I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, “O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?” He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end."
Some things are not for us. I may have a feeling about when things may happen and what may happen. But, I can never know.
Some things are only for God. So leave them to Him and don't stress it. I'm pretty sure the end times are out of our skill sets.
But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.
Not by man, but by God alone.
That is the message we need to take to heart. We want to control the end times, our money, conflicts with others, our time. No matter what you think you control ... you control nothing but yourself. And rarely even that.
We look to the hands of men to deliver us. Other people's money to bail us out of debt. Soldiers and police to keep us safe. Politicians to give us answers.
The answer isn't with them. It is with Christ alone.
But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.
Worldly people ... devoid of the Spirit.
What a great description of scoffers. Who is the scoffer? You know him already. They are the one that knows the truth, yet denies it. People more interested in their own passions then the Truth.
I look at Proverbs for advice on how to deal with them and what to expect ...
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
A wise son hears his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding.
A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.
Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.
Condemnation is ready for scoffers, and beating for the backs of fools.
When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise; when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.
"Scoffer" is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride.
Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease.
The devising of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind.
Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.
And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.
O how I love the times that I truly spend with God. When I can hear His voice and feel His hand.
God gives us a new heart. One that is not stone and callused from the pain and hate of this life. But, one that is new and tender. One that cries with those in pain and reaches out to help. One that leaps for joy when salvation comes to those that hate us.
What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge’?
One thing I try to instil within my children is to accept consequences. When you do wrong you make it right and you take the punishment. You don't put it off and you don't pass on the blame.
Today we as a nation are doing a terrible evil.
We are passing on the consequences of our evil and selfish actions upon our children and our grandchildren. As fathers we must take the responsibility of what we have done wrong. It is better to financially suffer ourselves than to bail out our foolish actions of spending what we do not have and taking from those coming behind.
A nation that lives in debt is raping the future of its children.
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
I was thinking about this passage of James and the tie between faith and works ...
Our lives are like a great ocean. We sit upon it in our sail boats waiting to go somewhere. The sail that each of us has is our faith. The wind that drives our boat is the Grace of God. With no faith we keep our sails tied up and don't catch the wind of God's Grace. We may rock the boat a bit as we stomp around, but this is a sail boat not a row boat, so we go nowhere.
We can cry out to other people in their boats: "Look at my great sailing ship and how far I can go!" But, if your sails are still tied up you aren't going anywhere.
Untie your sail and watch the Grace of God fill it and suddenly you begin to move. Soon your little ship is making great waves that the dolphins jump and play in. And the wake behind you trails out forever; spreading and touching many other ships. Sometimes giving them a little push in the right direction. And sometimes rocking them and letting them know something is wrong with having tied up sails.
The wake of your boat is your actions for God.
If you are moving with God you must be creating a wake.
If you see no wake ... it is because your ship isn't moving.
So it is with faith. We are saved by the Grace of God and faith alone. But, your faith will make wakes as your move through life. Someone can profess the LORD. But if their ship is just rocking in place ... their sails are still tied up.
