SIGNPOSTS | Martha VanCise

Is it Worse Now?

by martha vancise | JunWed2014 | SIGNPOSTS

Jesus mentioned that an increase in wickedness would mark the End of the Age. Is wickedness increasing or do we just have better media coverage? Some friends say they don’t watch the news anymore because it’s too depressing, but part of my morning routine is checking breaking news. Jesus’ admonition to “keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come,” reminds me to keep an eye on what is happening in the world.

Some weeks the world is so calm that reporters must beat old stories to a mushy pulp or else inflate a politically incorrect word or statement in order to fill air time. Other weeks, the world seems to explode with stories of wickedness involving children, families, schools, cities, and nations. Gangs, dictators, warring ethnic groups, and creators of violent movies and games astound us with their creations of here-to-fore unimagined evil.

When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, he said, “For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.” I wonder … are we seeing the “One who holds back the wickedness,” beginning to occasionally lift a hand off our world for a day or two so that we can see how really bad this world will be when Christ returns, takes out the righteous people, and leaves only the wicked?

I wonder … is wickedness, gaining momentum? Are we occasionally seeing the Hand lifted?

I don’t know, but these are days to be alert and watchful. We must be alert to both how the devil is prowling around our individual lives and how the devil is expanding lawlessness to prepare the way for the revealing of the Lawless One. (II Thessalonians 2:1-12)

Jesus repeatedly said, “Watch!”

Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man. Luke 21:36

What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ (Mark 13:37)

Martha Hawn VanCise©

We Won’t Be Going Back

by martha vancise | NovWed2013 | SIGNPOSTS

At the close of World War II, Paul Rees, minister, and writer, told his congregation, “You must have the grit to face the truth about our age.” He said that they could not ignore the changes that had come: women working outside the home, rising divorce rate, declining moral standards, increasing national debt (300 billion dollars). He emphasized that they could no longer ignore the reality of change in their world. Life would never again be as it was before the War. He said, “When the old is shaken down, that which endures stands out in bold relief and is more important than before.”

***

We must face the realities of the 21st century. Family units, education, politics, medicine, sports, entertainment, and the church will never return to the normal we knew in the past. No matter how we may rant and rave against the changes and grieve over lost ideals in government, education, families, and churches – we won’t be going back.

We must stand firm and find God’s path forward through current realities.

Paul Rees’s advice given 85 years ago is applicable today. He said, “We must get a grip on these unshakeable things. One God. Our need of a Savior. The Word of God. We must have the courage to be changed to conform to God’s pattern and not the world’s pattern.”

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.( I Corinthians 16:13)
Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal … (Philippians 3:13b-14)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
(Romans 12:2)

Martha VanCise ©

Care of Our Time

by martha vancise | MarMon2013 | SIGNPOSTS

Many consider lack of time for prayer and Bible study as the greatest obstacle to their spiritual growth. Christians of all generations have struggled with time management. In 1650 Jeremy Taylor left simple, common-sense advice on time management that is worth considering in the 21^st century.

Care Of Our Time

God has given every person enough work to do, so that we do not have too much free time on our hands. Yet, He has so ordered the world that there will be time for devotion.
Never complain that your work keeps you from devotion to God. God provides for our needs and gives us the good things of life through commerce and labor. Regard your employment as a means of serving God. If you work sensible hours and use good judgment in your business affairs, there will be adequate time for prayers and devotion.

Don’t let your recreations eat up your time. Choose recreations that are healthful, transient, and apt to refresh you. Do not make your recreations the focal point of your life. It is good to relax and unbend our bow, but we should not allow it to be unstrung.

Make sure you are employed in such a manner as is fitting for a sensible person. Don’t spend your life in work that is fitting for children or distracted people. Choose employment that is fitting for your age and understanding. A person can be frivolously busy and spend a lifetime working for no purpose.

“Care of Our Time,” from Jeremy Taylor’s work titled The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living, 1650. Adapted and revised by Martha VanCise

The Chalice

by martha vancise | MarTue2013 | SIGNPOSTS

When I pass Your Truth to the next generation, there must be no “me” to contaminate the message. There can only be the faint print of my unique perspective on the chalice as I hand it on.

My prints must be so faint, that only those who study the chalice will notice. The masses must see only the life-truths within the vessel.

Help me hold these truths tightly enough to keep them from slipping from my grasp, but loosely enough that desperate truth-seekers can ease them from my hand.

Watchman Nee said, “Our great danger may be to hold dogmatically to some “thing” associated with the divine plan for us. Every cup, however divinely appointed, should be held to very loosely. It is not that which claims us supremely, but the present will of our Father. (A Table in the Wilderness: October 26; Watchman Nee) https://www.watchmannee.org/

Image Credit: Dreamstime.com

Martha VanCise ©

Channel Markers

by martha vancise | MarFri2013 | SIGNPOSTS

Your plan flows through all my years,

not in a well‑defined, man‑dredged canal,

but in a meandering God‑made channel.

At first I confidently set my course

and followed the gleaming glory ships of the “old salts.”

But I’ve learned that the draft of my soul

is not quite the same as others

and that cultural tides have shifted ancient landmarks.

I must take soundings to find the channel you have marked for me.

That God-gouged channel is not a straight-lined passage

that allows me to set my soul on automatic pilot.

Safe passage requires constant course correction

to stay between the markers of your

Spirit and your Word.

Ball of Twine

by martha vancise | MarWed2013 | SIGNPOSTS

His life is like a ball of twine.

At first, it was well rounded, neatly compacted, controlled by his own strong will. With the passage of time, it became harder to keep the lengthening strands shaped in a well-rounded sphere.

One slight fumble and a looping line changed the shape. Instead of stopping to straighten the dropped strand and rewinding it, he gripped the ball tighter and wound a new line over the loose strand, folding and hiding the tangle.

In a moment of lost control, he dropped the entire ball, scooped it up again, clutched it tightly to his chest, and wound clean strands across dirt and knots.

When he realized that his life was hopelessly tangled and no longer under his control, he called out, “God! Get this tangle out of my life.”

Now he cradles the spilling strands in his arms. He extends the loops of events that created the most troublesome knots and calls for God to “Take out the knots!”

When God does not respond by untangling the mess, he blames God and loses faith in God’s goodness.

He doesn’t see that the only way God can untangle the knots, is if he hands God the whole ball of twine.

Image Credit http://cdn5.knitfreedom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/mess.jpg