A pastor friend of mine shared this with his congregation and with me. He said that I could post it here:
1Chronicles
12-32:
“Also of the sons of Issachar men
of understanding, that knew all times
to order what Israel should do, two hundred principal men: and all the rest of
the tribe followed ...”
This has
always been an intriguing scripture to me, probably never more than today. So
much has been written about the times. Bob Dylan’s “the times are a changin’”
seems to echo through the corridors of the past. In June Michelle and I took a
short vacation to southern Indiana. We camped on the way in our tent…weather
was great! One of the places we camped at was a state park that contained two
great examples of the changing times.
One was
a museum near the park’s entrance that housed astronaut “Gus” Grissom’s
memorabilia including one of the capsules he flew in. A half mile from Grissom’s Memorial was a
village from the early to mid-1800’s with a working gristmill. It was powered
by a giant overshot waterwheel that looked like a wet dripping Ferris Wheel
without lights, and a water flume built on stone pillars. The houses were built
of logs hewed square with axes and neatly made dovetailed corners. (As we
walked through the buildings it suddenly dawned on me that three of my
grandparents were born and raised in cabins much like these!)
The
contrast between the two was amazing! In less than a century technology went
from water and steam power to atom splitting and the space age. My grandparents
witnessed both of these worlds! But time is moving on….we never can go back,
not permanently, perhaps for a “visit” like at the park, but only a brief
visit.
The
times have changed, some things for the betterment of man and some for the
worse.
My point to ponder is what are the times we are in? Issachar’s sons were wise spiritual men, so much so that their example has been recorded for centuries. As we look about and talk with people it seems that very few understand the times we live in. We see the negative changes in society and we lament, “Can’t we go back to how it was?!” The answer is no. Walt Disney and Bonanza will never be back on primetime Sunday evening TV!
My point to ponder is what are the times we are in? Issachar’s sons were wise spiritual men, so much so that their example has been recorded for centuries. As we look about and talk with people it seems that very few understand the times we live in. We see the negative changes in society and we lament, “Can’t we go back to how it was?!” The answer is no. Walt Disney and Bonanza will never be back on primetime Sunday evening TV!
Today’s
America is far from yesterday’s. Today good is being called evil and evil good,
as the scripture predicts. Those who stand up or speak up for righteousness or
speak against immorality are being targeted and accused of being intolerant,
guilty of a hate crime or having a phobia. God bless Chick-fil-a. We are also
becoming a fatherless nation and the ramification of that is staggering. The
government of our nation is being greatly threatened as judges and politicians
are making and interpreting laws beyond precedent and the framework of our U.S.
Constitution. Many politicians and the news media fuel the culture war using
the paradigm of their ideology and terrorism is unleashed abroad and at home
like never before. It seems that
everything is being shaken and it is all landing upside down!
Take heart
brother and sister for we may be surprised by all of this, but God is not, Jesus
warned us of these times! They are perilous times, the world in turmoil and
wars and rumors of wars. It is not a time
to live for our own pleasures and self-interest in an ephemeral (living for one
day only) state. No, but a time to
devote our lives for His Kingdom. It is a time
to re-evaluate our priorities and to cultivate our love for Jesus Christ,
one another and the community at large. Being a part of Christ’s Body, the
Church we are to be under His leadership and we can make a difference in today
and tomorrow and the next day.
Let me
encourage you with the words of our Lord Jesus;
“But
whenever these things begin to happen, take heart and lift up your heads,
because your salvation draws near.”
Luke 21:28
The times
are short, let us be diligent and make the most of them! Amen.
December 23, 1776 Thomas Paine
“THESE
are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot
will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that
stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like
hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the
harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
Pastor
Gary A. Smith
New
Life Christian Fellowship,
Alpena,
Mi.
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