Tag Archives: God’s Grace

The Signs of the Times

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As He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the End of the Age?” Matthew 24:3 ESV1

Read Matthew 24:1-31, Mark 13:1-27 & Luke 21:5-28

For as long as I have lived in this house, I have gotten a great deal of pleasure out of viewing the huge trees in my neighbor’s front yard. Those trees have blessed that house with shade for generations. And they have been a great joy to me every Autumn when their leaves have turned such vibrant reds, oranges, and golds. But this year is different. This Spring, my neighbor had those trees cut down. Why? Because what appeared so impressive from the outside was completely rotten in the middle. One strong windstorm and any one of those trees could have toppled and caused great damage to their home and harm to their very lives. Retaining them because of their beauty wasn’t worth the risk.

Thinking about those trees reminds me of something I recently studied in the Bible.

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Reunited

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“What woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?” Luke 15:8 ESV1

Read Luke 15:8-10

One February day in the late 1980s over a bucket of chicken, my then-boyfriend got down on one knee, pulled a ring box out of his pocket, opened it, and asked me to be his wife. After my initial shock, I said, “Yes.” We were still in college but we planned on getting married as soon as we both graduated. We were so much in love and spent as much time together as possible as we looked with excitement to the future.

One day, shortly after I accepted his proposal and the sparkling new engagement ring, my fiancé and I went together—probably hand in hand—to the campus gym to get some exercise. When I changed into my workout attire, I slipped my brand new, precious piece of jewelry, which represented to me all that love and hope had to offer, into the pocket of my blue jeans for safekeeping.

After exercising, I decided not to change back into my street clothes. Instead, I planned to shower and put on fresh clothes at home. So, I picked up the clothing I had been wearing before I worked out and my fiancé and I walked toward his apartment talking and laughing as we went. At his door, we intended to part ways and each go on with the day in our separate ways. It was then that I remembered my engagement ring.

I expected to put the ring on my finger and admire it as I walked to my car. But when I reached into the pocket of my jeans, my ring was not there! I had lost it! My husband-to-be had spent all he had saved for several months, working many hours of overtime, to purchase that ring. There was no hope that it could be replaced—at least for quite some time. Immediately, a mixture of shock, fear, panic, sadness, and disappointment fell upon us. What should we do now?

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