Mayan Calendar Co. Goes Bankrupt

I guess if I believed in all the mumbo jumbo then this will be my final post, ever.  Sometime tonight, around 10:45, something's going to happen to end civilization.  I was talking about this night with a friend several week ago.  Our conclusion, it'll be a couple moments of sheer terror followed by an eternity of praising.  There's only one problem, it's not going to happen.  Tomorrow morning I'll wake up, drive my girls to school and continue preparations for Christmas.

 Matthew 24:36-39 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.  For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.  For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
So, what does this mean?  Basically it means we will all wake up Friday, Dec 21 and Saturday, Dec 22 (my dad's 74th birthday) etc...  If God can keep something from himself, Jesus, then He can easily keep something from us.  Yeah I know, it sounds pretty strange to me too.  This is just another of the great mysteries of God.  But, this is the same God that can forget about all your sin even when you can't.  Psalm 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us."  This is a really cool analogy.  Look at or just think about a globe.  If you start on the equator and slide your finger up (north) you'll eventually reach the top and begin to go down (south).  No matter where you start, you'll always unintentionally change directions and the north will meet the south.  Now, start on the equator again.  This time slide your finger to the right (east).  Spinning the globe might be easier.  When you feel like you've changed directions stop.  (I know, bad joke)  No matter how long or how hard you try you will never make the east meet the west.  And that's how far God takes away your sin.  God doesn't use sin to control us, we allow sin to control ourselves.  Each time you ask God for forgiveness He forget and forgives. 

How in the world did I get off talking about that?  Who knows, that's how these things go sometimes.

Back to world devastation.  I don't want to turn this into a history lesson only because it sounds boring.  How come we don't have any Mayans left?  Instead of a ,supposed, Democratic society why aren't we climbing rock temples barefoot to sacrifice virgins?  Besides being gross and totally against all humane beliefs; this might be the reason we don't have any Mayans left.  How are you supposed to reproduce if you kill all your virgins?  You should've thought that one out a little better.  I'll admit, it does make for a good book or movie but doesn't work if you want to be a living thriving society.  I believe their calendars were made by a very optimistic fellow thinking they would be around forever.  I took Archeaology in college as an elective to make me a well rounded student.  It also gave me another "A" to keep my GPA up.  Anyways, part of this class was how to analyze and determine how and when findings ended up where they were.  Here are my findings...

Mayan Mayor realizes they had just murdered their last virgin.  It didn't seem to matter because the gods they were murdering to wasn't working out so they decided to pack up and move on to settle elsewhere.  The exodus wasn't as large as expected since they were a dying nation.  Somehow the calendar maker didn't get the memo to pack up and move.  The next morning he and his family woke to an abandoned city.  In their rush to pack and catch up with their friends; he forgot his premade calendars in the corner.  The calendar maker didn't give it a second thought later when he realized what had happened.  His hope was that some day someone would find his calendars and continue his unfinished work.  Little did he know the chaos he would cause centuries later. 

See you next time.  Only 4 more days till JC's BD.

peace...

totalheel

Counselor and Comforter

 I felt God tugging at my heart to blog about the events that took place this past Friday. I'll summarize just so you'll know what I'm talking about. Friday morning, Dec. 14th, a young man entered a room filled with Kindergarten students and killed 20 of them. He also took the lives of 7 adults and himself. The initial reaction for these kinds of tradgedies always seems to be fists pumping toward the heavens and shouting "why would God allow this to happen". I have to admit, I too reacted in this way but thankfully kept it inside and I began to dig in God's word to find the answer. 

First thing we must understand in these types of events is that it's not in the nature of God to react or think in these ways. Every decision that led to this tragic event was made by man. The nature of God is love, sin has no place in His presence.   Now don't misunderstand me, God doesn't cower back and ignorantly watch from a distance. No matter the situation, no matter what stupid decisions man makes, God is still in supreme control. I heard it said best a few years ago on the radio. Days after the World Trade Center buildings were destroyed people felt closer to God, but questioned His authority. The radio DJ said this, "Not a blade of grass moves without God allowing it." He controls the winds and the seas. He takes care of the birds of the the air and paints the landscape with beautiful flowers.  And as the scriptures say, if He takes the time to take care of these things, He'll surely watch over and care for us too. 

We can find comfort in God's word.  These two scriptures came to mind.  Isaiah 41:10 "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." God's words to the prophet Isaiah speak loud and clear.  This past week in a bible study Nathan (one of our ministers) asked us to take time and meditate on the names of God mentioned in Isaiah 9, today was "Counselor".  American Heritage dictionary defines it this way.  'A person who gives counsel; an advisor. An attorney, especially a trial lawyer.'  God is accessible all the time.  He has nothing but time and desires to hear from you.  He is the great Counselor.   Romans 8:28 " And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Two things come to mind; 1) This man was obviously not of God, he was not called for His purpose. Something that we may not fully understand in this world had taken over him and influenced his decision. 2) This tradgedy was not part of God's purpose, but, the after results are. Someone will grow closer to God. Someone will accept Him as their Lord and Savior through this. Man's horrific decisions will ultimately bring glory to God. 

I think instead of asking God "why" we should ask Him to heal his people.  Heal their troubled souls and their hurting hearts.  If you're having problems knowing what to say...go to God's word, it won't fail.  Romans 8:26  Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Hang in there world, the King is coming back soon. 

Only 10 days till JC's BD!

peace...

totalheel

No Wristwatches in Heaven

Seasons Greetings!  Wow, it's been a long time.  I'd like to tell you I just got back from a 2 month mission trip to where they don't have wifi.  Or that I was selected to serve on a jury and was sequestered.  How about, would you believe I woke up one morning and forgot how to type and it's taken me 2 months to reteach myself?  Yeah, I know, pretty lame.  I'm a loser.  Laziness had set in and I've been taking a much unneeded break.

I want to tell you a short story.  There's a young woman at church that isn't related legally but we call each other Cuz.  Well, Cuz asked me last week if I would consider singing with her at a Christmas Eve service.  Of course I accepted, I don't like solos but I do like singing with others.  We were trying to come up with a time and day to meet.  We decided today, December 6th, at 5pm.  Now here's the thing.  I get home at 3:30 when working day shifts so I could have met her as early as 4:15 or even drove directly after work.  Thankfully God is in control and had already put something in my schedule I hadn't been made aware of yet.  I made a quick stop to pick up something for Tina then stopped by her office to drop it off.  She was hanging up the phone as I walked in and looked a little upset.  I won't use names.  The woman on the phone was crying.  She (the one on the phone) had just got news an acquaintance of ours had just walked in and found her father-in-law dead.  After talking to her on the phone briefly I realized this house was only 3 blocks away.  I jumped in the car and headed that way.  For the next 45 minutes while the EMT's discussed their plan and waited for the coroner to arrive I was able to stand with and comfort my distraught friend.  What do you say to someone that just walked into a situation like that?  I don't know.  I will tell you that God took over and healing began right then.  Death is never easy.  I don't know how people deal with it without faith.  I'm thankful for my friend who knows there is a God who is in control even when her world feels like its falling apart.  God is so good, He is our comforter.  After all this I was still able to practice with Cuz.  God makes all things work together.

Why the wristwatch?  To some this looks like some silly play on time or being nitpicky with reality.  All I know is that God's time kicked in and I was right where He needed me.  Proverbs 16:9  "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."

Thank you God for putting me where I needed to be and using me for your work. 

Only 19 days till JC's BD!!
peace...

totalheel