Like a Thief in the Night

 
1 Thessalonians 5:2
"For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the Night."

Matthew 24:43
"But understand this: if the owner of the house had known at what time the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into."

These verses were brought to mind because I was witness to possible thieves in our neighborhood in the pre-dawn hours as I was leaving for work Tuesday morning. As I was about to climb up into my truck, I witnessed a tall hooded man run over to a suspicious vehicle waiting for him with its headlights out in the cul-de-sac across the street. What made it suspicious, besides all dark clothing and hood, was that the man didn't run to the vehicle until he noticed me turn to look at him. Once he got to the vehicle, they quickly drove away, turning the headlights on further up the street.

Now this alarmed the protective side of me. So 'like a good neighbor', I called local police to send an officer to conduct extra patrols in our neighborhood. I even went up later that day to the neighbor's house whose driveway the hooded figure had run from, and found out someone had opened their daughter's car and rummaged through her things. So I also alerted everyone on our neighborhood Facebook page, and told them to keep an eye out.

Now, let's go back to the Bible verses. What if I knew for sure those thieves were coming back? What if we knew that, and we made sure we told the other residents in the neighborhood to be ready? Well - I think Jesus has these verses in the Bible for that very reason...so we can tell all the neighbors. They can decide for themselves whether to get ready or not, but we are spreading the message. Because you see - although Jesus is certainly not a thief, he point-blank tells us that is how He is going to return.

So what I want you to think about is this:
Are you one of the neighbors that will join us on the watch? Are you the neighbor that will just shrug the neighbors who have been made aware aside? I choose to be part of the global neighborhood watch. I choose to stand up for my other neighbors and tell them to make ready, because He said he is coming back...I just don't know when.

So who wants to join me on the watch?

For further details on how to join, seek all the answers in the New Testament of the good book, the Holy Bible.

The Heart

The heart is a funny thing; in this case I am referring to the soul - your inner-most self, and the emotions that come with it. I was blessed yesterday with a surprise gift from my Mom...she bought me the latest Garth Brooks CD, because she and my closest family members know what a GB fan I was growing up. And Mom being Mom, told my wife to tell me to make sure I listen to Track 5 on the CD. So when I put the CD in my truck for the first time, I look at the back of the cover, and see the title of the song as it begins to play. Of course - the song is titled 'Mom'. The line that caught my ears the most was this:
"So hush now Baby, don't you cry
'Cause there's someone down there waiting
Whose only goal in life
Is making sure you're always gonna be alright.
A loving angel, tender, tough and strong
It's almost time to go meet your mom."

I have always found it fascinating when the perfect melody mixes with the perfect words, and it reaches right through to your heart. See, the song writers knew what they were doing when they wrote the lyrics. They wrote the song to pull the heart strings of not only ALL the moms out there - but the daughters and sons as well. And the lyrics do it effectively. So before I knew it, because of the song's grip on my heart - the next thing I know, a tear rolls down my cheek. Considering I was on my way to work out, I really had to change gears once I got to the gym.
So this brings me back to the heart. Does anyone else find how the heart can just take a hold of you? In the most random moments, whether it be because you see one of those Publix family commercials, or someone helps out an elderly person or small child in a public place, the heart can remind you it's there; grab you and take hold. I know I can't be the only person that experiences this? Perhaps the only 6' 2", 265 pound man to write about it...but still - aren't those times awesome! Sure, they may be weird, but you know, I think we need those moments. Perhaps God blesses most of us with moments like that to keep us grounded. Perhaps God helps some of us notice these events with our hearts in order to remember what we shouldn't take for granted. I know this is a random thought today. But before you leave work or even go to sleep tonight, look back over your day and see if you can remember catching one of those chance moments - that can touch the heart.

LIFE Matters

 

 This is not meant to inflame anyone. This should not make anyone mad, but I was inspired by our youth pastor today, as he delivered a positive message about life, and how we as Christians should spread that message.

He began by bringing up current events regarding Planned Parenthood, and of course - abortion. But the message was about more than just being Pro-life.

This especially hit home with me; I have rarely been vocal about being pro-life, because of my connection to the issue, and being afraid that I may end up being too passionate. I am very much pro-life because I refuse to think that the unborn child that I saw moving around in my wife's belly, along with Jay, was not a human life! That's right...my son Jay had a twin brother (we named him John Robert Fort)- who never made it far enough along to join Jay into this world. I saw the little babies on the screen early on in the pregnancy. I saw the cute little profiles on both faces. I saw the movement. Other members of my family have had similar experience, and I am sure my brother Daniel can relate. So because of the evidence of life that I have seen, and had the displeasure in mourning the loss - I am very much pro-life.

But the point that was hammered home was that we need to be more than just pro-life. We need to do more than just stand against the stealing away of human lives before their time. Another interesting point brought up was the point of view from the other side...one that I can ALMOST understand. That point is that why would we want to go back and bring those aborted lives into the low income, insufferable conditions, and even this fallen world. In other words, for a lot of pro-abortion people, (not the assuming left wing, free-loader generalization here) it is actually a matter of the heart...pity for those unborn children...not wanting them to suffer. The point was made that although this is not the best way of looking at it, we should at least listen and know that this is a concern from the other side.

But then there was more. There were examples given of all the other ways we can stand up for life - other than just standing against abortion. And one of the best things we could do is actually address the other side's concern...by caring for the LIVES that are here now! Yes, there are people suffering in this world, so let's help those people out of their suffering. Help the needy; the Bible says that we should always do this. Help the suffering, such as soldiers who have been wounded. Reach out to people of all groups, all colors, all cultures - all religions. Foster children who are brought into this world in poor conditions, or without a parent. Adopt children. Feed the hungry. Give money to a cause. There are ways we as Christians can fight the negative and evil things going on in this world...by doing good. Although we will be persecuted, even while we do good - we should still do it.

Black lives matter - Asian lives matter - Hispanic lives matter - White lives matter - police lives matter - Muslim lives matter - Christian lives matter - poor people's lives matter - soldier's lives matter - rich people's lives matter - homosexual and transgender lives matter - animals' lives matter (but we were given dominion over the animals) - LIFE matters. So we should do what we can to preserve it and protect it; it is sacred.

Now I believe there is an order to things the way God made it; I think there are going to always be cultures in this world, and even reasons for the preservation for human life that make hunting necessary. This is a fallen world, so there will be death, and suffering, and killing, and fighting. And I will save my son or wife if their life is in danger way before I save an African lion. Does that make me evil? No...but I do think God would prefer us to protect the sanctity of ALL life.

Please don't read this and let it make you angry. Even if you are not a Christian, go out and treat other people you encounter like their lives matter. If we all did this, the world would be a much brighter place. If you made it this far - thanks for reading, and God bless