Looking for His ReturnS - Scripture: Matthew 24:1-51
Disciples: "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world ..." v.3.
Jesus: "And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet ... and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places ... But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved ... And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come ... For then shall be great tribulation ... For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets ... Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken ... And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." v.6, 7b, 13-14, 21a, 24a, 29-31 .
Luke's account in 21:25-27 is like this: "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."
O - Observations:
Just like the disciples we too look and await his coming and the end of the world. We look around and think we see it, surely! We have seen famine and pestilence and earthquakes ... it just takes a glance at the evening news to see these things. The picture Jesus paints for his disciples is a bleak one at best until the good news that He will return with power and great glory and with the sound of the trumpet.
Prophecy and end times have been discussed by people much greater than I and that is not the point of this post except to say that everyday we live we are nearer to the end, be 1 day or 1,000 more years ... we are that much closer to His return. Certainly this passage of Scripture gives us some clues as to what will take place, but notice that the message has to go to all nations in all the world first. Secondly, we who are living at the time of His return will most likely experience trials and tribulation unlike anything we could imagine. We must be prepared to ENDURE until the end.
A - Application for me today:
1) If I am to hasten His return let me tell others of His Good News.
2) I want to be prepared to endure until the end and to prepare my children to endure. I do not know when He is returning, but I want to be prepared for the tribulations we might endure so that we do not become like Luke's passage in "heart failure" because of fear.
P - Prayer in response:
LORD, use this blog as a tool to take your message to a part of the world who has not heard your message so that I might be apart of hastening your return. Keep my words written here true and honest to Your WORD. Let me not offend any who might be seeking you or whom you might be drawing nigh.
LORD, teach your elect how to not be deceived by charasmatic leaders who might sway us with their charming words and yet teach your elect how not to be afraid when faced with tribulation and the end of the world. Help us as parents to raise up a Godly "army" of children who will standfast should they face the things mentioned in this passage. Let us prepare them and help them understand your WORD as you give us understanding.
Help us to endure!
Amen & Amen
THE LOVE DARE CHALLENGE
Day 9: Love makes good impressions
Greet one another with a kiss of love.—1 Peter 5:14
TODAY’S DARE
Think of a specific way you’d like to greet your spouse today. Do it with a smile and with enthusiasm. Then determine to change your greeting to reflect your love for them.
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