The Government Speaks

“Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country." Matthew 21:33

If the landlord built his vineyard in the United States, he might wake up to a news report that he cannot evict his tenant farmers for non-payment of rent until at least January 1, 2021; the government has spoken. The Centers for Disease Control will publish, that is make it official, on September 4th, a document that a tenant can hand to his or her landlord to prevent any eviction for the last 4 months of this year. Any of us can read the unpublished draft right now on the Federal Register's website*. Of course we would have to fudge the story a bit and make our tenant farmers live in the vineyard (quite possible that huts/homes would be included) as this order covers residences. On the other hand, the landlord might be grateful for this option as the story our Lord Jesus told goes on to tell of beaten, stoned, and murdered servants, and finally the loss of the landlord's own son! 

We can see that the bad guys in our Lord's story were the religious and political leaders of Israel, mostly because the scripture says that they realized it themselves quickly enough. We also see that the Lord God is Himself the landlord of this Earth, and that we are the tenants of His vineyard. This is confirmed in Revelation 14 when the vineyard is harvested and the bad tenants are... well, let us not go into that before breakfast! Praise God there is another harvest first, by one who John wrote, looked like the Son of Man. Let us get ready for the harvest of our Lord Jesus and rejoice in Him!

 

Love in Christ the Lord,

Bucky

*https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/09/04/2020-19654/temporary-halt-in-residential-evictions-to-prevent-the-further-spread-of-covid-19  -  for those who want to wade through the government's full text so far. 

Smoke and Fire, the Signs of the Times

“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.  Joel 2:30

Each year we see a day in August that reminds us of autumn's imminent arrival. This year it procrastinated until the final day of the month, but it has come here at last. My thermometer outside even has a '4' at the start where there was a '9' just yesterday evening. There is also that smoke in the air still. Signs! Search the scriptures! While it is good to search the scriptures at every opportunity, I must admit that at times I am guilty of chasing sign phantoms. So much do I want the return of our Lord Jesus that almost any sign-ish thing will do for a hopeful search of the prophecies. However, our Lord did warn us that a number of significant seeming events would occur prior to the Tribulation period. Heat and smoke in August here usually just tells of summer and wildfires to the west of us; normal August activities without eternal significance. 

Normal daily or seasonal activities do not disappoint us though as each day winding its way by brings us one day closer to our reunion with the Lord Jesus. Whether we are in that group that Paul says have gone to sleep in Christ, or in that group that remains to be caught up to meet the Lord in the clouds, we will go at the proper time. And each day, wonders and pillars of smoke or the usual blue skies, goes by as we wait on the Lord. 

Have patience Saints, the Lord has not gone off schedule,

Bucky

No Reverse On God's Work

Indeed before the day was, I am He;
And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand;
I work, and who will reverse it?”  Isaiah 43:13

Lose our salvation? We have found that salvation is God's work, and we must believe it for our sake since, 

"I, even I, am the LORD,And besides Me there is no savior." (v11)

God's work is salvation and none can reverse it. Therefore, comfort ye my people! (40:1) I hope ye feel comforted this morning! 

In Christ the Lord,

Bucky

Rising Up To The Prayer Challenge

For You, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.' Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You. 2 Samuel 7:27

You may have run into this once or twice in your prayer journey, a bit of the bad news that can get a person down or cause that person to rise up in response to the prayer challenge. As I watched a fall weather forecast yesterday, I saw that in our area, and much of California where the wildfires lurk, the man predicted a below average rainfall. Suddenly, I didn't want to stand for that! No, I wanted to go into my prayer closet and kneel for that in prayer to the Father our God, requesting that He overrule this prediction. 

We don't have to stand for all the world and its prince want to dish out to us. We have the power of prayer to God to use in this fight. We have the Word of God and we have an open communication plan with Him. There is no limit to the amount of voice and data we can upload to the Lord, and no restrictions on the hours this prayer service is available to us. And the Lord our God has the perfect answer for us every time. So, rise up and kneel down to any prayer challenge you may face today. The Lord is ready to hear from you and me! 

Life in Christ and in prayer,

Bucky

Ask Him Yourself!

 “Please inquire of the LORD for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all His wonderful works, that the king may go away from us.”  Jeremiah 21:2

Hey, Jerry, you're in good with the Lord, put in for our favor, won't you, and see if the Lord won't make that bad guy go away? Have you been asked by one who refuses to believe in our Lord Jesus to request a favor of Him when things go poorly for that unbeliever? Our first response might be to tell that person, "Ask Him yourself!" The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective according to James, the brother of our Lord. We can be of use to others in their distress, and we can in prayer ask for the Lord's favor. That first response we had though might well be the best one in this case. Our Lord Jesus is just a prayer away from anyone at any moment. And, we read in the old prophets that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Just His name is a great place for anyone to start who needs the Lord's favor. What happens if they still refuse to believe though? 

Well, the old time Israelites in Jerusalem could tell them what happens then. Jeremiah asked, and the Lord gave a response appropriate to sin and unbelief: the Lord promised an assembly of the enemy right in the midst of the city! The Lord does not grant favor to unbelief, so as the saying goes... ask Him yourself! 

Love in Christ,

Bucky

Roasted and Smoked, Please Comfort

For I have become like a wineskin in smoke,
Yet I do not forget Your statutes. Psalm 119:83

We have been roasted with high temperatures lately, plus we have been smoked from distant wildfires. It is not a comfortable time to live and breathe in these here parts. And the weather forecasters say there will be a couple more days yet before relief from the heat arrives. 

The psalmist in that longest of psalms felt much like we do, like a wineskin in smoke. Yet, he or she wanted to assure the Lord that His statutes were not forgotten. The troubles of the times were upon the servant of the Lord, and the hope of salvation seemed afar off. We can relate quite easily to this in our day. And yet, in both cases, the Lord was only a prayer away and constantly watching over us. In Philippians Paul wrote, "The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing."  Our Lord Jesus sent the first disciples out with words of comfort, "And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age." The times may not be comfortable, but we are comforted! 

To God be the glory forevermore!

Bucky

Be Wary of Your Dreams

For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the LORD.  Jeremiah 29:8-9

Did you know the Lord sent a letter through Jeremiah, His prophet, to the captives in Babylon? In this letter are some words of warning and a couple of things to watch out for: false prophets and self-caused dreams. I have met with little success in causing dreams for myself and reading these words from Jeremiah, I am glad that I did not become proficient at self-causing dreams. The Lord told the captives that their dreams, those they caused themselves to dream, were not of the Lord and He did not send them. As the false prophets they liked told them things the captives wanted to hear, so did they learn to send themselves some wishful dreams too. Be wary of your dreams!

There is a thing in these latter days where a person attempts to control his dreams. As we can see from Jeremiah, such a thing is of ancient times. The terms we read may be new, but the practice is quite old. If we learn from Joseph in Matthew of how important dreams can be as communications from God, then perhaps we should not try to control that and get in the way of the messages God may have for us in a dream. 

Rejoice in the Lord always...

Bucky

Need Some Criticism?

Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And plead the cause of the poor and needy.  Proverbs 31:9

Do you need some criticism this morning? Is your tank of insults, derogatory speech, and harsh opinions a little low? Criticism these days is most often not about, "Here, that was a tough way to do it. Will you let me help by showing you a better way?" No, criticism today seems to be about questioning the means and methods of your childhood, applying crude names, and making sure that you personally know the shortcomings of your intellect in the worst possible terms. If you are missing that sort of criticism, just post a video of yourself attempting something new or making a little mistake in something you know well and like magic your tank of derogatory criticism will soon be full and overflowing. As we know, comments on social media these days are often harsh. 

In our verse for today the proverb speaks to pleading the cause of the poor and needy. That happens often on all sides of the political debates, but we seem to be caught up in a race to see how many government checks can be handed out; a race in how quickly and how large someone can make them. When a person stands up to ask, "Where will this money come from?" He or she will get a swift reminder of what we discussed in paragraph 1 up there. King David famously said that he would give no sacrifice that cost him nothing. When I set out to relieve the circumstance of the poor and needy by first stealing your wallet, you might do well to protest. The next time a person stands before us to tell of how much money he or she will give away to help out the poor and needy, you too might ask, "Hey! Where is that money you are promising to give away coming from?"  

Yes, we do have a research question hanging out there from yesterday, but I have not forgotten. 

Love in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

Seven, Seven, and Seven

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” Revelation 21:9

The judgments are completed and one of the last seven angels comes to John to make an introduction, the bride. This is not just any bride such as we will see getting married here on Earth in the last days and right up to the end, but the bride, the wife of the Lamb. Did this angel volunteer or obey an assignment? Perhaps the angel simply saw a need and responded, but what an honor! "I will show you..." the angel says to John. And the disciple of the Lord Jesus is shown a city. Wait, not a church? No, the city, the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God. Can this mean exactly what it says? I have been taught many a time that the church is the bride of Christ, but is it biblical? I feel the urge of the Berean to seek out those scriptures for which the identification of the Bride has been told to me these many years. With the completion of the times appearing near by the signs I am to watch for, I want to know this thing, and if needed, apply a correction! That is too big to make an attempt to show just this moment. But for this morning, I am happy for this angel, who goes unnamed but does get an important moment and mission in the Revelation of our Lord. This, dear John, is the bride of our Lord's dear Son, this is Jerusalem. 

May God grant us understanding in this,

Bucky

If You're Ready, So Am I

But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.  1 Peter 4:7

If you are ready for the end of meteorological summer, then so am I. Does not look like it will happen this week though. Hot, hot, hot is our forecast weather for this week and beyond. If we cannot wait patiently for a high pressure dome to pass, then how well will we perform when patient waiting might last from when Peter wrote our verse for today and the time we live in now? My waiting cannot make it for almost 2,000 years because my poor little mind cannot perceive that much, and we can thank the Lord for that! The day to day waiting for uncomfortable weather to change though can be burdensome when I keep looking days ahead of this one. Do you suppose that could be the key to waiting on the Lord? 

The sky brightens with the coming of this day, and this day is the gift we have been given for today. Prophecy tells us what will come, but not what day. Therefore, looking just to this one day's journey with our Lord Jesus, we can make it through to the end of it. Each of us can be serious and watchful in our prayers today with Jesus. We'll worry about tomorrow with Him when that gets here. 

Thank You, dear Lord, for this one new day,

Bucky

Believe It

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.  Genesis 1:31

If we cannot believe that God created all things in six days and saw that all of it was very good, then we are going to have trouble believing that Jesus will return here to judge the nations. If a person cannot believe that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1), then that person is going to have trouble seeing that Jesus will one day end the earth and the heavens, and then make them brand new. But wait, the Jews believe those two first parts, does their unbelief of the second parts not disprove my statements? The stumbling block comes when a person cannot believe that Jesus and God are one. That is where those rock-chucking Jews start reaching for their stones. We saw it with Jesus, and with Stephen, and even Paul. 

So, how is it that we can believe when God's chosen people will not? Easy, we live in that time where Jesus sent His good news out to the Gentile nations in order to make His people jealous and cause them, in time, to welcome Him as Savior and God. It is a great time in history to be a Gentile and have the good news of Christ Jesus preached to us and from us. Does it look like things are coming to a close and that events in the world are ready to produce the first beast of Revelation 13? Yes indeed! Soon, the Lord Jesus comes to gather us to His pastures! 

Bucky

Ships Of The Like-minded Line

Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans 15:5-6

Fuses are screwed onto the shells before they are rammed home in the barrels of the weapons of war. Powder is measured according to the data from fire control and the gun barrels are elevated and pointed in the desired direction after the breech is closed. Finally, a small cartridge is inserted into a primer hole in that same breech block to await the command to fire. All up and down the like-minded line the ships await the coming battle. Each convinced of its own righteousness, those ships have full charges of the word of God ready to fire. 

The salvos begin from a wooden ship with the marking, KJV, on the side and its first shot is not from scripture but about it, "Ye must useth the authorized version lest ye falleth into heresy!" The larger and newer ships of steel and electronics mostly ignore this first shot in the war to come. Though still divisive, the rounds from these guns have become less effective in the later years. Another ship begins to fire, "Those who worship on Sunday bear the mark of the Beast!" the latter day Judaizers thunder from their vessel, Seventh Day. "No, sink 'em fully in the drink!" the SS Full Immersion bellows, "Baptize 'em right!" "Rejoice with electric bass and booming drum set!" a shiny newer ship sends its missiles trailing smoke into the fog of war. "We must one and all be calm and sober in worship," a traditional old battleship belches flame and smoke from its large-calibre gun turrets. Then the scripture shells are loaded and fired all around. 

Jesus and the Devil had it out with scriptural six-shooters in the desert, and perhaps this is where the religions and denominations acquired the urge to engage in this sort of thing. However, how does an unbeliever looking at the battle from the shore know which weapons are holy and which are heresy? It seems to me that in the Christian wars the warriors all agree that when that other guy becomes right-minded like 'us' then we can be like-minded and worship the Lord with one voice. Does like-minded mean you must have a mind like mine? I think Paul added an important set of words in our verse today, "according to Christ Jesus". 

When I am ready to bellow fire at those other guys, is my mind 'according to Christ Jesus'? 

Have some deep thoughts of Christ the Lord today,

Bucky

Word From The Throne

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”  Revelation 21:5

One will have no difficulty seeing the need to make all things new even now, but we also know from prophecy that it is going to get worse near the end. John received two marching orders in this one verse - behold and write. He who sat on the throne makes all things new and establishes His word as true and faithful. At first, we think that making all things new would be the greater task, but in an age when so many words are anything but true or faithful, perhaps not! 

Behold, the Lord speaks, and we will one day see His making in action as all things, not just the born-again, but all things He makes bright and shiny new. August in these parts with its dried out fields and brown grass is a good time to look around and try to imagine all of it as brand new. Tough thing to do. Perhaps something man-made, easier to imagine. Look at a car or a couch or something that you received not that long ago, maybe 20 years, and try to imagine it as when you got it new. Still not that easy? Guess we better just behold when the time comes and enjoy writing the good news that His day will come! 

Have a great day in Christ the Lord!

Bucky

Submit To Him

As soon as they hear of me they obey me;
The foreigners submit to me.  Psalm 18:44

King David rejoiced in the Lord and all that the Lord had done for his reign. We also see here what Jesus would see coming when the Jews rejected His message of hope and salvation, the foreigners or Gentiles running to obey and believe in the Lord. As a born Gentile, I am glad that we have the privilege of submitting to Jesus our Lord and Savior! He didn't have to do it that way.

Imagine for just a brief moment that Jesus had said that no one gets into the kingdom until the firstborn, Israel, is ready to believe. Suddenly the Great Tribulation becomes much more ominous as we all wait for Israel to come to Jesus in faith. Don't imagine that for very long, it becomes quite oppressive real quick. No chance of the Rapture, no hope for those who have gone to sleep before us, just a hopeless pagan life until the Jews come to Him. Yikes, we're still imagining what isn't! Praise God for sending His good news out to the Gentiles in order to make His nation of Israel jealous of our salvation in Christ. We believe in the Lord Jesus and we have our great hope in Him! 

Have a hopeful day in Christ the Lord!

Bucky

In the Dark

“Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops."  Matthew 10:27

The second weekend of August has just passed, and this is that time of the year when even the sleepiest among us notices that the daylight of the day is shrinking toward that darker time of December. I of course arise at 0400 and study the Bible diligently until 0530 or so. Um, hmm, and we are to believe this because of what? As the daylight of my years declines toward a certain December of this life, I have noticed that there are those days when the alarm must awaken me as I no longer anticipate it quite so well. There are also days like today when I start the coffee, sit down either at the computer or in front of my Bible, and snooze. The light may be on inside, but it is dark outside and these days are harder to wake up to at such an early hour. 

So, according to this verse, do I hear a voice speaking to me in the dark? No, that would be cause for some small adjustment to my level of alertness, like say 6" up from the seat of my chair. It is more difficult to snooze with all my remaining hairs standing on end, but that is not the gentle way of my Lord Jesus. I find that my Lord only tells me when I am alert and in prayer or Bible study with Him. I don't get to sleep in my chair and receive the Word at the same time. And so, apologies to my Lord Jesus, and a prayer for strength to sleep on time tonight and arise ready to hear His word in the morning. 

Awaken, the Light comes swiftly to us,

Bucky

He's So Different!

And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; Acts 17:26-27

The Lord is near to each one of us, and yet each one of us is somewhat the same and somewhat quite different one from another. How can all of us be saved when we are so different? Who said salvation was based on your image or mine? If all of us looked the same, talked the same, acted the same, and so on, God would not need to be near to each one of us but only the master copy. How the Lord is going to make us all into one harmonious church and His bride is beyond me, but we do have that promise from Him. 

Great is the Lord in harmonizing the myriad of different parts of His church that each of us calls 'me'. Amen.

Bucky

The Thirteenth Verse

And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. Mark 13:13

At rare moments in the past six years or so, a landlord will call me and pass on a tale of woe. By way of warning other landlords, he or she will tell me of the thousands of dollars in woe accumulated by a tenant before escaping in the dark of night. The landlords are not usually quite so literary, but I like to add my personal touch to the picture. Now these tenants who do this sort of thing will be shunned by the other landlords and will eventually have to move away from the area or, and I have not heard of this yet, change their ways! Even these persons have their supporters though and are not hated by all. In this age of growing lawlessness, some will even cheer them on as they move somewhere else to continue their lawless ways. What sort of a person must it take to be hated by all? 

Our Lord tells us in the thirteenth verse of the thirteenth chapter of Mark. For the sake of the name of Jesus, anyone can join this excluded group of hated people. What a chance to be hated by all! Believe in Jesus, follow our Lord, and become a hated person? Our Lord Jesus did tell each and every person to count the cost of following Him, and as we can see this cost might seem steep. Are you shunned by anyone yet? Have a former friend who does not want to talk about that one particular subject who goes by the name of Jesus? Have you been excluded from a social media group for daring to mention the name of the Lord in a loving way and not in the deluge of vain repetitions? The hatred of this world grows by the day, and it only waits for the removal or pulling back of the restrainer God has put in place. 

Rejoice! You will soon be hated by all for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

Bucky

I Was There

When He prepared the heavens, I was there,
When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,  Proverbs 8:27

A city by the name of Beirut made the news in a terrible way yesterday, and some few among us can say, "I was there." My presence was decades in the past, but I did recognize the place right away. Our stately accommodations (!) were about 6 miles to the south of the incident yesterday, we would have said 10 clicks back in those days, and our brother Marines had just suffered a similar incident. It may be some days before those with experience and knowledge can determine whether this one was an act of war or terror, or simply a terrible accident. As we wait for further news, we can pray with God and study His word. 

God sends word through a king and a prophet that trumps my little 'I was there' all to pieces. First, Solomon has this proverb about Wisdom, and how she was there when He prepared the heavens. And then Isaiah has another one: 

“Come near to Me, hear this:
I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
From the time that it was, I was there.
And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit
Have sent Me.”  Isaiah 48:16

This one is about the third member of the Holy Trinity, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord our God has some stunning 'I was there's', and I'll gladly give place to Him. Of course, He has another one that trumps them all. He was there at the cross to save us. 

Have a grateful and prayerful day in Christ the Lord,

Bucky

We've Seen This Before

And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman, and said to her, “Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel; do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has been mourning a long time for the dead.  2 Samuel 14:2

Pretend, put on, act like... a show is to be performed, but probably not for entertainment. In the next verse a script was provided. In the midst of a story from the Old Testament is this story about telling a story. An actress is hired, the part is outlined, and a script is given to what is called a wise woman, one sent away for and brought from a named place. One would need to spend an extended stay under a rock not to see that something improper or even immoral might be going on here. However, the rest of the story might change even the view of the sub-rock dweller. 

It turns out that had Joab gone straight to the king with his request, it might not have gone so well. However, as the show plays out before the king, David, he is not fooled for long and in verse 19 asks this wise woman after Joab. It's true, she says, he wrote the script for this play. By the method and the story, and perhaps owing a bit to the woman acting out this thing, Absalom is in time forgiven by the king and there is reconciliation. The story may not have ended there as David lived out his family life under some tough consequences for a severe sin. (You may recall a certain Bathsheba incident that took place in Jerusalem.) 

We live under the consequences from one sin, but we also have new life from the resolution God provided for His judgment required on all sin. Without that Savior, we would be lost. 

Have a great new week as the sun peeks under the clouds this morning. 

Bucky

The Longest Summer Vacation

Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.  Revelation 13:16-17

This seemed a great distance off just last year, as if the disappearance of many was required for it to happen. However, the recent masking of us all brings to mind this mark, particularly the why of the forehead. The social distancing brings to mind the right hand and something that would relieve us of touching or passing payment to a clerk. The prohibition against gathering together has run into the freedom of religion. We have also lived through the shortages of first one product and then another and more. And just like that, in about six months time, we see quite clearly how quickly the unveiling comes upon us. 

The mark required by the second beast has not come upon us just yet, but we can see how the world has been prepared for it. Even as I write this, there is somewhere upon the Earth a government or group planning to implement this thing as soon as it is called for by this second beast. A vaccination may well be the trigger event for it. Marked you may go into stores and do business, unmarked you may not. The Covid-19 vaccination may not be the one to cause this, but we can see how swiftly it could happen to the world. All of us I think can remember just several months back to when we had never heard of Covid-19, and another economic depression, and stay-at-home orders, and masking, and no human contact, and of a shortened school year.  (They've been out of school for how long?!) For most of us, this is the longest school summer vacation we have never expected to see in our lives, and it isn't over yet. What else have we looked for in Bible prophecy but maybe not really expected to see in this life? 

He is coming so very soon! 

Bucky

Grown Together, Gathered Apart

‘Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” '  Matthew 13:30

This verse gives a warning to those who live to look out for number one. A person does not want to finish first in this race. At times we might wonder why the Lord does not simply remove all those who oppose Him and live reveling in their present darkness. Here we see that those who would live as tares are allowed to remain in the field growing together with the wheat until the harvest time. The gathering for the wheat and the tares is quite different as the consequences of the choices in this life come in the judgment. The Master Farmer stands and directs the bundles of tares to the fire and the sheaves of wheat to the barn. Grown together, gathered apart. 

To the Lord Jesus we are gathered,

Bucky

Trial and Solution

The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.  Exodus 15:2

Yesterday was the first trial of the new telecommunications system at work, and both partners in the project and the vendor had everything ready on both ends and all went well with the implementation. 

If you have ever been involved with an IT or telecom changeover you know a sense of doubt and unbelief right now. You might even be scoffing, perhaps even spewing your beverage onto something. If you have not heard good news of this type before, you may be on the rooftops shouting your joy to the city as an IT project completed the first time. A letter will soon arrive telling you the time is not quite right and to get back to work. Sorry.

We had the first trial and hopes were high, but then it seems that something was incompatible and other things were not ready at all yet. There was that first euphoria and expectation, but the entire picture was not in sight for us. It would be a time of waiting for the solution to our problem, and the first trial was not the final outcome. Yet hope remains. We can look to the future with joy in our hearts, but we also must endure the present and its trials. Do I speak here of this telecom thing or of the Second Coming of our Lord? Well, both of course, and some folks will say that the Word of God is not relatable to modern life. Tsk, tsk, where are they looking? The valley of faith we must tread for this telecom thing may be shorter than our wait for the return of our Lord, or maybe it won't! 

Come Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Gems In The Treasure Chest

Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. 1 Chronicles 16:23

The Old Testament treasure chest was opened and to my eye came the gleaming gold and shining silver of God's holy word. But among that gold was the gleam of gems, and this one we read above came to my hand on this day. 

The Old Testament is quite lengthy and there are so many gems among the piles of gold and silver that it is easy to think that maybe some of that treasure can be ignored. Here we read today that a thousand years before Christ the Lord was born in Bethlehem, David sang a song telling all the Earth to proclaim the very thing that we are to share in this dark world. The Spirit of God in David sang then the same songs as we do today. The plan of salvation God had for us did not change in between some BC date to just before 1 AD during a solemn council in Heaven. The plan was always on God's Son, Jesus, and the plan for us was always to proclaim the gospel of His salvation until the end comes. 

Great is the name of our Lord!

Bucky

Looking Around The World Today

When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.”  Genesis 19:15

Ever look around the world today and think of this verse from the first book of the Bible? Is today the day the voice from Heaven calls to those who will hear to come out of that evil world city? The time those in Babylon will have in that day will likely be similar to Lot's. When an angel urges you to hurry, that is probably a good time to put the running shoes on while you head toward the exit door. Anything you might want to grab for the journey had better be along that same path, or leave it behind. The part of the story we may not like is, "Arise". The call to run came when poor Lot was still in bed, or at least sitting down reading the Sodom Gazette with a cool beverage by his side and his feet up on a comfy stool. The call to exit quickly may not come when we are already leaving town to go on vacation. That would be nice, but it will likely be more like Lot's. 

We hope for the Rapture, but we need to be working until that moment and we might have to arise to flee the fall of Babylon too. Odds are good that a call of that type will not be at a time most convenient for all of us. I'm sounding like that proverbial little chicken today, but maybe he was just ahead of his time? One day the sky will fall on the evil world empire named Babylon in the Revelation, and by Revelation 18:4 we know that there will be those who must flee the coming destruction much like Lot did way back in Genesis. 

We don't like to be rushed, but if the angels say hurry...

Bucky

An Answer To A Wicked Heart

“The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?  Jeremiah 17:9

With that thing onboard, who can steer his ship to the safe harbor and the lands of eternal joy? The heart of man is of course that wicked thing seeking to wreck the entire ship. We are presented with this verse from Jeremiah quite often, as though we needed yet another reminder of how little we know about our own heart and how wicked and deceitful and... Is there no hope for us with this enemy cannon in the midst of us going off at every opportunity? 

Well, yes, there is the Lord's answer in the next verse: 

I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.

The Lord knows all that goes on in that wicked and deceitful heart of each believer in Christ the Lord. Who can know it? The Lord can and does! What is His answer to this wickedness and deceit? Jeremiah gets there in verse 14:

Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For You are my praise.

The Lord lets our heart go its wicked way just to the point where we know whom to call on for salvation. Can I get an "Amen" brothers and sisters in Christ? 

Bucky

The Things They Just Know

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  Matthew 24:30

The sign of the Son of Man, what is it? What do we look for? Given that all the tribes of the Earth will mourn, it seems that it is something they just know. Why do they mourn though? We look with longing to the coming of our Lord Jesus. It may well be they mourn the loss of their status, their place, the closing of their plans and schemes, the sudden valuelessness of their wealth, and of course that the coming light has blasted away the darkness they loved. They may well mourn that their time is up and the time of choosing is past. We are with John: "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" There are those who mourn His coming, and that is now an alien concept to us, hard indeed to understand. 

Rejoice for the returning of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

Bucky

My Best Friend

To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:6

Follow a person on social media and he or she might have a large number of followers and live far away geographically from where you or I live. With no prior relationship, calling that person a best friend seems a bit far-fetched. How would he or she have the time to devote to a friendship? And why would that person pick out you or me as a best friend from among a hundred thousand or more followers? Perhaps a smaller group, a couple of hundred 'friends' on a different platform? I have less than that on one well-known platform, but hardly could most of them be called best friends with such big chunks of their life's story missing from my knowledge.  Each of us might have several best friends throughout life as we come together in a stage of life (school, college, work, et al.) and then move apart for some reason. So, if numbers and location are a problem for maintaining a best friend, how do we explain Jesus? 

This man knows billions of living persons right now, plus a similar number who have died, and an unknown (to us) number to be born. How does He maintain this number of friends? Not all of them want to know Him? Some refuse to believe he exists? True, but that still leaves such a great number that my mind cannot understand how my best friend does it. For the Lord Jesus, sitting at the right hand of God, knows each of us better than anyone, and yet is our best friend in every case. A wife or husband might leave you, and some of you know that all too well. A best friend in high school lives far away now and is almost a stranger these many years later. Even a parent and child will have experiences apart that are unknown to each other. How does Jesus know all about us as our best friend when He is in Heaven? Wait...ALL about us? 

Part of maintaining friendships here on the Earth is that some things are not known one to another lest the former friend flee in horror or terror or something! How can Jesus know each of us so intimately and yet remain our best of friends? We may answer with the truth: love, goodness, compassion and more, and yet that explanation might seem almost like a foreign tongue to us. How can Jesus know that thing I did or those thoughts I have entertained and still be my best friend?!!  There is that thing He is using, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved: grace. 

What an amazing thing is the grace of God! 

Bucky

Could It Be?

“Have you entered the treasury of snow,
Or have you seen the treasury of hail,  Job 38:22

Could it be that some small amount of that hail was dispensed around our town last night?  No, the hail of Job 38 is stored up for the day, and not just any day. The usual hail that we get most every year in the thunderstorm season is generated in the storm itself and is not reserved in a treasury of hail. Through science we have a good grasp on how that sort of hail works. One might even be dismissive of this hail if it were not for the next verse wherein God states that this particular hail is reserved for the day of battle and war. And according to the Revelation, this will be some notable hail...seriously heavy hail. 

Some of the judgments of the end time period known to us as the Tribulation are so similar in this way to something we have seen in history or know from today that we may think that we can check some of them off a checklist and move on. However, one is struck by John recording the 'and thens' as if there is an avalanche of judgments raining down on the Earth. And that describes it quite well. The judgments are attention getters for those who up to that point have refused to believe, and for those who never will. In both cases, God's judgments will do everything they are intended by Him to do. 

For this moment, there is time to believe. Pray for those who do not yet know the salvation of Jesus the Christ.

Bucky

Prospering Word

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.  Isaiah 55:11

The word has gone forth, and what was the Lord pleased to accomplish with His word? I recall a man who died on a cross stating, "It is accomplished!" And is this word now prospering in what the Lord has sent it out for? I believe that this Word of God is indeed accomplishing much and prospering well in that which the Lord is pleased to accomplish! 

Read the news today, and you and I may not see the accomplishments of the Lord's word as it goes forth among men with the good news of Jesus Christ. We will read many tales of woe and lawlessness, for that is what the prince of the power of the air is pleased to show to us by way of feeding us despair and doubt. However, the word is also prophecy, and that which we read and see today is exactly what the Word of God said will happen in the end times. It is more difficult to find the reports of salvation of the Word, but that too is going forth this day. Both the saving and the dying are being accomplished according to the word that has gone forth from the Lord. 

Yes, I know; I too feel the wish for the salvation and Heaven part to be the half of the prophetic word that I read and hear today. However, the other half from the word, of woe and judgment, wars and rumors of war, and the increase of lawlessness and love grown cold - all of that comes too in this day and age. Praise is due our God for all that His word accomplishes as this age draws near to the closing. Amen.

Bucky

Ancient Hot Stuff

Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. Ezekiel 39:3

Arm ourselves with the weapon of the day, pretty much a firearm in our case, and we feel like hot stuff. Sorry, hot stuff is a dated expression from the ancients meaning confident and secure in oneself; a person to take note of for his or her ability to take action. And it means a pretty person in a disco, but the ancient expressions were rather flexible. Gog of Magog, the person to which our verse speaks today, will feel that he is the hot stuff of his time, a time that has not showed up on the timeline of our historical record, by the way. We are time traveling today into the past of Biblical prophecy where the Lord's prophets long ago spoke of things which have not yet been done from where we stand in history. Gog will be hot stuff until the Lord God knocks his weapon out of one hand and causes his 'bullets' to fall from the other.  In the bygone days of disco, it would be the pretty dancer whose britches fell off just as the song began the second verse. Hot stuff becomes cold humiliation when the Lord removes the objects of false confidence from the hands (or bottom). 

We have our confidence in the Lord. He is the only strength that will endure in the times of increasing lawlessness. His throne is the one that will stand when all others fall to the mob and they raise up a false throne for a brief time. When others take a knee before the temporary powers of the Earth, we stand for the One who comes in the fullness of His glory and causes every knee to bow and all tongues to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Whoo! I feel a thrill! No ancient hot stuff for us, but the King of kings and the Lord of lords forever! 

Have a day of rejoicing in Christ the Lord! 

Bucky

Laws Unto Themselves

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet."  Romans 7:7

Paul, the great Pharisee, would not have known not to covet apart from the Law?  He wrote it, not me! Actually, without the Law we would be laws unto ourselves, going about doing what we think is right by our latest feeling or random thought. In any kind of organization, be it family or tribe, we might do more or less according to the Law through training as children or the threat of punishment by our parents or leader. We would be subject to the 'might makes right' form of government for as long as we didn't run away from it. Go a bit further in organizing and forming a kingdom or nation, and we might become part of the 'right makes might' form of a rule of law. The right lasting for only as long as the current organization was not overthrown from without by a larger organization with different laws or from within by rebels wanting to go back to the 'doing whatever we feel like' form. The temptation to go lawless is always there for those rebel-born Sons of Adam. 

Often though, we see the disadvantages of everyone being a law unto themselves. It is rather convenient for me to have a home to return to after the workday. Under anarchy, I might find a group of coveters had taken my home and all of my possessions for themselves just before a blizzard was due to fire up on a January day. And I would have no law enforcement to return my home to me under a rule of no law. Shivering in my booties outside my former home, I might lament the lack of law. I will admit that it is harder to picture a blizzard in July, but it is easier to picture lawlessness in these past couple of months than it was...

Praise God that whatever may appear in the news today He is always and forever sovereign! Amen.

Bucky

Bearing No False Report

“You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.  Exodus 23:1

Now this is a law that might be useful in our age! We have such an urge to bring the news, any news, to one another that sometimes we may get caught up in spreading some bum scoop. Hmm, that term is a little dated I see. Bum scoop is the term we used to describe those in the military back in my time when they had proved to be bearers of false reports too many times to count. Scoop was obviously the term for right or correct news. We will not here attempt to explain 'scoop' of what substance of course. In the days of Internet news and social media, we have a serious task ahead of us in not falling for or being the bearers of false reports. It is so difficult because some of the reporters are those of organizations once trusted for accurate reporting of the news! And other false news is so well crafted by those up to no good, that we have trouble seeing the deceit without help. 

Maybe there is some good news that we can count on every time we pass it though? 

Yes, yes there is, witness for the Lord Jesus that  you are. We have the good news of our Lord's salvation to pass along to all who will listen. We have the good news of God's grace through faith in Christ. We have the story of a resurrection from His day, and one to come for all who believe in Him. We even have a way out of the mess the world seems to be plunging toward with all due speed! And He said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."  (John 14:6)

Yay Jesus! The Good News of Life Eternal! 

Bucky

Slowing To The End

Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.”   Daniel 9:27

As the end of an interesting week shows itself on this Friday, I am trying to slow things down a bit. Am I in charge of the pace of events? Not overall, but there is room for me to make a few decisions about what I try to get done this day. This verse in Daniel tells of a week, and this week of years puts my little events into a tiny little shadow hardly to be seen.  Quite a few chapters of the Revelation are contained in this week given as prophecy to Daniel, including all 21 judgments to be revealed and poured out upon the earth. The two witnesses come in this time, and they are real life superheroes with powers. 

The verse in Daniel also tells about the great treachery of that time by one who comes on the wing of abominations. Would one of these abominations be the tearing down of public statues? Could it be the pedestals are being cleared to fulfill another prophecy, that of the image of the first beast that all must worship in this final week of the age? Makes one think... and maybe want to run to check those scriptures of prophecy once more? 

I may get to slow down a bit for the weekend, but history looks to be speeding up toward the ending.  Love in Christ Jesus to you!

Bucky

Growing Down?

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong.  Ephesians 3:17

As we often associate the direction of down with Hades or Hell, we do not like to think of growing down. And yet as a nation or person, the Bible at times uses a tree as a metaphor and without strong roots that tree will be doomed. Trees as we have seen through careful observation in this life do not often do well floating about in midair. A tree needs the soil of the earth to anchor itself and to grow and thrive. So, if the scripture uses the soil as God's love, how much more do we as the tree need to grow down roots deep into that love? Do you feel that you are there yet?

This question comes up because I do not think or feel that I have as good a grip on God's love as I would like. This feeling must come from God's prompting in His Spirit, because without the Lord I would have no knowledge that I am missing out on something. This also cannot be any shortcoming of God's love, for Jesus the Son showed the greatest love on the cross at Calvary! If trusting in God is the way to grow deeper roots down into His great love, then that is what I must do. And as is the case with all things good, it isn't my work that gets the thing rolling: the verse begins with Christ making His home in my heart first. 

As always, the first and best glory goes to Jesus my Lord! 

Bucky

Such Were You

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.  Ephesians 2:1

Read a list of the behaviors of sin in this world, and one can but see how well we resemble such a description. Even now, years after salvation was effected in us, we may see the huge footprints of sins long past, like the largest of dinosaurs whose footprints lay embedded in stone. That same day we may be caught by the quick striking of the serpent by the path, and fall once more to trespass and sin. Who could ever believe himself or herself saved by such a presentation of our weakness? 

One obviously cannot! For our struggles to walk the righteous path are weak, our good deeds as filthy rags, and our efforts to save ourselves quite useless. However, salvation was never based on your effort or mine. Salvation came from God through Christ by faith in Him. And there is our answer to this dreadful presentation of who we WERE. It is the promise of eternal life from God the Father by way of His Son Jesus that we must place before the eyes of the heart when the Enemy attacks us with the past life and the present weakness. Want a blessed assurance for the future? Quit looking at yourself and look to the Lord Jesus! 

Set the heart on the promise of God!

Bucky

More Than We See

So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:16-17

The world powers of darkness appear quite large and numerous to us right now, overwhelming even, and yet if we could but see the hosts of Heaven gathered for the fight as the young servant of Elisha did in his day we would be comforted. Today though, we are called to look with the eyes of faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is more to Him than we can see right now. The Lamb of God was obedient to the sacrifice then, but the Lion of the tribe of Judah stands ready to return with forces arrayed for battle. By faith we know, but with our eyes we cannot see them just yet. 

Have faith in the Lord, His time comes quickly!

Bucky 

Not Of Myself

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  Ephesians 2:8-9

Good morning in Christ our Lord! Today, I thought that I would outline for you everything I did to be saved.

1. 

There it was, hope that gives you some pointers to get you started along the way. Nicodemus, that teacher of Israel, probably hoped to add to his lesson plan an outline provided by our Lord Jesus. He got an answer that went right by him without slowing down. 

"Born again? How do I tell the students to do that? How will I explain it to them?" Nicodemus may well have wondered in the moment. We of course know from our advanced science, technical experience, and bigger brains... not a thing more than Nicodemus about how this born again thing is accomplished by our Lord. A list of boasts that any of us can make of ourselves in the salvation process runs just as long as what we did to make it happen. 

Salvation is all the Lord's doing. Praise God for His great gift!

Bucky

Puppy Healer the Unwise

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:17

Imagine just for a moment that you have been given a rare gift, the ability to heal dogs. Yes, those pets that many of us think are among the best things in life, our canine companions; who get sick and die just the same as we do. You come upon one dog obviously in need of your healing, and without the slightest research or hesitation you heal this dog. The poor ailing doggie is saved to live out many more days on this earth by your kind attention. The family looks upon their returning and suddenly healthy pet with what can best be described as horror. What? Yes, in this rare case, the dog had turned out to be irascible in manner, a biter of the hands that fed it, an ungrateful wretch among dogs, and everyone who knew this canine cantankerous curmudgeon waited eagerly for the day it would finally die. And then along you came, Puppy Healer the Unwise. 

If anyone but our Lord Jesus saved the fallen humans, we might be faced with a similar situation. Without God's Spirit in each and every one of those who have come to believe in the Son of God, we would be faced with an eternity of life without redemption, existence without love, and an eternal continuance of living without any of the joy we have in Jesus. So close were our first ancestors to this that God quickly moved to separate them from the Tree of Life. Our salvation must be given by God through His Son Jesus, or we are in deep trouble. Praise God that Jesus is the Way, and the only way, for us to come to God the Father! 

Separations come to us in this life, but we are grateful that each is managed in the wisdom of God our Father,

Bucky

Do I Have Your Permission?

And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.  Mark 5:13

Permission, we want it for those things we want to do. Not quite, the fallen human does not want to need permission from anyone to do those things he or she wants to do. It was the first sin Eve and then Adam fell into in Eden as they reached for the one thing that was denied to them. The wind is coming up right now, and I did not give it permission to do that. The wind does not care. The man, the 4,875th (or more) in the line of succession from Adam, does not have the slightest bit of dominion over the wind. In reaching past the Lord's permission, Adam lost all dominion for himself and his successors. Thus we have some small insight into the stunned questions of the disciples when this man, this Jesus, rebuked the wind and it stopped. Who is this? The disciples wondered one to another. And did you see the unclean spirits ask permission of Him? What authority does He have that these things need His permission? 

One of the great blessings of this life is in learning to ask permission of the Lord and to obey His commands. And one can hear the old, fallen human crying out against such restrictions. Foolish old fallen thing! It is the very door to freedom that our Lord opens to us. Let us live in our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen.

Bucky

Sent Out There Into The World

 “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”  John 9:5

God gave me this thing, and then it sat in my shed for the past 8 years because it didn't fit anything inside the house. Saturday, I sold this thing in a yard sale, and when the buyer did not pick it up, it sat outside. On Sunday, this thing suffered a couple of indignities from passing birds, and then a cat came by and marked its territory on it in the usual way. Later, the sun blazed down upon the thing all day, followed by not one but two rain showers and the usual drying out process both times. Sheltered no more, this thing has had a tough first couple of days out in the world. As each one comes to believe in Jesus, he or she will get the same treatment from the world. 

As long as we have the light of the world to look to, and His light in us to strengthen and restore us, we too can take what the world will throw at us. It might be messy, certainly uncomfortable, and often no fun at all, but we can keep going through our Lord Jesus Christ. And, when His time has come, we will be picked up and taken away to be home with our Lord forever! 

Amen. Come Lord Jesus!
Bucky

Combed, Buffed, Polished, and Plumed!

How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.   James 4:14

Oh, we would do so much better in that meeting tomorrow if we were combed, buffed, polished, and plumed. Okay, so the last one means decorated with feathers, so maybe not that one so much, but we have a desire to present our best outward appearance when called to the big show. And show it would be if that were not our normal mode of dress and finish. However, a show is not necessarily a bad thing when called for by the circumstances. What we are concerned over today is not the meeting tomorrow, but the meeting today and the little while in which we have to give our testimony to the world. Does this next presentation call for fancy dress and an improved finish? Then ask of the Lord without shame and He will provide. Is your normal mode so normal for you that no one would recognize your appearance if it were combed, buffed, polished, and plumed? Then don't worry over it, show up to the show just as you are now. Not that a few feather decorations wouldn't be interesting of course! 

James reminds us that we do not know what tomorrow will bring. Let us do our best in Christ today, and tomorrow we will be with our Lord again. Whatever our appearance today and tomorrow, our Lord is glad to delight in each of us! 

In the love of Christ, 
Bucky

A Propitiation Needed Here

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  Luke 9:10

It seems that public property was already a thing in Bethsaida. It does not say a city park, which would have been nice for them, but a deserted place owned by the city. We have some of those here in our little town, and the larger cities probably have more of 'em. Jesus took His little group and found one of those places for some private time after the apostles had checked in with their leader. Did our Lord have an ulterior motive in this private meeting place? Yes, maybe, and perhaps several, but one is going to stand out for us; Jesus performs one of His more famous miracles here in this place - the feeding of the 5,000. 

Our Lord Jesus took the apostles aside privately, but the multitudes soon followed and found them, or more accurately, Him. Here was a doctor whose healing worked, and He didn't send out huge bills. Here was a priest who had the words of life, and He did not make anyone go through a gauntlet of money-lenders and animal sellers. Here was the Son of God, and yet... the multitude probably didn't know or understand that in the way we have of knowing things. Self interest may have brought them, but the Son was about to give them (and us!) what was needed most - propitiation.  He would offer up Himself to pay the sin price God's justice demanded of all peoples, nations, tribes, and tongues. 

We are so grateful and glad that He did!

Bucky

Prayer Works Because God Is Good

Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.  Psalm 143:10

There are those times when we may want to take credit for prayer unto ourselves. "I prayed over it night and day for weeks until the thing finally came." Who gave the strength to persevere in that effort? All around the world this morning prayers to deities are going up and out and around, but many of them are only useful as an exercise. Those prayers are spoken to deities which do not exist. The call is made but no one is on the other side. Our prayers to God may not be answered either, if we take the glory of the Lord and try to steal it. It has been said that prayer works because God is good. You know this because I said it in the title; it's right up there, go ahead and look. Now who gave to me the inspiration to say such a thing? Ah, yes. Now we come to seek the source of our prayer. 

"Teach me to do Your will..." the psalmist wrote so long ago. Indeed we do not know of ourselves how to do the will of God. His word tells us through the stories and prophecies of old, but if I were to take only myself and what I think I know and go into prayer, it would come out with only the usual list of gripes and wishes for what I want. Anyone can do that. A person does not even need a living deity to send up prayers of that nature. However, if one expects an answer to the wishes and strength to endure the gripes, it might help to pray to Someone who is listening, and cares about us, and loves us, and who is good!

And of course to be led to the land of uprightness is to make those prayers count by putting the needs of others on the altar before God, and praying for His good to do them good. Praise God! 

Bucky

Lots Of Anger Out There

For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls which I have made.  Isaiah 57:16

To state that there is much anger out there in the world right now does not make me especially observant. Stating the obvious is easy for any writer or talker. However, there is one anger that none can stand for long, the anger of our Lord God toward us. In Isaiah the prophet, the Lord pointed this out with a promise that He would call it off at some point. The anger before which every spirit would fail will be no more in that day.  What will turn aside this anger though? Who can turn away the destructive anger of the all-powerful God? 

"I will..." says the Lord our God, and He goes on to speak of restoration, healing, and leading. We know from the new covenant that our Lord Jesus is the answer to how God would come down and heal us and restore us and of course, that big one for all of us, satisfy God's anger by taking the punishment due our sin upon Himself. 

We are grateful to you, dear Lord God, for the grace we do not deserve! 

Bucky

A Gift Of God

I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.  Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

To those in the world the fruits of labor are earned by them and it is theirs to enjoy. To them there is no supreme being involved in the earning or in the enjoying, and thus no one to thank but themselves. For those of us who believe in our Lord Jesus though, we are most cognizant of the gift of labor when it becomes more difficult or, worse, when we cannot do it at all. Increasing age being one condition in which we become quite well reminded that our labor comes by gift from Providence. Accidents, illness, and injury are other events in life that may remind us of our uselessness apart from that gift of God.  And what a great day to recall the gift of God but Friday, the day we often look forward to the different labors of the weekend. In youth we might expend a lot of energy goofing off on the weekend. Somehow that labor seems so much easier than the labor we expend later in life in yard work, or taking a trip, or getting up, and yet, all of that labor is a gift of God according to Solomon the Wise. 

Great news in Christ for the day!

Bucky

If God Will

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God."  Genesis 28:20-21

Ah, yes, that horse-trading prayer, 'if God will do this and that and this other thing for me, then I will let Him be my God. Jacob was known by this and other stories in his life as a man who did some bargaining, to put it in a nice way. You and I probably know someone who could have taken Jacob's place without a bit of further training or practice. We may have tried a bit of the ol' negotiating ourselves in some prayer not so very long ago. Just don't send me on that dreaded 'mission to the Congo,' Lord, and I'm all yours. We are afraid that the Lord our God will treat us like we have been treated in this world by others. We fear that the Lord will get out His whippin' whip and drive us to where we do not want to go. Which qualities of God do we forget in this fear? 

The Lord's enduring mercy, goodness, and love would seem to be three that come to mind quickly when the fear is set aside for a time and what we know by faith from the word of God returns to mind. A study assignment to that fearful self - look up stories from the Bible showing the goodness, mercy and love of our Lord God in action. 

God's love and goodness to you on this day in Christ,

Bucky

Blameless In The Day

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:4-8

Coming to you from the laptop this morning, as the rebuild of my PC is ongoing with 16 hours or so of file backup to get started. (Should have used a faster hard drive.) 

Blameless before the Law? Not me, but Paul was; he said it in Philippians 3. Both of us needed the salvation of Jesus Christ though. How does that work? Paul explains it in his letter to the Romans. However, we have this promise in the scripture passage for today: a gift of grace from our Lord Jesus and blamelessness in the day of our Lord.

There it is, nothing I can add to that! Have a wonderful day in Christ the Lord!

Bucky

Prayer Spending

"Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” Acts 6:4

Along with a division of labor in the new church, the apostles wanted to do some more spending. We are more familiar with the spending our government does as it tries to start up our economy again and get us to spend more money. Spending time in prayer is of course much less expensive to the bank account than spending time in money. That is a reason to begin spending more time in prayer, though it likely is not the best reason. 

Easily do we calculate what we lose by spending time in prayer. Offer to spend an hour in prayer for the company one works for, and each of us can quickly state that we will lose x dollars per day and xx dollars per week and so on as our pay is docked for that hour. How much would the company gain though? What might our church gain if we spent a certain amount of time in prayer each day, praying in that time only for the church? Families, communities, states, and nations might gain greatly by one spending prayer for the good of that entity. Prayer spending, I might suggest, will benefit us much more than more government debt spending. 

There is talk in the news of revolution and epiphanies in thought and methods, but what sort of change could be wrought by a turning to God in prayer? How much further might we go with prayer spending? 

The Lord rejoices in you!
 Bucky

Work Before God?

But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. Matthew 22:5

This verse comes from one of those shocking parables that Jesus spoke to the Jewish people. At that time, the opportunities to eat good were the three festivals in the Law, and those weddings. This parable is about a wedding feast where no one wanted to attend, which is quite unlikely and shocking as the people of the time did not get to eat good, for free, all that often. And of course it was a celebration, a chance to rest from work with good reason. Yet, the invited ones refused to come, and then the working folk would rather go about their business. In the New King James version, the word says that they made light of the invitation. It was also the worst of insults to the host to ignore the invitation and go about your daily business as though nothing important was going on. 

We know that work must not come before God in our life, but do we obey that work cannot come before God? The usage is so unusual that it may seem strange to us. Obey that work cannot come before God? Are you using the right words there, crazy one? Maybe we can use those words of that first greatest commandment, that we love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Obeying those words will take care of that problem of having any work come before God in life. 

Living those two greatest love commandments will take care of the entire raft of rules we find in the Bible, and we get to live in love instead of under the burden of the Law! 

Love in Christ Jesus,
Bucky

Life Matters

In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.  Colossians 3:11 NIV

Some are tempted to respond with, 'all lives matter', but this verse from our brother Paul might be better for us to think on. I like very much the latter part, "Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us." We like to think that much of what we do matters. Work, family, friends, our church, that group we have membership in, and perhaps even that secret hobby we don't talk about, are all candidates to make 'me' matter over our fellows. 

Paul starts with our new life in Christ, and then puts down all that we want to matter in our old life. Paul is not saying that we should walk away from our spouse and children because they no longer matter. He is not encouraging us to give up that job we hold. What Paul is stating in different words is what Jesus said in His great sermon, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:33. This is why Paul writes in the present tense that what race or job we were doing when the Lord saved us does not matter. 

And, yes, I do believe that barbarian is a job, but uncivilized is more of a pastime. Have a great day in Christ the Lord! 

Bucky

On The Hit List

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

For all the words Lazarus spoke in the Bible, he may have been a mute. And yet, it is recorded in the scripture that he held a powerful testimony. Lazarus knew what it was like to live under the condemnation of a powerful group of persons in the Jewish life and religion. Those same chief priests would succeed in bringing Jesus to trial before them and in setting Him up to be killed by the Roman authority. Lazarus, having spent four days in the grave, may have cared not a bit what the chief priests thought they could do. Jesus told Pilate that the governor's power over Him was given, and as we see from the resurrection - temporary. 

Therefore, we who believe in and belong to Christ, like our brother Lazarus, should have no concern for what the world thinks it can do to us. If persecution and death are allowed by the Lord, then praise and glory to Him. If we are to live for a while here on this earth testifying to the glory of God with or without words, then that will come to pass as the Lord our God wills. Because if the Imperial Roman authority only had power over our Lord Jesus briefly, and the chief religious authorities only had power in this life over Lazarus, and the grave only had power over Lazarus and our Lord for such a short time, then truly the One we want to know is the One who holds the authority to grant those moments of power. And now that all authority has been given to Jesus in Heaven and on Earth, then that man seems a great place to start! 

Have a powerful day in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

Way Bigger Sticks

But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.  Jonah 1:4

As the morning of the fourth windy day dawns, it is hard for us in these parts to talk about anything else. It has not gone on so long that we are resigned to it, we are still in that time when the urge to burrow deep into bed and sleep is strong for some of us, while others want to marvel at the destructive power of it with each new day. Sunday morning, I went out early and picked up the little twigs and sticks in my yard; on Monday a stranger would not have known I had done any such thing. On Tuesday morning, I can tell you the sticks got way bigger. Yup, bigger, that is the word I want, whether it exists in Webster's or not. I was the one awakened at zero dark thirty by the fall of them, I get to use the word. 

As calm finally came a bit later, I went back to bed and thanked God. At first it was not for any specific thing, just a gratitude that cannot be explained by myself alone. This morning I can see many specific reasons to be grateful to the Lord, but I do enjoy that knowledge of gratitude that comes even in the dark and windy night. 

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)

Bucky

Personal Accountability

So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude. Luke 22:6

It is only fair, I suppose, after all I have been one among many who has on occasion suggested recalling or voting out an entire political body, that one of those groups would then decide to disband their police force in response to current events. That would be an interesting experiment in personal accountability in one part of one city. 

One thing I have found through experience is that I am not the best personal accountant of my ability to resist sin. Easily do I fall into it in some areas of temptation and somewhat thin is my ability to recall for accounting purposes every transgression. Should I count on this somewhat spotty record to justify myself before the great Judge at the end, I would of course fall to the evidence against me. This was shown to me by the Lord's Spirit back some years ago, and I came to know that only through a savior could I be justified. Just so happens, the Lord had provided a Savior long before I came to be born on this Earth. And there He was, evidence through faith of the Lord's goodness and love, a cure for my weak personal accountability. Hallelujah!

Rejoice, those events that concern us so in this day may well be the sea from which the Beast of the final tribulation stands forth revealed. Our redemption draws near!

Bucky

Get Born Again

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  John 3:3

The news, I must admit, has beaten on me rather well as of late, and so I'm doing my best to take a break from it and follow my own advice in doing so. I have been like that little kid who wants to prove his toughness by walking up to the local bully over and over again to receive yet another beating. Nicodemus, had quite a different hope when he went by night to meet with this new teacher, but he received a sort of spiritual whack upside the head.

Nicodemus answered with all the intellectual weight and talent of the world when he asked by way of reply, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter into a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Just the sort of waggish answer one might give, if he wanted to be a smart sort of intellectual. Also, the sort of confused answer an honest seeker might give, as Nicodemus did, when he thought he knew the way of things but met with an utterly insane answer. It is a bit fun for us to see the discomfiture of Nicodemus from the distance of scripture, but we face the same choice he did: this man is a loony, or he is lying to throw me down, or he is Lord and knows what I have not known apart from him. Nicodemus and all those who have believed in Jesus have chosen to follow our Lord Jesus Christ.

The current crisis continues in a different form, but as for me and my friends we will trust in the Lord Jesus!

Bucky

The World Practices...

But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  Matthew 12:36

We may understand that the day of the Lord's judgment has not come just yet, but the world, and the powers and principalities therein, wants to take the place of our Lord and it practices judgment even now. One example of this in action concerns our idle words.

In the constitution of the United States, every citizen is guaranteed the right to freedom of speech. Um, not exactly. In the first amendment to the Constitution, Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech. As we gave authority to the congressional branch to make laws, how did this age we live in become so quick to judge our speech when no law abridging it is allowed? This process is more than can be laid down in a short devotional, but over the years since the Constitution become the law of the land, we have come to a time when we cannot speak anything we want in our words. Some restrictions have come from bitter experience, such as yelling 'fire' in a crowded place when there is none and causing a needless and deadly panic. Others have come from sincere efforts to remove inequalities to groups and persons.

Now, say certain words in an idle moment at work, and see how quickly a career can end. Still think everyone is free to speak when not at work? Numerous examples show how quickly the powers in this world will reach out and restrict the rights of a person from a social media post, an interview in the media, or an e-mail to a friend. The world practices as judge, even though the Judge has not yet arrived from His heavenly throne. A moment of idle speech may bring a ton of those proverbial bricks down upon the head of the speaker. Where's the freedom in that?

Watch out for one another in love and the grace of Jesus Christ,

Bucky

Words

Do not be rash with your mouth,
And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.
For God is in heaven, and you on earth;
Therefore let your words be few.  Ecclesiastes 5:2 

Words are much in evidence every time we turn on the news in this age. Words are used for maximum effect on others as the politician speaks to NPR this morning. I know because I listened to the interview, and I heard words like choke hold used specifically in that way. We can learn from politicians as we spread the good news of Jesus Christ. We can learn that words are powerful, and they are not harmless as some have tried to lead us to believe. Words might even be found in some small Christian writing this morning; not that the writer himself can be considered small in the physical sense.

The Word of God is our stock in trade, and the words we use to carry out our mission must be chosen with all due care. Often we pray to the Lord for the right words, partly because of the wrong words we have used at times to our regret. However, the main reason or part is that we know the Lord always has the right words. We are even told of a time where we may be hauled before the courts and to not prepare words for such a case as they will be given to us in that hour when we need the right words.

To send a few good words: Love and grace in Christ Jesus to you this fine morning!

Bucky

The Seas Rise Up Again

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 It wasn't a shooting this time, but something more intimate and personal. The incident seems almost too perfectly set up to be only the work of those persons on the scene. Are we seeing the work of the principalities and powers that Paul warned us were active in his time? And the response, though there have been incidents enough for practice and greater proficiency, so quickly did it escalate to what we see each night. Such organization and orchestration anyone can see, is that only from human will or is something darker at work?  The answers to these questions are complex and I believe only God can see those many personal decisions that led to that point in time, and only He knows what persons, powers, and principalities are involved and how much each of them can do in this. However, I have the privilege of prayer and the power to open the Bible and read it. The seas of outrage rise up again, will this time show us the powers we watch for at the end of this age?  Now, spin your head around and rejoice in the Lord today, because looking too much at the turmoil of the world is not good for any of us. There's a revival going on here! How's that for timing? Bucky

The Coming Cold Days

    “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." Matthew 24:12

    We are on the cusp of the hottest days of the year. Is my title for today some sort of bad joke? Am I a false prophet that no one is taken in by? No, we are in those days when lawlessness is growing and along with that will come the love of many growing cold. The abounding of lawlessness, I believe refers only to the days of the Tribulation when the man of lawlessness will have great power over the world. Today we are growing toward that time and already we are appalled by the coldness in the actions of some all around us. For the moment, we can turn our eyes to the numerous acts of generosity, kindness, and love that abound at this time, but the cold days are coming. 

    A draught of dark tidings to be sure, but our Lord Jesus told His disciples this  to make them watchful. He tells us through His word to be in the same state of watchfulness for this next round of cooling love and growing lawlessness. Are we in the time just before the finale? I believe it to be so, but so did Paul almost 2,000 years past. Watch and be loving to one another. 

    Love to you in Jesus the Christ our Lord,

    

    Bucky

Not A Place To Find Fame

    And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.  Mark 1:28

    There is a social media game you may have seen going around where a person lists five famous people he or she has been within a few feet of, one of which is not true. I'm not sure what this is supposed to prove about a person, but the game itself shows something about me. I cannot participate. Nope, I cannot think of even four famous persons who have passed that close to me in all of my little life. It would also seem to show something about the places I have been in my life as well. We don't have famous people passing by here much, or if they do it is high above us in a plane. (A few miles up does not count in the game, I suspect.) I'm thinking this morning that Galilee was that way back in the Roman times.

    The fame of Jesus spread in a region where fishermen and sheep herders called to each other with a friendly wave, but kings and princes probably saw little reason to visit. That would appear to be the reason Mark takes note of this, probably from Peter, that it was in fulfillment of prophecy and another of those unlikely events surrounding our Lord Jesus. The wise men searched first in the capital, Jerusalem, after Jesus was born. Others seeking the Lord went to Jerusalem first after Jesus had ascended to Heaven. People would not seek out Galilee first to find the ministry of the Son of God. There are places one goes to be closer to famous people, and Galilee was not one of them.

    There are some big churches in some big cities around this earth, but finding Jesus may be easier in the regions like Galilee even today. Seek Him, while He may be found!

Love and grace to you in Christ the Lord,

Bucky

A Little Bit Prodigal

“And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. Luke 15:13

The word prodigal comes up one time in one verse in the New King James version of the Bible, and yet the story Jesus told is known the world over. Other versions of the Bible do not use the word at all, and yet so many know the story and what the word means. One word! What an effective communication the words of Jesus are! How great is the Bible, the word of God, that it spreads so far and so well? 

Of course, part of the knowledge of this word comes from how many of us have tried it. Both secular and religious persons have gone out from our parent's home and tried this method of living for a time. With only a minuscule number of exceptions, we have found that it quickly renders one destitute, broke, and without folding money. However, the point of the story is not the life lesson in stewardship so much, important though that is to each of us, as it is about the humble homecoming and the joy of the father. Why, the elder son wondered, should that layabout lout be welcomed into the home again? 

One who sees no need in his life for a second chance cannot know the blessing the Father gives to those of us who come to know our need of His salvation and that second chance to be born into a new life. 

Thank You, dear Lord Jesus, for the lovely lesson of the prodigal son,

Bucky

To All Who Are In Rome

To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans 1:7

There come those days when it seems that messages to you should begin in just this way. Our nation does bear some similarities to that nation of old. However, there are those times when it seems that this place must be that new Babylon spoken of in the scriptures too. An angel flying over us to call the Lord's people out of her would not surprise us so very much. We too though are a part of that far away people who have come to believe in the Lord Jesus in great numbers. 

So, wherever you may be on this earth, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to God that we are called together in Christ to be saints by His hand. We may be symbolically in the new Rome or the new Babylon or in that nation we now find ourselves, but we are also in the church our Lord is building. And, we are ready to come at His calling, ready to come home with Him. 

Memorial Day weekend comes this evening, I pray that you are allowed to get out some as we celebrate those who have given their lives in service to this nation. 

Bucky

Sometimes, We Get It Again

A proud and haughty man— “Scoffer” is his name;
He acts with arrogant pride. Proverbs 21:24

There was an age about one hundred years ago when statements of arrogant pride abounded. You know of one involving a certain 'unsinkable' ship, but there were many like it in that age. So many awful disasters followed these arrogant statements that our nation learned a lot about pride going before the fall. In fact, I would say that our nation learned so well... If you are not ducking and covering now, you are praying that I do not complete that statement. It is so easy to get on a roll, so to speak, and blurt out the very type of statement that one is trying to avoid. 

This past Sunday, the pastor of a certain local church here in our little town gave a sermon to us regarding this very sin of arrogance. As I read last night a book about the pride of a man who was both doctor and weatherman in Galveston, Texas in that same age of arrogant statements, enough foreshadowing was provided to know that this man was headed for an opportunity to repent. The message in both cases was of course for me as well. Sometimes we get it again from the Lord's dear Holy Spirit, and we must be listening with our ears to hear. 

God's blessings to you as the great day of the Lord approaches,

Bucky

A Certain Expectancy

Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  Mark 12:2

The owner of the vineyard, who in the prior verse planted and outfitted the vineyard, had leased this vineyard to some people. And, when the time came to bottle the wine, this owner sent a servant to reap a share of the production. You may know the rest of the story, or parable in this case, but for the moment let us just look at the circumstance in the present moment of verse 2.

There was in this moment no difference between this contract and many others done in this time and in the years to our time. The owner assumed a certain risk by leasing the field to others and going away to a far country (v1). There are those who have more money and own more things in this world, and there are those who lease some of those things, and there are those who work for a living at wages. There was in this moment no reason for the owner not to send a servant to collect the proceeds of the contract at the proper time. The servant as he or she walked toward the vineyard need have no fear of brigands, as money will not change hands until later when the wine is sold. (I assume this because one servant could hardly carry the owner's share of the wine on his person, unless it was a really small vineyard.) But, we know what happens! Yes, when we have knowledge from the Lord, it is tough to stay in the moment. 

Exactly what we face each day knowing that our Lord is coming again to take us home to be with Him. It is tough to work and live and play in this moment when we know such great things await us in Christ the Lord! Rejoice in that certain expectancy of His return.

Bucky

Nothing Broken

A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench,
Till He sends forth justice to victory;
And in His name Gentiles will trust."  Matthew 12:20-21

So gentle is our Savior that the things which are about to break and the fires that are about to go out are not further broken by Him. But there is a word of change there too. A time is spoken of when justice shall be sent forth by our Lord to victory. A fulfillment of this prophecy comes in the Revelation when our Lord returns on the white horse and a sword comes from His mouth to defeat the enemies gathered at Armageddon. And then comes a word and His promise specifically for us: 

"And in His name Gentiles will trust."

Indeed we are glad to be a part of that prophecy; a rejoicing fulfillment of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. In His Name, we trust and live, knowing well that only in Him are we saved from the judgment that is to come. In His name, we love one another and our Lord. 

In His great name!
Bucky

Remember the Lord!

Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name;
Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.  Psalm 29:1-2

It does not take much time on the Internet this morning to endure some bad news. We need not engage in a lengthy search or climb some high mountain of links to see words such as, caught, inquiry, virus (of course), test, secretive, risk, crash, and several other ominous examples. Last night, after finishing a book about the haves vs. the have-nots, I felt the stirring of despair. What can a person such as you or me do in such a world as this? We can pray, and it was prayer that reminded me that God, our Lord and Savior, is still in control and in fact has never relinquished control to anyone, least of all the world's media. Whether it is a non-fiction book or a news web site, these are not the final words of authority on this world and all that is to come. My God is still in control! 

This morning, as God's new mercies refresh us for the day, we are reminded by David to give unto the Lord. So bring every scrap of wealth and possessions you can find around the house immediately into... No, David did not mention those things in our verse for today. Glory and strength, the glory due His name, and worship, these are the things David commands us to give to the Lord. 

And did the king call us 'mighty ones'? Mighty ones?! Did you wake up feeling the powerful strength of a mighty one? Perhaps not, I can assure you that I did not. Like most of us elder folks, I took stock of what hurt and what works, and then staggered into the bathroom to take care of an immediate demand from that same body I was just polling for responses. Some mighty one I turned out to be. We are of course mighty in the Lord; a permanent kind of might that does not vanish away like dew in the morning as our strength and might tend to do in this world. So, we once again turn our eyes to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. 

Amen, and have a great day rejoicing in Christ the Lord!

Bucky

A Friday In The Middle Of May

The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying,
“Let us continue to go and pray before the LORD,
And seek the LORD of hosts.
I myself will go also.”  Zechariah 8:21

So you got up today and the world still appears as a slow-moving train wreck in so many ways. It is difficult to tear the eyes away from the spectacle of the news, and yet you wonder what yourself or anyone else can do about it. Simply not looking does not to the Christian seem the way to go when so many are suffering in this time. And yet, it is that very world we want to help that has commanded all to stay away! Zechariah has an answer for us in prophecy.

Let us pray to the Lord! We can each of us be an inhabitant of one city praying for all before the Lord of hosts. We may not be able to go up to Jerusalem to pray before the Lord Himself just yet, but we can start the praying. (The next verse tells of that great day when many shall go up to Jerusalem and to the Lord.) A prayer to the Lord for the salvation of others is a great thing to do on a Friday in the middle of May! 

Rejoice in the Lord this day!

Bucky

A Death Experience

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

There are several testimonies floating about of what we call near-death experiences, and we are fascinated to read them and gain some clues about Heaven. However, those stories are often 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or even 90 minutes in actual dead time as measured by the clocks we have in this world. Lazarus has a story that is something else entirely - four days! Jesus even waited some distance off so that no one would have reason to doubt that Lazarus was kaput; he was no more; stone dead. We're about to launch into a dead parrot sketch here. We get the point, Lazarus was dead. Lazarus did not have a near-death experience; he had a clearly dead experience. They even buried him in the usual way for the time. 

You and I have often wondered why we do not have a testimony from Lazarus in the scriptures. Such a story would be fascinating indeed with four days in Heaven to tell. Perhaps though, the story became so convincing to the divinity of Jesus that it was suppressed and no copy survived. The chief priests wanted to give Lazarus a twice dead experience, as his testimony of Jesus had caused many to believe in the Lord and to go away from the Jewish religion. Their corrupt living was threatened by Jesus clearing the temple and by the testimonies of those who believed in Messiah. Of course, just getting rid of Lazarus in this way would not have stopped the motivator of their faith, Jesus. And that is why there is that little word 'also' in the verses for today. Jesus was on the hit list of the chief priests too. 

The chief priests were successful in their plot, but on the third day He rose again!

Bucky