Is the world spinning faster? Or am I just dizzy? So many ball games! So many track meets! So little time!! But no, I dont think Ive been blitzed by ball games or track meets. Watching the kids is fun . . . even when the teams or guys I want to win do not. No, this feeling I have is foreboding . . uneasiness . . . pain, even . . . a sense that people all around me are suffering, on the inside, on the outside . . . both. There are ominous signs. The glaciers in Greenland are melting because of global warming. Birds are dying from the flu and scientists say people will be next. People blow up other people and countries threaten to blow other countries into a vapor. But havent those kinds of things always happened? And havent people always done that? Are things worse than ever, or does it just seem that way because our negative-focused but technologically-improved media brings home the bad stuff better than ever? A tsunami kills hundreds of thousands overseas, a hurricane displaces hundreds of thousands right here at home. There are mudslides, earthquakes, and millions of people across the great continent of Africa are dying in front of our eyes . . . well, not our eyes, because in the northern hemisphere, weve chosen not to look. Temptation is everywhere. Ah, temptation! Thats the devils work. Too embarrassed to sin where you might be seen? No longer a problem! The devil has arranged to bring sin right into the privacy of our homes, via a myriad of electronic devices. How clever of him. How insidious. The devil knows us. Since Adam, weve been sinners. The devil sells sin. Satan is a champion marketer and were in a buying mood. But where there is bad, there is opportunity for good. God always leaves open an escape route. We dont have to watch, listen to, read, eat, drink, or say bad stuff. We can avoid the hangover of hurt and emptiness those things always leave in our hearts. TV sets and computers can be turned off. We can say, no, thanks, when offered, or better still, perhaps, we can just keep our mouths shut. When those electronic devices are on there is good stuff available, too, 24/7 in fact, and much more of it than ever. We can make a joyful noise. We can glorify God with everything we do. We get to choose. How big of a God must He be that he would even allow us to choose? After all weve done! And will continue to do! God tells us in the Bible that He sent His only Son to take the punishment we all deserve. Once . . . and for all. We already know from the Bible that God wins. Expect a frustrated Satan to work harder than ever to put sin between us and the Father as the devil rushes toward his certain end. End times? In our time? No one knows and were not to waste time trying to figure out when. But strictly in an eternal sense . . yes, it will be sooner, not later. Eternity is a long time. And where do we want to spend eternity? Ive read that human knowledge, which took 2,000 years to double the first time, now doubles every 18 months. But when it comes to where we spend eternity, we still have the same two choices weve always had. Make your choice and get ready. Start now! And if God is your choice its really a no-brainer, isnt it? - take your neighbor with you. |