Tuesday, April 5, 2011

April 6, 2011

"Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”    Matthew 24:1-2

How secure are you today?

How secure are you tomorrow?

How do you know?

When you are facing an uncertain future with ominous storm clouds gathering on the horizon, where do you place your security? How can you be sure that your trust is well placed? What if you discover in the day of trouble that the thing you trusted wasn't trustworthy? Then what?

As Jesus was exiting the Temple with His disciples, they looked at the huge stones that formed its foundation and commented that those stones would surely be a permanent fixture for centuries to come.

They were testifying to their belief in the strength and security of God's house, the symbol of their religion. Shouldn't that be a safe bet?

Jesus rocked their world by stating flatly that those stones and that building would be destroyed in their lifetime. That was something they could not imagine.

This did happen as Jesus said! It was witnessed and recorded in 70 AD when the Roman army grew tired of the rebellion of the Jews and sieged the city and decimated it completely. The only evidence of that old city is what we call the Wailing Wall in present day Jerusalem.


Let’s note that those very same buildings that the disciples thought would be permanent and never changing would be completely destroyed within 40 years in some of these very same disciples with live to see it happen.

This may be a warning to us that we are going to see things in our lifetime that we never thought possible. Things that we thought would stand forever will be dismantled and left in the dust.

These are dangerous days! Storm clouds are gathering on the horizon. Evil is on the rise. Lawlessness is spreading world-wise and is being expressed in riots, and protests and demonstrations and cries for revolution. Our economy is on the brink of collapse as European nations scramble to avoid default.

American is involved in two wars and just committed to another engagement in Lybia with no clear purpose or objective stated. Radical Islam is on the march with a clearly articulated goal of world domination. Their terror agenda is world-wide and effective in intimidating prospective opponents with bombings and beheadings. Should they succeed in their dream of forming a caliphate in stretching from the Gulf Region, through Northern Africa, and into Southern Europe. They would rule the Mediterranean Region with an iron-fist and Sharia law brutally dealing with Jews, Christians or any non-Muslim who refuses to convert. Under their control would be much of the world's oil supply and the means of moving it economically through the Suez Canal sending world oil prices through the roof and crumbling world economies.

Add to this nightmare scenario the probability nuclear weapons would fall into the hands of these zealots.

What are you trusting to help you face these frightening prospects? Are you sure that your trust is well placed? Is your faith founded on a strong and sure and everlasting foundation? Can you confidently rest your future and your eternity on the things you have been trusting?
How can you be sure? What are the unmoveable rocks upon which you place your hope?