In Big Sky Country (song)

Note: Though I didn't really write anything with a Christmas theme for the blog this year, these next three entries were all written in some ways as gifts for others, so consider them as Christmas presents to remember the Giver of all good gifts Who gave us the very best when He sent Christ that first Christmas to save us all from our sins. Merry Christmas! Praise God for His love. :-)

Life is so very hard. Yes, there are times when it has its moments of joy but it also has so many moments of pain. And while we all face our fair share of it all, there are some people groups who have gotten hit so hard and others often don't even see it or ignore. In a big country, it's easy to ignore the plight of others. This song was written as an encouragement for the beautiful Native American people of Montana especially, as well as those throughout America. I had the blessing and privilege to serve these people in helping host basketball camps during the last two summers and in so doing seek to share the love of Christ with people there. There are a lot of hardships that face the people there, largely stemming from the past misdeeds of history- all of which ultimately comes down to the perniciousness of sin that still pervades the whole world. The state of Montana has one of the highest suicide rates in the country and that number is sadly particularly high among the Native American Indian people. I pray that the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine people may come to know the eternal Hope of Christ. If you are interested in learning more and supporting these people groups there, check out Montana Indian Ministries and the work God is doing through Pastor Bruce Plummer there. Give if you feel led, but most of all- pray for God to move and use His servants there to reach many there in Big Sky Country with Jesus' love.

"In Big Sky Country"
(parody of "In A Big Country" by Big Country; copyright by Nathan Ludwick 8/23/2019)
(Jeremiah 1:5, Jeremiah 31:3, Philippians 1:6, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Romans 6-7, Romans 10:8-13, Psalms 139, John 3:16-17, Joshua 24:14-15, John 10:10, John 14:6, 1 John 4:18-20, Isaiah 43:1-7, Isaiah 42:1-4, 2 Samuel 22:30, Psalms 18:29, Psalms 27:13, Deuteronomy 30:15-20, John 6:44, Luke 19:10, Luke 4:14-21, Song of Songs 8:6-7, 1 Corinthians 13, Isaiah 35, Revelation 5:9)

Wake up screaming? Keep on dreaming!

You always seem to look listless- but what's the reason?
Another promise fallen through
Another season passes- life's cruel
Life's often taken smiles away from everybody's face
And there's real desperation- look!
Leads some to suicide- O child!

In Big Sky Country, drinks take our youth
Like our drug of choice tries to satisfy-
They all lie!

I think the painful truth's for things that really matter
You must persevere when every dream or hope in you shatters
I am expecting to grow flowers in the desert
In Isaiah figuratively
We see Heaven in 35

In Big Sky Country dreams can come true
The Creator's voice fills the mountainside
Stay alive!

In a big valley- we can do this too!
You are loved- rejoice! Scale the mountainside!
(Put) Faith in Christ!

Mistakes, life's hooks- so severe! They don't define you
Because they've happened doesn't mean you've been discarded
Put hope in Him 'cause The Lord conquers demons
Christ died for every sin! Creator Sets Free wants you!
Christ's God- The Way, Life, Truth- rising proved that He's Master
His love casts out fear- through everything there's Hope-
Your life matters! Niya!
I am expecting to grow flowers in the desert
And there flow rivers, streams
And see The Son then bring new life!

In Deuteronomy 30- we choose!
God our Father's voice draws us to His side
Please choose Life! (hashtag)
Assiniboine, Gros Ventre- Peace I pray for you
Christ's own blood ransomed folks from every tribe
Rev. 5:9
In Big Sky Country- dreams made like hoops
Through The Lover's choice find in Christ new life
Stay alive!

(Note: "Big Sky Country" is one of the state nicknames for Montana. "Creator Sets Free" is a term for Jesus used in the First Nations Version translation of The Bible, a translation specifically written with First Nation (Native American) people in mind! :-)
"Niya" is a term used by the Lakota people used to refer to the "life-breath". I am using it here to reflect back to the One who gives us both the first life breath with physical life (Genesis 2:7) and a second life breath with spiritual life when we put faith in Christ. (John 20:22))

The Straight and Narrow Road (song)

It's here to beat another path straight to your door. Yes, it's yet another parody song lyric and it's another popular tune with a Christian lens on it. I've seen the illustration before where life is presented as two roads- with our preferred version of events and God's plan of events. (I don't want to put the mic, cart or knee before the horse though [particularly since two of those wouldn't make much sense ;-) unless he's Mr. Ed]- Spoiler alert- God's way always is harder; but it pays off in eternal dividends in the end!) Of course, Jesus talked about two different roads as well in Matthew 7. There's the broad way of self-idolatry that leads to destruction that so many people are sadly bound for Hell upon even now. And then there's the straight and narrow road following Jesus, our crucified and Risen Lord and Saviour that only a few ever find that leads to Life- and Life eternal in Heaven with Jesus! As Robert Frost said in his classic poem, "The Road Not Taken", I took the one less traveled by- and it's made all the difference. And all the way, my Saviour leads me. :-)

"The Straight and Narrow Road"
(parody of "The Long and Winding Road" by The Beatles; parody lyrics copyright by Nathan Ludwick 11/7/2015)
(Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 14:12, Proverbs 16:25, Jeremiah 10:23, John 10:7-18, Proverbs 1:29-33, Proverbs 21:2, Proverbs 19:21, Proverbs 16:2, Matthew 7:12-14 and 21-29, Romans 6, Psalms 23, John 14:1-11, Luke 13:22-30, Luke 6:46-49, Philippians 2:1-11)

The broad and winding road that leads to our doom
Will never get us where
We think that road will go- It always leads us there
Leads us to hell's gloom

And while we're sinning, Christ became as a slave
Played the fool on a hill dying for our sake

Won't leave us stranded here- The Truth, Life and Way!
Then His rise can be our own- Romans 6:5 outlines
Trust in faith- you bet He knows the many ways we've tried, but
Still they lead to death on the broad and winding road
Choose understanding here- Proverbs 1:29- go!
Don't keep debating here- Jesus is The Door!

(do-do-do) (instrumental break)

Matthew 7- read that- Take The Straight and Narrow Road
You led me to walk there a long, long time ago
You lead me walking here- lead me to Your throne!

.....................................................................................

Season for the Reason: Picking Jesus, Not Cherries

Note: This is the first in what I hope will be a series of blog posts dealing with some common objections that are raised against Christianity, some of which even Christians get confused on at times. (I certainly get confused on them too.) However, I firmly believe, as Chris Rice once wrote, that God has "an exclamation point for every question mark." And I believe The Bible addresses every issue we face, whether directly or indirectly. While this certainly isn't comprehensive and won't be definitive, I hope these posts will be helpful in explaining why Christians believe some of the things that we do and that they will do so in a loving way that does not seek to denigrate other beliefs, put merely present the teaching of Christ in His Word. These are based on questions that have been personally raised to me and I thought it might be helpful to talk about these topics here, as they reflect concerns and questions that many seekers and agnostics as well as skeptics share. [And as I said earlier, Christians also wonder on these things at times too, I do believe. Or at least this Christian has at times.] Let me also state that I do not believe in arguing or convincing anyone into Heaven; only the Holy Spirit can change someone's heart and bring them saving faith in Jesus. So I don't expect to convince anyone with any brilliant logic here, especially since I know that I don't have that much of that. ;-) (If there is anything brilliant or good in here, it's from Jesus, not me.) But 2 Timothy 4:2 commands us to be prepared in season and out of season in preaching the Word and to correct, rebuke encourage- with great patience and careful instruction. And I do want to do that, as I seek to always have an answer for the reason that I have hope, as 1 Peter 3:15 says. :-)


          

For the first point raised, this is a common question that comes up that even many Christians get confused about as well, but it is one that is well addressed by The Bible. I will talk about ye olde problem of the seeming disconnect between Old Testament law and New Testament law and why it seems that Christians seem to cherry-pick which rules to follow at times. Since this objection is often raised as a counterpoint when the topic of homosexuality comes up and The Bible's prohibition against it, please note that this piece will focus on that topic as a backdrop for this question regarding the Old Testament and New Testament.  I will include a link for further reading if you’re interested, but I never like just posting a link without at least trying to address the issue some myself. (Otherwise I just feel like I’m shuttling people off because I don’t want to confront the topic myself and I never want to do that.) [Here is said link- http://thecripplegate.com/shellfish-mixed-fabrics-and-homosexuality-picking-and-choosing/]
            Jesus states in Matthew 5:17-20 (ESV)- “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
           

This is an important point here. It cannot be emphasized enough that Jesus upheld the Old Testament. What I should have explained further is the reason why Jesus upheld the Old Testament and its laws. The key word in verse 17 is “fulfill”. Jesus Christ fulfilled all the demands of the Old Testament laws. This gets to the crux of the matter of salvation in Christianity. It is coming to the point of realizing that we have done wrong and can never live up to God’s standard for living. (Which is absolute perfection- Leviticus 11:45- God states it here and Jesus reiterates this in Matthew 5:48- “Be perfect therefore as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”) Of course, as Psalms 14:1 and Romans 3:23 and a number of other verses state, there is none righteous. There is no one who has perfectly kept all of the law. Thus, we are all imperfect sinners and wrongdoers who fail to meet God’s standard. God says in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death- both physical death and spiritual death. (i.e. eternal punishment in hell.) However, the same verse also says that the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. God knows that no human being can meet His standard. And He also knows the consequence of this. And as one of the most famous verses in The Bible tells us- God loves us so much that He intervened and sent His Son Jesus to rescue us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:16-17) And Romans 5:8 confirms that God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The very thing that I most celebrate as a follower of Christ- Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday- this is where the literal crux of Christianity lies- in Easter. Because Jesus died to pay for all the sins ever committed in the world and He rose again- He paid once for all the payment for sin- and in the process, He defeated death, sin, the devil and hell- and our sinful nature that we are all born with.
           

When we put our faith in Christ to forgive us of our sins and to submit to following Him as Lord and Savior, a metaphysical, supernatural transaction takes place. God The Father sees our plea for Jesus’ forgiveness and credits us with Christ’s righteousness. Though we ourselves are spiritually and morally bankrupt as Romans 5:12-14 states (the sin of Adam and Eve tainted the entire world), Jesus is perfect and He imputes that righteousness to us at the moment of conversion. Romans 5:15-21 goes on to talk further about this- how just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men, one Man’s righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. As Romans 6:14 states, once we have received Jesus as Savior and Lord, we are no longer under the Law system anymore- but we are now under the New Covenant Jesus came to establish through His blood (as Christ mentions during The Lord’s Supper to His disciples)- and that is the New Covenant of grace. In the Old Covenant of the Law, the Israelites followed God by endeavoring to obey all the commandments- including the dietary laws and other ceremonial laws that were aimed specifically at them. However, there are other moral laws (which is where the prohibition against homosexuality falls) that were given to them and that are still in place in the New Covenant of grace.
          

Galatians 3 puts it this way- (starting in verse 19)- “Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.” (That was verses 19-23). [My parenthetical here- indeed, as The Bible notes elsewhere, the law is what shows us just how much in the wrong we really are and how much we need a Savior because we can’t keep all of the law perfectly ourselves.]
        (resuming in verse 24)- “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”
             The point I am trying to make here is that the Old Testament law served as our guardian until Jesus came. When He came and fulfilled the Law, we were no longer bound by the Law. We trust that He fulfilled all of the Law and put our faith in His righteousness to forgive us our sins and to make us presentable before God in Heaven. No one enters Heaven but by the righteousness of Christ, for as Isaiah 64:6 makes painfully clear- even the righteousness we think we have of our own account is nothing but filthy rags in comparison to the supreme holiness and righteousness of God Almighty.
      

Galatians 3:1-6 is also important to note in understanding this point. Here Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, berates the Galatians for abandoning their walk of faith by the power of the Holy Spirit and instead looking again to their own righteousness (i.e. the flesh) for perfection. The whole point of the Law is to show us just how futile our own efforts are and to show us our need for the Savior. Thus, in the Christian faith, we must always lean wholly on Jesus for all our righteousness.
                Hebrews 8 explains this point quite well. It calls Jesus the High Priest of a better Covenant- the New Covenant, which Jeremiah 31:31-34 prophesied would come. Jesus is the fulfillment of that prophecy. (See also Hebrews 9:11-14, which emphasizes the ceremonial system of sacrificing animals that the Israelites did is no longer necessary- this includes the prohibitions against eating shellfish and mixing fabrics, etc. However, the blood of Christ purifies our conscience from dead works (i.e. the flesh) to serve the living God. Again, we rely on Christ’s completed work and not any of our own.) (The whole book of Hebrews is an excellent New Testament companion book to read alongside Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It gives a lot of insight to how the Old Testament covenant of the Law compares to the New Testament covenant of grace in Jesus Christ- and it explains how we are no longer under the law, but under grace instead.) In fact, on this point, I have read Tim Keller has said that for a Christian to try to live out all of the Old Testament law is an insult to Jesus and a demonstration of a lack of faith. Because I have faith that Jesus has completed all that is necessary for salvation through His death and Resurrection and perfect upholding and completion of the law, I know that I don't have to try to keep all the Old Testament law- and in fact, I cannot. Jesus has done it for me and I trust His completed work for salvation. Of course, as James 2 points out, true saving faith is always accompanied by works AFTER faith has been put in Christ's redeeming work. And as Ephesians 2:8-10 makes clear, God intended for me to do good works all along anyway. After having been saved by grace through faith, I strive to do the good things that Jesus commands me to do out of love and gratitude and obedience to Him- not out of a misguided attempt to pay Him back or somehow earn something that has already been given to me for free. I can never earn it- I must only freely accept it. But when I do, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, it makes me a new person in Christ and God transforms me to be the person He made to be all along.
               

Now here is the caveat I want to make sure is clear. Part of following Christ is being molded more and more to His character. The Bible uses the image of a potter and clay many times, with God as the Potter and us as the clay. We are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27)- and of course, Adam and Eve’s sin tainted that image. God has provided for the restoration of that through Christ’s death and Resurrection. Through putting our faith in Jesus, we begin undergoing the process of sanctification, being made like Christ (the personification of perfection.) Romans 8:4 instructs us that now we must walk according to the Spirit (i.e. God the Holy Spirit) and no longer to the flesh. (i.e. our own sinful nature.) Romans 12:1-2 calls for us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God, which is our spiritual worship. We are to no longer be conformed to this world, but instead be transformed by the renewing of our minds, that by testing we may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Again- we are reminded that God’s will for us is to be like Him- perfect. (Leviticus 11:45, Matthew 5:48). However, even as Christians we still fail and fall back into sin at times. And God promises in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Thus for Christians, it’s an ongoing process of being made more holy each day- a process that ultimately reaches its culmination when we enter Heaven. (Philippians 1:6)
          

While the ceremonial laws of the Israelites no longer apply to us, the moral laws most certainly do. In the case of homosexuality, even if we were to put aside the prohibitions in Leviticus for the moment, we still have the prohibitions in Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and 1 Timothy 1:10. And those commands are all part of the New Testament covenant of grace that we are under- and that we are expected and commanded to follow. Part of the reason homosexual acts of any kind (no matter what the relationship status is) are condemned is because they fall outside of God’s revealed character. God is the One who created marriage and ordained it as an institution. This is a point where Jesus spoke to the issue of homosexuality in Matthew 19 when He upheld God’s standard for marriage- the union of one man and one woman for life. God has designed men and women to relate to each other in the context of marriage, which is symbolic of the relationship He desires to have with us. Just as the husband and wife become one flesh and become united, God desires to be united with us and indeed- Galatians 2:20 and Colossians 3:1-4 speak to this exact unity that we have with Christ- where I no longer live [my old life centered on just myself is dead]- my new life centered on Christ is my real life now. We ultimately enjoy that full unity with God when we are back in His presence again- in Heaven. And as I said before, God’s standard for entry into Heaven is absolute perfection- a standard only met by Jesus Christ. We can gain entry into Heaven (and thus an escape from our default sentence of punishment in hell because of the separation that comes with our sin) only through faith in Jesus. As Jesus Himself said in John 14:6 “I am The Way, The Truth and The Life. No man comes to The Father but by Me.” It is also worth noting that God uses the picture of marriage specifically to speak to His relationship with us- He extensively used this as an object lesson in the book of Hosea with Hosea and Gomer representing Himself and Israel (Hosea 2 is a beautiful picture of the love God has for us and His plan to redeem us and take us back as His own, even though we have rebelled against Him)- and the picture is also used in Revelation 21, which describes Christ as the bridegroom and His church as His bride.
  I know that was a rather lengthy explanation and even after typing it, I feel I still could say much more on it, but I hope that helps with the first point.
                A good example occurred to me that may help illustrate the point about the Israelites having ceremonial and dietary laws that pertained only to them that modern-day Christians no longer follow, though we do still hold up the moral laws as Israel did as well. Why is it that we restrict the sale of alcohol in America? It almost seems rather discriminatory that we forbid persons younger than 21 from consuming or purchasing alcohol. Society as a whole frowns upon it in general and we have a law on the books for that purpose. However, this seems a mere compromise in comparison to previous laws. Why is that we as Americans pick and choose when it comes to upholding the laws on our books? Doesn’t the 18^th. Amendment, ratified on January 16, 1919, prohibit the manufacture, sale, transportation within, importation or exportation of alcohol? Why do we not hold to that law anymore? Why is that we freely allow the manufacture, sale, transportation within, importation and exportation of alcohol now? Aren’t we picking and choosing which laws to follow? Of course, the answer to that is that we are not picking and choosing. We uphold all of the laws on the books- including the 21^st. Amendment (ratified December 5, 1933) which repealed the 18^th. Amendment. Thus, we are no longer bound by the 18^th. Amendment. However, even so, we still hold to a remnant of that law to some degree. We still hold to some of the spirit of the law in that we restrict the sale of alcohol to only those who are 21 and older.
         In the same manner, Christians are no longer bound to the Israelites’ dietary and ceremonial laws because the New Covenant of Grace repealed the Old Covenant of The Law. (See 2 Corinthians 3 for a great discussion of this point. The New Covenant is WAY, WAY better, by the way.) Thus, Christians are not bound to the dietary and ceremonial laws, even though there are still some general moral principles that the laws are based on that we do uphold. And we still strive to maintain the moral laws, but now it is not out of guilt or our own self-effort as a means of salvation- it is out of love and gratitude to our Savior Jesus Christ, as He works in us to shape more into His image of perfection. He has fulfilled all the laws for us and we rely on His perfection to get us into Heaven- not our own. We rely on the perfect completion He brought when He died and rose again to seal the deal for us. And that is why it is not a matter of picking and choosing. I pick and choose Christ and He picked all my sins off of me and chose to bear them on Calvary. Christ has set me free from the law and free to be a slave of grace.
 

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

In That Day (story)

[Note: This is a story I wrote a few years back as a sort of writing experiment, trying to do a progressive story with different time periods represented and certain comparisons made. I could summarize some of the main point with a classic Larry Norman song- "Nothing Really Changes". Ever since Genesis 3, we as humanity have been in the same spot- we are diseased with sin and the only cure is the salvation Jesus offers through faith in His death and Resurrection. One day, in Revelation 21-22, Jesus will bring all things to newness and full restoration. However, Ephesians 2:10 makes it clear that the process starts in us now. This story is an attempt to illustrate a lot of these points. In order to do that, there are a number of caricatures in the story. For the purposes of conservation, there are some characters that embody multiple vices. This is not meant in any way to imply that this is true of all such individuals in similar situations, of course, but it also doesn't preclude that it couldn't be true of any one individual. When it comes down to it, we are all sinners with none righteous (Romans 3:23) and breaking The Law at one point leaves us guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:10) Thus, no sin is any worse than any other. And one day, God will judge all of us. And The Bible clearly warns that eternal torment in Hell awaits all those who reject God's offer of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus. Thankfully, Jesus' amazing grace paid for all of our sins and is greater than them all. Praise God for His love! Heaven awaits all who will put their faith in Him and follow Him.]

 

In That Day

[Copyright Nathan Ludwick 4/21/2015; originally written circa 2002-2003]


Part One: Twenty Minutes Into the Future

 “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator- who is forever praised. Amen.” (Romans 1:25)

                The boy awakens to the insistent ringing of a telephone. Catching the call on the fourth ring, the boy rubs his eyes with one hand in an attempt to make himself fully alert. He listens intently as a cavalcade of emotions are poured out on the other end. As the caller breaks into cries of sorrow, the boy assures the caller that everything will work out somehow. Amid constant tears, the caller finally hangs up after promises from the boy to meet her later, after work. The boy hurriedly prepares himself for his job and rushes off to his business place, ready to work eight hours that evening for minimum wage. As the boy speeds his car down the road, the words of his telephone call resound in his head. He wonders what exactly will be done for the future and how he can prepare himself for it. As he pulls into a parking space at work, he wonders how he will tell his parents the news that his girlfriend will soon end the life of his unborn child.
                In another part of the city, an elderly man prepares himself for bed. He sees about attending to dental hygiene and then goes from room to room, turning out all the lights in the house. He eases himself into a comfortable bed at an hour fairly early in the evening, as he has grown accustomed to doing over the passing years. He holds a pillow, emblazoned with a picture, close to him and thinks about what will happen to her in the future. He speaks not a word, as he gets lost in his own thoughts. He gives a little start at a sudden noise, and relaxes again when it turns out to be only the dog and cat settling down for the night. He lapses back into his train of thinking, and grieves because there is no hope left for his wife and soon she will be taken off of life support at the hospital.
                The college student hastily changes his clothing as he prepares himself for his night out on the town. The weekend has finally come and the student is ready to throw off the scholastic pressures of yesterday and step forward into the carefree future. As he leaves his apartment, he thinks about where he wants to go first. He goes to the nearest singles bar and heads out to the dance floor. After finding a companion for the night, they both order drinks from the bartender. After regaling each other with numerous stories, each story is followed up by a round of drinks. After a while, the two leave the bar and slip into a dark alley to light up a few joints. Finally, after a few hours, the two go off to enjoy the rest of the evening together, after picking up some cigarettes and cigars at a local gas station. At a house far away in another state, the student’s parents hold each other close as they sit on the couch and wonder how their son could abandon his longtime girlfriend because of his desire for an alternate lifestyle.
                A proud father and his expectant wife leave the doctor’s office and discuss their options for their child. Both wonder at the marvel of modern medicine and technology that moves along ever so quickly. They think about all the packages the doctor presented to them and the offers that were made. They consider all the possibilities for their child and dream of how wonderful it will all be in the future. They think of all the chances and opportunities their child will have that many others would not have. The parents look forward to giving their child the very best that their sizable income can buy. They imagine about what it will be like for their child to grow up with absolutely no diseases and blond hair and blue eyes, just like his dad, all thanks to the wonder of biological engineering. They ponder with wonder what it will be like living in this brave new world of advancements.

Part Two: Back to the Beginning

“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” (Judges 21:25)

 
                A man called Ammon makes a terrible wrong choice that he has to accept the consequences for. In order to “extend his borders” he “rips open the pregnant women of Gilead.” The wrath of God is not held back from him. (Amos 1:13)
                A king named Saul runs in the midst of a losing battle. He gets wounded by the arrows of the opponent and may not survive. He does not want to be captured by the enemy’s hand and so he asks his armor bearer to end his life for him. The armor bearer refuses and so the king takes his own life. A man retells this story to the new king and claims to be the one who killed Saul when asked by him to do so. The new king has him executed for “destroying The Lord’s anointed.” (1 Samuel 31:4, 2 Samuel 1)
                All the men of a city come out to greet three visitors. The three men who come to visit stay with a man by the name of Lot. The men desire to have sexual relations with the visitors. Lot refuses and the visitors blind the eyes of the men outside. The visitors reveal themselves to be angels who have come to get Lot and his family out of the city because God has determined to destroy it. Lot’s sons-in-law don’t believe and don’t come and Lot’s wife disobeys the angels and looks back at the city. Lot and his two daughters escape and then “The Lord rains down burning sulfur” on the city and its neighbor. (Genesis 19)
                A man and a woman walk through a peaceful garden and enjoy the beauty of creation around them. Birds and butterflies fly high in the sky, singing their pretty songs. Fish swim along in the river and deer run through the woods. A serpent entices the woman with forbidden fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. The serpent promises the woman the chance to be like God, knowing good and evil. The woman eats of the fruit and gives some to her husband, who eats of it as well. “God banishes both of them from the Garden of Eden.” (Genesis 1-3)

Part Three: Back to the Future

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37)
“…Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…” (Hebrews 9:27)

                The boy, the girl, the grandchildren, the college student and his friend, and the expectant parents all continue in their lives. Their choices are made. Time marches on and moves forward. They eat, drink, and are merry. They have fun now and do not worry about the consequences of their actions. An appointment looms over them all and on one day, they will all have to keep it. The appointment with death is one that cannot be avoided. And “in that day” (Obadiah 1:8), God will surely judge everyone for all the sins they’ve done. However, there is still time to change things before that day comes. God offers salvation for the asking through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. “Anyone who calls on the name of The Lord will be saved.” (Joel 2:32) The people make their choices and live their lives. They don’t listen to the Word of God and ignore the “knocking at the door of their hearts.” (Revelation 3:20) And “how shall they escape if they ignore such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3) God is both righteous and fair. He does deal out judgment and He loves everyone. He still offers salvation to those who will listen and turn to Him.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says…” (Revelation 2:29)

 

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