A 1980'S flashback for all of fellow/lady "80's" fans! Does anyone else remember how the number one song on The Music Charts in 1982, by Prince (later referred to as "The Artist") song called "1999" seemed like such a futuristic song? I graduated in 1981 and when this song came out on the radio in 1982, I suspected it would be on the top of The Music Charts (Casey Kasem) for a long time. I was right, but this is not the only point I want to make.

What made this song so "futuristic", as well as "prophetic", was its lyrics as heard in the first verse of the song which goes as follows:

"I was dreamin' when I wrote this
Forgive me if it goes astray
But when I woke up this mornin'
Coulda sworn it was judgment day
The sky was all purple,
There were people runnin' everywhere
Tryin' 2 run from the destruction,
U know I didn't even care
Two thousand zero zero party, oops, out of time 
So we're going to party like its 1999"

The idea that back in 1982 this song seemed to speak of a dream of a futuristic "judgment day" and in the minds of so many 18 and 19 year guys and gals from my high school years, 1999 seemed so far away. It is with the same attitude and mentality that I address a similar issue concerning a "futuristic judgment day" that is coming for real and very soon!

Leave it to a "radical Christian" to bring up such a "doom and gloom" topic. But it is true when I say that many folks believe an imminent "judgment day" will eventually come. And these folks would be right in thinking this. The Return of Jesus Christ is also imminent and I believe He is coming back VERY SOON for His People! The question I pose to you is, "Have you asked JESUS into your heart today and made Him your personal Lord and Savior?" Some would say, "well I attended Sunday School every Sunday morning when I was growing up as a young kid and had my share of punch and cookies, while the teacher used the "flannel graph with paper figures, buildings, various animals and people figures on a board, in telling the bible stories. Praise God for those elderly women with patience of Job as she rallied twenty some obnoxious little "saints" in seats around large tables. Many of us, as children, were "dragged" to church on an early Sunday morning while our friends slept off the Late Saturday Night "Creature Feature" nightmares (which Christian boys and girls were not allowed to watch). Also, some of you may remember having your parents drop you off at church and going back home so they could have a few hours to themselves.

THIS, INCIDENTALLY, IS NOT WHAT IS MEANT BY PARENTS RAISING THEIR CHILDREN UP IN THE KNOWLEDGE AND ADMONITION OF THE LORD! I can hear some parents saying, "At least we got them into church!" But I would counter this statement with two questions-- "Why weren't you in church as well and if not, "where were you showing your kids "leadership and your priority to God in your life?"

Getting back to the real reason for this article- But again, I ask you, "if you didn't ask Jesus into your heart and made Him your personal Lord and Savior there in front of the other kids in the Sunday School class, did you ever do it later?

You may ask why I am harping on this question that I pose to you but it is Very Important why I ask you such a thing. Many of my "1980's" pals and gals have seen a lot of crazy things occurring in our short lifetime thus far and the world is getting crazier and why is this? When we were kids, if not Sunday school teachers, than hopefully our parents, told us about The Devil whose goal is to kill, steal and destroy. To some little minds back then this was frightening and had guys like myself stepping into teen and young adulthood, knowing as a believer in Jesus, there was also a nemesis of God and His People and his name is Satan. I am now a 52 year old Christian and Satan's goals continues to be "To Kill, Steal and Destroy". Satan has increased his evil schemes, and because he senses his end is drawing near, because Jesus is coming back VERY SOON, Satan is pulling out of his armaments and doing everything he can to destroy God's Children. In truth, my old classmates, family and newfound friends, we CANNOT LIVE OUT THIS WORLD AND ENTER INTO THE WORLD (THE NEW JERUSALEM AND THE EVENTUAL RESIDENCE OF ETERNITY IN HEAVEN, WITHOUT THE VICTORY AND ENABLING POWER TO OVERCOME THE ENEMY WITHOUT OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!

Some of you who once made JESUS your personal Lord and Savior have forgotten about what it means to be a Christian due to life's challenges and you've placed JESUS on the back burner, and you very rarely think about the JESUS you once knew and once sang about in Sunday School ("Jesus Loves Me"; "He's Got The Whole World In His a Hands"; or "The B I B L E That's The Book For Me" or even the memorable "Zaccheus" with the lyrics of "Zacheus Was A Wee Little Man a Wee Little Man was He....He climbed up in a sycamore tree to see what he could see.....). If these songs spark any memory in you as songs you once sang when attending Sunday School, where are you today with Jesus? Is He still abiding in your heart...the same heart that once, in childlike faith, asked Him into your heart as Your Lord and Savior?

In truth, although the challenges in life we've endured over these past 50 plus years (and is some younger and others, much older), some of us haven't thought about Jesus in years (except perhaps during times in our lives when, out of sheer desperation, we managed to call out to the Name of Jesus for help-- loudly raising your voice because you believe He is miles away and can't possibly hear you through all of the other voices you've allowed to surround yourself with and have often accepted and embraced in ungodly counsel. Again, in truth, Jesus isn't as far away from you and the cares and concerns of your life as you may assume-- as a child, we may have remembered an important fact and that is "JESUS SAID HE WOULD NEVER LEAVE NOR FORSAKE YOU". This is a promise He has made to you, and just because you may have strayed from Him many times in your life, He still faithfully remains by your side. His love and concern for your life and the lives of your family members, as well as, everything that concerns you, remains unshakable and unmovable. He doesn't fret when you find yourself having to deal with life's hardships-- He knows the times you have stressed over how you were forced to decide whether to pay a bill or buy food for your children; He knows those tears that you've attempted to hide away from others for fear they may find you weak and your vulnerability may be seen in the light of deceptive failure. In all of those times when you've tried to live out the challenges with your head held high and your jaw tight and your shielded fist even tighter with a strong urge to shake your fist towards God out of fear, anger and weariness that comes with trudging through life day after day; waking up to another day of having to create something out of nothing because, again, the cupboards are bare, bill collectors are calling and there is rent past due again. Again, I ask you, "Do you remember asking JESUS into your heart as a child?" And if you do, He's still right there beside you and He desires that you turn to Him for all that you will need right now.

I have been a Christian since I was seven years old and I asked Jesus into my heart and He became The Lord and Savior in my life. Although there were some years along the way where I left him standing in the background as I made some horrible and sinful choices and decisions in my life, He NEVER left my side. There have been many times over my relationship with Jesus that I have found myself trying to figure things out on my on (while He lovingly and graciously stood in the background just patiently waiting for me to turn to Him for help, peace and reassurance that this life wasn't going to swallow me up in fear, doubt and the uncertainties that were lying ahead for me-- with trials and temptations that lie in wait for the next time I took my eyes off of My Friend, Helper, Savior and Lord, Jesus. I can wholeheartedly say that although if I made a list of my many wrong choices and bad decisions in life, this seemingly long list would never compare to ALL of the times when Jesus has been right there to pick me up, love away the hurt, pain, shame and disappointment--and He set me back on my feet and helped me too dare take another step forward.

Folks, I write, not as someone who has "arrived on some higher plateau of spiritual greatness" or "declaration on a brass tainted plaque that tells the world that I have achieved such commendable "worldly accolades" (that will end up on some dusty shelf in a Goodwill or Thrift shop) after I die. I write to you as a humble Christian who will give you the only gift I can give to another human being-- JESUS CHRIST, God's Gift to a dying and sinful world. Jesus, His only begotten Son, who willingly died on the Cross at Calvary for the sins of ALL mankind. In all of life's successes, failures, devastations, celebrations, good, bad and the ugly in life, nothing matters more than THE TREASURE AND GIFT I HAVE BEEN GIVEN BY FATHER GOD-- HIS SON, MY LORD. REDEEMER, CONFIDANTE AND A FRIEND WHO TRULY DOES STICK CLOSER THAN ANY BROTHER (AND I AM INCREDIBLY BLESSED WITH GREAT BROTHERS)...BUT NONE COMPARES TO THE FAITHFULNESS OF JESUS AND HIS WILLINGNESS TO KEEP HIS PROMISE THAT HE WILL NEVER LEAVE NOR FORSAKE US!

All of this FB insertion came out of the fact that I received a phone call last night from a cousin I haven't heard from or talked to since I was a Senior and he was eight grader in Lee High School (Wyoming, Michigan) 1981. My cousin Tom called me up because he remembered a book I wrote when I was 29 years old called RED PUMPS AND A SWITCHBLADE (Amazon.com). He explained how he woke up and Father told him to contact me for counsel --the miracle of how he was able to get my phone number is utterly amazing! It is all about God's Timing and His Faithfulness in having this cousin remember a book he read (that I had authored over twenty three years ago) and he decided to be obedient to the leading of The Holy Spirit. He and I talked for over an hour and all Father God had me remind him of was the Faithfulness that Jesus would "never leave nor forsake us". He too attended a small church called "The Galewood Mission" (Wyomimg, Michigan and the same church I and my three brothers attended when we were all young boys) and he too made JESUS his personal Lord and Savior.

It was a great blessing (and very humbling) to talk to him so many years later. I must admit, Father continues to blow my mind in the way He has folks meet up again for the sake of much needed godly counsel and prayer. I pray (and greatly anticipated) my precious cousin is going to return back to the loving arms of God through an awesome relationship with Jesus Christ, the same person who we sang about in Sunday School in the song "Jesus Loves Me" -- AND HE DOES MY BELOVED FAMILY, FRIENDS AND THOSE I'VE YET TO HAVE BEEN THE BLESSED PRIVILEGE OF MEETING!

Have a blessed day today everyone-- keep your childlike faith and never forget that Jesus told His disciples (and that includes you and I today), that " He would never leave nor forsake us". SELAH and AMEN! Love you all very much!

01-16-16 J.