Welcome to Tuesday!!! As you can see and probably feel, we are in for a hot one today. A western high has parked itself right over our location and brought with it the desert heat. Combine that with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and it makes for a miserable day outside. Make sure you check on the elderly and shut ins who may not have any air conditioning. Also, make sure your pets have plenty of water. Pace yourself if you have to be outdoors and hydrate often. We don't see any rain in the forecast for quite sometime, so you may want to get those sprinklers ready. We aren't on water restrictions yet folks, but let's face it...The Heat Is On!!!
The opening song for the movie Beverly Hills Cop was the highest charting solo single by any of the musicians who made up the band The Eagles. It peaked at #2 in the US charts and propelled the soundtrack from the movie to #1 in 1984. It was popular enough to be given a 12" release (a LP "single" that was very trendy in the 80's), which had 3 different versions included of the song. Glenn Frey recorded the main vocals in one day. The next day he recorded the guitar tracks and background vocals for the song. The rest as they say is recording history. It is an iconic opening to a movie and assisted Beverly Hills Cop to be one of the highest grossing films of 1984.
It doesn't take long to understand that there is instability in the world today. It seems that the "heat" is literally turned up in every avenue of our lives. Civility is completely lost in the political realm. Anger, resentment, and hatred abound in our discourse about culture (We all belong to the human race, therefore racism is not the correct word to be using regarding our differences. Our problem is cultural. Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Black And White"). Instead of "We Are The World", we seem more inclined to "Kill'em All".
It is a sad statement that death and destruction are permeating our headlines. We have, however, been told that our times will be like this. Readers of The Bible see today's headlines in many of Its books and chapters. These warnings can really be given the Reader's Digest Condensed version by just commenting that, "The Heat Is On".
But there is hope. Also included in The Bible is the plan for the redemption of the earth and its inhabitants. It is a simple plan. Be drawn by Holy Spirit to turn to God through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. Believe what the Bible says about repenting or turning away from your sin, the wrong things in your life, and accept the redemption that is coming for those who believe. Then following that up with good works that you are intended to do after your salvation. Ephesians 2:1-10 Holman Christian Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of The Bible parallel
Before this restoration can begin, there are perilous times that must come to pass. The Apostle Peter had some insight into this and wrote his second letter to explain what will occur.
Look around friend. The Heat Is On. The time is coming. The Day Of The Lord will soon come to pass. Those who have been forgiven of EVERY wrongdoing (1 John 1:9 NIV/The Message parallel) will be spared the misery of those last days.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 King James Version of The Bible/ The Message parallel His promises are true. Believers will literally be "caught up in the action", because Jesus is "lookin' out for you"
The number 3 is important in the Bible. We believe in The Trinity, God three-in-one, in the presence of Father, Son, and Spirit. Jesus remained in the tomb for three days. There are many other examples. There are 3 periods of evil that I think are significant as well. There have been 2 other times in the world's 4000-5000 year history, (yes you read that correctly What is the age of the earth? Articles and Videos from Answers In Genesis), where evil was raging at the level in which we see now. The first was the time of Noah. Genesis 6:5-8 KJV/The Message parallel Noah and his family were saved from a world wide flood by being inside a wooden boat called an ark. While not detailed in the Bible, history books are filled with the excessive evil time that was pervasive during time that Jesus was a physical man on the earth. Jesus came to provide the ultimate and final means of being saved from destruction through a wooden torture device called a cross. Look around the landscape of our world. It is easy to see that evil is running rampant in every corner of the globe. My personal conviction is that we are seeing a time of evil that equals the days of Noah and the time of Jesus. It is a time of such evil that the final destruction of what we know as earth will soon be at hand. I have no idea when that will be. The Apostles were looking for that redemption soon after Jesus was taken back to heaven. Why should we not be gazing to the eastern sky...tell me can you feel it, tell me can you feel it, tell me can you feel it...
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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