8/7/15

From Mark Copeland... "FOLLOWING JESUS WITHOUT DENOMINATIONALISM" The Way Out Of Religious Division

              "FOLLOWING JESUS WITHOUT DENOMINATIONALISM"

                   The Way Out Of Religious Division

INTRODUCTION

1. In our previous lesson, I began this series by defining the terms
   "denomination" and "denominationalism"...
   a. "denomination" - a group of congregations that are joined
      together under some governing body, that effectively serves to
      distinguish and divide them from other congregations
   b. "denominationalism" - advocacy of separation into religious denominations

2. I also suggested three reasons why "denominationalism" is wrong...
   a. It is un-scriptural (i.e., without scriptural support)
   b. It is anti-scriptural (e.g., Jn 17:20-23; 1Co 1:10-13; 3:3-4)
   c. It is harmful to the cause of Christ (by discouraging people from
      believing in Christ - Jn 17:21)

3. But is it possible for people today to simply be Christians, without
   being a member of any man-made denomination?
   a. The answer is "Yes!"
   b. Indeed, by following the example of Jesus Himself, we can be
      members of His body, the Lord's church, just as we read about in
      the scriptures!

[To see how, let's start by noticing Jesus' own example in the
religious climate of His day...]

I. THE EXAMPLE JESUS HAS SET FOR US

   A. THE RELIGIOUS CLIMATE OF HIS DAY...
      1. When Jesus came to this earth, the Israelites were living
         under the Law of God as given by Moses
      2. In that law, God had not made any provision for the division
         of His people into religious sects or parties
      3. Yet, by the time of Jesus, the Jews had formed several
         distinct religious parties:
         a. Pharisees (somewhat conservative)
         b. Sadducees (very liberal, the "modernists" of their day)
         c. Essenes (radical isolationists)
         d. Herodians, Zealots (political religionists)
      4. It was assumed that all who were serious about religion would
         be associated with one of these groups

   B. THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS...
      1. To which of these groups did Jesus belong?  He belonged to
         NONE of these groups!
      2. Instead, He maintained a "non-sectarian" relationship with God
         to the very end
         a. As an Israelite, living at a time when the Law of Moses was
            still in effect, He was simply an "Israelite"
         b. In addition, He encouraged all to live by the Law while it
            was still in effect - cf. Mt 5:17-20
         c. In other words, He encouraged all to simply be what the Law
            of Moses intended them to be (i.e., "Israelites")

   C. WHAT WOULD JESUS BE TODAY?
      1. If He were on earth, would He be a Baptist, or Catholic, or
         Presbyterian, or Methodist, etc.?
      2. If He was simply an Israelite then, would He not simply be a
         "Christian" today?
      3. That was certainly what His disciples came to be called - cf.Ac 11:26

[In any case, the example Jesus has set for us is clear:  just be what
God originally intended under the Law which is in effect.  Since in the
New Testament (the "law of Christ" cf. 1Co 9:21) the disciples of
Christ were called "Christians", so we should be!

Not only should we be content with being "called" Christians, we should
also be concerned with "just being Christians".  NOTHING MORE, NOTHING LESS!

But how can we be sure that we are simply Christians, members of the
church we read about in the New Testament?  It helps to see what the
Bible tells us about ...]

II. THE LORD'S CHURCH IN THE FIRST CENTURY A.D.

   A. PROMISED BY JESUS...
      1. Jesus promised to build HIS church - cf. Mt 16:18
      2. The word "church" comes from the Greek word EKKLESIA, which
         means "a called-out group, an assembly, a congregation"
      3. Therefore, Jesus was promising to create His own group of
         people who have been "called"

   B. ESTABLISHED THROUGH THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL...
      1. How does this "calling" take place?
      2. According to the apostle Paul, we are "called" by the gospel
         of Christ - 2Th 2:14
      3. On the first Pentecost after the ascension of Christ, we see
         by preaching the gospel Peter "called out" those who were
         willing to express their faith in Jesus - Ac 2:38-41
      4. Notice that those who gladly responded in faith, repentance
         and baptism were "added"
         a. To what and by whom were they "added"?
         b. We find the answer in verse 47: "And the Lord added to
            the church daily those who were being saved."
      5. The day of Pentecost was the beginning of the Lord's church
         (His "ekklesia")
      6. This "called-out" assembly or group was created when the
         gospel was proclaimed and people responded to it

   C. EXPANDED THROUGH THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL...
      1. At first, the church existed only in Jerusalem
      2. As the gospel spread, and people responded to it, groups of
         these saved people in various cities met together
      3. Each group became known as a church in a "local" sense (in
         contrast to the church "universal" which is made up of all
         those saved throughout the world)
      4. For example, during Paul's first missionary journey, many such
         churches were established - Ac 14:21-23
      5. By simply teaching the gospel of Christ, a local church was
         formed when those who obeyed the gospel joined together in
         their work and worship

   D. EDIFIED THROUGH THE APOSTLES' DOCTRINE...
      1. Though united in Christ, these local churches were independent
         of any human association or federation of churches
      2. Christ directed them through His inspired apostles, as they
         taught them how to worship and work together - cf. Ac 2:42
      3. Sometimes this teaching by the apostles was done directly,
         other times by appointed emissaries - e.g., 1Co 4:17
      4. Just as often, the teaching was done through the epistles or
         letters written by the apostles - cf. 1Co 14:37; 1Ti 3:
         14-15; 2Th 2:14-15; 3:14

[When we see what the Bible tells us about the Lord's church, we learn
that by responding to the gospel and then paying close heed to the
"apostles' doctrine" (cf. Ac 2:42), people in the first century were
able to be Christians only, without all the confusion prevalent today.

But is it possible for us to do this today?  YES!  And here is how...]

III. THE WAY OUT OF RELIGIOUS DIVISION

   A. ACCEPT THE CALL OF THE GOSPEL...
      1. Remember, Christ calls us into His ekklesia (church) through
         the gospel
      2. Therefore, we can begin by obeying the same instructions that
         Peter gave on the Day of Pentecost - Ac 2:38
      2. By repenting of our sins, and being baptized for the remission
         of our sins, we would then receive the same blessings as did
         the 3000 on that day:  SALVATION!
      3. By being saved in this manner, we KNOW that the Lord truly
         adds us to HIS church just as He added them - cf. Ac 2:47
      4. What then...?

   B. FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS...
      1. The early Christians continued steadfastly in the apostles'
         doctrine - Ac 2:42
         a. They joined no other religious organization, and NEITHER
            SHOULD WE!
         b. By being in Christ, we are automatically united with all
            others who are in Him!
      2. As members of the Lord's church, we should study carefully the
         New Testament description of the church that continued
         steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine
         a. This description is found in the Book of Acts and in the
            Epistles which follow it
         b. It is here that we will find instruction from the Lord's
            apostles on HOW:
            1) To worship the Lord acceptably
            2) To be scripturally organized as local congregations
            3) To live and work together as Christians, spreading the
               gospel of Christ through word and example
      3. Since the apostles were guided by the Holy Spirit, we may be
         sure their instructions were exactly what Jesus wanted them to be!
         a. If we duplicate the early churches by following the
            apostles' instructions, we will simply be "Christians", and
            we can be certain the Lord is pleased with us
         b. As Jesus said to His apostles about those who would receive
            or reject their instructions:

            "He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects
            Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."
                                                 - Lk 10:16

CONCLUSION

1. Simply being a Christian, and duplicating a New Testament
   congregation is not as difficult as one might think
   a. There are literally thousands of such congregations throughout
      the world
   b. THERE IS LIKELY ONE IN YOUR AREA RIGHT NOW!  (Feel free to
      contact me if you would like to try and locate the nearest one.)

2. And so, by following the example and teachings of Jesus, as revealed
   by His apostles, we can be led out of the religious confusion that
   dominates the religious world today!

3. Do you want to be simply a Christian, a member of the Lord's church
   we read about in the New Testament?
   a. If so, then I plead with you to first render obedience to the
      gospel of Christ as proclaimed by Peter and all the apostles -
      cf. Ac 2:36-38
   b. You have the assurance of God's Word that you will then be added
      by the Lord Himself to His church - cf. Ac 2:47
   c. Then, you have the responsibility to learn and follow the
      apostles' doctrine as you serve the Lord Jesus in your life -
      cf. Ac 2:42

4. If you have not yet responded to the commands of the gospel as put
   forth by Peter in Ac 2:38, why not let the reaction of those who did
   on the Day of Pentecost describe your actions today:

   "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that
   day about three thousand souls were added to them." - Ac 2:41

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011



Matthew Fontaine Maury by Trevor Major, M.Sc., M.A.


https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=361

Matthew Fontaine Maury

by  Trevor Major, M.Sc., M.A.

Many people have the impression that the nineteenth century was a bad time for Christianity. It witnessed the spread of uniformitarian geology, higher criticism, and evolution. However, it was by no means a victory for skepticism. What we often forget is that most people outside academia rejected these new ideas. In England, for example, Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species appeared in 1859, and Essays and Reviews, which appeared in 1860, catapulted German higher criticism into Anglican theology. Yet according to Gregory, “the years following 1860 were a time of great religious revival in England” (1986, p. 373).
Also, many prominent teachers and researchers remained committed to their belief in God and His inspired Word. One outstanding example is Matthew Fontaine Maury (1806-1873). He was born in Virginia, and joined the U.S. Navy at age nineteen. Although an accomplished sailor, Maury always leaned toward the academic side of his profession. Following a serious coach accident, which confined him to duty on land, Maury’s scholarly reputation earned him a position in 1842 as Superintendent of the Depot of Charts and Instruments.
Almost immediately, Maury began the greatest task of his career. He was determined that captains should have charts that would enable them to sail as quickly and as safely as possible around the world. He used old log books and thousands of new observations to produce his famous wind and current charts of the world’s major oceans. These achievements earned him the epithet, “pathfinder of the seas.” Maury also wrote directions to accompany his charts, and he combined these with other observations about the ocean to produce The Physical Geography of the Sea, which first appeared in 1855. This was an immensely popular book, and marked the beginning of the science of oceanography.
Throughout all this success, Maury never forgot his belief in Scripture. Physical Geography is filled with references to the Bible. He could not help but be fascinated by passages that mention the sea, such as Psalm 8:8, Psalm 107:23-24, and Ecclesiastes 1:7. Whoever studies the sea, Maury contended, “must look upon it as a part of that exquisite machinery by which the harmonies of nature are preserved, and then will begin to perceive the developments of order and the evidences of design” (1859, p. 57).
Maury knew full well that these views clashed with those of his colleagues. Before five thousand people at the founding of the University of the South in 1860, he proclaimed the following:
I have been blamed by men of science, both in this country and in England, for quoting the Bible in confirmation of the doctrines of physical geography. The Bible, they say, was not written for scientific purposes, and is therefore no authority in matters of science. I beg pardon! The Bible is authority for everything it touches. What would you think of an historian who should refuse to consult historical records of the Bible, because the Bible was not written for the purposes of history? The Bible is true and science is true (as quoted in Lewis, 1927, p. 99, emp. in orig.).
Such convictions have earned Maury a well-deserved place in Bible-science literature. He is honored as a man who took God at His Word. However, readers may want to treat one claim with a little suspicion (see Major, 1995). Several accounts suggest that Maury was so confident about God’s Word that his mapping of ocean currents resulted directly from reading or hearing about the “paths of the seas” in Psalm 8:8. Some go on to suggest that ocean currents would have remained hidden unless Maury had read this passage in the Bible. Some set this crucial event in Maury’s childhood, and others set it during the recovery from his accident. One popular account by Virginia Lee Cox has a son reading to Maury during an illness (Lewis, 1927, p. 252), but Maury began his mapping project when the oldest son was only two years old. Another problem is that some currents, such as the Gulf Stream, were well-studied by the 1840s. Maury’s feat was to bring his scientific knowledge to bear on a vast array of nautical information, but he was not the first to discover ocean currents.
There is little doubt that Maury held a special fascination for Psalm 8:8 and other passages that mention the sea and the sky. They confirmed to him that revelation in nature and revelation in Scripture were in harmony because they have One Author. These convictions, and Maury’s character, make him worthy of emulation by Bible-believing scientists today.

REFERENCES

Gregory, Frederick (1986), “The Impact of Darwinian Evolution on Protestant Theology in the Nineteenth Century,” God & Nature, ed. D.C. Lindberg and R.L. Numbers (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press), pp. 369-390.
Lewis, Charles Lee (1927), Matthew Fontaine Maury: The Pathfinder of the Seas (Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute, 1969 reprint by AMS Press, New York).
Major, Trevor (1995), “Honor to Whom Honor...Matthew Fontaine Maury (1806-1873),” Creation Research Society Quarterly, 32[2]:82-87, September.
Maury, Matthew F. (1859), The Physical Geography of the Sea (New York: Harper & Brothers, sixth edition).

God is No Respecter of Persons by Caleb Colley, Ph.D.


https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1440

God is No Respecter of Persons

by  Caleb Colley, Ph.D.

When the first Gentile was converted to Christianity, the apostle Peter perceived that “God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10:34-35). Before the church was established and Gentiles began to be converted to Christ, many Jews supposed that God favored them over all other ethnic groups; some had the false notion that merely being Jewish was a sure sign that one was saved (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8; 7:30).
When the religious barrier between Jews and Gentiles was broken down, Peter more fully understood one important aspect of God’s character: He does not favor—and never has favored—one person or group of people over others. Whether or not the Israelites always understood it, anyone who obeys God’s commands can be justified in His sight. Consider a sampling of the passages that emphasize God’s fairness toward all humans:
2 Chronicles 19:7: “Now therefore, let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes.”
Job 34:19: “Yet He is not partial to princes, nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; for they are all the work of His hands.”
Romans 2:10-11: “[B]ut glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”
Galatians 5:6: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision or uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.”
1 Peter 1:17: “And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.”
Exactly what does it mean that God is impartial? God offers salvation to every man, no matter what external circumstances, such as socioeconomic status or nationality, might apply to him. God does not offer salvation only to the Jew, just because he is a Jew, or only to the Gentile because he is a Gentile. The Greek word translated “respecter of persons” in the King James Version of Acts 10:34 (“God is no respecter of persons”) is prosopolemptes, a word that refers to a judge who looks at a man’s face instead of at the facts of the case, and makes a decision based on whether or not he likes the man (Lenski, 1961, p. 418). Under Roman law, for example, a defendant’s societal status was weighed heavily along with evidence. Any human judge might show undue favor to a plaintiff or a defendant because of private friendship, bribery, rank, power, or political affiliation, but God, the perfect Judge, cannot be tempted by any of the things that might tempt a human judge to show unfair partiality.
God’s impartiality does not keep Him from choosing people and nations of people to accomplish His specific purposes. He was free to use the Israelites as the seed line to bring about the Son of God in human form (the Israelites have never been the only group of people who had access to salvation—see Romans 1:18ff; Jackson, 2004); He was free to use the Babylonians to defeat the disobedient Israelites in battle and to take the spoils from them (2 Kings 25:1-21); He was free to use Peter and Paul to spread the Gospel to lost sinners. God can accomplish everything He needs to do without violating His commitment to allow all the opportunity to be saved.
Furthermore, God blesses people in different ways. God’s impartiality does not mean that everyone will have exactly the same amount of money, exactly the same amount of influence, exactly the same number of children, or exactly the same number of years upon the Earth. (At the very moment that Peter noted God’s impartiality, he was in the presence of a man who possessed more material wealth than Peter did.) Some do have more money than others, some have families who love them more, and some even have more opportunities to hear the Gospel preached. However, everyone can be saved, if he is willing to search for the truth. While some accountable adults may live their entire lives without hearing a single Gospel sermon, they all experience the marvelous works of the hand of God, showing every person that He exists. Paul wrote:
[W]hat may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened (Romans 1:19-21).
God always has expected impartiality from His followers. We should not treat people differently because of their financial status or outward appearance. The Lord said: “You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty” (Leviticus 19:15). Deuteronomy 1:17 reads: “You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great.” After describing a scenario in which a rich man was given a favored seat in the assembly, and a poor man was pushed to the side, James wrote: “But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors” (James 2:9). In stating that Christians should not show partiality because they believe in Christ, James, by inspiration, suggested that favoritism—treating certain people as if they are of more inherent worth—is inconsistent with faith in Christ, and causes one to violate God’s law of liberty (2:8,12).
We are grateful that God has not arbitrarily chosen some people to be saved and some to be lost. Imagine a basis upon which He might select which people should be saved. Would He choose the wealthy? The well known? The most intelligent? Members of a particular ethnic group or culture? Fortunately, each person can choose for himself whether or not to accept God’s saving grace (Joshua 24:15; Isaiah 7:16; Ezekiel 18:20; Matthew 23:37; Revelation 22:17). Each person is responsible for his or her own actions (Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 14:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Because of God’s marvelous love for all humans, He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9; cf. 1 Timothy 2:4).

REFERENCES

Jackson, Wayne (2004), “To What Law Were the Ancient Gentiles Accountable?,” [On-line], URL: http://www.christiancourier.com/questions/whatLawAncientGentiles.htm.
Lenski, R.C.H. (1961 reprint), The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg).

Chalk One up for Academic Freedom by Kyle Butt, M.A.


https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=776

Chalk One up for Academic Freedom

by  Kyle Butt, M.A.

For several decades now, the theory of evolution has maintained an unwarranted, undeserved strangle hold on practically every public school science curriculum across our nation. Those who have dared question the beloved dogma have been intimidated, threatened, fired, and mocked for their dissenting views. One of the primary reasons for this censure is that the tenuous theory does not find evidentiary backing from any major field of science. While its proponents boast about the theory’s virtual factuality and the mounds of evidence that “prove” it to be the fundamental scientific theory, hard core, experimental evidence in favor of the theory has been lacking for years—a fact which has been admitted by evolutionists in their more candid moments (see Miller, 2004).
It is refreshing to see that there are those who have the courage to stand up and allow the purported evidence for evolution to be examined critically. On November 8, 2005, the Kansas Board of Education adopted new public school science standards that open the door for critical evaluation of the erroneous theory of evolution, as well as for consideration of alternative ideas of origins such as intelligent design. An article by John Hanna of the Associated Press explained that the new standards “say high school students must understand the major evolutionary concepts. But they also declare that basic Darwinian theory...has been challenged in recent years by fossil evidence and molecular biology” (2005).
Of course, the proponents of evolution are irate. Leading evolutionist and educator Eugenie Scott was quoted as saying, “We can predict this fight happening elsewhere” (Hanna, 2005). I think they certainly can predict that this fight will happen elsewhere. It is high time that the theory of evolution be evaluated critically and be seen for what it really is: a fallacious theory based more upon a belligerent adherence to the philosophy of materialism than an honest assessment of scientific discovery.
Kansas Board of Education member, Kathy Martin, responded to the board’s decision by saying: “Students will be informed and not indoctrinated” (Hanna, 2005). Her assessment hit the nail on the head. If evolution is such a well-grounded, virtual fact, it should be able to withstand a critical evaluation, and it should outstrip competing ideas. The fact that evolutionists do not want any other information considered is a telling hint that, deep down, they know their precious doctrine cannot withstand the test. In desperate efforts to keep evolution entrenched, evolutionists will claim that all other ideas (such as intelligent design) are unscientific, only held by ignorant radicals, backdoor advances of fundamentalist Christianity, and other such diversionary tactics. In reality, they are simply trying to draw attention away from the real issue: Does accurate, scientific evidence confirm the theory of evolution? Those on the Kansas Board of Education, and an increasing number of truth-seekers, are beginning to realize that the overwhelming answer to that question is a resounding “No!”

REFERENCES

Hanna, John (2005), “Evolution Critics Score Win in Kansas,” [On-line], URL: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1295774.
Miller, Dave (2004), “Atheist Finally ‘Sobers Up,’” [On-line], URL: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2662.

Encouraging Signs for the Children by Dave Miller, Ph.D.


https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=1789

Encouraging Signs for the Children

by  Dave Miller, Ph.D.

In the midst of the raging culture war, in which the moral sensibilities of the nation are being decided, three encouraging signs have recently surfaced regarding abortion. First, the state legislature of South Dakota passed a statewide ban on abortion, and the governor signed the ban into law (“South Dakota Governor...,” 2006). Unless a woman’s life is at stake, performing an abortion is a criminal offense—with no exception for cases of rape or incest. Five other states have proposed similar bans, with Mississippi’s approaching passage (Vanderheyden, 2006). Doctors who perform abortions in South Dakota may now receive a five-year prison term and a $5,000 fine. The law will undoubtedly trigger a court fight that will challenge the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
Second, a bill is working its way through the Indiana legislature that would require abortion doctors to inform Indiana women seeking an abortion that life begins at conception. The bill also would require abortion providers to tell women that a fetus may be able to feel pain. These stipulations would be in addition to the state’s current informed consent laws that provide women with information about risks and alternatives to abortion, the fetus’ age and potential viability, as well as the offer to show women an ultrasound of the pre-born infant (“Proposed Indiana Law...,” 2006).
Third, the U.S. Supreme court recently announced that it has agreed to make a ruling on whether the federal government can ban some abortion procedures. The justices will decide the constitutionality of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act that President Bush signed into law in 2003 (Vicini, 2006).
In all three of these cases, pro-abortion forces, from Planned Parenthood to NARAL [National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League—DM], are mobilizing to fight any relaxation of the blanket approval of abortion achieved by Roe v. Wade. Pro-life forces are hopeful that the recent reshaping of the court by Bush (with the appointments of Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts) will tip the national fight over abortion rights in favor of the children.
For those who believe in the God of the Bible, this issue is settled. God hates “hands that shed innocent blood” (Proverbs 6:17).

REFERENCES

“Proposed Indiana Law Says Life Begins at Conception” (2006), Associated Press, February 11, [On-line], URL: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/11/abortion.indiana.ap/index.html.
“South Dakota Governor Signs Abortion Ban” (2006), Associated Press, March 7, [On-line], URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11699703/.
Vanderheyden, Terry (2006), “Mississippi Abortion Ban Bill Passes House; Moves to Senate for Approval,” Life Site News, March 3, [On-line], URL: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06030304.html.
Vicini, James (2006), “Reshaped U.S. High Court to Decide Abortion Law,” Reuters, February 21, [On-line], URL: http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006 -02-21T212347Z_01_N21411932_RTRUKOC_0_UK-USA-COURT-ABORTION.xml& archived=False.

From Gary... Today


We only have TODAY;who knows what tomorrow will bring? War, destruction, pestilence, famine and suffering seem certain for at lest some of us. Amid this seemingly gloom outlook, there is hope.  Jesus said...

Matthew, Chapter 6 (WEB)
 24  “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon.   25  Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  26  See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they? 

  27  “Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?   28  Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin,   29  yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.   30  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith? 
  31  “Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’   32  For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.   33  But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.   34  Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.

God will supply our genuine needs. Enjoy today as long as it is today and follow Jesus' instructions in verses 33f. above.  Tomorrow, anything could happen, so do not worry about all the things that could go wrong. Today, serve God; be a faithful steward of the life that God has given you and trust that when tomorrow becomes another today you will echo Pooh's comments!!!