2012, the Mayans, the Media and Collapse of the Planet

Well, it's here. 2012. The year the world ends. The year of the collapse of the planet. At least according to the Mayans. And dare I say the media as well? (Clue: If the media promotes it, it's probably not true. Remember Y2K?)

And so let's just say the Mayans ARE RIGHT for the sake of argument. (Drudge Report Headline on New Year's Eve: Hope the Mayans Were Wrong!) What if they are right?! (For more on the 2012 Mayan Doomsday Prophecy, click here.) So what are we gonna do? Are we just gonna go about our business as usual? Are we? (Luke 17:26-27)

Many of us will. (Matthew 7:13-14) Many of us have been so captured by the world, the flesh and the devil that our fate is already sealed. (Yeah, I said it.) No persuading. No pleading. No headline: "The End is Near" is gonna awaken many people to reality. I'm not concerned with those. Yeah, as a preacher I am not concerned with those who will refuse to receive Jesus Christ and His gift of eternal life before they die. (Matthew 7:6) I'm only concerned with those who will. (John 3:16) I trust that includes you. You still have time.

But back to the Mayans. They are right about the end of the world in 2012 AND wrong. Here's how the Mayans are right. Some of us breathe our last breath this year. And so our world (those of us who die) does end in 2012.

And have you ever thought about that? Will it come suddenly? Will we have a chance to say, "Goodbye"? (Selah~pause to reflect)

And then now here's how the Mayans are wrong. And quite frankly, they couldn't be right about the end of the world and collapse of the planet. They couldn't be!! (That's a double exclamation point.) Here's why. They don't agree with Jesus Christ. He's the final authority on the subject. Our Lord said, "But of that day or hour (of the end of the world) no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." (Mark 13:32) And so no one knows. And that doesn't just mean Harold Camping. It means the Mayans and media as well. (Yeah, I think the latter two are on the level of Harold Camping.)

And you've been fooled into thinking that anybody else's word is valid compared to Christ's. Have you been? Yeah, I'm talking to you. If you think that there is any other truth (including what the Mayans and media says) apart from what the Lord has spoken and the Scriptures, you've been fooled. And your world has already ended. Your planet has already collapsed.

But as long as you're still breathing, God can rescue you.

Maranatha.

"Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour." (1 John 2:18)

(Palenque Ruins picture via the GNU Free Documentation License: click here.)

You might also be interested in:

• 7 Dynamics at the End of the World
• The "Big Three"

God's Plan for Me and You, Too

"'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'" (Jeremiah 29:11)

It's important to have a plan. A plan is like a target. It gives you something to aim at, shoot for, strive after. It offers you direction.

A plan is measurable. You can sit down and look at your plan and say, "Yes, I have been doing that," or, "No, I haven't been doing that / following my plan." When you're able to say "Yes" about your plan, you feel a sense of growth and accomplishment.

A plan needs to be realistic ~ like you can't have a plan that says, "I'm going to stop the sun from coming up in the morning." But you can have a plan that says, "I'm going to meet the sun as it comes up in the morning." The early bird catches the worm, after all. :)

Did you know God has a plan? And did you know He has a plan for you? Of course, God's plan is specific (like where you're gonna live and who you're gonna marry, etc.), but God's plan is also general in the sense that a part of it is meant for everybody.

I've come up with a list of God's general plan below. It's meant for both me and you, too. I'm going to be following it in the new year and beyond. Join me?...

God's Plan for Me and You, Too:

1. Keep my eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2)
2. Hide God's Word in my heart (Psalm 119:11)
3. Be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
4. Serve the least of these (Matthew 25:40)
5. Bless the name of the Lord (Psalm 34:1)
6. Speak words of encouragement (Hebrews 10:25b)
7. Give myself fully to Christ's cause (Luke 10:27)
8. Don't abandon the Church (Hebrews 10:25a)
9. Listen for God's still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12)
10. Turn from the sin that so easily entangles (Hebrews 12:1)
11. Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
12. Trust in the Lord with all my heart (Proverbs 3:5-6)

You might also be interested in:

• Of Pawns and Kings
• Unconditional Love

Top 10 Blog Posts from 2010 (Best of @aheartforgod)

I've grouped together some of my best blog posts (in my mind) from the past year below. They are framed in how they were tweeted on Twitter. You will learn a lot about me by reading each of these (if you don't know me already). You will get a good idea of how I write (succinctly, for impact, pull no punches). You will get a good idea of who I am (Christ is my passion). I trust you will like what you see.

And so with no further adieu, here we go with (there is a bonus at the end)...

The Top 10 Blog Posts from 2010:
(Best of @aheartforgod)

1. Christ Follower Or Christian? They’re not necessarily the same \o/ #believe

2. Why I'm Using Four Letter Words In Church Mom, wash my mouth out with soap?

3. They Didn't Care Mary & Joseph go against the grain of r contemporary materialistic American Christianity #TrueChristmas

4. Miracle Boy The doctor was saying, "This just doesn't happen. This is a miracle.” She was talking about my son \o/

5. An Attitude of Worship 7 quick points to help keep u on track in ur love 4 Jesus. A must read 4 worshipers \o/ #Tworship

6. Messiah Complex (5 Characteristics) Nice guy. Perfect family. Cares 4 others. Attends church. But there’s more...

7. My Country, 'Tis Of Thee Chronicles events surrounding the birth of America. Great study tool for patriots #tcot

8. 7 Causes Of Agony in the Garden Christ’s sweat became like drops of blood at Gethsemane. Find out why \o/ #worship

9. The Only Hope For A Tiger Is A Lion No one cares how far you can hit a golf ball in the afterlife #TigerWoods #Masters

10. The Day The Earth Stood Still (22,000 twitter followers gone) It was a good lesson for me to learn ;D

BONUS:

Clean I couldn’t believe it. Was I dreaming? I was handed my DMV print out & it was… A must read \o/ #mercy

An Optimistic Cynic in the New Year

I don't do New Year's Eve. What I mean by that is I don't stay up 'til twelve, I don't participate in the countdown as the bell tolls and I don't shout "woot woot" when the clock strikes midnight. And it's not that I'm against having fun and celebrating and getting excited. I'm not against any of that at all. But I am getting older, it's past my bedtime (I'm almost always asleep by nine~I'm a morning person~check out the date stamp on this post) and quite frankly, it's just a change on the calendar after all ~ December 31st to January 1st, isn't it? All cynics (me) and cynicism aside (not), there are a number of superstitions associated with New Year's and New Year's Eve that I was considering recently. (Thanks to "In Season" December Real Estate mailer.) You may have heard of some of these:

(1) Starting out the New Year with your cupboards full, bills paid and debts settled is said to guarantee prosperity and riches. (I'll use my credit card for the food?)

(2) Schedule a friend to drop by with a gift so that you're adding (versus subtracting) from your household. (This will "guarantee" prosperity and riches just in case #1 doesn't work?)

(3) Eat beans (contributing to global warming?), black-eyed peas and lentils (wasn't that a movie?) to attract good luck.

(4) At midnight on New Year's Eve shriek, shout and scream to rid yourself of the evil spirits that are around. (Don't you know the devil scares that easily?)

I share these superstitions (and in a cynical sort of way) to point out the foolishness of belief in them versus trusting in God. He alone controls the future. He alone moves history according to His desire and plan. He alone has power over demonic forces. (It's enough to make a cynic optimistic!) You don't need to shriek, shout and scream. You don't need to eat beans, black-eyed peas and lentils. (Who likes that stuff any way?) You don't need to set up a friend to bring you a gift. Neither do you need to charge your credit card to fill the cupboards. You just need to place your faith in Jesus and His Word in 2010. And everything will be okay. And everything will turn out right. Who needs to hear it?

"'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'" (Jeremiah 29:11)

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33)

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Moving Forward by Looking Back

And so here we are with another year gone by the wayside. And, if anything, we have another chance for evaluation. And so to begin with, where does 2007 rank in your life experience? I mean, on a scale of one to ten (ten being the best and one being the worst) how do you see 2007 in areas like career, relationships, personal development, etc.? And maybe it was a five in career for you and six in relationships and a six and a half in personal development. And maybe the five in the career area - it wasn’t so much your fault as it was a lot of things took place that were beyond your control. And maybe the six in relationships – well, you see, in 2006 you had a one in that area so you’ve been improving big time. Do you see any areas of improvement in your life where you know you were going in the wrong direction, but now, at least you’re going in the right direction? And then what about the area of attitude? How’s your attitude on a scale of one to ten? And I think I heard somebody say somewhere, “Attitude is everything.” And no matter what the New Year may bring, if we can have a positive attitude, I think it’s half the battle. With this in mind I’ve included some quotes on attitude that I thought you might appreciate. May they help point you in the positive direction in 2008.

Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. ~Voltaire

I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet. ~Ancient Persian Saying

Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don't count on harvesting Golden Delicious. ~Bill Meyer

Defeat is not bitter unless you swallow it. ~Joe Clark

Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun. ~Colleen C. Barrett

Always look at what you have left. Never look at what you have lost. ~Robert H. Schuller

An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere; while a pessimist sees only the red stop light. The truly wise person is color blind. ~Dr. Albert Schweitzer

Finally . . . whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ~Philippians 4:8

(Quotes gleaned from the following websites: Quote Garden, Wisdom Quotes, Inspirational Quotes and BibleGateway.)