School Daze

Pick a grade. It doesn't matter which one. Third grade? Yep. Seventh grade? Ah-huh. Eleventh grade? That one, too. You can even count my four years of college and six years of seminary. My feelings never changed. It was always the same: I COULDN'T WAIT FOR THE BELL TO RING!

The coolest thing about school was the bell. Kids today are cheated if they don't get a real bell. Don't give them a wimpy electronic ding. Don't shortchange them with a beep or a buzz. The bell is the best! It inspires the fireman in all of us. It shoots kids out of the cannon of semi-consciousness.

When I was younger, the bell was a wonderful daily surprise. I was ADD before they had the initials, so I was lost in my own little world the first few years of first grade. But when that bell rang -- hot dog -- I sprang to action! Slam the book shut. Grab the Big Chief tablet (google it, kids) and the Green Hornet lunchbox. The bell has sounded! It's time to go home!

As I got older, I gradually learned to expect the bell. Somewhere along the way, I became a clock watcher. I knew the bell was coming. I knew WHEN it was going to ring. I'll be honest. I liked it better when I didn't know. Even the smug satisfaction of counting down the final ten seconds and synchronizing my "NOW" whisper-shout perfectly with the ringing of the bell was not as exhilerating as the former days of being surprised by the bell.

But still, the anticipation was there, even in seminary. The knowing. The waiting. Stealthily watching the clock like a professional spy without anyone knowing that I knew time was about to run out. Slowly, methodically, unnoticed, I would gather my books and my Green Hornet lunchbox (the seminary bookstore didn't sell Big Chief tablets) and lunge for the door when the bell sounded. The thrill of the bell never left. It never let me down, unless it was a fire drill. But even that had it's own adrenalyn rush.

What could be more awesome than a bell to end school? A trumpet and a high-volume shout from the sky to end the world. Oh yes. It's coming. Just as I knew the bell was coming in school, I know the trumpet will one day blast and the angel in charge of shouting will let her rip. The only thing I don't know is...when. No one knows.

A few morons guess. Jesus predicted they would. But Jesus said, "No one knows" (Matthew 24:36-37). No one knows when it will but happen. But the Bible assures us that it most definitely will happen.*

When the bell in school rang, I was always ready to go. School was not my home. School had moments of pleasure. Thank God for recess, lunch, good friends, and nice teachers. But as good as the good in school was, it couldn't compare to home.

This world is the same. It has great moments. I'm thankful for the blessings of God in this life. But this isn't home. Heaven is. I don't watch the clock because there's no clock to watch. But every once in a while, I see signs that make me think the angel in charge of trumpet blowing is about to pucker!

I'm ready. Are you?

*"The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God's trumpet blast! He'll come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise --- they'll go first. Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we'll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words" (1st Thessalonians 4:16-18, The Message).

In Full Spring?

Spring is having a hard time springing and staying sprung here in east Texas. Passover is here. Easter is nearly here. The flowers, grass, trees, and bass all know it's time. They are trying to do their spring thing, but the weather is a bit temperamental and uncooperative.

One spring day barely clocks in a full 24 hours before cold winds, cold rain, and white, fluffy stuff shoves spring aside. Somewhere in Minnesota a young child must have prayed for Texas weather, and God answered by swapping theirs with ours.

Be not disheartened! This one thing I know --- Spring will prevail! The grass will need mowing. The flowers will need photographing. The bass will need a few moments of oxygen and a photo op with a proud fisherman.

Fear not, grandpaw! You WILL get to wear the plaid shorts over your belly button and your black socks over your calves. Fret not, biker friend! A day is coming when you can ride sleeveless again without your teeth chattering. Keep the faith, everyone. Spring will spring and stay sprung.

How do I know? Because that's the way God set the seasonal table of earth. God is a God of order, not chaos. God set the earth and all other planets in perfect order. God scheduled the rotation precisely so that spring would follow winter, summer would follow spring, autumn/fall would follow summer, and winter would follow autumn/fall.*

It is no coincidence that Jesus died and rose again in the spring. Spring is symbolic of new life returning to barren ground, branches, vines, and limbs. In the spring, stuff underground breaks out of earthly graves and rises to fulfill its purpose. So did Jesus.

Like the seed in the soil, Jesus was buried. But only for three days. On the third day, the Seed split, Life burst forth out of that grave, and the Lily of the Valley arose!

Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Just as surely as He arose, He will return. Just as surely as spring will win out over winter, Jesus will come back for His bride, the Church. Just as surely as the allergists among us need to refill their prescriptions soon, so the redeemed of the Lord need to renew their faith that Jesus is risen and coming again soon.

Sprung Free,
Perry Crisp

*Translation for Men: Spinner bait and spawn/Turkey season follow jigs/Duck/Deer/Quail season, worm/topwater fishing follow the spinner bait and spawn/Turkey season, crankbait/Dove season follow worm/topwater fishing, and jigs/Duck/Deer/Quail season follow crankbait/Dove season.

*Translation for Women: Shopping for Easter clothes follows Christmas shopping, Memorial Day/4th of July/Back to School sales follow Easter shopping, Labor Day/pumpkin/turkey sales follow Memorial Day/4th of July/Back to School sales, and Christmas shopping follows Labor Day/pumpkin/turkey sales.

Angel Dust Flying

From Flox News, this is an urgent update on a rather bizarre story developing just outside the Pearly Gates of Heaven.

An undisclosed source has discovered an intelligence report which confirms activity within the New Jerusalem compound. The source does not reveal how this information was retrieved, but all indications are that the information is accurate.

From the report, Flox News has learned that an Angelic Army of massive proportions has gathered at Heaven's gates. Many of these angel warriors were seen stretching their wings and limbering up. One observer reported a great deal of "high fives" were being exchanged by the angels.

One particular angel of note was carrying a trumpet and making his way to the front of the multitude of angels lined up at the gate. Flox News is not sure what exactly this all means, but nothing like this has ever been witnessed before.

Our source believes something significant is about to happen. He also speculates that it must be something good because he has never seen the faces of these angels beam so brightly.

We now return you to your regular devotional.

It could be happening right now. What would you do if you knew the end was coming in three days?

I suggest you do it.

Get Right or Get Left,
Perry Crisp

Scoffing in a Rain Coat

"God is no slouch when it comes to making and keeping a promise" (2 Peter 3:9, perryphrased version). Interview a few people on the street and you will discover that many do not believe in the return of Christ. They somehow feel that this particular promise has been swept under the rug or dropped into the useless drawer in the kitchen of life.

In other words...though God has kept all other promises, He won't keep this one. Peter found the same attitude when he interviewed people in his day. "Scoffers will come...saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming?'" (2 Peter 3:3-4)

Peter answered the scoffers by repeating the phrase, "by the word of God" (vs. 5, 7). The same "word of God" that made earth suddenly appear in the cosmos will cause Jesus and a billion angels to pop through the clouds above us in an instant.

Scoff away! Join the ranks of Noah's critics who said it wouldn't rain. It rained anyway. Grab a picket sign that reads, "Return of Christ" with a ghostbuster zero over it. Scoff till your heart's content. He will come anyway.

If your plane was delayed, would you take a nap on the runway? Not likely. There's a difference between "delayed" and "not coming." Jesus has not canceled His appointment, nor is He late. He will return right on time. But the Father keeps delaying because He wants to save one more soul.

Peter explained why the scoffers arrived at such a conclusion: "...this they willfully forget" (v. 5). Willfully forgetting is not like forgetting your car keys. It is a purposeful amnesia that implies motive. It's the "I forgot" that parole officers often hear from parolees who don't check in.

Do you think the parole officer buys that line? Neither does God.

Willfully Aware,
Perry Crisp