And
the world turned while men played. Years passed, yea even centuries, and men
played. Wars raged and other wars were planned and men still played. Children
died and men played. Disease crept into healthy bodies and murdered its hosts
while men played. Typhoons and earthquakes and tsunamis harvested millions of
lives and men still played. Marriages by the tens of millions failed and men
played. Adultery and all kinds of promiscuous behavior were practiced and men
played. Children turned to drugs and violence while men still played. Human
slavery and trafficking ran rampant and men played. Rich men robbed poor men
and all the while men played. Lies were spoken as truth and yet men still
played.
But
one day Jesus returned and men played no more...
Hello Pastor Rick, this summary is so true. It put a smile on my face (rarely happens these days). We're so busy play acting His 1st coming that we lose sight that He will return.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of these Words from Isaiah 10:
ReplyDeleteIsaiah 10:1 Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression,
2 to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
3 What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?
4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
When I read that I think about the US Congress and policies that have brought more harm than good to babies aborted, fatherless children and many widows who see their livelihoods shrink!
Later on down this chapter after the King of Assyria expresses himself we read the Lord's reply to such arrogance and stupidity:
Isaiah 10:15 Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
16 Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire.
17 The light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame, and it will burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day.
That reminds me of the things Jesus taught as well as John the Baptist talking about the winnowing fork Jesus uses to separate the chaff from the wheat.
Isaiah ends this chapter with these powerful and life altering profound words:
Isaiah 10:33 Behold, the Lord GOD of hosts will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the great in height will be hewn down, and the lofty will be brought low.
34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe, and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One.
My guess is men won't be playing much more soon and hopefully very "sooooooon"!
If other men are playing then I should be working.
ReplyDelete1Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
If the Christian Church in the United States thinks that God is putting judgment on this nation, because of abortion, same sex marriage and just plain debauchery, they need to think again. If we do not have the door posts of our hearts covered in the blood of Jesus, we are the first to be judged.
I have a long list of those I want to be saved.
Joel
Was just reading about the conversion of the Ethiopian and it is incredible that when they "were come up out of the water, "the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing".
ReplyDeleteIn days like we live in, we'd be unglued if we heard of a believer baptizing someone and then disappear into thin air. We are such sceptics today that we have to have scientific proof that this could have happened. Does anyone believe these things anymore? Are we coming to the end with so little faith that God can accomplish what He wants through His children, without doubt and religious hubris. There is no more early church passion and commitment here in the West.
I was thinking too, on this story, that the Eunuch did go back to Ethiopia, with only the book of Isaiah that he was studying, and all that Phillip told him (Acts 8:35 "Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus."
In verse 37, after they came to water and the eunuch asked what hindered him to be baptized, - "And Philip said, "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God".
I don't know how much more time men have to play, but it's getting vital that men know that Jesus is the Son of God and believe and repent.
The church is "playing" church and trying to dismantle political leaders while souls are thirsty for the true God. And unbelievers are saying they want to have nothing to do with christianity because of these spectacles. Dear Lord, have mercy.
J.
Every person is responsible for his own thinking and actions. What is clear is that only a supercial searcher for truth would be put off from searching for truth after viewing blatant hypocrisy.
ReplyDeleteWhat sinners worldwide need to do is to start desiring a real encounter with the true, gracious, holy, loving, compassionate God who reveals Himself as Lord Jesus Christ.
God bless you,
James
Are you saying the Lord Jesus Christ - who is God Almighty - has NO power (and never has had any power) to do ANYTHING about sin, evil, or wrongdoing on Earth until His Second Coming?
ReplyDelete