The year of cancellations!

This week, we (my wife and I) received the news that our flight to Israel, booked for September 30th, has been cancelled. It had been booked in January for a three-week visit to the Holy Land, as a "holiday of a lifetime" and our gift to one another for our Golden Wedding Anniversary - on September 4th. To celebrate the actual date, we had planned to visit Scotland and have a meal with our family. The ferry was booked just a week before the Prime Minister announced that France had been removed from the list of 'safe' countries. That meant that we would have had to spend our complete time there in isolation! This evening we amended the ferry booking to later in September - but, of course, may well have to postpone the date even further!

Sadly, we are experiencing no more than many have already experienced over the regular holiday months in the Northern Hemisphere. It's been that sort of year (and it isn't over, yet!). Some of us are not even fully convinced that all of the restrictions that have been put in place are necessary, helpful, or even fully enforceable!

The cause of all of this upset is, of course, something that is invisible to the human eye. It is a virus - Covid-19 - that has disrupted not just our own plans; not just the plans of so many in Western Europe; but people the world over. We have discovered the truth of the words of the Scots bard, Robert (Rabbie) Burns that "The best-laid plans o' mice and' men gang aft agley"! (from "To a mouse"). For those who need a translation, a rough one would be: "No matter how carefully we make our plans, be we mice or men, they often go awry"!

I was speaking by 'phone, just last evening, with my younger daughter. In the course of that conversation, we mused on previous plans that had not come to pass. At one time, it was my own plan to emigrate to Australia - but when the opportunity came to do so, I failed to seize the moment!

However, there is One Whose plans are always fulfilled. That One is Almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of all that is. As we read His Word - the Bible - we discover that His plan is for this world that we know to eventually be destroyed, and to make way for a new heaven, and a new earth. He has not said precisely when that will happen, but He has given us some indications of the season in which it will take place. The first sign - and the one that will happen in a nanosecond - will be the rapture* of the true disciples of Jesus, the Christ (see I Cor.15:51ff; I Thess.4:13ff). That will be followed by a seven-year period of tribulation. It will be after that period that the Lord Jesus will return, with His church, and after that, the new heaven and the new earth.

The apostle John was given a glimpse of all of that which he recorded in what we know as the Revelation of Jesus the Christ. He wrote: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them; He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away. And He who sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new."Also He said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the fountain of the water of life without payment. He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death." (Rev 21:1-8).

It is only those who have a personal relationship with the Father, through the Lord Jesus and His atoning sacrifice at Calvary, who will inhabit that new heaven and new earth. The signs are all around us that the rapture - that will set this particular timetable in motion, is very close. The big, and extremely important, question is: "Are you ready?" If you are not, then I urge you to do something about it - and to do it now! Writing to the Corinthians, Paul stated "Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (II Cor 6:2; emphases added); while the writer of the Letter to Hebrew disciples of Jesus asked the unanswerable question: "... how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" (Heb 2:3).

"Rapture ready" - should be the aim of each and every one of us!

* The subject of the Rapture is dealt with, in greater depth, in my book "Great Words of the Faith", available from Amazon in both paperback, and Kindle formats. Links are at the top of the blog. Please permit me to emphasise that I do not receive a single penny from sales. ALL royalties are sent, by Amazon, directly to the Bank Account of Release International, in support of the persecuted church.

Mountains!

Today, my wife and I were in the Pyrenees - that mountain range between France and the Iberian Peninsula. We went, specifically, to visit some ruins about which my wife had been reading -  the Château de Montségur. When we arrived at the car-park, we were already more than 1,000 metres (heading towards 3,500 feet!) above sea-level – and we had to climb a vertical height of more than 200 metres (the length of the necessarily zig-zag path was closer to 600 metres! See the additional pictures, below.) to the ruins themselves. Climbing Tinto is an afternoon stroll, by comparison!

I have to admit that, especially after the physical effort involved (neither of us comes into the “young” category!) the ruins were a bit of a disappointment. However, the view of the surrounding valleys was awesome. The journey to the car-park was also magnificent, as we drove through that mountainous region, with its snow-capped mountains and vast forests. It was when we had reached about 700 metres above sea-level, and with the thought of a number of recent tsunami warnings in my head, that I found myself thinking: “At least, up here, and so far inland, one wouldn’t have to worry about tsunamis!”

Certainly, although the power of the sea, in a tsunami, is frightening, those mighty mountains will not be moved by any body of water, however large, and at whatever velocity! Then my mind started to wander, and I realised that a day is coming – and many believe that it will be very soon – when even the mountains, the symbol of strength and solidity, will perish!

In that fascinating – but so open to misinterpretation – book, The Revelation of Jesus, the Christ, given to the agèd apostle John, we read these words:

 "The seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, "It is done!" And there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as had never been since men were on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered great Babylon, to make her drain the cup of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found; and great hailstones, heavy as a hundred-weight, dropped on men from heaven, till men cursed God for the plague of the hail, so fearful was that plague." (Rev 16:17-21; emphasis added).

The Greek word translated "It is done" is the word "Gegonen". This not the same as the single word uttered by the Lord Jesus, on the cross: "Tetelestai" (my apology to purists, but Blogger doesn't support Greek script!), usually translated into the English language as "It is finished" (John 19:30). That particular word "Finished", was Jesus' mighty cry of triumph. He was proclaiming that the work that the Father had given to Him had been completed. Full atonement was now possible through His shed blood - the blood of the perfect Lamb of God that, alone, cleanses us from all sin.

"Gegonen" is somewhat different. It means that the series of judgments, already referred to, is about to be completed, and that the dominion of the beast is about to come to an end forever. The meaning here is, that that destruction was so certain, that it might be spoken of as now actually accomplished.

The two stages of the end of all that currently is, are the Rapture of the true Saints of God (nothing to do with any formal declaration by any specific organisation), and the Second Advent/Coming of the Lord Jesus, the Christ. The first will happen without any warning; the second will be prefaced by certain signs. Many see these signs being fulfilled in these days.

Of course, there are those who scoff. This is only to be expected. Peter wrote: "First of all you must understand this, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own passions and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming ? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.' They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago, and an earth formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist have been stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 

But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up." (II Peter 3:3-10).

The question is - "If He were to call His own this very night, would you be ready?" I recall someone saying, many years ago, that we should live as if He is returning today; and work as if He will not return for another hundred years! I am considering, over the coming weeks, and as the Lord permits, a series of posts on this very important subject. I shall not be providing a 'time line', but will seek to show, from the written Word of God, what current events may be saying to us. I hope that you will follow the series - and learn from it.

Every picture tells a story!

Every picture tells a story - but is every story told by a picture honest and dependable?

A few days ago, a photograph appeared on most, if not all, of the MSM. It was the body of a small child, named as Aylan Kurdi, lying on a beach at the edge of the water. The child was, we were informed, drowned - the tragic result of a rubber dinghy, full of refugees, having 'flipped over' in the sea. The apparently distraught father claimed that his wife and other son had also drowned. They were, he claimed, escaping from the war in Syria. The picture was likened to that of the young girl, running naked along a road in Vietnam, having been (if I recall correctly), the victim of a napalm bombing. That picture has often been credited with having brought about the end of the involvement of the USoA in Vietnam.

I was one of those who was criticised, by dear fellow-disciples of Jesus, for not responding with the demand that the UK take in more refugees.  I was, effectively, accused of lacking compassion.  It appeared that I am a poor advert for Jesus.  My basic response was that compassion sometimes needs to be tempered with discernment.

Later reports would seem to suggest that I was correct!   People have looked again at the picture - and come to the reasonable conclusion that it was all carefully staged (not that I am suggesting that the Vietnamese picture was likewise!).  It has been pointed out that, if that little body had been washed ashore by the waves, it would not have been lying as it is in the picture - almost as if the child had lain down for a sleep.   The father's own story has been found to be filled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies.   The latest claim, from a survivor of the capsizing, is that he was actually the 'captain' of the ill-fated little vessel.   It has also been noted that he was able to return to Syria in order to bury the bodies of his family - returning to the very 'war zone' from which he claimed to have fled!  

His own sister claimed, on Canadian television, that he had been in Turkey (it would appear that he had been there for about three years!) and that she had been paying the rent for the family's apartment.   It was she, also, who stated that his desire to get to Europe was motivated by his need for false teeth!   An anonymous blogger has apparently stated that Mr Kurdi had his teeth pulled out when being tortured by the Assad régime in his home country.  It could be asked why he didn't make this 'fact' known, himself, when he first came to the attention of the world's media.

Much more has apparently been unearthed, and it seems to me that there are more questions than answers in this sorry saga.  Of course the death of any child - or any adult - is sad.  Of course one has compassion for those who are genuinely fleeing persecution and violence.  However, there are sound reasons for believing that the majority of those who are currently seeking to enter a number of European countries are not fleeing adverse situations and circumstances, but merely seeking to benefit from what they see as some kind of 'El Dorado'!

I am not one to be taken in by every conspiracy theory - even those put about after the tragic event of fourteen years ago.  However, in addition to the above, the alleged comment by an official of the Saudi Arabian government, that his country (and other Arab, Muslim, countries) do not take in Muslim refugees because they want Europe to be filled with Muslims, is really quite believable!  The dream of many Muslims is the realisation of the world-wide Islamic Caliphate, and they will do all in their power, including lying and deceit, to achieve it.

Praise God, therefore, that He is the One Who is ultimately in control!   His Kingdom is within His people and will, many of us believe, be consummated soon.   Then will come to pass the vision granted to John: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her Husband; and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them; He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.'   And He Who sat upon the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.'" (Rev 21:1-5).  Hallelujah!

Firsts!

This afternoon, I had my first swim in the lake, at Le Chêne du Lac, for this year.  Indeed, I am the first person, this year, to have swum all the way to the far side!   I would have swum back - but although the sun was shining brightly, and was very warm, the temperature of the water still leaves a little to be desired!

There's something about 'firsts'.   I may not remember my first spoken word; or my first step.  I can't even recall my first day at Primary School.  However, there are many firsts that I do remember - and do so quite vividly. 

I remember my first time on stage, as an elocutionist and; not long afterwards, as an actor - on both stage and radio!  I remember my first day as a young commis chef.  I remember my first date in a (friend's!) car.  I remember my first day at the Bible Training Institute, in Glasgow.  I remember my first preached sermon.  I remember my first Sunday as a Student Assistant in St.Paul's Parish Church, Milngavie.  I remember the birth of my first child (and, of course, of my second!).

I even remember my first love, and my first kiss!  She was not the girl to whom I was, eventually, married, and with whom I have spent almost forty-five years - through 'thick and thin'.  I remember my first day as a husband.

The Bible has something to say about 'first love'.  In the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, given to the aged apostle, John, we read of the words of the risen Saviour to the church in Ephesus: "... I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love." (Rev 2:4; NIV).

It's sad when a couple separate, or divorce, because they have lost that "first love" that brought them together.  It is even sadder when one who has professed love for the Lord Jesus, becomes cold, and careless.  Yet I have seen it happen with so many - both the loss of human 'first love', and the loss of love for the Lord Whom the person had once served with great zeal.

Can the loss of 'first love' be avoided?  I believe that it can.  The secret, I would suggest, is in communication.  It is as we share with our spouses that we are kept close to one another.  It is as we share with Him that we are kept close to the Lord.  That involves both the regular (i.e. daily!) reading of His Word, and regular prayer in which we listen as well as talk!

In His words to those Ephesian believers, the Lord Jesus began by complimenting them.  "I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear evil men but have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and found them to be false;  I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for My Name's sake, and you have not grown weary." (Rev 2:2-3).  This indicates, to me, that it is possible to continue to live what appears on the outside to be an active Christian life - but that is really just a sham.

If you are a disciple of Jesus, I wonder what all of this says to you!  Are you merely going through the motions - or is your walk with Him still sweet, and strong, and sure?  Have you lost your 'first love' - or are you still as much in love with Him as you were when you first opned your heart, and life, to Him; and received forgiveness of your sins, and new life in Him? 

I trust that the latter is true for you - and for me!