Sermon For 2018

While I am not old .. at least not by my reckoning .. I have lived long enough to see a number of wars, having been born at the end of the largest war the planet has seen so far. There have been wars and rumors of wars ever since then. I even got to participate in one of the wars!

I have been around long enough to see the world end numerous times. I grew up during what was politely referred to as "The Cold War". In school we practiced taking cover for the times when atomic bombs from Russia would rain down upon us. (I wonder how that affects a young child's outlook on life?) Some of you who study ancient history know that never happened.

The churches my folks took me to were ready for the world to end any day. All the "end-times" preachers had proof that it would be any minute. I remember hearing in the 1950's that the bulldozers were waiting outside Jerusalem, ready to knock down the east gate and destroy the mosque on the temple mount so the new temple could be rebuilt. Stories like that were numerous. (I wonder how that affects a young child's outlook on life?) Apparently it was OK to lie as long as you were doing it in order to get people saved.

I lived through the 60's ... a wonderful time of peace and love that degenerated into something other than that. Some of those times were good, I won't deny that. And my liver is still working and I didn't completely lose all my brain cells so I count myself blessed.

The 1980's were not any better with predictions that the rapture would happen by 1986 ... and then 1988 ... and then ... on and on and on. The world was gonna end quite a few times over the next 20 years. Y2K came and went without an apocalypse. As did every other date for the rapture or the end of the world or both.

Now here it is 2018! We are still here. The dollar has not collapsed as some preachers predicted. America has not started concentration camps as others predicted. Christian broadcasting is still on the air, no matter who predicted it would be gone by the 1990's. Massive earthquakes that were to split the country in two never happened. I am in my early 70's and have seen a lot of predictions that never happened. In fact, predictions about the future that actually happen are so rare that it is hard to find any! But people still get suckered into them. Sadly, most of those suckered are christians.

What some never learn is this: WE ARE NOT DESIGNED TO KNOW THE FUTURE. We are designed to know WHO is in charge of the future! The more we get to know Him the less we worry about what may be coming because we know that He is trustworthy! He can be counted on to have our best interests in mind! And no matter what happens in the future, He will be with us! In fact, that is His name ... "God With Us". Jesus was called this by angels before His birth. And it is His desire that we learn more and more that He really is with us.

My prediction for 2018? It has an "if". IF we really seek to get to know Him we will find He ACTUALLY IS with us!

May your life be blessed this year of 2018!