Greetings, dear ones.
It’s Monday. I’m overwhelmed with my list. Becki is overwhelmed with hers too. But we sure had a great weekend that serves as a great foundation for being overwhelmed. We participated in the 16th annual casual (yet dynamic) Northwest College Reunion at Sedro Wooley, Washington—only returning late last night.
Now I need to select the most urgent priorities from my list and get on with it.
Blessings on your day. Ray.
You have probably heard that fictitious story about a big business meeting in hell. I’ll try to recall the main ideas of the story and tell it in my own words. This meeting was called by Satan to try to come up with the most effective strategy for combating increased outbursts of Christ-centered revival happening on earth. Far too many were being snatched from the control of sin, self, and Satan by turning to Christ and being born of the Spirit of God and transformed. To make matters worse, many of those turning to Christ were then influencing others to turn to Christ. It was getting out of control.
“Who of you will go to earth with a plan to bring this devastation of salvation to a stop?” Satan asked of his demon hordes. One grotesque figure stood and offered this approach: “Your honor—if you were to send me, I would organize my agents and promote the simple idea that there is no God, no heaven, and no hell—and that humans have nothing to worry about.”
“There may be some who would fall for that, but certainly not enough to make much difference,” Satan responded.
Another ugly being stood and said, “If I were sent I think I could effectively modify the plan just presented by promoting the view that there is a God and a heaven, but no hell—that there is really no room for the concept of a loving God who would allow humans to be banished to a real hell.”
Satan frowned and said, “Well—if I understand things correctly, the compelling truth of the Bible, which we’ve never been able to destroy, and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit of God would not allow that approach to go far. Anyone else with an idea?”
Another demon rose and said, “It seems to me to be a no-brainer. Whereas humans on earth are locked into a very limited time frame—you know—a time to be born and a time to die. Therefore, all I would propose to do is let them go ahead and believe in God, heaven, and hell—all that terrible stuff—but I would simply emphasize the idea that they have plenty of time. They don’t need to be in a hurry to seek God or repent—just wait for a convenient time—and let procrastination run its course. That way we never lose them.”
“Wow!” Satan exclaimed. “That’s brilliant! You’re on! Go for it!”
Whether or not there has ever been such a conference in hell, the evidence is that such deceptive and destructive ideas are quite commonplace among humans. Paul is inspired here to crash that notion by exclaiming as he does in the FOCUS VERSE. Perhaps I’ll rehearse what I understand him to say in my own words. “Listen up folks! Don’t let any notions of procrastination put you to sleep so as to think you have plenty of time to be fully and passionately devoted to your Maker/Savior. After all, it boils down to simple math: You cannot change the past. You cannot be certain of the future. All you really have to work with is the present.”
The last verse of this reading is 2 Corinthians 7:1. I view it as a powerful principle to live by for anyone choosing to prioritize pleasing God. I wrote in the margin of my Bible, “BOTTOM LINE OF DISCIPLESHIP.” “Beloved ones, with promises like these, and because of our deepest respect and worship of God, we must remove everything from our lives that contaminates body and spirit, and continue to complete the development of holiness within us” (The Passion Translation).
When? Best answer: NOW!