Sermon No. 1

Last "Last Days" Days?

We are still in the throes of the Y2K panic, talk of the end of the world and the Second Coming. These past few months we have heard much about the last days.

In October, 1999, the FBI mailed out a lengthy, well-footnoted report to law enforcement agencies. It was titled "Project Megiddo." It was a grim picture of Bible-thumpers, Jew-baiters, heavily-armed prophets of the Apocalypse. This volatile coven of extremists, fanatics and cult members was preparing to trigger Armageddon.

Well, the new millennium came and only two minor acts of sabotage came to pass. An 80-foot tower in Oregon was toppled and a transformer in New York was bombed. Only three people who fit the profiles in the report were arrested near the end of 1999.

What happened to the terrorist attacks which were going to destroy the world at the start of the new millennium? Good question!

Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is near." Paul said, "we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." He was talking about the Second Coming. "After that (the resurrection of the saints) we who are still alive and are left . . ." (I Thessalonians 4:15, 17)

Sounds like Jesus and Paul tho't they were in the "last days," doesn't it? That was 2000 years ago! So were they mistaken? Or did God change his plans? Or have we misinterpreted the Bible? When is the end? When is the Second Coming? When are the actual "last days"? When is the Kingdom of God to be a literal kingdom on earth?

The Christian community went thru this same thing 1000 years ago, the year 1000. They preached the "last days" then just as we hear it preached now. Some of our great grandparents were sure Jesus would come in 1844! He didn't! Some 30 years ago, Hal Lindsey stirred up the evangelical community with his best-seller, The Late Great Planet Earth. As I recall, he expected a secret rapture to be in 1981 and the glorious Second Coming to be in 1988. A man by the name of Whisenant gave us 88 reasons Why the Rapture will be in 1988. We don't believe in a "secret rapture." It doesn't fit the Biblical picture.

I don't know what dates he predicted, but I think David Koresh was preoccupied with "last days" days. Many preachers are still on "last days" crusades. Are we simply in another last days mode? Will this era prove to be the last "last days" days?

The theological term for study of "last things" is eschatology. Jesus promised to come again. "If I go I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, you may also be." In recent years we have seen a proliferation of movements where human curiosity into the things of God has led many to follow charismatic leaders who are quite willing to fill those inquisitive minds with "the answers." Those answers have in turn led many to mass suicides and paranoid relationships with relatives and others.

When I was a young preacher more interested in answers than in questions, I often reached the panic stage when I saw the "signs of his coming."

A more important question is: If you believed Jesus would come within a few days, what would you do about it? Would it change your life, your lifestyle?

Some of my friends don't approve of the manner of my ministry, the content of my preaching, "because we are living in the last days."

One of the saints of old was asked what he would do if he knew Jesus would come on the morrow. He said he would "hoe the garden." John Wesley was asked the same question. He answered, "I would arise at 4 like I always do. I would have my devotions like I always do. Then I would visit the sick like I always do. Then I would retreat to my desk and study the Word."

Well, if I knew Jesus would come this year, this month, this week, if these were indeed the last "last days" days, I can't think of any way in which I would change my routine or my ministry. If I am living when Jesus comes, I hope to be doing the kind of work he did, the works by which he will judge us -- did we visit the sick and imprisoned, feed the hungry, clothe those in need? Did we promote justice in the world?

We just had St. Paul's Annual Meeting and Dearborn Christian's. To make all these things relevant -- my tenth anniversary as minister here, the end of the year, the end of the century, the end of the millennium, the "soon" (whatever that means) coming of Jesus, today's sermon is my annual/decade report!

You surely must know by now that I consider my position here as an exciting chance to do what I enjoy doing.

Much is said about the "call" to ministry. Last Sunday afternoon it was my honor to participate in the ordination of a Disciples of Christ lady in Troy. Today I will participate in the ordination examination of a United Church of Christ lady at Plymouth Congregational.

Were these women "called" by God? Or by the church? Or by their own inclination?

Was I sent here by God? Or by my own desire? Or because you couldn't get anyone else? What exactly is ministry? What precisely ought a minister to be about?

Exactly 200 years ago there appeared an ad in a French newspaper for a priest to come to the United States: "No salary, no recompense, no holidays, no pension, but much hard work, a poor dwelling, few consolations, many disappointments, frequent sickness, a violent and lonely death, an unknown grave." The thrilling part of that story is that there was no shortage of applicants!

That sounds like a description of the life and ministry of the Apostles and the early Christian missionaries. How many Christian ministers today do you think would have accepted ministry as their life work if that had been their prospect?

Is ministry really a calling? Or is it a good way to satisfy one's ego? Or maybe it is an easy way to earn a good salary? I know clergy who appear to have selected ministry for each of those reasons!

You have seen on the wall in my office, photographs of my heroes. In addition to the four paintings of a laughing Jesus, there are photos of Albert Schweitzer, Albert Einstein, Abraham Maslow, Abraham Muste, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and a man most of you know only by my having referred to him often, Clarence Jordan.

Clarence Jordan founded the Koinonia Farm in Americus, Georgia, where Habitat for Humanity began. He was a Baptist preacher, with a Ph.D. in Greek. He was popular in the local churches -- until they found out he was serious about Jesus, which meant black people and white people were equal at Koinonia Farms! Then the local people ignored him! That was in the early civil rights era!

He was invited to speak at Boston University because of his flaming liberal, social-action reputation. When he spoke to them they discovered he was a Bible-thumping fundamentalist!

That, dear saints, is precisely what I want to be -- a "liberal" who tackles the wrongs in society, a "fundamentalist" who lives by the stringent mores of the Kingdom of Jesus. As the preacher in these two churches, I want to promote total Christian commitment, the philosophy of the Suffering Servant, the life-style demanded by the King of the Kingdom. And should I live long enough, I want to do that until Jesus comes. Then we will know these are truly the last "last days" days.

Now, the "report" facet of our joint ministry here. For me, these past ten years have been a mixture of good things and bad. After half a century of nearly perfect health, I have in the past 10 years had 3 life-threatening illnesses. Yet with your support and the prayers of many lovely saints all over the country, I am what my doctor calls a "medical miracle." Praise the Lord!

During this past decade, you have excited me with your devotion to the church. At St. Paul's you installed a new organ, new hymnals, new stained-glass window, new window coverings, a steeple, new roof, new public address system, new alarm system, remodeled rest rooms . . . At Dearborn Christian you installed a new parking lot, new furnace, new roof, new kitchen equipment, new hymnals -- all that by a tiny congregation! At the same time, with a $30,000 mortgage, you turned down an offer of half a million dollars for your property. Amazing! God must be very proud of you.

I must say, both churches treat me better than any other minister I know. I thank you most sincerely for your love and care.

If I could choose in what era of history to have lived my life, I would choose this very time. What a time to live! If God had asked me to plan my life, I could not have dreamed of such a wonderful life. It is good that we don't plan, or even know the future. We have no idea when the last "last days" days are, prophecy notwithstanding.

There was a man who said he would do anything to see the stock market listings a month ahead of time. Well, a messenger came from glory and offered him a newspaper dated one month ahead. He was ecstatic. He eagerly turned to the business section and looked at the prices.

Then, as he picked up the phone to begin his orgy of buying and selling, he noticed the obituary column. There was his name!

Sue Grafton began her novel, "N" is for Noose, with these insightful words: "Sometimes I think how odd it would be to catch a glimpse of the future, a quick view of events lying in store for us at some undisclosed date. Suppose we could peer through a tiny peephole in time and chance upon a flash of what was coming up in the years ahead . . . Some moments we saw would make no sense at all, and some, I suspect, would frighten us beyond endurance . . . Time, of course, only runs in one direction, and it seems to do so in an orderly progression. Here in the blank and stony present, we're shielded from the knowledge of the dangers that await us, protected from future horrors through blind innocence."

So I don't know the future. I have no idea when the literal "last days" will be. I do believe Jesus will come again. I will not try to second guess God's time table. While we wait, let's prepare. "You do not know the hour when the Son of Man will come . . ." (Matthew 25:13)

The mission of the church -- the Body of Christ in its varied and various manifestations -- is to do the work Jesus did, to build his Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

That presumes we will love people, do good deeds, enlighten a dark world. We will make a difference.

Both these churches are active in missions. We support the many projects of our joint UCC/Disciples worldwide mission organization. Locally, we support the Salvation Army, Christus Victor food bank, Focus:HOPE, CROP Walk (Church World Service), Angel Tree, several inner-city missions . . . 17 missions we can think of at the moment.

We can probably do even more, so please listen to Sue and Beverly and Dorothy and the others who ask you to participate in our mission projects.

We should live as tho Jesus will come today, and plan as tho Jesus won't come in our lifetime. That way, if the last "last days" days come upon us we will be ready. That is precisely what Jesus commanded. "Be ready, for at such a time as you do not expect, the Son of man will come in all his glory." (Matthew 24:44)

There is a critical danger for those who believe in the Second Coming, and in prophecy. The danger is that we tend to get so preoccupied with the "soon" (as in "Yes, I am coming soon" Revelation 22:20) that we try to scare people into fellowship. Not because they fall in love with the Jesus way, but because they are afraid not to be ready. We try to scare hell out of people, instead of loving heaven into them!

People today "go here and there to increase knowledge." (Daniel 12:4) As they do so, they are vulnerable. People today are exhausted.

Like the mother of four who said, "I'm so tired, my idea of a vacation is a trip to the dentist. I just can't wait to sit in that chair and relax!" Or like the neurosurgeon who gave up medicine to open a bagel shop.

People are breaking the speed limit of life. Modern society demands more and more of everything, faster and faster. The ubiquitous overloading of activity threatens to overwhelm even the most stoical of us.

All this chaos creates a special agenda for the church. We must provide people with a reasonable rationale, a perspective with which to find peace of mind -- "shalom," and "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding." (Philippians 4:7)

You are aware that I listen to many radio preachers. Last week I heard that (1) Pharaoh's chariots have been found in the bottom of the Red Sea, (2) Noah's ark has been definitely located, (3) a newly-discovered manuscript has proved the authenticity of the Bible. In each case they want to send me proof of some kind, and of course they want my money.

We must be careful not to criticize the needs of other people. I suspect there are people who need the kind of religion propagated by the radio preachers. It is simplistic and naive, but there are many lovely saints who are simplistic and naive. I am blessed by their ministry, even tho it does not stimulate much thinking.

You are intelligent and sophisticated, so I try to stimulate you to study the Bible and current events with open hearts and minds.

Please understand, dear saints, that I am not devaluing the significance of the "last days" or the Second Coming of Jesus. I do believe there will come a time of last "last days" days, and I do believe Jesus will come again. My burden is for proper priorities. Jesus talked about last days and his coming again, but not nearly so much as he talked about love, unity, fellowship and the danger of materialism.

Like Jesus, I want my ministry to be that of a flaming liberal, condemning the money-changers, the inequities of society, militarism, violence; promoting the rights of women and minorities. AND I want to be at the same time a Bible-thumping fundamentalist, condemning the greed and sinfulness of gambling, alcoholism, addictions and materialism. Priorities! Do one and do not leave the other undone.

Payne Steward was a golf pro. He was known for his competitive spirit and his cocky attitude.

Then he met Jesus. He became known not for his passion to win, but for his passion for Christ.

Interestingly, when he became a Christian, his golf game improved. When his jet went down and he was killed, October 25, 1999, grief surrounded the many who knew him, especially the many friends on the Professional Golf Association Tour.

One of the most unique memorials to him was provided by Bob Estes, fellow golfer and Christian. On the first hole of his first round, he took his putter to the tee box.

He stood over the ball for several minutes, then putted it about 15 feet. Then he quietly said, "That one's for Payne."

In a game where each stroke can be worth thousands of dollars, Bob Estes voluntarily gave up a stroke to make a point. It was in memory of a man who had discovered what priorities are indeed important. His priority was not money. Payne Stewart, by the way, had made his last putt to win the U. S. Open.

Success is important. Winning a golf game is important. We're all proud of Gene Olson, who recently got his second hole-in-one! The Second Coming is important. But the really important priority in life is living like Jesus lived, ministering like Jesus ministered, serving like Jesus served.

A woman was shopping in New York on a cold November day. She saw a young boy standing at a window of a shoe store. She asked what he was doing there, in the cold. With the innocence of childhood, he said, "I was praying for God to give me those shoes."

His shoes were tattered and worn, and were barely covering his protruding bare feet.

She wrapped her arm around the boy, whisked him into the store, bought the shoes, and new socks to go with them. The lad looked up at her and asked, "Are you God's wife?"

I don't know what she answered, but dear saints, we are the family of God, we are the bride of Christ. Let us remember that, and let us behave like family.

The last "last days" days will come. Let us be about our Father's business.

Let us pray . . .



		Last "Last Days" Days?
		We are still in the throes of the Y2K panic, talk of the end of the world and the Second Coming. These past few months we have heard much about the last days. In October, 1999, the FBI mailed out a lengthy, well-footnoted report to law enforcement agencies. It was titled "Project Megiddo." It was a grim picture of Bible-thumpers, Jew-baiters, heavily-armed prophets of the Apocalypse. This volatile coven of extremists, fanatics and cult members was preparing to trigger Armageddon. Well, the new millennium came and only two minor acts of sabotage came to pass. An 80-foot tower in Oregon was toppled and a transformer in New York was bombed. Only three people who fit the profiles in the report were arrested near the end of 1999. What happened to the terrorist attacks which were going to destroy the world at the start of the new millennium? Good question! Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is near." Paul said, "we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." He was talking about the Second Coming. "After that (the resurrection of the saints) we who are still alive and are left . . ." (I Thessalonians 4:15, 17) Sounds like Jesus and Paul tho't they were in the "last days," doesn't it? That was 2000 years ago! So were they mistaken? Or did God change his plans? Or have we misinterpreted the Bible? When is the end? When is the Second Coming? When are the actual "last days"? When is the Kingdom of God to be a literal kingdom on earth? The Christian community went thru this same thing 1000 years ago, the year 1000. They preached the "last days" then just as we hear it preached now. Some of our great grandparents were sure Jesus would come in 1844! He didn't! Some 30 years ago, Hal Lindsey stirred up the evangelical community with his best-seller, The Late Great Planet Earth. As I recall, he expected a secret rapture to be in 1981 and the glorious Second Coming to be in 1988. A man by the name of Whisenant gave us 88 reasons Why the Rapture will be in 1988. We don't believe in a "secret rapture." It doesn't fit the Biblical picture. I don't know what dates he predicted, but I think David Koresh was preoccupied with "last days" days. Many preachers are still on "last days" crusades. Are we simply in another last days mode? Will this era prove to be the last "last days" days? The theological term for study of "last things" is eschatology. Jesus promised to come again. "If I go I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, you may also be." In recent years we have seen a proliferation of movements where human curiosity into the things of God has led many to follow charismatic leaders who are quite willing to fill those inquisitive minds with "the answers." Those answers have in turn led many to mass suicides and paranoid relationships with relatives and others. When I was a young preacher more interested in answers than in questions, I often reached the panic stage when I saw the "signs of his coming." A more important question is: If you believed Jesus would come within a few days, what would you do about it? Would it change your life, your lifestyle? Some of my friends don't approve of the manner of my ministry, the content of my preaching, "because we are living in the last days." One of the saints of old was asked what he would do if he knew Jesus would come on the morrow. He said he would "hoe the garden." John Wesley was asked the same question. He answered, "I would arise at 4 like I always do. I would have my devotions like I always do. Then I would visit the sick like I always do. Then I would retreat to my desk and study the Word." Well, if I knew Jesus would come this year, this month, this week, if these were indeed the last "last days" days, I can't think of any way in which I would change my routine or my ministry. If I am living when Jesus comes, I hope to be doing the kind of work he did, the works by which he will judge us -- did we visit the sick and imprisoned, feed the hungry, clothe those in need? Did we promote justice in the world? We just had St. Paul's Annual Meeting and Dearborn Christian's. To make all these things relevant -- my tenth anniversary as minister here, the end of the year, the end of the century, the end of the millennium, the "soon" (whatever that means) coming of Jesus, today's sermon is my annual/decade report! You surely must know by now that I consider my position here as an exciting chance to do what I enjoy doing. Much is said about the "call" to ministry. Last Sunday afternoon it was my honor to participate in the ordination of a Disciples of Christ lady in Troy. Today I will participate in the ordination examination of a United Church of Christ lady at Plymouth Congregational. Were these women "called" by God? Or by the church? Or by their own inclination? Was I sent here by God? Or by my own desire? Or because you couldn't get anyone else? What exactly is ministry? What precisely ought a minister to be about? Exactly 200 years ago there appeared an ad in a French newspaper for a priest to come to the United States: "No salary, no recompense, no holidays, no pension, but much hard work, a poor dwelling, few consolations, many disappointments, frequent sickness, a violent and lonely death, an unknown grave." The thrilling part of that story is that there was no shortage of applicants! That sounds like a description of the life and ministry of the Apostles and the early Christian missionaries. How many Christian ministers today do you think would have accepted ministry as their life work if that had been their prospect? Is ministry really a calling? Or is it a good way to satisfy one's ego? Or maybe it is an easy way to earn a good salary? I know clergy who appear to have selected ministry for each of those reasons! You have seen on the wall in my office, photographs of my heroes. In addition to the four paintings of a laughing Jesus, there are photos of Albert Schweitzer, Albert Einstein, Abraham Maslow, Abraham Muste, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and a man most of you know only by my having referred to him often, Clarence Jordan. Clarence Jordan founded the Koinonia Farm in Americus, Georgia, where Habitat for Humanity began. He was a Baptist preacher, with a Ph.D. in Greek. He was popular in the local churches -- until they found out he was serious about Jesus, which meant black people and white people were equal at Koinonia Farms! Then the local people ignored him! That was in the early civil rights era! He was invited to speak at Boston University because of his flaming liberal, social-action reputation. When he spoke to them they discovered he was a Bible-thumping fundamentalist! That, dear saints, is precisely what I want to be -- a "liberal" who tackles the wrongs in society, a "fundamentalist" who lives by the stringent mores of the Kingdom of Jesus. As the preacher in these two churches, I want to promote total Christian commitment, the philosophy of the Suffering Servant, the life-style demanded by the King of the Kingdom. And should I live long enough, I want to do that until Jesus comes. Then we will know these are truly the last "last days" days. Now, the "report" facet of our joint ministry here. For me, these past ten years have been a mixture of good things and bad. After half a century of nearly perfect health, I have in the past 10 years had 3 life-threatening illnesses. Yet with your support and the prayers of many lovely saints all over the country, I am what my doctor calls a "medical miracle." Praise the Lord! During this past decade, you have excited me with your devotion to the church. At St. Paul's you installed a new organ, new hymnals, new stained-glass window, new window coverings, a steeple, new roof, new public address system, new alarm system, remodeled rest rooms . . . At Dearborn Christian you installed a new parking lot, new furnace, new roof, new kitchen equipment, new hymnals -- all that by a tiny congregation! At the same time, with a $30,000 mortgage, you turned down an offer of half a million dollars for your property. Amazing! God must be very proud of you. I must say, both churches treat me better than any other minister I know. I thank you most sincerely for your love and care. If I could choose in what era of history to have lived my life, I would choose this very time. What a time to live! If God had asked me to plan my life, I could not have dreamed of such a wonderful life. It is good that we don't plan, or even know the future. We have no idea when the last "last days" days are, prophecy notwithstanding. There was a man who said he would do anything to see the stock market listings a month ahead of time. Well, a messenger came from glory and offered him a newspaper dated one month ahead. He was ecstatic. He eagerly turned to the business section and looked at the prices. Then, as he picked up the phone to begin his orgy of buying and selling, he noticed the obituary column. There was his name! Sue Grafton began her novel, "N" is for Noose, with these insightful words: "Sometimes I think how odd it would be to catch a glimpse of the future, a quick view of events lying in store for us at some undisclosed date. Suppose we could peer through a tiny peephole in time and chance upon a flash of what was coming up in the years ahead . . . Some moments we saw would make no sense at all, and some, I suspect, would frighten us beyond endurance . . . Time, of course, only runs in one direction, and it seems to do so in an orderly progression. Here in the blank and stony present, we're shielded from the knowledge of the dangers that await us, protected from future horrors through blind innocence." So I don't know the future. I have no idea when the literal "last days" will be. I do believe Jesus will come again. I will not try to second guess God's time table. While we wait, let's prepare. "You do not know the hour when the Son of Man will come . . ." (Matthew 25:13) The mission of the church -- the Body of Christ in its varied and various manifestations -- is to do the work Jesus did, to build his Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. That presumes we will love people, do good deeds, enlighten a dark world. We will make a difference. Both these churches are active in missions. We support the many projects of our joint UCC/Disciples worldwide mission organization. Locally, we support the Salvation Army, Christus Victor food bank, Focus:HOPE, CROP Walk (Church World Service), Angel Tree, several inner-city missions . . . 17 missions we can think of at the moment. We can probably do even more, so please listen to Sue and Beverly and Dorothy and the others who ask you to participate in our mission projects. We should live as tho Jesus will come today, and plan as tho Jesus won't come in our lifetime. That way, if the last "last days" days come upon us we will be ready. That is precisely what Jesus commanded. "Be ready, for at such a time as you do not expect, the Son of man will come in all his glory." (Matthew 24:44) There is a critical danger for those who believe in the Second Coming, and in prophecy. The danger is that we tend to get so preoccupied with the "soon" (as in "Yes, I am coming soon" Revelation 22:20) that we try to scare people into fellowship. Not because they fall in love with the Jesus way, but because they are afraid not to be ready. We try to scare hell out of people, instead of loving heaven into them! People today "go here and there to increase knowledge." (Daniel 12:4) As they do so, they are vulnerable. People today are exhausted. Like the mother of four who said, "I'm so tired, my idea of a vacation is a trip to the dentist. I just can't wait to sit in that chair and relax!" Or like the neurosurgeon who gave up medicine to open a bagel shop. People are breaking the speed limit of life. Modern society demands more and more of everything, faster and faster. The ubiquitous overloading of activity threatens to overwhelm even the most stoical of us. All this chaos creates a special agenda for the church. We must provide people with a reasonable rationale, a perspective with which to find peace of mind -- "shalom," and "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding." (Philippians 4:7) You are aware that I listen to many radio preachers. Last week I heard that (1) Pharaoh's chariots have been found in the bottom of the Red Sea, (2) Noah's ark has been definitely located, (3) a newly-discovered manuscript has proved the authenticity of the Bible. In each case they want to send me proof of some kind, and of course they want my money. We must be careful not to criticize the needs of other people. I suspect there are people who need the kind of religion propagated by the radio preachers. It is simplistic and naive, but there are many lovely saints who are simplistic and naive. I am blessed by their ministry, even tho it does not stimulate much thinking. You are intelligent and sophisticated, so I try to stimulate you to study the Bible and current events with open hearts and minds. Please understand, dear saints, that I am not devaluing the significance of the "last days" or the Second Coming of Jesus. I do believe there will come a time of last "last days" days, and I do believe Jesus will come again. My burden is for proper priorities. Jesus talked about last days and his coming again, but not nearly so much as he talked about love, unity, fellowship and the danger of materialism. Like Jesus, I want my ministry to be that of a flaming liberal, condemning the money-changers, the inequities of society, militarism, violence; promoting the rights of women and minorities. AND I want to be at the same time a Bible-thumping fundamentalist, condemning the greed and sinfulness of gambling, alcoholism, addictions and materialism. Priorities! Do one and do not leave the other undone. Payne Steward was a golf pro. He was known for his competitive spirit and his cocky attitude. Then he met Jesus. He became known not for his passion to win, but for his passion for Christ. Interestingly, when he became a Christian, his golf game improved. When his jet went down and he was killed, October 25, 1999, grief surrounded the many who knew him, especially the many friends on the Professional Golf Association Tour. One of the most unique memorials to him was provided by Bob Estes, fellow golfer and Christian. On the first hole of his first round, he took his putter to the tee box. He stood over the ball for several minutes, then putted it about 15 feet. Then he quietly said, "That one's for Payne." In a game where each stroke can be worth thousands of dollars, Bob Estes voluntarily gave up a stroke to make a point. It was in memory of a man who had discovered what priorities are indeed important. His priority was not money. Payne Stewart, by the way, had made his last putt to win the U. S. Open. Success is important. Winning a golf game is important. We're all proud of Gene Olson, who recently got his second hole-in-one! The Second Coming is important. But the really important priority in life is living like Jesus lived, ministering like Jesus ministered, serving like Jesus served. A woman was shopping in New York on a cold November day. She saw a young boy standing at a window of a shoe store. She asked what he was doing there, in the cold. With the innocence of childhood, he said, "I was praying for God to give me those shoes." His shoes were tattered and worn, and were barely covering his protruding bare feet. She wrapped her arm around the boy, whisked him into the store, bought the shoes, and new socks to go with them. The lad looked up at her and asked, "Are you God's wife?" I don't know what she answered, but dear saints, we are the family of God, we are the bride of Christ. Let us remember that, and let us behave like family. The last "last days" days will come. Let us be about our Father's business. Let us pray . . .