Romans 8:22 says, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time…” When I got up last Tuesday morning the heat and humidity was oppressive. The pine trees in my yard were groaning, “O, not another day!” The lawn has been dead silent for three weeks now. I don’t know if she’ll recover. But around ten o’clock in the morning the breeze came with some good news, “Here comes the rain. It’s right behind me.” The trees began to sway and the clouds began to thicken. The temperature cooled just a little, signaling the approaching relief. When the rains came the trees clapped their hands and the creek sprang to life –I don’t know if the lawn will make it… Did you notice how the vegetation seemed to just “groan” under this temporary dry spell? Now watch how your yard and garden pick up after this rain. We’ll be back to mowing in no time! I don’t know if that is good news or not!

I know that I might have stretched Romans 8:22 just a bit, but I wonder, have you ever thought about what Paul meant when he said that all creations groan waiting for its liberation from the bondage to decay and to be brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God? I have. What will our forest look like when there won’t be any more dead or diseased trees? What will the deserts offer when God causes them to bloom? Think about it; no more poison ivy, oak or “wait-a-minute” bushes. What are “wait-a-minute” bushes, you ask. John Eckelberry showed me one. They are the bushes that, while you are walking through the woods, they grab a hold of you and you have to wait a minute before you move forward, or else you get it! Isaiah tells us that the wolf will lie down with the lamb and a child will lead the lion and calf. Think about it; no more road kill. The lakes and streams will be drinkable and the soil will offer its fruit freely. No more destructive storms, oppressive heat or deep freezes. Zechariah calls it a unique day, a day known only to the Lord. A day without heat or frost, daytime or nighttime. When the evening comes, there will be light. On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem. On that day the Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be only one Lord, and his name the only name. Guns and weapons will be no more and all the nations will be blessed because Jesus Christ, the Seed of Abraham, will begin His eternal reign on earth!


On that day, we shall be liberated from the bondage of these mortal bodies. Aging will be unthinkable, decay will be a thing forgotten. God is going to fulfill His promise and we shall receive the new body that shall keep us for all eternity. No more pain, no more suffering, no more death. God is going to make all things new! Just as Tuesday’s morning breeze proclaimed the coming rain that blessed central Ohio, so the sign of the times are letting us know that Jesus will be back soon. Look up Beloved, your Redeemer cometh with salvation. Let us wake up from our slumber so that Christ will shine on us. Let us set our minds on things above where Jesus is at the right hand of God ready to come back to the earth. And, when He appears, -because He is your life- then you also, will appear with Him in glory! Alleluia! Come Lord Jesus!

My father died when I was only five years old. I don’t have many memories of him but I have pictures and the memories shared by my older siblings. In fact, I don’t recall much of what I thought about for the next five years while our family lived without a father. I imagine it wasn’t easy for my mom. She had to raise five of us alone. I do recall that during those years between five and ten, I was becoming a very unruly child. In 1967 my mother married again to the man I have always spoke of as my father. He was a good man, fair and a loving provider. I remember a time when I sliced my finger open because I was breaking glass on the backside of the garage. Glass bottles and ten year old boys don’t mix; like cats and dogs, put them together and someone is going to get hurt. I never saw so much blood! I ran to my dad for help. I knew that I would probably get into trouble for breaking the glass but medical attention was the business at hand. I didn’t know how to stop the blood but I knew it had to stop. I ran into the house screaming and Dad came to the rescue. Seven stitches later and I was as good as new. A few years later, while watching T.V. I began choking on an ice cube. Dad was sitting next to me and must have seen me struggling for my breath. He had me picked up and turned upside down before I could object about his life-saving technique. A few slaps on the back and we were back watching the show before the next commercial. After we sat there for a minute he relit his pipe and looked over at me. It was one of those looks that seemed to say, “Do you understand what just happened here?” A gentle smile, a stern brow and a look in his eyes that let me know he could handle all that I would dish out –he was my father. I am so glad that he was there through my teen years. Although I became a very foolish son during that time, I believe that his presence and guidance restrained me from the really foolish!

Now, if you are a Christian, you intuitively saw the actions and care of my father as the mirror image of God’s care for His children. We get wounded (even when those wounds are self-inflicted) and He heals them up. He is quick and mighty to save (as in the ice cube incident). And He keeps our feet from stumbling. I remember that my brother and I would sneak out of the house at night and run the neighborhood and find all kinds of trouble. But when dad started living with us all that nonsense stopped! You know, Jesus said that we ought to regard God as our Heavenly Father. James tells us that His love for us never changes. Isaiah tells us that He is our Redeemer and David tells us that His love and compassions are as high as the heavens. Finally, the writer of Hebrews tells us that God disciplines us for our eternal well-being, and that, is a good thing! You see, I know that my dad loved me; he cared enough to be involved. I only wish that I would have allowed him to be involved with me like he wanted to be.

One day last week, I was watching ESPN news and one of the games highlighted was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays vs. the Toronto Blue Jays. They were playing up in Toronto and the home team was losing by five runs in the ninth inning. It looked like a for sure loss and most of the fans left the ballpark with discouragement in their hearts. The news commentator commented that they should have stayed until the end because they missed a very exciting ninth inning and a victory celebration for their team. You see, the Blue Jays came back in their last at bat to score six runs and grab the win. There was even a little history being made as the first batter up for the team was walked and then, that very same batter was the last batter up in that inning and was walked again to score the winning run! The commentator again mentioned the fact that the fans who had left missed all the excitement. Last Friday night, Joe and Brenda took us to a church in Millersburg for a special service with Isaiah 6. They are a contemporary Christian band and they know how to worship! Robin and I were delightfully surprised and totally blessed!!! As I looked around, I noticed that there was plenty a room for more people. I wondered how many folks God tried to urge to attend that just didn’t show up. How many folks did God intend to bless that missed that opportunity? And then I wondered how many times I miss God’s intended blessings because I just didn’t “show up.”
Pleased don’t misunderstand. I am not saying that we should run to every church service, concert and seminar so as not to miss anything. But am saying that I believe we miss a lot of what God has because it’s just not convenient. Just like the fans that left the game early (probably to miss the traffic) and missed the blessing of the exciting finish, we too shall miss the excitement of the spiritual if we choose the convenience of the flesh. God knows when to deliver. God is never late. If we faint not we shall receive the reward. If we persevere until the end –we shall be saved! What does that actually mean? Why was it necessary for Jesus to encourage us to persevere until the end? Because loved one, the “last inning’ is going to look bad. Just before the end many will fall away from the faith. They’ll think God is going to lose in the battle for men’s souls. It will appear as if the “other team” is going to win so they might as well just call it quits. Don’t you do it! The Judge is at the door. The night is nearly over and the Daystar is about to rise with healing in His wings. Jesus won the victory at Calvary; we know this because of the Spirit He has sent into our hearts. The world will know it when He comes again. That Spirit that He has sent into our hearts will enable us to persevere –even unto the end –and then we shall receive the reward for our faith. Blessed Jesus come quickly.

Survival and self-preservation are intrinsic to our human nature. As soon as we are born we begin to cry for our survival. We cry for our comfort. We cry because we are hungry and we even cry when we want loved. Because self-preservation is intrinsic to our human nature we not only grow up learning how to survive, but we also think it to be very normal. Of course it is –it’s human nature! Some folks learn to survive very well in this world and when we see these people we call them successful. They lived their lives without much struggle and some have even left their families great wealth –in order that they may survive. Everyone’s perspective varies on survival. Someone asked Tiger Woods what he thought was important now that he had a family (his wife is pregnant with their first child) and he thought that he needed to make a little more money so that his family could be financially secure. I don’t know about you but I think I could live on just ten percent of his annual income! No matter how you look at it we all have that need to survive. But let me show you that survival is only human and not divine. And as Christians we ought to be living above our human nature.
Suppose a man is walking in a desert and becomes very thirsty. He comes upon a little water, just enough to survive his trip out of the desert. If he refused to drink it and then died of thirst, we would consider him a fool. Yet, if that same man refused to drink it because he knew that someone was coming right behind him and would need the drink as much as he did, left the water for that person instead of drinking it for his own survival, and died of thirst, we would hail him as a hero. You see, drinking the water for survival is normal, but sacrificing yourself for another is divine. This is the meaning behind the words of Jesus when He said that if we tried to save our lives, in the end we would die. But if we lost our lives [for Him] then we would survive. No matter how you look at survival everyone is going to the grave. You could be the richest person who has ever lived or you could be as poor as a church mouse, but you are still going to the grave. The question remains though; will you survive the grave?