Red Socks and Jesus

Good Day To Everyone… One of the things I like to do is laugh! Georgette finds it unusual that I can laugh at so many different things and laugh for so Looooooonnnnnnngggggggggg! Well, each month I receive a periodical through the Southern Baptist Convention and on the back Charles Lowery always has an article. He is quite funny… to me anyway. I have heard him in person several times so when I read his work I can hear his voice… I thought his article on Christmas this month was good so I wanted to share it with you all…blessings

There is always someone who promises good news, whether it’s a TV preacher promising a miracle or junk mail that promises a big sweepstakes win. Our politicians have just promised that the government will live within its means even if they have to borrow to do it. Most of us could use some good news. Our 403B has become a 101F. After months of negative economic growth, we are broke. I admit I’m discouraged. I finally had a check clear and the bank bounced. I invested in paper towels and revolving doors. I was wiped out before I could turn around. If the economy doesn’t improve, I’ll have to eat that fruitcake I received for Christmas last year instead of giving it to a deacon. The Christmas carol we all sing this year may be I Heard the Bills on Christmas Day.

Even good news from an official agency may let you down. Woodrow and Lois Nelson discovered that their lottery ticket matched the winning numbers. They were ecstatic over winning $12 million. Unfortunately, the officials discovered a mistake in the numbers, and they really didn’t win. The next day Mr. Nelson died of a heart attack. He couldn’t take the letdown. Christmas can be the Super Bowl of letdowns.

I heard about an elderly man in Florida who called his son in Boston and told him that he hated to ruin his day, but he and his mother were divorcing. He said that forty-five years of misery was enough. The son screamed into the phone, “What are you talking about?” His dad replied, “We can’t stand the sight of each other and we’re tired of each other. Call your sister in Chicago and tell her.”

The son frantically called his sister, who exploded into the phone receiver, “No way are they getting a divorce. I’ll take care of this.” She immediately called her dad and screamed at him that they were not getting a divorce and not to do anything rash until she arrived in Florida. She then called her brother back and told him that they needed to get to Florida ASAP! As the old man ambled back into the living room, he smiled at his wife and said, “The kids are coming for Christmas, and they’re paying their own way!”

Years ago, a young boy learned that the circus was coming to town. He had never seen a circus but had heard about how wonderful they were. He eagerly asked his dad if he could go. Reluctantly, his father informed him that he didn’t think they could afford the one dollar admission. However, he told his son that since the circus was still a few weeks away, if the boy worked hard and earned fifty cents, he would provide the remaining funds.

When the day arrived, the boy had enough money to buy a ticket. With great excitement, he arrived on Main Street to see the lions, tigers, performers, and clowns march down the street. He had never seen anything so thrilling and was mesmerized by all the wonderful things. As the last clown danced by, the boy handed him his ticket, then headed back home. Later, when his dad arrived home from work, he remarked, “Son, you’re home from the circus a lot earlier than I expected. How was it?” His son described all of the clowns, lions, tigers, and performers that danced by him. He then told his dad about giving his ticket to a clown. All of a sudden a look of sadness fell across the dad’s face and, with a tear in his eye, he told his son to come to him. He picked him up, put him on his lap, and said, “Son, I have some bad news for you. Today, you missed the circus. You only saw the parade.”

There was a family that traveled to New York City to see the musical South Pacific. When they arrived, they discovered it was completely sold out. Discouraged, they decided to go to dinner. As they were eating, they discussed the reasons they had come to the Big Apple. One of the main reasons was to tell everyone back home they had seen South Pacific. They decided to go to the auditorium, pick up some ticket stubs, learn some of the songs, and tell everyone at home they had actually seen the musical.

Sadly, Christmas will come and go and there will be many people who miss the main event. They will have been to a few parades, hummed some songs, and may even have a few stubs, but the reality is they will have missed Christmas. If all that’s left at the end of the season is a stub and a few songs, Christmas will have been empty. If you don’t have Jesus, you don’t have Wonderful. You don’t have Counselor. You don’t have Mighty God. You don’t have Prince of Peace. You don’t have Eternal Father. Jesus is Christmas. It’s not a parade or a place — Christmas is a Person. Christmas is not just about when He came, but why He came. It isn’t just about how good He is; it’s that He is God. This Christmas, go ahead and have the best parade you’ve ever had. Go to a musical, sing the songs, decorate the tree, give someone red socks — but don’t miss Jesus.

Think About It…  Pastor Jeff

Go To Church or Go To The Gym?

Hello Everyone,

I read something this morning that reminded me of a terrible trend in America… it’s about church attendance. The article I’m going to reflect on does not infer a bias or hostility toward my new-to-be-President… only, it reflects my opinion on where we are heading in America… and where Christianity is heading if we don’t pray and participate ourselves. So I thought I would post the article I read and give a closing comment… happy reading… 

President-elect Barack Obama has yet to attend church services since winning the White House earlier this month, a departure from the example of his two immediate predecessors.

On the three Sundays since his election, Obama has instead used his free time to get in workouts at a Chicago gym.

Asked about the president-elect’s decision to not attend church, a transition aide noted that the Obamas valued their faith experience in Chicago but were concerned about the impact their large retinue may have on other parishioners.

“Because they have a great deal of respect for places of worship, they do not want to draw unwelcome or inappropriate attention to a church not used to the attention their attendance would draw,” said the aide.

Both President-elect George W. Bush and President-elect Bill Clinton managed to attend church in the weeks after they were elected.

In November of 1992, Clinton went to services in Little Rock, Ark., on the three weekends following his election, taking pre-church jogs on the first two and attending on the third weekend a Catholic Mass with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, with whom he was trying to smooth over lingering campaign tensions.

 In the weeks after the contested 2000 election, Bush regularly attended services at Tarrytown United Methodist Church in Austin, Texas, and Al Gore was frequently photographed arriving at and leaving church in Virginia.

On his first day as president-elect, following weeks of Florida recounts and court hearings, Bush went to church with his wife, Laura. They attended an invite-only prayer service on Thursday, Dec. 14, at Tarrytown United Methodist Church. About 300 people attended, including top campaign staff and visiting clergy. During the service, the Rev. Mark Craig, senior pastor at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, told Bush, “You have been chosen by God to lead the people.”

Obama was an infrequent churchgoer on the campaign trail, though he did make a series of appearances in the pews and pulpits of South Carolina churches ahead of that heavily religious state’s primary.

The issue of where he worships is, of course, fraught. For about two decades, Obama and his family attended Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ. But, with the public disclosure earlier this year of incendiary sermons at Trinity by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama and his wife, Michelle, in June resigned their membership in the large South Side congregation.

At the time, the then-Illinois senator said that he didn’t want his “church experience to be a political circus” and expressed regret for the unwanted attention members of the congregation had received, noting that some reporters had taken church bulletins only to call sick members and shut-ins.

During the campaign, Obama returned to Chicago to attend the South Side’s Apostolic Church of God on Father’s Day Sunday to give a speech aimed at the black community on the importance of fatherhood and family.

A number of Washington, D.C., churches of different denominations and traditions are now competing to become the spiritual home of the new first family.

The Obama aide said the family “look[s] forward to finding a church community in Washington, D.C.” article by: Jonathan Martin and Carol E. Lee of Politico

 This story is not isolated to just political untouchables but to the ordinary Joe church members of Maumelle. Today we live in a time when people allow many other activities to trump their church attendance… out of the 52 Sundays per year many find that 25-30 church touches are enough! That’s right, when we look over the average nominal church attender here in Maumelle (FBC)  most people say they are pretty committed and yet attend at best half-the-time. When I grew up (I know, here we go again) I was a boy scout but didn’t miss Sunday… I played every sport but didn’t miss Sunday… caught fish but didn’t miss Sunday… well, you get the point. I know people say times have changed… but I say that Christians have changed!

Not all Christians are this way… unlike our President-to-be or regular folks right here… we wouldn’t dare replace worship in our lives for the system of this world. I love to worship with God’s people! I know there are times of sickness, travel, etc… but to purposely layout, not get up, or what ever else one might do… continues to shape our churches and our country. Remember parents your children are watching to see what’s important to you!

Well, just my opinion…

Jeff Beshears

Economic Recession Pushes Prophecy To Back Pages Or Does It?

I wanted to update today with some news from the prophetic front… see right now most everyone in the world is obsessed with the current state of the economy… and probably for good reason! The wheeling and dealing going on to frustrate the collapsing banks, wall street, housing, or whatever you want to pick out is front page news and occupies each news broadcast. However, with little fanfare or large font type script something has happened that does indeed point to fulfillment of prophecy found in the Bible. Dr. Jimmy DeYoung gives a good summarization of the Iranian accomplishment to obtain bomb-grade nuclear fuel… read his take on this happening…

According to nuclear experts who have analyzed the latest report from global atomic inspectors, Iran has now produced roughly enough nuclear material to make, with added purification, a single atomic bomb. A routine update from the International Atomic Energy Agency which has been conducting inspections of Iran’s main nuclear facility states that the Iranians clearly have enough enriched uranium for at least one nuclear bomb.

Jimmy DeYoung goes on to say… 

However, nuclear experts say that Iran would have to further purify the fuel and put it into a warhead design, a technical advance that Western experts are unsure Iran has yet achieved. 

  The fact that nuclear experts say that Iran now has enough material to make one atomic bomb is evidence that Bible prophecy is ever so close to being fulfilled.

The world has been standing by watching as Iran has manipulated the United Nations inspectors just long enough to achieve its goal of enriching enough uranium to make a nuclear weapon of mass destruction. Now the latest report from the United Nations inspectors has led nuclear experts to conclude that Iran can now produce at least one atomic bomb.

This report is solid evidence that the end time scenario that can be found in Bible prophecy is as I said, ever so close to fulfillment. From Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 we learn that Iran is a major player in the last days. Israeli President Shimon Peres said recently that Iran is obsessed with its quest for a Middle East region religious bloc with its Islamic faith at the center of this bloc.

All Middle Eastern nations have a healthy fear of Iran. However, they all are to some extent into this dominant religious bloc. The ancient Jewish prophet Joel revealed the formation of a major military army, the largest ever formed on the Earth that will attack Israel at the beginning of the seven year Tribulation Period (Joel 2).

Iran’s capability to have a nuclear weapon of mass destruction right now does indeed set the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.

Each day financial guru’s hunt for a magic bullet that will kill this disastrous, unprecedented, global financial catastrophe… however, each day we are getting closer to the real melt down… after the church is taken out… then the Tribulation. Remember, Jesus said He would come at a time when no man knows the hour… could it be today? I hope you are ready friend… money or no money Christ is coming again soon. Have a good day…

Jeff Beshears

Gimbal Lock

In the movie Apollo 13 Tom Hanks character tells Houston that he is very near Gimbal Lock. Following the explosion on the spacecraft the module is spinning out of control and the guidance system is having difficulty keeping its three axis lined up…What is Gimbal Lock? Well, here is a complicated description… read it and I’ll tell you why I choose this for my article today.

Old-style inertial-guidance systems used a “stable platform”, held in a
fixed orientation in space by gyros.  To do this, the connection between
platform and spacecraft needs to be able to rotate in several directions
at once.  This is done by putting several gimbals in between platform and
spacecraft, each one a ring which rotates on pivots supported by the
next-biggest ring and in turn supports the pivots for the next-smallest
ring.

Three gimbals is the minimum for free movement in any direction, since
there are three axes on which rotation can occur.  However, if the gimbals
are moved suitably, you can line up the innermost pivots with the
outermost pivots… in which case those two can only handle one axis, and
so there is an axis which neither those two nor the third can handle.  If
there is then a rotation around that axis, the result is loss of the
platform’s stable orientation.  That’s gimbal lock.

Adding a fourth gimbal gives enough extra freedom of motion that the
problem goes away.  However, each gimbal also adds complexity, bulk, and
weight.  For Apollo, the decision was to use only three gimbals and rely
on the astronauts to avoid sequences of rotations that would produce
gimbal lock.  This was normally not a problem, but became a troublesome
complication when Apollo 13 had attitude-control difficulties after the
tank rupture.

If you hit Gimbal Lock…you’re finished! Today as I opened up the news stories coming out of Washington I noticed several headlines… for example: 1) If the big 3 go down it will be catastrophe for America. 2) Paulson says bailout original plan needs to change to avoid collapse. 3) Washington leadership not sure about next plan for stimulus. Believe me… there were plenty more negative headlines. So, as I pondered the hysteria racing across our country I thought of Gimbal Lock. Yes, many people are grabbing at the wheel and trying to keep it from Gimbal Lock. The whole thing is swinging from side to side and round and round… and nearing that flat spin as in the movie Topgun.

Our country has called out for “change” and has gotten it in a new president-elect. Our country has called out for financial survival and the printing presses are doing all they can to catch up. Our country has called out for inclusion of every kind of immoral lifestyle and ideology and are getting it in new laws. However, the one thing our country has not done… is cry out to God! Obama said it best in his speech… we are a post-Christian nation. If we are to avoid USA GIMBAL LOCK we best get to “cryin out” to God. God said, ” if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Just my thoughts today,

Pastor Jeff

Pumpkin Patch

This years Pumpkin Patch (Oct. 31,2008) went great! I want to thank everyone who participated in making Pumpkin Patch a great outreach to the community. We had nearly 100 families who registered and made their way through the activities during the evening. This year we had the “Good News Room” in which a video of the Gospel was played for the kids… and the parents watched as well!

Over the years we have tried to keep the Pumpkin Patch fresh with new ideas and games. This year we made the MAZE… different from the booths/games of the past but nevertheless new and challenging for all ages. In the past we have had a tent and kept all our activities outside (makes clean up much easier); we have had games all down the hallways; and we have made booths in the activities center to the point you couldn’t move people with a stick… Each year that we do Pumpkin Patch we hope it will be a good outreach event to the folks in Maumelle… and a good way to introduce families to the ministry of FBC and the Gospel of Christ.

Finally, we couldn’t pull of Pumpkin Patch without good leadership and the help of the entire congregation… thanks to Phil, Tonia, and Kim for all the planning… thanks to the FBC congregation for all your help.

Finally, Finally, today is Monday November 3… don’t forget to vote tomorrow!

Blessings to each of you…

Pastor Jeff

JIMMY

Hello Everyone, yes its been a long time since I wrote on my blog. So I will give a short version today and hopefully be back in the swing of things for the rest of the year. I’m just going to share a variety of things…most won’t mean a whole lot but then again… JIMMY!

Yes, I have a new license plate on the suburban. It is JIMMY. Now that’s not my name or even a nickname… it is the result of a theme I have taken with many things that just don’t matter ie: Jimmy crack corn and I don’t care! Now, wait just a minute… I do care about many things…things that matter, things that are biblical, things with my family, things with the church! However, it is apparent in today’s society that common sense somehow got left behind… are people now born with only a small portion of intelligence. So many times people speak without thinking… or think without thinking…hmmm. Anyway, we need to relax and trust the Lord for the SMALL things and the big things…amen!

I’m just about healed from the ear surgery… man what a deal! That’s all I got to say about that…

I look forward to the next few weeks because of the cooler weather, ministry opportunities with Thanksgiving and Christmas, and mission possibilities within our congregation.

Finally, the election is next week. I have placed my vote and will, along with the whole country, see who will lead us for the next 4 years. Remember, whomever wins, we will pray for them.

I’ll write again in a couple of days… I promise!

You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me!!!

I read this article just yesterday and thought I needed to say a word or two about it… first of all the article as printed by MSNBC…

America remains a nation of believers, but a new survey finds most Americans don’t feel their religion is the only way to eternal life — even if their faith tradition teaches otherwise.

The findings, released Monday in a survey of 35,000 adults, can either be taken as a positive sign of growing religious tolerance, or disturbing evidence that Americans dismiss or don’t know fundamental teachings of their own faiths.

Among the more startling numbers in the survey, conducted last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life: 57 percent of evangelical church attendees said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life, in conflict with traditional evangelical teaching.

In all, 70 percent of Americans with a religious affiliation shared that view, and 68 percent said there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their own religion.

“The survey shows religion in America is, indeed, 3,000 miles wide and only three inches deep,” said D. Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion.

“There’s a growing pluralistic impulse toward tolerance and that is having theological consequences,” he said.

Earlier data from the Pew Forum’s U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, released in February, highlighted how often Americans switch religious affiliation. The newly released material looks at religious belief and practice as well as the impact of religion on society, including how faith shapes political views.

The report argues that while relatively few people — 14 percent — cite religious beliefs as the main influence on their political thinking, religion still plays a powerful indirect role.

The study confirmed some well-known political dynamics, including stark divisions over abortion and gay marriage, with the more religiously committed taking conservative views on the issues.

But it also showed support across religious lines for greater governmental aid for the poor, even if it means more debt and stricter environmental laws and regulations.

By many measures, Americans are strongly religious: 92 percent believe in God, 74 percent believe in life after death and 63 percent say their respective scriptures are the word of God.

Doubts about God
But deeper investigation found that more than one in four Roman Catholics, mainline Protestants and Orthodox Christians expressed some doubts about God’s existence, as did six in ten Jews.

Another finding almost defies explanation: 21 percent of self-identified atheists said they believe in God or a universal spirit, with 8 percent “absolutely certain” of it.

“Look, this shows the limits of a survey approach to religion,” said Peter Berger, a theology and sociology professor at Boston University. “What do people really mean when they say that many religions lead to eternal life? It might mean they don’t believe their particular truth at all. Others might be saying, ‘We believe a truth but respect other people, and they are not necessarily going to hell.’”

Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum, said that more research is planned to answer those kinds of questions, but that earlier, smaller surveys found similar results.

Nearly across the board, the majority of religious Americans believe many religions can lead to eternal life: mainline Protestants (83 percent), members of historic black Protestant churches (59 percent), Roman Catholics (79 percent), Jews (82 percent) and Muslims (56 percent).

By similar margins, people in those faith groups believe in multiple interpretations of their own traditions’ teachings. Yet 44 percent of the religiously affiliated also said their religion should preserve its traditional beliefs and practices.

“What most people are saying is, ‘Hey, we don’t have a hammer-lock on God or salvation, and God’s bigger than us and we should respect that and respect other people,’” said the Rev. Tom Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University.

“Some people are like butterflies that go from flower to flower, going from religion to religion — and frankly they don’t get that deep into any of them,” he said.

Beliefs about eternal life vary widely
Beliefs about eternal life vary greatly, even within a religious tradition.

Some Christians hold strongly to Jesus’ words as described in John 14:6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Others emphasize the wideness of God’s grace.

The Catholic church teaches that the “one church of Christ … subsists in the Catholic Church” alone and that Protestant churches, while defective, can be “instruments of salvation.”

Roger Oldham, a vice president with the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, bristled at using the word “tolerance” in the analysis.

“If by tolerance we mean we’re willing to engage or embrace a multitude of ways to salvation, that’s no longer evangelical belief,” he said. “The word ‘evangelical’ has been stretched so broadly, it’s almost an elastic term.”

Others welcomed the findings.

“It shows increased religious security. People are comfortable with other traditions even if they’re different,” said the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance. “It indicates a level of humility about religion that would be of great benefit to everyone.”

More than most groups, Catholics break with their church, and not just on issues like abortion and homosexuality. Only six in 10 Catholics described God as “a person with whom people can have a relationship” — which the church teaches — while three in 10 described God as an “impersonal force.”

“The statistics show, more than anything else, that many who describe themselves as Catholics do not know or understand the teachings of their church,” said Denver Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput. “Being Catholic means believing what the Catholic church teaches. It is a communion of faith, not simply of ancestry and family tradition. It also means that the church ought to work harder at evangelizing its own members.”

Listen everyone… this is but the fruit of a real problem. I believe that many of our churches in America have mis-informed their congregants about TRUE SALVATION! I think that people who adopt the idea that there are many ways to God have NEVER been born-again. Rather than deal with our sins people want to be told that in the end everyone will go to heaven. The only problem with that theology is that Jesus said it differently… He said in Matthew 7 that many will perish but few will find salvation. I thought you might like to consider this article as I did… tell others… there is only one way to Heaven! That way is through Jesus Christ, alone!

Pastor Jeff

UN-DO vs. Change

I know that title seems a bit strange. However, I wanted to throw in my two-cents worth about the Presidential Campaign that is ongoing. Now, before you try to believe that I’m going to sway your position, or vote, or your political affiliation let me set the record straight! This little note is NOT any endorsement of a candidate or any attempt to get you to vote a certain way… got it… good.

All during the campaign I keep hearing the $100,000 word, “CHANGE.” The attempt to rally the popular vote with this word is amazing at the very least. The word “change” means: to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone. This change therefore assumes we need to be different than we are RIGHT now. However, I submit to you that we don’t really need change… but rather we need to UN-DO some vital and important parts of our nations life and “go back” to when it was “more right.” For example: we need to go back to living without approval of Abortions… go back to a situation where we “did pray” in school… to a time when it wasn’t accepting of homosexual lifestyles (and today marriage of same group)… to a time when we didn’t “dumb down” education but expected kids (and parents) to be responsible to study and do well… and if you didn’t, well, there was no cake and ice-cream or a pass to the next grade!… we need to go back to a strong court system with good judges… if it is the law then enforce the law and quit rewriting the law from the bench… the greatest deterent to lawlessness in a nation is a strong legal system that prosecutes. When men no longer fear the law then they will do whatever their sinful heart will conceive… well, I could go on and on but for now will leave it at this… the presidential campaign will, in my opinion, talk about all kinds of change… but if I hear someone talking about un-doing some of the liberal damage of the past decades… then I’ll be moved. Yet we will hear statements and cliches that will sound good but be mostly hot air. We are going to be bombarded with media, bio’s, and everything under the sun to try to get our vote.  I do hope you will vote this Fall for a president… and I hope we get one who will not just move us from one bad situation to another but will have the bravery to underpen our nation with those things that are right. Thanks for reading…

Pastor Jeff… Your write in candidate!!!

Prophecy Unfolding Before Our Eyes

Greetings all,

  I hope this newest addition to my blog finds you doing well. Many continue to be enthralled with last day events that Scripture tells us will come to completion. There are many good writers/speakers who are concerned enough with Prophecy that they devout themselves ever to its understanding. While I enjoy reading most, there are all kinds of ideas out there that can confuse you if you’re not a student of the Bible. However, it is good to hear the many view points because it can really get your mind racing… here is one article I ran across this week that I thought you might enjoy. Blessings to each of you until I write again. Pastor Jeff Beshears

The world has endured an almost mind-numbing series of shocks in recent weeks, from the unprecedented swarm of tornadoes across the American Midwest to the death and destruction wrought by Cyclone Nargis as it tore a path through Myanmar, better known as Burma.

There were 368 documented tornadoes in the U.S. in January and February of this year, shattering the previous record of 243 over that two-month period, set in 1999. February’s total of 232 tornadoes also shattered previous records.

Cyclone Nargis ripped Burma apart, killing at least 128,000, according to Red Cross estimates, and creating some 2.5 million refugees.

Al Gore was quick to blame global warming. In an interview on NPR to plug his appropriately named book on global warming, “Assault on Reason,” he told host Terry Gross: “And as we’re talking today, Terry, the death count in Myanmar from the cyclone that hit there yesterday has been rising from 15,000 to way on up there to much higher numbers now being speculated. . … And last year a catastrophic storm last fall hit Bangladesh. The year before, the strongest cyclone in more than 50 years hit China – and we’re seeing consequences that scientists have long predicted might be associated with continued global warming.

Maybe. But Germany’s Institute of Marine Scientists says we’re in for a 10-year period of global cooling. There sure seems to be a lot of opposition to what is supposed to be “settled science.”

Global warming can’t explain away the devastating earthquake that all but flattened a huge portion of western China. The death toll from Monday’s quake is approaching 20,000, with twice that number still listed as missing. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Monday’s earthquake was the 25th “significant” earthquake registered so far this year.

Back in 1969, the year I wrote “The Late, Great Planet Earth,” the USGS identified a total of seven “significant earthquakes.” I had noted in 1969 that there was a slight but discernible increase in worldwide earthquake activity since Israel’s rebirth in 1948.

During the entire decade of the 1970s, the USGS recorded a total of 44 earthquakes it classified as “significant.” The following decade, from January 1980 to December 1989, the USGS recorded 47 significant earthquakes. That is for the entire decade. From 1990 through the end of 1999, the USGS records 57 significant earthquakes. From 2000 thru to Monday’s earthquake in Sichuan, China, the USGS recorded an astonishing 109 earthquakes of at least magnitude 7.0 and 13 earthquakes measuring between 8.0 and 9.9 on the Richter Scale.

On the other side of the world, the long-dormant Chaitan volcano erupted May 2 for the first time, say geologists, in more than 7,000 years. The BBC reported that a government volcano expert warned there could be a big eruption at any time.

“There could be a major explosion that could collapse the volcano’s cone,” said Luis Lara of the National Geologic and Mining Service.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization warned that Iran had “detected” a new highly pathogenic strain of wheat stem rust. The U.N. said the fungal disease could spread to other wheat-producing states in the Near East and western Asia that provide one-fourth of the world’s wheat supply. The new strain, called Ug99, is capable of infecting up to 90 percent of the existing strains of wheat worldwide – and once infected, crop losses range between 70 percent and total loss.

Coupled with the losses already sustained as a result of the typhoon-related flooding in Java, Bangladesh, and India and from agricultural pests and diseases in Vietnam, it starts to add up. Last year, Australia suffered its second consecutive year of severe drought and a near complete crop failure; heavy rains reduced production in Europe; Argentina suffered heavy frost; and Canada and the U.S. both produced low yields. Food riots have broken out in Egypt, Haiti and several African states, including Mauritania, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Senegal.

Meanwhile, the drums of war continue to beat around the planet. Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad renewed his threat to destroy Israel this week. Hezbollah took over West Beirut, while the Arab world mourned the catastrophe of Israel’s 60th birthday with threats of annihilation of the Jewish state. In Israel, President Bush again warned that allowing the Iranian regime to obtain nuclear arms would be “unforgivable,” signaling a continuation along a path that can only lead to an eventual war that will engulf the whole Middle East.

When Jesus was asked by His disciples to tell them what “signs” would precede His return at the end of the age, He warned that “nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, plagues and earthquakes in various places,” He said (Matthew 24 and Luke 21). Using an analogy immediately understandable to all peoples in all nations, he said of these signs, “All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

Jesus used a Greek word for the labor pains of a woman about to give birth. Jesus knew that every generation could understand the illustration. His meaning is clear. Just as a woman experiences birth pains that increase in frequency and intensity just before giving birth, so ALL the signs of His return would increase in frequency and intensity just before His return. Hey, for he first time in history, all of the signs have appeared together in the same time frame and are increasing in frequency and intensity. That, coupled with the fulfillment of the great predicted sign that Israel became a nation again after 2,000 hopeless years of worldwide dispersion, indicates that Jesus Christ is already at the door ready to return. Are you ready? (Hal Lindsay)

Distortion

You happen upon a train wreck. Smoke billows; rail cars sit twisted, distorted, and piled on top of one another; intense heat boils away from the twisted metal; putrid smells fill the air from cargoes spilling and spewing onto the ground and into the air; sounds of sirens echo through the area; and people experience a state of chaos and panic. If you have never seen a train before, would you have a very good idea of what a train was like?

This illustration reminds us that an observer would never know how a train was supposed to look by observing the wreck. We can no more get a clear image of what God’s universe was meant to be by looking at the distorted wreck Satan has made of our world. God’s original plan was one of order. The Holy Spirit brought order out of chaos and made a cosmos in the creation story. By the way, the word cosmos means: an orderly harmonious systematic universe! (Webster’s 9th New Collegiate Dictionary)

Satan’s plan is always to oppose the ways of God. Our world is in the state it is because of two things: Satan’s activity and human depravity. Read Isaiah 14:11-14! I did last night to our men at Man Church. You will notice in your reading all the “I’s” used by Lucifer (Satan). Therefore, Satan’s activity and human depravity are enemies that we must learn to conquer so as to live in submission to our Lord. Kingdom authority… our submission to God will be affected when we give in to the enemy. We develop an I problem.

Satan wants to cause a “train-wreck” in this world and inflict as much damage as he can. There are many people who simply don’t see God for the wreckage around them. They may even question God’s love because they see evil all around them… but take heart, God will help anyone see Him as He should be when they open up their heart to Him by faith. If that is your need today then call upon the Lord for He will hear and help you.

Remember, there is a world more real than the one we see with our eyes presently. Hebrews 11:1-2

Blessings to you… Pastor Jeff