Applied Belief: The end

Nothing is forever.

The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

In the beginning, God created and thus the world was born. All things that are born must die. John saw the passing of this current earth in revelation and the sowing up of the new one when he said, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more” (Revelation 21:1).

God planted on this earth the Nation of Israel that through her all the other nations would be blessed. God then sent his son Jesus Christ to die for those he had called. The Gospel (Salvation) was planted like the parable of the seed and the sower. The time is coming now for the harvester to seek and pluck up what was planted.

Killing continues to happen all around our country and our world: from the heroin epidemic, to gang violence, to terrorism. Death is all around. The time for healing will come. Only Jesus can heal. Our world is falling apart.

Jesus said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27).

A storm is coming and it will tear everything apart. The only thing that will remain; the only ones that will be spared will be like those chosen in the time of Noah. Those who hear the Word of the Lord and obey it will be saved.

Today we weep. We weep for America and we weep for the world. When Jesus drew near to Jerusalem “he saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.’” (Luke 19:41-44).

Jesus wept because the people rejected His peace. America, by a majority, has also rejected such peace. One day though God will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore.” Then we shall laugh. Our present mourning will be turned into a time of dancing because “for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Hebrews 1:1-2). But in the end those who rejected God will hear a deafening silence.

The time has come to hate what is evil and let go of those things that hold us back from truly following Jesus. Lose all things. Cast them all away. Let us not be like the rich young ruler who could not follow Jesus because “he had great possessions.”

I love America but I hate what it has become. Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! The time of peace has past. A war is coming. In the timeless words of Jesus, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

* The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of Chadds Ford Live. We welcome opposing viewpoints. Readers may comment in the comments section or they may submit a Letter to the Editor to: editor@chaddsfordlive.com

About Rev. Marcos O. Almonte

Rev. Marcos O. Almonte is senior pastor at Brandywine Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist Church west of Philadelphia. Pastor Marcos is a graduate of Palmer Theological Seminary with more than 10 years working with families with an expertise in theology, trauma and addictions. Pastor Marcos and his wife Mary have three children, Carmen, Joseph, and Lincoln.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (8 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...

Comments

comments

Leave a Reply