Ξ January 30th, 2007 | → Comments Off | ∇ End Times |
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One of the signs of the end times or, more accurately, the end of the
age is the coldness of people. In Matt. 24, it tells of people getting
cold hearts. You can see it everywhere. (Matthew 24:11-12, "And many
false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity
shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." As always, please read
the scriptures around these and get the full idea of what is being
talked about here. Never ever take a person’s word for God’s Word
without investigating it yourself.)
When I was growing up, people were polite to each other. They cared if a
neighbor got sick or was hurt in a car accident or had other big
problems. Most people don’t even know their neighbors let alone care
about them anymore. If I’ve just insulted you then you should know that
this is also one of the signs, people getting upset or insulted over the
smallest things. Everyone is ready to sue someone over the dumbest and
most petty stuff.
Another way you can tell about coldness of heart is how self serving a
person is. If it’s more important that they get their way even if it
hurts others, that too, is a sign of the end of the age. If you are an
older person like I am, well not THAT old, then you might remember a
time when things simply were not like this. Haven’t you found yourself
saying " I just wish it was like it used to be when people cared about
others and quit worrying so much about themselves."
Being a good neighbor these days can get you sued, injured or dead.
Those that you save from whatever problem might just decide you are the
one that injured them. Big dollars there. If you have been in a cave for
the last several years, let me remind you to check out the television.
Turn the channels to all those court shows….Judge this guy and Judge
that woman. Many years ago, it was Judge Wapner. Now, it’s so many
judges that you can’t count them all. And what do you suppose is the
reason why these shows are so popular? Because someone is having a
verbal cat fight with a neighbor, relative, ex-spouse, ex-love interest
or whatever else. And there is that almighty dollar too. Ah, what we
will and will not do for a buck.
Maybe, despite those who believe otherwise, we ought to get back to our
roots. No, not just our ancestors but where we began….with our Lord
Jesus. If you have not given your life to Jesus or if you have but are
not where you should be in the Lord, please consider coming to the Lord
before the coldness of this world hits you where it truly hurts, in your
spirit. Jesus died on the cross for you. Yes, YOU! Please ask Him to
forgive you of your sins and then ask Him to come in. He is knocking at
the door to your heart right this minute. If you have asked Him into
your heart, welcome to the family of God! Now would be a good time to go
get that Bible that you have been meaning to open someday.
I invite you to come to my website to help you grow spiritually. Please
come to Lura’s Bookcase. We have
many articles and stories for you there as well as links to many other
sites that will help you as well.
Just a little more on that idea of resting in peace and safety.
Yesterday I mentioned the baby birds. Today, picture yourself in a place
so peaceful that you cannot imagine wanting to leave. For me, that place
is a very large tree next to a babbling brook in a grassy field. There
is no one else around. No car noise, no factory noise, no people
talking, no polution, no trains, no horns. Nothing to hear but the
sounds of birds, bees and the water flowing peacefully by. I sit up
against the tree simply enjoying the peace and quiet of the beautiful,
late spring day. The birds are singing. The trees are budding and
leafing out. The flowers are spectacular. Such colors. There is a very
light breeze. Sunny day. Temp about 75 degrees.
That picture comes to me straight out of
Psalm 23. (Psalms 23:2, "
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still
waters.") Did I add anything myself…yes, I guess I did. But, that is
how the Lord shows me this picture from that scripture. It gives me the
peace that I need to see myself through some of the things I have had to
face through the years. It is a blessing.
For more information and articles on all sorts of things about the Lord,
please come to my website:
Lura’s Bookcase
Ξ January 28th, 2007 | → Comments Off | ∇ Christian Living |
I started thinking today about being in a safe, secure, restful place
enjoying the peace and quiet. God has promised us just such a place. He
tells us that we can rest in
His shadow (Ps. 91)
under His wings. When I
think of that, the first picture that comes to mind is a nest with baby
birds. Mama comes back from finding food for the starving young ones.
The children have been fed and Mama settles down for a rest. She tucks
every single child under her wings for warmth and safety.
When God tells us that He is treating us just like the Mama bird does
her young, I picture security. I picture warmth. I picture a place where
you can see the world but it does not touch you. I picture love on a
very large scale. In the case of the small birds, they settle down for a
nap or for the night without thinking about the predators because Mama
is there watching out for them. They trust her completely. Isn’t it time
for us to do the same for our Father? Shouldn’t we be snuggling up under
the wings and
taking the rest that He provides us? Aren’t we safe enough
with Him? Who could make us safer?
For more information, articles, please come to
Lura’s Bookcase.
Recently, I had received a call from a dear friend. She told me that her
husband’s Grandmother had been taken to the hospital and that the
Grandmother and Grandfather needed prayer. She had pneumonia. He was
very worried about her. Because he is a very new Christian, my friend
felt that he would need the prayer to help him. Both Grandfather and
Grandmother in their 70’s. Last night, another call. She had peacefully
slipped into a coma. The family was quite worried because the doctors
had found damage from mini-strokes and congestive heart failure. It
looked bleak. Today, the call came that she had passed away.
Another call from another state tonight brought the news that a close
friend of our family had passed away from a brain tumor. While quite
different in that they were aware of the fact that she was going to die
from the tumor, it was still sudden and painful. They may have believed
that there was more time. Doctors could have said that. Her husband was
with her. Even more painful, her friend of many years, who was with her
as she died, also died five minutes later from an aneurism that was not
known about. Her husband, too, was with her.
At this point, someone is bound to ask "
Where is God in all this? Why did He allow these awful things to happen?"
God tells us that He will neither leave us nor forsake us, even during
such a time as this. Two of these ladies were Christians. I do not know
if the third was but my heart says that she was as well. Today, three
families are in mourning. We pray that they will accept that God is in
control, no matter what. While it is important and necessary for the
families to mourn their loved ones, we must also rejoice for those
ladies who were able to go home to be with the Lord. They are all in His
care tonight. All are free of pain. All are being comforted in a way
that we can only imagine. What a blessing that is.
If you are looking for answers to questions such as that one, I invite
you to my website at
Lura’s Bookcase where there are many articles about our Lord. I pray they
help you in some way.
Ξ January 25th, 2007 | → Comments Off | ∇ Christian Living |
Okay, this is a tad late to talk about New Year’s resolutions but I’m
jumping in with both feet, a couple of hands and a…posterior. I’ve
explored the idea of such things for several years and I have come to
the conclusion that resolutions are almost guarenteed to fail. Why?
Usually because someone has these wild, incredibly non-doable ideas that
they just have to express as possible goals. Half the time, I knew it
was fantasyland to think I would keep most of my own resolutions. Now
wait, I’m sure that some people actually DO keep resolutions. But how
many of them keep all or even most of them? Hmm? I am certain that most
people do not even keep one, let alone most or all. For instance, it’s
almost the end of January. Any resolutions still hanging out there yet?
Almost all people are going to say that they either forgot about them or
blew it and went on already. They decided to wait until next year. Yeah,
that’s safe. Only eleven months away.
On the other hand, dedicating or rededicating a person’s life to the
Lord works. Why? Because the Lord has already taken care of the sin
part. He hung on the cross so that we didn’t have to be responsible for
the sins we commit. He forgives us, saves us, gives us our reasons to
live. It is amazing and a blessing. Why would anyone choose resolutions
that will likely fail when they can have a sure thing with the Lord?
If you would like to read more about this, please go to
Lura’s Bookcase for plenty of articles and stories on this subject. A
belated Happy New Year!
