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Malachi 3:6

A change may be much on your mind today; it certainly weighs on my mind this early morning. Therefore the verse for this morning comes from a search on 'change' in the Bible. Here we have a declaration from the Lord and a consequence of it. The Lord our God does not change, there is of course no need to change perfection. And Israel gained a benefit from that as a consequence. All those living in this latter age can claim the same benefit. 

One might wonder what it is about the Lord that prevents His consuming of Israel and us. What has not changed in the Lord? Justice would call for the sentence to be carried out, and the Lord is just. Do we dare depend upon some other quality of the Lord's to prevent the consuming fire of His judgment? We may recall a verse this morning that begins, "For God so loved..." 

That verse is answer enough for me and you! 

Bucky

One More Lie

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.  2 Thessalonians 2: 9-10

A character in a show that tells naught but lies can be difficult to keep up with, as I found out last night when one more lie fooled me and the ending of the season brought surprise. As everything in this life can be used by the Lord as a lesson for those who believe in His Son, this situation was no different. That, I thought, is the way that many will be deceived by the lawless one, the Antichrist who comes near the ending of this world. 

Many will be taken in by the initial deception of the evil one when this man of lawlessness comes on the wings of iniquities. However, those who believe in the Lord Jesus are not to be fooled. And yet, if we should attempt to see through the layers of deception and the web of lies with only our intellect or wisdom, then we are doomed to fall. Should any of us enter the final times unguarded by the Lord's Spirit, then that one more lie will deceive him. 

Of course our one hope is in the Lord Jesus Himself, and part of that is an escape and a reunion all in one. We do not expect to meet the revealed abomination of desolation when the Rapture of the Church is believed to come before this person enters the world stage.

Great is our hope in Him!

Bucky

Hello, Thievery!

Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don't wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief. Revelation 3:3

A person parks the car, gets out, and leaves his cell phone in the console. He decides not to lock the vehicle because he will only be in the salon for a little while and no one would steal his older model cell phone anyway. As he walks out with his freshly cut hair, he stops at the stunning revelation that his entire car is gone! Hello, thievery! 

Unexpected is the word of the day when the thief strikes in the time we let our guard sleep just a little bit. And this is our Lord we are reading about here! Why would He sneak up on us as a thief does at night? No sneakiness involved of course, only a sleepiness on the part of those who should be standing watch. 

So, therefore we Christians must work up a rotating guard schedule to make sure we do not all sleep at night, or get caught celebrating together at Christmas, or... wait a minute! The Lord was warning us of spiritual sleepiness; of relaxing in grace to the point that our morals slip-slide away back down to the pit from which our Savior raised us up as a newly reborn child of Christ the King. Backsliding is a spiritually sleepy way to fail away from Him! 

Love in Christ the King,
Bucky

Good To Love

From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. Mark 7:24-25

Jesus our Lord wanted a break? The stirrings of what we call fame were present long ago. At that time they did not have social media to work with, but the unclean spirits of the time knew when Jesus was around. Did this one tell the woman? The scripture does not say that, but from other incidents in the Bible we know that is a possibility. The important part may be her response though: she came to the Lord and fell at His feet. 

Would this woman have done this to ask a favor for herself? Maybe, other women in the Bible did so. But in this case she had a daughter who needed the Lord in a bad way. The love for our neighbors, especially those close enough to us to be known as children, spouses, or family, may get us away from ourselves enough to do the loving sacrifice on their behalf. It is good to love. 

Have a great March day in our Lord Jesus!
Bucky

Repentance Before Grace

Let grace be shown to the wicked,
Yet he will not learn righteousness;
In the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly,
And will not behold the majesty of the LORD.  Isaiah 26:10

Another argument against universal salvation is this message given to Isaiah. To the unrepentant sinner, grace is as though nothing happened. That which Christ Jesus gave His life to obtain for us is cast on the scrapheap by those who refuse to repent of their evil ways. Even if such a one were to enter into Heaven, his ways would remain unjust. 

Now there is a thought that refuses to come easily. Try to imagine being the only evil person in Heaven, right there under God's all-seeing gaze. Not like here where there is some veil or distance between us and the blessed lands, but right there where that person could turn and see the throne of God Himself. Talk about being the odd one out! And it would be so much worse as the guilt and shame could hardly be measured with perfected ones all around, living forever in the grace of God and in perfect righteousness, while you alone cower as the only unsaved one. Far better to repent of my way and obtain the wonderful grace of Christ the Lord right here in this world! 

Still doesn't compute though; no evil person will enter into God's Heaven. Just can't get the imagination to go there. Praise God for that! 

Bucky

A Few Years

And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.  Genesis 4:3

An infamous incident follows hard upon this verse, but today I wanted to look at that phrase at the start: in the process of time it came to pass... During that time, Cain has not only been born, but grown up to the point where he becomes a farmer of the ground and able to offer the fruit of his labor to the Lord. We do not know for sure what age this might be, and as they lived so long back in those days it might even be longer than we might think. Cain was perhaps in his 20's at that time, maybe even his 40's. 

Somewhere in among those early years, Cain might have asked the question Adam had come to dread: "Dad, what's a girl?" No, not that one. The inevitable question about that garden over there, and Cain being the farmer would be the more likely to ask. 

"Why can't I go farm in there, Dad? Why does that flaming sword keep us out, Dad?" 

Adam, being a little slow of thought that day from the dreaded question finally coming to be spoken, tells it like it was,"Well, son, your mother was talking to this serpent, see, and before I knew it she handed me this fruit and I was standing there naked." 

Eve immediately jumps up on the defensive, "Blaming it all on me, eh? Who stood there like a blind ox and didn't stop me even though he knew it was wrong?" 

Meanwhile, Morty the blind ox, also known as the family tractor, is standing outside thinking, "Now what did I do?" 

Defensiveness may not be pretty, but it usually follows an offense. We may be helpless to get the old brain functioning in time to stop that defensive reaction, but it was the person on the offensive that brings it out of us. Finding a gentler answer, keeping the tongue from jumping up in flames, and stopping that defensive reaction can come to us by the work of God's Holy Spirit. 

Lovely little snow this morning! 
Bucky

Not Always the Easy Way

Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.” 1 Samuel 26:21

By this time, the Lord had rejected Saul as king of Israel. Saul did not give up the throne and go into retirement willingly though. David had, just before our verse for today, spared Saul's life a second time. In both cases, the Lord, having left Saul, tested David by delivering up a Saul in a helpless state. Yes, in neither case did the two kings meet in a romantic duel to the death with swords flashing in the morning sun. This last time, David and his men walked into a camp where the Lord had placed a deep sleep on Saul and his soldiers. There was the trial of David, his enemy who sought to end his life laying there deep in sleep. David could not take the life of the Lord's anointed in this way and said as much to those with him who offered the easy solution. "I can end all this right now, just give the word!" (Not an exact quote, I paraphrased.) 

Saul knew that he had been spared a second time and gave his word not to harm David any more. And then came another test for David; to believe Saul's words or not. 

For us there will always be another test in this life, until that great day when our Lord brings us home. No one retires from the Lord's service once we come to Him for salvation. Our rest comes when He brings this world to a conclusion, whether it is in the Great Tribulation or when He brings us to His heavenly home individually according to the span of our years of service. 

This life we have in our Lord Jesus is not always the easy way. However, precious in His eyes is this life we have given to our Lord. 

Bucky

Three Times Life Everlasting

The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”  John 3:35-36

In John 3, Jesus speaks those immortal words that we long for, twice over, in the teaching of Nicodemus (vv. 15, 16). However there is a third time that the good news of everlasting life comes by belief in Jesus, and we read that passage in our scripture for today. 

It is interesting that a dispute arises between the disciples of Jesus and those of John. The Baptizer then sets things straight with the disciples and humbly says that he must decrease while our Lord Jesus increases. The savior of the world must come first and His servant who preceded Him must fall back to second. And for the third time, John tells us even today that the person who believes in the Son has everlasting life. 

Believe in the Son of God = life everlasting. Seems almost too simple for us in this complicated age. 

Bucky

Salvation Clothes

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  Isaiah 61:10

As this is a winter morning, given away by that little horizontal line in front of the temperature outside, I put on warm clothing when I got up. Well, actually the clothing was the same temp as the room, it was not warm of itself and generated no heat. The thicker clothing allows less body heat to escape and so I feel warm faster than in summer weight clothing. Sometimes people do a similar thing in church with their church clothing. Dressing up and acting right for a couple of hours on Sunday morning does not however make anyone righteous or saved. 

The clothing of the saints is given by God; the verse for today tells us that the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness are actions of God and gifts from Him. We cannot purchase these clothes off a rack in a store, and thus they work so much better than what we are accustomed to wearing. However, there is a similarity. For the clothing from God is decoration, like jewels on the bride. She is the bride, jewels or no, and so are the saints already saved and made righteous by God's Holy Spirit from within them. This clothing is going to show off God's work in us when this great day comes and the Bridegroom is wedding His bride. 

The Lord Jesus is so wonderful, and we will be so beautiful in that day in our salvation clothes! 

Bucky

Escape the Tempest

I would hasten my escape
From the windy storm and tempest. Psalm 55:8

We have a bit of a blow going on here and the snow is trying to make it a blizzard. So far it is more blow than snow, but we'll have to see how the rest of the day goes. Our verse for today is part of a contemplation of David, and it sounds like the king is contemplating a tough time in his life. Like David, we want to escape the tempests of life and take it easy. God may have something to teach us in the tempest though and escape may not be the Lord's first lesson for us. We walk in faith that the Lord will bring us through, but for the moment we should rejoice in the lesson of the storm. Oh boy, is that much easier to write than it is to live! 

In the storm, we may not think of much more than prayer and the struggle to take that one more step. We may even despair of life and call on the Lord to save us. Many come to salvation in exactly those sorts of circumstances. With salvation on the line, we certainly would not want the storm to end too early or gain an escape that skips the important parts. Praise God for the divinely managed storms He sends to teach us and to save us in our times of need. 

Have a wonderful tempest this morning! 

Bucky

The End Is Not Yet

And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. Mark 13:5-7

There are those times in reading the news from around the world that it may seem as though the judgment of Revelation, in one instance or another has already come to pass. Jesus had an answer for that, the end is not yet. This may seem at odds with some when every natural disaster brings out the 'end is near' preachers. Well, yes, they are correct too. The end is near, just not yet. 

It may seem that I am playing with words, and while I do enjoy that activity, we also live in interesting times in that signs abound of the impending Tribulation, and yet it is not yet. We can take comfort in scriptural study by seeing that certain events must happen first, and we see in that our Lord God's careful management of all that leads up to the end He has revealed to His prophets. 

Please do not weary of faithful watching for the Lord. He is coming soon!

Bucky

His Parables of Teaching

And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said:  Matthew 22:1

Jesus used parables to teach the multitudes, His disciples, and us so many years later. Even now you may be wanting to know which parable this was. Is it a familiar one such as the Good Samaritan or a less familiar and probably harder to understand story? I'm not telling;  you may look it up any time you like. 

Our Lord used the story so well and unlike most storytellers, I think our Lord's parables were all fact. As in there was a man who found a treasure in a field, then gave everything to purchase that field. There was a man named Lazarus who had dogs licking his sores and a rich man who ignored him until after they both died. There was a king who arranged a marriage for his son, and then nobody showed up and even murdered his messengers. Oops, gave it away. Yes, that last parable follows the verse for today. 

Our Lord's stories had teeth to them though and they could bite hard as the Pharisees and others could tell us. Our Lord's stories also had the gentle lovingkindness for which He is famous among those who believe in Him. For we know that Jesus was the man who found a treasure hidden in a field and gave His all to redeem us. 

Have a great Friday in the Lord!
Bucky

No Teachers Where?

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Hebrews 8:10-12

Teachers of the word, in small groups or large, in classrooms or in homes, on Sunday or on any other day of the week, one day soon we will be out of a job. Quoting the prophet Jeremiah, the writer of Hebrews brought to mind for those of the new branch grafted into the tree that the time will come when we will not teach one another any more. God's people will know God and we will have no reason to teach or preach to each other. But that isn't the best part.

That last line seems to me the promise to seize upon this day, sins and lawless deeds remembered by the Lord no more. Nevermore! Heaven and nature will sing on that day, but I think the redeemed of the Lord will out sing them for the mercy of the Lord in their hearts. 

Have a rejoicing day in Jesus!
Bucky

Honoring Fools

As snow in summer and rain in harvest,
So honor is not fitting for a fool.   Proverbs 26:1

If you think our nation honors fools in this age, you probably have a point well made. This is not to say that every person who receives an honor is a fool, but we do seem to have at least our fair share, and maybe a bit more, of fools gaining fame and fortune or media attention. You will decide for  yourself which ones are the fools of whom I speak! It would seem by the proverb Solomon collected that this happened in his time as well. Fools tend to stand out in any age, and sometimes they gain honor. The Preacher of old reminded us that this is not fitting; that this is as wrong as snow in the summer. 

We have some small snow on the ground this morning, but February in much of North America is the proper time for snow. While rain at wheat harvest time is common around here, that does not mean that it is welcome. The proverb speaks not only of things out of season but of things that are not wanted when they arrive. Honoring a fool therefore would seem rather foolish.

However, fools and honor are not the only things that are not fitting in this world. In our fallen state, the world has a great many things at odds with how they should be. We might well be here all day and into the next week should I try to list all that is wrong in the world. Or, you might just read the Bible, the word of God and then we don't have to reprint it here. Praise God that along with all that is wrong, the Lord tells in His word how He is going to make it right and new again through His Son, Jesus! 

Let the fools go their way, we believe in Jesus!

Bucky

Every Regulation

I'll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. Galatians 5:3

Paul spent years in school learning all of those regulations in the Word. As a Pharisee, he discussed his work with colleagues and continued to learn. One would think that he of all people would send young students through the millstones of the Law in order to impress them with its burden, but he didn't. Why not? Could it be that a thorough knowledge of the Law could not save a sinner?

I'm no genius to propose such a radical thought, Paul lays it out in his letter to the Romans quite well. The Law does not save anyone, Paul concludes. There must be a better way, perhaps an only way. 

For those who thought that to impress the Lord God was to be saved, Paul reminds them that every regulation must be obeyed in the whole law of Moses. There is an entire army of laws to obey should you decide to attempt to impress God in this way. And then you might run into those pesky prophets and Micah with his thousands of rams and rivers of oil. Few among us, maybe none among us could buy one river of oil to give to the Lord much less a plurality of them. 

The widow impressed Him by giving all she had; the rich man didn't impress the Lord at all. Why is it that we strive so hard to be rich again? Could that be related to impressing the Lord by way of the Law? 

Ow, my Monday brain hurts! Rejoice in the saving grace of Jesus Christ our Lord,

Bucky

Service and Sacrifice for Love

Happy Valentine's Day!

So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.  Genesis 29:20

Edmund St. Valentine, for whom the town is named, lived in the north Sandhills region of Nebraska, serving the final 43 years of his life ministering to the far flung ranch families in that area. The Church recognized his years of faithful service and sacrifice with canonization in 1948, making him St. Edmund St. Valentine...wait for it! I may have had a few going until that bit.

 

Love is of course not making a fictional character a saint but service and sacrifice, for which this ancestor of Israel, Jacob, is famous. The burden however was light upon him as his love sustained him through seven years of work for Rachel. Seven years seeming a few days is some powerful emotional propulsion too! Jacob apparently had not reached that age where several years seems like a few days because we cannot remember most of it. 

The story in this verse sounds familiar somehow... Let's see, service to the father of the bride-to-be, sacrifice for the bride, sounds a lot like the story of our Lord Jesus! Of course it does, because love is what brought the Son of God down here to save us. 

Have a loving Valentine's Day!

Bucky

Love Opens

And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:5

It seems that the heart of man is like an old broom closet where foul mops were put away wet and never allowed to dry. We open the door of the heart and out drops some rusty tin cans, a few mouse carcasses, and the overpowering stench of rot rolls over us in a nasal assault. Or, so we fear when the preacher tells us to open up to the love of the Lord. 

Uh, have we not given to the Lord the credit due His name? So many years ago the salvation of the Lord came into us and still we are afraid to open up the door to the heart? Yes, our love is not all it should be just yet, but His love is good and perfect. Open up the heart door and show off the love of the Lord Jesus there! We cannot show the changed life of the beloved of the Lord if we do not open up to show His love in us. His love is going to open the door to the saved heart whether we are ready or not, so might as well get ready. Will a few skeletons of old sin be exposed? Yeah, most likely, but better to get 'em out in the light! 

Love to you in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

Long Gone, Far Away

Her uncleanness is in her skirts;
She did not consider her destiny;
Therefore her collapse was awesome;
She had no comforter.
“O LORD, behold my affliction,
For the enemy is exalted!” - Lamentations 1:9

The southern kingdom of Judah is long gone and far away from us as we live today, but the lessons from her collapse come down to us through the word of God. It may seem like crude imagery, the uncleanness and skirts thing, but we should not relent from describing sin in the crude terms it deserves. It was and is the watering down of sin that allowed sin words such as adultery to become an affair. Don't see anything about affairs in the ten commandments? That would of course be the point for those who want to love the darkness of sin. 

If we do not want our nation to be one of those among the long gone, far away cautionary stories of fallen man and sin we must be among those who believe in Jesus and call sin what it is. Uh, oh, he's getting preachy on us! Yes, and it is probably overdue. I fear that we do not oppose sin enough in this age, allowing everyone to go his or her own way without so much as a warning that time is short and the end near. While we look to the sky anticipating the return of our Lord Jesus, do we love those neighbors enough to say a word of warning before the time of sin's reign when the abomination of desolation stands in the holy place? 

We probably cannot imagine the horror of knowing of the Rapture but missing it to be left behind.

Bucky

The Lord's Magnificent Day

Now David said, “Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it.” So David made abundant preparations before his death. 1 Chronicles 22:5

I asked the Lord, "How is your day, Lord?" And the answer was, "Magnificent!" That answer just does not seem like many of my days at all. We look around at the news reports, hear from our family and friends, and see what is going on in our life, and magnificent seems like a few and far between sort of description to use. Perhaps the person who won the lottery last week used it a few times. Maybe that starlet in Hollywood who won the big part over 200 rivals got to use it for that one day. It may well be that back a few years you or I was able to use magnificent to describe one day out of hundreds, perhaps thousands. Yet, it seems to me that the Lord our God would use it every day and all day. 

What about that day, we might ask of the Lord, as we recall from the Bible a day when something happened that would seem to shake the Lord's hold on magnificence just a bit. Well, it certainly was a bad day for Adam and Eve when they disobeyed for that first time. A certain day was bad for Moses when he... And on it goes as we discover bad days for everyone but the Lord. "I know," we say with earthly superiority, "what about the day Your Son died on the cross?" Uh, huh, the day of His greatest victory over sin and death. And we get emotional at this point. 

I don't know how You do it, Lord!

Bucky

Start It Simple

Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? John 3:10

The Bible is a big un' among books holding so many words that to keep it in a portable form the use of onionskin paper is required. Imagine facing this tome with no idea of where to start! Many come to a church or a Christian with a conviction of their need for the Lord Jesus, but then are handed this library of old books with tales of remote beginnings and falls into sin and terrifying prophecies. What is the simple and quick part before the cares of the world return with reinforcements and the powers of the world bring their insurgents?

If one verse sums up the Bible well it must be John 3:16. 

Many a Christian can quote the rules of the religious road to us, chapter and verse. No doubt, Nicodemus could do it better. Yet, before the trust and obedience of the Christian life, there is belief in Jesus the Christ. Before we can learn to love the unlovely, we must believe in His great love for us. And when we believe in Him, we begin to understand His love so great that mercy and forgiveness of our sin is possible in Christ. 

For God so loved you and me... Amen! 

Bucky

Called Unto Him

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9

Fellowship, a meeting and a concept; a joy and a delight. We may not know it until we miss it, but fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ is in all of us through God's own Spirit. However, there is a deeper and stronger need for the reborn believers - we want fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 

We want to run to our Lord Jesus and be welcomed by Him. The prophecy He spoke about those He never knew is one of our deep fears that the Spirit assures us against so very often. That is also one of the most common doubts thrown at us by the enemy. Yet, throughout the scriptures, especially in the words of Jesus Himself, there are the words of welcome, commands even to come to Him directly, reassurances of His constant faithfulness, and the love He bore for us even to the cross at Calvary. 

Yes, you and me, the ones we see filthy with sin and so easily fallen to temptation. We, the sick and the lame both emotionally and physically, are called to fellowship in the Lord Jesus Christ. Who would call ones such as we? Paul said it was God. 

There ya go!
 Bucky

Deeply Divided

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. Matthew 12:25

It is a public event and many are watching when one leader refuses a handshake from the other and in response that other tears up the speech for all to see. Anyone can see there is a leadership problem when this happens, and you do not need me to point it out to you. I just did anyway, but you still didn't need it. 

Our nation has seen deep divides before, and the cure in a couple of cases was deeply ugly with war and suffering all around. Might we who believe in our Lord Jesus suggest a different strategy this time? Might we suggest prayer to the Lord Jesus as a way to heal this divide? This will only point out another deep divide? You are so smart today, and you are correct. The left-right, Republican-Democrat and other political divides are almost nothing compared to the divide between the powers of this world and our Lord Jesus. It is so divided we know, that one day the enemies of our Lord will gather at a place called Armageddon. 

Our political divide is serious, and sometimes a bit childish on both sides, but we know of a divide much more serious and it has eternal consequences. 

In Christ we pray for healing of our nation, and in Christ we pray that all will believe in Him,

Bucky

Help Us Stay Awake

l“Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Revelation 3:10

Kept is one of those seemingly easy words that come up in the Bible. For example, we want to have kept watch as the Lord says to do for when He returns. However, day by day life goes on and it can be easy to let our watch sleep as the world wears us down. Much of what the world offers up to us in the news these days is distraction. And we recognize that so many things are completely unimportant, that includes about any news pertaining to celebrities, and then our guard comes down. We look for the signs our Lord gave us to watch for and the months and years go by without anything happening.

Persevere in the Lord, because the world powers are aligning toward the things we are to keep watch for, and signs are imminent once the players are in their places. Stay awake, for the next sign may be the bridegroom claiming His own from this world, suddenly and quickly! Amen. Come Lord Jesus!

Bucky