June 18 - Future-Telling
Being from a small, hippie, tourist town, I see quite a few manifestations of "new age" thinking, philosophies, and interaction with the public. From tarot to palm reading to one's own fancy, fortune tellers abound. And they are serious. They are not on the lunatic fringe, but are gaining momentum as tourists and others seek for something that resembles meaning and purpose in this world.
On the weekend of June 6 & 7, 2014, my hometown, as a whole, celebrated "Hey, Girlfriend!" weekend. Shopping, spa, and otherworldly specials were promoted by all kinds of businesses, mainly targeting the visiting females, while yet luring the local ladies to re-discover their hometown. One item in particular in the advertisements around town caught my attention. You guessed it - the modern-day seers. For a fee, one could attend a private session with a known revelator of one's future, which is a common occurrence in town. I immediately thought that I could also help out these seekers and even save them from wasting their money. I could tell them their future for free!! Maybe I'll even start advertising when these type of events present themselves.
Where would I start? How about Psalm 39:6? "Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro. He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it." Then I'll move on to Psalm 90:9b-10. "...we finish our years with a moan. The length of our days is seventy years, or eighty if we have the strength; yet their span is only trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away."
Then I could add the following. In Matthew 6:27 Jesus states, "Who of you by worrying, can add a single hour to his life?" In Matthew 5:20, he says, "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Then in Matthew 25:41f, Jesus states, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you did not invite me in; I needed clothes and you did not clothe me; I was sick and in prison, and you did not visit me."
Finally, I would end with I John 5:12. "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son, does not have life." Of course, one cannot really end with a snapshot of a life headed to hell, (which is the case for every one in the world). And even the Bible verses given are but a snapshot, (albeit a true snapshot) of a larger and even more-detailed picture of the present and the future. Life is not a snapshot, but the Bible paints a very clear picture of our current state (frozen in time) and our demise (the future, which is not frozen but can be changed, since it is not here yet).
Hence, a remedy has to be given for the very bad fortune I just told my non-paying client. Those of us who are Christians know the remedy is our faith/trust in the complete grace offered to us by the sacrificial death of the Son of God, who is not willing that any person should be eternally separated from him, ending up in a state of continual torment - 2 Peter 3:9 & John 3:17,18.
Romans 6:23 - For the payment of sinfulness is [eternal] death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus, the Chosen One, our Master.
On the weekend of June 6 & 7, 2014, my hometown, as a whole, celebrated "Hey, Girlfriend!" weekend. Shopping, spa, and otherworldly specials were promoted by all kinds of businesses, mainly targeting the visiting females, while yet luring the local ladies to re-discover their hometown. One item in particular in the advertisements around town caught my attention. You guessed it - the modern-day seers. For a fee, one could attend a private session with a known revelator of one's future, which is a common occurrence in town. I immediately thought that I could also help out these seekers and even save them from wasting their money. I could tell them their future for free!! Maybe I'll even start advertising when these type of events present themselves.
Where would I start? How about Psalm 39:6? "Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro. He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it." Then I'll move on to Psalm 90:9b-10. "...we finish our years with a moan. The length of our days is seventy years, or eighty if we have the strength; yet their span is only trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away."
Then I could add the following. In Matthew 6:27 Jesus states, "Who of you by worrying, can add a single hour to his life?" In Matthew 5:20, he says, "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Then in Matthew 25:41f, Jesus states, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you did not invite me in; I needed clothes and you did not clothe me; I was sick and in prison, and you did not visit me."
Finally, I would end with I John 5:12. "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son, does not have life." Of course, one cannot really end with a snapshot of a life headed to hell, (which is the case for every one in the world). And even the Bible verses given are but a snapshot, (albeit a true snapshot) of a larger and even more-detailed picture of the present and the future. Life is not a snapshot, but the Bible paints a very clear picture of our current state (frozen in time) and our demise (the future, which is not frozen but can be changed, since it is not here yet).
Hence, a remedy has to be given for the very bad fortune I just told my non-paying client. Those of us who are Christians know the remedy is our faith/trust in the complete grace offered to us by the sacrificial death of the Son of God, who is not willing that any person should be eternally separated from him, ending up in a state of continual torment - 2 Peter 3:9 & John 3:17,18.
Romans 6:23 - For the payment of sinfulness is [eternal] death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus, the Chosen One, our Master.
