A STORM IS COMING! ARE YOU PREPARED?

Matthew 16:2-3  He told them, "You have a saying that goes, 'Red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning.' You find it easy enough to forecast the weather--why can't you read the signs of the times? 

Today may be one of those stormy days.  The weather forecasters have been talking about a storm coming this way.  It has been so nice for so many days now.  I have enjoyed the beautiful sunrises and enjoyed the peace and serenity of the lake,  But now to prepare for this storm.  It has ravaged it's way across the USA and wreaked havoc in many states.  Tornados and floods have been the result of this storm.  I talked to my mom last night in Arizona and she said the other day, her back yard looked like a lake.  She got 5 inches of rain in a short amount of time.  Luckily the ground was so dry form the drought, it quickly absorbed the rain water.  Day after day we sit and listen to the forecast of the weather so we are prepared for what's coming our way.  In fact with the technology we have it is quite easy to prepare.  We are notified and warned that a storm is heading our way.  We can batten down the hatches and close the windows and make sure we have gas for the generator if the power goes out.  Some people run to the grocery stores to stock up on food and water and some people drop to their knees and pray.  When we know a storm is coming, whether it is winter or summer, spring or fall, we prepare.  We've been through storms before, we know what can happen, we've seen the signs ans listened to the warning.  We are prepared.  But are we really prepared the impending storm that is heading our way?

This storm is not one that can really predict.  We can't really go out and buy water and food, gas for the generator won't help.  We can batten down the hatches all we want but it won't help.  This is a storm the likes of which we have never seen before.  That's right I'm talking about the end of times  For many years people have worried about when this will happen.  Some people even go so far as to predict when this will happen.  Listen I may not have a lot of biblical knowledge but I read my Bible and I fully understand that no one knows when this storm will hit.  Not even Jesus Himself knows.  We can speculate, we can dive into the book of Revelation and try to decipher every clue, but the honest truth is we will not know until it hits.  Actually I think God probably gets a good laugh at those of us who sit and try to predict when this storm is coming.  There are probably computer programs that can analyze all the data we have, it can compute all the possibilities and we can drive ourselves crazy trying to figure out the when, the where and the how.  We can scare people silly and we can argue and fight over the statistics, but in the end the reality is that only God knows when this will happen.

The point I seem to be missing is we are preparing in the wrong way. Instead of worrying and fretting, instead of speculating and calculating, we need to be a light in the darkness of the impending storm.  Instead of focusing on the possibilities we need to focus on the lost.  I don't know about you but I am sick and tired of Christians arguing.  We argue over the end times, we argue over doctrine, we argue over who's right and who's wrong.  we bicker over petty nonsense.  I was on Facebook the other day and there was a battle going on between Christians and Catholics. Was the argument necessary?  No.  There are people that we need to show the love of Jesus Christ to and how can we if we are so wrapped up in our differences?  Really the core of the issue in our beliefs should be Jesus.  We cannot show others the love of Jesus Christ if we are trying to cram our religion down their throat.  People we sometimes get like the Pharisees, lost in our "religion".  I for one am sick of it.  Jesus did not die for us to have a certain religion.  Jesus did not create a religion, He created a community of believers who went around being an example of true love and friendship.   It's about relationship!

Do any of us remember what a relationship looks like?  It is a friendship, a love and a respect.  Instead of pounding people over the head with our doctrine and our beliefs, we need to love them and respect their beliefs, whether they are biblically correct or not. I may be wrong here but I truly feel that it is more important to show people love.  Jesus got in the faces of the Pharisees, not the lost.  He did not yell at the lost or tell them they would go to hell.  He shown them love.  He could have stoned Mary Magdalene for being a prostitute, but He didn't.  The men who nailed Him to a cross,  He asked God to forgive them.  Why aren't we more like Jesus?  Do we really have t prove our point that we're right and their wrong?  What kind of love and acceptance does that show?  We really need to get over this stupid "religious" attitude and get real here.  There is a storm coming.  We don't know when but it is our job as believers to reach as many people as possible and share the love that Jesus Christ died to give them.  How can we do that when we are so busy fighting amongst ourselves?  Stop this bull now and let's join together to reach the lost.  There are so many people who have never heard and never experienced the love of Jesus Christ.  We have way too much work to do to be wasting so much time bickering over doctrine.  in fact to be honest, when I read some of the posts on this page my first thought was, if I was a non believer, I would have said, "Well if that's the way believers treat each other, I want no part of it."   I honestly think that God cried when He saw the 'religious" bickering and back biting going on.  That's not what it's about!  No religion, no doctrine, no rituals!  IT'S ALL ABOUT JESUS!  Let's share the love of Jesus with everyone.  We may be the only light they ever see.  

God forgive us for getting so tangled up in our petty differences and doctrines and religion.  Help us to share the love, the peace and the joy that lives inside of us.  Help us to reach the lost by being true examples of your love, in Jesus name I pray, amen!