Tomorrow

Tomorrow:

By no stretch of the imagination can one conclude that the Bible is opposed to planning.  The book of Proverbs is full of counsel about the wisdom of having a plan.  We read about the Lord Jesus, that there was a plan written down ahead of time (Hebrews 10:7).  Knowing that helps us make sense of Jesus' determination to go to Jerusalem.  In fact we here Jesus speaking of that whichmust come to pass.  The Apostle Paul's letter are full of plans. Yet, Scripture clearly speaks against being future oriented in a way that detracts from the here and now.  Proverbs 27:1 tells us that we ought not boast in tomorrow, because we don't know what tomorrow holds.  James applies that counsel to some business men, who lived and conducted business as if they could reach out and control the future.  Jesus simply puts it this way, "Do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34). Don't presume on tomorrow's opportunities, and don't wallow in misery that is yet to come.  Wisely make a plan, and live in the only time in which we can live--not the past, nor the future, but now.  "Live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age" (Titus 2:12).  It's STTA.

Don't Look Back, except for the right reason.

Something To Think About, Don't Look Back, well maybe . . .

"Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you."  So said baseball great Satchel Paige.   I've seen folk who could have used a strong dose of Paige's wisdom.  I've never met anyone with as bad a case of being stuck in time as Dickens' Miss Havisham,  but I have known a lot of folk who would be helped greatly by a case of amnesia.  For too many the clock stopped a long time ago. Some people never get over past hurts.  Like an unhealed wound their soul continues to ooze.  They never get over it.  Worse, I've met folk--and I've spent time in this funk, myself--who think that they have a right to their misery.  In a perverted way they come to like it.  It is hard work, but it is worth the effort.  Get over it.  One guy I know well has a nagging pain in his heart; he was treated badly.  "Whenever I think about those who hurt me, I pray that God will bring His very best to them."  He says it helps.  Do what you need to do get your eyes off that past hurt. I've known others who had failed in the past.  Failure is no fun.  The easiest way to avoid failing to stop  trying.  You've probably met someone whose life is defined by woulda, coulda, shoulda.  Maybe so, but there is no law of nature that says that past failures necessarily lead to future limitations.  Don't let that past failure become an anchor that prevents progress. At this point I'm where I want to change perspective.  During the time of transition that I'm going through, I'm keeping Paige's aphorism about not looking back in mind.  At this point in my life, from an earthly perspective, there is more past than there is future.  But the past and the future are different in a very important way.  The past is.  I can't change it.  I can make a difference in the future. Still, if I'm going maximize the opportunities of the future, I need to adequately process the lessons of the past. Stay tuned. It's STTA

HEAVEN

One of our Sunday School classes at Covington Bible has been studying about Heaven. Thinking about the eternal abode of God's people is a good way to clean out the pipes.  Living in this world has a tendency to plug things up.  The sludge doesn't smell too good.  Enough!
Once one get's to a certain age, he tends to think of heaven in terms of what won't be there, and, in fact, the Bible gives ample encouragement in that direction
 
   "and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."" (Revelation 21:4)

   "I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb." (Revelation 21:22-23)

 

  "There will no longer be any curse;"  (Revelation 22:3)

 

You can find other "won't be there" statements about heaven.  As is often the case, little kids tend to get it.

"Tell me about heaven."

"There won't be anything bad there." 

It is the bad things that limit us.  Often one comes to the place of dealing with a really big problem when he realizes not only what it is doing to him, but what it is keeping him from doing.

 

In Heaven:

• Love will be fearless.
• Worship will be untainted.
• Focus will be uninterrupted.
• Growth will be unlimited.
• Joy will be unmixed.
• Friendship will be unending.

As you begin a week which is likely to contain some unheavenly content, It's Something To Think About.

   It's STTA.
 

Don't assume heaven is your final home.  Find out more here.  For the next three Wednesdays there is a supper discussion about Jesus. Writeto find out more.