Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Call to Prayer


Grace and peace to you from The Lord Jesus Christ.  I am writing to you after hearing the terrible news about yet another mass shooting in which lives of many young people were lost.  It is impossible to imagine the trauma that this act of violence has caused.  I call all of you to a time of prayer for the people affected by this tragedy and for this world of ours that often turns to violence as a response to anger and pain.  May we be instruments of peace.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Will the World Come to an End on December 21st?

We have heard for some time now that the ancient Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012 and some have speculated that perhaps this is a prophesy that the world will come to an end on that day.  This would not be all that unfamiliar.  People have been predicting the “end of the world” for centuries.  I remember when the calendar turned to January 1, 2000 there was some thought that this would be the end.  A number of religious groups regularly give dates for the last day or the day of the Lord’s final coming.

The truth is we do not know when the world will come to an end.  The Bible is clear about this (Mark 13:21) but we do know that the scriptures say there will be a coming day when God will make all things right.  There will be a new heaven and a new earth and there will be no more pain or crying or war (Revelation 21:4).

During this week when we have experienced a terrible shooting incident at an elementary school and where globally wars are escalating and human suffering is great one can only hope for that day to come soon.  December 21st would be fine with me.  However, I suspect that God will give this world more time, more time to get it right, more time to win more souls for Christ, more time to make amends for our faults and failures, more time to do good.

With the time we have left in this world, let us resolve to follow the words of John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, for as long as you ever can.”