I remember a couple of years ago the weather man was predicting a particularly bad snowstorm. The day before wasn’t bad at all, calm and sunny. But the weather man said it was going to change big time. The day before the storm schools announced they were closing, supermarket shelves went bare and tire dealers worked overtime.
Meteorologists are trained to predict weather changes. High-tech measuring instruments, satellite imagery, and modern communications systems make it much easier for people to get severe weather warnings and make plans accordingly.
And when people believe a warning, they take steps to prepare. Believing the warning is the key. When people really believe, they take action.
If we really believe the warnings given us in the Bible, we will take action to change our paths accordingly. I believe there is a storm coming in our spiritual lives. And I plan to be ready. How about you?
Madame Marie Curie holds her place in history as a pioneer in the study of radioactivity. In 1903, she was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, capturing the honor in physics. Then, in 1911, she received a second Nobel Prize, this one in chemistry.
Such a wonderful contribution did not come without tremendous sacrifice. Madame Curie died of leukemia caused by prolonged exposure to radioactive materials. Even today, after 100 years, scholars who wish to read her hand-written journals and lab papers must wear protective clothing because these archives are still radioactive.
No one today would approach radioactive material without the proper protection. Radiation is something like sin. It seems harmless on initial contact, but it poisons the body and begins a slow death process. No one should approach sin without proper protection: the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:11).
Tags: sin, warning
Mill Pond, England, is a very passive place. Crime is nil, industrial pollution is non-existent, and it is a near idyllic environment. However, even in a peaceful place like Mill Pond, danger lurks in hidden places.
There are many water fowl that like to hang out on Mill Pond. Across one corner of the pond are some power lines. A number of swans have been killed because they didn’t see them as they approached the pond.
The power company eventually placed red flags on the power lines over the pond. Now the swans can see the danger and avoid it. Since the red flags were installed, not a single swan has died.
God has placed some “red flags” warning of danger in the Bible. He does that because He cares about our success and doesn’t want to see His people get hurt, not because He wants to control us or keep us from fun.
Let’s pay attention to the “red flags” He puts in our lives.
Tags: danger, warning
A little boy went to the store and asked the clerk for a box of Duz detergent. “What do you need that for?” asked the clerk, and the boy answered, “To wash my dog.”
“That’s pretty strong stuff for washing a dog,”, warned the clerk, but the boy insisted that Duz was what he wanted. So the clerk sold it to him, reminding, “Now be careful when you wash your dog. That detergent is strong, and could kill him.”
A week later the boy came into the store again and the clerk asked, “How’s your dog?” The boy explained that the dog had died. The clerk said, “I’m sorry, but I tried to warn you that Duz was too strong.”
The little boy shook his head and said, “I don’t think it was the Duz that did it. I think it was the rinse cycle that got him.”
Sometimes we hear a warning without really hearing. God gives us enough warnings in the Bible that we really have no excuse.
Tags: clean, death, warning
When I was a rather new Christian, I attended Christian Training Center in Ft. Wayne. The classes went from 8AM-12 Noon Monday-Friday. I worked in the afternoons at various ministries of the church, so school tied me up 8 hours a day. I also had responsibilities with the youth group I was leading at my church and worked 6 hours every night in a factory assembling hydraulic pumps on third shift.
Needless to say, I was often a zombie between responsibilities. I remember early one morning I arrived home from work, took a shower and laid down for a quick nap before leaving for school. I awoke to my alarm clock blaring at me. I had slept a half hour too long and that alarm was just now waking me. I rushed around, drove like a NASCAR driver all the way to the school in downtown Ft. Wayne.
When I pulled into the parking lot, however, it was empty. I was confused. I checked my watch, and it was on the right time. I tried to recall if this was a holiday; no. Then it dawned on me: this was Saturday! I could be sleeping in. What a bummer.
Paul advised the church in Rome to be careful about esteeming one day above another (Romans 14:5). And sometimes it would be better to observe that rule. Its always better when God picks the day or the hour He wants to accomplish something in our lives. Let’s let Him control the times in our lives.
Tags: late, time
Most of you know I am passionate about genealogy. I was spending some time Monday reconstructing an early family from Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. One early census recorded this man, Abraham Zug (pronounced Zook), as a ‘Preacher’. So I went on through the census records to learn more and he was always listed as a Farmer.
Later in life I found him living with an adult son, who was listed as a ‘Minister of the Gospel’. So I went deeper yet, studying the Lebanon County History and found they were both part of the Church of the Brethren branch known as the Dunkers. The Dunkers, of course, believed in water baptism by immersion, thus the moniker. They were also apparently pretty legalistic.
It seems the Dunker church in Lebanon County was founded by two men, Abraham Zug and one other. It seems the other man fell into sin, whatever that was. At first he confessed to the sin, but then denied it. Since he denied the sin, the church refused to allow him to attend. He was excommunicated and it rocked that local church to the core. I wonder if there was more to the story than meets the eye. A little politics in the old church?
How difficult we sometimes make it for sinners to come to Christ and find grace for their lives. Are you making it simple or difficult for those on the journey?
Tags: forgiveness, sin
Sunday afternoon many of us participated in the first community prayer walk. We divided into 13 geographical zones, each with about six or seven praying people. My group trudged across the field next to the church to a cul-de-sac in the County Village subdivision of Waterloo. From there we walked the streets of the entire neighborhood praying for each home.
One of the residents came out to thank us for praying for their neighborhood. I don’t know how she knew about us praying. One of the gals in our group felt impressed that there was a little girl being abused in one of the homes. Although this was an upscale development of newer homes, there still was the feeling of spiritual oppression and darkness in those homes. I suppose affluence does not break the sin problem.
When we returned there were many testimonies from those who participated. Let’s continue to keep prayers lifted up for those in the Waterloo community. And let’s pray that the words of our God would be prophetic in Waterloo: “Let there be Light!”
What was your impression of our prayer walk?