Are You Ready, America?

How could they miss it? How could they possibly miss it? There it was, a boat – a giant boat.  It was on the front page of every newspaper in the known world. A boat as large as a 40-story downtown high-rise, laid on its side. But only Noah was prepared to enter the ark, while everyone else ignored the sign, ignored the message, and carried on as usual (Mt 24:38). They had eyes, but did not see, ears, but did not hear.

Why? They assumed that the likelihood of a catastrophic flood was zero. Centuries later, when the magi came to Jerusalem asking where the King of the Jews was to be born, the religiously astute leaders told them the place – Bethlehem.  But did they go along? No. Why? They assumed that the likelihood of Messiah being born in their lifetime, in that podunk village of Bethlehem was zero. They did not see, they did not hear. The scriptures that they so revered were useless to a heart that could not understand, that would not believe. They were not prepared!

Christians in churches throughout America debate whether they are pre-trib, or not. Pre-millennial, or not.  But are any of them pre-pared?  How about you? Are you ready?

Ready for what? Jesus said, “Keep watch, because you do not know what day your Lord will come… You must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Mt 24:42,44) Are you ready to meet Jesus -- face to face, heart to heart, at any moment?

But are you ready for what will happen even before that?  God has revealed it pretty clearly, but most Christians in America consider the likelihood about zero.  Egypt was an incredible dynasty, for centuries, and could not fathom that it would ever falter, or collapse.  Assyria, the same. And the four beast empires of Daniel 7 – Babylon the lion, Persia the bear, Greece the leopard, and Rome, the terrifying beast – they all thought they would go on forever, that the likelihood of their demise was zero.

The seventh beast, the beast of Revelation 13, the great empire of America, will also collapse. Soon. Very soon.  Banks and retirement plans will fail, dollars will be hard to come by, and nearly useless. Water, food, gas, and electricity will be in short supply. Those who survive in the coming subsistence existence will be marked by love and community, sharing and caring, hard work and ingenuity. Are you ready, America?

Oh, yes, I almost forgot. This “prediction” doesn’t fit the plan of the end of the age as Christians have come to believe, especially in America. We have been taught that Christians will be raptured before a great seven-year Tribulation, and that any and all distress and judgment will come upon the world after we are gloriously rescued. If that is what you have been taught then you need to wake up and smell the roses. America is going down. The merchants of the world will watch in dumbstruck awe as she goes up in flames (Rev 18). An eighth beast will replace America, a beast with ten horns. This Arab alliance will oppress the world for just “one hour”, leading up to the return of Christ (Rev 17). We need to see, we need to hear, what God has prescribed, what is being fulfilled in our lifetime, almost certainly.  Are you ready, America?

The economic collapse of America is inevitable and imminent. While most are not willing to predict dates, they are profuse with evidence for its certainty. Like a trumpet warning of impending danger, God’s hand of judgment will serve also as a call to repent. How will we respond?

Theology is more than just talk!

Bricks

By John Heath, Chaplain

Glendoveer and Laurelhurst ElderPlace

An unusual trip took Josh on a drive through a crowded Chicago neighborhood.  A young and very successful executive, he was driving a sleek, black, 12-cylinder Jaguar XKE.  It was his pride and joy, and he had owned it for only two months.  

He was driving a bit too fast – always, always in a hurry -- but being careful to watch for kids darting out from between parked cars. He slowed down when he thought he saw something.  As his car passed, no child darted out, but a brick sailed out and – WHUMP! – it smashed into the side door of his shiny black Jag.  SCREECH…!!!  Brakes slammed!  Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown.

Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car.  He shouted at the kid, “What was that all about, and who are you?  Just what the heck are you doing?”  Building up a head of steam he went on.  “That’s my new Jag, and that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money.  Why did you throw it?” 

“Please, mister, please.  I’m sorry!  I didn’t know what else to do!”  pleaded the youngster.  “I threw the brick because no one else would stop!”

Tears were running down the boy’s face as he pointed around the parked car.  “It’s my brother, mister,” he said.  “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.”  Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair?  He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”

Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat.  Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair, took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts, and checked to see that everything was going to be okay.  He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long walk back to his car, a long slow walk. He stopped and stared at the dent in the side of his shiny black Jag. Five years passed and Josh never did fix the side door.  He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention.

“What does the LORD require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”  (Micah 6:8).  Too often we forget what is important.  Our lives get out of kilter.  We have blinders on as we hurry about our business.  Sometimes, a brick is the only way to get our attention.

When Darkness Reigns

The religious leaders of Jerusalem, in the day of Jesus, plotted his demise for a long, long time. Finally, their anger and contempt was beyond the point of constraint and they enticed Judas to betray Jesus and set up a sting operation. When the arrest went down it was not during the day when he was easy to find and apprehend, but at night, “when darkness reigns”.  (Luke 22:53, NIV)

That phrase is quite descriptive of the overwhelming nature of sin’s powerful hold over us.  Another portrayal was the darkness that encompassed the land when Christ died on the cross, bearing the sins of all mankind. When we live under the control of sin’s power we are living in darkness.  “Men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.” (John 3:19)

When I sneak around, always in hiding,

When I lie, the truth to cover up,

When I delete so I won’t get caught,

And I wear a mask so nobody will know,

That’s when darkness reigns.

When all I can think is how I was mistreated,

When hurt and pain envelope my soul,

When I’m bitter and mean, plotting revenge,

And I wear a mask, thinking nobody knows.

That’s when darkness reigns.

Sin is often characterized by the seven deadly sins, or the three big ones listed by John – pride, possessions, and lust (I John 2:16).  We are oblivious to the fact that the two biggest traps, perhaps, that keep us in darkness are not any one of these, but rather shame and bitterness.  When I commit sin then shame begins to define my story, to enshroud my heart, and it drives me back into sin, over and over, to find release. When I am a victim of someone else’s sin against me then the dark cloud of bitterness controls my heart and my spirit, driving me to plot revenge, to be easily angered, to isolate myself. Neither shame nor bitterness can be ignored or managed.  They must be brought into the light for healing, trusting the love of God and others to meet my deepest needs.

“If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.”  (I John 1:7)

Light of the world

You stepped down into darkness,

Open my eyes, let me see.