Posts filed under: ‘Christ’s Coming‘
Day 117 – He’s coming! (1 & 2 Thessalonians)
I’ve lived hundreds of miles away from family since I was a teenager, so I get really excited when we will see them. Whether we are traveling to them or they are traveling to us, I can’t wait. I plan for things that we can do together and anticipate a great time reminiscing and exchanging stories about life now. With only a few exceptions, those visits are marked with laughter and love. It is with this kind of excitement and anticipation that I look forward to seeing Jesus in person.
Paul gives us a glimpse of this event. “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) Party on!!! I imagine the ”cry of command” to be Jesus calling each of us by name to rise up to him. Though I’ve never heard Jesus’ voice, I suspect it will be beautifully familiar…like when a beloved friend calls your name out in the mall and your heart is filled with joy at the sound. The dead and living Christians will join Jesus for the most awesome family reunion – not only will we be hanging out with Jesus, but all of our deceased Christian relatives and friends will be reunited.
Though I wait in great anticipation for this reunion, Paul’s warning subdues me and reminds me of the urgency of the work to do during my remaining life. Paul states that Jesus is delivering us from “the wrath to come”. (1 Thessalonians 1:10) He shares a glimpse of that wrath in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10. “..when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might…” What can be worse than eternal destruction? Eternal separation from the presence of the Lord. There are so many people hurting from the void in their lives due to a lack of a relationship with God. What would it be like if that was a void that was busted open – without the hope of being filled or the ability to heal EVER?
Let’s celebrate the great day when we will be forever in the company of each other, saved family members, and our Lord. Let’s seize the opportunities to add attendees to this great event.
Today’s prayer:
Lord, I am so excited for the day that you come for me! While I wait, help me to reach others to join the party. Give me the heart to serve, the words to share, and the love to build up others. Amen
Add a comment September 14, 2010
Day 70 – Jesus is coming! (Zechariah)
Jesus is coming! Zechariah describes Jesus’ coming hundreds of years before his arrival. “Behold, I will bring my servant the Branch…I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree. ” (Zechariah 3:8-10) To me, this passage relates to Jesus’ birth, death on the cross, resurrection, and second coming. It’s most meaningful to me in the phrase “single day”. It’s like a snap of the fingers in relation to the whole of time. God wipes away our sin just like that. Snap. Our lives are so fleeting. Snap. Christ will come again. Snap. Satan is defeated. Snap.
“Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey…” (Zechariah 9:9) Isn’t it great that our “King” came on a donkey – poor, humble, and accessible? In our nation, it is said that only 5% of people are among the wealthy. Christ could have come as royalty with riches, property, and personnel traditional with wealth and kingdoms, but would he have been as accessible and easy to relate to? If he had come wealthy, I think that fact would have been used by the wealthy and privileged people of society to disqualify (or attempt to discourage) the other 95% of us from following Christ, being a member of the church, or feeling worthy enough to seek Him.
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10) How could one read this passage and not think of Christ’s bloody, pierced hands and His position as God’s only son. The mourning on the day of Christ’s crucifixion must have been intense for His family, friends, and followers, but doesn’t your heart ache even today when you consider His great sacrifice for a rotten, no-good wretch like you and like me?
Now, dwell on this passage. 
“On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.” (Zechariah 14:6-10) Wow! It’s exciting and mysterious! I can’t wait! In the meantime, Jesus is Lord over this mini-kingdom called “Maria”. 
My prayer today:
Lord, it seems that Zechariah was speaking about more than one period in time, but all I could see was Jesus in his words. I’m so grateful that I have Christ now and the excitement about a time when I will be in Your presence outside of the sin and suffering on this earth. It’s so hard to maintain an excitement for you with so many negative distractions. Help me to be a light in the darkness. Amen
Add a comment July 28, 2010
