Bird With a Death Wish

 

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Revelation 22:18-19

And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book:  If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book.  And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.

Our daughter, Jen, has a lovely home, and the yard is a peaceful oasis.  Except for one thing…a mockingbird that shows up sometimes, courting death.  It is a goofy bird with a death wish…meowing!  That’s right…bird – calling – (of all things) – a feline with an appetite for bird!  Every time we pull up in the driveway for a visit, I check the back porch for feathers.

Now, if that sounds strange (and, it certainly impressed me as such), there are stranger things.  I won’t bore you with the full tour of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, but the world is full of people and critters that do dumb things.  For today, (and eternity) the strangest thing I’ve ever encountered are those who insist on changing what God has said to suit what they want to hear with their itchy ears[1], rather than obey the Almighty Creator who has said, don’t mess with my Word.

At present we are dealing with a moderately lethal pandemic that has a death rate holding at about 4% of those who are confirmed to have the virus[2].  This is “mild” by comparison with the 1918 flu pandemic that had an infection to death ratio of approximately 20%.[3]  That being said, coronavirus is more than a blip on the screen, infecting roughly 1% of this country’s population.

Now, if one of the worst plagues (in modern times) killed 20% of those who contracted it, and the current plague is around 4%, what are we to make of a plague that holds stable at 100%?  And what, pray tell, could we possibly say about human mockingbirds meowing at a plague like that?

Of course I’m talking about the plague of plagues, the pandemic sin-demic.  It infects 100% of humanity, and the death rate is 1 out of every 1.  The source for this statistic comes from Scripture:

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Now, that’s the bad news, and the good news.  The pandemic is real, and it kills us all, eternally.  But, for those willing to trust God at His Word, the cure, or recovery rate is just as comprehensive; everyone who entrusts his or her life and will to God, because of God’s great gift of forgiveness, will live forever.

But, for those who want to change God’s Word, make it say what it doesn’t, and silence it where it speaks plainly, the last sentences of Scripture hold an ominous threat – God will add to that person the plagues of all time. 

·       There were 10 plagues visited on Egypt for unbelief

·       There is coming a series of plagues, both diseases, natural disasters, and dictators who will enslave millions (read Revelation’s prophecy).

All of it will fall on the heads of those who not only ignore God’s Word, but try to make it say what it doesn’t.

·       For those whose God is wealth and power…the plague of getting what they want in the here and now, and Hell in the future

·       For those whose God is sexual perversion and promiscuity, a sexually-transmitted character virus that will rot the soul for eternity

·       For those whose God is their own image, an eternity alone, abandoned, and unbothered by any other voice, smile, or warmth of human contact; just a mirror to see how wonderfully amired they are…by no one!

This is the picture of my daughter’s suicidal mockingbird, looking into the face of death, and calling it closer!

Let’s Pray Together:

Father, our ways are strange and fickle, driven by a plague of coldness and hardness of the heart.  Let your Word rest on those frozen hearts, warming us with the fire of Heaven’s Hound.

For You Today

For every word of condemnation the Scriptures use to warn us, there is a corresponding, and loving offer of redemption…for those who will change their song from death wish, to life in the hands of Jesus.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!

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Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For another post on this text:  Words That Destroy and The Power of a Curse and A Life of Sacrifice

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[1] 2 Timothy 4:3

[2] According to 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic Latest updates (update as of 7/14/20)

[3] The Greatest Pandemic in History – Written by Richard Gunderman for The Conversation — Updated on August 7, 2019

The Importance of Jots and Tittles

[1]

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.  

Matthew 5:18^(KJV)

In our vernacular to jot something down is to make a quick little note of something you don’t want to forget.  In that same sense the language of Scripture contains jots and tittles, among the smallest of notations.  Jesus was adding commentary to his “Sermon on the Mount” cementing the importance of the entirety of God’s Word.  In short, you cannot pick and choose what you care to obey, or attempt to change what Scripture declares.  In the final verses of Holy Writ John makes that point with stark clarity:

And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book:  If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book.  And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.  

Revelation 22:18-19^(NLT)

The jots and tittles are important in any communication.  Consider just how important the little comma is in English.  In the hymn Jesus Loves Me[2] note how the placement of the lowly comma in the verse about loving Jesus at the point of death can reposition your theological stance from Calvinism (once saved, always saved) to Arminianism:

Calvin:  If I love him, when I die He will take me home on high.

Arminius:  If I love him when I die, He will take me home on high.

It may be straining at a gnat here, but changing the position of the comma makes a difference in how you think about the way God treats us.  Calvin would separate the fact of loving Christ into a momentary change of heart with a life and eternity result all settled (once saved, always in that condition).  Arminius would add perseverance to that, moving the comma further down the line to include loving Jesus when I die.  Calvin just wants to know IF you love Jesus…Arminius thinks it’s important to know if you’ve kept loving Jesus all the way home.

Again…straining out a gnat while swallowing a camel?  Is it THAT important?  Well, it has been; the verse quoted here appears in the Baptist Hymnal version (Calvinist theology), while it is ommitted in the Methodist Hymnal (Arminianism).  That one concept about walking away from the salvation of God has caused quite a stir over the years.

But there is still plenty of common ground Calvinist and Arminian bent thinkers share, despite the difference stated; we both agree it is loving Jesus that is the correct response to God’s love in Christ towards us.  Neither Arminianists nor Calvinists want to change Scripture, or omit what God has said.

There is another contemporary controversy heralding a new split that may be far more pervasive and damaging to the church than moving the jot or tittle a little farther down the sentence…the legitimizing of homosexuality, bisexuality, trans-sexualism, et al.  The Biblical fact – no matter how some may try to deflect or distort the meaning of what God said – is clear; other than heterosexual relations within the bonds of marriage, the rest is perversion.  What do you do with a clear prohibitive like Leviticus?

Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman.  It is a detestable sin.  Leviticus 18:22^(NLT)

There is too little space in this devotional slot to effect a comprehensive look at how doctrinally and Scripturally far off course we are taken with normalizing sexual sin.  So let me just put my cards on the table, so to speak; the writer of Leviticus (Moses) did not stumble or stutter when he wrote…or more accurately…when he wrote down what God said.  The whole point would be that if Moses was wrong about sexual activity between persons of the same gender being wrong, and detestable to God, he was then also not to be trusted with those other ten words he said were from God!

For You Today

Some will call this hate speech; I prefer it be known as speaking the truth…in love.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Jesus Loves Me, Bradbury/Warner 1860/62, The Baptist Hymnal (Nashville, Convention Press, 1991), p.344