Friday December 31 2015  WHAT IN THE WORLD IS TO COME?

On this final day of two thousand fifteen I sit here at my computer and wonder, what in the world shall I write about?  What words, if any, do I have to say that would impact another?  A blank New Year looms ahead.  An entirely clean slate.  I can’t help but let my mind project ahead and ask, will I be on earth this time next year?  I remember asking myself that last year.  And here I am.  And I am glad I am here.

As I drive down the interstate I see the electronic signs overhead that tally the death tolls to date of those in Wisconsin who died in traffic accidents.  As of today’s date the toll, including cars, bicycles, motorcycles, and pedestrians is 546 for 2015.  The total becomes larger and larger as the year progresses.  Have you ever stopped to think about all those lives lost in just one state?  Who were they?  What were the circumstances that caused the traffic accident?  Who did they leave behind?  How many shattered lives were left behind here on earth to grieve, and possibly heal from injuries obtained in the same accident? All those who died become just a number on a sign, representing but one of hundreds included in the final year end death toll.  Next year will you be just a number?  Will I?

I really don’t mean to be melancholy, but rather just want to make an impression on each and every one of us who draws a breath, to stop and realize, how very fortunate we are that one of those numbers do not represent us, a family member, or a friend.

There is no way of knowing what next year holds.  But, when we put our life in God’s hands and place our trust in Him, it is God who will be with us every moment of every day.  He, and He alone, knows what next year looks like for each individual.  There is no place we can hide from God.  When we realize this, we then understand that we need not fear whatever awaits us in the coming year.  Psalm 139:1-10 speaks of this very thing.

Psalm 139 New King James Version (NKJV)

139 “O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
² You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
³ You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴ For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
⁵ You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
⁹ If  I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.”

 And because God knows who we are, where we are, and what we are doing, we need never to fear.  Farther into the chapter in verse 16 the Word states:

 “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.”

 God is the only one who knows how many days we have written in His book.  We are not meant to know, but should be aware that this body is a temporal vessel in which our spirit is housed, and someday our numbered days will be used up.  And even that is a day we need not fear, because when the time comes for us to meet him face to face, He is there beside us.  When we accept His gift of salvation we need never fear what the future holds.

 Remember these words as the midnight bell tolls.  No matter what in the world is to come, just rely on God.  The people in our world are becoming more wicked and hateful towards each other.  There are so many senseless killings and it seems each year the number of terrorist attacks seem to mount.  Regardless of what is coming our way, which candidate gets into office, how wicked the world becomes, we need not fear what man can do to us. 

Psalm 27 New King James Version (NKJV)

“1. The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?”

No matter what awaits you in 2016 remember these scriptures.  Draw on the strength that God offers. 

We never need fear of becoming a number on an electronic sign.  Our days are numbered and someday, some circumstance will allow us to meet God face to face.  We don’t know how or when, and that really does not matter at all.  All we must do is be ready.  If I ever become a statistic on a death toll sign across a roadway, I hope as my friends that drive underneath the flashing numbers will look toward heaven and just whisper in their heart, “Kathleen, you may have arrived in heaven before me, but I’ll see you again someday”, and then send a smile heavenward.  Our goodbye will only be for a while.  Yes, there may be tears and sadness, but I don’t think those who are in heaven would want to come back this this earth, regardless of how vast and beautiful it is.  Somehow, I don’t believe it can compare with heaven.

BECAUSE OUR NAME IS WRITTEN

By Kathleen Martens

December 31, 2015

Heaven is but a place

We think of in our dreams.

Our mind cannot fathom

The glory of its extremes.

Beauty beyond comprehension,

Imagination cannot conceive

What awaits those who arrive,

Because in Jesus they believe.

How can we know what awaits

When we say goodbye to earth?

But knowing Jesus as Savior

More than gold it’s worth.

Because our name is written

On the pages of God’s Book,

And that will be confirmed

As into our eyes God looks.

And face to face we will stand

Before GOD WHO IS LOVE.

And pain and sorrow from earth below

Does not enter with us above.

Nor will we look back with longing

For what we left behind.

We will be forever content

Because its Jesus’ smile we find.

Yes, we will grieve for those who go before us and that is a normal process of our healing.  But just remember, that your goodbye is just for a while.

In the morning when you wake up remember to say:

²⁴ This is the day the Lord has made;

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118 New King James Version (NKJV)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!