Tag: coming of Jesus
May God direct our way!
Scripture reading for November 16th: 1st Thessalonians 3, Psalm 79, Proverbs 12
1st Thessalonians 3: 8-13 “For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord. For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”
Paul was commending these persecuted believers for standing firm in the Lord. It brought him great joy and he offered prayers of thanksgiving to God for His protection of them and provision for them. Here he prays that God would graciously direct his way back to them that he might meet face to face with them again. Paul knew that it was all God’s grace to direct his steps, increase their love, and establish all hearts blameless at Christ’s return. It is by faith that we daily appropriate His grace and live a life of joy and effective witness. He daily delivers us and covers our sins for His own Name’s sake and directs our way to our heavenly home.
Psalm 79:8-9 “Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let Your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your Name; deliver us and atone for our sins, for Your Name’s sake!”
Prayer: Father God, I depend today on Your grace and covering for my sins. Thank You for Your divine promise to direct my way and establish my heart blameless before you through Your Son, Jesus Christ. I offer my body, mind, and spirit to be directed in Your way today and to live in such a way that I will help guide others into the Way, the Truth and Life of Jesus Christ, my Lord!
Proverbs 12:26 “One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
Patience with people!
Scripture reading for April 5th: James 5, Psalm 68, Proverbs 6
James 5:7-11 “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”
James, a pastor, understood well the need for patience. His instructions to the beloved brothers was to cultivate a continual awareness of the coming of our Lord. Our Lord is the Judge of all men and believers must stand before the Judgment seat of Christ to receive reward or loss for deeds done in the body. A lack of patience with people is manifested in grumbling, complaining and judging others. To encourage patience, James pointed believers to the prophets who spoke in the Name of the Lord. Job, in particular, was a man of great suffering and trials, yet he patiently waited on the Lord. The Lord restored him double at the end! God is truly merciful and compassionate and worth waiting for!
Psalm 68:3-4 “But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy! Sing to God, sing praises to His Name; lift up a song to Him Who rides through the deserts; His Name is the Lord; exult before Him.”
Prayer: Father God, I rejoice in You today and in Your wise Words of encouragement through the prophets and apostles written down for us. Your Words are a Light and when I am reproved by them, it leads me to a fuller life and the experience of peace. Help me to be patient with others each day, recognizing Your great patience for me and Your endless mercy for Your suffering people.
Proverbs 6:23 “For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way to life.”
Second Coming of Jesus!
Scripture reading for February 26th: Numbers 25-27, Mark 13
Key Scriptures: Mark 13:24-27 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send out the angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.”
The disciples had asked Jesus about what it would be like when He came for His people. Jesus gave them a direct answer. Tribulation would precede His coming along with great signs in the heavens and on earth. Jesus would come with power and great glory and His angels would gather His elect people to be with Him forever. We are reminded of this event in Numbers as Joshua succeeds Moses in leadership.
Numbers 27:15-18 “Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and com in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.””
Prayer: Lord, thank You for choosing Jesus (Joshua) to lead us out and bring us into Your eternal inheritance. May we be ready when He returns in power and great glory! Amen.
The man of lawlessness!
Scripture reading for September 22nd: 2nd Thessalonians 2
To correct some confusion in the church concerning the coming of Christ, Paul further explained some of the events that would happen before Christ returned. “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” (2nd Thessalonians 2:1-4)
Paul explained that a day or time of rebellion against God’s rule and word would precede Christ’s return. During this rebellion, a man called the ‘man of lawlessness’ would rise up by exalting himself. He would oppose God and set himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God! He would also come with false signs and wonders which would be empowered by Satan. These signs would deceive those who were on the path of destruction. “For this reason God send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” (2nd Thessalonians 2:11)
“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers, loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” (2nd Thessalonians 2:13) By standing firm in the Spirit of Christ and believing the truth, salvation is assured!