Pictured here is LP Field, the home of the Tennessee Titans; and the view has me thinking about comebacks.
We live in Nashville and the Titans are our team. Last year they started the season with 10 straight wins. It was very exciting and we thought we were Super Bowl bound. It didn't work out; we lost in the first round of the playoffs. So we all thought, 'maybe next year!'
This year we began the season with 6 straight losses! Obviously this year would not be the "next year" we were dreaming of. However, following a "bye" week, when the team didn't play, they have returned with a vengeance; they have won 3 in a row and quite handily. As I said, I'm thinkin' comeback!
Life is filled with comeback stories. Remember when Bill Clinton hailed himself "the comeback kid?" How about Richard Nixon in 1968 when he rose from the political grave to capture the presidency? It appears the conservative movement is making a comeback; and maybe also the Republican party... which looked as if it would be in the electoral wilderness for a long time!
Sarah Palin is making a comeback; although her father says she didn't retreat...she just reloaded!
The words 'come back' evoke another image. Did you perhaps see the film, "Titanic?" Do you recall the character, Rose, clinging to a door from the sunken ship, weakly calling for a lifeboat to 'come back?' It took a whistle to alert the sailor searching for survivors; but the faint sound of her voice crying to survive..."come back, come back, come back"...is one of the most vivid movie memories ever!
Our nation needs a comeback, doesn't it? The economy, the national mood, the 'salt of the earth' American people, desperately need to come back from some serious doldrums. I've been around many years; things are as bad as I've seen them in a long time.
I'm thinkin' comeback! When and how...I'm not sure.
There is a 'come back' of which we all can be certain; the coming back to earth of Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel and Lord of all!
He won't return to the sound of a whistle. No, He will "descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God." (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
The low murmur of a lone survivor won't bring him back. Rather it will be the cry of His kinsmen, Israel: "Baruch Haba B'Shem Adonai---Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!" He promised...and it will be. Look it up...and look up! (Matthew 23:39)
So many of us feel like that character Rose; holding on for dear life to a scrap of what, moments ago, seemed so secure and indestructible. We find ourselves in strange and turbulent waters, surrounded by others victimized by unimaginable and unforeseen disaster. We wonder how long we will have to wait for our lifeboat; we wonder if we will be a victim or a survivor.
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick," writes the author of Proverbs, "But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life." (Proverbs 13:12)
The "Desire of All Nations" will come! It is written...and it shall be. (Haggai 2:7)
"This hope"--no longer deferred-- "we have as an anchor of the soul..." and the anchor WILL hold in these stormy seas. (Hebrews 6:19) He, the Lord Jesus, is the door to which we cling; and the lifeboat of His presence is coming back to save us...to the uttermost! (Hebrews 7:25)
Hang on! Cry out!! Sound the whistle of praise, prayer and intercession!!!
Go Titans! God bless America!! Come Lord Yeshua---Maranatha---Come, Lord Jesus, Come...Back!!! (Revelation 22:20)
He is... THE KING OF THE WORLD!
Shalom,
Marty
P.S. It's Thursday...Hi, Misha!
Posts
Thank you, Marty for your blessings in song! For the Hope that the world seeks today in these turbulent times. When people are predicting "The Rapture" on Thanksgiving Day, we know that, "Every eye will see Him, descend from the clouds sitting at the right hand of His Father! God bless you, Jenny and Misha. Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the encouragement to "look up, for our redemption draws near"! In these troubling times we need to remind each other of the reason for our hope. You have done that...thank you.
ReplyDeleteShalom in our Messiah Yeshua~
Allison
Marty: Your music is an inspiration! I am home alone and turn it up full blast and bask in the Lord! Thank you for continued encouragment. we all need to continue to encourage one another!
ReplyDelete[For what it's worth, here's what I just saw on the worldwide web. What do you think? Daniel]
ReplyDeleteRAPTURE RUSTLERS
To see the long hidden side of the 179-year-old, British-invented-and-American-merchandised, apocalyptic "rapture" mania, Google "Pretrib Rapture Diehards," "Thomas Ice (Bloopers)" (the sloppy copyist "genius" that Lindsey, LaHaye and other "rapture" tycoons lean on!), "LaHaye's Temperament," "America's Pretrib Rapture Traffickers," "Edward Irving is Unnerving," "Thieves' Marketing," "Appendix F: Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Pretrib Hypocrisy," "The Newest Pretrib Calendar," "The Rapture Index (Mad Theology)," "Roots of (Warlike) Christian Zionism" and "Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty," for starters. The author of these items plus the bestselling nonfiction book "The Rapture Plot" (available online) is journalist/historian Dave MacPherson who has uniquely focused for 40 years on the bizarre history of this endtime craze which is anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic and anti- just about everyone else! MacPherson is the one who has researched throughout Britain and aired so much rapturesque "dirty linen" he's found behind the scenes (clever revisionism of early 19th century documents, rampant plagiarism, phony doctorates, Swaggart-type scandals etc.) that he is now No. 1 on the hate lists of the leading "rapture" money-changers! As everyone's black, dust-covered book says, "There is nothing hidden that won't be revealed...."
Shalom, shalom Marty,
ReplyDeleteTo the above poster Daniel, go here http://www.ariel.org/amcom.htm and look at the Rapture film and the Sequence of Pre-Tribulation events. Dr Fruchtenbaum has the most complete and scripture based explanations of the Rapture I have found anywhere. Read some sound teaching from one who has a Biblical perspective. Just because there are numerous listings such you have listed here from search engines, means little. The teaching of the Rapture is not recent but was clearly taught before Origin and Augustine corrupted the doctrine, as they did many others.
Marty your songs and faith in Yeshua are a great encouragement!
Marty,
ReplyDeleteYou're a man of many interests and talents.
Since you like biographies and books on Israel, have you seen the series "Against All Odds"? A news journalist interviews citizens of Israel about miracles they've seen. Awesome. John Hagee Miistries has it. Maybe Christian bookstores too (where I found my copies).
"Eye of the Storm" is a good read. (American catastrophies related to how we treat Israel.)
Serendipity - Good romantic semi-comedy.