Second Chances

From My Perspective - - -

Life is made up of and is filled with choices – should I have pre-marital sex; should I experiment with drugs; should I consume alcoholic beverages; should I drive while under the influence of some substance; should I allow myself to be involved in a crime; should I marry someone just so I can get out of the home and away from my parents; should I steal to get what I want – choices – so many choices - they just boggle ones mind. One would be wise to make the first choice as wisely as possible and avoid the consequences of unwise choices. If you’ve made an unwise choice, have you ever wished that someone – anyone – would give you a second chance? Do you deserve a second chance? Why should someone run the risk for you when you’ve been so stubborn and willful in the past? Instead of a second chance, what if the decision was to let you learn from experience and the consequence of making hasty and erroneous choices?

Many voices could be – would be - raised and echo: “It isn’t fair!” Most people have expressed that at one time or another – especially when attaching it to: “Others have done a lot worse than what I did.” The real measure in terms of second chances is in terms of whether or not you’re willing to accept responsibility for your past behavior and actions – and – not make excuse for what you’ve said or done. Instead, own up to it and be willing to make restitution and correct what you have done. If that’s the attitude and approach, most people would be willing to extend another chance to a repentant person. The repentant person has to be willing to admit what he/she has done and make arrangements to repair and/or repay for damage caused or property stolen. One lingering question here is – do you deserve a second chance? Does the person you’ve harmed, injured, or stolen from under any obligation to extend a second chance to you?

It would be good for all to attend a local court and observe what occurs there. Adult Court is usually Drunk and Disorderly and other crimes associated with that choice and lifestyle. Juvenile Court is especially grievous. Young People have lived for a moment and made wrong choices. They are in the court to suffer the consequences of the law for their acts and actions. The rest of their lives will be scarred and marred by what they have done in a moment. But – what if someone came forward and allowed they would not press charges if the person would only make amends and stop doing wrongful acts against the law. A Second Chance – will they respond affirmatively and accept the opportunity to head in a new direction for their life?   

The Word of God grants one Choices and Second Chances. Deuteronomy 30:11-20, “…the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil…I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days…” Each year when Easter is being celebrated, an obvious message is present, namely, there is a place for right choices and second chances. John 11:25 rings out the great truth spoken by Jesus Christ prior to His death, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live…” There can be no greater place of privilege and opportunity in terms of Second Chances than that stated in Ephesians 2:1-5, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world…among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath…But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved…” A Choice and A Second Chance – don’t miss it! Make the wise and right choice today!  Consider these things with me!

Hiccups and Shrugs

From My Perspective - - -

Friday, March 11, 2011 – just another day of normal activity in Japan – until the earth started to move strangely beneath one’s feet; walls started to vibrate; buildings began to shake; items on store shelves began to be shaken off their display – and the reality of a 9.0 earthquake started. The earthquake was so powerful that it moved Honshu 2.4 meters (7.9 feet) East and shifted the Earth on its axis by almost 10 cm (3.9 inches). The World Bank, on March 21^st, estimated damage between $122 Billion and $235 Billion. Compounding matters even further, the Earthquake was followed by a Tsunami Wave that at points reached a height of 33 feet. What was not shaken apart and destroyed was caught up in the Tsunami and swept away. Close to 18,000 people were unaccounted for and rescue operations seem to leave little hope that survivors will be found. The Tsunami had an additional impact on four Nuclear Power Plants where power needed for cooling is unavailable and radiation leakage has begun. People are urged to relocate between twenty and fifty miles away from the radiation leaks. A normal day became a day of loss, desperation, death, and uncertainty.

It appears that the intensity of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Hurricanes has increased, and Tsunami Waves are becoming more of a reality throughout the world. Some seize the moment to claim it is due to Global Warming, whereas others embrace in their belief system that it is all part of the Doomsday Prophecies articulated in the Holy Scriptures. Many immediately go to the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:6-8, “…you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.All these are but the beginning of the birth pains…” The news about natural disasters - earthquakes and Tsunamis in Japan, and the political events rapidly unfolding in the Middle East and North Africa – cause one to wonder about the bigger picture – the eternal plan of The Almighty God and His reaction and response to man’s disregard of Him and His Creation.

In Amos 3:3-11, The Lord speaks and asks some rhetorical questions – and the prophet records these words: “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing? Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it?...Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it? For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy? Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see the great tumults within her, and the oppressed in her midst. They do not know how to do right, declares the Lord, those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds. Therefore thus says the Lord God: An adversary shall surround the land and bring down your defenses from you, and your strongholds shall be plundered." In the midst of this prophecy are these words: “Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?”

Are world events merely a hiccup and/or a shrug? Have we become totally impervious (incapable of being influenced, persuaded, or affected) to the ways and thoughts of God? Are we so foolish to believe that man can function with impunity (exemption from punishment…immunity from detrimental effects) and without consequence for his deeds and actions? What if all these current events are a prelude of II Peter 3:10-12, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!” Should this be viewed as a hiccup and met with a shrug – or – should it be seen as a moment where one can respond to God and flee from the wrath to come? Consider these things with me!