Come Jesus Come

Come Jesus Come
by David Brenneman

“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done." Revelation 22:12.

"Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong." 1 Corinthians 16:13.

"But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation." 1 Thessalonians 5:8.

"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.  Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;  and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.  For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;  and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;  and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;  and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men  (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds),  then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties,  whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.  But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children;  forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.  These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved.  For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.  For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.  For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.  It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.” 2 Peter 2:1-22.

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7.

What are we to be doing in life after coming to Christ?  There's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for sure, but what comes next?  The living for Jesus.  The becoming a disciple of Christ Jesus.  To live life in Christ in such a way that people see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven.  The letting go of the walking down the selfish road of our lives in favor of the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.

We are being trained in righteousness.  We are in the school of the Spirit of God.  We are never on a summer vacation from this.  We are not on a break from living life in Christ in any way other than to glorify Jesus.

So then...with all this in mind do you seek first His kingdom and His righteousness?

Do you dedicate time in the Word of God daily?  If you were in school in this world there would be homework.  Why wouldn't there be in the Spiritual work of God in our spiritual lives?

Do you consider today as being the possible day that Jesus returns?

Jesus said it can be at any moment.  It will happen so fast that it will be in the twinkling of an eye. 

You believed Him in coming to Christ for salvation didn't you?  You believed the Word of God with regards to your need to be saved did you not?  Did you believe the rest of the Scriptures?

We believe that He was born of a virgin.  We believe He lived a sinless life.  We believe that He performed many convincing proofs that He indeed was the Son of God.  We believe that He took our punishment upon Himself and was cruelly crucified on the cross.  We believe that He arose from the dead 3 days later.  We believe that He appeared to the Disciples and over 500 people.  We believe that He ascended to the right hand of God the Father. 

So why aren't more people eagerly waiting for His promised return?  Why aren't there more who are driven to be more obedient in Christ?  More that will indeed love His appearing? 

Someone pointed out that indeed Christians are spiritual campers.  We aren't here to make a mansion on a hill for ourselves.  We are to more or less be minimalists and be about the Father’s business as Jesus passed that down for us to be doing after He ascended. 

Many people aren't receiving blessings from God because those who have it within their lives to be that blessing have kept it for themselves.  They spent it on their own selves.

How will that look when Jesus returns and sees that? 

It truly appears that there's many who claim the Name of Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior who are not living as though today could be the day they face Jesus.

The same Jesus who blessed such people can remove such a blessing as well. 

We are not here for our own sake.  We are to grow in Christ.  We are in training as we read yesterday.  Learning the discipline of the Lord.  Learning what the Word of God says with respect to our lives.  We are to shine in this world with the light of Jesus Christ.  Not going out of our way to hide it.  Not trying do the bare minimum in obedience to God's Word.

We were bought with the blood of Jesus Christ...living life in full appreciation to Him for that life debt is what we're to be doing.

Do you groan within your heart for Jesus to return as if the separation is painful to you?  Or do you treat it as though He were some acquaintance you haven't seen in a while that perhaps you might run into?

In my heart of hearts my soul anxiously awaits my Savior's return.  For me His face will be the first I get to see with two perfect eyes.  I long for that embrace that tells me that I am loved by my Savior.  That the journey is over that indeed I've come home at last.  I long for that day when the surprise attacks of my sin nature are no more.  I long for to hear my Savior say that I am home.

"Come Jesus Come" is a song you can look up on YouTube.  Cece Winans sings it and you should listen to it often. 

Are you really ready to see Jesus today?  Are you really living with open hearts and open hands to those whom Jesus has put in your life or are you hoarding the blessings bestowed upon you?

If Jesus blessed you once don't you believe He can do it again?

Setting our minds on the things that are above and not on the things that are of this world. 

Oh come Jesus come...

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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