Life is Short

“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower thereof falls away.” 1 Peter 1:24       -Pastor Bill

Life is long. Life is short. 

It depends on your place in life. It depends on your circumstances. There are those that are fighting for their lives, battling cancer or some debilitation. There are others contemplating suicide, murder, and escape because of circumstances that seem too unbearable to live in, diseases, addictions, bad marriages, broken hearts etc. Probably more suicides take place from emotional problems than any other. Cases in point: a grandmother kills herself and her three grandchildren using carbon monoxide poisoning after her daughter wanted to restore custody from her mother after the daughter had been abusing her kids. Another, a mother stabs her children to death in revenge for her husband neglecting her. These are just two in the last week.

Reports continue grow of custody battles, abductions of children by estranged parents, murders of estranged wives, lovers, and then the murder of the children involved. The settling of affairs or the getting even is accomplished by death to all, even the innocent.

This is purely symptomatic of a society with no values. There is nothing to hold onto in times of extreme difficulty. Irrationality is common. The guidance of self in times of emotional upheaval leads to extreme measures which later prove to be devastating beyond imagination. Where does one appeal when there is no moral authority? Who or what can give you sanity and perspective in the midst of the emotional storm? What character traits guide your life? How do you know what is true or false?

Without a moral undergirding, society is left in a sea of personal opinion and self guidance. All that is left is to satisfy the flesh, the carnal mind, the animalistic urges, and the brutal nature of fallen man. With no standard, we cannot achieve to higher thinking, altruistic acts of kindness, forbearance of ill treatment, unrequited love, and misunderstandings.

The Bible says that life is short. Really, the life on this earth is short, in this mortal body; and then life is eternal in the spiritual state, the eternal state. Suicide does not end life. It prematurely transitions the person into the eternal state, prepared or not prepared. It is a ruse of the enemy to make people believe if they take their life, it is all over. You cease to exist, the pain is gone, and blissful nothingness ensues. Wrong. The Bible indicates that the soul is immediately taken to Hell or escorted to Heaven depending on the relationship with Jesus. In my opinion, most of those who commit suicide do not have a relationship with Jesus. Mostly the transition from the pain of this world results in entering the realm of pain for eternity. It is not a relief, but an intensification of the same agony.

Yet, without the message of hope and the foundation of faith and morals, where can they find guidance? Obviously, all our studies in psychology have not remedied the situation because for all the counselors, there is an increase in the hopelessness. For all the blaming of parents and environment, we still are not seeing the healings and the healthiness of the society. It is actually sicker.

But, as I was preaching Sunday, where are the Christians whose lives exemplify godliness? When you as a believer are comfortable using gross, foul language and are purveyors vile behavior, where is the grace, the message? If you as a believer are living a life with little character value, where is the salt to change the world? If we view sexual immorality and promiscuity as normal and okay, where is the light of the world? 

Till we really begin to see the eternal picture, we are going to sway with the winds of the world and offer no hope, no answer, no guidance. If we fail, it does not change who God is, or change his message, or change the fact of His absolutes. It is we who have failed God and have failed the society, the time, the culture, and our place in history. The messengers, the light bearers, the salt shakers have failed those who are desperate, the hopeless, and the intellectual who finds no joy in living, and the wealthy who has nothing in his character. The hopelessness crosses all strata of life. Money or the lack there of does not cure the ills of the soul or guarantee a happy life or insure the destiny after the world.

The saints, the believers, the church, the kingdom of God, whatever you want to call yourself, it is imperative that we begin to live in a manner that makes a difference. You will not be exempt from marital problems, kid problems, job problems, health problems, but you will certainly handle them in a manner that is dramatically different than the world. Our hope is in nothing less than Christ and His redemptive sacrifice.

Jesus came and gave us guidance. “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Pretty straightforward and simple. Life is short. The learning curve is very steep. 

Life is long? No, Life is short!

The Voice

Scathing. Sharp and to the point! No holds

barred. Shocking.

I am not referring to the presidential

debates; I am referring to the prophet Isaiah.

I am referring to the anointing of the Holy

Spirit that spoke through him. Yet, I find his

indictments against the nations to sound so

familiar, so current, so contemporary.

God was speaking through Isaiah, not only

to the nation of Israel, but also to the nations

around them. He indicted Israel, Syria,

Moab, Egypt, and numerous other cities and

states.

The main issues for Israel was the lack of

relationship with God in the determination

of the nation. God was bringing judgment

for the people turning to every supposed aid

other than to God. They were seeking aid

from Egypt, making alliance with Assyria,

paying tribute for protection and all the

while, their protector was waiting for a call,

a prayer, a petition. He indicted them

because they turned to other gods and

worshipped petty idols and gods of

immorality. Yes, even fornication and

adultery can be dressed up in religious

forms as the fertility cults practiced so well.

So the natural lusts of humanity are placated

and endorsed by making it a religious

exercise and calling it holy.

God was not pleased. They also came to the

place they did not want to hear the

prophets. They were told not to prophesy,

but speak soft, kind things. The seers were

told not to see. Essentially, it was the

rejection of any kind of input from those

who were spiritually watching for the

nation. It reminds me of Ahab, King of

Israel, saying that the only true prophet he

knew would not say anything good about

him; so he would not call on him.

There are voices in our nation who are

crying out. They are speaking warnings,

concerns, and deep, dark prognostications.

They warn of things to come if we do not

turn as a nation. The values of our

foundations are being undermined and our

connection to God is being forcibly

disconnected. We are allowing a vocal,

powerful, minority to undermine our

country. We may be at the brink, the tipping

point, where we move headlong without

restraint into a moral morass.

There comes a time in the dealings of God

where repentance is too late. Those souls

who pass everyday into eternity lose their

opportunity for repentance. There have been

those who have made deathbed confessions

of faith and repentance and are spared, but

there are those who decide to repent too

late. At that point there is no turning back.

So it is in the history of nations. There is a

point where judgment is unstoppable. The

nation may attempt to repent or say they are

sorry, but it will be too late. The motions of

judgment are in place and will not be

revoked. The Israelites certainly knew of

their God and probably cried out to him as

they were being starved to death in siege,

cried out to him as they were being marched

to a foreign land for slavery, or begged for

mercy as their children were being

slaughtered by ungodly mercenaries. The

tipping point is a place of no return.

You may say how harsh I am writing. I do

not like it, Isaiah did not like it, no man of

God likes it. Throughout the scriptures, the

warnings are delivered by men of God to

the people who have lost their way

spiritually. The warnings go to those who

have embraced the world and gone after

other gods or who have become proud,

arrogant, and self sufficient. Instead of

turning to God, they turn away to self

improvement, self esteem, and cult heroes

that they think will rescue them.

This is the last newsletter before people are

going to vote. The news this morning,

liberally biased as it is, says that the election

is so close that it is beyond prediction. It is

also called the most critical election in over

50 years. So, do we March on to Socialism or

do we return to the Democratic Republic

that was constituted years ago? Do we

throw values and morality away and

embrace moral anarchy or do we return to

the God of the Bible and his moral, social

stands?

Most people will look at the election solely

from an economic view, but I see deep moral

and value issues. My vote is not about the

economy; my vote is about the values that

shape a nation and bring God’s blessings. I

know that a nation that blesses Israel, will

be blessed as promised from the book of

Genesis. I know that a leader that snubs

Israel, who coddles their enemies, will bring

destruction to our nation. My vote is for

those that support Israel because God does.

Billy Graham put full page ads in major

newspapers this past week.

I quote, “The legacy we leave behind for our

children, grandchildren, and this great

nation is crucial. As I approach my 94th

birthday, I realize this election could be my

last. I believe it is vitally important that we

cast our ballots for candidates who base

their decisions on biblical principles and

support the nation of Israel. I urge you to

vote for those who protect the biblical

definition of marriage between a man and

a woman. Vote for biblical values this

November 6, and pray with me that

America will remain one nation under

God.” - Billy Graham