Are You Ready for Jesus Christ's Return?

ARE YOU READY FOR JESUS CHRIST'S RETURN?

HE IS COMING.

¹⁵ “Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.” Revelation 16:15

¹⁰ “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.  Revelation 3:10-11

"'I am the Alpha and the Omega- the beginning and the end,' says the Lord God. 'I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come- the Almighty One.'" Revelation 1:8

³⁷ “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.  In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. “Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left.  Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. Matthew 24:37-44

"And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near." Hebrews 10:25

"For in just a little while, the coming One will come and not delay." Hebrews 10:37
  
"This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles.  Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”
They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood.  And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.
 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.  The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.  But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.  Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.  But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.  And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—" 2 Peter 3:1-15

"According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore encourage one another with these words."  1 Thessalonians 4:15-18

I was listening to a Jewish Christin (also known as a Messianic Jew) on the radio last Sunday and he was speaking about a dream he had.   He was being "caught up" or "raptured" by the Lord.  In the process of being caught up to Jesus one of his Jewish friends asked him, "Where are you going?" 

The Jewish Christian replied, "I am going with Jesus.  I am being raptured with all the believers of Jesus Christ- (the Messiah)."

The friend of the Jewish Christian didn't understand this.  

The Jewish Christian turned to Jesus and asked Him if he could have five more minutes to explain what was going on.

Jesus replied, "You don't have five more minutes.  I have been given all this time to speak of me to your friends and what would happen and you have not done it.   You do not have any more time."       

Is there an urgency in your soul to speak to others in love about Jesus Christ?

  

In my life, I look forward to going to my heavenly HOME.  I am tired and see this life has nothing lasting to offer me.  It is like chasing the wind.  

I look for Jesus coming but as watch and wait and listen,  I want to live in the real hope of my Jesus coming which quenches my thirst.   I want to be obedient to the Spirit and speak to others about Jesus Christ in action and word.   I want my life to speak of God.   This world gives no assurances but God does give me a real assurance, confidence and hope.

 He (Jesus) said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.  So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”  Matthew 9:37-38

Amen.  
  

Affections

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A backpack loaded down and full of essentials… water bottles, and few nature bars close at hand and up the trail our hiking boots took us into massive green blanket of the forest where the monotony of switchbacks is rewarded with an eye full of natural wonders.   I can still see those crisp clear mirroring lakes, trickling streams, thundering waterfalls, roaring snow melt rivers and slow moving creeks filled with pacing mountain trout.  I still can see those green grassy inclines planted on the cliffs at the edge of the forests.  How the massive trees below looked so small.   I can see the curious squirrels looking for handouts and the whistling rock badgers playing hide and seek in the boulders.   I still can see the eagles soaring in the quiet air and the camp robber birds sitting and flying from the sparse hardy wind blown trees amongst the snow covered slopes of the mighty mountain.   I remember hiking through the mist and above clouds where the peaks got to see the last moments of evening sunlight.   It felt like it was just us and mountain.   Oh how I enjoyed hiking the mountains of the Cascades.

Of course there were those not so fun hiking trips as well.  Those times where the cold blowing rains were relentless and we were trenched to the bone, where my aching tired muscles yearned for soft bed and hot shower, where our bug repellent seemed to attract the mosquitoes then keep them away and we were more or less chased off the mountain by the swarming blood suckers.

During such trips my thoughts would rewind on what landmarks I saw along the path towards the beginning of the trip…  a fallen tree, a bridge, salmon berry bushes, a boulder, a stump, an exposed root, a sign, an abandoned mine, another switchback… “How far was that from the trailhead?” I would think.   

When we start paying “more attention” to the growing darkness and evil in the world we too can become tired and discouraged.  We begin taking more then just “tabs” on the “happenings” of world but we begin saying to ourselves, “There is another landmark Jesus spoke… now how much further was that to the trailhead so we Christians can go home?   This “happening”…. where does that fit in to the relation of Christ’s return?

Jesus words in Matthew 24 are referenced more frequently in our mind, are they not?

BUT we must be careful about this “OVER FOCUSING”….

For this negative focus is like putting a noose around your neck and just waiting for the floor to drop from under you.   This negative focus puts us in compromising positions and can even cause us to sin because we aren’t living in the hope of our salvation.  We, who are in Christ, have been set free from this life but focusing too much on the evil and darkness of the world can keep our soul captive and make us unproductive in Christ. 

For our life is not based on the temporal things of this world but on the eternal.

“Set your affections on the things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2

I won’t pretend and say the things that we are seeing and are hearing aren’t disturbing but God is reminding me to set my affections on him not this world.

“For we brought nothing into this world, and is certain we can carrying nothing out.” 1 Timothy 6:7

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.  For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3

“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.  For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.  And always be thankful.” Colossians 3:15

“Many sorrows hath the wicked; but he that confideth in Jehovah, love-kindness shall encompass him.” Psalm 32:10

“While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  John 14:27

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

So as we continue to see the gathering of vultures, remember it's a journey and we are only passing through.
God has equipped us for such a journey.

May God reminds us daily....

Pursue who we are in Christ.

Live a godly life by being thankful towards God.

Live by faith by focusing on the things, which are eternal.

Love by abiding in His love.

Have perseverance through hope in God’s faithfulness and our salvation in Him.

Live in gentleness and humbleness by living in reverence for God.

"The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the LORD.  The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel." Isaiah 29:19

 “May he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.”  Hebrews 13:21