The End of the World

Newspaper columnist Mike Royko wrote a story about a practical joke that was played on a man in Madison, Wisconsin. The man and his three friends went on a fishing trip to a secluded lake. Each night they went to bed at 10 o’clock and got up before dawn every morning to fish.

One night Joe went to bed first and quickly fell asleep. And that’s when one of his friends got an idea. He got Joe’s wristwatch and changed the time to 4:45. They all changed the times on their watches and clocks, and set the alarm to go off at 5 o’clock. Then they got into their beds and waited. 

Fifteen minutes later, the alarm went off. They all got up, rubbed their eyes, and shuffled around like they had been sleeping for seven hours. They made breakfast, just like every morning. Joe complained that he felt like he hadn’t gotten any sleep that night.

After they started fishing, every few minutes Joe would look at the eastern horizon and say, “What time do have?” One guy said, “6:00.” Joe said, “Shouldn’t it be getting light soon?”

At 6:40, Joe stopped fishing and stared into the darkness, “Guys, I’m tell you, something is wrong! The sun isn’t coming up. It should be up by now!” He started freaking out, “Guys, this must be the END OF THE WORLD!” His friends burst out laughing and let him in on the joke.

One day the end of the world will come, and that’s no joke. Jesus described the signs of the end by saying, “Men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth” (Luke 21:26). Clearly, those terrified people Jesus is talking about aren’t ready to meet God.

You might not see the end of the world, but when you die, it’s the end of your world. The end of your time in this world is the beginning of your time in the next world in one of two places.  Will you make peace with God before that time comes? CLICK HERE to find out how to do this.   www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

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Cold Turkey

Garrison Keillor tells a story of a family get-together at Thanksgiving, and how every year it was the same uncle who gave the blessing at the family dinner. It was always a long prayer, and inevitably it got stalled at the point where he began giving thanks for Jesus’ death on the cross.

While the rest of the family began to worry about the turkey growing cold, the uncle would begin to weep. Keillor said, “I don’t know, I guess he just never got over Jesus’ death the way other Christians have.” Sadly, Jesus’ death on the cross doesn’t move many people to tears.

Jesus was dining at Simon the Pharisee’s house when an immoral woman came into the house. She kissed His feet and poured a vial of perfume on them, and as she wept, wiped His feet with her hair. The Pharisee was offended by her actions. He thought, “If this man were a prophet, He would know that she is a sinner” (Luke 7:36-39).

Jesus said, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” He then told a story about a moneylender who had two debtors. One owed 500 denarii, and the other owed 50. When both were unable to repay, he forgave them both. Jesus asked Simon, “Which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” Jesus said, “You have answered correctly” (7:41-43).

According to Jesus, our love for God has everything to do with our realization of how much we have been forgiven by Him. He said, “Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little” (Luke 7:47). 

That’s why the woman cried and wiped His feet with her tears. And that’s why the uncle cried every Thanksgiving when he gave thanks for Jesus’ death on the cross. He focused on what Jesus did to purchase his eternal salvation, while the others seated at the table were focusing on the turkey getting cold. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

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What If You Were Blind?

Imagine living in a beautiful mansion with a scenic view of the countryside. You own the finest furniture. Your yard is landscaped with beautiful flowers and cascading waterfalls. A Lamborghini and a Bentley are parked in your garage.

Add one more factor to your hypothetical world. You’re blind. Although you own the finest of everything, you can’t enjoy them because YOU CAN’T SEE THEM. Now you understand that you already own one of the most valuable things you could possibly have—your eyesight.

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, is one of the richest men in the world. In 1997, he was giving a speech to 1,500 people at a convention in Seattle. After Gates’s speech, a medical doctor stood up and asked a question. “Mr. Gates,” he asked, “If you were blind, would you trade all your money to have your sight restored?” At the time, Bill Gates’s personal wealth was $35 billion. Gates thought for a moment and said, “If I were blind, yes, I would give up all my money to receive my sight.”

Since you’re reading this, you already have your sight. Suppose someone offered you $35 billion if you would give up your eyesight. You would be blind for the rest of your life, but you’d be rich. Would you do it? I don’t think so.

But many people aren’t enjoying life, even though they are surrounded by every blessing imaginable. They just CAN’T SEE THEM.

A friend of mine lives in Florida a few miles from Kennedy Space Center. I told him, “It must be fun watching the space shuttle launches and going to the beach all the time.” He replied, “I never go to the beach and I don’t even go outside my house to watch the space shuttle launch.” I asked, “Why?” He said, “I’ve seen them so many times it’s no big deal.” And there lies the problem.

When we see the same blessings every day, we eventually stop noticing them. When we stop noticing, we quit appreciating. When we quit appreciating, we stop thanking. When we stop thanking, we start complaining.

I thank God from my heart every day for saving me, for my wife, family, house, cars, electricity, water, air-conditioning, etc. I see them. I appreciate them. And I thank God for them. Can you SEE all the blessings God has given you? www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

Jumping to the Wrong Conclusion

In April 2000, a woman in Houston, Texas was killed in a car accident. As the coroner was doing the autopsy, he discovered a bullet in the deceased woman’s brain. He changed the cause of death from an accident to first-degree murder. 

What looked like a car accident apparently was a diabolical coverup for a crime. Of course, the husband would be a primary suspect in such cases. But before we lock him up in a prison cell on death row, we need to gather all the facts. Maybe the butler did it, or someone else was involved.

Upon further investigation, the coroner discovered she had been accidentally shot in the head in 1978 and never had the bullet removed. Once the coroner gained this new information, he changed the cause of death from murder back to a car accident. 

Do you see how easy it is to jump to the wrong conclusion? We take one bit of information and think it’s the whole story. We make wrong assumptions when we fill in the blanks with our biased opinions and mentally connect the dots that aren’t there.

The prophet Samuel wrongly assumed Eliab was going to be the next king of Israel (1 Sam. 16:6). Saul wrongly assumed David wanted to usurp his throne (1 Sam. 18:8-9). Samson wrongly assumed he would always have supernatural strength (Judges 16:19-20). The scribes and Pharisees wrongly assumed Jesus received the power to cast out demons by Satan (Mark 3:22).

Proverbs 18:13 says, “He who answers before he hears the facts—it is folly and shame to him.” If you don’t know all the facts, and if you don’t know the other person’s motives, hold off from forming an opinion or making an important decision. It might save you from being embarrassed later.  www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com   www.makinglifecount.net

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If Jesus Wrote a Letter to Your Church

In Revelation 2-3, Jesus wrote letters to seven churches in different cities. These letters (recorded by the apostle John) were to be delivered to those churches so they could make corrections. It made we wonder—what would He write to today’s churches? Here are some facts about those letters:

1. Each church had an opinion about itself that was inaccurate. “Groupthink” is the conformity of thinking within a group, which typically doesn’t allow differing points of view. Laodicea thought they were wealthy and didn’t need anything. But Jesus corrected their false opinions, “You don’t know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked” (Rev. 3:17).

2. Jesus praised them for what they were doing right. He told the church at Ephesus, “I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil…and have not grown weary” (Rev. 2:2-3).

3. Jesus rebuked them for what they were doing wrong. He also told Ephesus, “But I have this against you, you have abandoned the love you had at first” (Rev. 2:4)

4. Jesus told them how to make corrections. “Remember how far you have fallen, repent, and do the works you did at first” (Rev. 2:5).

IF JESUS WROTE TO CHURCHES TODAY, He might say something like this:

To the Liberal church: “I know your compassion for all broken and rejected people, and will accept them into your church. But I have this against you—you have ignored My Word about the need for repentance, and you will not allow Me to change their hearts and behavior.”

To the Traditional church: “I know that you do not compromise My Word, that you are teaching it to all ages in your Sunday School classes, and you support missions. But I have this against you—you hold on to man-made traditions and rituals, many that I want you to abandon. You’re doing them because you’ve always done it that way, and not because I told you to do them.”

To the Contemporary church: “I know that you have changed the atmosphere to make your church more inviting to the younger generation. You’ve updated your music, made your sanctuaries more comfortable, and even serve donuts and coffee. But I have this against you—entertaining the congregation has become more important than making disciples and worshipping Me. You have abandoned discipleship programs for all ages (like Sunday school), which has made your congregation spiritually shallow.”

Okay, I’ll admit that I’m just speculating about what He might say. Your church might be perfect. Or it might need a letter written to it. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net

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