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

One of the things that has fascinated me recently is God’s timetable.  More specifically the fact that He doesn’t appear to be in a rush to bring His promises to pass.

The more closely we look at scripture, we tend to see a pattern forming.  God makes a promise to a person or people, followed by a time of delay, and then the eventual fulfillment of that promise.

The most painful part?  That in-between time of delay.

Think of our present culture of instant gratification.  If I can hardly wait 60 seconds to boil a cup of water in the microwave, how can I wait months or years for God to bring to pass what I’ve committed to Him in prayer?

Nothing is harder than the time between… the waiting… transitioning between hope and despair.

Consider the following, listed in no specific order:

• David: he was anointed to be the future king of Israel when he was still a lad, perhaps in his early teens.  This was followed shortly by his slaying of Goliath.  Things look pretty promising.  Then he spent over a decade on the run, hiding out in caves and the wilderness, trying to evade the jealous King Saul.  He finally became king of Judah at age 30 and all Israel at age 37.
• Moses: at the age of 40, he had the inkling that perhaps he would be the Deliverer of Israel from the oppression of Egypt.  He took matters into his own hands one day and killed an Egyptian who was abusing a Jewish labourer.  Feeling somewhat powerful, he ventured out the next day and saw the man he delivered in an argument with another Jewish labourer and he confronted them.  The man passed Moses a sideways threat, causing Moses to fearfully go on the run, heading to the backside of the desert for 40 years.  This prince of Egypt, trained in the courts of Pharaoh was finally called by God when all he could do was speak ‘sheep’.  He became that Deliverer at the age of 80 years old.
• Joseph: after receiving two vivid dreams at the age of 17, telling him that he would be exalted above his brothers, he went through one of the most painful accounts recorded in the Bible.  Sold as a slave, then imprisoned…  13 years all told.  He then is exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh where he finally sees the dreams come to pass about 9 years later, at the age of 39.  That’s a total of 22 years between the promise and its fulfillment!  His brothers bow before him, and the promise of his dream comes flooding back.

Do you begin to see a trend?  We could have looked at faithful old Simeon, who waited and waited for the promise of Israel, fulfilled in the coming of the Lord Jesus.  Or the Apostle Paul who was sent to Antioch for a couple years to cool off after his conversion.  Or of the prophet Jeremiah – the weeping prophet – who was confused and discouraged by the hardness of hearts he was forced to preach to.

Amazingly, none of these men were ultimately hurt by the perceived delay.  In fact, God’s timetable worked out to be much more impactful and appreciated.

There always seems to be a promise – then a long period of delay – and then the fulfillment of that promise.

In light of this trend, instant success seems almost betraying.

Last night I was reading about Abraham.  Imagine…  God makes him a promise, at the age of 75, that God would make of him “a great nation”.  (Gen 12).  Of course, God never gave him a timetable as to when this would happen.  The only problem?  His wife was barren.  Only a couple who has gone month-to-month only to be disappointed each time could grasp the feelings he must have endured.  In fact, Abraham (Abram) poured out his heart to the Lord in Genesis 15:

But Abram said, “O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”  And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

The Lord re-confirmed His promise and Abraham was comforted.  But still, Sarah never got pregnant…

Finally, at the advice of his wife he took matters into his own hands, and decided to help God out.  He impregnated his wife’s Egyptian servant, Hagar, who bore Ishmael.  Of course, this was not the seed of promise.  It wasn’t until Abraham was 100 years old that Isaac was born.  25 years after the promise God made.  That’s a long, long time.

Personally, I have desires that I’d like to see God fulfill.  I have prayed about them and pleaded with Him.  But it hasn’t come to pass on my timetable and the schedule that I’ve given Him.  What folly!

Can I wait for Him?  Can I cling to the promise that rain will be coming even though the sky is cloudless?

Can I avoid the temptation to take matters into my own feeble hands?  Can I remain faithful if He decides to never fulfill what I’ve asked Him to?

That is my desire… to trust and cling to Him throughout all seasons.  Throughout all discouragements and setbacks.

I praise Him for His unfailing faithfulness.  He is faithful that has promised.  The one thing, the only thing, He cannot do is lie.

I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.  Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.  For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

When I was a kid, there was a detergent commercial that would often come on for a brand called ABC.  Two boys would spend the day running through mud and collecting grass stains, then at the end of the day, mom would wash the clothes… one in ABC and the other in a more expensive brand of detergent.  Having both boys standing on either side of her, dressed in the newly washed clothes, she would say, “I can’t see the difference.  Can you see the difference?  Why pay more?”

A pretty clear message: why spend your money for the same results?  Get the cheaper brand and pocket the difference.

If only life were that simple…

Can you tell the difference between truth and error?  Between a truth-teller and a false-prophet?

Almost 3,000 years ago, the bible records a fascinating interaction between the false prophet Hananiah and the true prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 28).

We are introduced to the bold character of Hananiah as he approaches Jeremiah in the temple in Jerusalem, right in the middle of all the people and the priests.  In his booming voice and grand theatrics, he utters:

“This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the LORD’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon.” (v 2-3)

This man was a preacher!  He had stage-presence and an air of certainty that was so persuasive.  In addition, he claimed to be speaking on behalf of God (dangerous territory to begin with), but he was only telling the people what he thought they wanted to hear.  A sure way to gain popularity.  While Jeremiah had told them to settle down, build homes and plant gardens because there was to be a 70 year captivity, this man reduced it to only 2 years with a convincing “Thus saith the Lord!”

Who are you going to believe?  The one who tells you the ‘good news’ and what you want to hear?

Well, even Jeremiah reluctantly joined the chorus saying, “Amen! May the LORD do so!” (v. 6).

But being the man he was, he went on to declare the Hananiah was misleading the people.  But Hananiah wasn’t about to let Jeremiah spoil the show:

Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, and he said before all the people, “This is what the LORD says: ‘In the same way will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.’ ” At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.

Now, if you were in the crowd that day, who would appear more convincing?  Honestly?  Jeremiah was wearing a wooden-yolk on his shoulders to symbolize Israel’s bondage.  What a foolish looking man.  On the other side was the strapping Hananiah, brimming with confidence, eloquence and charisma, running circles around the more meek Jeremiah.  Could you imagine the gasp, followed by nodding heads that would have rippled through the crowd as Hananiah snapped the yoke over his knee and wood splintered into the air?

Jeremiah understood the tide had shifted away from truth to error and so decided to go his way, leaving the people in the hands of the false prophet.  After all, he was telling them precisely what they wanted to hear.  Who wants to hear:

• you are raising rebellious children with no discipline
• you are not being a good steward of the resources the Lord has entrusted to you
• you claim to be living for Christ but have yet to break off your sinful ways
• the relationship you are in is not what God would approve of
• you are on the path to destruction
• your god is money

In a nutshell, who really wants to hear the truth? Not the truth of great sweeping statements (for example, “God loves you”), but the truth that cuts to the quick and is direct and personal… that actually affects your daily life?  Not many, which is why most – if not all – the prophets were murdered. (Matthew 23:37).

The Egyptian magicians, Jannes and Jambres, opposed Moses by mimicking almost every miracle he performed, though by demonic powers.  How would Pharaoh and his court be able to tell the difference?

2,000 years ago, the Apostle Paul observed the Corinthian church’s decline due to their willingness to heed false preaching:

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.

You mean that even the Devil preaches the gospel?  Yes.  Of course, with a slant that is sure to mislead and ultimately destroy.  Remember, when he approached Jesus he quoted scripture!  Can you tell the difference?

Do you look for affirmation when you are doing or living wrong?

Do you find yourself more moved by emotionalism and stimulation (loud speaking, jokes, eloquence) than unapologetic truth telling?

Do you prefer to be told ‘smooth things’ in a soft tone than to hear the honest truth, though it may cut?

Do you prefer truth or religion?  Something to do on Sunday that quells your conscience or a life-altering experience with the risen Christ?

Do you even care to hear the truth?

I fear that in our day of information overload, very few people possess the knowledge to actually discern biblical truth from plain error.  Fewer still possess the desire and hunger to hear the truth if it will alter their lives too much.

I admire the men who stand and proclaim the word of God in the spirit of love, yet plainly, pleading with people to amend their ways and turn whole-heartedly to God.   When you fear men, you will seek to please men.  When you fear God above all, you will seek to please Him – even at the displeasure of your fellow men and all they can do and say about you.