Admission to the Ark...

I recently went to see the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, KY, and I enjoyed the experience. Truly, as I considered a visual reminder of the story of Noah, I was surprised at the emotions that the experience elicited. 

As I look back, I would say that it was the tickets that really bothered me. 



It wasn't that the tickets were bad... they simply contained a story that many who visit the site probably ignore. 

Picture yourself standing near the Ark... Not this new one, but Noah's Ark. You had been warned that God's wrath was imminent, but you had chosen to ignore it. Now the Earth was roiling with massive earthquakes as the fountains of the great deep were opened, and just possibly, it had started to rain as well. You are looking at the Ark, you desperately want to board, but it is too late. God has shut the door, and you cannot enter. 

There were people who would have given anything for a ticket that would have gained them admittance... Or admittance for the children that they had wrongly taught to ignore God and to ignore God's commands. 

As I looked down at our tickets, I was not only thinking about that, but also of the last days— when tribulations come, and men look suddenly to the God they have ignored. "Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me..." (Proverbs 1:28) 

In the book of Thessalonians, Paul wrote this: "...because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (II Thessalonians 5:10-12)

God's judgement will come, sooner or later. What you must ask yourself is where you will stand when that happens.

Will you have a ticket, or be wishing that you had one? 

A day of memory

August 21- Daily Word—SPECIAL ECLIPSE EDITION— "And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst." (Luke 23:44)- Of course, there is no prophetical coincidence that I am trying to make with this—except as a form of remembrance. In this passage, Christ had been on the cross for several hours; the sixth hour was @ noon... and suddenly an eclipse darkened the sun. Why? Because God did not want to look upon the suffering of His Son—Now, I am not certain if God used a standard solar eclipse like we will see today, or if He moved His hand to blot it out Himself... but either way, from @ noon to three there was an eclipse. Today, when you look up in the sky to see the sun blotted out, remember that @ 1988 years ago, in a little town @ 6500 miles away called Jerusalem, there was an eclipse, when Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, laid down His life so that YOU would not have to spend an eternity in Hell. He died in the dark for you, so that you could live in the light. Let today be a remembrance of that.

Lessons from Shamgar

"...after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad..." (Judges 3:31) 
The Pastor who led me to Christ would only use the KJV Bible; and likewise I only use the KJV as the inspired and preserved Word of God. 
However, something that he did always stuck with me. We were out on visitation, and had an opportunity to present the Gospel to a young man. This young man excitedly brought out the NASB that his Grandmother had bought for him  right before she died.
Now, there are some who treat the KJV like an idol... similar to "Nehushtan" (* II Kings 18:4), and they would have immediately started ranting about translators, the new Greek text, and preservation—thoroughly condemning the use of the offensive version, and irrevocably ruining the chances of the young man ever receiving the Gospel.
But what did he do? He showed that young man the Gospel in that NASB; and the Holy Spirit convicted that young man of his lost condition, which later culminated in the young man accepting Christ as his Savior.
I guess a way to look at it is this; Shamgar didn't have a sword, he used an ox goad.
I always consider that when I think of the Bible; I will only use the KJV, especially for doctrine, but we should always be ready to use whatever is at hand.

The story of our lives...

The process that I use to write a book varies for each one—interestingly, that process tends to vary depending on which genre I am writing in—but, there are certain similarities that I want to discuss. With each novel, I generally have a beginning and an end already in mind, and then I write the scenes that take place in the middle.
One thing that I've noticed is how the scenes that I write will shape the character, and is not only a reflection of what the end will be, but often ends up recreating the ending for itself.
The first draft of my first book, Kindled Love, had a vastly different ending than the final published version. Why? Because I let the characters shape themselves. The choices that the characters made throughout the book molded and shaped their character, which changed how they responded to trials and tribulations—literally recreating them to necessitate a new ending. (Of course, I still chuckle when I look back at the Anna who yelled and threw things at people...)
In much the same way, our lives have a beginning and an end—one that our choices can change.
First, let us consider our story's end.
Our sin nature has written the ending of our lives eternally separated from God in a place called Hell; however, the choice we make to reject or accept Christ can either solidify that ending, or necessitate a new ending, with us in Heaven with Christ.
After that, our lives and choices are still having an impact on our story; will it involve standing with head bowed before God in shame, with nothing but a handful of ashes to show for our lives—or will it be standing with head bowed to receive a crown of Glory, as Christ proclaims, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant..." 
Those choices will both be available as your character responds to the trials and tribulations it faces in life, and you literally have the chance again to rewrite your ending.
Friend, I'm not certain where you are in your story, but just consider this: your choices will have an impact on the end of your story. Just ask yourself—what do you want that ending to be like?

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened..." (Revelation 20:12)