Urgent Update!

On Thursday Harold Camping (AKA the CEO of Family Radio and the Prophet of Doom) was rushed to the hospital with an illness. Doctors determined that he had a stroke in which his only lasting ailment would be trouble speaking.

Coincidence or a curse?

Some people have said this was justice delivered by God Himself. God smote the man with this ailment due to his sin. Numerous times in scripture we see where God enacted His holy justice against a person who was doing something contrary to the will of God. I have heard people today who were living Godless lives, that have had a physical ailment that drove them back into the Saviors arms.

Other people have said it was just old age combined with stress. These people may have a point. Being the Prophet of Doom is no easy task and it could be rather stressful if(when) you're wrong. It has been shown that stress can lead to strokes so this is certainly a plausible cause.

One view that I have not seen but would like to suggest is that perhaps God used the fact that Mr. Camping was old and was going to have a stroke to teach him a lesson. Sometimes we forget that despite man having free will, God orchestrates everything we see around us. While being a paradox in the extreme, it would show that this situation was not a coincidence, but rather a showing of what God had originally planned. God in his foreknowledge knew that Harold would attempt to speak for God Himself, so God enacted His justice.

I do not claim to know God's intention but based upon my study of Scripture and my feeble understanding of the way things work, I know that God somehow had a hand in this, as He does in all our lives. When we are late for work, there is a reason; when we forget to get milk at the grocery store, there is a reason. God has designed everything that happens in this world for His own honor and glory. We can never fully understand the ways of God. But as Francis Chan said in a recent message, maybe that's the point. If we could fit God into a box and we could fully understand Him, He would be no different than we are.

My God is so much bigger than that. My God is a God that can't be contained. He can't be persuaded by my craziness.

My God is Radical! 

May 21, 2011 Judgement Day

Folks, May 21, 2011 is Judgement Day. Just four days from now Jesus will judge the entire world and the apocalypse will begin.

At least that is what the crazies would have you believe. Allegedly, we have been living in the tribulation period for the last 23 years and Friday is the day it ends.

Harold Camping is the man behind this "revelation." Ironically this is not his first go around with end of the world prophecies. He originally predicted the apocalypse will begin in 1994. While the 90's were bad, it certainly wasn't the apocalypse. Mr. Camping had to go back to the drawing boards and come up with a new date.

As I said before that date is 4 days from now. I see the timer ticking away on one of the websites: 4 days - 10 hours - 11 minutes and 30 seconds until the world as we know it comes to an end. 

The last time I knew, Matthew was still in the Bible, and will be until at least Friday. Its funny because it reads "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away.  36 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."

Perhaps I am reading it wrong but by my best analysis and the analysis of many Godly commentators, this passage is referring to the second coming of Christ. Mr. Camping must have a serious "in" with God because only God and Mr Camping are in the know.

As we study scripture it is interesting to see the number of believers who thought Christ was coming back immediately after He ascended into heaven. Numerous rebukes were given to the Christians who were just chilling out waiting for the second coming.

We are told in scripture that while yes, Christ is returning, we do not know when, so we must be busy evangelizing the lost until then. That is our command directly from the Word of God, not some date that an old guy in an office chair came up with.

It is interesting how the Parable of the 10 Virgins is a beautiful picture of Christ collecting His bride. We must be prepared. We must be ready. We also must not be lazy like the women who didn't bring enough oil for their lamps.

Often we don't live like the second coming is a reality. We don't share the gospel with the lost or even live like we are saved. Shame on us. We are not living our our scriptural mandate.

Guys, we don't know when Christ will return. We haven't been given a date. Christ may not return for another 1000 years but until then live your faith, devote everything you do to Christ, and live a radical life!

PS: For those of you leaving us on the May 21, so long! Its been good and its been real. You can email me with your address and I will attend to the disposal of your earthly property.