Month: April 2022 (Page 3 of 3)

Recently, while walking in the hallway of our apartment building, a widow had displayed outside her apartment a plaque which read, “God has not forgotten you.”  It caught my attention.  My wife and I continually ask the Lord for grace to be light for Jesus in our apartment building.  Among the many issues we sense among seniors is loneliness, especially those who have lost their mates.  As I walk by the various apartments, I often pray for the Lord’s presence to be with those who live there.

In our community of seniors, we live with the ever present reality of “nearing the eternal shore.”  We talk about “Jesus coming” not only in  his second coming, but also of his taking us home.  When people feel isolated , forgotten by their loved ones, a sense of abandonment can invade their hearts. It can cause doubt about God’s loving presence. They need to be encouraged that “Jesus will carry them” home as they near their final home.

At  our Thursday bible study, I shared the words from the plaque Miriam had on display, along with the following passage from Isaiah 49:15-16, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?  Though she may forget I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”  

The NET bible makes this comment about the passage.  “The Lord has an innate attachment to Zion, just like a mother does for her infant child.  But even if mothers were to suddenly abandon their children, the Lord would never forsake Zion.  In other words, the Lord’s attachment to Zion is like a mother’s attachment to her infant child, but even stronger.”  

Men, I don’t know where you are on your journey.  You could be experiencing loneliness, feeling forsaken, living in a disconnected culture without nurturing human relationships, not having a sense of belonging.  Jesus calls us a “little flock.”  He is aware of our vulnerable. But he promises his presence (the kingdom).  “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).  He knows our sense of being forsaken in this confused world causing us to wonder if anyone cares.  The Psalmist declared, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me” (Ps 27:10)

Men, there will be times when you will feel abandoned on your journey.  Here is a wonderful promise from Isaiah. “When you go though rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.  When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” (Is. 43:2).  The Application Bible has this note, “If you try to make it with your own strength, you will likely drown.  If you invite the Lord go with you, he will be in the river with You and teach you how to navigate the treacherous waters”

My encouragement is to keep your eyes on Jesus and let him carry you.  The psalmist describes the journey in these words.   “Happy are the people whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a source of spring water; even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings”(Ps 84:5-6 CSB).   

We grow stronger when the journey is intently toward Jesus, even though we must pass through “the valley of affliction” (NET).  “The joyful tears of the pilgrims transformed the source of sadness and grief into a spring of blessing” (CSB Study Bible).  

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists recently announced that the position of the “doom’s day” clock will remain where it has been – at 100 seconds to midnight.  “The doorstep of doom is no place to loiter,” the Bulletin noted in explaining its decision.  The clock was created 75 years ago to alert Americans to the danger of nuclear confrontation with the Soviet Union.  It was intended to “frighten men into rationality” said Eugene Rabinowitch, a biologist and the first editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

There is some reassurance knowing the position of the clock remains the same.  But all indications point to a world that is more uncertain about the future than ever before.  I thought of the Old Testament prophets warning Israel of the “Day of the Lord.”  This is “a special day at the end of time when God’s will and purpose for mankind and His world will be fulfilled.” (Nelson Bible Dictionary).  Since Jesus conquered death and the devil, that day has be seen as an instantaneous event when Christ will return victorious and reign on the earth.

The earliest recording of the Day of the Lord is found in Amos 5:18: “What sorrow awaits you who say, ‘If only the day of the Lord were here.’  That day will bring darkness, not light.”  On that day, God will finally make things right on the earth.  Paul warned the Thessalonians of the day of the Lord: “Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (II Thess. 5:1-2).  

The folks who developed the “doomsday clock” have no idea when the end will take place. They seem to assume they possess some knowledge of what might be on the horizon, allowing them to predict the future – all the while ignoring the One who really controls the clock.  Isaiah warned of thinking we can hide our intentions from the Lord. “Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, ‘Who sees us? Who will know?'” (Is. 29:15).   

Long before God’s people were led out of captivity by Cyrus, Isaiah spoke of Cyrus as “my shepherd.”  “He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say to Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt’, and of the temple, ‘Let its foundations be laid'” (Is. 44:28).  God declared his intentions to use unusual means to liberate his people from captivity.  He was reminding the people of his sovereign rule in history.

God challenged those in authority , during Isaiah’s time, to come up with a plan for the future: “Take the stand on behalf of your idols, offer arguments, assemble reasons.  Spread out the facts before us so that we can assess them ourselves.  Ask them, ‘If you are gods, explain what the past means – or, failing that, tell us what will happen in the future” (Is. 41:22-23 – Message). 

Several months have passed since I first drafted this blog.  Now as I review it, there is serious speculation about the use of nuclear weapons because of Vladimir Putin’s frustration with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  It is a sober reminder of instability of  our world and the wishful thinking of those who speak about peace.  Jeremiah warns us when he said, “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14).