Children shouldn’t have to provide for their parents, but parents should provide for their children. _{2 Cor 12:14 (GW)}

The more I listen to political news pundits promote Obama’s "stimulus package" I have to pause and reflect on the wisdom of scripture. The more debt we amass for our children and their children, the less responsible we are as good stewards of what God has entrusted us with. It was the misuse of credit and deficit spending that has gotten us into this mess in the first place. Taking out loan obligations that are beyond our abilities to pay is irresponsible, and I might add sinful. God does not take too kindly to greed and avarice.

This is what happens to everyone who is greedy for unjust gain. Greed takes away his life. _{Proverbs 1:19 (GW)}

Do not wear yourself out getting rich. Be smart enough to stop. _{>Proverbs 23:4 (GW)}

¹⁰ Whoever loves money will never be satisfied with money. Whoever loves wealth will never be satisfied with more income. Even this is pointless. ¹¹ As the number of goods increase, so do the number of people who consume them. What do owners gain {from all their goods} except {the opportunity} to look at them? ¹² The sleep of working people is sweet, whether they eat a little or a lot. But the full stomachs that rich people have will not allow them to sleep. _{>Ecclesiastes 5:10-12 (GW)}

⁶ …How horrible it will be for the one who makes himself rich with what is not his own and makes himself wealthy on loans. How long will this go on?’ ⁷ Won’t your creditors suddenly rise up and those who are going to shake you wake up? Then you will become their prize. _{>Habakkuk 2:6-7 (GW)}

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. _{Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)}

With Hearts and Hands and Voices

Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”

A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org

A Random rambling from the resident raptor.

Now thank we all our God

With hearts and hands and voices,

Who wondrous things hath done,

In whom the world rejoices;

Who from our mother’s arms

Hath blessed us on our way

With countless gifts of love,

And still is ours today.

From “Now Thank We All Our God” by Martin Rinkhart (1586-1649)

Although Martin Rinkhart witnessed first hand severe suffering and death during the “Thirty Year War” yet he was able to find a place in his heart to praise and thank God. It is real easy to give praise and thanks to God when things are going well, but it really takes hard work to go the extra mile and reach out in praise to God when surrounded by such dire circumstances. It truly takes heart.

Brotherly Love Powers Lawn Mower Trek

Alvin Straight couldn’t be stopped once he came on an idea.

“Whenever he set his mind to doing something, he was about like a train on a track,” said Straight’s son, William, the middle of seven children.

Much has been written about the 73-year-old man who rode a 1966 John Deere mower 240 miles to see Hank, his older brother, four years ago. But questions remain as to who the man really was behind the white beard, thick glasses and cowboy hat.

“He was a real straight forward person, real good at setting goals,” William said.

Asked to illustrate what he meant with a story about his father, William added, “It’s kind of hard to condense a person into one story.”

There was much more to Straight, now known as the “lawn-mower man,” than his road trip.

“If I was to have Dad sit down and write a resume, it would be a long one,” including these titles: bounty hunter, farmer, rancher, carpenter and coal miner, William said. “Dad never let grass grow under his feet.”

Straight raised his seven children with high moral standards, William said. So even though they moved around a lot, to Oregon at one point, William and his siblings always knew what was what at home.

As with many families, not everyone got along all the time. This was probably a part of Alvin Straight’s motivation to ride his mower to his brother’s house. When Hank had a stroke, Alvin knew his time, too would eventually run out. So as quick as he could, Alvin went to his brother to mend some previous hurts. _{Source: Waterloo- Cedar Falls Courier Pulse October 15, 1998 Susan Bosch}

On good days he averaged about five miles an hour along U.S. 18. But about four days into the trip, the engine failed on his mower in West Bend, 21 miles from where he had started in Laurens, Iowa.

Mr. Straight spent $250 replacing points, the condenser, plugs, the generator and the starter.

He made it to Charles City, 90 miles from West Bend, when he ran out of money in mid-July, and had to camp out until his next Social Security check arrived.

By Aug. 15, he had made it to within two miles of his brother’s house near Blue River, but then his mower broke down again. A farmer helped him push it the rest of the way . _{Source: New York Times Aug 25, 1994}

Alvin was a man on a mission. He had a purpose and nothing was going to deter him from making his journey to be with his brother. No cost was prohibited, no obstacle was too large, nothing short of his own death was going to stop him from reaching his brother in need. Alvin had heart. He had passion.

An inscription found on the General Post Office in New York City reads:

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these

couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

Inscribed in the words of scripture we find:

Everyone has passion. Some for wealth and security, some for social status and prestige, some have a passion for a sport, or artistic expression. Like Alvin they give all they have to pursue that passion. They are willing to invest the time and energy to reach their goal.

As a church we need to be consumed with the passion of God like a dear panting for water. Where are we spending our resources? What are we passionate about?

God as Psalm 42:1 states? A passion for the lost? John 4:34 & 35 A passion for the world? Matthew 28:19

Does our worship of God cost us all or cost us nothing at all?

For where our heart is there will be our treasure.

Then the king (David) said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel._{2 Sam 24:24-25 (NKJV)}

David had a heart after God and he refused to offer a sacrifice that cost him nothing.

David, had been trained in ritual worship. From his earliest years he had never worshiped with that which cost him nothing. He had brought his offering, and he had paid for it, and he had denied himself something so that he might pay for it. The God whom he had found when he was shepherding was not a God to be worshiped on the cheap.

And then there came his fall, and the terrible havoc of his kingly character, and David found that all the blood of goats could not make him a true worshiper again.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart.” _{Psalm 51:17}

Let him give his kingdom for an offering, and he would not be an acceptable worshiper. He must give himself, he must deny his lusts; he must lay aside his pride and be penitent, or all his worship would be mockery, and the sanctuary a barren place for him. He knew from the first that worship meant denial. It was his thought of denial that was deepened. He found there was no blessing in the sanctuary unless his heart was penitent and humble. And that was a mighty truth for him to grasp, and it has enriched the worship of the ages, and has passed into the newer covenant, and into all the gatherings of its saints. _{-A Treasury of Great Preaching}

Worship has got to be more than a nice hour on Sunday morning. Worship has got to mean more than pretty music and a stirring message. True worship of God has to cost us something. There has to be an investment on our part to make it meaningful and life changing. If we come with empty hands we shall leave with empty hearts. But if we bring all we have to the altar of God and lay it all down than God can fill us with His fullness.

Worship requires giving of ourselves. Worship requires self-denial. Worship requires heart.

Unlike Alvin we can not get to God on a John Deere but like a deer we can pant for God and find Him in worship. If we worship Him with our whole heart.

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. _{Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)}

when panic strikes you like a violent storm, when calamity strikes you like a wind storm, when trouble and anguish come to you. ²⁸ “They will call to me at that time, but I will not answer. They will look for me, but they will not find me, ²⁹ because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. _{Proverbs 1:27-29 (GW)}

Image by Coast Guard News via Flickr

As Hurricane Ike pushed a swelling surge onto Galveston Island, many Galveston residents who ignored a mandatory evacuation order, phoned for rescues to no avail because emergency workers were called off the streets, officials said. Help wasn’t expected until after dangerous storm conditions subsided. “We don’t know what we’re going to find tomorrow,” said the city’s mayor, Lyda Ann Thomas. “We hope we’ll find that the people who didn’t leave here are alive and well.”

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶ And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. _{Genesis 6:5-8 (NKJV)}

And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. ¹⁴ “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. _{Genesis 6:13-14 (NKJV)}

And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. ⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. ⁷ So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. _{Genesis 7:5-7 (NKJV)}

On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark– ¹⁴ they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. ¹⁵ And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. ¹⁶ So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in. _{Genesis 7:13-16 (NKJV)}

Image via Wikipedia

Apparently human nature, being what it is, men are slow to repent and heed warnings, even when their very lives are at stake. As it was during hurricane Ike, so it was during the time of Noah and his family.

Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. ² And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.” ³ But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. ⁴ Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. ⁵ And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.” _{Genesis 19:1-5 (NKJV)}

So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, ⁷ and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! ⁸ See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.” ⁹ And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. ¹⁰ But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. ¹¹ And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door. _{Genesis 19:6-11 (NKJV)}

Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city–take them out of this place! ¹³ For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” ¹⁴ So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. ¹⁵ When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” ¹⁶ And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. ¹⁷ So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” _{Genesis 19:12-17 (NKJV)}

Two angels were dispatched to the city of Sodom to warn Lot and his family of the coming disaster that would soon befall them because of the wickedness of the people. In fact when these “strangers” arrived in town certain men of the city wanted to have their way with them sexually. Things had gotten so bad that Lot offered his two virgin daughters to them instead but they refused his offer because of their carnality. In fact they turned to punish Lot for his “judging” attitude towards them. When Lot told his sons-in-law about the coming disaster they thought he had lost his mind. Even Lot had to be helped out the door, being led by hand by the angels, when the time came for judgment to fall on the city. Again it would appear that even when faced with certain death our human nature wants to put up a fight. After all, we reason God is a loving God and surely He would not destroy the earth.

Like the people in Noah’s day, the Sodomites soon found out that judgment surely follows after sin.

“When the Son of Man comes again, the situation will be like the time of Noah. ²⁷ People were eating, drinking, and getting married until the day that Noah went into the ship. Then the flood destroyed all of them. ²⁸ “The situation will also be like the time of Lot. People were eating, drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ But on the day that Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from the sky and destroyed all of them. ³⁰ The day when the Son of Man is revealed will be like that. _{Luke 17:26-30 (GW)}

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. ⁷ And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” ⁸ Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.” ⁹ And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.” ¹² Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. _{Rev 14:6-12 (ESV)}

The Ire of Ike is nothing when compared to the wrath of God. Revelation reveals a time in the not so distant future when judgment shall befall the inhabitants of the land. Notice in verses 9-11 there is an indelible mark on the arms or foreheads of those who are destined to receive punishment. Like the rescue workers told those who refused to leave Galveston Island to mark their arms with their Social Security numbers so they could be identified after they were found dead. Those who are marked with the mark of the beast will be easy to identify when the wrath of God is poured out onto the earth.

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. _{Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)}

Related links

• Man’s wrath no instrument of God’s righteous retribution. A sermon preached at S. Mary’s, Windermere, on Sunday Evening, May 7th, 1882
• The wine cup of God’s wrath
• The Punishing God
• Rameses – Wrath of God or Man
• Disasters In America: Hurricanes
• Sodom & Gomorrah
• Apocalypse: Earthquakes, Archaeology, and the Wrath of God
• Left Behind – The DVD Collection (Left Behind / Left Behind II – Tribulation Force / Left Behind – World at War)
• Kingdom Come: The Final Victory: The Final Victory (Left Behind Sequel)
• Left Behind Tribulation Forces

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