Harold Camping

I had never heard of the guy until just recently.  Camping is 89 years old and lives in California.  In case you do not know him, he is the leader behind the May 21 Rapture predictions.  From all I have seen, his efforts were quite sincere.  I don't know that he received any money from this movement.  So I think that Mr. Camping's actions were an expression of his love for people.  He cared about others and because he thought he knew what was about to take place, he started spreading the message that May 21 was D Day for humanity.  You can't kick the guy for caring, can you?  Or can you? 

As expected, he and his followers have been the butt of numerous jokes over the past several days.  And I confess that I have laughed at humorous comments people made about the whole deal.  And yes, numerous lessons are to be learned from this global faux pas. 
Will you humor me for a moment and let me ask:  What if GOD really did tell Mr. Camping to tell people the rapture would occur on May 21?  It is not the first time that GOD has invited someone to foolishness.  He told Mary the virgin she would birth the Messiah. He told Noah about the rain and Moses about the exodus. You are thinking, "Yeah, but those situations actually did occur."  But they did not know that.  All they knew was that GOD told them that something enormous was about to happen and they acted on it - like Harold Camping did.  Maybe GOD did tell Mr. Camping to tell others the end was coming on May 21. 
I am not trying to defend the guy.  I guess I kinda know how he feels to believe GOD for something huge only to be disappointed.  That has happened in my life on several occasions.  I look back and learned from those moments.  GOD has grown me through my disappointments in Him.  How about you?  
Let's pray for Harold Camping and his followers.  They need encouragment and support like never before.  Let's try to hold back on our sarcasm.  They need a little grace from us.
And one more thing.  I wonder if this May 21 deal was a warning shot from GOD.  Perhaps He wanted us to know how we would respond to warning signs of the end.  He really is coming back one day. Don't know when. But He is coming back.  In the meantime, let's live life intentionally.  And awaken every morning knowing that this day could be our last day on earth.  And grateful that our last day on earth means our first day in heaven.  

May 21
We all know by now that Harold Camping's prediction was wrong.  At the time of my writing, it is Sunday afternoon eastern time.  And I am still here on earth.  As far as I know, I am a candidate for the rapture.  So I suppose that is one small piece of evidence that the world did not end as he predicted.  A bigger piece is the notable absence of massive earthquakes and horrendous destruction around the globe.   
However it is important to point out that while Saturday, May 21 was not the final day for everyone, it was the final day for some.  I don't want to be Debbie Downer here, but the reality is that many people died yesterday.  In fact, a couple of fairly reputable web sites say that 150,000 people die each day.  Some deaths were unexpected because of accidents or homicides.  Some deaths were expected due to significant health problems.  The sad fact is that Saturday was the last day on earth for thousands of people. 

If nothing else, the doomsday prophets reminded us of a very important lesson -  There is a time to be born and there is a time to die.  And it begs a very important question:  Are you ready?  Are you ready to cross the line from earth to eternity?  I do not mean to throw that "turn or burn" stuff at people.  This blog is no effort to guilt people into saying the prayer so you can escape hell.  Mr. Camping just reminded me that there is a day out in the future when Jesus will come back.  It is promised throughout the scripture.  The first time Jesus came was a surprise.  And His second coming will be as well.  In fact, Jesus said His return would occur when we least expect it. 

So do not start trying to not expect it.  Rather choose to live in expectation of it.  No, I do not mean quit your job, sell your house and buy a camper.  Instead live each day following Jesus in your attitudes, your relationships, your words and your actions.  It is simple, but not easy.  He will enable you if you will ask Him.  Start with a simple prayer:  GOD, I want to follow You.  I can't do this on my own.  Forgive me for my past and give me the grace to walk in Your path each day.  I trust You.  And His answer to that prayer is always - YES. 

When Life Turns Out to be Less – Part 2
In Part 1, I wrote about Ian Usher, a man who ended up in a town called “Disappointment”. So he decided to get out of that town by selling his life on eBay. It begs the question: Is starting over really an option for people? And the resounding answer is yes, starting over is a possibility. However it is not as easy as one thinks. We did not become who we are overnight. It took years for us to gain this mindset and unique perception on life. Therefore we will not become a different persons overnight either. No magic pill exists to erase who we are. Lasting change is a long road of self-awareness and a deep-seated desire to embrace a new future and become a new person.  Ian Usher did not become someone else when he sold his life.   
The great news is that starting over is not something you must do by yourself. GOD offers us a chance to start over. He is not a “one and done” kind of GOD. He is willing to restore us. And He is actually waiting on people who want a second chance. If we will go with Him down that road of forgiveness and restoration, we can start again. You start again by following Christ. This new road is no easy path, but it is the path of healing and wholeness. He makes no promises about disappointments except that problems in this world are certain.  However, He offers to redeem those disappointments. Good can come from the bad and right can come from wrong. That is how He rolls. He is the God of Second Chances.
And this reason is why disappointment can be a wonderful thing. Although our unmet expectations in life are difficult to accept, they can become opportunities for new beginnings. When life turns out to be less than what we expect, we will have sadness and anger and heartache. Then we can get up one day, decide that we will move forward and with the grace of GOD, take that first step. Let Christ be your strength and walk forward into a new future on a path of change.

When Life Turns Out to be Less-Part 1
Ever heard of Ian Usher? In 2008, Ian was so disappointed with his life that he sold it on eBay. His wife wanted out of their marriage so she left and left him very sad. In order to rid himself of those memories, he decided to put his life on the auction block at eBay. He expected to make at least $390,000 in a sale that included a furnished 3-bedroom house, a car, a motorcycle, and a jet ski. He even threw in a one-time introduction to all of his friends and a two-week trial run at his place of employment. At the end of seven days, Ian made $233,000 for his life on eBay. He is presently living in Canada having taken on a project called “100 Goals in 100 Weeks”. See www.ianusher.com
His disappointment led him to a place of saying, “OK, I am ready to start over. I want to let go of the memories, look at a new direction in life and just head out.” So he did.
Ian did exactly what many of us have occasionally wanted to do – start all over. We became disappointed with our career or our marriage or our finances or our children or our own selves. Life turned out to be less than what we expected. And we wondered - Can we start over?
And the answer is yes, we can start over. However starting over is more than just going to a new place or finding a new job. Starting over is about discovering why we ended up where we did. It is about seeing the choices we made that led us to this place of wanting to hit the reset button. It is about the influences we allowed in our lives. Truly starting over means taking responsibility for our destination. Usually no one else is to blame. Starting over is about asking the hard questions. It is about breaking old habits and old patterns of thinking. It is about finding new roads to travel and new opportunities to embrace. Starting over is about becoming a new person because if you stay who you are, you will end up where you ended up again. And that is the hard part. But if you are willing, it can happen. More later.

National Day of Prayer, 2011
My sons have called on me on a number of occasions to help them with something. From the very beginning of their lives, they have had the ability to communicate to me that they needed me. And they have used it frequently. Just recently, my son's car would not crank. So what did he do? He called me and said, “Dad, my car will not start.”
What was he doing? He was inviting me into his situation. He was asking me to get involved in what was going on in his life. My son wanted my intervention at that moment in his life. And because he invited me to be involved, we were able to repair his car so that it cranked.
As I think about prayer, that is the picture that comes to my mind today. Like my son, our nation is facing a difficult situation. We have numerous issues right now that need divine assistance. Our economy is still declining. Our morals are corrupt. Unemployment is too high. The healthcare situation is a mess. We are fighting a war.  The leaders in governments are not leading. The nation is polarized. On and on the difficulties line up. We are leaving our children a growing disaster. Our solutions have not and are not working. It seems like the harder we try our ways, the worse things get. What should we do? I think we should do what my sons have always done - call their dad.
Several years ago, our state was facing a drought. Do you know what our governor did? He stood on the front steps of the capitol building and he called on his Dad to send rain. And since then the lake levels have risen. I noticed that California faced a similar situation as well. Do you know what their governor did? He proposed a canal to move water to the areas that needed it - at a cost of $11 billion. I have wanted to tell Arnold to give Sonny a call and ask how he dealt w/ the drought issue?
GOD can change situations in a heartbeat. He has the power and authority to intervene in order to make things work properly. GOD has decided that the best way to work in His world is through prayer. He involves Himself in people’s lives when they ask. Prayer is His ordained means of changing the way that things work (or don’t work). He acts in response to prayer.
If we want GOD to intervene in our circumstance as a nation, then we have to do only one thing – Call on Him to help. When we ask, He responds. That is the pattern I see from the Bible. That is the promise I read from Jesus. Just like my son did, if we will invite GOD to our situation, He will respond.  
Some may be thinking, “Well yeah, we have done that. Many of us pray every morning for our nation and invite GOD into our situation. But He seems to be staying at a distance. What’s up w/ that?” And honestly I am not sure. However it makes me wonder.
If my son called me one day and said, “Dad, my car will not start” and in the course of the conversation I realized that he did not have gas in it, do you know what I would do? I would tell him to get a ride, go to the store, purchase a gas can, go to another store, put gas in that can and then go to his car and put the gas in that car. And at that point, his car would transport him again. Then we would have another conversation about what the “E” means on his dashboard.
So I am wondering if the reason GOD has seemingly not intervened is because we know what to do. We know what needs to take place. We have the resources to do what needs to be done. We just need to do it. The issue is not that the Father has not responded to our prayers. He has. The issue may be that we have not responded to His directions.
See Micah 6:8 - He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
And our prayer becomes – GOD, show us what to do and give us courage to do it.