Good morning and happy Saturday. Enjoy your day and prepare for the big change tonight.
That’s right, Daylight saving time is back! That means you get to set your clocks ahead one hour Saturday night. Supposedly, you are to adjust your clock at 2 am. I am pretty sure that ain’t happening here. Whenever you choose to do it, don’t forget to spring forward this weekend. And, while you are laying awake, wondering if your alarm is set correctly, try to figure out what has happened to all the daylight we have saved over the years.
Don’t forget, our 40 days of prayer continues through April 2nd. Check out our Facebook or Instagram for the daily verse and prayer points. The website has a weekly guide and a paper version is also available at the church. With all of those options, that means if you aren’t praying along with us during the 40 days, you just aren’t interested.
Speaking of prayer, the United States reached a grim milestone recently. Over the past year, there has been over 500,000 deaths attributed to the coronavirus pandemic. Just the mention of that will cause people to react. Some will be thinking that is very tragic. Others will immediately want to debate if the numbers are inflated. I have heard people ask questions like, “Why is it if a person already has some disease but if they get Covid and die it is counted as a Covid related death?” Is it part of a worldwide conspiracy inspired by Bill Gates to inflate the numbers so everyone can get a chip implanted in their wrist or forehead? Or, is that they way they reckon deaths when they occur? I assume that if a person has stage 4 cancer and is given 30 days to live, if they get shot by a robber, that the cause of death on their certificate is not going to say cancer. Anyway, we could go on and on about what the “real” number is. And that actually is my point. Over 500,000 deaths and the majority of the focus has been on whether they are truly Covid related or not. However, what I don’t hear discussed is the fact that 500,000 people died and their eternity is now sealed. Statistically, the majority of them would not have been believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about that for a moment. A quarter of a million people up to 350 or 400,000 people died and face a Christ-less eternity. They will spend eternity in hell, a place clearly taught about in the Bible and described as an awful existence. I think that is a reality check and a reminder to all those that claim to be followers of Christ. We need to remember that we are here are this earth to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are many, many things that we can get caught up in, countless activities to enjoy and things to pursue. Meanwhile, one by one, people are dying and going to heaven or hell. The Bible doesn’t teach any other options.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life inChrist Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)
Sin is real. So are death and hell. That is the reality taught in Scriptures. Praise God that Jesus came to die on the cross to provide the cure for the real disease that plagues mankind. For those of us that have received His forgiveness and salvation, let us be eternally grateful. Let us be mindful that will be demonstrated in how we handle the Gospel in our own lives.
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)
There is a world around us in need of the Good News of the Gospel. Let us tell them while there is still time.
Pastor Larry
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