May 21, 2011

Gen 8:21 "Then the Lord said in His heart, 'I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.'"

I love the promises and mercy of God. Here is just one example of God looking at what had been done during and after the flood and He made a covenant with Himself. "Never again will I curse the ground because man is a jerk. Never again will I destroy every living thing. Even though I know that man is sinful, even though I know that all he thinks about is garbage from his youth up, I am not going to do this again. I am not going to destroy the earth with a flood ever again." (See 9:11) And you know what? He hasn't. He has made good on His promise. Even though we are evil. Even though we ignore Him and say that He doesn't exist and we disobey His word, God extends His mercy to us and He allows us to live. God truly has blessed all of us. The fact that I got up this morning and put my feet on the ground is evidence of God's grace and mercy.

Now does this mean that God will not exact judgment on the earth at some time? No. That is coming. Jesus even talked about the coming of the Son of Man. That it would be like the days of Noah where people were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage and then it hit. The door of the ark was closed and the water started to come. People were not ready. They ignored Noah's warning. They did not know when the rain was coming. It came on them suddenly and it was too late. And Jesus' warning: "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Matt 24:44. Later in chapter 25 Jesus said: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." Matt 25:13 His advice: "Watch…be ready…live your lives in a way that shows that you are prepared."

Kind of interesting. Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer so there were events taking place on Public Square. I was walking downtown yesterday going to my car after work and I was approached by a woman who was handing out pamphlets. I assumed that she was passing out tracts and I took one, thanking her for it. When I got closer to my car I looked at it and it was entitled: "The End of the World is Almost Here! Holy God Will Bring Judgment Day on May 21, 2011". Is the end of the world coming? Yes. Do we know when? According to Jesus we do not. But according to these people they do. They must be smarter than Jesus.

As I read their pamphlet, I wanted to see how they arrived at this date. Somehow they took the seven days that it took Noah to get all of the animals into the ark and concluded through 2 Peter 3:8 that each day was one-thousand years. They allegedly figured out the actual date that the flood started, added 7000 years, subtracted one and arrived at May 21, 2011 as being judgment day. Unreal. The machinations that people will go through to try to prove their point. Are they right that people need to repent? Yes. We all need to trust Christ and accept His finished work on the cross. (They didn't say a lot about this in their pamphlet.) Are they right that God will bring judgment someday on the earth? Yes. Is it May 21^st? No…not unless Jesus lied when He said: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Mark 13:32

My point: Thank God for His mercy. Thank God for His grace that is extended to us every day of our lives. Thank God for His promises that He will never destroy the earth with a flood, but that He is returning someday. But beware of people who assert unbiblical stuff. Be ready. Live our lives like Noah who was righteous and innocent and who walked with God…and who was always ready.