(There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.)
As I write this, it is the morning after the Super Bowl. All the hyper-level excitement, the celebrity pandering, the speculation, the “encouraging people to place bets,” and the “logistical activities” associated with the mad scramble to “gather in the bucks” are over, at least for now.
All the fans are or will be traveling home today. Their many thousands of dollars spent to attend the big event are now gone, or are still hanging over their heads in the form of credit card balances that are likely staggering to behold. For the home watchers, the TV is off (hopefully), and next year, you may not be allowed to watch for “free.”
What does it all mean now that silence has settled back over the land?
To the supporters of the winning team, jubilation for a time, then what? Wait until “next year”?
To the supporters of the losing team, sadness, even perhaps depression (hopefully short-lived)? And, then what? Wait until “next year”?
Lest the reader get the wrong impression, I enjoy watching the games, especially when my Steelers are playing, so this is not coming from an anti-football Grinch.
But it is coming from the perspective of sober judgment and acknowledgment of both present realities and coming realities. There may not be a “next year.”
It is a little like the aftermath of Christmas morning. The gifts have been opened, bright colored paper strewn everywhere, children (in the households fortunate enough to have them) playing with their “new toys” (soon to become old toys), and a now forlorn-looking tree, emptied of its promise of more material wealth and destined for the recycling center trash bin or to be crammed back in a box until “next year.”
All the decorations hidden away in boxes, and the tinsel, and the shiny little imitation icicles? They seem a sad icon of what Christmas has become for so many in this modern, materialistic world: shiny, glistening reminders of a false sense of “peace on earth and goodwill toward men.”
They will end up in the “temporal” trash bin with the soon-to-be-made New Year’s resolutions of most of us.
And for many, hanging over their heads, credit card balances that are likely staggering to behold.
So, what’s my point in this gloomy (sounding) narrative?
It is not gloomy for those who know the joy (and Truth) of God’s wonderous plan of Salvation by receiving His gift of Grace: His Son Jesus, who came to this sin-beleaguered planet specifically to pay the terrible price for the sins of the whole world: Sins He never committed even one of, but that we are all guilty of according to God’s own Word. That is what Christmas really means: the birth of Salvation in Christ.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Perhaps, if this idea that you are a sinner seems offensive to you, you might take a private moment to go into your bathroom, look at yourself in the mirror, and ask that reflection you see: “Are you perfect?” “Have you NEVER taken ANYTHING without permission? NEVER hated anyone? NEVER used God or Jesus’ name as a curse word? Never? Ever?
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) are God’s baseline for perfection. Can you say that you pass that test? I know I can’t, and neither can anyone else.
When I served in Vietnam, we had this saying, often heard but never misunderstood, as each of us realized that the politicians in our own government and, worse, our own countrymen were not behind us. What we were doing (and there was no shortage of valor and commitment by the troops despite that ugly reality) was an exercise in futility.
So, it was a bit of a “survival psyop” that we acknowledged when reality was too heavy and we needed a mental break from it. “It don’t mean nothin,” we would say.
While it wasn’t always true, it was far too often. Things have not improved since then. In fact, they have gotten ever-so-much worse, and recent events are all the proof any reasonable person needs to understand that.
So, what is my point?
The reality of the Truth contained in the Bible is that, despite the “promises” of world leaders and the calls of that desperate cry for “peace and safety,” God says otherwise because mankind seeks to work their futile plans in a state of open rebellion and denial of Him and His Precepts, Laws and Sovereign Will.
“For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
This outcome is inevitable, as His Word clearly indicates. It must come upon “some generation,” and all the signs that Jesus pointed to in Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13 indicate the very high likelihood that we are, indeed, the terminal generation.
Prophecies already fulfilled with 100% accuracy and at their appointed time leave no reasonable doubt that the judgments revealed in the Book of Revelation and Zechariah 12 and 14 will occur at the time appointed by God as well.
Openly practiced evil, rebellion, and mockery of God’s Word are everywhere.
I can recall occasions where those who were actively engaged in this mocking of God’s Word would display a cartoon of a little bearded “prophet” walking down the street, wearing a sign that proclaimed, “The End Is Near.”
It may have been funny in the past, but it is not at all funny now.
For those who find themselves with that empty feeling after the Super Bowl, any other sporting “climax event,” or other fleeting human activity – well, it’s because in the end, in the worldly sense, “It doesn’t mean nothing.”
For those who find that the after-Christmas-morning gift exchanging leaves them with an empty feeling – well, it’s because, if the material side of that event was all it meant to you, you have nothing left to look forward to until “next year.” Maybe.
For those who have received Jesus as their One and Only Savior, Christmas leaves the unbridled anticipation of Easter Sunday, Resurrection Day – the day that God proved by virtue of His Sovereign Power and the ironclad evidence of already fulfilled prophecy that He is indeed El Shaddai, God Almighty, and He, through Jesus Christ, has conquered death.
And He offers to any and all who will repent and receive His Grace the gift of eternal life and, yes, escape from this doomed world of sin and rebellion.
“In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). Emphasis added by me.
You can have True Hope and life eternal. Jesus said anyone, and He never lies.
The special message I promised you:
For anyone who may read this article and has not trusted in Jesus Christ and therefore has no hope or peace in your life.
You can have hope. You can have the peace that Jesus has promised to all who have made Him their Lord and Savior. The peace that passes understanding.
It requires that you come before God on His terms.
And, what are His terms according to His Word?
- Genuine repentance (turning to God instead of continuing to reject or ignore Him).
- Confession of sins (that you are a sinner and acknowledge that to God).
- That you understand that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
- To acknowledge to God that you are unable to pay that debt.
- Belief that Jesus Christ paid your death sentence for you on the cross.
- To believe that Jesus is the Way, the only Way, that God has established by which humans may be saved from the consequences of their sin and rebellion.
God has made it absolutely clear that there is no one who comes before Him, under His terms, that will be refused.
- No one: no race, no color, no country of origin, regardless of any previous belief system: no one.
- No matter what your past sins have been, God can and WILL forgive you because He says He will.
- Salvation is available to everyone without any exceptions.
If you put all your trust for salvation in Jesus, and Him only, you can follow that prayer up by simply saying, “Thank you, Father God, for hearing my prayer and saving me,” because we can trust Him to keep His Word. He always has. He always will.
“Truly, Truly, I say to you that he who hears My words and believes the One who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed from death to life” (John 5:24).
There are no answers and there is no hope in the world by governments, organizations, politics or politicians. There are only lies and deception. But you can have the Truth and the peace you seek.
The answers are in the Word of God—The Bible. If you ask God, with all your heart, He will hear you.
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
Pro Salvator Vigilans
To contact me: [email protected]
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