I suppose we have all had such a moment. You can’t explain the feeling, but you just know it is special in a way unlike any other moment you have had or will have. Truth be told, I have had many of those moments that sing to me in a music I can appreciate. Marrying the woman I loved. Holding my baby the first time. Catching that HUGE bass on a rickety old rod and reel. But this moment was different. Not better, necessarily, but different. It had a different feel.

         We had a full, finished basement at our house in Ohio. It was Super Bowl, 2004. The basement had a couch and chairs and a weight set and a heavy punching bag and a pool table. In a cabinet were all kinds of board games. The Youth were over for a Super Bowl party. The party started a couple of hours before kick off with a supper that would have fed a small army. But, with wall to wall teenagers, we had a small army. A pool tournament went on all night. A single Monopoly game lasted hours. Other kids were playing other games. I remember seeing some of the kids playing Chutes and Ladders and wondering where that came from, since we didn’t have that game. Off in one corner, two of the brighter kids were quietly involved in a game of chess. Oh well. And there were three of the guys actually watching the game. Whenever the game would break for a commercial, one of them would yell out, “COMMERCIAL!” Everything would stop while we all watched the silly commercial. Marsha kept bringing the snacks and I remember being amazed at how much those hoodlums could pack away.

         At one point I was leaning against the wall, watching everything. Playing pool and beating all the guys was Mary. Seven years earlier, when she was ten, she had told me what she wanted in her wedding and she had confidently told me I would be the minister at her wedding. No boy had been picked yet, but she knew what she wanted. The previous summer I had taught her how to drive. She never walked past me without reaching out and touching my arm or shoulder. Getting badly beaten by Mary was Jason. Crazy about football, he was never the less playing pool with Mary instead of watching the game. Made me wonder. Just a month before I had stood next to his bed in the ER trying to calm him down. He had been on his way to school and had lost control of his truck on the ice and had rolled it. There in the ER he was worried his Dad was going to kill him. When his Dad came in, Dad couldn’t talk because he was so relieved Jason wasn’t really hurt. Amanda was playing Andy in chess. They were cousins and had a genuine rivalry going on all the years they were growing up, but they were pretty close. Simon, over there playing Chutes and Ladders, always had a cocky streak, but he could play Chutes and Ladders and laugh himself silly. That basement was a mass of teenage humanity. All of them having fun.

         We always had fun. Some of them worked with me at the Food Pantry, some did home repair for our elderly, a couple of our boys did oil changes and such like. Always some kind of project going on. Whatever we did, we had fun doing it. I can say it now…..I had more blessings with those kids than I ever did with the adults.

         So, I stood there leaning on the wall, looking at those kids. It came to me as I looked around, “I really love these kids!” And I did. Still do. I always referred to them as ‘my’ kids because it felt that way. And it wasn’t just those kids. I go back to the 1970s and Youth. It was always like that. But there, somehow, as I stood there looking around, I felt in my soul that this was a special moment in time. Then Mary beat Jason and she came over and touched my arm and told me it was my turn to play her.

         I have thought back to that many times. Was that something like Jesus felt as He looked at His men there at the last supper? Just pure love. So much love He was going to die for them. And for us, too. As He looked out at those men as they talked and visited over their meal, did He think about plucking Peter from the water? Did he smile a little bit as He remembered the mother of James and John asking for her boys to sit next to Him in His Kingdom? Did He look over to plain spoken Thomas and remember His simple, yet insightful, questions? As He looked at them in love, did He feel a sadness knowing how they would die and what they would endure for their faith in Him? I wonder. I did do the wedding for Mary, but I also held her in my arms as she sobbed when her four month old baby died suddenly. I told Jason that his father had died of a heart attack. I had to sit Amanda down and confront her with some of the things in her life. In a few years I was going to be preparing Simon’s body for burial. There was going to be a lot of sadness amongst the kids there that night. If I had known that at the party, I don’t think I could have handled it. Jesus, though, knew all of that as He looked around. It all had to happen.

         Jesus would have known that Peter and Andrew and Philip and Nathanial would be crucified. He would have known Thomas was going to be sold into slavery. He would see that Matthew was going to be stabbed to death, the other James was going to be stoned and the other Judas and the other Simon were going to be beaten to death. How much pain and sadness did He feel as He watched those men talking and joshing?

         It wasn’t just a simple sacrifice for Jesus. People have died for others all through history. But Jesus was laying down His life for all of us. And He didn’t have to do so. He loved us, though, so much, that He did it willingly.

         It is a rare day that I don’t hear from one of my former Youth. Sometimes it will be hearing from several, like at my birthday. Mary has gotten her life back. Amanda had that wild period, but she straightened out. Andy lives in Colorado and puts in garage doors while his wife, also one of our Youth, is a doctor. Jason is living his life long dream of being a football coach. Andy’s brother John is wrestling with the possibility of going into the ministry. We have had some good talks. Noelvys, of Cuban heritage from Miami, and now a nurse, is always grilling me on my health. They are still my kids, they still come to me with questions. But they also tell me about their kids and their families and their jobs.

         For Jesus, as He looked out at His men, I believe He saw the coming trials. But He would have seen the victories, too. He would have seen the world turned upside down by those men. Mostly, when I look at my kids today, I am pleased. When Jesus looks at us, at you and me, is He pleased?

         As we remember His sacrifice, remember to be a sacrifice, yourself, for the world.   

         Most people do not know when they are going to die. There are times, though, when people do know. Maybe an illness that cannot be cured is tearing away at life. The sick person does not know the exact day, but there is a time frame and they know their time is running out. There are executions, and those are usually pretty much scheduled, so a person would know the exact time. However, right now at the time you are reading this, you do not know when you will die.

         But what if you did know? You knew when and where and how. What would you do? How would you react? Would you try to change the course of events? Would you try to mend fences or would you try to get even for past mistreatment? What would you do?

         Jesus knew. He knew when, He knew where, He knew who would do the killing. It was part of His mission. He also knew He would suffer terribly and He knew there would be those who acted as followers but who were just in it for whatever gain they could achieve. He knew Judas, one of the disciples, would betray Him. Jesus knew all of it. And Jesus had the power to change everything. He didn’t have to suffer. He didn’t have to die. With a word He could be back in heaven. With a mere thought He could have taken out His enemies. With a glance he could have destroyed the Romans and He could have become the greatest of all the kings ever.

         Starting in John 7 we enter into the last six months of the life of Jesus. We know this because we have the ability to look back. It is all recorded in Scripture and also much of it is recorded in Roman history. Jesus, on the other hand, was looking forward through time and was seeing how it would play out. Instead of fear, instead of anger, instead of sadness, Jesus stepped up His ministry. It was in those last six months we see some of the most memorable times. The woman taken in adultery, the blind man healed with the mud on his eyes, Lazarus raised from the dead. It was during this time that Jesus told the people that He was the light, that He and the Father were one, that He was the resurrection. As He got closer to His death, His life became more intense. He was not going to slow down. The Pharisees and the Sadducees became more and more angry with Him. They tried harder and harder to discredit Him. They attempted to turn the people away from Him. But Jesus kept at His ministry.

         Here we are, a mere six weeks from remembering His execution, recalling His burial and celebrating His Resurrection. Where are our minds as we near this all important time? Basketball, baseball, auctions, planting. Buying new equipment, planning vacations. Do we ever stop to think that as the time drew close, He was praying for us? He was seeing us and our struggles. He knew what was going on with us because He had a plan for us. Time as we know it has never had the same meaning for Jesus.

Think about it. The fifty odd years leading up to the completed union of the Yoke…..His plan. The Lord laid something on my heart a week ago about someone bringing a special message.….His plan. Our church helping out a mother and a father and their eight children this week…..His plan. As He went through His final days, HE KNEW!

 As He walked those dusty streets and felt the sun on His back, we were on His mind. As people failed to understand, He took comfort in knowing that His death would save millions. As the leaders of the Jews sought to take Him and kill Him, He knew that it would always be like this. That He and His followers would be hated and reviled. And still, He carried out His ministry to the end.

 If you knew you had six weeks to live, and you could prevent it and turn it all around, what would you do? Right around six weeks left in the life of Jesus, He saw a man who had been blind from birth. He knelt and spat on the dusty ground and made a mud paste from the spit and the dirt and rubbed it into the eyes of the blind man and then told him to wash it out. When he did so, he was able to see. If you had six weeks, would you be reaching out? Would you be lifting people up?

 “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong.” A child’s song. A simple little tune. Six weeks before the death, burial and Resurrection. Can we sing that little tune and really feel it? Jesus loves me!

         The Impossible Whopper. Burger King’s new meatless burger. As advertised, the ingredients are plant based and it tastes just like a regular Whopper. Have you had one yet? Before you do, read what is in the thing.

         Burger King gets these burgers from a company called Impossible Foods. It used to be Impossible Burger, but now they have added an Impossible Pork line, as well. Imagine, an Impossible Breaded Pork Tenderloin. Quite the fund raiser food! But, yes, the ingredients in the Impossible Whopper;

         The main ingredient is something called heme. This is a molecule found in every living thing on the planet, whether it is meat or plant. It is needed for life and every human or animal craves it. It is found in greatest abundance in meat. But, the folks at Impossible have found a way to extract this molecule from plants. This is taken from the roots of soy plants and then injected into genetically engineered yeast. The yeast then goes through the fermentation process which creates more of the heme. This creates a reddish substance which, when mixed with the other ingredients and then fried or broiled on grilled, will ooze out looking just like bleeding meat! The potato juices in the concoction add the sizzling sound that is all part of the cooking experience. Other ingredients include water, textured wheat protein, coconut oil, potato protein, natural flavors, 2 percent or less of: leghemoglobin (soy), yeast extract, salt, konjac gum, xanthan gum, soy protein isolate, vitamin E, vitamin C, thiamin (vitamin B1), zinc, niacin, vitamin B6, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and vitamin B12. The Impossible Foods’ website points out that none of these ingredients are meat based, so green house emissions (this is flatulent emissions from cows and pigs) will be reduced when we get away from needing to eat flatulent animals. Folks, I am not making this up.

         So, being a thoughtful and caring pastor type, I bought an Impossible Whopper from Burger King. The first time was from a Burger King on the way to a city hospital. I have stopped there a few times before on my way to a hospital. On the road, need to eat, how bad can a hamburger be? From this particular Burger King, a hamburger can be pretty nasty. As advertised, the Impossible Whopper tasted just like the real thing there. Nasty. But as I thought about this the other day, I decided to go to the local Burger King and try their version. On Wednesday I went to Burger King and bought the Impossible Whopper. As far as the bun and cheese and pickle and lettuce and tomato and the mystery condiments, it did taste like a regular Whopper. But the patty itself…..no, it did not taste like the real thing. Close, but not there. Probably needed more heme. You can see for yourself, but remember the ingredients you are eating. I took the bullet so you don’t have too.

         I buy groceries for myself and I have seen the veggie meats in the frozen foods, but I have never had the urge to purchase them. However, last week, as I went through the Healthy Choice and other ‘healthy’ foods, I came across something that said it was Korean inspired beef. My mind doesn’t quite function like the minds of normal people. My first thought was that at that particular stockyard where that cow spent its last days, there were Koreans going from pen to pen speaking to the cattle in an attempt to inspire them to produce better meat. What else could Korean inspired beef mean? I bought a box. When I got home, I looked it up online. Apparently, Korean inspired beef is an American concoction that was inspired by a Korean dish. All kinds of veggies were in it (which I love), although it was a little heavy on the kale, and some very small pieces of beef (which could have been Impossible Beef, for all I know) and some kind of sauce. Not bad, really. I might get another box someday, like the day after I eat my next Impossible Whopper.

         I am still alive, so these sneaky foods (one type of food masquerading as another type of food) don’t kill you. At least not right away. If you are opposed to eating meat, knock yourself out. If you were to check out my food stocks, you would find more vegetable foods and meat foods. Just a preference. But I really don’t want fake meat or even inspired meat. I want my hamburgers to be meat and my veggies to look and taste like veggies. It is entirely possible that I am stupid. According to presidential candidate Bloomberg, since I grew up on a farm, I probably am stupid. But still, I like my food to be real food.

         Most people are like that, I believe. But we are certainly willing to dress up our religion to make something that is not Christianity feel like Christianity. We check our horoscopes, we refrain from reading Scripture we don’t like, we forget our prayer time, we accept non-Biblical teachings in our denominations and our traditions. We do not want to offend the world but we accept their offensive behavior toward us. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 says this;

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

         The appearance of godliness. Is that what we want? Is that what the world needs? What are we accomplishing when we go along to get along?

         An Impossible Whopper will never be a real Whopper. But it might get accepted by some. Please, do not accept a watered down version of Christianity. It isn’t real. And when you live your life as a watered down Christian, you are not real, either.

          It has been at least twenty years ago now. I taught the Kitchen Class, a group of about twenty or so young adults who met in the ridiculously large kitchen of our church in Ohio. A good sized restaurant would have done well with that kitchen. Anyway, our class met there. It was handy to the coffee pot and someone could bring doughnuts and no one outside the class would know. Most of the group was already there. Coffee was flowing and doughnuts were being dispersed. Then, a lady who was fairly new to the church and the class came hustling into the kitchen. In her hand was clutched that day’s newspaper. She slapped it down on the table in front of me (nearly hitting my doughnut) and pointed to the story she had circled. It was actually a letter to the editor. The writer was expressing her horror that her nephew’s eighth grade class at a school in Kentucky had gone to a local slaughterhouse and had observed a cow being brought in, killed and slaughtered as part of the school’s field trip. The paper had done due diligence, though. Someone had called the school and asked about it. Only the kids who had signed parental releases had gone. I read the letter and the short article and looked up at her in confusion.

          “OK. Do you want me to take our Youth to a slaughterhouse?”

          She looked at me like I was crazy. “Are you crazy?!!? NO!!! Don’t you think that is terrible??!? Children should not be exposed to that!!!”  

          “Ah, I see. With my father’s help, I gutted and skinned my first rabbit when I was five. You probably don’t want to talk to me about this.”

          She actually took a couple of horrified steps backward.

          “Look,” I said. “That roast you have in the oven at home came from a slaughtered cow. Every hamburger you have ever eaten came from a slaughtered cow. Ever been to a chicken processing plant? I have. It is nasty. It will make you rethink those McNuggets for tomorrow’s lunch. Although that may not be real meat. But this is how it is done.”

          “But the children! Impressionable minds watching such a thing! So wrong.”

          At this point, one of our men, an Elder to boot, spoke up. “I wonder what type of slaughterhouse it was?” We all looked at him, waiting. “Well, some places put a deer slug right between the cow’s eyes and others use a sledgehammer.”

          The offended lady nearly had a stroke. The Elder’s wife punched him in the arm.

          “Look, the school sent registration/permission slips home. Parents could have said no. End of story.”

          “You mean this doesn’t bother you???”

          “No, it doesn’t.” She looked around the room for some backup. Very much a farming community. Almost every kid in the church a 4-H kid. No one was going to help her. She left in a huff.

          This event came to mind as I read yet another article in the news about someone being offended about the actions of another. In this article, from an online news outlet, a high school girl and her mother were offended because the high school made the girl leave the prom because her dress was inappropriate. (It was in Florida, so I guess they can have prom whenever. Here in the north you have to wait until Spring or else get snow boots that match the gown.) They ran a picture of the girl in the dress with the question, “You don’t think this is inappropriate, do you?” They wanted you to respond to their little poll. When I looked at the picture I thought that she needed to make sure that her panties matched her corsage, because the panties were certainly going to be on display. But, the writer, the mother and the daughter were all offended at the school having rules.

          Society is a mess. Back in the late 1950s, church attendance began to fall. This meant God was being removed from the family. Then, God was removed from schools and government. Now, God has less and less of a place in our churches, as large portions of the Bible have fallen by the wayside. Yes, society is a mess.

          And this has happened because politically and theologically liberal thinkers have taken action to remove God and let the world go over to Satan and politically and theologically conservative thinkers have let it happen.

          This has been going around for a couple of years on the internet, but it is very true;

---If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn’t own one. If a liberal doesn’t like guns, he wants all guns banned.

---If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat. If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned.

---If a conservative is down and out, he thinks about what steps to take to improve his own life. If a liberal is down and out, he wonders who is going to take care of him.

---If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he changes channels. If a liberal doesn’t like a talk show host, he wants that host and all hosts who share the same views banned.

---If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church. If a liberal is a non-believer, he wants any mention of God and Jesus silenced. Allah and Mohammad, though, are OK, for some reason.

---If a conservative wants health care, he goes shopping for it. If a liberal wants health care, he demands the rest of us pay for it.

          I hesitate to even write about these things. Not because I am afraid of the reaction it might create. Rather, I would rather write about the great things of our Lord. But I was told, not so long ago, that I hated homosexuals, that I didn’t care if a woman was impregnated by rape and I only cared for people who went to church. None of these things are true, but because I am a politically and theologically conservative thinker, I must be a hater. I am tired of being told that I, and others like me, are the haters and the liberal thinkers are the tolerant ones.

          I suppose I am unbending. If I see a man follow a little girl into the restroom at Wal-Mart, I am not going to wonder if he identifies as a girl that day or if he is transgender or whatever is going through his miniscule brain, I am going to grab him by the collar and yank him out. Yes, I am an old guy. He would likely beat me to the floor. But at least the pervert would be stopped.

          However, more to the point, there is something we can do about society. It isn’t marching on Washington nor walking around done up like an arsenal. We can turn our country over to the Lord. To really be able to do that we need to turn ourselves over to the Lord completely. Society is a mess, but Christians make a mistake when they get off their knees. Changing our own lives and then committing to prayer is what changes things. Nothing else comes close.  

         The division between people.

         Think about it. What is it that divides people? Over the last few years we have had a front row seat to the great political divide in this country, culminating with the Speaker of the House shamelessly tearing up her copy of the President’s State of the Union address on national television. What brings us to this national division?

         We are the most divided people ever, yet we live in the United States. There are those who are opposed to the Constitution of the United States, there are those who want nothing more than to protect the Constitution of the United States. There are those who are opposed to the Bible, there are those who want nothing more than to protect the Bible. There are those who are opposed to abortion, there are those who want nothing more than to expand abortion. We are at odds with ourselves.

         What is it that divides people?

         Simply put, ignorance.

         Those who oppose the Constitution have not read it. Those who want to protect it mostly have not read it. When I enlisted in the military I took an oath. I, Larry Wade, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God. I took the oath, but I had never read the Constitution. I promised to abide by the regulations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but that was probably the first time I had ever heard that phrase. No one had ever made me read the Constitution and no one had ever informed me, really, what the world was all about. And there I was, completely ignorant to what I was saying, giving my oath to defend and obey. And then, swearing that oath on God!

         We have this vast population that seems to be wandering through life with no clear purpose except to tear down. People talk of a new revolution and a new civil war without any clear concept of what those things are. When Donald Trump was elected a wild eyed young person said to me, “There is going to be a revolution, dude! What do you think of that?” I just smiled and said, “Well, we will win. We know how to shoot real guns while you and your friends only know how to shoot cyber guns.” He had no idea what to say. Ideas have to have action behind them to work. But, again, people just wander. Lost.

         Some years ago, while still in Ohio, I met with a family I did not know that was going to bury a loved one. They had no church affiliation at all. I asked them if there was anything they wanted read. Some Scripture or a poem or whatever. “Yeah, isn’t there something in the Bible about a shepherd or something? Yeah, some kind of shepherd.” To which his sister said, “Yeah, and there’s something in there about love or something. I heard it at a wedding. Yeah throw some of those verses in. Just don’t make it to preachy.” Imagine that; something about shepherds and love in the Bible. People just wander. Lost.

         Ignorance divides people. Whatever reality show is popular, that holds their attention. Whatever movie is hot, that holds their attention. Whatever video game is all the rage, that holds their attention. But the message of the Bible or the foundation and function of the country; it is boring and needs to be torn down.

         The greater the ignorance, the more the arrogance.

         However, Philippians 3:18-21 reads as such; For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.  But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.

         I stand with Christ. We are joined. Whatever happens here on this earth has no bearing with the bond I have with Jesus. My citizenship is in heaven.

         Boy, that is a relief.

         Greta Thunberg is the Swedish teenager who is an environmental activist. She has gained a great deal of fame for her speeches proclaiming doom for the planet if we do not immediately change everything and embrace her style of environmentalism. She seems to have a difficult time understanding why the world is not heeding her warnings and if you do not plan on heeding her warnings, she does not like you.

         Greta Thunberg turned seventeen on January 3^rd. I turned sixty four on January 17^th. While I typically really enjoy talking with teenagers, Ms Thunberg is irritating to me. She is telling the same story over and over that I have heard all my life. The world is going to end. The cause may be different with each warning, but the end result seems to always be the same.

         Along with the end times warning come the other warnings as well. Bacon is bad for you and should be outlawed. But then, a few years later, bacon isn’t bad for you. Eggs are the perfect food, but then they are bad for you, but then they are OK. Coffee will lead to migraines and neurological disorders but, wait, actually coffee helps fight migraines. Now, apparently, tomatoes are bad for you. In Ohio there was a Waffle House near by and I would have breakfast there once a week with another pastor. My breakfast was always the same. Two slices of bacon, two eggs, two slices of toast, a slice of tomato and coffee. It is a wonder I am alive now.

         But the end of the world warnings. My generation was the first generation to know that the world could end in a series of atomic explosions. In 1947 a group known as the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists unveiled the Doomsday Clock. This was a symbolic clock that was set just minutes away from midnight because of the threat of death by nuclear blasts and fallout. I was terrified by that stupid clock. It was awful! Every year it would be moved up by thirty seconds or a minute. It seemed to me that we were finished. This year it actually got moved up to just one hundred seconds left. The closest it has ever been to midnight. Now it is not so much nuclear war that is the worry, although that is still one the doomsday agenda, but now climate change is the big threat. Young Greta perhaps feels justified now

         But it wasn’t just nuclear war we have been worried about. In 1967 a book came out called Famine 1975! America’s Decision: Who Will Survive? The premise of the book was that because of overpopulation and the drain on food resources, we would all be starving by 1975. Those who disagreed were fools. The science could not be denied. Last week I got off of Interstate 70 at Cambridge, Ohio to get gas. I do not think I have ever seen so many places to eat at one exit in my life. I had to hunt for gas, but food was everywhere. What happened to the famine? It just didn’t happen. But when we had to read that horrible book back in the day, we were all knew we were going to starve.

         In the early 1970s we began to hear a lot about the Greenhouse Effect. A professor from the University of California named Kenneth Watt came out with a study that proclaimed that, because of pollution, the earth would become shrouded with a blanket of smog which would shut out the sun’s rays. By the year 2000 the earth’s temperature would drop by an average of eleven degrees which would be more than enough to usher in a new Ice Age. From the Royal Academy of Science in London came word that global cooling was now as much of a threat to mankind as was nuclear war. You could not deny the science.

         However, in 1970 a UN scientist (why does the UN need scientists) said that it wasn’t global cooling that was going to kill us with the Greenhouse Effect, it was global warming. This scientist said that the world would be one to seven degrees Celsius warmer by the year 2000. That would be an increase of twelve and a half degrees Fahrenheit. ENOUGH TO MELT ALL THE ICE AT THE POLES AND FLOOD THE EARTH! You couldn’t deny the science.

         In 1970 a Smithsonian scientist came out and said that one way or another, by 1995, 75 to 80% of the world’s population would be dead. In 2006, former vice president Al Gore said we were done for by 2016. The science could not be argued with. In 2018, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, House of Representatives from New York City, said we had twelve years. You could not argue with the science. In 1989 Associated Press ran a story, picked up by the New York Times, Washington Post, L.A. Times and many others, that opened with this line. "A senior U.N. environmental official says entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000." The article went on to say that you couldn’t argue with the science.

         Why all this gloom and doom? First, if we are really concerned with disaster, we will hand over to the government our freedoms so we can be protected. The Environmental Protection Agency does that all the time. They take the freedom of how you can use your land away from you and force you to comply. The do good things, too, but they want to limit your freedom. Second, gloom and doom sell news. Print media, broadcast media, online media. They are constantly looking for the bloodiest picture or the picture that shows the most devastation.

         Young Greta is a puppet. Someday she may realize she was used. Yes, the world will end. Not when she says it will end, but when God says it will end. Speaking of the last days, Jesus said in Matthew 24:35 and 36, Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. Many have derived the timing of the end from the Book of the Revelation, but that is false as well. John was writing down everything he saw being opened to him during this time. Then, in chapter 10:1-4, we have this, Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” If John wasn’t allowed to share what he saw at that point, how can we make any predictions? Those that do are no better than those who try to scare us with environmental stories.

         It belongs to the Lord. We need to be ready against that day.

         It takes a special kind of smart. Everything is packed. Move it all out to the car and pack the car. Let the credit union know you will be traveling so you can use your debit card. Get all the necessary phone numbers and addresses. Debit card, credit card, insurance card. Medications. Ice for the insulated cooler for insulin and other things that need to be kept cold. Everything one needs for a trip. A Bible and a note pad. What one needs when the trip is for a funeral. Top off the tank and hit the road. It is all good.

         150 miles into the trip you realize you didn’t bring dress shoes. Now, how could you forget dress shoes? OK. Not really a problem. The dress shoes that are sitting next to the chair at home were purchased in 1995. You need a new pair and now you have a reason. Keep going. 250 miles into the trip you realize that, while you brought all the diabetic medicine, you didn’t bring the glucometer nor the lancets nor the testing strips. For those of you who do not know, these are the items you need to check your blood sugar. OK. Not really a problem. You could stop to fill up with gas, although you don’t need to yet. Make it a stop at a good sized town and there will be a Wal-Mart and you can buy the stuff you need. A good sized town comes up, you get off, you get gas and you make your Wal-Mart run. All good. As it is getting dark you are hitting the mountains around Wheeling, West Virginia. For where you are going in Pennsylvania you need to pass through about fifty miles of West Virginia. As the sky darkens and the bulk of a mountain rises above you in the gloom you remember that mountain driving at night always made you nervous, even when you had excellent eye sight. Now you feel the cold fingers of terror. But you get through it. A wonderful tension headache that involves your whole head, your neck, your shoulders and your back. But you pop out of West Virginia and enter your goal state. You wouldn’t know it in the pitch black. Still in the mountains. However, soon you pull into the Holiday Inn. You are miserable. You feel sick. However you are there. A good night’s sleep awaits. And it is a good night’s sleep. When you wake up at 5:30 AM you are refreshed. Ready to go. You are going to have to go and get some shoes, but that is doable. You start getting your clothes out for the funeral later. You find out you have forgotten something else. Couple of ties, a suit coat, an overcoat for the graveside in the morning on the next day, three shirts. Yes, everything you need. Except pants. Things are more casual these days, but as a rule, pants are still required most everywhere.

         I told you folks last week that I would be going to a town near Pittsburgh. But Pittsburgh is actually fifty miles away. Telling you I was going to Belle Vernon really wouldn’t be telling you anything. I needed dress slacks right now. In Belle Vernon the best I could do would be coveralls from Tractor Supply. TS is right across from the Holiday Inn, so it is handy, but the jeans I wore in would have been more appropriate than coveralls. So, I call Stephanie. The real reason I am there. To comfort her in this time of grief at the passing of her husband. Her foster father who protected her and cared for her when she was a young girl. The man who, through the years, has always been there for her. The one man she has always been able to depend on.

         “Hey you, its me.”

         “Hey you back. I am so glad you are here.” This was said in a tear filled voice.

         “Yes, I am glad I am here, too. It was a little shaky last night coming through Wheeling. Listen, I have a little problem I need some help with.”

         “Sure, anything.”

         “Great my girl. I need to go buy shoes and a pair of pants that can be hemmed up right away……….hello? Steph? Are you there, honey?”

         “You forgot your clothes?”

         “Well. Not everything, really. Just my shoes and my pants.”

         “Wasn’t it a little cold when you walked out to the car this morning and didn’t your feet feel funny?”

         “Don’t be smart, girl. I just didn’t bring dress shoes or dress pants. I need your help.”

         “Get over here and I’ll make some calls.”

         I couldn’t tell you where we went or how many low mountains we drove over. Stephanie drove because she is familiar with the area. 50 and 60 mph on roads that seemed so treacherous I would have walked slow on them. In about 45 minutes we came to a fair sized little town that had a Men’s Warehouse. They happily fixed me up with shoes and pants. (They happily took my money, too.) It would be a little while to alter the pants, but there was a little diner across the street, so we got lunch. As we sat there, we talked. She had all manner of questions about what was going to happen next in her life. Questions any young person who has just lost their spouse would have. And then I did my final stupid thing for the day. I slipped into the pastor mode I am so used to after all these years.

         “Well, Stephanie Lynn. You have options. As the widow….” That was as far as I got. Tears welled up in her eyes.

         “Oh my gosh! I’m a widow now!”

         Yes, folks, it takes a special kind of smart.

         But in spite of the bumbling, we got through it. Stephanie spent a good deal of time laughing at me. Her daughters picked on me. The final hugs were precious.

         I am posting this from my motel room on Friday morning. Once I check it through, I will post and then leave for home. I have to make sure, though, that I haven’t forgotten anything. My wardrobe is larger now than when I left Indiana and is also quite a bit more valuable. I need to check it all twice……..