The King of Kings Is in Control Forever

Kings, rulers, presidents, politicians, and the wealthy influential men and women parade around all puffed up thinking they have all the answers, but their actions just make things worse for those under them. Their ways are self serving, and they do only what brings glory to themselves.. They do not honor the true God, nor do they give him the glory. People given over to their foolish ways are blinded to the truth of God’s Word and have fallen into all kinds of sinful living. They do not worship God because they have chosen to follow the false philosophies and teachings of the world. People have turned from the moral teaching of God. His perfect plan for the marriage bed has been destroyed in the lives of many. His perfect plan for the family has been redefined by those who disobey his commands. Sexual immorality is becoming so common that few are embarrassed by its bold presentation in the media and other outlets. Despite the seemingly hopeless plight of this world there is hope for those who have remained true the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, Jesus our Savior.

Please read thes following verses which describe what is going to hapoen to those who have followed their own way and to those of us who have chosen to follow Jesus.

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed (saved) people for God from every tribe, language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth. Revelation 5:9-10

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had born. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge and avenge our blood on these who dwell on earth?” They were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers should be complete, who were killed as they themselves had been killed. Revelation 6:9-10

And he said to me , “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb (Jesus). Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence...For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will shepherd them, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. Revelation 7:14-17

And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgement has come and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea, and the springs of water.” Revelation 14:7

For all the nation’s have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living. Revelation 18: 3

They will wage war against the Lamb (Jesus), but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings - and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers, (Those of us who have been redeemed by the Jesus) Revelation 17:14

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has the name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Revelation 19:11-13, 15-16

Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. Revelation 19:19-21

The Dog I Didn’t Know I Had

He has been around for almost thirty years, but I only noticed him a few weeks ago. I was sitting in one of our bedroom chairs putting on my socks when I first saw him. It just so happens that he has apparently been ingrained in the side of our chest of drawers which we have had for over half of our marriage. He looks like a dog. He is so real looking that I named him Woody. Woody seemed to appear from out of nowhere. I don’t know how we missed seeing him all these years. He has become quite a novelty, but he really is not an adequate replacement for a real live dog.

I have wanted another dog ever since we had to put down our little Maltese, Pogo. We had him for fourteen years. We got him when he was a puppy about three years before we said goodbye to Pepe, another Maltese. Pepe was sixteen when he died. We got Pepe when he was three years old. He was an alpha male, and had a pretty mean streak. It took me a while to convince him that I was the king of our house. I’m not sure he ever really understood that fact. Sherri and I loved Pepe, but Pogo was always extra special to us. He was the sweetest dog we ever had, it broke our hearts when Pepe died, but I have never gotten over losing Pogo.

Pogo and I had a special relationship. He was on my lap whenever I was sitting down. We had our own special games that we played that involved taking out the trash, me putting on my socks, or taking them off. Pogo wanted to be with me all the time, and he was for fourteen years. I miss him so much. Even after those few years since he has been gone I think about him, especially when I do certain things that stimulated game time in Pogo’s mind.  

As much as I want another Maltese I have to agree with Sherri, we don’t need to get one. We travel too much, and we have too many thing we are doing now that keep us running here and there. Maybe when we get too old to be as active as we are now we can get another dog. I guess that sounds weird coming from a guy that is seventy years old. Oh well, for now anyway I guess I’ll have to be satisfied with good old Woody!

The Epiphany

The Bible doesn’t say how many there were. One of the Christmas songs we sing mentions that there were three of them, wise men or Magi, who came to find Jesus after he was born. One of our nativity scenes depicts three wise men at the stable where Jesus was born. They are shown with the gifts they brought for him. Actually, on that night when Jesus was born only the shepherds came to the manger to see the Christ Child. There were no Magi present at the manger that night. The Magi did follow a star to Bethlehem about two years later, and they found Jesus and his parents living in a house, not a stable. This meeting which is called the Epiphany gives us a much different take on what this God planned event looked like.

When the wise men from the east showed up Jesus was a toddler, no longer a little baby. He would have been walking and talking a little by then. Like any toddler he would have been curious about almost every new thing that he saw, especially these wise men and their large entourage. I can image toddler Jesus walking up to these strange looking men holding up his hands for them to pick him up. He probably was fascinated by the bright colored robes they wore and possibly the shiny trinkets or necklaces and rings they had. I think he would have been able to examine the gifts they brought for himself. Most likely he laughed and jumped up and down with excitement as these men played with him. After all Jesus was a human baby, yet still God, Emmanuel. He was a toddler learning about this new world he had entered just like any other  two year old. Can’t you visualize these dignified men beaming with joy as they allowed themselves the opportunity to hold God in their arms and love on him like they would any small child?

As a toddler, Jesus, began to understand something about this sinful world, just as man began to learn about him. He was the manifestation of a divine being to a people who needed a Savior more than anything else this world could offer. He was God’s revelation of Himself demonstrated to these Magi and also to the whole world even unto this day. The Magi worshipped the little two year old Christ child. They were in awe of him, and as their visit reached its conclusion they returned home praising God for revealing to them the only One who could save sinners from their sins. January 6 was Epiphany, the celebration of the revelation of God incarnate in Jesus Christ. May every heart receive Him as did the Magi when they encountered that little two year old toddler, Jesus Christ!

The Majesty of God

If our hearts and minds would be fixed on one thing today, and we believed that God is our Lord, how would that affect what we do today? What if we really believed that God created the heavens and with his fingers he created the sun and the moon and the stars setting them in their place? When we consider how small we are compared to the enormity of God that he would even give thought to us yet, how he loves us and cares for us, and that he has even crowned us with glory and honor, what does this mean to us? He has put his creation under our rule, all the flocks, the herds, and the animals of the world to us he has given the responsibility over them. Even the birds of the sky, and the creatures of the sea, God has placed them under us to care for them as he cares for us.

What does that mean to you? How will you respond to all of this if you really take it seriously and believe it with all your heart? Does this cause you to want to worship our Great and Mighty God?

Do you want to cry out in humble adoration and praise, “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.  O how majestic is your name!” Psalm 7

An Eerie Silence

“Final call for flight 2584 to Detroit.” “No smoking allowed except in the designated areas.” “Helen Smith, please return to the security area to retrieve your lost item.” These were random announcements I heard at the Louisville airport while waiting to board the plane to Atlanta where we would wait again to catch another plane to Raleigh. These were about the only indications that anyone actually had the ability to verbally communicate to another person. I sat, looking around, watching the people, maybe 200 of them waiting as I was, and I wondered  where they were from, what would be their final destination, just something interesting that we might have in common. But no one seemed to want to talk. There was an eerie library like silence that would be broken only by another announcement that boarding would begin in five minutes.

Almost everyone stood or sat with heads bowed, eyes firmly fixed on their thin rectangular devices, cell phones. Not one person looked up to notice anyone around them. No one made eye contact with the people near them. Not anyone spoke a word. Fifteen young to middle aged men stood as near the entrance to where we would board the plan as they could, texting  or reading something on their devices not a one of them looking up for fear, I guess, that they might make eye contact with someone else. I wanted to yell out my school teacher command as I would have to students not paying attention, “Put those blasted phones down and notice someone, speak to someone, even smile at someone for goodness sake!” But of course I didn’t. I returned to my book. Sherri was also reading her book. We were the only ones not looking down at a cell phone. I suppose if anyone might have happened to look up and notice us, they would have thought we were quite weird not bowing down to the almighty cell phone.

A Blockbuster Preview

Going to a theater to watch a movie is not something I do very often. We did go to see The Return of Mary Poppins with our family a few days ago. As always before the movie we sat and watched the previews of movies that would be shown in the future. There were some I thought I might like to see, but even after a few days I can’t think of even one of them. They will come and go and I will most likely not see them.

In this day no one would be surprised to see a monster with seven heads rising out of the sea, a vile creature able to change its appearance to look like another ferocious animal. A creature so large and strong that nothing would be able to stop it from destroying everything in its path. This terrifying beast has the power to immediately heal any wound that it might receive from attacks against it.

Another beast like a dragon similar to the first emerges from the earth. It is also powerful, but its purpose seems to be to protect the first monster. It has an unusual power to cause fire to come down from the sky and to persuade the people of the earth to follow the first beast. If they don’t do as told the dragon kills them. But most obey and follow the first ugly creature for fear of death. The creature places a mark on all the people who survive and they cannot do anything without showing this identifying mark.

Sounds pretty far out doesn’t it? Actually this that I have described is a preview of what will happen one day. But all of us can read these events in a book before they happen. This can be found in chapter thirteen in Revelation, the last book of the Bible. This chapter and others prior to and after tell about how the world ends. We learn how God is going to destroy the satanic beasts, and how he will throw Satan and all of his demons in the lake of fire bringing an end to evil forever. Unfortunately those living and dead who never acknowledged Jesus as their Lord, never worshiped God, never obeyed God’s commands which He clearly spelled out in His word, and never studied his word because they made their own rules, they like Satan will be cast into the lake of fire forever.

Revelation tells how God wins. He completely overcomes evil. Only those who have been forgiven of their sin, have acclaimed Jesus as their Lord will go to heaven and live with God forever. Revelation is truly our preview of what is to come. This is not a movie script. It will happen. Many think it will happen soon. I don’t know, but the important thing for every person is to be ready by honoring God by accepting his Son as their Lord and Savior.

New Years Resolutions

Most New Year's Resolutions are made for the purpose of making oneself better. There are many ways to accomplish being better on some personal level. Let me suggest something that can be done that will certainly help anyone to feel better about themselves. Resolve to do things that will make others feel better. Who do you know that you can help on a regular basis?

Sherri and I have been going to see two older couples who are members of our church. One of the male spouses has Alzheimer’s and is in a nursing home. The other male spouse is still at home and at the least has some form of dementia. He and his wife do come to church when they can. He has a breathing problem and is limited in what he is able to do. I enjoy going to see these lovely people. The men, of course, never remember me. Even when I’m talking to them they ask me several times where I lived, if I have any children and how many grandkids I have. They both tell me the same stories over and over. They both still have a sense of humor so I can joke and get a laugh out of them. Their wives seem to appreciate our visits. Sherri talks to them while I talk to the men. We stay and visit for  about an hour. We always enjoy those visits.

Today Sherri and I went down to Elizabethtown, Kentucky to see our dear friends from way back in the ‘70's. Our friend Gary has Alzheimer’s. Each time we go to visit we wonder if he will still know us. He did know us this time, but we could tell that he is declining. Back at the beginning of his disease he told his grandchildren that one day he would not remember who they are, but they would remember who he is. He said please continue to come and see me even though I won’t know you. A person will never get to a point that they don’t want someone to acknowledge them by paying them a visit.

I happen to know that visiting people who are ill, and not as active as they once were receive great joy from our visits or even a phone call. I also happen to know that going to see people like this even if it is only for an hour a couple times a month will give you great joy, and make you proud of yourself that you have helped lift someone’s spirits. Whatever we do for others is just as if we have done it for our Lord.