The NEXT Time

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there.  Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war.  His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns.  A name was written on him that no one understood except himself.  He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God.  The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses.  From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations.  He will rule them with an iron rod.  He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress.  On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.  Revelation 19:11-16

In the Christian calendar this past Sunday was the celebration of Christ the King.  It is a time to acknowledge with joy the Sovereignty of our Lord.

Jim Henry was the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church in Orlando, Florida.  He was also a friend and mentor, who helped me get started in ministry.  He tells of an incident from his youth.  He was saved at Hopewell Baptist near Nashville, Tennessee.  Just as he entered his teens there was going to be a special service at Hopewell.  Jim lived nearly 30 miles from the church by then.  Wanting to attend, he convinced his mother to allow him and his cousin to hitch-hike out to the service.  As they were walking along, a big black Oldsmobile came down the road, going in the same direction.  Jim Henry stuck out a thumb.  As the car got near, it began to screech to a halt, and Henry noticed a State Trooper sitting behind the wheel.  He was afraid the Trooper would arrest him.  The window rolled down:  Wher'ya goin' boys? he asked.  Jim explained, and he and his cousin were invited to hop in.  When he got in the back seat there was another man in a suit.  The man stuck out his hand and said, Hello, Jimmy, I'm Frank G. Clement, governor of Tennessee.  I am going up to the Hopewell Church to speak, and I will be glad to give you and your friend a lift.  They took off and the patrolman got them there in a flash.  When they pulled up there was a welcoming crowd.  The whole county was there.  Who was the first one out?  Jimmy Henry!  He tipped his hand in the direction of Mr. Clement, and said, Thanks for the ride, Governor – and God bless you.  Ol' Jimmy Henry was somebody!^[1]   The fact is Jimmy Henry was next to somebody.  He was still little thirteen-year-old Jimmy; Governor Clement was the somebody. 

Who is somebody to you?  The last time Jesus came, He had a manger, and farm animals for admirers.  He told us plainly who he was, teacher and Lord. ^{(John 13:13)} But he was still a nobody to us all, he was despised and rejected.  ^{(Isaiah 1:14)} 

The Next Time He Comes

The next time Jesus comes, the only animal in sight will be the white horse underneath him – a stallion ridden by a victorious, conquering King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. 

The next time He will not be a gentle baby, with Mary singing lullabies in some feeding trough.  He will be a mighty warrior with an avenging righteousness.

The next time He will not wear a simple shepherd's robe.  He will have a garment dipped in blood, with which he will cover, cleanse and purge the entire earth. 

The next time He will not hold a shepherd's staff.  He will have a conquering sword that will smash the world systems into oblivion. 

The next time He will not pass out broken bread and grape juice.  He will be marching on the grapes of wrath, and squeezing every-last-drop of the fierceness of a holy God who has been scorned.

The next time no one will put Him on a cross.  The next time He will hold up the cross and every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father. ^{(Philippians 2:10-11)}  Amen!

For You Today 

Are you ready for the NEXT time?

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

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library.

Today’s title Image from Pixabay.com  

Images without citation are in public domain or cited via weblinks.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1]Jim Henry, Heartwarmers, (Nashville, Broadman Press, 1977), 15

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!

Go to VIDEO

There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library.

Title Image courtesy of Pixabay.com Images without citation are in public domain or cited via weblinks.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Reaching for Beauty...in a Sea of Ashes

 

Thursday, August 17, 2023

Then I saw in heaven another marvelous event of great significance.  Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues, which would bring God’s wrath to completion.  I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name.  They were all holding harps that God had given them.  And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: 

“Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty.  Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations.  Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name?  For you alone are holy.  All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed.”  Revelation 15:1-4

Peter Marshall, in a sermon called The Risk of the Reach, told of a young German soldier in a dirty, bloodstained uniform standing on the firing step of a trench in World War I.  It was an early summer afternoon, and the battlefield was quiet. The young soldier had a wistful, faraway expression on his face.  Suddenly a butterfly fluttered into view and alighted on the ground almost at the end of his rifle.  It was a strange visitor to a battleground, so out of place.  But it was there, a gorgeous creature with wings as gold splashed with ruby coloring, swaying in the warm breath of spring.  As the war-weary youngster watched the butterfly, he was no longer a private in a field-gray uniform.  He was a boy again, fresh and clean, swinging through a field in sunny Saxony, knee-deep in clover, buttercups, and daisies.  

That strange visitor to the front-line trench recalled to him the joys of boyhood, when he had collected butterflies.  It spoke to him of days of peace.  It was a symbol of the lovelier things of life.  It was the emblem of the eternal, a reminder that there was still beauty and peace in the world.

He forgot the enemy a few hundred yards across no man's land.  He forgot the danger, deprivation, and suffering.  He forgot everything as he watched the butterfly.  He reached out toward the butterfly; his fingers moved slowly, cautiously, lest he frighten away this visitor to the battlefield.  But showing one kind of caution, he forgot another.  The butterfly was just beyond his reach, so he stretched, forgetting that watchful eyes were waiting for a target.  He brought himself out slowly, with infinite care and patience, until he had just a little distance to go.  He could almost touch the wings that were so lovely.  And then a sniper's bullet found it's mark.  The stretching fingers relaxed, then dropped flat on the ground.  For the private soldier in field-gray, the war was over.  There is always a risk when one reaches for the lovelier, finer, more fragile things of life.  And that is what worship is – reaching for the beautiful.^[1] 

Such is the aged apostle John’s vision of the ashes of earth’s martyrs encountering the beauty of Heaven’s glory.

For You Today 

There is much about our journey through life which speaks of both ashes and beauty.  Apostle Paul reminds us to think on the lovely things; Prophet Isaiah says those lovely things are in store for all who love Christ:

To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.  In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.  Isaiah 61:3

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

Go to VIDEO

There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library. 

Title Image:  Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] Bob Raby Belmont Church of Christ, Dayton, Ohio.