I was thinking of the words to an old hymn, Hide Thou Me…
Sometimes I feel discouraged and think my life in vain, I’m tempted oft to murmer, to grumble and complain; But when I think of Jesus and what He’s done for me, Then I cry, to the Rock of Ages, hide thou me.
There are times when the burdens of life get so heavy; when the struggles get so hard; when no matter what, we still worry; that we have to cry out to Jesus, “Hide me!” Thankfully, He does. Back around 1880 Vernon Charlesworth wrote, “The Lord’s our Rock, in Him we hide, A Shelter in the time of storm; Secure whatever ill betide, A Shelter in the time of storm.”
How different it is for the unbeliever.
Where does the atheist turn when his world is falling apart? When all friends forsake him? When the doctors say, “I’m sorry, but we’ve done all we can do?” When someone sings “The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow,” but he knows he won’t see it?”
Where does the unbeliever hide? In drugs? Alcohol? Meditation? Sex? Nietzsche? Nature (which he believes is nothing more than the product of random chance and void of meaning)?
Scripture (Revelation 6:16) speaks of a day when men who chose to run from the Rock will “cry to the mountains and rocks” to “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne…” Ironic, isn’t it?
Oh, “Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.”
I know that the title was a little long, but don’t let it intimidate you. Yes, for some of you what you are about to read will be profound – it may even hurt your head.
Yet, despite how much you’ve endured this week, please take just a minute or two, read on, and consider the following thought:
The feelings we have after Christmas point to the fact that we have not been fully redeemed. Our bodies are still waiting for that final transformation.
[We] also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. – Romans 8:23b CSB
What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption. Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. – 1 Corinthians 15:50-53 CSB
What does this have to do with “after Christmas“?
Celebrating Christmas has completely worn me out. I’m tired of carols, smiles, joy, and jingle bells… even eggnog. I need a break.
So, just imagine how difficult it would be to survive heaven for more than a day or two?
Not only will we need new bodies that never grow old, get weak, or want to go to bed before sundown, but we will need to be set free from all the chains of this mortal flesh! In other words, everything that turns an elf into a Grinch around December 26th or 27th.
Last year I conducted a funeral service for the wife of a dear friend. I spoke of her death as a process we all must go through: a process of putting off this mortal, corruptible body and putting on an immortal one. I spoke of how we would either all have to die or be changed in the “twinkling of an eye,” but none of us are ready for heaven as is.
Our corruptible minds and bodies must be exchanged for that which is incorruptible, else we won’t be able to endure the celebration that is to come!
Without being changed, heaven would be full of worn-out billion-year-olds leaving the dirty dishes for the angels to deal with.
Heaven will be a celebration of the Redeemer by the redeemed.
If the corruptible got in, it wouldn’t be long before they felt like hell.
Twenty years have come and gone, and many have already forgotten what happened on September 11, 2001. Tragically, much of a whole generations has never been told.
But I won’t forget.
Not only will I not forget, I will choose to remember.
I will remember…
that freedom isn’t free, and there are those who want to steal it.
that Christ came “to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound;” therefore America is never more “Christ-like” than when its people shed their blood for the freedom of others, whether they love us, or not.
that it wasn’t secularists, militarists, or a bunch of Baptist preachers who crashed four aircraft on that day, killing thousands.
the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople – they weren’t converted to Islam through peaceful conversion.
who is considered the “Great Satan” and what countries are truly religiously intolerant.
the heroes who went back into those buildings to rescue anyone they could.
the heroes who fought back and said, “Let’s roll!”
the heroes who go into harm’s way for freedom every day.
that America was founded by men who knew God; who recognized the hand of Providence; and who knew when to bow a knee and call to God for deliverance.
that we (and all freedom-loving people) are in a life-and-death struggle between opposing worldviews – a war. Losing can’t be an option.
I will also choose to remember, and not forget, that America, no matter its current faults and flaws, is made up of a people, who, when push comes to shove, will take the fight for freedom anywhere in the world. We will also defend it. That’s who we are.
Or are we? I’m beginning to wonder.
Now the flag is an offense and the Anthem alone is insufficient.
At some point, when the preponderance of evidence leans so heavily in one direction, you’ve got to call it for what it is. So, as I look around at all that’s going on in this world, I think I’ve come to the conclusion this is the beginning of the end.
What do I mean by the end?
For as long as I can remember, at least as far back as the “turn or burn” movies of Estus Pirkle (d. 2005) and whole-Sunday-long prophecy services with Dr. Ed Vallowe (d. 2002), I’ve believed in the immanent return of Jesus Christ. To be more specific, I’ve always considered myself a pre-tribulationist and a pre-millennialist who believed, at least on paper, that the trumpet of the Lord could sound at any moment.
I’ve always believed that there would be a rapturing of the Church, a time of tribulation on Earth, and then the return of Jesus (the “second coming”) as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And I still do.
The only difference is that before it was something I said I believed, but I didn’t REALLY believe it so much that I got excited about it or talked about it much. Why is that?
Well, a lot of people have gone to bat in the game of end-time signs. Every time they come out swinging, it’s because of some new earthquake, some war, some evil politician or evil law. It’s always been something, and usually it’s always been something that was a symptom of the natural moral decline in the United States. In other words, it’s always been something, but always something that should have never been thought of as anything other than ordinary.
For example, this once-great nation we know as America is rapidly chasing after its own demise. Many look at our country and its unbelievably insane social and legal affirmations of things not even possible in Sodom and Gomorrah and conclude, “The end must be near.” But was the end near when Rome fell? Was the end near when Germany fell sway to the anti-Christ-like Adolf Hitler?
We’re Doomed
Let’s be honest, folks. America is doomed. Marxists are already marching in lockstep down every hallway in Washington, D.C. For crying out loud, the only thing separating the Pelosi’s and the Cortez’s from red-flag-waving Bolsheviks are the perks and pensions they would lose in a full-on revolution.
The majority of our government, all of our media, every BLM-like terrorist group (yes, I said it), nearly every center of education, and probably a majority of Americans under the age of 20 want nothing less than to replace Western culture (including the USA) with a godless, socialist Utopia.
Granted, most of Americans DO NOT think this way, but they are too afraid or too tired to speak out anymore.
Like I said, America is doomed. All we are waiting for is either a miraculous healing or for somebody to flip off the the life support.
But is the decline of this country the sole predictor of the proximity of the “end time”? No!
Just like the fall of every other empire or nation did not mean the return of Jesus was just around the corner. America could fall and float away like dust in the wind (I bet you can even hear the tune, can’t you?), but the end could still be a hundred years away.
Except . . . . .
Have you heard the term “COVID Clench“? What about “Operation Pandemic Plunder“?
No?
Well, that’s probably because I just coined those terms. However, pause for a short moment and consider how that governments around the globe, from local to national, are clenching on to every bit of power they can obtain and are literally stealing liberty from every citizen.
Just the other day New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled the latest and greatest governmental twist of the arm, that proof of vaccination is “the key to NYC.” In other words, being vaccinated will be one’s “passport” to all the wonders available to them in the Big Apple. However, should one NOT be injected with the vaccine, there will be no access to restaurants, businesses, places of entertainment, public social events, etc.
Or, you could say that without the “mark” of a needle, there will be no buying or selling, etc., etc., etc. Sound familiar?
He required everyone–small and great, rich and poor, free and slave–to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name.
Revelation 13:16-17 NLT
Is Mayor Bill de Blasio the Antichrist? No, of course not. That’s ridiculous. But what about that “mark”? Not so ridiculous of an idea as it might have seemed a few years ago, huh?
Isn’t this just another 1918?
102 years before COVID-19 was released upon the world, the flu killed millions of people around the globe. It came and went, and many people warned something like it would come again. It was just a matter of time.
2020 came along and with it came the Pandemic. So, just like nations rise and nations fall, diseases and viruses rise and fall. Therefore, this virus is no more of a reason to think the end is near than the flu of 1918.
Or is it?
What’s the difference between a naturally-occurring virus and one created in a lab? One eventually dies via herd immunity, while the other continually adapts and morphs into an ever-increasingly effective weapon that is always one step ahead of all defenses.
What nation can survive a destroyed economy? The inability to work, pay taxes, or feed oneself will destroy one’s faith in self, government, and even one’s god. Then, when no nation can support its infrastructure; when no nation can feed its people; when every nation cries out for effective leadership; when the world is desperate enough, one Leader will be able to take total control, especially if he’s gifted with the ability to literally bring healing.
Do you seriously think, just looking at how the new rounds of vaccine booster shots show no signs of ending, especially if the virus keeps mutating, that we are nearing an end to ever-increasing government control? That those with a blood-lust for power and control will let this pandemic go to waste?
And, do you think that those in charge are really capable of stopping something that was more than likely created as a weapon of gradual mass destruction?
It might not be tomorrow. It might not be next year. But if you want to know my opinion, I think it is entirely reasonable to assume, based on the preponderance of hard-to-explain-away coincidences and parallels with Biblical prophecy, that this is the beginning of the end.
What if I’m wrong? Does that make everything OK?
Umm, not really. There’s still a deadly virus out there that’s even killing fully-vaccinated individuals. That being said, the end of the world for YOU might be only one quarantine away.
Therefore, to paraphrase the prophet Amos, one way or another, prepare to meet thy God (Amos 4:12).
Ever wonder what preachers used to preach around this time of the year? Check out a few excerpts from a message preached only 18 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
We could learn a few things.
“A people under a free government will be happy, as long as they are virtuous and wise. They may become vicious and corrupt. They are then liable to be influenced by private connections, party spirit, bribery or flattery, promises or rewards, or the artifice and intrigue of crafty and designing men.
When this is the case, they give up their security, lose their liberty, and sink into slavery….
“…Our free government was a happy, but a costly purchase; let it not be lost by drowsy inattention, and implicit confidence…
The day is coming, when liberty and peace shall bless the human race. But previous to this, truth and virtue must prevail, and the religion of Jesus must govern men’s hearts. Then the horrors of war will cease, and the groans of slavery will no more be heard. The rod of the oppressor will be broken, and the yoke will be removed from the shoulders of the oppressed. The scepter will be wrested from the hands of the wicked, and the pomp of the proud will be brought down to the dust. The whole earth will rest and be quiet: they will break forth into singing…”
– from “The Happiness of Free Government and the Means of Preserving It,” preached by JOSEPH LATHROP, D. D. on July 4th, 1794
I think the “vicious and corrupt” are now running the show. As a result of our “drowsy attention” we have elected men and women of the lowest character, thereby giving up our security, our liberty, and the hope of freedom-loving people around the world who look to us as a shining city on a hill.
I know that the title was a little long, but don’t let it intimidate you. Yes, for some of you what you are about to read will be profound – it may even hurt your head.
Yet, despite how much you’ve endured this week, please take just a minute or two, read on, and consider the following thought:
The feelings we have after Christmas point to the fact that we have not been fully redeemed. Our bodies are still waiting for that final transformation.
[We] also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. – Romans 8:23b CSB
What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption. Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. – 1 Corinthians 15:50-53 CSB
What does this have to do with “after Christmas“?
Celebrating Christmas has completely worn me out. I’m tired of carols, smiles, joy, and jingle bells… even eggnog. I need a break.
So, just imagine how difficult it would be to survive heaven for more than a day or two?
Not only will we need new bodies that never grow old, get weak, or want to go to bed before sundown, but we will need to be set free from all the chains of this mortal flesh! In other words, everything that turns an elf into a Grinch around December 26th or 27th.
Last week I conducted a funeral service for the wife of a dear friend. I spoke of her death as a process we all must go through: a process of putting off this mortal, corruptible body and putting on an immortal one. I spoke of how we would either all have to die or be changed in the “twinkling of an eye,” but none of us are ready for heaven as is.
Our corruptible minds and bodies must be exchanged for that which is incorruptible, else we won’t be able to endure the celebration that is to come.
Without being changed, heaven would be full of worn-out billion-year-olds leaving the dirty dishes for the angels to deal with.
Heaven will be a celebration of the Redeemer by the redeemed.
If the corruptible got in, it wouldn’t be long before they felt like hell.
Lately, it’s been both a jab and a stinging response, the punchline of President Trump’s that’s become sort of a campaign slogan for Joe Biden: “He’ll listen to the science.”
Trump’s point is that Biden will make decisions based on bad science from bad scientists; Biden’s point is that Trump doesn’t care about scientific facts.
In my opinion, neither their arguments are going to make much of a difference right now. However, there’s a much more disturbing truth to the statement that, if Biden really does “listen to the science,” could potentially lead us down a very dark and sinister path.
Which Science?
To be fair to President Trump, it’s not that he doesn’t listen to science, it’s that he listens to the science he believes.
Stop for a moment and think about what is really meant when we use the word science. Science is NOT truth. Science is NOT immutable. Science is NOT determined by consensus (or vote). Scientific data CAN be interpreted differently.
When a person says he will listen to science, what exactly does that mean? Let us not forget the facts of “science” have often changed. Consider this tiny list of examples:
The coming ice age
The earth is flat
Piltdown Man
The benefits of smoking
Bloodletting
So, it’s certainly forgivable and understandable for the President to question certain scientists and listen to others. What proof does Biden have that his scientific advisors are infallible?
The More Serious Question
But what really scares me is that Joe Biden says that yes, he WILL listen to science. And based on what I’ve already heard and read, if current science (or should I say, “scientists”) believe it or promote it, then that’s all ol’ Joe needs. Listening means acquiescing.
Therefore, even if the “science” proves valid, what of the ethics? What of the morality? That’s the serious question.
Already it’s been announced that – because of science – Biden will make all sports and restrooms accessible to transgender and gender-fluid students. Because of science, abortion will be allowed far beyond any previous limitations. And based on the scientific advisors around him, Biden will more than likely impose a national mask mandate and mandatory shutdowns.
Disturbing? Yes! Because if all it takes to enact public policy is the consensus of politically motivated scientists, then what is out of the question? What moral or ethical line is out of bounds?
As I write this, it is late Saturday night and I am thinking about my sermon for tomorrow. I’ve been looking at my notes, the Scripture, and thinking about the overall theme, paying particular attention to how I might be able to draw the sermon to a close. For some reason, I don’t know why, invitations have become more difficult for me in the last year or so.
But it’s not the Sunday morning sermon that concerns me – at least that’s not the reason for me writing this letter to you. It’s the content that you and I are expected to deliver to those watching on Facebook, YouTube, or whatever other streaming service you prefer.
I don’t want you to get tired of doing it. I don’t want you to get discouraged and give up too soon!
I don’t know about you guys, but I have been producing more Bible teaching since the pandemic began than any other time in my life! I literally post online content 6 days a week, twice on Sunday and Wednesday! That’s EIGHT original content presentations a week! Granted, what I produce during the week is not as deep as what I might deliver on a Sunday or Wednesday night, but sometimes it is deeper. Sometimes it could qualify for a full-fledged sermon. But is 8 times a week a little much?
Especially if you feel nobody is watching? Anybody with me?
Without a doubt we pastors are working harder than ever before. One reason I can say that with complete confidence is that we are, at the very least, using spiritual, mental, and emotional muscles we’ve never used before. We are in uncharted territory most days. That can drain a person.
Yet, what does your congregation expect out of you? How else are you able to stay in touch or connected throughout the week? I know this might sound self-serving or vain, but is what you are doing online partly due to the fact that you don’t want to appear as idle or taking advantage of the social distancing?
How many of you are beginning to question the efficacy of all the online content we are producing? How many of you are beginning to feel like you’re having little to no impact? I’m not going to lie; I’ve been feeling that way more often each day.
Nevertheless, what I don’t know is what God knows. What I am doing is the best I can with what I’ve been given. I am using every means possible to keep church (and all that’s involved with that word) in the lives of my flock. I’m doing all I can to make holy lemonade out of COVID-19 lemons. And only God knows what really happens on the other side of the computer or smartphone screen.
Though not exactly the same context, I am reminded of the following verse:
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Galatians 6:9)
No farmer expects to make pie out of the fruit of his labor the day after he plants the first seed. Likewise, we don’t have any idea what this surge of biblical content is going to affect in the future: no one has ever had the opportunity to calculate the germination times.
We are planting and watering in fields where the Word of God has never been sown. We are flooding the airwaves and the internet with more of the Gospel message than at any other single time in history! And all that we are doing, all that we are sowing, and in all the areas and hearts where our ministry is reaching… Have we forgotten it is guaranteed to produce fruit of some kind? His Word does not return void!.
Maybe you didn’t need the reminder. Maybe it’s just me. But I just want you to know that we were put here for this time. What we do in this time will affect not only today, but tomorrow, too. We may never live to see the results of our plowing and cultivating and planting, but future generations may be feeding on the fruit decades after we have left the plow.
Don’t grow weary, gentlemen. Be encouraged! Stay strong! Keep up the good work!
Sometimes the only one in the field is the farmer. Keep farming while the weather permits.
Do you remember the Spice Girls? Here today, gone tomorrow girl band from the U.K.? They were the ones who recorded the catchy and famous pop song “Wannabe” (I’ll spare you the video).
What was the catchiest part of the whole song? The part that goes:
“Tell me what you want, what you really, really want. I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want.“
As a matter of fact, just for fun, here’s a link from the movieChicken Little. The pig and chicken characters do a pretty good cover.
Honestly, I’m not totally clear as to what the Spice Girls wanted. I wouldn’t know a “zigga” from zagga. On the other hand, I bet what they wanted was not what poor Job (in the Bible) wanted, but we’ll get to him in a minute.
Heaven
Have you ever thought about what you would want to see most in Heaven? Assuming Heaven will be your home after this life (don’t assume – eternity is too long for a mistake of that nature), what would you want to see first? Tell me what you want, what you really, really want.
Do you look forward to walking on a street of pure gold? Are you excited about seeing things that can hardly be imagined, much less described? What about gates of pearl? An emerald sea? Do you really, really want to meet all the saints of old, including relatives who have gone on before. Angels? A mansion?
Job
Do you remember Job? He was the guy in the Bible (with the book named after him) that lost everything he owned, including his wealth, family, and health. He even lost his friends, especially if you consider all they did was accuse him of wrongdoing.
Job wound up in such a state that his own wife even begged him to just curse God and die (Job 2:9). Job was a miserable wreck of a man who had every reason to want to go to Heaven. Yet, what Job really, really wanted to see first was not golden, bejeweled, or even a thing…He wanted to see God.
Remember, what you want tells a lot about your heart. Instead of wanting to exchange his suffering for a new body; his poverty for wealth; his loneliness for a reunion with loved ones, all Job wanted was to see God with his own eyes, in his own flesh. This was his hope and desire all wrapped up in one.
For I know [that] my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this [I know], That in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. [How] my heart yearns within me! – Job 19:25-27 NKJV
What we fail to think about is that when we see God, all the other joys of Heaven will have to seem secondary! God, the highest of all that is good and lovely, the depth of Whose attributes can never be plumbed, will one day look into our eyes in a moment of total realization, understanding, and belonging. What else could compare? Sure, there will be other things in Heaven, but who will care if it takes a million years to get around to some of them?
Tell me what you want. What do you really, really want.
Do you want Heaven, or Him? There is a difference.
I was thinking of the words to an old hymn, Hide Thou Me…
Sometimes I feel discouraged and think my life in vain, I’m tempted oft to murmur, to grumble and complain; But when I think of Jesus and what He’s done for me, Then I cry, to the Rock of Ages, hide thou me.
There are times when the burdens of life get so heavy; when the struggles get so hard; when no matter what, we still worry; that we have to cry out to Jesus, “Hide me!” Thankfully, He does. Back around 1880 Vernon Charlesworth wrote, “The Lord’s our Rock, in Him we hide, A Shelter in the time of storm; Secure whatever ill betide, A Shelter in the time of storm.”
How different it is for the unbeliever.
Where does the atheist turn when his world is falling apart? When all friends forsake him? When the doctors say, “I’m sorry, but we’ve done all we can do?” When someone sings “The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow,” but he knows he won’t see it?”
Where does the unbeliever hide? In drugs? Alcohol? Meditation? Sex? Nietzsche? Nature (which he believes is nothing more than the product of random chance and void of meaning)?
Scripture (Revelation 6:16) speaks of a day when men who chose to run from the Rock will “cry to the mountains and rocks” to “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne…” Ironic, isn’t it?
Oh, “Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.”
The day is coming, when liberty and peace shall bless the human race. But previous to this, truth and virtue must prevail, and the religion of Jesus must govern men’s hearts. Then the horrors of war will cease, and the groans of slavery will no more be heard. The rod of the oppressor will be broken, and the yoke will be removed from the shoulders of the oppressed. The scepter will be wrested from the hands of the wicked, and the pomp of the proud will be brought down to the dust. The whole earth will rest and be quiet: they will break forth into singing…” 
The Recovering Legalist 