Prophecy Countdown to CHRISTmas

Prophecy #5: Messiah would be heir to King Davit's throne.

"When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
~2 Samuel 7:12-13

also~

"Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore."
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
~Isaiah 9:7
Fulfilled: Luke 1:32-33, Romans 1:3 Jesus Christ is the PROMISED MESSIAH!

Prophecy Countdown to CHRISTmas

Artist: John Singleton Copley, 1776
 

Prophecy #4: Messiah would be a descendant of Isaac.

"But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named." [The LORD speaking to Abraham regarding Isaac and his progeny]
~Genesis 21:12
Fulfilled: Luke 3:34  

Jesus Christ is the PROMISED MESSIAH!

Prophecy Countdown to CHRISTmas

Prophecy #3: Messiah would come from the line of Abraham.

"I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." [The LORD speaking to Abraham]
~Genesis 12:3
Fulfilled: Matthew 1:1

Jesus Christ is the PROMISED MESSIAH!

Prophecy Countdown to CHRISTmas

Prophecy #2: Messiah would be born of a virgin.

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
~Isaiah 7:14 [Note: "Immanuel" means "God with us.]
Fulfilled: Matthew 1:22-23; Luke 1:26-31
 
Jesus is the PROMISED MESSIAH!

Prophecy Countdown to CHRISTmas

Prophecy #1: Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
~Micah 5:2 
Fulfilled: Luke 2:4-6.

Jesus is the PROMISED MESSIAH!

How to Die Well in Three Steps

Few spoke, and those who did used hushed tones. The constants in the room were the labored breathing of the dying man, the whooshing of the ventilator, and the beeping rhythm of the heart monitor. Young and old alike, they stood, each keeping his or her own death vigil. Would David speak again? Rally to leave them with some final wisdom? Or would he slip quietly into Eternity, into the Presence of his Savior and Lord, Whom he had so faithfully served these many decades?
       For over an hour,  Michael, the grandson who denied the existence of the old man's God, sat beside his grandfather, holding his hand and occasionally talking softly to him, despite the lack of any response or acknowledgement from David. For the younger man, this could  have one of two outcomes: either David would cheat death and rally to live awhile longer, or he would cease to exist.
       The respiratory therapist came into the room carrying a tote with her supplies.
       "I'm sorry, folks, but I must ask you to either leave the room or move away from the bed," she said. "It's time for Mr. Baugh's breathing treatment."
       As some turned to step into the hall and others moved back from the bed, Michael gently patted his grandfather's hand and slipped his own hand away.
       Suddenly, David's eyes flew open, and he reached his hand toward Michael.
       "Michael!" He spoke with surprising strength. Those who were about to leave spun around to face the family patriarch. "Michael! Please, please come to Jesus." Wearied from the effort, he sank back down into the pillows and closed his eyes.
       A few seconds later . . .
       "Michael!" Again he stretched his hand toward his beloved grandson. "Don't wait. Come. To. Jesus!"
       As if he had spent the last wisp of strength, he collapsed back into the pillows, only to rally a third time.
       David entered Glory a few days later. Michael's story is a work in progress.

* * * * * * *

       Words have power The Word spoke the whole universe--with the notable exception of man--into being. Words can wound or heal, build or destroy, bless or curse. But there is something very special about last words. Families and friends gather near a beloved one about to pass, hoping to catch a kernel of profound wisdom. Consider the following examples:

• "This, is the last of earth. I am content." ~John Quincy Adams
• "Let's roll!" ~ Todd Beamer
• "Let me go to the house of the Father." ~ Pope John Paul II
• "Thomas Jefferson still survives." ~John Adams (Actually, Jefferson and Adams died on the same day.)
• "Turn up the lights. I don't want to go home in the dark." ~O. Henry
• "Put out the light." ~Theodore Roosevelt
• "It is well. I die hard, but I am not afraid to go." ~George Washington
• "I still live." ~Daniel Webster

       The last words that meant the most to David Baugh were those of Jesus Christ: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8, ESV) Those who knew him best say that he was always ready and eager to proclaim the Good News of Jesus and make every effort he could to draw others--stranger, friend, or family member--to repentance and salvation. He did that with his hard-won dying breath.
       As for the title of this post, "How to Die in Three Steps," one need look no further than the life--and death--of Rev. David Baugh.

1. Come to Christ, repenting of your sin, acknowledging Him as God's Son, and accepting His death, burial, and resurrection as full payment for your sin.
2. Live your life as a Christ-follower, seeking always to draw others to Him.
3. Share His Good News as long as He gives you breath

Having done that, when you meet Him Face to face, He will say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV)

Potent Quotables: Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.”
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

Can a Serial Murderer Be Saved?

Read Acts 26:9-19, then reread it, letting it play as a movie in your mind. Drop yourself down in the middle of the action. Feel the heat of the sun. Smell the horse dung. Cough at the dust raised by the long entourage that accompanied Saul. See the bright flash of pure Light that turns the sun into shadow. Hear the resonant voice of Jesus speak to a suddenly blind, prostrate enforcer.

Saul was sincere and passionate about serving God. To the best of his ability, he obeyed every law he knew--both those which YHWH had commanded and those contrived by generations of Jewish clergy. Ignoring the wisdom of his beloved teacher Gamaliel (Acts 5:33-39), Saul made it his mission in life to stop the people of The Way, Christians, in any way and by all means at his disposal. He rounded them up and cast them into prisons only until they could be killed. Men, women, children, infants--it mattered not to him. These people had to be stopped! If they tried to escape from the persecution into distant cities, he tracked them down. His reputation spread far, so that believers would quake at the name of Saul of Tarsus, a murderer. And all in the Name of YHWH.

But YHWH had other plans for Saul, to be renamed Paul. Those plans were in place before the foundation of the world was laid. First on the list was to get Saul's attention, which our Lord did dramatically on the Damascus road, as you just read. Did Saul believe then? You betcha! Did his direction in life do a 180? Absolutely! Read all of his letters in the New Testament, if you need evidence of that.

Saul, in his sincere efforts to be good was murderously wicked. Trying to be right, he was totally wrong. Notice that Saul wasn't seeking God on the road to Damascus. Why should he? He had God all figured out. He had God in his back pocket. God was on his side cheering him on. Or so he thought until Sovereign God, Holy God, Creator of the Universe, came after Saul, slam-dunking him into the dust.

Was a serial murderer saved that day? You betcha! Is there hope for you, considering all you've done to violate God's law? Absolutely! Paul's story encourages me greatly. If He can forgive a man like Saul of Tarsus, who stood and gleefully watched the stoning of the young deacon, Stephen, cheering on the self-righteous crowd; who signed the death warrants of untold numbers of believers, who masterminded attempted genocide against followers of The Way, He can forgive me. And you. If you haven't done so already, repent and be saved.

In Times Like These

Romans 13:12
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

Ephesians 6:10--20
Finally, brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel, in which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

"I'm world-weary. I'm tired of having to do battle almost daily against those who would dismantle and redefine this republic, those who relentlessly attack faithful Americans. I'm sick of the wickedness and perversion we see on every hand. I'm tired of pre-born babies' being slaughtered because they are an inconvenience to the mothers." Several people have expressed these sentiments to me in recent days, and I understand them. As I send out letters to Mr. Obama, senators, congressmen, and corporate leaders, I grow tired of the need to do so. Yet, for the sake of others, I must.

Romans 13:12 reminds us that, while we now live in a very dark place, we should put on the armor of light. We know that this refers to Jesus Christ, because His Word declares that He is the Light of the world; He is the light prophesied in Isaiah. As His disciples, we are to reflect Him to the world. Putting something on is a deliberate act. We don't haul ourselves out of bed in the morning and say, "Look at this. I'm all dressed for work. How did that happen?" This verse calls the light armor. While armor is defensive, it also protects the wearer as he or she charges into the fray. Paul would know about such things, because he was an officer in the front line of the King's troops.

"What does it mean to you to 'put on the whole armor of God'?" said a dear friend recently. Ephesians 6:10--20 is a familiar Scripture that many of us have memorized, at least in part. I notice several things about these verses.

God warns us about the enemy, and it is not a person or a group of people. The enemy is the same old serpent Satan. We are so used to identifying the enemy differently, aren't we? I want to say, "This man, with his hyper-liberal beliefs, those abortionists, these people who would redefine family, that group that would tax us into socialism, that would commit high treason against our Constitution and nation--they are the enemy, but they are not, according to these verses. As our God is One God; our enemy is one enemy. I choose to serve Yahweh, but Satan has his workers of iniquity who practice "spiritual wickedness in high places." While we must be prepared to do what we can, the real battle is in the heavenlies (the high places), because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. This seems to be an oxymoron. Prepare for a battle that only Jesus Christ can win, indeed, did win on Calvary.

Again dressing for battle is a deliberate act. Paul, inspired by God, names parts of the Roman soldiers' uniform and repeatedly tells us to stand. The armor helps us with that mandate. Consider each part.

• "...having your loins girt about with truth...": Isaiah 11:5 identifies this priestly girdle as a symbol of the Messiah, Who says, "I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

• "...having on the breastplate of righteousness...": The breastplate protects the soldier's heart. Notice how personal this is. It's your breastplate; I have my own. Yours is made to protect your heart. Mine is to protect my heart. Dictionary.com defines righteousness as being "morally upright, without guilt or sin." We know how to acquire that position before God, and it's only through Jesus Christ as we repent and confess our sin.

• "...your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace...": This refers to the Roman soldier's sandals that were made to be tough, protecting the feet and supporting the ankles. When the soldier would walk in rocky, thorny, hot places, his feet would be protected. What are your rocky, thorny, hot places? The peace that Jesus gives will protect you.

• "...the shield of faith...": The Roman soldier would soak his thick leather-covered shield in water before going into battle, so that, when the enemy fired burning arrows, they would hit the shield, hiss, and drop harmlessly to the ground. Keep the faith, Brother and Sister. Let your shield soak long in the Living Water.

• "...the helmet of salvation...": The helmet protected the soldier's head or mind. Remember the distinctive design of the Roman helmet? It clearly identified him as a Roman soldier. Our salvation through Christ should not only protect our minds but should also identify us as His own soldier as we work out our salvation in the daily.

• "...the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God...": A soldier is helpless without his weapon, and the Bible is a two-edged sword. A good soldier knew his sword well. No dust settled on it, either.
  

• "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit...watching...": Finally, we are to pray for one another, since we're not in the battle alone, to make supplication (humble, earnest prayer), and to watch with all perseverance. Dear ones, that means that we cannot give up. We cannot give in. We must continue, bearing in mind the nature of the real enemy and that the battle belongs to the Lord.

Brother Paul closes that portion of his letter to the Ephesians by requesting that they pray for him. He is likely writing from prison in Rome, but he continues to minister. To whom? To the recipients of his letters, to his fellow prisoners, to his jailers, and to any who would hear him.

I do notice two other things about this armor-donning passage. Since I doubt that the Roman soldier made a habit of sleeping with his armor on, sword in hand (unless he went to sleep on his watch, in which case his life would be forfeit), I think it's safe to say that the passage implies a daily putting on of the armor, an armor that protected only the front of his body. If he were to turn and run, he would be dead before he had taken a step.

Finally, Brothers and Sisters, please read I Thessalonians 4:13--5:24. Why? Because God, through Paul, says, "Wherefore comfort one another with these words." Be comforted, dear ones, and do not grow weary in well-doing, K.

Dating Younger Men

Last night I had a date, the second in as many weeks, with a much younger man. His name is Eli and he will turn four next month. He's my younger grandson.

He chose Steak 'n' Shake where he had his very first Very Berry Strawberry Milkshake and a hamburger platter. The shake disappeared quickly.

Two weeks ago, I had taken his older brother, Reubs, to Cracker Barrel, his choice. I love these outings where we can talk and laugh and imagine. By taking one boy at a time, that child gets all the attention.

Unfortunately, the S 'n' S sound system was blasting rock music. Though Eli sat right next to me, I couldn't hear a word he said, so I asked the server to have them crank down the volume. She said she would, but it continued to blare, so I asked again.

"I told them."

"But we still cannot hear one another. Restaurant music is supposed to lend to the ambiance, not drown out all hope of communication. If it cannot be turned down, please cancel our orders."

This time they turned it down. Further, they changed stations to something more pleasant.

The loud music might not have bothered most people, but we wanted to talk. This was a special event for us. Eli had been asking me about it all week long, and I had looked forward to solo time with him.

I must confess to being a chronic people-watcher and eavesdropper. (That comes with being a writer.) Too often, I've watched people in restaurants--couples or parents with children--dining in silence. Sometimes they gaze around at other diners or at the decor, not even making eye contact with the person they are with.

This is especially disconcerting when the other person is a child. When the parties are adults, they have apparently reached a mutual agreement that conversation is unimportant. But children love the attention. They want to talk, to share their dreams, to tell about their adventures, real or imaginary. They're on a journey toward adulthood that will be intersected with the tumultuous teens. Those same adults who cannot find it within themselves to carry on a conversation with a young child over dinner will be blindsided when they have reticent teens.

"Why won't he talk to me?"

"I had no idea that she was ______________." (You fill in the blank.)

"I cannot communicate with him. It's as though we speak two different languages."

So I cherish my one-on-one dates with my grandchildren. They are blessed by having parents who also value them and care about what they have to say.

Guess what. Eli wants to be a doctor and a super hero when he grows up. I'm pretty sure he'll make it.