Earlier this week a young man, 24 years of age, by the name of Keith Fitzhugh had to weigh the opportunity of a lifetime.

He was called by an NFL potential Superbowl contender, one of this year’s best teams, to get suited up and begin playing with them for the upcoming crucial games.  The team: the New York Jets.  You might be asking, “So what did he have to weigh other than a window or aisle seat in first class?”

Well you see, he’s a new employee of Norfolk Southern Railway and conducts trains for a living.  “And?”  Well, he’s just gotten the job, a job he likes, and didn’t feel right about just walking away because a more glamorous job appeared out of nowhere.  “And?”  Well, he’s been on practice squads before and he’s been released so he knows the NFL, though he’s never had a starting role.  “So this might be the big break he and his family have been waiting for!”  Maybe, maybe not.

You can watch a brief interview here.  In the mean time, here’s the salary chart for NFL players – the minimums:

When you do the math, you quickly calculate that one season, even at the lowest level, is equivalent to 10 years at Norfolk Southern.

Gulp.  “So let me get this right: a young man who’s dreamed of playing football all his life, who would receive at least an awesome ’2 seasons’ salary ($470K), capped with a chance to play in this year’s Superbowl decided to stay home so he could drive trains?  This is the chance of a lifetime!  What a fool!”

And you would not find yourself alone.  Many young men would gladly shave off ten years of their life for this very same chance.  Coached by Rex Ryan?  On a team of great players?

Instead, he staying home.  Keith’s father is disabled and his mom was the only one working when he got released from the Jets previously.  He actually likes what he does, though it’s not glamorous and doesn’t come with screaming fans and lots of money.  It seems that, though young, he sees things for what they are.

This story couldn’t help but remind me of another ‘fool’ in scripture.  His name was Moses:

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.  By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.  By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.

We live in a day-and-age when even Christians presume that every open door is a door opened by God.  If it’s ‘good’ it must be from God…  but that’s pragmatism at best.  Moses could have reasoned, “Once I become Pharaoh, here’s what I’ll do: I’ll release my people then and, to ensure they’re not harmed, I’ll send a personal escort alongside them to the Promised Land.”  He could have had it all worked out and been the deliverer single-handedly, saving himself all the trouble of traipsing 40 years through the desert.

But he “refused”, then “chose” a different course.  Why?  Because he saw things for what they were: the glory of suffering the reproach that comes with following Christ weighed infinitely more than all the trinkets in Egypt.

To make a decision based on principle is so striking in our day that this man’s story is being broadcast on every major news channel.  It makes the news for one reason: 99.9% of us, when presented with something we might have longed for, would not think twice before taking it.  It’s so fascinating because it’s incomprehensible.  It’s admirable because it’s so rare.  We stop for a moment because we all know what we would do “if I had a million dollars.”

But as another young man once said:

“He is no fool, who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.” (Jim Elliot, killed in the Amazon at age 29)

At the end of the day this is just football, though it is a game that has become a religion to many millions.  But it sheds light on how we make decisions.  Do we do so in accordance with our will or God’s?  What factors do we weigh and how much weight do we give to each?  Do we willingly choose the difficult path, not because we are sadists, but because we know this is what the Lord has ordained?  Or are we in continual search of comfort, security and ease?

As Coach Rex Ryan said, “This kid’s got character.  “That’s one of the reasons why we wanted that kid.”  Indeed.

A North Korean man had escaped to China where he was exposed to the gospel and became converted.  He then snuck back into North Korea in order to spread the gospel.  He was found with 20 bibles and 10 cassette tapes of hymns.

Read the whole story here >>

Today, the Associated Press and the rest of the news world is reporting on the collision of hurricane season and the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  What kind of analogy can been drawn on to even begin to quantify what this means?

As oil-laden waves rush ashore, marine science technician Michael Malone says, “With this weather, we lost all the progress we made.”

To add insult to injury, the headlines read: “BP Oil Cleanup Did Not Consider Hurricanes”.

This is a monumental, collossal failure of proportions that our minds can’t quite get around.  Just as hurricanes are colliding with the oil spill, another frightful collision has become apparent, though of a different sort.  It is a collision that is at the root of this disaster and one that carries far worse consequences into the future.

It is a collision of indifference, overconfidence, greed and neglect.  A collision that typifies our current human condition.

We trust in experts and advisors who pretend to know what will happen or what can be done.  Like false prophets, they are paid to massage public opinion.  We see the news, read a blog and then parrot these assurances to one another.  But as this spill shows, in spite of his ingenuity man is severely limited and is not the ruler of the universe he imagines himself to be.

This was a man-made disaster, but as we head towards the end of this age, disasters, both natural and man-made, will be the order of the day.  We’re seeing this on an increased level in recent years.  But as the Bible (and history itself) teaches, the bearer of bad news is rarely popular, often ignored, caricatured or mocked.  Where does one go today to hear the clarion call, “Flee from the wrath to come!”

I fear it is out of vogue, unfashionable and distasteful to our sensibilities – even in the church.  It comes across as “shrill” and no one wants to be labeled a Dr. Doom.

What would you make of a recent news article like this?  From NASA no less:

Nasa warns solar flares from ‘huge space storm’ will cause devastation

I don’t advocate that we flip furiously through the news each day to see what prophesies are being fulfilled.  But, as the gospels tell us, as do the apostles, we are not to be ignorant of the time frame we are living in.   Paul had this hope for the church in Thessalonica:

“But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.” (1 Thess. 5:4)

The hope we have, as followers of Christ, is that we are not appointed to wrath.  In a world destined to unravel, along with the hopes of those who trust in material things, it is high time to awake from slumber and pay heed.

Was Peter shrill when he warned:

The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

The scriptures are full of warning, but it seems so imaginary and fable-like that this world and all its institutions may one day falter.  Looking out my office window right now, all appears so calm and enduring.  I’m sure this was the mindset of Lot’s sons-in-law as he urgently tried to get them to leave Sodom.  He was unto them as “one that mocked”.  Likewise in the days of Noah…  the people saw the Ark, but refused to listen to Noah’s message (he was regarded by the apostle Peter as a “preacher of righteousness” after all).  The Lord Jesus said, “they knew not”.  The knew mentally as they would come out to mock him each day, but their mental assent never generated a change in heart or mind.  The flood took them all away in destruction.  From the video I linked to here, the speaker makes a profound statement:

You can know something but “that knowledge never feeds back to change their behaviour.”

Could this be said of unbelievers as well as churchgoers?  Yes.

As believers we are not to ‘head to the hills’ or ‘bunker down’ but we are, at all times, to be vigilant and careful, ensuring our hopes are set on things eternal and not of this earth.  Let us not trust in man, the smooth words and assurances that “all is under control” from politicians and economists.  Our hope is in the Lord and the promise of eternal life.

Recently, I was in a discussion with a friend who recently listened to a well-known preacher’s take on the end of times.  I asked him what scriptures were used and he said that the message was premised on Matthew 24, specifically on these verses:

“Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.” (v 40-41)

In virtually all Christian circles, these verses pin down the concept of the Rapture (though there are others that are often used as well).  In fact, there have been a whole series of fiction books written about the Rapture.  But, I highlighted the words ‘taken’ for a reason.

The reason?  In the above verses, those who are ‘taken’ are not taken up to heaven.  They are taken in death; destroyed.

Is that surprising?  Well, just look at the preceding verse, where the Lord speaks of Noah (v. 38-39):

“For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

Do you see that?  The word ‘took’ is used (past tense, since He was referring to Noah).  Then He elaborates in v 40-41 on the example of the men in the field and the women at the mill.  Noah was left behind while the unbelievers were taken.  The man taken (from the field) is not whisked to heaven, neither the woman (at the mill).  They are taken in death, just like the unbelievers in Noah’s day.

This seems pretty straightforward, but it got me thinking of how most people blindly accept the status quo without checking things over themselves.  It’s an area we’re probably all guilty of in some form or fashion.  The key is, how do we respond when the truth becomes apparent to us?  Are we prepared to abandon a misconception?

I read this statement years ago and it has always stayed with me: “Never doubt in the darkness that which you believed in the light.”

How true and yet how difficult to remember the sun is still shining when the clouds roll in thick, grey and threatening.  But that is the very definition of faith isn’t it?  Believing and relying on what can’t be seen or touched.

When we are going through hell, life can be tough.  As much as we academically can quote a scripture, read or sing something uplifting, there is something in our inner being that is awaiting something else.  Some more powerful and true.  Something from God and something that only He can sort out for us.

So that even if our circumstances remain unchanged, we are lifted in our spirits to new heights of faith.

Recently, I was looking at the book of Lamentations, specifically chapter 3.

Jeremiah had been made some lofty promises from God despite his feelings of inadequacy (a constant theme in the scriptures by the way: “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.”, Jer 1:6).  God tells him that he will rescue him from harm, that he would be “a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land” (1:18).

But things didn’t appear to go quite as planned.  It was taxing work telling them people their sins and come across as Mr. Doom.  No one wanted to hear that.  He was faced up by the king and his court, false prophets and thrown into a slime pit for days on end.  On top of this, the nation didn’t really take much heed on the whole.

All of this began to push the ‘Weeping Prophet’ into despair…  In Lamentations 3 he says things like:

I am the man who has seen affliction
by the rod of his wrath…

He has made my skin and my flesh grow old
and has broken my bones…

Even when I call out or cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer…

He drew his bow
and made me the target for his arrows…

So I say, “My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the LORD.”

He was disheartened, confused, angry, and at the verge of packing it all in.  But then something glorious happens.  The light goes on.  Not because of a change in circumstances, but because of something much deeper: genuine hope and faith in God worms it way through and blooms:

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:  because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him…”

He was cast down, but not destroyed.

A similar experience happened to young Asaph (Psalm 73) after he recounted his temptation to follow the way of the world and forsake God.  He writes:

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. (v 21-22)

He realized his error, upon entering the sanctuary of God, and the lights go on:

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (v. 25-26)

God is faithful and unchanging. Though we are tossed by circumstances, let the hope that He will do as He has promised be a sure anchor to the soul. The storms may rage, but our God is sure and steadfast. He has proved Himself over and over again. Great is thy faithfulness!

Three times in the Matthew 24, the Lord Jesus warns of false teachers and messiahs coming.

1. Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ, ’and will deceive many. (v. 4)

2. “… and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.” (v.11)

3. “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.”

Even though the Lord gave warning, it still amazes me that so many followers of these false messiahs.  Sad and tragic.

When it comes to communication, the pace of innovation is unlike anything else.  We have an insatiable desire to connect with one another on this planet.  Consider the following:

• the radio took 38 years to reach 50 million users
• the television took 13 years
• the Internet took 4 years
• Facebook did it in 5 months

Facebook has now surpassed Google in Internet traffic, with 500 million users spending 500 billion minutes per month on the website.  How do you even compute that and allow that number to sink in?  Where does this end?

Going further… if Facebook was a country and all its users actual citizens, it would be the 3rd largest in the world.

Keep in mind that with the growth of social networking, television didn’t just go away.  The growth has been additional.  We have more channels to distract our days away with things we can’t really remember a day later.

It goes beyond just Facebook and social networks though.

We now consume more information (facts, images, song lyrics, etc) in a single day than a person living in an urban setting 100 years ago might accumulate in a year.  But how much do we know deeply?  Have we simply become a ‘jack of all trades but master of none’?  When I read a book written 100 years ago, I notice an immediate difference in the depth of the author and the weight of each sentence, compared with those today.  You might have the same experience.

There’s an interesting article here: The ‘Superficial’ Webby Mind that has captures some key points regarding the onslaught the Internet has had on our ability to actually think coherently, originally and deeply.  The author points out the fact that he has been happier since spending less time online.

I am curious as to how our age – its breakneck pace, full of sound bytes and headlines – is impacting our ability to actually hear the voice of and word of God.  People report feeling naked when they are disconnected from the web, email and their mobile phone.  There are so many voices clamouring for our attention, promising not to intrude too deeply…  like a swarm of locusts they descend on us daily, replaying in our restless minds as we lay down our heads to rest and no doubt infiltrating our dreams (after all, advertisers don’t spend millions on ads because they don’t work).

At the risk of sounding too shrill, it appears that, collectively, we’re losing our minds.  Do we run to the hills or curl up in a cave and hope this fad blows over?  The truth is that it’s not a fad, but a reality of our present day.  But still, it is worth realizing trends such as these to ensure we walk carefully and wisely.  So much time is flittered away in non-essentials.   We need to be proactive and thoughtful, not distracted and chaffy.

“The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land–not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.” – Amos 8:11

Something to think about…

“The obsession with current events is relentless. We are made to feel that at any point, somewhere on the globe, something may occur to sweep away old certainties—something that, if we failed to learn about it instantaneously, could leave us wholly unable to comprehend ourselves or our fellows. We are continuously challenged to discover new works of culture—and, in the process, we don’t allow any one of them to assume a weight in our minds. We leave a movie theater vowing to reconsider our lives in the light of a film’s values. Yet by the following evening, our experience is well on the way to dissolution, like so much of what once impressed us: the ruins of Ephesus, the view from Mount Sinai, the feelings after finishing Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Ilyich.”

- Alain de Botton