We have all seen a father stand over the shoulders of his fledgling son, placing his hands on a bat atop his son’s little hands, encouraging him with the words, “Keep your eyes on the ball.”  This father knows that with his eyes and mind in the bleachers, or on his friend in right field, his son will not likely have the opportunity to make the trek around the bases.  To play ball well requires both natural ability and acquired skill, but neither is enough if one’s eyes wander or his mind is not in the game.  

  Several times in the Word of God, the Christian life is compared to a sporting event; being successful and productive in life requires the same determinations as being a winning athlete.  For example, the scriptures reveal that the believer’s life is like running a race.  “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. (1Corinthians 9:24)”  In this race called life it is important that we are constantly “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)”  The word “author” here means He is the Originator, the one who established this path of faith that leads to God.  The word “finisher” means Completer, or Perfecter; He is the One who, at the end of life will present to you the things you have hoped for, but have not yet seen.

  The path of life is long and sometimes foreboding.  It is crucial that we keep our mind and eyes fixed on Him who, in His own earthly pilgrimage was  “…touched with the feeling of our infirmities,” and “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)”

  Perhaps this is all new to you.  Our culture, our rebellious nature, and Satan, the enemy of our souls, have blinded your mind and eyes to the truth.  Very simply God says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23),” and then He says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)”

  Imagine embarking upon the great adventure of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane to plummet toward the earth at bone crushing speeds only to break your fall at the last moment by deploying a parachute, tightly packed by a complete stranger into a well worn backpack and strapped to your posterior.  While in the plane, approaching the so-called “target” (as if there were a great bullseye painted on the ground which the plane’s crew intends to hit with their soft projectile—you), your life starts to pass before your eyes.  To make matters worse, your instructor seems to have had too much sugar, or something, for breakfast and is in a rather giddy mood.  He jokingly encourages you to “enjoy your final descent” and “be sure to pull the ripcord before the impact.”  You start to second guess your quest for the ultimate adrenaline rush, thinking rather that the inherent “fight or flight” response that you are presently experiencing may just suffice to satisfy your present thirst for adventure.  Maybe you’re not ready for this!

  While we are on the subject of being ready, and with all jesting aside, there is an unavoidable event that comes to all mankind that can be quite foreboding if one is not “Ready.”  I am talking about death, and that which lies beyond the perimeters of our physical perception.  The Bible says that you are a living soul, and while your body will wear out, your soul will never die.  “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)”  And then God has informed us that, “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)

  This is no joking matter; you need to know that you are ready for the great adventure that awaits you at the end of your path.  Those who are ready have had their sins forgiven, and are enjoying a relationship with God that will last forever.  Those who are not ready are missing out on the joys of knowing God now, and will suffer the eternal consequences of their unforgiven sin in a realm without God.  “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved… (Acts 16:31)”

  To a child who, after secretly acquiring a cookie from the cookie jar without being seen, finds himself holding on with white knuckles to keep from plummeting from the kitchen counter to the cold hard floor far below, Mom may be a welcomed sight—a deliverer of sorts.

  To a business man who has fallen on hard times and is facing certain financial ruin if he cannot somehow pay another round of bills, and survive the few weeks that lie between him and his next big contract, a rich uncle has the potential of becoming a great deliverer.

  To a nation, such as our own, that is spiraling out of control civilly, economically, morally and spiritually, nothing could be more satisfying than the sudden entrance of a deliverer—someone who could orchestrate a fix before the inevitable dissolution of our beloved, blood bought republic.

  Threatening situations with disastrous consequences are measured by the strength, knowledge, resources and abilities of those who experience them.  Some situations would be threatening only to a child, while other developments can cause a nation to tremble.  The strength of the threat determines the needed caliber of the deliverer.  For some, Mom will suffice, while other deliverances will require more than a mere mortal.  They are God sized dilemmas and will require a God sized Deliverer.

  You should know that God has provided a one-size-fits-all Deliverer who is most commonly referred to as the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Through Him, mankind may have access to their Heavenly Father (God) who, because of Christ, makes Himself available to the child, the business man, and even the nation who is faced with catastrophic and damning situations that arise in the civil, economic, moral and spiritual realms.  He is available on an individual basis to all who will come to Him by faith.  He says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. (Jeremiah 33:3)”

  The Apostle Peter wrote, “But the end of all things is at hand: ¹ be ye therefore sober, ² and watch unto prayer. ³ And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. ⁴ Use hospitality one to another without grudging. ⁵ As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (1Peter 4:7–11)”  Peter was writing to first century Christians who were about to suffer great persecution that would cause them to anticipate the end of the age.  Peter told them that in light of the fact that the end of the age was indeed approaching, they should:

1. Get serious about their Christian lives,
   • Keep your eyes focused on the Lord, not on the world.
2. Get in a mental state that is conducive to prayer,
   • Be calm and collected.
3. Stretch their love for each other to its limits,
   • Be willing to overlook the faults and failures of others.
4. Be hospitable (i.e. generous to guests),
   • Be motivated by love, never grudging.
5. Exercise their spiritual gifts.
   • Work in the strength that God gives, AND for the good of all.

 It is almost 2000 years since Peter wrote these words.  Some will scoff and say, “You Christians have been talking about the end of the age forever.  When will you abandon these fantasies?”  But the Lord who promised, declares: “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (2Peter 3:8)”  Better get ready!

  Now here is a term that is being tossed around a lot lately.  Not so much by scientists or those who journal scientific discoveries, but by politicians and activists who are willing to dilute God, the Bible, Science, History, Math, Common Sense, or anything else that might be exploited to prop up their fallacious philosophical or political agendas.  Some have proven themselves to be liars and lunatics, whose god is their own gain.  They speak great swelling words of political rhetoric while their naked motives have been exposed by the ever present technological ears and eyes employed by their opponents.  It seems the only true science being utilized by those who oppose good and God, is that which pertains to civil engineering, and that only to destroy the foundations of decency in the civilized world.

  But what of true science?  In the last 100 years we have benefitted from numerous scientific advances: Antibiotics, the Importance of Electrolytes, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), the Eradication of Smallpox, Atomic Energy, to name just a few.  Not surprisingly, much of what science has discovered was already disclosed in the Word of God: the shape of the earth, the hydrologic cycle, the procreation of life in the womb, the perfect order of the universe, the delicate balance of nature, the nutritional value of certain foods, etc.  True science has always confirmed what has been long revealed in the Bible. In the final analyses, true science will never contradict the Bible, though it has sometimes taken man years to adjust his conclusions based upon further consideration of honestly collected empirical data.

  When someone says, “We follow the science!”  we would do well to test their claims by the Word of God which is full of scientific information described in terms that are easy to grasp.  In areas not specifically addressed, there are principles and precepts to govern our speculation, and to keep us from unfounded conclusions.  The Lord asked Job, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. (Job 38:4)”  Job’s reply, “…therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. (Job 42:3)”