Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

TITLE: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
DATE: February 10, 2019
TEXT: Psalm 103:2- (ESV) - 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
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We are coming up to Valentine’s Day and I assume you have laid in your supply of Sweethearts. You remember Sweethearts. I’m speaking about those chalky, pastel colored, candy valentines which had a little message printed on them.
I guess that’s a sneaky way to begin a devotion.

You see I know you haven’t bought your Sweethearts because, for the first time since 1886, Sweethearts aren’t sitting on the store shelves… and they’re not sitting on the store shelves because they haven’t been made.

And why haven’t they been made?

Simple, those candies have always been manufactured by The New England Confectionary Company (NECCO), Sadly, last Spring, the company filed for bankruptcy protection. In May Spangler Candy Company bought NECCO, but they didn’t have time to get the Sweethearts to the market.

Hopefully next year they will be back...but who knows.

As I sit and look back at my life, I see a great many things which I thought would be around forever, but are not. Great companies have gone the way of the passenger pigeon. Let’s see, there’s Amoco and Enron and RadioShack, Pan Am, TWA and U.S. Airways. There’s Blockbuster, Woolworths and Borders.

In making up a listing of the dearly departed, I dare not forget the automobile brands which have disappeared in recent years; Let’s see a partial list would include: AMC, Mercury,  Oldsmobile, Plymouth,   Pontiac, Saab and Hummer.

Understand, this devotion is not a complaint about change. Change is just a part of life. Some changes are good and others, not so much so. No, this devotion is about taking things for granted. It’s making the assumption that things will just always continue on the way they are… it’s believing what is here today will also be here tomorrow.

And that’s just not so.

You are a rare person if you haven’t mourned the departure of someone who was dear and close to you. Sure, you know people don’t live forever, but you kind of just naturally assumed they would always be there. Then one day, you woke up and found they were gone.

I’m afraid that same type of thing can happen to Jesus.

People grow up with Jesus and assume He will always be around. Sadly as teen-agers many don’t pay Him much attention and as a young adult Jesus isn’t pushy. Without any decision being made; without anyone noticing, slowly Jesus just sort of faded away. Nobody can say when He disappeared from a heart, but it’s obvious, He has disappeared.

So, is there a cure? I believe there is. Once a day, just for a minute or two stand at the stable, kneel at the cross and laugh by the empty tomb.  If that is done, I doubt if anybody would let Jesus disappear.

 THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, You remembered me throughout Your life. Not once did You ever forget my salvation was depending upon You. May I, in appreciation, keep my thanks of You in the forefront of my heart. In Your Name I ask it. Amen.

Today’s devotion was inspired by various articles, amongst which is the one written by Newser editors on January 14, 2019 .  Those who wish may check out this link which was, at the time of writing, fully active: http://www.breakpoint.org/2019/01/the-problem-with-the-forever-home/

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann, one of my long-ago confirmands. He is singing with three brothers. This song comes from the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html