Day: July 14, 2015

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Reflection

Heaven on Earth? – by Gerry Givens

Should Christians Expect to Taste Heaven This Side of Eternity?

https://goo.gl/1aauQz http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
https://goo.gl/1aauQz http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The US Supreme Court recently ruled that laws reserving marriage to heterosexual couples are unconstitutional.

Matthew 10:16ff reads, “Behold I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves . . . and you will be hated for my sake. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. . .”

Can we find Heaven on Earth?

Lamentations 3:22 reads, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.” Writing to this verse, Billy Graham has written that God feels what we feel.  If you are indignant at the Supreme Counts decision, imagine God’s indignation.

Cal Thomas writing an opinion column on 8 July 2015, notes the politicization of the Christian as the Morale Majority or Christian Coalition may have failed to remember Christ’s statement, “My Kingdom is not of this world.”

The Bible does not promise us Heaven on Earth, though each of us may at times forget that – I have more than once. Christians are not going to be universally accepted in this world, in this nation, in this state, or in this community.  We will be rebels and outsiders because we are Christians, especially when we are indeed Christians.

When we feel comfortable, we are probably conforming to the world and distancing ourselves from God.

Now when I consider that NO nation on earth is truly a Christian nation and that every nation eventually wanders far away from God’s way, it is not surprising that Nations “fall from grace” and are replaced- “moving from one town to the next”.

I fear that for myself, and my friends and family, but that is my will speaking.

Heaven on Earth 02So my prayer remains, “Thy will be done. Allow and strengthen me to be a faithful witness. Help me when my fears and my plans do not track with Yours. Protect my family and friends and keep them close to You.  Help me remember this earth is not my home – You have a better place for me, and mine who know You!”

Our right response to the Courts action can be aligned with Graham’s end of another devotion, “Thank God for whatever measure of religious freedom you enjoy – and pray for those suffering for their faith in Christ.”

But don’t look for heaven here on earth

__________________

Gerald Givens is a retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel (1969-1991) and contract satellite engineer/program manager (1991-2011). He was born on 16 March 1945, and blessed to be baptized in April 1945, and married to his lovely wife, Karen, on 23 December 1967. He has served HCLC as Lay Minister and member of the Board of Directors. For many years he served with Karen and a third grade and kindergarten Sunday School teacher.  Recently he has led numerous Financial Peace University classes and co-chaired with Karen the Holy Cross Momentum emphasis,”SOAR” which was intended to bring Biblically based financial management training to the broader Holy Cross community.

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

For Security in Life, Try the Buddy System

Ahuaypa, Peru

There is strength in numbers, especially in the Christian community.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him– a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 English Standard Version

These two chicks had better stay together. Surprising things happen in the jungle.

Ahuaypa, Peru
Ahuaypa, Peru

Chickens play an important role in the village we visited in our recent trip to Peru. They are constantly eating bugs. I imagine that the bug population would quadruple if it weren’t for chickens and ducks.

I was sitting under a large tree on a hot, humid day. The calmness of the moment was broken by the unnamed, un-kept, and unappreciated dogs barking and running at full speed around a bush. A few moments later  a rooster was running as fast as it could back around that bush and under a house chased by the yapping dogs. It looked like something out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

As quickly as the barking began it stopped and to my left a man was carrying the rooster by its legs. Lunch would soon be served.

I’m not saying that being in pairs always protect people from harm and danger, but it’s better than being alone, especially if that person is a trusted sister or brother in Christ. This is a fact acknowledged by the Preacher in Ecclesiastes. “Two are better than one.”

We don’t know the context of the Preacher’s words. Did he considered himself foolish having taken on a difficult task by himself? Had he heard the stories of David and Jonathon and how their standing back-to-back kept David alive?

What we do know is the truth of this statement, “two are better than one” when they stand back-to-back against the struggles of life. One person protects the other, strives with the other, and cares for the other.

Then, out of nowhere, the Preacher adds, “a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” He acknowledges that even better than two are three people who hang together. God calls us into community, that’s our baptismal gift. We are called into a fellowship of people who know forgiveness and grace and who understand the struggles of life. A threefold cord is interwoven to the point you notice the cords, but their unity is more important.

It is the Holy Spirit who wraps these cords together and binds them into community. That’s God’s buddy system for thriving this side of the grave.

Copyright Douglas P. Brauner