June 3, 2018 - - James 4:14-16 Sixty Seconds
/...yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."
James 4:14-16 ESV
Sixty seconds? Time to start munching into a
hamburger, to listen to the opening bars of a
symphony, to read the first page of a book or
to get an initial impression of a stranger--but
time too to shatter a family's world forever.
Moments heavy with pain and suffering far out-
weigh moments light with casual happiness.
~Os Guinness from "Unspeakable"
Context: accident where a man lost half his family
It saddens me to think how many people are okay with the bizarre thought of a godless universe starting itself by a Big Bang, okay with survival of the fittest without any reference to a deity and then these same people shout and accuse the very God they claimed they don't believe in when suddenly faced with very real pain and tragedy.
The Sovereign LORD of Heaven and Earth knows our pain as His beloved Son, innocent and blameless though He was, endured a trial by sinful men, mocking, humiliation and death on a cross. At the cross of Jesus Christ all wrongs are addressed. At the cross of Jesus Christ, critics are disarmed.
Those who believe on Jesus Christ are saved from the fears of the randomness of this world and the ghastly thought mere chance rules all. At the cross sin was disarmed. All who believe in Jesus Christ have their sins forgiven.
One day this same Jesus will return in power for the Day of Judgment. All the people of the earth, despots and kings, paupers, ordinary folks and billionaires, will face the Judge of Nations. Every single wrong will be redressed. Every single injustice will be answered for and punished.
King Jesus to You I bring my tears--of joy and of pain, of bewilderment and wonder. By Your Spirit rule my life in every thing and every situation. Thank You, King Jesus, that because of Your cross my sins are forgiven and my Father in heaven sees me through Your covering of righteousness. All I have and all I possess is Yours, lead me in the way everlasting. Give me the strength I need to follow You when all is well and give me the humble hope and faith to trust You when life is, according to my accounting, upside down. Renew in me the conviction and sure hope that on the Day of Judgment Your glory will be revealed, the Father's love made plain, the Spirit's steadfast presence in all things exposed and all wrongs redressed. Great are You Lord, and worthy of glory; great are You Lord and worthy of praise and worship. Amen.
