YOU WILL PAY...SOONER OR LATER!

I heard about a customer who sent an order to a book club for the book they were offering that month. The distributor noticed that the bill for a previous book hadn't been paid, so the collections manager sent a form letter saying, "We can't ship your new order until you pay for the last one." The collections manager received a note a few days later, "Please cancel the order. I can't wait that long." We live in a society where people expect to receive things without paying for them -- at least for a long, long time. That's why credit cards are so popular. You don't have to have any money. Just hand them that little piece of plastic. The bill will come later? You can worry about it then. A popular form of advertising says, "Buy now -- no payments for six months!" or "No payments until January 2014!" Companies know that we are more likely to buy something if the payment can be delayed because if it is far enough away, we won't think about the hardship it may cause. Satan operates in much the same way. If he can convince us that the consequences of sin will not be experienced for a long, long time (if at all), then we will be more likely to give in. Listen to how Solomon put it: "Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." (Eccl. 8:11) The reality is that credit card bills eventually arrive in the mail, merchants eventually expect us to pay for any merchandise that we carry home with us, and sin will eventually have its consequences. "Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God." (Eccl. 8:12-13) Don't let Satan deceive you. Payment will come.

"THE TOUCH OF THE SHEPHERD"

Isaiah 40:11 reads, "He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young." (ASV)

The Bible tells us that the shepherd is the door of the sheepfold. It also tells us that The Good Shepherd will give His life as a ransom for His sheep.
Many years ago a visitor to Palestine noticed that a shepherd brought his sheep into the fold for the night. He watched as the sheep followed him right to the opening of the fold. This particular shepherd stood by the opening and touched each sheep on the head as it entered. Then, with all the sheep safe inside, he lay down across the opening, and became "THE DOOR" of the fold.

The visitor approached the shepherd and asked him, "Why do you touch each animal as it enters?" The shepherd replied, "If I neglected to touch them, they would soon begin to think I did not love them, and not continue to follow me."

One shepherd I grew up with tells me that as he cared for his own sheep over the years, he would rub their noses and scratch their ears as they would eat the food he provided. He said, "My touch and my voice let them know every day that I was their shepherd."

Are you allowing The Great Shepherd to touch your life? Are you feeding on the best food ever offered that only He can provide? Do you know His voice that can only be heard through His Holy Word? This Good Shepherd is, of course, Jesus Christ. He will never fail us, listen to Him as He speaks in His Word.

John 10:11, Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."

God Bless until our next time...

Be Sure You Are Ready!

If you are fortunate enough to live until the clock ticks past midnight, what might that time bring for you? If you have not obeyed the Lord yet, now is the time to do so, for tomorrow may bring spiritually disastrous happenings. If and when tomorrow comes, it may bring...

1) A Hardened and Calloused Heart. The Bible has issued several warnings about caring for our spiritual hearts - our intellect, or seat of intelligence. Solomon penned “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Our heart is that which represents our conscience, the part of our mind that helps us determine between right and wrong. When one continues to put off obedience to God, though he knows that is the right thing to do, he allows his heart to become hard, a condition the Bible calls a “seared” conscience (I Timothy 4:2). When one finds himself in this condition, it is improbable he can find his way out, as his foolish heart has been “darkened” (Romans 1:21).

2) Death. An appointment we all will keep is death (Hebrews 9:27). This verse points out that after death comes the “judgment.” This helps us realize making things right with God must take place before we pass away. So many push the thought of death out of their mind, but the wise man reminds - “For the living know that they shall die” (Ecclesiastes 9:5). Truly, we must live each day as though it may be our last. If you are putting off obedience to God, thinking you have plenty of time left, now is the time to do what is right, before it is too late (II Corinthians 6:2).

3) The Second Coming of Christ. Admonitions are plentiful throughout Scripture concerning the Second Coming of Christ. It will take place as a thief in the night (II Peter 3:9, I Thessalonians 5:2). It will take place as travail upon a woman with child (I Thessalonians 5:3). We do know some things about this day, such as it will be glorious (Titus 2:13), it will mark judgment (II Timothy 4:1), all eyes shall see it (Revelation 1:7), and it will take place in the clouds (Revelation 1:7). However, not one single man knows when it will take place. Jesus said “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32).
Be sure you are ready!
--- Larry R. Ping II