Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

The Lord tells us what to expect in the end. So why do so many of us share different and varied expectations of the end? Perhaps it is connected with our desire for a particular end. There are more than one ending as described in the bible.

There is the end of the church age and the prophesies and events surrounding that end. I know I am personally looking forward to that point in time when the body of Christ is complete and the last soul to be won to Christ has said yes to our Lord. That’s one end.

There is the end of the millennial kingdom when Satan will be cast forever from earth, the end of our enemy. That has to be one end which many could say is something to look forward to indeed.

Then there is the great and terrible day of the Lord. The enemies of Christ and many who have persecuted and beheaded Christians will come to their end. I have to admit, I have a desire to see God’s justice enacted.

How about Armageddon? Is there an end there and if so what comes to an end? War in the middle-east perhaps? I am not sure but there does seem to be a finality to the description of that event.

Perhaps you are looking to judgment day, where you will receive a white robe and a stone upon which no one knows a name, and what that might mean. But is that an end? It sounds more like a beginning to me.

I will tell you what I think is the expected end.

Romans 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

I am born again, a new creature, but I do not yet have His likeness, which will be my end.

Psalm 17:15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

Matthew 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

This is the world of E, isn’t it? E stands for electronic. E-mail, E-commerce, E-filing, and a variety of electronic forms of interaction with humanity which might not start with E. Commercials are the first thing I think about when it comes to using the electronic media to covey E-motions. That is because I grew up in the age of television, soap operas, and the budding world of the melodrama.

We are surrounded all day long, everywhere we go, with the all too persuasive force of the subtle manipulations of our emotions. Everything from the sad face of a dog in a cage who needs our support for animal rights to ghoulish twitters of beheadings of the innocent. The E-motion tugs are meant to move us, thus the sly use of the E- to imply that we are being manipulated into motion. They want our support or our money, or both.

Here is my problem with it. Jesus was there, in the midst of the people, making contact, touching lives, in a real and personal way. We have replaced face to face intimacy with a cold faceless electronic device, while offering speed and volume lacks warmth.

I send out this devotional every day and its meaning and purpose hold no power or effect if it does not impact your interaction with at least one human being face to face. It is the same as the Word of God. Words are fine, studies are fine, but it does not do what it is intended to do if it only touches you. The Word was given to enrich your interactive lives with other human beings.

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

E-motions are deceiving.