Watching the Signs

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. II Peter 3:9,10.

I smile as I read books to my children about a spring robin. It seems in other parts of the country the appearance of a robin is an indicator that spring is on the way. Robins have to go somewhere to winter. I think it must be here in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We can tell when winter weather is on the way by the birds that flock in our yards. And, yes, robins were flocking here last week as well as black birds. We, here in the foothills, knew it was a sign. Bad, snowy weather was on its way. Sure enough Friday morning the snow began. Big white beautiful flakes floating down outside our classroom window. Valentines celebrations and snow make for a crazy southern school day! No, we didn't get to dismiss early. By 1:00 it was quickly melting away. School and life went on as usual.

Wait! Isn't this the same thing we do when looking for the coming of the Lord? We have our ideas of what the signs will be; wars, immorality, crime, etc., etc., etc. People in other parts of the world have seen this type of changes for quite some time. What about China when the Communist took over? What about the creation of the nation of Israel? What about the martyrs of the middle ages. One of the Cardinals said, had it not been for the sword of persecution during the middle ages, the Anabaptist would have over run the world. What was our nation like before the Great Awakenings? Just like the signs of weather to the birds, signs of Jesus coming to one, is a sign of coming persecution to another. If He didn't rescue the Anabaptist of the middle ages or the Christians who fled to Taiwan, or the Christians who protected the Jews of WWII and suffered death in the concentration camps with the Jews, why should we expect to escape our few troubles? Should we not be like the birds, who do not toil, but depend on the Lord to supply their needs? Should we not be strong in the Lord, fulfilling His great commandment to preach the gospel to every nation? Will He find us working as He commanded? God is not slack, neither should we be slack in the work He has commanded.

 Pray, study, pray, preach and be prepared to stand in the face of trouble. 

Blessings,

Gail

Hey Kids

Do you know how people made weather forecast before TV and the internet? 

Even in Jesus' day, the people knew a red sky in morning meant bad weather coming.

A red sky at night was a sailor's delight. Matthew 16:2,3

It may just be fun to spend some time with your grandparents asking them about forecasting the weather. 

Make some journal notes to go back and check the accuracy of the old predictions. 

Don't forget to check the TV predictions for accuracy too.