Christ is at hand. Yay! U ready? “Ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” —Matt. 24:42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51 http://t.co/dArHMAKh8F
— Kurt von Schleicher (@kurtwvs) August 28, 2014
Woke up this morning feelin' excited as.. That Day draws near. There's no place like home and we have an exciting wedding right around the corner there. How 'bout you—you excited 'bout it, or filled with dread? It's really not the time to be outside of a vital relationship with Jesus Christ.. like "Hey, life'll go on as it has. I'm my own man, I can do it myself—just don't like or need to obey any leader..anywhere. I have a accomplished a whole lot and I deserve to be respected."
Look around you.. today Russian troups invade the Ukraine as assaults intensify (and the world passively stands by to watch), we have Al Qaeda hinting of an attack date - a plot against Vegas, New York City and military targets. We have another US rush to judgement, riots, and now the suing of Furgason. You've seen Isis (which is probably Stateside among us with our open boarders). Things among the nations have changed quickly and radically, but God has set a time to wrap things up (hey no worries, I won't foolishly set a date as many people have done, but it's a good time to start studyin' some eschatology). It's time to pray and act in that order.
It's really not the time for self-justification, for pride, for your own way, for pretense so that others might think you're great, or for any denial of the facts of the Bible which says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). In this day when people just aren't ready cuz they're inverted, perverted, or self-absorbed.. it's high time for us to get ready, to stay ready, and then to help others get ready! Wouldn't you now say there should be a sense of urgency about our thinkin', prayin' and doin'. Sure!
“We talk of
the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first.” ~ Oswald J.
Smith
Christ said,
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the
Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the
coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the
ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and
took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. So
if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here
he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from
the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.’”
(Matthew 24:36-27)
So do you long to see His face or have you become all distracted with what you want down here? Ain't trying to guilt anyone, I just want to motivate and inspire you. We are living during some very interesting days and I want what's best for you and yours. Did you know that in the 260 chapters of the New Testament, there are 318 references to Christ's second advent—yup, 1 out of every 25 verses (says Dr John Walvoord the formost authority on this - was a professor from Dallas Theological Seminary). Twenty-three of the 27 New Testament books refer to this great event. I'm so looking forward to it, but even more to the Rapture where the Church is caught away. We've all got to be ready ..today!..now would be good.. and help others get ready as well. There are no other prophecies of the Bible that need to take place before the Rapture happens..and then the Second Advent. Bam! For every prophecy in the Bible concerning Christ’s first advent, there are 8 which look forward to His second! Christian, do you have any friends, fellow students, family members.. or perhaps coworkers who don't know that God loves them.. who have not yet turned and been born again spiritually?
"The Great Commission is not an option to be
considered; it is a command to be obeyed." ~ Hudson Taylor
If you have a few moments, prayerfully meditate upon these verses...
“For the Son
of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will
reward each person according to what he has done." (Matthew 16:27)
“As it was
in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the
days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what
would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will
be at the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:37-39)
"It was
the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and
selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur
rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. "It will be just like this
on the day the Son of Man is revealed." (Luke 17:28-30)
"Be
careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and
the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.
For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always
on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to
happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man." (Luke
21:34-36)
“Two men
will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding
with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep
watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand
this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was
coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken
into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour
when you do not expect him." (Matthew 24:40-44)
Jesus said, "At
that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps
and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were
wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The
wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a
long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At
midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones
said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you.
Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' But while
they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were
ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for
us!' ‘But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'" (Matthew
25:1-12)
"No one
knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but
only the Father." (Matthew 24:36)
“You also
must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not
expect him." (Luke 12:40)
"At
that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the
nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the
clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with
a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from
one end of the heavens to the other." (Matthew 24:30-31)
“It will be
good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell
you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the
table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose
master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the
night.” (Luke 12:37-38)
"When
the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on
his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and
he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep
from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed
by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the
creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was
thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me
in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I
was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer
him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you
something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or
needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to
visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did
for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he
will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the
eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you
gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a
stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe
me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also
will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or
needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will
reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of
these, you did not do for me.' Then they will go away to eternal
punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (Matthew 25:31-46)
"Do not
let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's
house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going
there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:1-3)
"Therefore
keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour." (Matthew 25:13)
“If anyone
is ashamed of me (Jesus) and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with
the holy angels." (Mark 8:38) facebook.com/shareJesus
