The stars shall fall from heaven
The stars shall fall from heaven

People often ask where I get the ideas for these crazy bulletins, and I admit sometimes it is a struggle. Often I have lots of little bits of ideas, but nothing just jumps out that I feel all that strongly about. However, this past week I had the topic literally almost fall right into my lap. And it would not have been a good thing. No indeed.

When we're young, we rarely think about death. We assume we're going to live for a while, and eventually we will get old and slow down and, well, eventually, stop. It's not a happy, pleasant topic to dwell on. Young people are not afraid of death, because they rarely have to worry about it happening to them. But I have seen people fall off scaffolding at work and get a world of hurt. I was there one day at work when an electrician poked his screwdriver in the wrong place and they took him out with a blanket over him. When I did construction work, people didn't think about it much but it was there, an ever-present possibility that you could try to plan for, predict, and avoid. But not all of us do construction work or any other kind of work that is life threatening. Yes, accidents happen. Yes, sickness can claim a life early. But it is not all that common, and so we push this out of our minds. We may plan a little, buying life insurance or writing out a will, but how hard or how much do we really think about death?

As much as we plan on things that can happen, however, like having a checkup or buying fire extinguishers, sometimes events are not avoidable. Here is an example of what I mean. The weather has been nice lately, and I drive a convertible. I have had the top down on occasion, but I car pool with a cold-blooded friend (you know, someone who gets cold easily) and I put the top up when I am with him. Last Tuesday, as I left his house and came on home, I was thinking about putting the top down but it's just a quick drive from his house to mine and I would be seeing him in the morning again, so it didn't seem to be worth it for the 2.4 mile trip. Just a mile from his house, I see something fall from the sky out of the corner of my eye. It lands on top of my car, right over my head, with a loud thump. It would have fallen right on my lap, had the top been down! What was it?

A power line, live and kicking, was snapping and cracking on the road behind me as I drove by and it slid off. Now I don't know about you, but I don't "plan" on power cables falling on my head. Does it seem likely to happen? Nope. But it can, and it did.

That could have been my death right there. What would the potluck have been like yesterday? Who would be writing this bulletin for today? What would happen to Deniese and David? Who would make video games for people? Would the test effort I am doing for the project at work get finished? What would happen to my steam engine? Who would stack my firewood? How would my clocks get wound?

Stop and think about your own life, if you died today. Are you asking yourself these same kind of questions? You know, none of those things are all that important. Sure, people might have been sad at the potluck, but the children would laugh and play and life would go on. The bulletin? Well, it would get done, or it wouldn't; maybe Ben and Dave would finally write some. Deniese and David would get by. The rest, is it all that important? What was I not asking in the paragraph above? Something obvious - What about God? Am I ready to stand before him and hear the accounting of my time on earth? I can buy lots of life insurance, and leave Deniese millions of dollars, but that isn't as important as obeying God and being ready to go. It's kind of like "eternal life" insurance. I invest in it every chance I get, how about you? It's definitely something that pays off long term! And no hassles with the "insurance" company!

Randy

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Luke 12:16-31 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

James 4:13-15 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.