Our Load said, “He that endures unto the end shall be saved” (Matt. 24:13). Life is a journey, and it makes me wonder why some stay the course and others wander off. What makes some successful in a life of faith, patiently enduring, while others fall away? We all have the same temptations. We all go through trials and tribulations. Have you ever found yourself questioning, why am I doing this? Why am I here? I do.
You might have heard about this story of hid treasure. It’s about a man named Forrest Fenn. NPR published a news story on March 13, 2016 that reads,
“Somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, there is a bronze chest filled with gold and precious gems. The search for this hidden treasure has become a hobby for some, an obsession for others, and for one recent searcher — a fatal pursuit.
Cacophony. That’s a funny word. Do you know what it means? It’s defined as, “a harsh discordant and meaningless mixture of sounds.” It’s like the orchestra when it’s warming up. It’s like the city street filled with engine noise and horns and shouts of people. We live in a world that is filled with cacophony. A lot of noise.
Recently a brother in our meeting asked me, “What do you think of Matthew 28:19?”
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Not too long ago, I called up an old acquaintance, a brother in Christ. We had sporadically kept in touch throughout the years even though we lived very far apart. At one time we had been in the same ecclesia and shared some special history, so I felt a close bond to him. It had been awhile since we had talked. A lady picked up the phone and said, “There’s no one here by that name. You must have the wrong number”. I double checked but that was the one I had always used. I emailed him to get what must be a new number. No answer.
Josiah was an amazingly unique king. The record in 2 Kings 23:25 gives the summary of his life like this,
“And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.”
There had been good kings before but none that responded so thoroughly and whole hearted as King Josiah. His dedication and zeal were unsurpassed.
I’d like to share a story with you about compassion or rather the lack there of. This is a true tale with a twist. It’s an experience where it turns out the person you thought you knew so well turns out to be completely different. Revelations come to light and your whole world changes. It’s about compassions lost.
After all these years of giving exhortations I’ve finally come up with a good one. Well, really, the only reason it is a good one is because it is full of good Greek words like euodia, eusebia, eulogeo and eucharisteo. You’ll notice that all these words start with the sound “yoo”, the letters “eu”. The Greek language has several of these prefixes that when added to a normal word change it, amplify it and give it a deeper meaning. Adding the letters “eu” to the front of a word gives the added meaning of being “good” or “well”.
Are you a Millennial? (Maybe you’re asking yourself, “What is a Millennial?”) If you were born somewhere between 1980 and 2000 you are classified as part of the Millennial generation (a.k.a. Generation Y). You’ve grown up in a very different time and place then your parents and it has shaped the qualities and personality of you and your peers. It happens to every generation. Every generation has its own characteristics.
In Romans 10:13, Paul tells us that, "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." At first glance this might seem like an easy thing to do so that we might be saved. Some might mistake it to mean that this is all we need to do to be saved. It makes it sound like such a trivial venture. But the aspect of calling upon the name of the Lord is a phrase loaded with powerful and weighty implications for us. It is not a trivial thing and we must seriously consider what it means in a Biblical context.
