Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Excellence”
Our Bible verse for today: “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come … And the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:6; 14 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Just be faithful and do your part.”
Recently I heard a news commentator say, “It seems like the whole world is on fire.” He was referring to the fact that there are armed conflicts going on across the globe. Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran are all becoming increasingly more aggressive. There are terrorist cells operating in our cities, attacking Americans in their own communities. Mobs of our own citizens are rioting in our streets overturning and burning cars, looting stores, attacking and killing police. Demented individuals dressed up as evil clowns are lurking around schools and parks scaring people and creating havoc.
Beyond that, the moral fiber of our society seems to be unraveling and behaviors that were unthinkable just a few decades ago have now been declared good, legislated into law, and are being taught to our children in the public schools.
What in the world is happening in the world? The answer is that we’re getting ever closer to the end of time. In Matthew Chapter 24 Jesus told us it would be like this. But He also told us we are not to be alarmed by it. God’s people are not to be like a bunch of “Chicken Little’s” running around crying that the sky is falling. Well, actually, the sky is falling, but we don’t need to be scared, intimidated, or even alarmed by it. Jesus is still Lord and all of these things must come to pass before the end.
So what are we, God’s people, to do while all of this is happening all around us? We are to be the church. Verse 14 of chapter 26 makes it clear that while all of these things are going on in the world we are to calmly, confidently, and boldly preach the gospel. The worse things get, the more people will realize how much they need Jesus.
When it comes to living in an excellent manner, in a way that honors and pleases God, while the world is on fire all around us, we are to simply be faithful and share the Good News of the Gospel.
At times it will seem as if the world is such a mess that our individual efforts really don’t matter much, but nothing could be further from the truth. It’s like the old story about the young boy walking along the beach. He sees that there are literally hundreds and hundreds of starfish that have washed up on the shore and which are dying in the hot sun. So he begins to pick them up, one at a time, and throw them back into the ocean so they can live. A man comes by, sees what he is doing, and in amusement tells him, “Son, there are hundreds of starfish on this beach and you can’t possibly save them all. What you’re doing really won’t make much of a difference.” The boy looked at the man, picked up another starfish, threw it back into the ocean and said, “It made a difference to that one.”
As the world continues to deteriorate into chaos all around us we must simply be faithful and strive to make a difference in the lives of the people we have contact with – one life at a time. That’s how you live with excellence in a world that’s on fire.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 