Grace MEMO: Five Foolproof Predictions for 2009

Grace MEMO: Five Failproof Predictions for 2009

 

This is an area where God likes to show off. A lot.

 

It’s that time of the year when psychics make their predictions for the future. But, given their accuracy rate, should they be trusted?

 

Fine, once in a while a bit of common sense, knowledge of current events, and good guessing means they hit their target (or at least get close and just claim credit anyway). But they’re wrong more than they’re right.

 

Take, for example, five psychic predictions for 2008 that failed:*

• “Crops lost through locust swarms in August,” as predicted by Elizabeth Anglin, a pychic, animal communicator, and spirit medium. Crops were lost to floods, but not to locust, and there’s a difference.
• Michael Smith claims special accuracy in the area of volcanic eruptions and predicted in 2007 that “a major supervolcano is poised to erupt, sending ash all over the earth.” Didn’t happen.
• Elizabeth Baron, another psychic, apparently received a message from a 14^th century Italian nun that a top U.S. general would be killed in Iraq and many soldiers would be sent home. No top military general in Iraq was even wounded, and our soldiers are still there.
• “A beloved popular entertainment figure will be injured and perhaps die as the result of a foolish stunt,” promised Michael Lente, a medicine man in Mexico. No such thing occurred.
• Finally, Nostradamus himself forecasted a global famine in 2008 and, thankfully, it didn’t come true.

 

If these self-proclaimed experts are so wrong about predicting the future, where does that leave common, ungifted folk like you and me? Must we guess with even less skill than theirs? Can we even hope for anything?

 

There’s good news here. This is an area where God likes to show off. A lot.

 

God’s track record with predictions boasts a 100% accuracy rate. Just page through the New Testament and note how many times God’s Word refers back to a prophecy in the Old Testament and says, in polite terms, “I told you it would happen.” Like the virgin birth of Christ or his resurrection, to name a couple biggies.

 

So, consider it safe to turn to God’s predictions and trust in them for your life, your well-being, and your happiness in 2009. Here are five you might appreciate:

• “Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). There isn’t a place or a problem in your life that will hide from God’s influence. So keep him involved.
• “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (Psalm 50:15). Stay tuned into God’s solutions to your dilemmas. They will not always be what you expect … but even better.
• “Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 4:6). Prioritize contentment over consumption and you’ll discover a better you.
• “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled,” Jesus promises in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:6). When your striving and ambition are aimed at a right(eous) relationship with God, you will find meaning and satisfaction. Imbalance here will create emptiness and a daily grind that goes nowhere fast. Put God first. Period.
• “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38,39). God’s love for you is stronger than death, stronger than your worries about the future, stronger than anything. Tap into his love. Believe it when it seems impossible. He will not stop loving you, forgiving you, and leading you.

 

Find your security in the God whose past performance does promise future gain, and whose promises always find their fulfillment in you – even when you can’t earn them or don’t notice them.

 

And stay away from supervolcanoes just in case the psychics get lucky.

 

 

PRAYER: Faithful Lord and God, you could be happy enough predicting occurrences in nature or world politics but you say that you’re not fulfilled unless your promises can come true in me. Open my eyes and ears to see and hear your wonderful words in the Bible, and inspire my heart to believe them even when I don’t understand. Amen.

 

A M essage of E xtraordinary M ercy and O pportunity from Pastor Daron Lindemann, Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI

1 Chronicles 22:10 ~ Devotion

“He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.”  (1 Chronicles 22:10)

 

I think that most parents want their children to have a better future and a better life than they had.  King David was probably no different.  Having seen the turmoil that had been raised in his family because of his sins, as well as what happened to King Saul’s (the previous king of Israel) and his family, David may have wondered what the future held for his sons. 

 

These verses must have been a comfort to David.  In them, God assures David that his son Solomon will succeed him as king, that God will be with Solomon as he was with David (“He will be my son, and I will be his father”).  But most importantly, the comfort of “I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.”  In it, God reminds David that it would be through his family that the Promised Messiah, the King of kings would be born.  God would bring about an eternal kingdom through one of David’s heirs, the Savior.

 

While you and I don’t know what the future holds for us or our family, we have the same promises and assurances from God.  He has promised to be with us, as he has been with believers like David in the past.  He promises to be with our children in the future.  As believers, he counts us as members of his eternal kingdom, which he established through Jesus.  May you find the same comfort David certainly did in the promises of your God who sent a Savior for you and your children!

 

 

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, thank you for my home and family. For love and gentleness, for laughter enjoyed and sorrows shared. For daily bread. For the gift of your Son. Help me to be mindful of all your gifts and to rejoice in your goodness. May your peace be with us and your presence protect us. Amen.

 

 

Today’s Daily Light Bible reading:  1 Chronicles 22

 

To read today’s reading online, click here.

1 Chronicles 21:2 ~ Devotion

So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.”  (1 Chronicles 21:2)

 

I’ve heard that when Jay Leno first began his stand-up comedy routines, at night he slept in his car.  Today, he has a car collection that is nearly unrivaled.  He is one of many rags to riches stories we might think of.  In fact, while it may not be to the same level, many of us may have a similar story.  We can remember times when money and possessions were scarce, and today, blessings abound.

 

King David was no different.  He grew up as a shepherd, became a soldier, then a general, then the king of Israel.  From a meager, poor shepherd boy to a wealthy King.  Another rags to riches story.  But as so often happens, the riches, the blessings God had given led David away from a trust in his Lord and into sin.  The verse above describes how David ordered his top general Joab to count all the people of Israel.

 

The trouble with bean counting does not lie in the counting of beans but in the swelling of the head that either leads to or results from it. We just read yesterday about all the victories that the Lord had brought to David.  Yet, when David was still a “nothing,” he knew enough not to find his security in armaments or fighting men but “in the name of the Lord” (1 Samuel 17:45).  Now that God had made him something and filled his hands with success, David thought he had something to lose. That is why he stopped finding security in the Lord and began instead to seek it in how many Israelites there were.

 

Are we any different that David?  As God has filled our hands with success, with blessings beyond number, do we now think that we have something to lose?  Like David, when we start to look at our blessings, and think that they are ours (instead of God’s), that they are something we might lose, or are something we are afraid to lose, then, like David, we sin.  We stop finding our security and joy in our Savior God, and instead try to find it in the blessings he has given here on earth. 

 

Just a few verses later we read how David confessed his sin to God and was forgiven.  Another rags to riches story – as God brought David from the rags of sin to the riches of forgiveness.  It is a story that describes you and me too.  We are taken from rags of sin that fill our lives to the riches of forgiveness in Jesus our Savior.  As you and I see this same sin creep into our lives, may we follow David’s example and confess our sins to our God.  Then assured of our forgiveness by our Savior’s death and resurrection, may we keep a proper perspective on the blessings God gives.

 

 

PRAYER:  Lord God, you are the Giver of every good and perfect gift. Truly our cup of blessing is filled to overflowing. We thank you for grace which gives us what we do not deserve . . . and for your mercy which does not give us what we do deserve. For this bright day, for the love of family and friends, for the food I eat and the water I drink – all gifts from your gracious hand – I give you my heartfelt praise. Above all I thank you for my Savior without whom my life would be empty and meaningless. Surrounded by countless blessings I still ask for one more – a thankful heart. Amen.

 

 

Today’s Light Bible Reading:  1 Chronicles 21

 

To read today’s reading online, click here.