Good Wednesday morning! The weather report has one basic fact in it - spring ain't here yet. We are to expect a prolonged period of snow and cold starting tonight. Oh, joy...
There must be some better news to report from the Bible today. Jesus is coming soon! Hey, now that's some good news for those of us looking and yearning for our Lord's return. I cannot make this world and its weather any better for us, but I can remind you and me of the good news that we have in Christ. Of course this wouldn't be the first time that a secular wag could accuse me of looking past reality to a future of fantasy. I agree, the present reality does sometimes cause me to look to the hope I have in Jesus. It seems that someone has set the Middle East to "broil" and I do not know whether it is God, Allah, or the Prince of this world who has done this. Whoever started it, I know that God will finish it. In the same way, we can read in Genesis that the Serpent started sin by tempting Eve, and in Revelation we can read that God will finish sin. That is good news. We have that hope of freedom from the presence of sin to look forward to.
The end times will start with wars and earthquakes, famine and persecution, but we can also read beyond that to the triumphant return of Christ. Good news and more good news. We are called to endure in our faith in our daily lives, and in the end times up to the very end. Endurance does bring to mind something that must be endured. We don't want to think about the suffering that wars and earthquakes, famines and persecution will bring, but we are called to endure to the end. Another promise is that Jesus will never leave us even to the end of the age. Along with the exhortation to endure, we get the good news that Jesus will be right there with us. Good news! Your end may come before the end of this age. The end of this age may not occur until the year 2532. I don't think any of us would want to endure quite that long, even though we don't know how long God will have us stay here. The end of your life or my life on this earth is cause for celebration when we submit to the sovereign will of Christ in this life. It seems strange to think of the great terror we face on this earth as a cause for celebration, but there it is. We are not at home anymore.
Jesus tried to make his disciples see the good news in his death. Just as we do now, the disciples had some trouble seeing what could be good about anyone dying. Death seems like the end, but God assures us many times in his word that this life is not the end. Even the suicide bombers commit their heinous acts because they expect more life after this one. The knowledge of eternity must be in our hearts somewhere for so many to believe there is in fact an eternity to look for. God must have placed this knowledge there because we have no evidence from this short life to build such a story on.
A paw... the cat is telling me that if I ain't typin' then I'm fair game for kitty attention. Sometimes my thoughts wander off to far regions when a pause in the devotional happens. Even when thinking on eternity, the reality of the moment does make its presence felt. I would like to live my life in fantasies of a wonderful future with Christ in Heaven, but I have work to do in the here and now. However, we are to give some thought to the Heavenly places where God sits on his throne and Jesus sits at the right hand of the Almighty One. We will be called to appear there one day, and what a wonderful day that will be!
Look up, for your redemption draws near. Look to the side, and see Jesus with you always. Look forward, to the hope we have in Christ. Look around, for the harvest is ripe and we have work to do.
Amen,
Bucky
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