by Randal Matheny

Alan Caruba of boringinstitute.com says there are three basic ways to avoid boredom:

-- Always read, always have something ready to read, because reading stimulates the brain.

-- Have a hobby, or several hobbies because that's where passion comes from and that leads to happiness.

-- Be a joiner, get out and get involved with people in your community.

With these three tips, says Caruba, people can be happy and find the essence of life.

Seems to me Caruba unknowingly validates the Christian faith.

-- The Bible is the best reading material of all, and offers history, poetry, wisdom, narrative, drama, and correspondence. Not to mention the pathway to eternal life.

-- Christians have more than a hobby. They have the purpose of Christ's mission to share the Father's love with every single person.

-- Nobody is more involved in other people's lives than the follower of Christ.

Here's just one passage of Scripture where these three are all rolled into one.

"Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, [here's your reading material] to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift [better than a hobby] within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you [you are looking out for their best good and intensely involved with them]" (1 Timothy 4:13-16 NASV).

You can beat boredom. Become a follower of Jesus Christ. And the present time will mean something eternal.

by Randal Matheny

Brazilians have a phrase that often pops up in conversations, "Let's separate things properly." The idea is to make the proper distinctions in analyzing an issue.

God wants to separate things properly as well. And he has a definite timetable to do just that.

The Idea of Separation

We like to think of eternal life as the final and complete union with God. And rightly so. But the Lord also describes the moment at which time dissolves into eternity as a great separation.

All of life is a separation. Jesus said, "Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on the earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three" (Luke 12:51-52, NASV). Father against son. Son against father. Mother against daughter. Daughter against mother. The gospel brings not merely peace with God and man, but division and separation from those who refuse repentance.

In fact, the very concept of holiness starts with separation.

That separation continues at death, when we are not only separated from those we love, but from all evil or from all good, depending upon how we choose to live in this life. Jesus' story of the rich man and Lazarus establishes the "great chasm fixed" that prevents crossing over from torment to Paradise (Luke 16:26).

So it is not surprising that Jesus describes the end of time as one Great Separation.

In Matthew 13, he tells two parables to this end, the tares and the dragnet.

Two Separating Parables

In the parable of the tares (read verses 24-30 and 36-43), the separation process is only partial in this life. The godly effort to remove evil is worthy, necessary, and spiritual (see 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, for example), but incomplete. Only God can add the last chapter to this saga. Jesus conceives of the end of the age as a harvest (verse 39).

And in this process, good is not always seen for what it is. Or, even worse, evil is not recognized as evil.

But when the end comes (verse 40), the evil ones will be thrown into the furnace of fire. Only then will it be possible for God's devoted ones to be seen for what they are, "THEN the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (verse 43).

Because of that, the gospel is worth any price. So say the parables of the hidden treasure and the costly pearl (verses 44-46). Then Jesus returns to the subject of "the end of the age" in the parable of the dragnet (verses 47-50).

Here, the figure is of the fishermen casting their dragnet and pulling in all kinds of fish. Once on shore, the selection process begins. But not before then.

The parable's point: don't expect God to anticipate his final work now. The present is not a time of separation, but gathering in. Preach the gospel, remembering that the great division will soon occur.

What Does This Mean?

These two parables make several truths clear.

First, this is God's job. Yes, the church removes the unrepentant sinner from its midst (1 Corinthians 5:1-13), and those who are spiritual can recognize trespasses and sins among them (Galatians 5:1), but the final accounting and eternal sentencing are divine tasks, performed by the Lord at the hand of his ministering angels.

What a relief for the saints of God! His power, his omniscience, his holiness will burn the way clear to show complete justice and full glory.

Second, the great separation at the end of the age will be a joyful and wonderful event. Not only will God be seen for who he is, but the his people will seen as the right-doers.

This is a great comfort, since Christians are persecuted in this world and people "falsely say all kinds of evil" against them, because of Jesus' exclusive claims and non-negociable demands (Matthew 5:11).

Third, while we await the end of the age, we should be sowing and fishing. Preaching and teaching. Telling others that the Great Separation is coming soon. And that repentance is necessary to avoid being thrown into the furnace of fire.

Prepare!

Let's "separate things properly," as the Brazilians say, while we are in this world. And prepare for God's Great Separation. Because we're nearing the end of the age.

by Randal Matheny

Within six years, the world will end.

So says eminent astrophysicist Dr. Piers Van der Meer, of the European Space Agency. Seems he saw a solar plume back in July. Just like the one Kepler Star shot out before its demise and conversion into a supernova.

The good doctor says the sun "will blow apart like an out-of-control nuclear reactor within six years," taking the earth and all the other planets with it.

Such talk produces at least one good result. When we say the Bible teaches the cataclysmic end of the world, people may tend not to reject it out of hand.

Hebrews 9:26-27 provides a nice little summary of the gospel. (Other examples are 1 Corinthians 15:1ff and Romans 1:1ff.)

". . . now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will a appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who early await Him" (NASB).

This summary gathers three one-time events to summarize the gospel.

First, Christ died once to remove our sins. He came as man in all humility and resisted every form of temptation (Hebrews 2:9-18). He proved to be better in every way than the Jewish institutions and rituals (Hebrews chaps. 3-10). He suffered cruelty and shame "outside the gate," (Hebrews 13:12), that is, refused by his own people (John 1:11) and condemned. We must choose our place with him (Hebrews 13:13).

Second, the writer used as an illustration what was a given for the Jewish readers: we will die but once. No multiple lives, no reincarnations, no second chances after death. The moment we die, only one event remains: the judgment.

Third, the return of Christ will be a one-time event. No human form-taking, no sin resolution, but the vanquishing of evil and the scooping up of those who are prepared for his coming. His coming signifies the End (Mark 13:24-27) and the destruction of the universe (2 Peter 3:10-14).

The great Day means we should devote ourselves to meeting together in order to encourage and be encouraged to faithfulness (Hebrews 10:24). Keeping this day in mind should spur us on to holy living and godliness (2 Peter 3:11,12,14).

Three one-time end-time events. And only one has already occurred.

Are you ready for the other two?

An astrophysicist preaching the end of the world offers no hope. Christ extends to all the glories of eternal bliss where the old has passed away and the new will remain so forever.

by Randal Matheny

"We love you." If I had a nickel every time we heard the phrase in six weeks of travel in the U.S., I'd be a rich man. No, wait. I am a rich man from having heard it so many times.

We heard it from young and old, men and women. We heard it in small churches, in large congregations. We heard it from people we've known for -- well, I hate to tell how long (for their sake, you understand) -- and from people we'd just met.

What's wonderful besides is that we heard it from people who are supposedly legalists, traditionalists, hypocrits, and sectarians, if you were to believe some big-name preachers and flashy magazines.

We were reaffirmed, encouraged, and uplifted by God's people, who have always been urged to show expressions of love. Paul, for example, makes it a refrain in his letters to say, "Greet one another with a holy kiss" (Romans 16:16, NASB). While his emphasis may have been to guarantee the purity of Christian expressions of love, he is overjoyed to recommend the warm fuzzies.

In churches concerned that doctrine be right, love continues to overflow.

That's why the Matheny family returns to Brazil refreshed in the Lord.

by Randal Matheny

"But Jesus answered, 'You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?' They said to Him, 'We are able.' He said to them, 'My cup you shall drink, but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom is has been prepared by My Father.'" Matthew 20:22-23, NASB

The natural man desires power and privilege. But Jesus offers suffering.

James and John, by way of their mother, request that Jesus give them the best two posts in his imminent kingdom. Their request merely shows ignorance of its nature.

Jesus doesn't check his friendship factor when granting concessions. Though James and John may have thought Jesus would give them special consideration since they were part of the "inner circle," together with Peter, the Lord makes it clear no one gets VIP treatment. The kingdom, by his Father's decree, is not about behind-the-door deals and favors.

The one whom he and the Father love in a special way obeys the divine will. "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him" (John 14:23).

Though God's grace is free, in one sense, his saving, abiding love is conditional to a response which everyone is capable of making -- keeping his word. And keeping his word means walking his path of suffering and death. When we ask for privilege, Jesus extends a cup.

Not a golden, jewel-encrusted cup of feasting. But a prisoner's cup of afflictions.

It's not clear what James and John understood when Jesus asked them if they were able to drink his cup. But pride, bravado, or some such testosterone attitude kept them from asking directions. Instead, they proffer a short and definitive, "We are able."

"Well, you will drink my cup," Jesus says. "And that's all I have to give you."

Paradoxically, in that cup reside peace, joy, and reconciliation with God.

Can you drink it?