Scripture Daily

IT'S TIME

"You know the time in which we are living." Romans 13:11

Do you know what time it is? It's the first day of the Church year, the beginning of Advent, a time to prepare for Christ's coming. "It is now the hour for you to wake from sleep, for our salvation is closer than when we first accepted the faith. The night is far spent; the day draws near" (Rm 13:11-12). "Stay awake, therefore! You cannot know the day your Lord is coming" (Mt 24:42).

When Jesus came the first time almost everyone missed Him. They were expecting a Messiah, but not one like Him. The same thing will occur when Jesus comes the last time. "The coming of the Son of Man will repeat what happened in Noah's time. In the days before the flood people were eating and drinking, marrying and being married, right up to the day Noah entered the ark. They were totally unconcerned until the flood came and destroyed them. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man" (Mt 24:37-39).

Jesus is coming to us this Christmas not in His physical body but nonetheless in a very real way. If we are awake and open to His coming this Christmas, we will have reason to believe we will be prepared for His final coming. "You must be prepared in the same way. The Son of Man is coming at the time you least expect" (Mt 24:44).

It's time to wake up and open up to Jesus. It's time to meet the Savior before we meet the Judge. It's time to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the desires of the flesh" (Rm 13:14). It's time.

THE LAST AND ONLY KINGDOM

"The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed or delivered up to another people; rather, it shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and put an end to them, and it shall stand forever." Daniel 2:44

The U.S. government will collapse as countless governments and dynasties throughout history have collapsed. It's just a matter of time. In fact, the heavens and earth will pass away (2 Pt 3:10, 12). There will be no more Grand Canyon, Pacific Ocean, California, Himalayas, Australia, Africa, Philippines, North America, etc. Every building will pass away (see Lk 21:6) as well as the sun, moon, planets, stars, and galaxies. Skyscrapers and whole skylines will collapse as if they were castles made of sand. All human bodies will die and decompose except for those living when Jesus returns (1 Thes 4:17).

We should not react to the certainty of almost total destruction with despair or depression, but rather with thanksgiving and commitment to Jesus, the King of kings and the King of the only kingdom that will last. How foolish and useless to be involved in anything other than Jesus' kingdom! What a privilege we have to be commanded by King Jesus to seek first His kingdom (Mt 6:33), pray for His kingdom to come (Mt 6:10), and sell all to purchase His kingdom! (Mt 13:44, 46) "Wherefore, we who are receiving the unshakable kingdom should hold fast to God's grace, through which we may offer worship acceptable to Him in reverence and awe" (Heb 12:28).

Prayer: K Kingdom.)

Meditation: How would you respond if someone prophesied that your home, land, or place of worship would be destroyed? Jesus foretold many signs that would shake peoples and nations. The signs which God uses are meant to point us to a higher spiritual truth and reality of his kingdom which does not perish or fade away, but endures for all eternity. God works through many events and signs to purify and renew us in hope and to help us set our hearts more firmly on him and him alone.

To the great consternation of the Jews, Jesus prophesied the destruction of their great temple at Jerusalem. The Jewish people took great pride in their temple, a marvel of the ancient world. The foretelling of this destruction was a dire warning of spiritual judgment in itself. They asked Jesus for a sign that would indicate when this disastrous event would occur. Jesus admonished them to not look for signs that would indicate the exact timing of impending destruction, but rather to pray for God's intervention of grace and mercy. Jesus said there would be many signs of impending conflicts and disasters such as wars, famines, diseases, tidal waves, and earthquakes which would precede the struggles of the last days when God's anointed King would return to usher in the full reign of God over the earth. In that day when the Lord returns there will be a final judgement of the living and the dead when the secrets of every heart will be brought to light (Luke 12:2-3; Romans 2:16).

Jesus' prophecy of the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem was a two-edged sword, because it pointed not only to God's judgment, but also to his saving action and mercy. Jesus foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the dire consequences for all who would reject him and his saving message. While the destruction of Jerusalem's temple was determined (it was razed by the Romans in 70 A.D.), there remained for its inhabitants a narrow open door leading to deliverance. Jesus said: "I am the door; whoever enters by me will be saved" (John 10:9). Jesus willingly set his face toward Jerusalem, knowing that he would meet betrayal, rejection, and death on a cross. His death on the cross, however, brought about true freedom, peace, and victory over the powers of sin, evil, and death not only for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but for all both Jew and Gentile alike who would accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Do you know the peace and security of a life submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ?

Sometimes we don't recognize the moral crisis and spiritual conflict of the age in which we live, until something "shakes us up" to the reality of this present condition. God reminds us that a future judgment and outcome awaits every individual who has lived on this earth. The reward for doing what is right and pleasing to God and the penalty for sinful rebellion and rejection of God are not always experienced in this present life but they are sure to come in the God's day of final judgment. The Lord Jesus tells us that there will be trials, suffering, and persecution in this present age until he comes again at the end of the world. God intends our anticipation of his final judgment to be a powerful deterrent to unfaithfulness and wrongdoing. God extends grace and mercy to all who will heed his call and his warning. Do not pass up, even for one day, God's invitation of grace and mercy to seek first his kingdom of righteousness and peace. This day may be your only chance before that final day comes.

"Lord Jesus, your grace and mercy abounds even in the midst of trails and difficulties. Help me to seek your kingdom first and to reject whatever would hinder me from pursuing your way of righteousness and holiness. Fill me with the joy and hope of your everlasting kingdom."