June 18, 2024

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (HCSB)
The Day of the Lord
5 About the times and the seasons: Brothers, you do not need anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 When they say, “Peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains come on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in the dark, for this day to overtake you like a thief. 5 For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness. 6 So then, we must not sleep, like the rest, but we must stay awake and be serious. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, we must be serious and put the armor of faith and love on our chests, and put on a helmet of the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.

Michael Jackson
Do you use a day planner? One of those books where you write everything down that is either going to happen in your future or you want to happen? And then carry it around and refer to it to see how your life is progressing and what you have left to accomplish? I don’t use one. I do have one, though. I bought it ... let’s see ... thirty something years ago. There are a few notes in it on a few pages. I’m not positive, but I think it’s in a plastic storage tub in the attic above my studio. Someday, I may get it out and refer to it. The good thing about not having much written in it is I never felt a lot of pressure to keep referring to it. Something in my brain clicked years ago into the mode of ‘what’s coming is what’s coming’. Do you know why I adopted this way of thinking? Because I found out a long time ago that there was no place in my planner to write down all the surprises each day would bring in my life. I had, and still have, no control over the surprises that are built into life. The only thing I can do is hopefully be somewhat prepared for a lot of different things if they come up. And they will come up. In my life and yours. I have a respect and admiration for those who keep planners and seem to be highly organized. Some of us don’t keep planners. And there’s a host of people in between who are all just trying to make it through the same mazes we are. I think maybe Paul was trying to figure things out himself on a day-to-day basis even when he wrote these scriptures. Obviously, even old Paul was thrown a few curve balls in his otherwise perfect looking game. Here's what Paul said in today’s scripture: Nobody can write down in their day planner when Jesus is coming back and the whole thing ends. All we can and should do is try to be ready. But be happy. God knows. You don’t have to worry about that part. It’s in His planner. Go live your life and be happy.