Encourage each other. Wise advice. Jesus
spoke similar way to His disciples on the Mount of Olives as recorded in
Matthew 24 when they asked Him about the end of the age and signs of His
return.
For as the lightning flashes in the east and
shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. Just as the
gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate
that the end is near. Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will
be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and
the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then at last, the sign that the
Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning
among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send out His
angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather His chosen ones
from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. Matthew
24:27-31
Are these words encouraging to you? Exciting
that we will hear a trumpet blasting a call to us. A bit scary knowing that
there will be anguish and darkness—but Jesus is light. He gives us hope. A hope
that He has prepared for us—not just a home in heaven someday when the angels
gather us together—but this hope that we belonging to His spiritual family now.
Now or in the future—He still cares about us and gives us wise advice:
So you, too, must keep watch! For you don't
know what day your Lord is coming. Matthew 24:42.
Live like Jesus is coming back today. Live
with the hope and the realization of His presence in your life right now.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and
God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal comfort and a
wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and
say. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17.
And we believers also groan, even though we
have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for
our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope
for the day when God will give us our full rights as His adopted children,
including the new bodies He has promised us. We were given this hope when we
were saved. (If we already have something, we don't need to hope for it. But if
we look forward to something we don't yet have, we must wait patiently and
confidently.) Romans 8:23-25.
Encourage each other with the hope of each
day—with the love of the Lord. How are you going to do that today?
Prayer
~ Lord Jesus—we don’t know that hour or the day that You will return—only God
the Father knows that (Matthew 24:36)—but we rejoice in the hope that we have
that whether we are alive or in the grave when You return—we will join You in
the air. We praise You for You alone are worthy of our praise.
Happy Okinawan Birthday – Lisachan.
© 2016 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT)
unless otherwise noted.
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