Category: return of Jesus

The Time is Ripe, [Ascension Truths]

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9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them.

Acts 1:9-10

Look at the disciples. There were 500 standing with their mouths open tracking Jesus’ ascension. They were witnesses to the Lord’s departure.

Suddenly two men appear, clothed in white. They both seem to be extraordinary–they clearly explained what has just happened.

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

We live in an age of history where Jesus sits on the throne. It is not an ordinary time, He has ascended to His Father and now lives “to make intercession for us.” This is no small thing.

Perhaps sometimes we wish to move with the disciples and have their experiences. Perhaps we feel we would be better followers if we could share with them the miracles of the Lord Jesus. Somehow we would be stronger believers.

Let us remember though that we will see His second coming. The angels were quite clear about this– He will come again! Scripture is quite vocal about this.

We will see Him just as He is, and we will be changed into His likeness.

We don’t know exactly when. It is Father’s decision. But we will be there, and the promises are true. This is possibly the greatest privilege we could ever have.

Saint, now it the time to prepare. We know enough scripture to understand the imminent. We are to take active steps to be part of His return to earth and His Kingdom which becomes visible.

“So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.”

Matthew 25:13

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Does Your Christianity Include You? [Discipleship]

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 “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23, NLT

Sometime I feel like things should be different. When I made the decision to follow Christ I operated on the assumption that things would just change. I had a lot of problems but also now had a remarkable savior.

And I still do. Fundamentally things became new. My sins were forgiven and I knew that Jesus Christ died for me.

However I failed to realize that I would sin daily. I guess I thought otherwise. As a matter of fact I became even more aware of my depravity than ever. My sins are of omission and commission and they are many. The Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry worked inside my heart.

Does your Christianity include you?

Too often I think we expect holiness to be instantaneous. We wanted a complete eradication of the bad and a dramatic new change in the good. And to a certain extent that has happened.

I now believe that our walk of disciple is more like– “two steps forward, and one step back.” Sometimes its even “one step forward and two steps back.” It can be discouraging to say the very least.

The probable reality is that discipleship is not really an instant epiphany but a gradual transformation. But that doesn’t make it a lesser miracle!

As I survey my life, I discover I sinned more after I received Christ than in my life before. Perhaps the measure of discipleship isn’t the quantity of sin but the quality of our faith.

I daily come to Jesus with my sin. I have to live in repentance every day. The miracle is that I experience the daily infilling of my heart with the Holy Spirit. When I wait on Him He comes and fills me up.

I run into issues when I don’t:

  • confess my sin
  • refuse to change
  • don’t wait on God for help
  • live out the promises in God’s Word

As a believer in Jesus I will be transformed by Him. I don’t want to pretend that I need Him daily. I am slowly being changed by the Gospel, I may struggle but He holds my heart.

“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 5:23, NASB

ybic, Bryan

 

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In Your Lifetime?

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“And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”

Luke 21:27

There is nothing more compelling, and more certain than the return of Jesus Christ. There is a huge interest in the speculation and books, tapes, websites etc: I suppose that this is good. Perhaps we would live more sincerely, and authentically if we understood fully the imminent return of Jesus.

This just may be a twist. But many of us struggle in areas of personal godliness. Perhaps much of our personal conflict, our deep failure and compromised living is missing this critical element– a deep confidence of the sudden return of the King.

I suppose that living life with a daily awareness that this “second coming” is to be “on the front burner.” It is both inescapable and completely unavoidable. Jesus Himself compares the days leading up to the Second Coming to the time preceding the great flood of Noah’s day. Unsuspecting people lived life to the fullest right up to the moment of the flood, having ignored the warnings–just as people ignore the signs of Christ’s imminent return today.

When we are sincere and true, we will almost always have a strong sense that Jesus is about ready to ‘stand up.’ He is very close to taking visible control. Up to now the Kingdom has been hidden. But soon, very soon, it will get very obvious. I suppose many believers, will suddenly be shocked when Jesus steps in visibly.

Imagine your response to having your world interrupted by Him. He interjects His presence “in your face.” Whether you agree or not, suddenly He is here. There was an old gospel song, “I Wish We Had All Been Ready,” which shares the earnestness, and the sadness of the many who are missing others who weren’t ready to leave.

“Precisely because we cannot predict the moment, we must be ready at all moments.”

C.S. Lewis

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Related articles

Yearning for Sonship

InnerStruggle

The world is an intensely flawed place. Nothing is as it should be, yet. Our hope is in God”s will to recast it a new heavens and new earth. The Lord has started to redeem it, commencing with us.

Things aren’t in order yet. But they will be very soon. We pray, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” This earnest prayer echoes and resounds in heaven. It is the believer’s heart-cry. It is our dream. Soon– but not yet.

22 “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

Romans 8:22-25, NIV

We add our groans to a creation already groaning. We lament together with the cry of a woman giving birth. It is a holy agony. But the contractions have started, and soon there will be a new birth.

 “As we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship” is our passion– it is what we are waiting for. I suppose this is at the core of our faith– sonship. And to walk out of this present darkness as whole men and women, cloaked in the Father’s holy glory.

As a man who struggles with mental illness here I am. I deal with this everyday. The meds, the hopelessness, and the depression. I have to be reminded that this is temporary, and that I will be redeemed completely. I will not be bipolar forever. My shuffling and scootching will get me to my goal eventually. I trust Him implicitly.

Brokenbeliever, don’t lose hope. Hold on to the faith that will fully redeem you. It won’t be long now.

aabryscript

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