Nov 5, 2014 HE IS COMING BACK
1 Thessalonians 5:23: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13: …and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all of His saints.” As you read through the New Testament, you will see a number of references to the “coming of the Lord”. I believe that this awareness that the Lord would return for His people was a major factor in how the early believers conducted their lives here on earth. It is obvious that they believed that He could come again any day. The New Testament believers lived in the time of the ascension of Christ - they actually saw Him break the law of gravity-they saw Him leave the ground-wow! Can you imagine being there? So, for them, it was no problem to believe He would return one day. Seeing Jesus ascend was concrete evidence that all He said and taught and did while on earth was absolutely true and that He was indeed the son of God. All did not see Jesus ascend, we certainly did not see Jesus ascend, but by the scriptures and by the Holy Spirit in us, we know that Jesus did ascend back to the Father. It seems that the major theme, or certainly one of the major themes of the New Testament, is that of “being ready” for His return. The coming again of the Lord Jesus to earth to for His saints is the bedrock of our hope and it is the motivation of living life in such a way that we will not be ashamed at His coming. God does desire to find us holy, unblameable, established, complete, sanctified, and abounding in love for one another when He returns. It is certainly true that we are called to live out the gospel and be “cultural changers” during our life time on earth, but it also true that we are to be looking for His return and our future with Him in heaven. May each of us be about preparing ourselves for His return and may we live as though He is coming back this very day. We He returns, we will be transformed immediately and our salvation will be complete and we will forever be with the Lord! It is no sacrifice on our part to be ready, but we are blessed as we prepare for His return-it’s a win-win situation.
Titus 2:11-14: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
Blessings,
Buddy
1 Thessalonians 5:23: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13: …and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all of His saints.” As you read through the New Testament, you will see a number of references to the “coming of the Lord”. I believe that this awareness that the Lord would return for His people was a major factor in how the early believers conducted their lives here on earth. It is obvious that they believed that He could come again any day. The New Testament believers lived in the time of the ascension of Christ - they actually saw Him break the law of gravity-they saw Him leave the ground-wow! Can you imagine being there? So, for them, it was no problem to believe He would return one day. Seeing Jesus ascend was concrete evidence that all He said and taught and did while on earth was absolutely true and that He was indeed the son of God. All did not see Jesus ascend, we certainly did not see Jesus ascend, but by the scriptures and by the Holy Spirit in us, we know that Jesus did ascend back to the Father. It seems that the major theme, or certainly one of the major themes of the New Testament, is that of “being ready” for His return. The coming again of the Lord Jesus to earth to for His saints is the bedrock of our hope and it is the motivation of living life in such a way that we will not be ashamed at His coming. God does desire to find us holy, unblameable, established, complete, sanctified, and abounding in love for one another when He returns. It is certainly true that we are called to live out the gospel and be “cultural changers” during our life time on earth, but it also true that we are to be looking for His return and our future with Him in heaven. May each of us be about preparing ourselves for His return and may we live as though He is coming back this very day. We He returns, we will be transformed immediately and our salvation will be complete and we will forever be with the Lord! It is no sacrifice on our part to be ready, but we are blessed as we prepare for His return-it’s a win-win situation.
Titus 2:11-14: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
Blessings,
Buddy
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