Grains of Sand

Pixabay Frequently I hear other followers of Jesus comment on the desperate state of the world, and express their certainty that the Lord must be going to return soon to put right all the things that have gone so horribly wrong.  We long for that day. Two thousand years ago (and counting) other believers also longed for that day and were certain that it had to be close at hand. After all, how could things get any worse for them? As Peter writes to the persecuted and scattered pilgrims of his day he says: " The end of all things is near. " (1 Peter 4:7a) But Peter does not suggest that they climb up the nearest hill and wait for Jesus' arrival, ignoring the journey they have not yet completed. There is work to be done. " Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you ha...

Google Images It was a case of “halfway.” Matthew 25 continues Jesus’ message from Olivet and His warnings about being prepared for His coming. At the beginning of Matthew 25 He tells the story of ten virgins waiting for the bridal party to arrive. “ 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 ” (25:3, 4). It was night and they were sleepy. All of them had lamps but not all of them were prepared for a long wait. Five of the virgins made sure that their lamps had plenty of oil so that when the bridal party arrived they would be ready. The other five were too tired, lazy, or negligent to take care of this detail. When it was announced that the bridegroom was on his way to the banquet, the negligent ones wanted to borrow from those who had been prepared, but that wasn’t possible. The five foolish ones rushed out to buy more oil but while they were gone, the bridegroom arrived. The five virgins who wer...

Google Images Matthew 24 ends with some pointed advice from the Lord about being watchful. This last “sermon” of His, called the Olivet Discourse, covers some details about the future of Jerusalem and information on Christ’s return to earth, which we call the Second Coming. The message on being watchful is based on His caution to His followers that no one knows when all this is going to happen and because of that, they need to live as though it could happen at any moment. “ Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come...you also must be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him ” (Matthew 24:42, 44). Jesus gives the illustration of two women grinding grain and two men working in the fields. One will be suddenly taken and the other left. He also says that life will be going on as normal when the Lord returns. No one will be standing on a mountaintop dressed in white with one eye raised to heaven and the other on a ...

Google Images The world is supposed to be coming to an end any day now. Some people thought it was to happen on December 12; others are waiting with not-so-bated breath for December 21. One thing is for certain, the end will come. It’s highly doubtful that it will be December 21. The Scriptures are quite clear that no one knows the day or the hour (Matthew 25:13). But it will come. As it happens, I was reading about this very event this morning in Second Peter. Here’s what the apostle had to say about the subject: “ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare ” (2 Peter 3:10). Like a thief. Unexpected. Unprepared for. And it’s this last issue of preparation that Peter addresses. How does one prepare for the unexpected? “ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godl...

Will peace come in our time? No. Will we enjoy the right to practice our faith freely? No. Will those who profess Christ follow Him faithfully? No. Someone told us that the world was getting to be a better place. After all, we have better technology, better education, better social awareness and social consciousness. Odd how that makes no difference, easily proven by the headlines in our newspapers and the breaking news on our television screens, computers and tablets. Jesus told us this was going to happen. " You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains " (Matthew 24:6-8). We insist that we should have the same freedom to speak openly about Christ as others have to speak openly about what they believe. After all, we are gua...

Reading: Revelation 8-11 The chief meteorologist for the Weather Channel was being interviewed this morning. He was asked about the most significant weather that happened during 2011. He mentioned several things, referring to these as being of “almost Biblical proportions.” I wondered if he really knew what “Biblical proportions” were? It’s an interesting phrase, considering that many in his audience would not know the meaning of the statement. As I’m reading through Revelation, I am reminded of “Biblical proportions” as John describes some of the events of the times about which he prophesied. Whatever one believes about when all these terrible things are going to happen, the truth is that they are terrible and terrifying. I wonder if somehow the end of a year triggers in people that fear of events to come. I noticed that a lot of the movies scheduled to be shown on television during this coming weekend have to do with terror. No one would admit that somewhere back in the re...

Reading: Revelation 6-8 Countdown. The cradle is tightly bound to the cross. The first coming of Christ is connected unflinchingly to the second coming; once in humility and then again in glory. For God, there is no counting of days as we know it. We count the days until the 2012 dawns and a new year begins, but time doesn’t have the same meaning for Him as it does for us, though He is perfectly aware of it. But He knew the hours, days, weeks, months and years that would pass from the time His Son left heaven to become a child in a manger to the time when His Son returned, resurrected, to Him. And though the centuries have passed, He has ordained the moment when that beloved Son will come again in glory. It seems appropriate to finish the year reading about the stages and ages of the plan of God as it moves toward a completion and a new beginning. This life is, at times, pitiless. Thankfully, this life is not permanent. John records the create gathering of the saints from...

Reading: 2 Peter I was researching the Celebration of Advent the other day and came across something that impressed me. Advent, according to its original purposes, is a celebration of the birth of Christ when He came as Saviour. But Advent is also celebrated in anticipation of that moment in the future when He will return as King and Judge. The author writes: “In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power. This acknowledgement provides a basis for Kingdom ethics, for holy living arising from a profound sense that we live “between the times” and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s people” ( http://www.crivoice.org/cyadvent.html ). That thought stayed with me as I read these verses from 2 Peter earlier this morning. In the last chapter of the letter, Peter r...

Reading: Romans 12-14 In the days of the early church, the followers of Jesus expected the imminent return of the Lord. In part that explains the urgency they felt as they spread the Gospel to the far corners of their world. The Lord had left them a commission, a task to fulfill, and they were certain that the time was short in which to do what Jesus had asked of them. The imminent return of the Lord is something that has been preached, taught, sung about, and argued over, for centuries. These days we hardly hear a whisper about it. Those who fought over pre-, post-, and A-, have mostly gone on to heaven where they could now care less exactly how the Lord is going to return. We don’t sing much about heaven or about the Second Coming. With the aid of modern technology we live in a fantasy world where someone, somewhere, will let us know via Skype or FACEBOOK when all the nations of the world have heard the Gospel and then we can worry about getting our house in order for the L...

Reading: Ezekiel 16-19, 2 Peter 3 For many years the hot topic of discussion among believers was the Second Coming of Christ. I still occasionally hear people refer to this or that event as being a “sign” of the end times. We’ve been waiting for a couple of thousand years for Jesus to return, but though that seems like a long time, the passage in 2 Peter 3 reminds us that: “ With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day ” (3:8, NIV). God isn’t in a hurry. 2 Peter 3 tells us that there were folks in Peter’s day who gave the young church a lot of grief because their Lord seemed to be taking His time at returning. Imagine what they would have said if they had lived in our time! Peter addresses the issue in this chapter, but he also explains why Jesus has delayed His return. Interestingly, the Old Testament passage in Ezekiel echoes what Peter says in the New Testament. “ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understa...

“ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away ” –Matthew 24:35, NIV. We worry a lot about the temporary. During those last days of Christ’s earthly ministry He warned His listeners about what was to come. The first section of Matthew 24 outlines some of the disasters, natural and otherwise, that would be the lot of believers. Actually none of those things was new information. Wars between nations, famine, earthquakes, persecution, deception and unfaithfulness to God had been part of the human experience since the fall of man back at the very beginning of time. However, the Lord did add some new information. The destruction of Jerusalem, and the temple that was so dear to the Jewish nation, was not far away. Jesus also reminded His followers that He would return at some point in the future, but until He did, and they would know Him when they saw Him, they were not to be deceived by the fakes that would come along or by the false prophets who would send them ...

I read an excellent post this morning written by a friend ( http://brendaflemming.blogspot.com/2010/10/lord-you-are-my-home.html ). It was a reminder to me about how important perspective is in determining what our priorities in life need to be. Added to Brenda's post was an interesting incident that I read about in my devotions this morning. Jesus was coming to end of his earthly ministry and in one of those last discourses he spoke to his disciples about what was to come in the future. Among the things he said was this: " No one knows about that day [the coming of the Lord] or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! You do not know when that time will come. It's like a man going away: He leaves his house in charge of his servants, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back–whether in the evening, or at midn...

Hebrews is the most amazing book. Take these two verses for example: " Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sin of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him " —Hebrews 9: 27, 28. HUGE theology in two verses. Man's state: Destined to die . The question of sin and its consequences: Judgment The introduction of the Saviour: Christ The remedy for our sins and their consequences: The sacrifice of the perfect for the imperfect. The efficacy and finality of that sacrifice: It will not be repeated. The second coming and its purpose: The final piece to our salvation. Our posture: Waiting for Him—not for judgment but for completion. The Gospel in a nutshell. One of the wonderful things about Scripture is the ability it gives us to find an explanation of the Gospel throughout its pages. From Genesis to Revelation we find illus...