Only the Father Knows

While in Brazil, and after returning I have heard many people interested in the end of days, the events leading up to the return of Jesus. People asked me questions, went to conferences, debated the subject, talked about "blood' moons, and related themes. While i freely concede that I have not studied this subject with the same depth and fervor which i have with other subjects, I have concern over the preoccupation of many. Throughout the history of the church there have been godly people in each generation who believed that theirs was the last one, and that they would see the return of Christ. In 1971, when I was introduced to Christ, we believed that He would return any second. We had one eye on our work and the other on the clouds. Granted that we are forty-four years closer to His return than we were then, I believe that we should examine the Scriptures to gain a true perspective. Jesus clearly says that only the Father knows the time of His return. Beginning in verse 19 of chapter 13 of Mark's gospel, Jesus speaks of unprecedented tribulation, false Christs. sun darkening, moon not giving light, stars falling. These are the heralds of His return. "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." ( 13:32) Then He gives a very practical command. "Take heed, watch and pray, for you do not know when the time is." ( Mark 13:33) Jesus is very clear. He says, "Watch and pray." He does not say to attempt to figure out the time of His return, "for you do not know when the time is." Paul addresses the same topic in 2 Thessalonians 2. After writing about the "man of sin," and a falling away, he speaks of the absolute necessity of loving and believing the truth ( verses 10,12, 13) Should we employ the time and energy that the Lord has given us to attempt to figure out a sequence of events, or should we be about the work that He has given us here- to preach the gospel of the Kingdom, and to surrender to the sanctification of the Holy Spirit? Consider verses 13-15. "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or by our epistle." Jesus will return as He promised. Let us do the works He has prepared in advance for us to do ( Ephesians 2:10) rather than speculate about the future.

Back from Brazil

After an exhausting 24 hours of travel and waiting, arrived back home late Thursday afternoon, and soon went to sleep for the night. Friday is a blur in my mind although I remember grocery shopping, and talking to my discipler. Saturday morning arose early and went on an hour and a half jaunt through the country roads to speak to a men`s breakfast group at a church. Barry, my host, was very hospitable and gracious. We talked as the guys trickled in, ending with eight plus myself. we prayed, sang a couple of songs, and listened to a salvation testimony from a brother named Bob. Then I spoke for about fifteen minutes on the theme of discipleship from the perspective of two major themes introduced in Genesis 1; the kingdom, and being made in the image of God. Several of the brothers stayed afterwards. One gave a testimony of how he and his wife had been reconciled and remarried after being divorced for twenty-one years. Another asked me a question of how spiritual gifts fit into discipleship. Sunday was a busier day. After walking and praying in the morning, I went to a memorial service for the wife of a friend. There were about sixty present, from a number of churches. I saw a number of people that I know, including Bob from the day before. About twenty people gave testimonies of how Eileen had impacted their lives. Some had known her for a few months; others for decades. Unlike other similar services that I have attended, this one celebrated a life well lived for God. During the recption afterwards i had the opportunity to speak to a couple ( Wayne & Charlene) whom I know from house church days, and explain what God is doing with me recently. Returned to make a cameo appearance at the birthday party of the older daughter of the family with whom I have lived now for almost five years. Then I drove away to the gathering of my current church home. The students have returned from their summer break and the place was almost filled. Was a joy to greet and be welcomed by the pastors and their wives, and others returning from last year. There are also new Brazilian students. I met one from Brasilia which i had visited recently. Was in time for the first of a series on the gospel of John. Trying to get back into a routine. I had neglected my memory verses but will go through them all today, God willing.

Brazil 4:26

Monday night had dinner with friends in an upscale restaurant overlooking a lake. Fish is the specialty of the house, and we had something with a coconut covering. Tuesday I flew to Sao Paulo, and then Vitoria. Had about 24 hours in the latter city. My friend Marcos took me to a little park called Parque de Cebola because there is a prominent rock setting upon another which has the appearance of an onion. School children go there for recreation. The park has a walking trail, playing field, dance pavilion, and two ponds. The smaller one had little turtles who eagerly swam up to us figuring to receive food. The larger pond had ducks, swans, geese, a rooster, parrots, pheasants, and larger turtles. These lay close together on a large rock soaking in the sun. Sometimes I am like those turtles, watching life go by rather than living it. In late afternoon I began my 24 hour trek back home. About half of this is waiting; the other half is actual travel. On the first flight to Rio I sat in the very first row, which had a huge amount of leg room. Even the middle seat was empty. I spoke to a young guy in the aisle seat. He was taken to the US as a boy, but had returned to visit his grandfather. As it turned out he had the exact flights as me all the way to Boston. This was helpful in the Rio airport because my flight landed in one terminal, and my next flight was at the other end of the airport. All in all I had three flights, and one metro ride, one bus trip, and one car ride. Unfortunately I am too tall for the seats, and I was not able to sleep at all. By the time I got home I was a bit cranky. It is nice to speak, knowing that people understand me, and that I understand them. I am usually not certain of this in Brazil. My life here is so different than my life in Brazil. I am thankful for the opportunity to visit. God gave me a number of times to share or preach. He allowed me to interact with a number of people; to see old friends, and to make new ones. He also showed me how much more work He needs to do in my heart. This was humbling but necessary. So, good-bye Brazil. May the will of God determine my future, both there and here.

Brazil 4:25

Saturday night went to a worship service in which two churches combined. The one normally uses a school, which was unavailable. Some phone calls arranged for the joint meeting. The one church had asked me to speak; the other also had an out of town preacher. I am no expert at estimating crowds but I guess there were about three hundred. My host had arranged translators for me, one visible and two sitting in the front row to assist. I attempted several jokes at the beginning; these did not work. I did share on the theme of persecution, using a number of verses such as Matthew 5:10-12, Matthew 10:22, John 15:18-20, 2 Timothy 3:12, 1 Peter 4:12-16, Romans 13:1-3, and Acts 5:27-29 & 40-41. The second preacher is a famous Christian musician in Brazil named Daniel Souza. I have a couple of his songs on a compilation CD. He is a very fervent brother. After the meeting several younger people spoke with me. One was a man of late twenties who said he felt isolated because when he spoke about persecution no one listened. The other was a youth of fifteen who asked me about the USA. His impression, gained from TV and movies, was that the US was a perfect country; everyone had lots of Money, and life was good. I had to tell him that none of these things are true. The rainy season has begun here, and I went in a downpour to a pizza place which uses the motif of Sponge Bob square pants to serve square shaped pizzas. My friends were five young married couples and a new convert. Eventually there were four separate pizzas served including a dessert pizza with chocolate and strawberries. The next day went to the home of one of these couples for an all afternoon barbecue. They have three dogs and a swimming pool. Brazilians serve many kinds of meat at a BBQ including sausage, chicken, and various cuts of beef. The beef is treated with large granules of salt. On the way to the BBQ we stopped at a supermarket. I was with four friends, manning the shopping cart, while they discussed the purchases when a girl of maybe eight or nine came up and asked me a question. I did not understand her. She had mayo, rice, salt and sugar in her arms. She repeated the question slowly. I still did not understand so i asked her to speak to one of my friends. They spoke and then she put the items in our shopping cart and departed. My friend explained that often times very poor people will ask others to pay for a few items in this manner. However the female manager of the store had a different perspective. She said that drug dealers recruited children to do this. When the children received the items paid for, then they would be resold for money to buy drugs. She repeated this over and over to every member of the party. I left this up to my friends. The reality of Brazil is that first and third worlds live very close together.

Brazil 4:24

Last night attended a home group meeting at my host's place. We were nine in all. Most of our time was spent in sharing prayer requests and praying. The group included both young and middle aged people. For some reason we talked about those with gray or white hair in such verses as Proverbs 16:31, 20:29, and Leviticus 19:32. Tonight is a different group of people gathered specifically for accountable discipleship. This means that they will be asked how they are doing in specific áreas of growth. This morning went on an hour and a half exercise walk through a neighborhood of Brasilia. Brasilia is a planned city with very regular patterns which all look similar. I use the same route every time so i don't get lost. Managed to avoid an aggressive beggar that I encountered yesterday. He and his friends hang out near a supermarket. The climate at this time of year is moderate although many complain of the dryness. There is a large manmade lake, which helps some. A friend told me about an English language international church. I hope to connect with them before i leave. God continues to do His work in my heart. I am very thankful that all believers will be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:51 says, "Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed." Received an e-mail this morning that the wife of a friend had passed away. Certainly we can mourn, as "devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him.." ( Acts 8:2 all refs ESV) But I believe that the Bible paints a dfiferent picture for those who die in Christ, as Stephen did. Psalm 16:11 talks about pleasures at the right hand of God forevermore. Psalm 116:15 says, "Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his saints." Philippians 1:23 says it is far better to depart and be with Christ. And 2 Corinthians 5:8 reveals, "Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord." Rejoice with Jesus, Eileen. May we join you in His time.

Brazil 4:23

Arrived in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil a week ago. Stayed with friends who live near a park called Olhos d'agua, which has a 2 kilometer walking path that winds through woods and over several bridged streams. Used that several times. They like sorveterias (ice cream stores)and we went to several different ones. The one today is called Moka's. I asked the proprietor the origin of the name. He said it was the first syllable of his first name and that of his neighbor. Also went to a youth retreat over a 3 day weekend, which included Brazil's Independence Day. About eighty-five people participated. There were a number of workshops divided into three age groups, although I think the theme for each was the same. There were several general sessions. One was modeled after a talk show, with three different trios of leaders from the church responding to questions from the youth. A man i had spoken with earlier, who attends an English language church in the city, served as the moderator. The retreat was very painful for me. I knew very few people and my Portuguese is not fluent enough to receive more than thirty or forty percent of what is said. Brazilians are accustomed to much longer meetings; this drags on after awhile. God used the various difficulties to drive deeper into my heart. He reminded me that no good things dwells in me ( Romans 7:18), and that I have nothing of value to offer to Him or anyone else unless He gives it to me. I can have no expectations of anyone but Him. God is the only one who can truly meet my needs for attention, approval, and affection.