Future

Can what we see affect our lives? Well, you tell me

Lamentations 3:51Mine eye affecteth mine heart. I want to look at the present, past and future and how it affects each of us. David and his men have just returned from the camp of the Philistines which was a distance of about 80 miles. They were tired and looking forward to getting home but when they arrived they saw something that shocked them.

1Samuel 30:1
And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; Ok, we will just rebuild may have been their first thoughts; angry sure but it's not the end of the world. Then they noticed something that shocked them to their very core;

1Samuel 30:2
And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. Their families have been taken and this was something that could not be rebuilt nor replaced. What they saw in the present caused them to weep.

1Samuel 30:4
Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. Then there was the time when the enemies of the Jews made them captive from their own land. To make things worse they are asking them to sing the song which they had sang in their homeland. As they began to think of their past joys and victories, they find themselves captive in this strange land with no real song to sing for there is no rejoicing in their hearts.

Psalms 137:1
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. There are times when we think of the past and what we saw and experienced causes us to weep. Now the future no one can tell but I do know that if I keep doing the same things I've always done I am going to keep getting the same results I always have. So if the future is to be different we must do differently in the present. In the book of Luke we read of a man who was rich, but it was too late when he realized that money is overpriced. Yes, he had fine clothing and a wonderful house; why it may have had a 5 camel garage I don't know. What I do know is that he forgot the future until it was way too late. Money may buy nice clothes, nice automobile, wonderful houses and land but there are some things it will not buy. Many stand in line at the EZ store to buy their chance at winning a million or two. What they never think of is they already have what it takes to make them happy. No one can buy a home, loving wife and children, good health and good up standing charter in the community with a wonderful testimony. Those are some of the things money will not buy. There is something else that money will not buy and that's eternal security. This man in the book of Luke missed what was really important; if he could have only seen the future he wouldn't have been weeping. One of my good friends who died three and half years ago had a saying he always said; it's on his tombstone. He said "you need to be ready because you just don't know." He knew the future was coming and it did in December of 2006. The man in the book of Luke wasn't ready for the future. What do you think?

Luke 16:22
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

Luke 16:23
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, As he begs for one drop of water he tells us of the flames and the torment, he warns you and I of this future event as he begs for someone to be sent to tell his family or they too will be in the same place soon. He realized what was priceless too late. As you and I live our present day remember there are some things that are very precious to each of us. As we remember our Past let us not dwell on all the bad choices we have made for there is nothing we can do about them. As we think of our future let's make sure we don't repeat the bad choices of our past. Let's make sure we know the future is coming and be prepared for it. We must know that we know the Lord Jesus as our Savior if we know that we are prepared for the future.