–Psalm 34:8 (NKJV)
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My, oh my, sometimes we don’t see, sometimes we are foolish, and sometimes we don’t know what we are to see.  I read a great story from William and Randy Petersen’s book on Psalms which I’ll share.  Two close friends, who hadn’t seen each other in years were able to make contact again.  One became involved in the theater and the show was performing in the other friend’s town.  The show business friend invited her to come watch the show.  “That Friday night she got to the theater just before curtain time.  All she could afford was a rear balcony seat, but she enjoyed the play from that lofty perch.  Meanwhile, her friend, the actress, looked out from the stage and saw an empty seat in the front row–the seat she had reserved for her friend.  Only later did they realize the mix-up.  The actress wanted to treat her friend to the choicest of seats, but the other person didn’t know enough to ask for her reserved ticket.”

          11 — But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me.
          12 — So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.
          13 — Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways!
          14 — I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries.
          15 — The haters of the LORD would pretend submission to Him, but their fate would endure forever.
          16 — He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied them. (NKJV)

       In Psalm 81, we see that the Lord wants to feed us “with the best of foods” (NLT).  He wants us to be satisfied from His table and it is spread, ready for us.  All we need to do is find our seat at the table.  Look at the goodness of the Lord, look at what He has done for you and think of the blessings that He has in store for you as you partake of His banquet.  Derek Kidner said, “He gives the best, and brings the sweetness out of that which is harsh, forbidding, and wholly unpromising.”  Paul and Silas knew this, that’s why they could sing in prison, and the result was souls saved, the kingdom enhanced, and the Lord glorified.
       So many choose to live in bitterness and regret and that includes Christians.  The truth of the matter is that the Lord wants you to be satisfied at His table.  It is when we choose to go our own way, when we make decisions without consulting Him or His Word that we get into trouble and find our lives facing disaster.  Those who choose against the Lord’s will have their fate sealed forever.  The NIV says that they will “cringe before Him.”  Yet the table is spread, His arms are open and inviting us to partake.  The choice is ours.  “There’s Honey in the Rock, my brother, There’s Honey in the Rock for you; Leave your sins for the blood to cover, There’s Honey in the Rock for you.”  (F.A. Graves)

                    “I’ve a message full of love, hallelujah!
                    A message, O my friend, for you;
                    ‘Tis a message from above, hallelujah!
                    Jesus said it, and I know its true:
                    Look and live!”
                             –William A. Ogden

                         –Michael D. Abbott  (Colorado Wind)

       “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.”

                         –Luke 21:34 (NKJV)
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There was a song that was very popular a few decades ago written by Gordon Jensen.  The chorus is

               “Signs of the times are everywhere
               There’s a brand new feeling in the air
               Keep your eyes upon the eastern sky
               Lift up your head, redemption draweth nigh.”

I wrote last week regarding the Euphrates River drying up, and all the problems that it is already causing.  This week I heard that the source of the Thames River is dry and that the Yangtze River is drying up and that China had to cut off the power to 94 million people.  Now, it isn’t a total shutdown, but what will happen if the river continues to dry?  Not only does it bring about the necessity of fresh water, but because of the shortage the water that is there is not fit to drink.  
                Signs of the times…
       Look at a couple of the Trumpet Judgments in Revelation.  Could this be an omen of things to come?  Results of the First Trumpet:  “And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.” (Revelation 8:7, NKJV).  The Third Trumpet:  “The name of the star is Wormwood.  A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.”  (Revelation 8:11, NKJV)  From the riding of the Black Horse we know that there will be a scarcity on the earth of the staples of life.
               Signs of the times…
       Jesus says that “There will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven” (Luke 21:11, NKJV)  Pestilence–we have just gone through what is being called a “pandemic” of the COVID virus.  Thousands died, yet what is to come?  Another virus, natural or man-made.  I read just this morning that polio cases were reported and samples of the virus were found in wastewater.  Polio?  Wasn’t it supposed to be eradicated?  Plus, there is the monkeypox–something that is 99% among gay people.
               Signs of the times…
       Science has the answer, but science is always changing so how can the “answer” be trusted?  We were to get vaccinated for the COVID, now there are saying that we should use common sense.  Knowledge is ever increasing, ah, but what kind of knowledge.  Daniel prophesied, “…Shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; any shall run to and from, and knowledge shall increase.” (Daniel 12:4, NKJV)  Think of that, the intelligencia tell us one thing, then another, and yet some more–“professingn to be wise, they became fools…  Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness….” (Romans 1:22, 24, NKJV)
               Signs of the times…
       We live in a time when immorality has become the morality of the culture.  When evil is now called good by the cultural progressives.  They are more enlightened, but actually they are declaring themselves fools and are mocking God’s eternal moral values.  “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20-21, NKJV)  Does that sound like the elite of this country today?  Arrogance, haughtiness and they speak the lie with a smirk on their face.
               Signs of the times…
         I assume that you have heard the talk regarding digital money.  It is on the agenda of President Biden and is very much a focal point of the United Nations.  They are calling it “digital sustainability” and it goes beyond money.  The idea is to have a “trustworthy internet” that is to be “consistent with our shared global values.”  Purchases will be “registered and assessed” according to how they benefit climate.  In other words, the United Nations wants to control who purchases and what is purchased.  No more cash, all will be digital.  Now, think of this!  You say something against the government, against the media, against the policies of such and what happens–your money is shut off.  You can’t get it from the bank even though you have it on deposit.  Forget about the cash you have hidden under the mattress.  “No one may buy or sell except one who has the mark of the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:17, NKJV)
               Signs of the times…
       Ah, but you say this can’t happen.  This is America, and I’m free, and I have my rights.  But are we subtly having our rights taken from us?  Are we giving them away for what is called “progress”?  When I taught I always had my students write a paper:  Liberty or Security?  As the years progressed Security became to dominate until by my last couple of years of teaching over 80% of the students believed that Security was more important than Liberty.  “Peace and safety! then sudden destruction comes upon them…” (1 Thessalonians 5:3, NKJV)
               Signs of the times…
       Oh, you are so negative and pessimistic today, I hear you cry.  No, just reality.  This is the world in which we live, and this is just a smidgen of what is happening.  It is really an exhortation of joy.  We are told to “not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6, NKJV)  The words of Jesus should make us look heavenward and with an expectant and hopeful heart.  “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28, NKJV).  I like the way the Amplified puts it, “Now when these things begin to occur, stand tall and lift up your heads [in joy], because [suffering ends as] your redemption is drawing near.”
               Stand tall, straighten up, and when you have done all to stand continue standing — signs of the times.

                         –Elmer Kelton  (The Good Old Boys)

       “Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed, who established a city by iniquity!”

                         –Habakkuk 2:12(NKJV)

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                    “I know that whatever God does,
                    It shall be forever.
                    Nothing can be added to it,
                    And nothing taken from it.
                    God does it, that men should fear before Him.”
                               –Ecclesiastes 3:14 (NKJV)

       This “fear” is a term that is often misused.  Some say it simply means “to be in awe” and that is only partially right.  However, there is fear, a type of fear, when we understand who God is and His power and holiness.  We are told in Psalm 2:11, “Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” (NKJV).  Paul tells us that we are to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12, NKJV).  There is definitely more to this aspect of “fear.”  
       It is not an attitude of terror.  We do not live in fear!  We have nothing to fear from the Lord, our heavenly Father.  We do not want to displease Him.  I have likened it to a young boy, just receiving his driver’s license and asked his dad, good old dad, if he can borrow the car.  Dad says sure and hands him $20 to put gas in (or should I write in today’s life, $50?)  The boy smiles, and heads for the car.  His Dad is good.  Three hours later he has to call his Dad–he has wrecked the car.  He stands with head bowed as his father comes up to him.  Notice, it is no longer “Dad”, it has become “Father.”  There is some fear and trembling.  Living in the fear of God is like that; it is a commitment of the total being to trust and believe the living God–Lordship!  The boy realizes that he has displeased his father; he is not afraid of being severely punished, but hates to see the concern and disappointment in his father’s eyes.  “The one who fears God dreads nothing more than God’s disfavor.  Such a worshiper wants nothing more than to know the living God intimately and submit to His will.” (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.)
       Life with God is trust and there is that wholesome fear.  Life comes from without–we are not little “gods” as the Cosmic Humanist and many Postmodernists would proclaim.  There is no “Universalism,” only the true believer will see his heavenly Father, others will see their Maker and Judge.  It is important that we realize that in this life we have been given power by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  This is the power to live now.  Look at you, the epitome of power–Ha!  Look at the massive cement structure of the Hoover Dam; it is nothing more than stone, but what does it produce–power.  Look again at yourself.  The Holy Spirit within you produces power to live this life.
       One more thought:  around you is always the cynic.  It comes from the word that means a mongrel dog in the streets.  The cynic says that wickedness wins.  He shakes his head saying, “woe is me, woe is us.”  With terror, death, the virus, shootings, the world situation, drought, heat, and famine along with myriad other things, the cynic says–“see I told you, no use.”  I am reminded of the verse written by the American sage, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

                    “And in despair I bowed my head:
                    ‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said,
                    ‘For hate is strong, and mocks the song
                    Of peace on earth, good-will to men.'”

The cynic has cried, the hopeless wails, the devil sneers and laughs.  But, wait a minute, Longfellow doesn’t stop there.  In the midst of despair.  In the midst of a hopeless world he continues to write:

                    “Then peeled the bells more loud and deep:
                    ‘God is not dead: nor doth He sleep;
                    The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
                    With peace on earth, good-will to men.'”