On clouds and contrails

Yesterday was a sunny breezy day in Hot Springs, AR.  It was one of those days where clouds were high up and moving along because of the wind.  Where we live there are always contrails from Jet airliners.  The contrails go east to west and vice versa.  The contrails were a stark contrast to the clouds.  The clouds were of various shapes and sizes floating with the wind. 

The contrails on the other hand were thin straight lines going in a sure and certain direction against the wind.  It struck me that what I was seeing was a picture of the spiritual walk.  The clouds float and the wind moves them and they have no say so in which direction they go.  They are at the mercy of the wind.  But the contrail cuts a trail through the sky through the clouds and against the wind. 

Here is the application.  The believer who is yielded to the Holy Spirit in his/her daily walk is like the contrail.  There is a definite way to go and a sure and certain place to be.  He/she is not swayed by the winds of life or the clouds that get in the way.  That person just keeps on moving forward no matter what. 

So next time you see a contrail on a windy day remember that if you are a believer, you are on a mission.  Don't lose sight of the goal and don't let the wind or clouds get in the way.

On vacuums

The big news today is the walk out of High School students all over the country promoting gun control.  There have been probably thousands of articles written on the topic pro and con.  There have also been thousands written for the reasons why people do the things they do; as in mass shootings etc..  

I for one think gun control is not the issue.  As I've said before I think "control" is the issue and the "gun" just happens to be the best option to achieve it.  History has proven over and over that if the masses are disarmed then some form of tyranny enters in.  

Which leads me to the point of this post which is summed up in one word "vacuum".  The vacuum I speak of is not the one that cleans the house but the one that is inside the soul of every man, woman, teenager, and child on the planet.  There is a God shaped hole in the soul of all of us and only Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness.  But when God is out of the equation other things fill that emptiness.  And anything other than Christ will never satisfy a person's soul. 

People seek all kinds of stuff to fill that vacuum in the soul.  A short list includes; other people, a career, a hobby and every kind of addiction one can think of.  And then consider that violence, anger, revenge etc.. can enter that vacuum as well.

So protesting against guns will accomplish nothing.  Creating more gun laws will accomplish nothing.  Until people figure out that the issue is the mind (soul) and the answer is Jesus Christ the violence will not stop.  It is time for people and especially men to stand up and speak the truth. No, that is not being sexist that is a call for men from a man to do what God created men to do and that is do the right thing.

1 Corinthians 16.13-14, "Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.

On being a Police Officer

I am currently 54 years of age.  I was a cop for 18 of those years.  When I subtract 18 (the age of "adulthood") from 54 I get 36.  So for 50%, that is half my working adult life, I was a Police Officer.  It just strikes me a little odd that half my life in the work force was in a profession that changes you in ways you cannot understand unless you have done it.  

In my time I saw a lot of really bad stuff.  I saw death in many different ways, most of it violent.  Car wrecks, boat accidents, drownings, trains running over people, house fires, homicides, suicides, and death by natural causes.  I guess it kind of piled up on me for a bit and I struggled with it.  But its better now.  I learned to compartmentalize it and file it, not so much stuff it just file it to work on later.  

The mind is an amazing thing.  On occasion some of those calls come to the surface.  And I literally had forgotten about them but then they pop up sometimes.  I guess that's my way of dealing with it, kind of accessing that file.  A sight, sound, smell, or touch will trigger some event from the past.  Most of the stuff that I experienced is not very palatable to every day conversation; nor is it something I can bring up on a Sunday morning to the congregation sitting in the pews.  It would not go over well so I just don't talk about it much.  

I was never in combat nor did I have close friends dying around me.  So I guess for me and probably most Police Officers our visit with what has become known as PTSD is different.  But it is just as real it just messes with a person in different ways.  When you do the job long enough you become a little jaded and just keep things to yourself.  You come to realize that most people would not understand.  So you just smile and rock along. 

For me my faith has been the greatest weapon against the demons of my past.  My faith in Jesus Christ has made all the difference.  Stuff still comes up an bites me but I immediately go to the Lord and His Word and His peace reigns in my little world.    

I suppose what is interesting is that I would not trade that Police career for anything.  It taught me so very much about people and the human condition.  These are things that have served me well as a Pastor.

There is more I could say but then it may become too long.  

Maybe next time I give my two cents on being a Pastor.            

Another Day Closer

A couple of years ago I taught the book of Revelation www.gbchs.com . During that series of messages I mentioned the possibility that the empire of the Antichrist may be the return of an Islamic Caliphate.  Some of this information came from a book written by Joel Richardson titled "Antichrist, Islam's awaited Messiah ".  In the book he proposes the idea that the empire of the Antichrist in the tribulation will be a revival of the Ottoman Empire which ruled a large portion of the Middle East from 1453-1921.  His book presents some very good points that line up nicely with Biblical Prophecy regarding events that will take place leading up to the return of Jesus Christ to the earth.  One of his proposals is that the Antichrist will come from the modern nation of Turkey.

We know from the book of Revelation that the nation of Israel will sign a 7 year contract with the Antichrist.  This 7 year period of time is known as the tribulation.  At the midpoint of the tribulation (3.5 years) the Antichrist will break his contract with the nation of Israel which will institute what the Bible calls the Great Tribulation.  In Matthew 24 Jesus said it would be a time of trouble like the world has never seen; that if He (Jesus) does not return there would be no one left alive on the earth  Matthew 24.21-22 .

Joel Richardson and I disagree about the rapture of the church.  I believe the Bible clearly teach's a pre-tribulation rapture, that the church will not endure the wrath of God on the earth (the tribulation). Joel Richardson believes that the church will go through the tribulation and have to endure the wrath of God.

This post is not meant to create disagreement about the timing of the rapture.  But it is my prayer that Christians will wake up to the realities that are taking place in our world today.

As before mentioned, if its true that the Antichrist will arise from Turkey, then it is interesting that Erdogan, the current leader of Turkey has expressed interest with normalizing ties with Israel seeking access to Israel's natural gas reserves.  See the article here.  

Also, regarding the rise of an Islamic Caliphate what ISIS is trying to do may serve as a precursor of things to come.  See Joel Richardson's article here.  

We as believer's in Jesus Christ need to wake up.  In Revelation 22.20 Jesus said, "Yes, I am coming quickly."  That was nearly 2000 years ago.  We don't know when Jesus will return for His church.  But one thing we do know is that we are one day closer then we were yesterday.

Keep your head up, your redemption draws nigh.