Let's start with an old hymn...

     A good friend of mine thought of me when she saw this song in a hymnal at church last Sunday.  Here are the lyrics.  Thanks Brenda.  It is titled, "Jesus Cares."

    He cares when you're troubled and the whole world seems wrong,

     He cares when the trials try to silence your song;

    He cares when you're lonely, though you laugh with the throng - Jesus cares.

    Yes, Jesus cares, He cares when your heart aches;

    Take Him your many burdens; Jesus cares.

     He cares when you stumble in the heat of the day,

    He cares when you're burdened and too weary to pray;

   He cares when you fail Him, when your feet go astray - Jesus cares.

    He cares when you're stricken and your strength starts to wane,

    He cares when you tremble with fever and pain;

    He cares when you've struggled but the work seems in vain - Jesus cares.

      So maybe the slow down this week starts with the passage picked for this Sunday's sermon.  I think we will only be going through 5 verses because there is so much packed in them.  It starts off with, "The end of all things is at hand, therefore..."  That "therefore" tells you something very important is coming next but the first phrase will hold us up for awhile.  We get to look at "the end of all things."  We get to look at the anticipation of it coming because it is "at hand."  The consummation of all things, not just the present situation, is about to arrive.  God has a calendar.  The first on the calendar is the event of creation.  Next on the calender is the event of the 1st coming of Christ with His birth, life, death, and resurrection.  The next thing on God's calendar is the 2nd coming of Christ, His return.  We don't know when this will be but that is good because if I did I could be lazy until that day or I could be in panic that it is approaching, but because I don't know I can live now with the mindset of a pilgrim just exploring that new life with anticipation.  It is also the next thing on our calendar.  Even if we are to pass away before His return, our next event is our body meeting up with our spirit.  Time means nothing to us in the grave so when we wake in the Lord, the next moment will be His return.

     This is also the incentive to live what is coming next.  Another list from Peter that maybe we could call his bucket list.  And this list is so different than what the world would say.  This is the list of how we should live knowing that Christ is coming soon.  It might seem like an unlikely sermon on Mother's Day but it is first the Lord's Day.

     We head to see the surgeon tomorrow so I hope to have a new video update up last tomorrow evening with any new news.  God is still good and God is still great and God is still in control.

Adam