Almost; Not Yet!

Thursday, October 12, 2023

Like our ancestors, we have sinned.  We have done wrong!  We have acted wickedly!  Psalm 106:6

The recent violent attacks on Israel by the terrorist organization, Hamas, and Israel’s reaction, bombing Gaza, the center of the Hamas’ operations, is an all-too-familiar refrain of the nearly 4000-year squabble between Isaac and Ishmael, the two sons of Abraham.  If you remember, Abraham, father of the nation that would bear God’s name as His chosen people, had no heirs; his wife, Sara was unable to have children, and convinced Abraham to use her servant Hagar to bear a son, so God’s promise would have a chance.  Full stop. Exclamation point!  Whoa…What….use another woman’s body to fulfill the holiness of God’s Word?  What was Sara thinking?  And more…how could Abraham honestly comply with that?  God set the matter straight, by allowing Sara to conceive, getting pregnant at age 90 (how’s that for recompense?).  The two lines of descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael, have been at each other’s throats ever since.

In the days since the attack on Jerusalem I have heard a lot of references to the Second Coming of Jesus as being close, or imminent.  That may be so, or not.  Since the first Advent of Christ we have been living in an era of Almost; Not Yet!  His next Advent could happen before I finish writing this sentence – or not for another two thousand years.  Imminence means forthcoming, or looming.  So, the almost part of the Second Advent is that it could happen today.  The not yet aspect means we won’t know exactly when until it happens.  In Jesus’ own words, it will happen like a thief in the night.  Our family experienced that years ago. That thief didn’t send me an email, or call to make a reservation to rob us, he didn’t knock on the front door – he climbed though our window at 3AM!

Jesus also said He will return when His Father sends him, and knowing the date is above our pay grade; it will be when the Father makes the call.

We are precisely fifty-two days before the start of Advent on the Christian calendar, which is scheduled for Sunday, December 3^rd.  Advent celebrates the first coming of Jesus to Bethlehem.  He came then to be born, point us to the Father’s love, and then destroy sin’s death grip on us, the penalty for our sins (wickedness, as the Psalmist called it).  He did that on the cross as a gift. 

But Advent also is our constant reminder of the Advent of the future, the Second Coming of Jesus, not as a babe in a manger, the sacrificial lamb, bound for a cross – but the victorious, Lord and Christ of eternity, bound to defeat evil entirely, and set up his Kingdom eternally!

For You Today 

Our task in this life isn’t to set dates and construct timelines.  Rather it is to live faithfully according to God’s Word and be engaged in the mission of being His people who love lavishly, share openly, and wait patiently.

So, when you hear all the news reports of Ishmael and Isaac at it again, don’t get thrown-off track by taking sides, or trying to figure out how to settle the violence of the Middle East.  Stay on mission, loving your next-door neighbor, and the Lord God with all your heart, mind, and strength.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem as Scripture tells us – and live with the expectant prayer of the final words of Scripture on your heart and mind:

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.  

                        Revelation 22:20

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

When the Thief Arrives

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.          1 Thessalonians 5:2 (NLT)

We live in an age that is very, very exciting.  Events happen every day in the Middle East that are possible signals of the beginning of the end.  Christ could be very near.  The church could go home at any moment. 

These events are inescapable; they are inevitable. 

It is my sincere prayer that you are ready to meet Him – either in death as His angels carry you to heaven, or in the air as Jesus comes for you in the rapture of His church.  He is coming – you just don’t know when – but you do know He is coming!

Wilmer McLean was a farmer in the Shenandoah Valley in 1861.  In the spring of that year two powerful armies met on his property—the Union army under General McDowell and the Confederate army under General Beauregard. The bloodiest war in American history began at Bull Run, a creek that ran through McLean's property.

McLean was not at all sure why the armies were fighting, but he was quite sure he did not want them fighting on his property.  If he could not change the course of the war, he at least did not have to be part of it.  McLean decided to sell out and go where the war would never find him.

He chose the most obscure place in the whole country—or so he thought – an old house in the village of Appomattox Court House, Virginia.  Four years later General Grant was pursuing General Lee through Virginia.  In Appomattox County, Grant sent a message to Lee asking him to meet and sign a truce.  The place where they met to sign the peace that ended the Civil War was Wilmer McLean's living room! 

Some things you cannot get away from.[1]

The coming of Christ to claim His bride, the church, will be suddenly, without warning.  Remember, Jesus Christ described His coming as a “thief in the night”.

And the thief rarely sends a telegram, email, tweet or text to announce his presence; he never uses the front door.  He’s in and out before you know what happened!

For you, today

I pray you’re ready.  If not, turn to God now and place your trust in Jesus Christ.  Forgiveness of sin is the “readiness factor” for the arrival of the thief.

And while you’re at it, tell somebody else today, a friend, relative, neighbor or co-worker that you’re ready; you’re prepared for when the thief arrives. 

It’s called Advent; preparing for His coming!

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[1] James R. Edwards, The Divine Intruder (NavPress, 2000), p.154