Category Random Ramblings

Meaningful randomness

Hear Ye Hear Ye Read All About It!

Allen Frederick 1 Comment

 

Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”
A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will this happen? What will be the sign that you are coming again, and when will the world come to an end?” Jesus answered them, “Be careful not to let anyone deceive you. Many will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many people. “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Don’t be alarmed! These things must happen, but they don’t mean that the end has come. Nation will fight against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All of these are only the beginning pains {of the end}. “Then they will hand you over to those who will torture and kill you. All nations will hate you because you are committed to me. Then many will lose faith. They will betray and hate each other. Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. And because there will be more and more lawlessness, most people’s love will grow cold. But the person who endures to the end will be saved. “This Good News about the kingdom will be spread throughout the world as a testimony to all nations. Then the end will come. Matt 24:3-14 (GW)



In this week’s news headlines we read about earthquakes in Japan, floods in the Midwest and southern China, uncontrolled forest fires in California and the Southeast, a bus station bomb exploding in Nepal, and suicide bomber attacks soccer fans in Baghdad.

 

We read of religious cult leaders involved in polygamy and sexual misconduct with minors, as well as those who encourage their followers to harm themselves or others in the name of god.

Famines, and starvation abound throughout the world, many innocent people are being kidnapped, killed and tortured. Christians in many lands are persecuted for what they believe. And all this is only a weeks worth of news.

Jesus was asked by his disciples to tell them when the end would come, what signs would point to the end of the age. He went on to list basically what we see happening in today’s headlines. Despite all this bad news prevalent today, there is still the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Although there is a structured attempt to stamp out anything and everything that speaks about Christ, or resembles Christian, Jesus said that the ‘good news’ about his kingdom would continue to be spread throughout the world before the end comes, as a testimony to all nations.

Though nations be at war or in peace, whether they are experiencing famine, pestilence, war, or strife, even in the midst of all this turmoil the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is still being proclaimed.

Through earthquakes, windstorms, floods, and fire, the Gospel of the Kingdom of God marches on. Even while being tortured, persecuted, murdered, or imprisoned, dear saints of God stand firm in their retelling of the ‘good news’.

Right in the middle of all this bad news, there is still a thread of ‘good news’, the goodness of God stands in stark contrast to the evil news of the world. The gospel of Christ is today, and for all time, the greatest story ever told.

Have you heard the ‘good news’? Have you read about the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? Have you ever been told the ‘good news’ of God’s love for you?

Do not let the headlines discourage you. All these things must happen and continue until the time when Jesus himself shall bring it all to an end.

Until then, have hope in God who continues to spread His word throughout the world as a testimony to the nations. This is the ‘GOOD NEWS’, — Jesus died for us so that we can live, even though we are surrounded by such death and destruction. Look up, take heart, for your redemption is drawing near.

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)

 

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The Gambler

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

The Gambler

Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”

A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org

19 He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough! 20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished. Prov 28:19-20 (NKJV)

and those wishing to be rich, do fall into temptation and a snare, and many desires, foolish and hurtful, that sink men into ruin and destruction, 1 Timothy 6:9 (YLT)

 

Lottery tickets are sold by the millions to people who believe one day they will strike it rich when they have the winning ticket. Gambling is not the way to acquire riches. In fact it is a better way to loose riches. One is much better for having worked for what they possess then to try to win it at a game of chance. I may not be a gambler but I do understand that the roll of a dice can cost you great amounts of money. Some people seem to think they can beat the odds, or beat the house, but anyone who knows, knows the house always wins.

Gambling with the will of God

Some people choose the will of God by a toss of the dice instead of seeking His voice to hear what it is He would have them do. The devil would have us think that we too can beat the odds by rolling the dice and taking our chances on salvation by skirting the way that God prescribed for us to be saved. We must call on the name of the Lord. There is no other way prescribed under heaven whereby a man can be saved. It is not a crap shoot, it is a done deal. We can trust in God’s word and God’s ways of doing things. His will and way will end up being beneficial to us, skirting His ways will not be. Gambling with the plan of salvation is foolish.

Flipping a coin, rolling the dice, spinning a wheel, Eenie meenie minnie moe, does not sound like a solid plan for decision making. I know many people like to just take their chances in life and really have no actual plan of how they are going to achieve anything. They are of the persuasion that no matter what happens, the government or someone is going to come to their rescue. They think someone is always there to bail them out no matter what bad decisions they may make. That is a bit naïve at best and not very sound when planning for the future.

It is true, for the most part, the poorest person in America still lives better than two thirds of the world’s population. Being part of a blessed nation does have its advantages but to go through life hapless and without purpose seems like a gamble. Life is full of surprises but if you take care of the basics and build on a solid foundation then you can be assured that your house will not fall into complete ruin when disaster strikes.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. Matthew 7:24-25 (ESV)

We can have confidence that someone will be looking out for us if we build our life on God’s word and His principles. That same word will be looking out for us no matter what it is we face in life. No matter what storms life may throw your way, if you base your life’s decisions on the word of God then you have confidence that God will be there for you. He is the rock solid foundation you can rest assured will never fail.

 

I do not know about you but I would hate to base my financial future on a roll of the dice, a flip of a card, a spin of the wheel, or some lottery somewhere. I like to know that for the most part my future is secure and not up to chance. I can be confident that my financial house is in order by proper planning and preparation. So too it is possible to be sure that my spiritual house is in order as well. Taking care of the important things in life is not something to be left up to chance.

Do not place your hope and life choices on a roll of the dice.

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)

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Happy Mother’s Day

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does.

The next day in a written test, she included this question:

“My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I am strong and attractive. I pick up things. What am I?”

When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50 percent of the students answered the question with the word “Mother.”

Non-Remedies For Life’s Ills

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”
A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16 (ESV)

MEH

Allergy medicine that does not relieve the symptoms and religions that does not relieve distress of the people are both ineffectual.

 

I suffer from allergies. Some days are better than others when it comes to symptoms. When I am having a bad day I want relief from the itchy eyes, the runny nose, and the scratchy throat. I tried many different over the counter medications and most of them did not help on severe allergy days so I went looking for the drug I used to take to remedy the symptoms. And it worked!

I am pretty loyal to brands once I find something that works. I like Tide. It does the job I expect it to do-get my laundry clean and fresh. I like Quaker Oats products, they have always proven themselves to be of high quality at least to my liking. I prefer Coke to Pepsi. I like Hershey chocolate and a Baldwin concert grand piano.

I am not saying that others are not good I just have a preference. Now when it comes to my salvation I found someone who does what He says He will do and can be depended on to fulfill (the promises he made to us). Jesus was the answer to my life’s search for answers.

You may not like Jesus so you are searching for other answers. I hope you do not find like I did that some remedies are not remedies at all. In fact the money I spent on those ineffective allergy medicines could have done far more good being given to a charity somewhere. The drug company that produced these pills only took my money and offered me nothing as far as relief is concerned.

I can think of many things that take money and offer nothing in return. The government comes to mind as a big taker of money and offering very little value in return. Drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, and other vices always take more from you then they offer in return. So do mega-ministries. They offer BIG promises to get your money and then are impotent when it comes time to actually provide the help they promised.

In all my searching for Jesus I am sad to say I tried all the well known manufacturers of the ‘God’s pill’. None of their prescribed methods of salvation worked for me. It was not until I was basically kicked out of every major denomination in the United States did I actually find the ‘God’s pill’ that worked.

Jesus came to me when I sought him with my whole heart. I had given up trying to work out my salvation. I had given up trying to find my own way of making life make sense. I realized I was a failure and had no answers, only questions. When I took those symptoms and questions to the churches representing Christ in the world I was given all kinds of prescriptions to remedy my life symptoms and they all proved ineffectual.

Where was I to go? To whom could I find to represent the truth of God? What did work? What pill could I take to relieve me of the suffering? It was not until I actually tried Jesus, not a denominational view of Jesus, but the actual living breathing resurrected Jesus spoken of in the scriptures, did I find relief from all of life’s ills. No church membership was able to cure my soul sickness. None of the methodologies espoused by the many denominations were able to address my need for soul cleansing. Their prescription masked some of the symptoms but where unable to render a real cure. If I was only seeking to ease the symptoms of my sin sick soul then the denominational church structure was able to provide the needed relief, although temporal at best. Jesus however offered an eternal cure.

Churches need to get back to the basics of the gospel and spread abroad the good news of Christ and his saving power rather than promoting their particular brand of doctrine. What the world needs is more cures from sin sickness and not simply remedies of symptoms.

When people are looking for relief from their spiritual afflictions they too want something that works. When I was spiritually desperate and searching for answers that is when I found Jesus to be the answer to all my spiritual problems.

Drixoral worked for my allergies and Jesus works for my soul sickness. I tried all the rest. I am sticking with the best.

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)

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Mountain Top Perspective

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”
A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.” 13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.” 15 Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. 16 Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. Exodus 24:12-18 (NKJV)

Recently I stood at the base of the Blue Mountain Ski area in Eastern Pennsylvania and looked on as learned and unlearned skiers moved along the mountain slopes and trails. Standing at the base of the mountain was the safest place to be but offered only one view of the mountain,- that of looking up. The view from the top would have been far different than my view from the bottom. Moses stood on the top of mountain and talked face to face with God. While he was gone those back at the base had grown tired of waiting for the return of Moses. From the valley, the people’s view of the mountaintop was obscured by the clouds. They were not permitted to approach the mountain while the cloud of God’s glory enveloped it. They had to just remain where they were and wait.

 

I had gone to Blue Mountain with a number of youth from a friend’s church and it was a couple of these young people I was waiting for at the base of the mountain. As they would ride the ski lift to the top of the mountain I could only look on from the base. The thrill and excitement that awaited them at the top I could only imagine from my vantage point safe on the bottom. As I watched these beginners start their first decent to the base of that small hill I watched them fall time and time again. They had to get up and continue down the hill because at this point there was only one way in which they could go- down. They could not catch a lift back to the top and unless they simply took off the snow boards and walked down they would have to make an attempt to ski down the slope.

Compared to the other trails on this mountain, the bunny slope was really quit small. As I stood at the base I could see many trails rising a mile or more straight up the side of the mountain. From my viewpoint I could only make out tiny specks of dark against the white snow as skiers would ski down the mountain side.

I was not up there with them. I was not privy to what they were saying or for that matter what they saw. I could only inquire of their experience once they reached the level where I was standing. This is how it is many times when dealing with the members of the body of Christ. We are each on different levels of God’s holy mountain and we have differing viewpoints of what that mountain looks like. From our limited perspectives we view the mountain in a certain way. As one would move higher up that same mountain, the terrain would take on a whole different look. The view from the top would be far more reaching than that of even someone half way up.

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